Olivier Award winning Royal Ballet triptych inspired by Virginia Woolf will be shown on Sunday 15 February at 5:00pm

THE ROYAL BALLET’S Woolf Works is coming to the Torch Theatre screen, giving local audiences the chance to experience one of the company’s most acclaimed modern productions.

The Observer and Broadway World have both awarded the production five stars, with the ballet widely praised for bringing Virginia Woolf’s writing to life through movement, music and striking design.

Created for The Royal Ballet in 2015, Woolf Works is an Olivier Award winning triptych that draws on themes from Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, The Waves and other Woolf works. Rather than following a traditional storyline, it reflects Woolf’s distinctive stream of consciousness style, exploring inner worlds and emotional reality in a series of powerful, connected pieces.

The production features designs by Moritz Junge, whose work spans major opera and ballet productions including Così fan tutte for Opera Australia, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Les Troyens, Aida and The Tempest at the Royal Opera. He also designed costumes for the London 2012 Paralympics opening ceremony and was an overall winner of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design.

Choreography is by Sir Wayne McGregor, who was appointed The Royal Ballet’s Resident Choreographer in 2006, becoming the first in the role to come from a contemporary dance background. His approach, supported by a leading creative team, helps shape a large scale work which avoids conventional narrative structures in favour of atmosphere, texture and emotional depth.

Woolf Works will be screened at the Torch Theatre on Sunday 15 February at 5:00pm.

Tickets are £20, £18 concessions and £9 for under 26s. For further information visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or contact the Box Office on 01646 695267.

LOCAL businesses are being urged to check their new rateable values immediately to understand whether recent changes could increase their business rates bills.

Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz has warned that many firms may be unaware of how the updated valuations could impact them financially and is encouraging business owners to act quickly.

“Business rates are already a major burden for many local businesses,” Kurtz said. “With new rateable values now in place, it’s vital that businesses check their valuation as soon as possible to see whether it will affect what they pay. Too many businesses only realise there’s an issue when the bill arrives. Businesses can visit the VOA website and search their property by postcode or address.”

Rateable values are used to calculate business rates and are based on factors such as rental values and property use. Changes to these valuations can result in higher bills, even where a business has not expanded or increased turnover.

Kurtz stressed that early action is key, particularly for small and independent businesses operating on tight margins.

“Checking your rateable value early gives you time to understand the changes, seek advice, and challenge the valuation if it appears incorrect. Waiting could mean missed opportunities to reduce costs or appeal.”

Businesses are also being encouraged to attend the local information event online to better understand reliefs, exemptions, and the appeals process.

“At a time when costs are rising across the board, businesses need clarity and support, not surprises. I would urge every business owner to take a few minutes to check their rateable value and make sure it’s right.”

Samuel Kurtz MS has also written to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford MS, calling on the Welsh Government to follow the UK Labour Government’s apparent change of direction on business rates in England warning that rising rateable values are pushing Welsh businesses to the brink.

For more information on business rates and for a chance to attend the upcoming advice session with the Valuation Office Agency hosted by Kurtz and Paul Davies MS on the 26^th January, businesses are encouraged to register their interest on www.samuelkurtz.wales

A MILFORD HAVEN drug dealer who thought he could cash in by supplying partygoers at a music festival has been ordered to hand over thousands of pounds under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Justin Cadwell, 29, of Picton Close, was jailed for five years after police stopped a vehicle on the A31 near Winchester on Thursday (Aug 8) 2024, acting on intelligence linked to drug dealing.

Cadwell was a passenger in the car, which was being driven by his sister. She was later cleared of involvement after police examined her phone.

Officers found a haul of drugs and other items believed to be destined for a Hampshire festival, including 44.363g of cannabis, nitrous oxide canisters valued at £2,225, 15.11g of ketamine, 12.4g of MDMA, and smaller quantities of cannabis.

When Cadwell’s home was later searched, police found a locked garden shed that had been converted into a drug store.

Inside, officers seized 53.25g of cannabis, 450g of cannabis resin, 29.8g of cocaine, cutting agents and empty snap bags. They also recovered £25,307.85 in cash hidden in the shed and in Cadwell’s bedroom.

Cadwell claimed the money came from window cleaning work and gifts from his father, and insisted the drugs were for personal use.

E-bike crash

The case took another turn months later when emergency services were called to an e-bike crash at Hakin Point, Milford Haven, at around 7:00pm on Friday (Mar 1).

The bike had no lights and the passenger was not wearing a helmet. Cadwell, who was riding the bike, was knocked unconscious in the collision.

As paramedics cut away his jacket to treat him, they found 10.21g of cocaine and 60g of cannabis in his clothing, along with £588.03 in cash. Cadwell refused to provide a drugs specimen when required and again claimed the substances were for personal use.

Guilty pleas

At Swansea Crown Court in July, Cadwell pleaded guilty to two offences of possession with intent to supply cocaine, three offences of possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession with intent to supply nitrous oxide and cannabis resin, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession of criminal property, and failing to provide a specimen.

Prosecutor Georgia Donohue told the court it was agreed Cadwell had benefited by £14,719.79 from drug dealing, with £6,569 in available assets.

Judge Geraint Walters made a confiscation order for £6,569, meaning Cadwell must pay that sum back or face further consequences.