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Good morning, Swansea! This is the Swansea Scoop - the local newsletter that's like realising it's Beaujolais Day and suddenly remembering you're really into French wine culture 😄

This week has everything from the big annual Swansea Christmas Parade, to the Gruffalo’s Child, and John Lydon sharing insights from his Sex Pistols glory days.

And if you’re feeling creative, you can paint tote bags, carve Christmas foxes, or join a festive paint-along. There's also The Green Fair if you want to tick off your eco-friendly gift list, a rave full of FIFA music, and tons more!

Whatever you're up to, have a good one and I'll catch you on Wednesday!

Andrew

P.S. Swansea Scoop recently passed over 50,000 readers and followers across the newsletter and social media! In just 16 months, we’ve grown into arguably the biggest independent local media brand in Swansea 🤯

Thanks to all of you for being a part of it - the OG readers, the newbies, and the many sponsors and supporters who’ve helped us keep the lights on. Oh, and a special thanks to those who’s reaction to bumping into me is “Aah… so you’re the Swansea Scoop guy!” 😄
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Tucked away in a quiet corner of the city centre is something you don’t really see anymore - real glass neon signs, made by hand.

South Wales Neon, founded by Amy Zachariah and Bill Horwood, is the only active real glass neon studio in Wales and one of less than 30 in the whole of the UK, still bending glass over a 1,000°C flame.

We were invited down to the South Wales Neon workshop to watch the process up close and chatted to Amy about how she and Bill are keeping a once-thriving profession alive.

Read the Last Glass Benders in Wales

🏗️ Swansea Council is building Mowbray Yard, a new green courtyard in the city centre named after late council officer Huw Mowbray.

🚧 Swansea Council has completed an £80,000 upgrade of the final 310m section of the Gower coast path between Rotherslade and Limeslade.

🎄 Swansea's Christmas Parade has been shortlisted for Event of the Year at the National Outdoor Events Association Awards 2025.

🥯 Koub Breakfast Bagel Launch: Koub Coffee in Morriston recently launched new breakfast bagels, like The Morning Mender with bacon, egg, and cheese.

🌌 The Observatory Winter Specials: Cosy drinks, winter shakes, cocktails, and seasonal dishes are now on the menu at the Observatory.

🍔 Kids Eat Half Price at Cattle and Co: Weekdays from 4–6 PM at The Rake & Riddle, children can now eat for half-price.

🍲 The Lighthouse Winter Menu: The Lighthouse Bar & Kitchen has launched a seasonal menu featuring sourdough toasties, hearty mains, and soups.

🍮 Pastel de Nata at Crumbs Kitchen: You can now get your hands on raspberry or traditional pastel de nata treats from Duck & Dough at Crumbs Kitchen.

This week on social, we shared a companion reel to our Wednesday’s Scoop feature about South Wales Neon - amazing to watch them in action!

Check out the reel below and give us a follow! We’re over 19,000 followers on Instagram and over 23,000 followers on Facebook!

This 4-bedrooom semi-detached house in Loughor boasts living space over three floors, a kitchen and diner with bi-folding doors, and good links to the M4. Offers over £320,000 via Peter Alan.

☕ 1807 Coffee has opened on Mumbles Road (opposite Southend Gardens) in the building previously occupied by The Kitchen Table.

👟 Swansea Quadrant has announced that its new Skechers store will be opening on Friday, December 5th.

📦 Amazon claims to have invested over £2.4 billion in Wales since 2010, creating thousands of jobs with Swansea at the heart of operations through its Distribution Centre and Ideas Centre.

🎅 The Boot Room is looking for volunteers to help with bucket collections at the Swansea Christmas Parade.

🌎 The Environment Centre is looking for a Centre Operations & Development Manager to join its team.

🧑‍🎓 Swansea Carers Centre is hosting an OpenLearn Open University drop-in on Monday November 17th from 1 PM - 3 PM.

🤰Swansea University and the Magenta Project are looking for pregnant women to take part in a research study (£25 reward!)

🍺 The Bunkhouse is looking for new bar staff to join its team.

Got something to shout-out to Swansea? Let us know here.

