Tidy Town Team has another busy year

* Members of the Tidy Town Team at work near the museum.

A band of dedicated volunteers from Llangollen  Tidy  Town  Team put in a total of 690 hours of unpaid work last year, ranging from litter picking to painting.

The facts about the team’s activities during a busy 2014 are revealed in the latest annual report of the organisation, which was formed in 2006 and currently has a membership of 20 plus a couple of would-be volunteers on a waiting list.

Co-ordinator David Davies says in the report: “Litter clearing activities continue with Dinas Bran Castle Hill, the roadside along by the `Hawthorn’ sculpture, along the Panorama, the sports fields, the wharf area and canalside being annual work locations.

 

“New tasks this year included repairing some and re-varnishing six benches in the grounds of Plas Newydd and cleaning and painting the entrance route to the rear of the Catholic Church.  

“We also applied our `gardening’ skills to the much-overgrown area in the town centre between the Tourist Information Centre and Town Hall and continued vegetation thinning in Riverside Gardens, our sixth year of so doing.  Here we also repaired a picnic table and supplied and installed another new table.

“In Riverside Park we painted railings and carried out some renovation and cleaning of the mini-golf area before releasing our energy on some more Himalayan Balsam.

“We continue to assist at the Rotary Fete and at Christmas erect the town Christmas tree and have a considerable presence on the town Christmas festival day.

“Our efforts have been acknowledged by a Llangollen Civic Society Award this year for `considerable contribution to the appearance of the Town.’

Mr Davies adds: “A big thank you to all our supporters during the year including Llangollen Town Council, Denbighshire County Council, Keep Wales Tidy, Vale of Llangollen Golf Club, Horse Drawn Boats, the Spar Supermarket (Blakemore Foundation) and Kenrick Motors.

“Finally thank you to the members of the team for their 690 hours of voluntary work during the year.”

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies said: “I’d like to pass on to the team my congratulations for a job well done. I applaud them.”

Over 4,000 sign up for garden waste service

A deluge of orders at the start of 2015 means that over 4,000 Denbighshire households have chosen to chosen to continue with garden waste collection service when charges are introduced in April, says the county council.

By Thursday 8^th January some 4,092 households had registered for collections, more than 10% of the households offered the garden waste service.

Some residents even took a break from festivities to arrange their garden waste collection with seven orders being taken on the council’s website on Christmas Day itself.

Denbighshire County Council’s Waste Officer, Alan Roberts, said: “Reaching this point so early suggests we are likely to reach the expected take-up of around 35%, which really helps us plan.

“The council reduced the price of a year’s service by £2 to £22 for those that arrange it by 31^st January to encourage early take-up so we would like to thank every resident who has opted-in, or who is thinking of opting-in, by the end of the month.”

The council is currently processing all the orders received for the garden waste service since 1^st December.

Participating households will be sent a garden waste collection calendar and a uniquely bar-coded sticker to attach to their garden waste containers. The council will start delivering these to households towards the end of January.

Around two-thirds of all orders for the garden waste service have been made using the secure payment system on the Denbighshire County Council website

Alan Roberts added: “I would recommend using the online payment facility if possible. It is available 24/7 so you can place your order whenever it suits you. The number of calls to the Council’s Customer Service team is expected to increase over the coming weeks.”

The online payment facility is available at denbighshire.gov.uk/gardenwaste or, alternatively householders can make payment by telephone on 01824 706101 (or 01824 706100 for Welsh speakers) or by calling in at any of the council’s One Stop Shops.

Re-open cottage hospital to relieve A&E pressure says campaigner

* The closed down cottage hospital.

A LLANGOLLEN campaigner has sent out a plea to health chiefs to re-open the town’s cottage hospital to help relieve growing pressure on A&E services in Wrexham.

Martin Crumpton, who led local opposition to the axing of the 137-year-old community hospital in Abbey Road almost two years ago, has written to Dr Peter Higson, Chair of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health board, calling for the facility which now lies boarded up and derelict, to be allowed to open its doors again.

