The Denbighshire Free Press is reporting that an officer was taken to hospital after a collision involving a police car in Trevor yesterday (Tuesday).
* For the full story, see: Trevor: Officer taken to hospital after crash involving police car | Denbighshire Free Press
* Narrow boat: OK if the canal doesn't freeze over.
Sion Corn has been spotted by local photographers on a number of occasions over the past couple of days trying out different ways of getting to Llangollen in time for the big Christmas Festival on Saturday November 26.
Bronwen and Mayuri have caught sight of him at the Horseshoe Falls, attempting to board a tuk tuk and a canal narrow boat.
We’re not sure which one he settled on in the end but he guarantees he’ll be there to help people enjoy all the festival fun in just over a week’s time.
The popular festival makes a welcome return the
Saturday after next after a three-year break due to the pandemic.
A spokesperson said: "We look forward to
seeing as many of you as possible to mark the start of the town’s seasonal
preparations.
"There will be a Grand Parade starting from
the Pavilion ground at 1pm and proceeding to the Town Hall for the official
opening where Sion Corn - the Welsh Father Christmas - will stay for the
afternoon to meet and greet as many of his friends as wish to do so at the
start of his busiest part of the year.
"There will be lots to do for children old
and young and a wide range of seasonal treats and activities.
"At the end of the afternoon there will be
the usual firework display at which time the town's Christmas lights will also
be switched on.
"Sion Corn will once again be dressed in
his traditional green as he makes his preparations and is already planning his
visit.
"After three years he has lots to do as he decides how to make the journey as rapidly as possible."
Latest local roadworks alert from one.network is:
|
24 November - 30 November Roadworks, Delays unlikely Traffic management: No
carriageway incursion Description:
SUPPLY TO FEED CABINET FOR CARPARK EV CHARGER - EXCAVATE MAINS BREECH
JOINTBAY AND 7M TRACK IN FOOT... Works location:
Outside Bronallt Public facing description:
one.network has automatically assigned a category of Unclassified works to
this Works based on the information available. Please note: Works
Descriptions are not published by SP Energy Networks. Responsibility for works: SP
Energy Networks Current status:
Planned work about to start Works reference: GY0022101135295 |
* Railway chairman Phil Coles, centre, with Gethin Jones and Irita Marriott after their trip to Carrog. Picture by Llangollen Railway.
Llangollen Railway will be featuring on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip this evening (Tuesday).
The heritage attraction will be spotlighted on the show which will be broadcast on BBC2 at 8pm.
The programme sees celebrities and antiques experts set off on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction.
On this episode, presenter Gethin Jones and TV doctor Xand Van Tulleken battle to hunt out the finest antique treasures as they cruise across the Welsh border in a couple of classic American motors, guided by experts Irita Marriott and Serhat Ahmet.
Xand and Serhat discover their shared love of ceramics and set out to find the perfect piece to take to auction, while Irita hopes Gethin’s command of the Welsh language will give them an advantage. And there are mind games in the battle of the porcelain pigs.
Taking a break from shopping, Gethin and Irita take a train ride on Llangollen Railway to Carrog to learn about Wales’s railway history.
Meanwhile, the other pair head to Chester to discover the impact the Romans had on Britain’s pottery production, and amateur potter Xand tries his hand at throwing a pot just like an ancient Roman.
A house building firm came to the rescue when volunteers were having trouble hoisting a Christmas tree in the town square yesterday morning (Monday).
SG Estates, which is working on the new homes development at Maes Helyg, sent out a team equipped with a heavy lifting machine when they were asked for urgent assistance with the heavy fir which is now firmly fixed in Centenary Square in time for the town’s Christmas Festival on Saturday.
John Palmer, who one of the volunteers involved, said: “The call recently went out on social media for a tree to be located in the square.
“This was spotted by Bethan Mascarenhas who runs the Old Vicarage care home. She decided to donate a tree from land near her home just outside Llangollen and it was then up to a group of us to pick it up and bring it into town.
“I joined about half a dozen others others from the Tidy Town Team and although we managed to get it into the square it was so heavy that we didn’t have a chance of lifting it into place using just muscle power.
“I knew we needed a machine to help us, so I nipped around to the SG Estates works compound and just asked if they could help.”
He added: “They didn’t hesitate and sent round some guys with a heavy lifting machine straight away.
“Back in the square they just picked up the tree and hoisted it into place. They really came to our rescue when we needed them most. There’s no way we could have done it without them.