🎸 The Horne Section's Hit Show: Experience the mix of comedy, music, enthusiastic dancing, and mischief from this acclaimed six-piece band led by Alex Horne - at Swansea Grand Theatre.
7 PM | £30.50

🎬 The Big Film & Music Quiz Night: This pop culture quiz at Taliesin, in collaboration with Swansea University, celebrates cinema and music across the past four decades, with prizes up for grabs.
6.30 PM | Free, booking required

🏃‍♂️ Sport and Health Swansea for 50+: Enjoy a range of free sport and health programs by Swansea Council including climbing and Nordic walking.
Various dates/times throughout the week.

👴 Ageing Well Activities for 50+: Enjoy activities in Swansea, including movie and soup specials, coffee mornings, bowling, and social walks.
Various times | Free

🎤 G4 Christmas: The G4 Christmas tour hits the Brangwyn Hall, offering unique renditions of festive classics like Silent Night and All I Want for Christmas. Limited tickets.
7.30 PM | £17 - £41.50

🐭 The Gruffalo's Child: Tall Stories presents the adventurous journey of the Gruffalo's Child in an enchanting adaptation, filled with songs, laughs, and mystery for ages 3 to 103. Also Wednesday.
1.30 PM & 4.30 PM | £16

🎄 Step into Christmas: Embrace holiday magic at the Brangwyn Hall with a festive concert full of Christmas classics, dazzling performances, and a live band.
7.30 PM | £35

🎶 SAOS - Annie: Experience the timeless tale of Annie at the Taliesin Arts Centre, featuring classic songs and heartwarming story of a little orphan in 1930s New York.
Nov 19-22, 2025 | Times vary | £16 - £20

📚 The Story of the Christmas No.1 with Marc Burrows: Comedian Marc Burrows explores the uniquely British tradition of the Christmas number one, as he launches his new book at Waterstones Swansea.
6 PM | £3 - £17

🧶 Crochet Christmas Bauble Workshop: Join a 2-week crochet workshop with Mrs McGregors Hook at Founders & Co. to create your very own festive bauble.
Nov 19, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM | From £19.67

🩰 Free Dance Class: Enjoy free dance taster session with Swansea Dance at Sutton Hall in Mumbles, featuring break dancing, Body Jam, BalletFit, tapFit, and FitSteps. All ages welcome.
From 6,30 PM | Free

🎄 Swansea Victorian Christmas Fayre: Step back in time to a traditional Christmas wonderland in Swansea city centre, with gifts, street food, carol singers, and Victorian entertainment. Daily until Sunday.
10 AM - 8 PM (12 PM start Thursday)

🎡 Waterfront Winterland: Get into the festive spirit at Museum Green with ice skating, live music, fairground rides like the Big Wheel, Dodgems, Snow slide, and an array of food and drink.

👽 The Smeds and The Smoos: Join the interplanetary adventure of Smeds and Smoos in this show based on Julia Donaldson's beloved book - at Swansea Grand Theatre. Also Friday.
1.30 PM & 4.30 PM | £16

🎨 Swansea Performance Weekend: A weekend of live performances and video works at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, featuring artists exploring themes of consumption, gender, and pleasure.
Thursday - Sunday, various times | Free

🖼️ Glynn Vivian at Night: Experience Glynn Vivian Art Gallery after hours for the Linder exhibition launch, Artes Mundi 11 showcase, Deaf artist exhibition, and Wakelin Award recipient reveal.
5.30 PM - 8 PM | Free

👩‍🎨 Our Visual World: DeafNot: Explore powerful works by seven Deaf artists at this new exhibition at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, focusing on activism and personal stories using various art forms to highlight Deaf culture, identity, and challenges.
10 AM - 4 PM | Free, until March 1st, 2026.