 

In his letter, Mr Crumpton says: “Please announce that you’re going to reopen the cottage hospitals whose closures, albeit not the sole cause of the pressure on beds and directly on A&E, precipitated this crisis.

 

“Everyone in Wales is angry and none more so than in towns like Llangollen whose cottage hospital with its precious beds was so foolishly closed and with a demonstration of extreme incompetence in our case.

 

“Eleven ambulances queued at Wrexham Maelor A&E is not a record – I’ve previously counted 16 on my way from a routine appointment – but now this is happening consistently and regularly.

 

“Increasing throughput by discharging patients prematurely and are borderline unsafe discharges in many instances will not be tolerated any longer.”

 

Mr Crumpton adds: “We are particularly hard-hit by your board’s decision to move our GPs to a vehicle-only, out-of-town location and now our access to the Maelor admissions is almost impossible. 

“Please respond with a statement I can give to the people of Llangollen to explain why there is little or no primary health care in North East Wales and exactly how, and within what timescale, you intend to restore it.”

 

A planning application was submitted last year for the Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd housing association to build six new homes on the site of the cottage hospital plus a further six on the car park opposite. This is believed to be still pending.

Local woman obtains her doctorate

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies and his wife Laura say they are proud to announce that their youngest daughter is now known as Dr Charlotte Eve Davies, having gained a PhD in Biology.

She attended Ysgol Bryn Collen and Ysgol Dinas Bran and obtained a BSc (Hons) in Biology at Swansea University before gaining her PhD in Biological Sciences there.

She has had six papers published and has travelled extensively around the world giving speeches on her speciality.

Cllr Davies says he is especially proud that she attended the local schools in the county and that they have served her well.

An example of Dr Davies’ work can be seen at: http://theconversation.com/competitive-lobsters-are-fighting-it-out-in-uks-first-marine-park-35830

Old King Cole to reign at town's latest panto

Old King Cole is usually such a merry old soul, but he isn’t at all happy when wicked wizard Abanazar steals his magic crown. 

Not even his special pipe and bowl can cheer him up as he makes an appearance in this year's stage extravaganza by Llangollen Pantomime Group.

The show's hero Jack embarks on a mission to retrieve the King’s crown from Abanazar’s clutches and the saga takes him, Rhubarb the Fool, Candy the Dame and three witless fiddlers on a journey to the shores of Loch Ness and the great pyramids of Egypt, before they can all return to Merrivale where Jack’s true love, the beautiful Princess Rose, anxiously waits for him.

Will Jack succeed in his quest to get the crown back and thus win Rose’s hand in marriage?  Will Candy the dame ever return to make sweets for her confectionary emporium, or will she elope with Jock the Scotsman, or even the Egyptian mummy? 

 

Anything is possible in panto land.  Let’s hope it all ends well, or else doom and gloom will persist in Merrivale forever!

The show takes place at Llangollen Pavilion next week, with evening performances starting at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm) on Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 January 2015 and matinee performances starting at 2.30pm (doors open 2pm) on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 January 2015. 

 

Tickets for the panto are now on sale from Gwyn the Butchers and Jades Hairdressers or by phoning 01978 860297. 

 

AM calls for Welsh Government to focus on health service

WITH A&E waiting times for NHS treatment in England currently dominating the news, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood is calling on the Labour-led Welsh Government to start focusing on its own health service, where he says 16.2% of patients - more than double the rate in England - waited longer than four hours in A&E.

 

He said: “Only in Wales, where Labour run the NHS, have there have been cuts to health spending and the performance of Accident and Emergency departments in Wales is worse than in England.

 

“According to the latest available data, A&E performance in England, where  92.6% of patients were seen in time October to December, is the best in the UK.

 

“The data in the other nations lags behind England. In Wales the data from November shows just 83.8% of patients were seen in time. In England the data from the last week of November shows 93.5% of patients were seen in time, almost 10% higher than in Wales. Northern Ireland is performing even worse - just over 80% of patients were seen within four hours in November. In Scotland 93.5% of patients were seen in four hours during September, but comparing the September figures for England and Scotland shows England was performing slightly better.

