Winners of 2024 Cancer Research Christmas quiz announced.

Winners of the 2024 Cancer Research UK Christmas quiz have been announced.

Organiser Judy Smith said: "Thank you, all of you, for your support of this quiz, the 18^th in the series.  We are very pleased to say that a sum of £529.61 has been raised for Cancer Research UK.

"Was the quiz really easier this time? Maybe you wouldn’t agree, but for the first time, we had five totally correct answers, and quite a few high-scoring sheets after that.  So – here are the results:

In equal first place. each scoring 50 points, were Mike Hough of Cross Lanes, Wrexham,  Jane Hurle of Llangollen, Maggie Shaw of Greasby, Wirral, Ian Hindle of Newport, Gwent and Richard Shaw of Liscard, Wirral.

Judy added: "With the proverbial hat called in, first, second and third prizes went to Mike, Jane, and Maggie, with apologies to Ian and Richard. Congratulations to all of you!

"Well, we certainly had a large number of sheets returned with plenty more high-scorers. Chris Shaw of Bedfordshire just missed the top slot with 49 ½ points, and close behind, with 49 points, came the Diprose family of Dawlish, Adrian and Catherine Farrel of Llangollen, and Keith Stacey of Newport, Gwent. 

"With 48 points we had Jayne Danby of Ewloe, Keith and Pat Campbell of Northampton, Pat and Richard Reid of Norfolk, Linda Sutton of Upton and Ross Craven of Cardiff, and there were many more hard on their heels. Very well done, all of you!

"If you’re still pondering over those sheets, answers can be obtained from smithdinbren@gmail.com.  And we look forward to another quiz at the end of the year. All the best for 2025 from Judy and the Team."

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice is:

Q: Damp and mould has built up in our home over the winter. It started around the windows but now it’s spread. I’ve been chasing our letting agency, who say they’ll speak to our landlord but there’s been no action and I’m really worried about how this might affect our health. Our tenancy agreement isn’t up for six months, what can I do?

A: You’ve done the right thing by reporting the issue to your letting agency. It’s not always easy to work out the cause of damp and mould, and your landlord might suggest that something you’re doing is contributing to it. However, your landlord will be responsible for the issue if it’s being caused by structural problems or disrepair such as a leaking roof or bad insulation.

Damp is when an area of your property doesn’t dry out, often because it’s cold. Damp can lead to mould, which is a fungus that grows in areas where warm damp air condenses on cold surfaces, like window frames. On our website you can find information which will help you work out what type of damp you have, who is responsible and what you can do about it. You should also check your tenancy agreement for mentions of repairs and damp.

Your landlord is responsible for fixing a damp problem if it’s making your home unsafe to live in. For example, this could be if it’s affecting your health or the health of someone living in the property with you. Your landlord will also be responsible if the damp is related to repairs they should have carried out, for example if the roof is damaged. They would also have to cover the cost of repairs to any items damaged by the damp, including carpets and furniture.

One of the things that can contribute to damp and mould is condensation. One of the best ways to prevent condensation is to keep homes well-heated and ventilated, but high heating costs and cold weather can make this difficult for lots of us. If you’re finding it hard to insulate and heat your home, check our website to see if your eligable for support

There are steps you can take to make sure you’re not contributing to a damp problem, and making it worse. Our website has advice on what to avoid, like drying clothes on heaters, blocking air vents, or using portable gas heaters. However, showering, cooking, and laundry are the kinds of things everyone expects to be able to do in their homes. If the property can’t be heated and ventilated adequately to cope with normal day-to-day living activities, then it's the property that’s the problem, not your behaviour.

If your landlord is responsible for the damp in your home but doesn’t do anything about it, there are steps you can take, like reporting them to the local authority. And as a private renter, if you’ve got evidence from a health professional that damp is making you ill, you may be able to get free legal advice through Legal Aid.

As a last resort, you might decide you just want to leave the property but getting out of a tenancy agreement early can be difficult. There’s information on our website about how to go about this but remember this can be hard and there might be things you haven’t tried yet.

* If you’re feeling stuck, always speak to your local Citizens Advice or call our Adviceline on 0800 144 8848 for personalised support.  

Panto group have another monster hit with Beauty and the Beast

* Mrs Potts (Niki Davies-Bottomley) and the gang at the palace.

Llangollen Pantomime Group have produced another monster hit with their stylish version of the classic Beauty and the Beast.

Resident wordsmith David Lyne has once again expertly tailored the script for a talented cast of around 50 to have some glorious, fast-paced and colourful fun with the piece, which began its run at the Town Hall last night (Thursday) and continues until Sunday.

Action revolves around the Llangollen-set cafe of the dame, Mrs Rose, wonderfully brought to life by that man David Lyne again.