👗 Cinema & Clothes - Seasonal Clothes Swap: Clear out your closet and swap for new sustainable fashion treasures at Cinema & Co. Bring 5 items to swap and enjoy a welcome glass of fizz!
6 PM | £5

🐝 Dementia Friendly Activity: Honeybees: Experience a session at the National Waterfront Museum introducing the bees, followed by a light craft activity. Designed for individuals living with dementia, and their carers.
1 PM | Free, booking required

🎮 FIFA Rave 25: Experience a night filled with iconic FIFA game anthems from FIFA 14 to FIFA 24, spanning indie, electronic, house, alt, and DnB genres at Sin City.
10 PM | Free

🌿 Wreath Making & Pizza Workshop: Join The Gower Dough Co for a wreath-making workshop. Ticket includes all materials, a drink, and a 12" pizza.
6.30 PM | £55

🎤 John Lydon - I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right: Join John Lydon, the iconic frontman of Sex Pistols, for a unique spoken word show touring the UK, sharing insights from his revolutionary music career.
7.30 PM | £37 - £97

🌿 The Green Fair: Find all your eco-friendly and unique Christmas gifts, from decorations to treats, with over 40 stalls offering organic, fair-trade, and locally-made products at the National Waterfront Museum.
Nov 22nd & 23rd 10 AM - 4 PM | Free

🎄 Killay Festive Market: Head to Killay Precinct for a pop-up food and craft market with live music, local food, and unique Christmas gifts.
10 AM - 3 PM

🎄 Christmas Market at The Market Hut: Join over 40 stalls at Penllergaer Sports & Social Club for a festive market selling crafts, local food, and more.
10 AM - 3 PM

🖌️ Christmas Art Day: A full day of fun and creativity hosted by InspireU Studios at Gower Heritage Centre, for budding artists aged 7+.
11 AM - 3 PM | £30

Ystradgynlais Christmas Lights Switch-On: Head to Gorsedd Park for the Christmas Lights switch-on with food vendors, a bar, entertainment, and a Santa meet-and-greet.
4.30 PM - 9 PM | Free

🎸 The Rolling Stones Story: Relive The Rolling Stones' iconic hits in a high-energy concert featuring the world's No.1 Mick Jagger lookalike, Paul Ashworth - at Swansea Grand Theatre.
7 PM | £29

🎭 Llanast!: Welsh version of 'Le Dieu du Carnage' by Yasmina Reza, adapted by Gareth Miles. Two pairs of parents, unruly sons, whiskey, tulips, and a mobile phone lead to comedic chaos, at The Welfare.
7.30 PM | From £12

🌿 Fungi Foray Garden Walk: Join the guided garden walk at Clyne Gardens led by Teifion Davies to uncover the mysteries of late Autumn fungi. Limited tickets.
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | £3

🛍️ Little Pickles Market: Browse a variety of Maternity, Baby & Children's nearly new items, including clothing, toys, books, and baby equipment, at Morriston Leisure Centre. Cash-only.
2.30 PM - 4 PM

🎄 Swansea Christmas Parade: Kick off the festive season in Swansea's City Centre with a festive parade featuring dancers, bands, choirs, floats, Santa, and more - starting at the Guildhall and heading towards the city centre.

🌸 Petallica Flower Farm Winter Market: Discover local traders offering food, clothing, and gifts at Petallica Flower Farm In Dunvant.
12 PM - 4 PM

🎵 Video Game Music Night with The Iridium Collective: Join jazz group The Iridium Collective for an evening of music from beloved video games at Elysium Gallery.
7 PM | Free

🌨️ Snowball Trail: Enjoy a festive experience finding 9 mini Dylans throwing snowballs at the Dylan Thomas Centre - find them all and earn a Christmas chocolate reward!
Wed-Sun, 10 AM - 4.30 PM, until January 4th, 2026.

Monday November 17th
The Uplands Tavern | Open Mic | 7.30 PM
Noah’s Yard | Jazz Club | 8.30 PM

Tuesday November 18th
The Bayview | Open Mic | 8 PM

Wednesday November 19th
The Observatory | Swansea Jazz Club - Hot Club Gallois | 8 PM
Sin City | The Hunna | 7 PM

Thursday November 20th
The Welfare | Willow Hill | 8 PM

Friday November 21st
Ty Tawe | Lowri Evans + Melda Lois | 7 PM
Pontardawe Arts Centre | Lindisfarne | 7.30 PM
The Bunkhouse | The Ogretones | 7 PM

Saturday November 22nd
Hangar 18 | Reckoning EP Launch Show | 7 PM

Sunday November 23rd
The Bunkhouse | We The Sun | 6 PM

Thanks for reading the Swansea Scoop. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend who would find it useful as well.

Catch you on Wednesday!

Andrew.

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