 

“In England, the Conservative-led UK Government has protected the health budget. In Wales, it continues to suffer the consequences of Labour’s record-breaking cuts. That’s why performance is not on a par with England – and that’s why patients are forced to wait longer for treatment here.”

 

 He added: “NHS Wales is something to be valued and protected, but, despite the best efforts of frontline NHS staff in Wales, patients are waiting longer for NHS treatment than pati ents in England.

 

“Labour should stop trying to score political points and accept that long-term pressures from an ageing population can only be addressed by a long-term plan to invest in the NHS.

 

“Labour’s First Minister would be wise to focus upon his own health service. Figures showed NHS England missed its A&E waiting time target for the last three months of 2014, but A and E waiting times haven’t been met by NHS Wales in over five years, ambulance response times in Wales are at their lowest since 2011, and one in seven people in Wales are on a waiting list for trea tment.

 

“As recently as last week a dozen ambulances were seen queuing outside one Welsh hospital, while this Labour First Minister continues to dismiss Welsh Conservative calls for a cancer treatments fund.”

Sainsbury's reviews plan for Llan store

 

* The Dobson & Crowther site where the new Sainsbury's store is due to be built.

 

Sainsbury’s is reviewing its plan to open a new supermarket in Llangollen, which it says will create 130 jobs.

Despite claims from campaign group Keep Llangollen Special that it would severely impact on the viability of local businesses, the plan to build the 20,000 square foot store was approved by county planners in the autumn of 2012.

Sainsbury’s said later that the supermarket would open sometime this year.

And on the basis of the new store being built, local printworks Dobson & Crowther, whose site off the A5 it is due to occupy, recently moved to a new purpose-built factory at nearby Cilmedw as part of a linked planning scheme.

But just before Christmas a Sainsbury’s executive revealed in a letter to Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism that the local supermarket was part of a general review of new store openings it was undertaking.  

This was confirmed by a Sainsbury’s spokesman yesterday (Tuesday) who said in a statement to llanblogger:  “We are reviewing our plans across a number of supermarket sites, including Llangollen. Once we are in a position to do so, we will update people on our future plans.” 

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies, a strong supporter of the scheme, said: "There are 130 jobs at risk here and contrary to the patronising nonsense put out by opponents, well paid jobs.

"People in our community are looking forward to working in the store. Legally binding Section 106 agreements were part of the planning process and I am sure that Sainsbury's will take all factors in to account if they are reviewing this project."

Martin Crumpton of Keep Llangollen Special said: “While Keep Llangollen Special has no wish to raise false hope, this is a remarkable departure from their [Sainsbury's] recent hard-line position and is encouraging as it means the threat over local jobs – the statistics are that edge-of-town supermarkets destroy on average 176 jobs within a 15-mile radius – it would also safeguard the essence of Llangollen that attracts so many visitors, its distinctive lack of cloned retail chains bearing testimony to the value of our small traders.

“However, even if this turns out to be a false hope and Sainsbury’s go through with constructing it, KLS will continue fighting it until the economics of online shopping and boycotting forces it to close. Our immediate concern will be the remaining jobs at Dobson & Crowther. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Speaking to the Leader, Ken Skates, Assembly Member for Clwyd South, described the news as “concerning” as he was “anxious to ensure that Llangollen benefits from the promised jobs”.

But he added: “It is normal for companies to review operations in this manner and I will be seeking early assurances that work will not be delayed.”

Major operation to bring Nepalese dancers to Llan

 

* Sue McEvoy and Ben Sawin, of Llangollen International

Musical Eisteddfod, with Todd Lochhead, from Bristol,

and his wife, Lisa.

 

A major operation is underway to bring a troupe of Nepalese dancers from their home in the Himalayas to Wales for next year’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

 

The idea is the brainchild of Bristol man Todd Lochhead whose wife, Lisa, used to run a shop in the Denbighshire town and who has fond memories of its annual cultural spectacular.