It's the uproarious time that he and his three daughters - Bella, Ffion and Eira, skilfully played by Heledd Edwards, Elise Davies-Bottomley and Frankie Williams - have with the Beast and his odd bunch of cronies that sets the pace.

As expected there are plenty of local references in the script, not just to people like a certain Mrs Claybrook but also to events, such as the continuing, troublesome closure of Newbridge Road.

Costumes are little short of dazzling, especially the zany teacup creation worn by Mrs Potts - a marvellous interpretation by Niki Davies-Bottomley - in the Beast's creepy palace. The Beast himself is suitably scary yet sympathetic thanks to a nuanced performance by Steve Hughes. 

Huge credit should go to whoever created some of props, like the tea trolley wheeled on by Mrs Potts which features two enormous cups holding the singing heads of her lads Jack and Crack, played by Austin Forkin and Tommy Edwards.

David Lyne's old stage partner Neil Barrett makes a welcome, larger-than-life return as the Roses' helpful yet inept family friend Bellamy Fluff who shares all their misadventures.

Sophie Siddall makes a suitably horrid "nasty" as Trystan, the leader of a gang of local yobs, who has his eye on young Bella.

Then there's a whole cavalcade of talented kids who play the parts of cafe customers, skeletons - I loved their dance in the forest - ghosts and mini bakers.

Apart from a number of fine singing voices at play, there's some powerful accompanying music, including the requisite sing-along stuff, courtesy of the band, which sees Jayne Belton on keyboards, Stuart Dillon on guitar, James Barber on bass, Barrie Roberts on drums and Lynsey Blair on flute and alto sax.  

Backing all this up is a wonderful production team, led by director Louise Lyne, producer Samantha Fletcher and musical director Helen Belton. Choreography is by Sophie Siddall and Nike Bottomley-Davies.

Hope House Children's Hospices and the Llangollen Parks community group will both benefit from the proceeds of Beauty and the Beast, which is the group's 39th show.

* Action in Mrs Rose's cafe in Llangollen.

* Mrs Rose (David Lyne) is confronted by the Beast (Steve Hughes).

* Neil Barrett as Bellamy Fluff.

Latest roadworks alerts from the county council

Latest roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council are:

40M DOWN FROM ALFRYN GEUFRON 27/01/2025 29/01/2025 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

OPP 10 Regent Street JNC QUEEN STREET AND CHURCH STREET Llangollen LL2 BROOK STREET 14/01/2025 26/01/2025 Gwaith BT/ BT Works SUNBELT RENTALS (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

PARKING BAY EAST STREET EAST STREET 28/01/2025 30/01/2025 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY Atal Parcio yn unig / Parking Suspension Only

Hall St jct with A5 Berwyn St, Llangollen HALL STREET 27/01/2025 28/03/2025 Gwaith Ar Wal Gynnal/ Retaining Wall Works OBR CONSTRUCTION

County replies to complaint over 'treacherous' park paths

A Denbighshire officer has responded to a complaint about the "treacherous" condition of the paths in Llangollen's Riverside Park in last week's freezing weather.

The official complaint was made by one of the area's county councillors, Karen Edwards.

The officer's reply, which she has shown to llanblogger, said: "Please see the extract below from our Adverse weather Plan which also relies on personnel being available and salt stock levels being sufficient as all salt stock needs to be preserved for priority gritting routes. 

"Last week we had been gritting the winter maintenance routes virtually non stop 24/7 which left us with very few operatives to undertake any other duties."

The adverse weather plan states: "As a general rule Denbighshire does not routinely treat any footways or cycle tracks during any adverse winter weather.

"It is the policy of the council to begin snow clearance on footways only once the main carriageway precautionary salting routes have been fully opened up to vehicles. 

"Even then the clearance will be limited initially to town centre footways that are likely to be hazardous, most notably in St Asaph, Denbigh, Ruthin and Llangollen. 

"Snow clearance will be limited to any footways immediately within the town centres and will be reflective of the Priority Walking Routes in the council’s highway maintenance inspection schedule."

Mixed but busy year for Tidy Town Team

* Volunteers of Llangollen Tidy Town Team enjoy their annual Christmas dinner at the Wild Pheasant Hotel and Spa. 

2024 was a year of mixed results for Llangollen Tidy Town Team, according to its co-ordinator David Davies.

In his annual report he says: "We have continued our maintenance duties in the town square throughout the year including upgrading the corner area with more locally supplied slate. 

"The area between the Tourist Information Centre and Town Hall benefitted from a major tidy-up and we participated in the erection of the Town Christmas tree.

"Having finalised the St John’s Wood project last year we were pleased to see all the fruit trees planted had successfully taken but benefited from some maintenance and care.