“It’s great that the tree is now in place in time for the Christmas Festival on Saturday and the switch-on of the town’s lights just after it goes dark.
“It was a real joint effort and I’d like to thank everyone involved.”
Isuzu D-Max drive by Steve Rogers
Who cares about pick-ups apart from farmers and
traders?
Why would anyone, other than a farmer or a tradesman,
want to be transported in a truck with a noisy engine and a ride like a bucking
bronco?
Think again. The pick-up market has gone upmarket and
is no longer just for scrambling across boggy fields or hauling building
rubble. The young and the middle aged, or life stylers as the industry calls
them, are spending £40,000 even £50,000 on jazzed up 4x4s to take them on their
adventures.
The pick up is not as comfortable as an SUV but with a
double cab and hard top for the load area you want for nothing sharing all the
luxury trappings of a plush sports utility.
The market has had a bumpy ride over the last couple
of years with key players pulling out, unwilling to pay fines for failing to
meet the Government’s emissions regulations. For the four left that means a
bigger slice of the pick-up cake which is music to the ears of smaller
companies like Isuzu. Its reputation is built on rugged, go anywhere, do any
job off roaders, but it saw how the market was moving and expanded the D-Max
range to broaden its appeal.
It is still a way behind leaders Ford and Toyota on
popularity but expects to have doubled sales by 2025 to 10,000 a year. The
surge in demand is being fuelled by the top end V-Cross lifestyle model which
is the best selling D-Max.
Not that Isuzu has forgotten about its bread and
butter market. The Utility range is for farmers and tradesmen and compared with
the V-Cross has been stripped down although not to the bare bones. It is
competitively priced at £25,792 for a single cab two wheel drive with the all
wheel drive coming in at £28,192.
Since its launch in 2012 the Utility has been the
bedrock of the range and has proved its worth winning a string of 4x4 awards.
It comes with a strong CV capable of towing 3.5 tonnes
and carrying 1.120 tonnes helped along by a capable 1.9 litre turbo diesel
although it is down on power compared with its main rivals. I didn’t get to tow
that sort of weight, or fill the load area, but it felt capable. The engine
note is agricultural, but that is par for the course with a four cylinder
engine in a pick-up.
Running costs are key when the vehicle becomes a
business proposition and here D-Max is strong. My eyebrows raised when I
noticed the second trip computer had recorded 40mpg for the last 2734 miles.
Granted, the miles would have been covered by motoring writers not farmers
towing horse boxes and the like but that is impressive and during my week’s
motoring D-Max never dropped below 36mpg easily beating the official figure.
Isuzu has not been tempted to go with a bigger, more
powerful engine option like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux and that is what
keeps it keenly priced, particularly if the flashy V-Cross model is on the
shopping list.
Base model or not the Utility comes with an impressive
list of standard kit that includes all round electric windows, auto dipping
headlights and automatic wipers, cruise control and a reasonable amount of
driver safety features including an emergency call button.
There is no reversing camera but cross traffic alert
warns of approaching traffic when pulling out of a parking space.
The only irritation is the radio which is old fashioned
by today’s standards and proved a real handful to fathom. It’s DAB but the
signal comes in from a roof aerial from the bygone days and is weak, often
dropping out and with a limited station reach. It redeemed itself with a CD
player, I can’t remember the last time I saw one in a car.
Even though the bread and butter end of the market is
down 40 per cent - farmers and tradesmen are hanging on to their 4x4s longer as
they battle rising costs - demand for D-Max is outstripping supply with fleet
sales up 50 per cent.
Isuzu bosses take the view that when the market
recovers there will not be so many pick ups around to share the spoils.
Unfortunately Ford, Toyota and Ssangyong will have the same thought.
Fast facts
D-Max Utility cab
£29,992
1.9 litre diesel 6sp manual; 162bhp
0-62mph 12.7secs; 112mph
33.6mpg combined
Emissions: 220g/km
Towing: 3.5 tonne
Payload 1.120kg
Insurance group 50
For the 16th year Llangollen Round will be producing a Christmas quiz on behalf of Cancer Research UK.
Spokesperson Judith Smith said: "Once again it should be fun for all the family and you could even consider including it in Christmas cards to friends.
"From Saturday November 26 copies, for £1, will be obtainable from the Tourist Information Centre in Castle Street.
"Thank you for your support and good luck!"