 

Todd, a trained accountant originally from New Zealand, is co-ordinating the effort to fly the 34 members of the Rising Culture Group almost 5,000 miles from their base in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, less than 100 miles from Mount Everest and a dizzying 1,400 metres above sea level, to the iconic cultural festival in Denbighshire.

 

He has been a fan of the group’s traditional dance routines for almost 20 years and although he admits it will be a tall order to raise the estimated £40,000 necessary to pay for the trip next July, he hopes that with the help of his friends and contacts around the world and the group’s own determined fundraising efforts it will be possible.

 

Todd, who lives in Bristol where he works as a financial consultant, first came across the dancers when he journeyed to Nepal in 1995 to work as a teacher at the school where the group was formed.

 

He said: “When I went over to Nepal from New Zealand 19 years ago I noticed that everyone there seemed happy and I wanted to find out why.

 

“I heard about a school which had been started in Bhaktapur – it means `city of devotees’ - which is around 10 miles from the capital, Katmandu, and decided to pay a visit there.

 

“Called the Rising English School, it was founded by a man named Kapil Banebepali and his wife Chandika, who is now the principal, and offers lessons to children aged three to 13, many of whom would otherwise have ended up having to go out to work if they had not found some way to get into the school.

 

“The average wage in the area is just 300 to 400 US dollars a year and Kapil’s work with the school opened my eyes about how much can be achieved with so little.

 

“I took a job with him as a teacher and stayed for about a month doing all sorts of lessons including English. The following year I returned and spent another couple of months teaching there.

 

“It was during this time that I first saw the Rising Culture Group performing their traditional and very colourful Nepalese dance routines, the main one of which is the stunning masked dance that has its roots in Hindu culture, and thought they were just fantastic.

 

“The dance group was started by Kapil and is based at the school. He knew the children needed to learn about their own culture as well as getting an education and broke through lots of red tape to make it happen.”

 

Todd added: “As Nepal was in a state of civil war for around a decade from 1996 it wasn’t necessarily safe to go back to Bhaktapur but last October I returned there to see my friends and was invited over again to help them celebrate the school’s 25^th anniversary in February.

 

“I saw the dance group perform on the school stage and realised they are one of the strengths of Nepalese culture.

 

“I remembered the Eisteddfod from the time my wife Lisa ran a small alternative clothing and accessories shop in Llangollen in the 1990s and thought it would be marvellous if the dancers had the chance to come over to Wales and perform in 2015.

 

“I visited the Eisteddfod office in Llangollen Pavilion a few days before the 2014 festival was held and spoke to them about registering.

 

“I then had lots of Skype conversations with my friends in Nepal about them competing.

 

“They had never heard of the Eisteddfod but I told them all about it and sent them lots of pictures and they are very keen to be involved. In fact, they told me they’d love to come to Llangollen.

 

“They are now hoping to compete in three sections, Children’s Folk Dance, Traditional Dance and Cultural Showcase.

 

“We are aiming to bring over a group of 34 people, including 20 dancers aged eight to 16, plus musicians – one of whom is a drum master in his eighties – plus a small number of people to look after the children. 

 

“Raising the necessary funds to make the trip will obviously be difficult for them as I estimate the whole trip could cost at least £40,000 but I believe that if you don’t shoot for the stars you’ll never know. Their `can do’ attitude is exceptional and somehow we’ll make things happen.

 

“They’ll do their own fundraising over in Nepal and I will be asking my business contacts and friends in Bristol and around the world if they are willing to help. In my time I’ve worked in New Zealand, Australia and Amsterdam apart from in the UK.

 

“To get to the Eisteddfod the group will need a hand-up and not a handout and I’m sure we can do it because they have such an inspirational story. It’s my belief that culture isn’t local but trans-boundary.”

 

Eilir Owen Griffiths, Musical Director of the Eisteddfod, said: “This is what the Eisteddfod is all about, bringing together people from all over the world, from different cultures and backgrounds.