"We spent substantial time at another fruit tree project area, planted in partnership with Canal & Rivers Trust years ago, clearing invasive growth to allow access and tree care.

"Litter continues to be a problem in two areas, on the Panorama and along the roadside from the Old Tip into town. We collected 35 full sacks from just these two areas this year.

"We were pleased to participate yet again in another successful Town Christmas Festival offering our traffic control and light switching on skills."

Mr Davies adds: "Regretfully some of our regular tidy-up activities this year had to be cancelled due to the delays and mis-management of the Four Great Highways Project by DCC. This project has further urbanised our town with more roadside furniture in the shape of another variety of tourist information signage and the multitude of trip hazard direction plates set into the pavements. 

"In the absence of maintenance, much of the planting on the 'wharf bank' has died and the part of the project to replace the broken and untidy fencing along the wharf access slope appears abandoned.

"The Team is very grateful and wish to say a big thank you to Llangollen Town Council and all our local supporters, both business and personal, for their support and encouragement of our efforts in 2024 of over 400 hours of work during the year.

"Our supporters include: Llangollen Town Council, Keep Wales Tidy, Llantysilio Community Council, McDonalds (Chirk), Gwyn Morris (Gardening), AJP Couriers, Kenrick Motors, Garden Railway Event, Riverbanc, S&G, AF Blakemore (Spar), Horse Drawn Boats, local residents, closing funds Rotary and Gardening clubs.

* For details of the Tidy Town Team, contact David Davies, co-ordinator, at: yand.davies@gmail.com 

Nissan's cunning plan to master e-range anxiety

Nissan Qashqai e-Power drive by Steve Rogers

This is a car for the doubters and the waverers. Those who are not ready to take the plunge into electric.

Yes, another year has passed and we are getting closer to the big switch, but in the meantime Nissan has come up with a solution, and a clever one at that.

The e-Power has an electric motor to drive the front wheels but instead of plugging into a charging point you go to a petrol pump because it has an engine whose job is to keep the battery topped up so it can power the 140kW motor. You get all the performance benefits of an electric car but without the range anxiety. Didn’t I say it was clever.

This is the new Qashqai that has been getting a lot of air time with TV ads but is more of a facelift with a big tech upgrade and new front, dominated by a full width curved grille and is as spectacular as a catwalk model wearing a huge dazzling necklace.

The grille has an intricate design with dozens of three dimensional ‘comma’ inserts. That is Nissan’s description but pardon me for being pedantic and giving our Japanese friends a lesson in punctuation. They are quote marks and you are probably thinking ‘who gives a stuff’ so let’s just say it is one heck of a grille.

The comma theme (I’m over it now) is carried through to the redesigned daylight running lights and rear light elements and is very attractive.

What’s under the body remains the same but quite a lot has been going on to improve quality in the cabin with alcantara coverings along the dashboard, doors and centre storage console paired with leather trimmed seats.

As for the technology they have virtually ripped it out and started again with Google mapping featuring over the air upgrades and security that allows the car to be monitored, sending a warning if it has been tampered with or towed. Voice control is good as well, just ask Google and it will change the radio station, set a navigation destination or adjust the heating.

Should you want to adjust the heating then there are big knobs and buttons rather than dabbing endlessly at the touchscreen. Thank you Nissan.

Two standout features are the incredibly bright adaptive headlights that seem to be on full beam all the time, but aren’t, and the surround camera system. Nissan introduced this on the Note more than a decade ago but what it can do does now is staggering.

The camera has a 3D function allowing the driver to see the car from above, along with eight external view points to help avoid hitting anything.

A clever new addition shows the position of the front wheels as if looking at them from just behind, showing hidden curbs, the sort you might encounter in multi storey car parks.

Qashqai now comes with five grades starting at £30,135 topping out with the e-Power Tekna+.

This has a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre turbocharged engine to power the electric motor and has that exhilarating instant power surge. Economy is some way off the best rivals with a week’s average of 43mpg although I did manage to top 50mpg on a couple of longer trips.

Push the boat out for Tekna+ and you get a long list of goodies, including a heated windscreen, glass roof and power for just about everything. All that seemed to be missing were cool air ventilated seats, though not something you necessarily need in this weather.

The e-Power is another milestone in Qashqai’s remarkable story, a car that started a trend that has consumed the car industry for nearly two decades. But although it will still be around it is only a stopgap until the industry ends production of the internal combustion engine in favour of the all electric car.

Fast facts

e-Power Tekna+

£38,875

1.5 litre petrol; 187bhp

140kW electric motor

0-62mph 7.9secs; 105mpg

54mpg combined

117g/km. 1st tax £220

Boot: 504-1447 litres

Insurance group 29