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Every Week, we bring you the best of what's happening across Wales. Quick to read. No fluff, no filler.

This week's newsletter includes your Editor's Pick, Events, Sport, and Hidden Gems, plus something worth reading from the site.

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VE DAY ANNIVERSARY

This Friday marks 81 years since VE Day. There won't be a balcony moment at Buckingham Palace this year, no military procession down The Mall, no flypast of Lancasters over the city. Last year was the big one — the 80th, the round number, the last great gathering of veterans who could still tell us what that day in 1945 actually felt like. This year is quieter. And in some ways, more honest for it.

If you find yourself in Cardiff this weekend, walk through Alexandra Gardens in Cathays Park. The Welsh National War Memorial sits there — a circular colonnade in white Portland stone, three bronze figures at its centre, unveiled in 1928 and dedicated to the Welshmen and Welshwomen who never came home. The Second World War names were added later. It's one of the most beautiful and least-visited monuments in the city. Most people walk past it on the way to the museum without stopping. This week, it's worth stopping.

Wales gave a lot to that war. The docks at Cardiff and Swansea were among the most heavily bombed civilian targets in Britain. Pembroke Dock burned for three weeks in 1940 after a single Luftwaffe raid hit its oil tanks. RAF St Athan trained tens of thousands of aircrew. The Royal Welch Fusiliers, the Welsh Guards, the South Wales Borderers fought from Dunkirk to Burma. And when the news came through on the morning of 8 May 1945, the celebrations in Cardiff, Wrexham, Swansea and the Valleys were as loud as anywhere in these islands.

Eighty-one years on, the veterans are almost all gone. The work shifts to us — to remember, to take our kids past the memorials and tell them what happened. A small thing. But it matters.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH TURNS 100

There's another anniversary this week worth pausing on. Tomorrow, Friday 8 May, Sir David Attenborough turns 100.

A hundred years. Think about that for a second. He was nineteen when VE Day was declared. He's narrated almost every wild place on this planet, taught us to love species we'll never see in the flesh, and somehow — at 99 — he's still working, still warning, still wonder-struck. The man is a national treasure in the most literal sense.

So here's a small idea for your weekend: channel a bit of inner Attenborough and explore somewhere wild in Wales. Not the famous places. The quiet ones. Find a bluebell wood and watch what comes to visit. Find a rockpool at low tide on the Gower and see how much life is in a single square foot of it. Sit still by the Taff and count the birds. Walk into Cwm Idwal in Eryri and let the silence do its thing.

Wales is, by any reasonable measure, one of the most biologically rich corners of the UK. Red kites recovering in mid-Wales after near-extinction, dolphins in Cardigan Bay, peregrines on the cliffs at South Stack, the last wild ponies on the Carneddau. We're spoiled. We just don't always notice.

A hundred years of David Attenborough has, more than anything, taught us to notice. So this weekend — notice something.

As always, this newsletter exists because of you and people who love this country as much as I do. Thank you for being part of the All in Wales community.

If you know of a local event coming up or a Welsh business that we should showcase, we'd love to hear from you.

ALL IN WALES YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Epic Road Trip Across Wales South to North: Click Here

Pen y Fan Guide: Click Here

Best Family Friendly Things to do in Wales this Summer Click Here

🔵 Cardiff Rugby Friday 8th May | 19:45 | Glasgow Warriors vs Cardiff Rugby (A) | Scotstoun Stadium | URC Round 17

Saturday 9th May | 17:30 | ⚫️ Ospreys vs 🔴 Scarlets (H) | Dunraven Brewery Field, Bridgend | URC Round 17 — West Wales Derby

🟠 Dragons RFC Saturday 9th May | 19:45 | Dragons RFC vs Edinburgh (H) | Rodney Parade | URC Round 17

We're on a mission to shine a spotlight on everything happening across Wales. From community events and festivals to the incredible local businesses that make this country what it is.

If you know of a local event coming up or a Welsh business that deserves more recognition, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch and we'll do our best to feature them in an upcoming edition.

Let's champion Wales together.

Till next time,

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