 

“It is a very inclusive and international event and what gives it its unique Welsh flavour is our tradition of friendly competition and it is wonderful that we will have dancers from Nepal competing alongside English clog-dancers, Scottish sword-dancers and others from Africa, Europe and China.”

Police theft warning to van owners

North Wales Police say they want to make all owners aware of recent incidents in which vans have been targeted and items stolen from inside.

In a warning issued through Neighbourhood Watch the police say: "It is believed the offenders are using an electronic device which can open the vans without causing damage. 

"We would therefore urge owners to empty your vans of all contents overnight or when leaving the van unattended for a long period of time. Vans have been targeted in Abergele all the way through to Holywell.

"If you noticed anything or anyone suspicious please contact North Wales Police by dialling 101. Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers Wales on 0800 555 111. North Wales Police would like to urge residents to always report suspicious activity to them at the earliest opportunity."

MP welcomes aqueduct report

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones has welcomed a report on the future of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct  jointly commissioned by Wrexham Council and the Canal and River Trust. 

 

The report recommends how existing land and buildings within the Trevor Basin should be developed and what facilities should be provided in order to meet the expectations of visitors.

 

The report will be discussed at a  committee of Wrexham County Borough Council tomorrow (Wednesday). 

 

The plan will be considered by the World Heritage Site board at its meeting in February, where decisions will be made on how the delivery is to be taken forward.

Ms Jones said: "It's a massive honour to have a UNESCO World Heritage Site in our locality. That makes our home area every bit as significant as the Taj Mahal and the Vatican as far as international tourism is concerned.

 

"I warmly welcome the fact that Wrexham Council and the Canal and River Trust have commissioned the recent report and that visitor numbers have increased.

 

"What's vital now is that we do everything we can to increase the length of time people stay around here. Ensuring that car parking stays free in the long term not just the short term is one important principle the Council needs to commit to.

 

"Imagine weddings and other major celebrations taking place to the backdrop of a flood-lit Aqueduct. Think of how local businesses could grow if we took on board some of the creative ideas that local people have already come up with for a Marina. Picture Cefn's newly opened historical museum as the heart of an industrial heritage centre. 

 

"Very few places in Wales and the UK have our combination of natural beauty and industrial heritage. The possibilities are endless if we are prepared to think big about how we can develop the Aqueduct area."

Campaign helps Llan business to get switched on

 

* From left, Adam Bishop from Cadwyn Clwyd, Chris Smith and Dr Les Pritchard.

 

A campaign has been launched to get businesses in North East Wales switched on to the power of social media.

 

The Digital Clwyd pilot project was aimed at helping members of business groups and community organisations compete more effectively in the digital marketplace.

 

After attending the courses, one businessman in Llangollen says his Welsh gifts website has just enjoyed its busiest ever week.

 

Chris Smith was able to access the training as a member of the Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism.

 

The courses were put on by the rural development agency, Cadwyn Clwyd, whose contribution came via the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.

 

According to Chris, whose company, Gifts from Wales Limited which encompasses Cottage Cards and Crafts, Cottage Tea Rooms and Cottage Cream and Candy, the internet was particularly useful for drumming up business outside the main tourist season.

 

He said: "Llangollen is very much a seasonal town, mainly from Easter through to September. 

 

"We’ve got our own website which is giftsfromwales.com but we wanted to promote that even more and also through the use of social media, Facebook and twitter.

 

"We're selling to a world-wide marketplace so, especially during the winter period when it’s quieter in Llangollen, we want to try to increase the traffic for sales in the gift shop and promote our products.

 

"Social media has revolutionised retail. As a result we sell all over the world as far afield as Canada, Australia, Singapore and China.

 

"In the last few weeks we’ve found that orders online have increased quite significantly and we've just had our busiest week for online sales.

 

"The courses were extremely useful in helping me to understand social media a lot better.

 

"They gave us a lot of hints regarding different sites that produce advertising material for the businesses, such as business cards, flyers, posters and also help if you want to do your own web design, how to use Facebook efficiently and productively and also a lot of other sites that I hadn’t even heard of.

 

"By being a member of the Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism it opens up these opportunities for these courses which have been brilliant for us and the others who attended."

 

Organiser Sue Haygarth, who coordinated the courses on behalf of Cadwyn Clwyd, was delighted with the excellent take up for the courses which covered things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, building websites, email marketing along with search engine optimisation and online security.

 

She said: "We had a six-week window to deliver the 19 courses and we had over 180 attendances at those courses.

 

"Cadwyn Clwyd were aware that a lot of small businesses, micro enterprises who employ nine or less, really struggle to access training sometimes, either because they’re small, so there’s only a couple of people in the company, or because of their location.

 

"We know how important social media is becoming to business and growing business, interacting with other businesses and contacting customers, so Cadwyn put forward a project in rural Denbighshire that would assist these businesses to access the training they need.

 

"The best way to deliver to these very small businesses was deemed to be through networks and groups that were already there, like business groups, chambers of trade, tourism groups along with social enterprises, community businesses and community shops.

 

"Collectively, all these businesses are really very important to the local economy, so anything we can do to help those businesses and boost them to bring in more customers and more income for them, is really important.

 

"Cadwyn Clwyd has seen the benefit already and they’re talking to the Welsh Government about the doing more in future to help these very small micro enterprises which are isolated or working together because they are so important to the local economy."

 

The tutor was IT expert Dr Les Pritchard, who runs a company called Neterix and is a lecturer at Bangor University's School of Computer Science.

 

He said: "The aim was really to deliver some really attractive courses to local communities and businesses and to really fill that gap in what we thought was missing in the area.

 

"Lots of small business were coming along and saying they’d heard of these things but they didn’t know want to do with them and in some cases they were a little bit scared of using social media.

 

"It’s vitally important these days that businesses embrace these new possibilities. The first place people look now, if they’re looking for a business, is online. It's a virtual shop window that brings people in."

 

It was a sentiment echoed by David Davies, the Chair of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism, who said: "Any business that’s going to be successful has got to market themselves in every possible way.

 

"These courses helped business people move with the times and offered them on a plate how to engage with audiences across a range of media platforms.

 

"The members who have used the course have been very enthusiastic."

Railway passes another milestone

* The diesel railcar at Corwen East, crewed by Karl Latham

and John Joyce, on arrival from Llangollen.

Llangollen Railway passed another milestone in its development when it operated the first passenger service to Corwen with a diesel railcar.

Although diesel railcars were generally introduced by British Railways during the 1950s, these modern trains were never introduced on passenger services between Ruabon and Barmouth prior to closure of the line by Dr Beeching's axe in January 1965.

But the two-day Winter Warmer event staged by the heritage railway on January 2/3 offered visitors a mix of train operations with both steam and diesel hauled trains routed along the recently-opened extension to the new station at Corwen East.

 

The first train of the day last Friday ran from Carrog and provided a 09.30 passenger service from Corwen to Llangollen.

 

It made several further runs to Corwen on both days and proved popular with visitors as it allowed the route of the new extension to be seen in detail from the windows behind the driver's cab.

 

Services with the heritage railcar continued on Sunday as the final day of the festive season of trains.

 

With the line closed for essential track maintenance in January, next public train services to Corwen will operate from Saturday, February 14, prior to an official opening ceremony on March 1 - St David's Day - when VIPs will be present to unveil the station name board.

 

George Jones for the railway said: "This was an historic occasion and provided a service which British Railways never aspired to 50 years ago."

Kayakers rescued from river

The Denbighshire Free Press is reporting this morning that two kayakers had to be rescued from the river in Llangollen yesterday afternoon (Sunday).

For the full story see: http://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/142616/kayakers-rescued-from-river-in-llangollen.aspx

Corwen greets first New Year's Day train for 50 years

 

* Engine number 5199 hauled the first New Year's Day train into Corwen for 50 years.

 

Corwen welcomed its first New Year's Day train in 50 years on Thursday.

 

Steam engine number 5199 rolled into the new Corwen East station, which is now the far end for Llangollen Railway, hauling the final Mine Pie Special of the season. 

 

Photographers gathered at the gate at Bonwm to see the train heading towards Corwen from Llangollen where there was also a throng of keen snappers.

 

George Jones, for the railway, said: "Looks like we just had enough mince pies to feed the passenger complement on a day when trains were well supplied despite the late afternoon rain.

"Pity all the snow has been washed away, but still a wintry run along the Dee Valley.

"So ends the Santa/Mince Pie season, but there are still three days of train left to enjoy with the final day of railcars today, Sunday, January 4."

 

 

* Photographers wait for the train to pass by at Bonwm.

 

 

 

* The Mince Pie Special back at Llangollen station.

 

Have a great 2015!

... to all our readers.

 

llanblogger is now taking a short break and will be back in a couple of days.

Do you recall last train through Llangollen?

Local people are being asked to help Llangollen Railway remember the 50^th anniversary of the day Dr Beeching’s axe fell on the line.

The passenger rail route through Llangollen to Barmouth was one of a number which fell victim to the infamous purge of lines in the mid-1960s.

 

It only came to life again as a heritage railway thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers who took it over in the 1970s eventually developed it into the top tourist attraction it is today.   

 

Now, as the half-century anniversary of the original line closure rapidly approaches, the railway is asking if local people have anything which helps recall the occasion.

 

Spokesman George Jones said: “In the new year, January 18 to be precise, we will mark the 50th anniversary of closure of the line between Ruabon and Barmouth  Junction in 1965.

 

“The 18th was a Monday in 1965, so the last passenger train ran from Llangollen to Ruabon prior to the official closure day, on Saturday 16th, as part of the Beeching Axe.

 

“The line between Llangollen and Bala (via Corwen) had no service from December 14 due to flooding at Llandderfel.

 

“As there is no train service planned in January 2015 beyond the 4th, Llangollen Railway will not recreate the event as such on the anniversary date.

 

“However it could be interesting if some facts can be gathered together. I am unaware of any photo of the last train leaving Llangollen but wonder if the Llangollen museum has one - it was an era of many line closure was so not unusual or unique.

 

“Perhaps some older folk in Llangollen have memories of the last train.”

If you have any pictures or memories of this landmark time, please get in touch with llanblogger and we’ll pass everything on to George Jones at the railway. 

* Looking back at its high lights of the year 2014, Llangollen Railway recalls that it was used as a location in the filming of the new movie Mr Turner featuring the life of British artist JMW Turner, starring Timothy Spall.

Part of the film was shot near Carrog Station, with the production company hiring vintage steam locomotive 'The Planet' from The Museum of Science and Industry as it looked most like the engine used in the famous Turner painting 'Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway' (pictured above).

Police boss is least expensive in Wales

 

* North Wales PCC Winston Roddick.

 

The North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner is the least expensive police boss in Wales.
 

The news was revealed as Winston Roddick CB QC, an ex-copper who rose to become Wales's first Counsel General, celebrated his second anniversary in office.
 

Mr Roddick is proud that the costs of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales - around £800,000 a year - are also the second lowest across the group of most similar forces in England and Wales.
 

After training and working as a police constable in Liverpool, Mr Roddick, who was brought up in Caernarfon, studied law at University College London from which he graduated as a Master of Laws.

 

Mr Roddick went on to carve out an illustrious career as a barrister,  taking ‘silk’ as a Queen's Counsel in 1986 and later becoming the Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit, a Recorder of the Crown Court and the first Honorary Recorder of Caernarfon.

 

In 1986, as a member of the first Welsh Language Board, he was responsible for drafting the report which led to the passing of the Welsh Language Act of that year. He was appointed as the first Counsel General of Wales in 1998, the most senior legal adviser to the Welsh Assembly.

 

Mr Roddick made history again when he was elected as North Wales’s first PCC in November 2012 as part of the UK-wide revolution in the way policing is governed, which saw the old police authorities swept away to be replaced by a single people's champion accountable directly to the public.
 

He was awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours List of 2003/04.
 

During his PCC election campaign, he promised to increase the visible presence of the police, to ensure security at home and safety on our streets, and to work with the Chief Constable and officers to ensure a police service of high standard.
 

However, he said that the biggest problem facing him had been getting people to understand his role, which is why he has spent a good deal of his time driving forward initiatives aimed at communicating directly with the public of North Wales.
 

“It’s not surprising that people did not understand as it was such a new role. That’s why I have been reaching out to them to explain by example, to let them know that I am their representative in their relationship with the police,” he said.
 

An indication of the increasing public awareness of his role, according to the Commissioner, has been the sheer volume of correspondence coming into his office in Colwyn Bay.
 

“I am receiving 18 times the amount of correspondence the former Police Authority used to receive. This is evidence that members of the public are confident in contacting me to discuss policing matters in North Wales."
 

The creation of the pioneering task force of officers dedicated to tackling crime in the countryside has also given him great satisfaction.
 

The Rural Crime Team is helping to turn North Wales into a no-go area for rural criminals and attracted the interest of a number of police forces across the UK.
 

Mr Roddick said of it: “We were the first to think of it and North Wales led by example in creating the team to fulfil an obvious need within the agricultural community.

 

“Farmers and their unions have demonstrated their appreciation of its creation and have given it their wholehearted support. It has resulted in a very substantial reduction in calls out to rural areas.”

 

An on-going initiative from the commissioner, supported by North Wales Police and North Wales Police and community Trust (PACT), is the use of cash seized from criminals to reward community groups devoted to tackling anti-social behaviour and combating crime and disorder.

 

Mr Roddick said: “There’s a total of £42,000 in the pot and two groups in each of the six counties will get £3,000 apiece and a £6,000 prize will go to the winning organisation that operates across North Wales.

 

“This is a fantastically important scheme and again communicates with the public to let people say how they want crime dealt with in their community to make it a safe place in which to live.

 

“They will come up with their own schemes to help the young, the old and the vulnerable.”

This year saw Mr Roddick launched the first ever Police and Crime Commissioner Community Awards to honour unsung heroes of the community who go the extra mile to make North Wales a safer place to live and work.

 

A host of awards were presented at a glittering presentation evening in the Kinmel Manor Hotel in October and Mr Roddick said: “I’m delighted that the awards were so well received. We had such a very healthy response from the public that I have been encouraged to repeat them next year.”

 

Looking back over his first two years in office, Mr Roddick said: “It’s been a challenging time because of the very new role which is without precedent in British policing history.

 

“I have enjoyed the past two years immensely and I think I have been measurably successful in my role.

 

“I’ve also managed to do everything without my office spending a penny more than the old police authority did in its last budget.

 

"I am particularly pleased that, according to the figures used by the HMIC for comparison purposes, the cost of my office is the lowest in Wales which shows that we have a lean but effective operation here in North Wales.

 

“The past two years have also been a challenge for my staff and I’d like to thank them for all the help they have given me.

 

“I would also like to thank my Deputy Commissioner, Julian Sandham, who is a former chief superintendent and has brought an enormous amount of police experience into my office.     

 

“My aim is for the people of North Wales to feel secure at home and safe in public places.”  

 

Stunning snow pictures from castle

Mike Edwards of Keep Llangollen Special and Cittaslow has sent us in these stunning pictures he took from Castell Dinas Bran on Sunday ...

 

 

Police helicopter searches for "missing person"

Latest ...

Police confirmed just before 2pm that the missing woman had been found.

 

... breaking news ...

The police helicopter was seen hovering above the centre of Llangollen from around 1.15pm today (Monday).

It is understood that it may be following up on a report that an elderly woman has gone missing in the area.

llanblogger will bring you more when we have it.