On Sunday October 19 Llangollen Inner Wheel members delighted to receive the area's MP, Becky Gittins, to talk to them about her life as a female MP.
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The three Llangollen area lads cycling to Thailand for charity may have escaped any encounter with bears on a Bulgarian mountain road but not long after they had to dodge a pack of wild dogs just over the border in Turkey.
Known collectively as The Westheads, Dyfan Hughes, 17, James Thomas, 18, and Louis Dennis, 18, had never ridden a bike further than the shop near their homes when they set out on their 18-month quest to reach Asia.
Once there they aim to meet up with their friend Harrison who moved to Thailand six months ago after his dad died from a heart attack and to raise money for heart research.
Near the Bulgarian town of Veliko Tarnovo they began to ascent of a mountain - said to be as high as those in Snowdonia - keeping a close out for the bears known to inhabit the area.
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Luckily, they evaded the hairy monsters but as they crossed over into Turkey a day or so later they had to negotiate a road being roamed by a pack of large wild dogs. Again, the lads' luck was in as they pedalled through the snarling gang.
Earlier last week they met up with a man from Wales who was cycling through the same area and he was kind enough to stand them each a full English breakfast, complete with English tea.
There was more kindness on day 78 as a local Turkish man helped them to mend yet another puncture and also invited them home for a meal.
* To follow the journey on their social media and make a donation if you wish, go to: https://linktr.ee/westheads
Becky Gittins, MP for Clwyd East (pictured), has welcomed Labour’s new Clean Energy Jobs Plan, which aims to will create around 15,000 clean energy jobs across Wales by 2030 - part of more than 400,000 new jobs across the UK.
The plan sets out how communities like those in Clwyd East can benefit from the growing clean energy sector, with new opportunities in engineering, construction, welding and electrification.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband MP said: “The clean energy economy is the route to delivering the good jobs at decent wages that our communities deserve. Labour’s pro-worker, pro-jobs, pro-union agenda is delivering thousands of opportunities right across the country, so young people don’t have to leave their hometown just to find a decent job.”
Becky Gittins commented: “People here in Clwyd East want to see real jobs and real opportunities for their families - and that’s exactly what this plan delivers.
"From wind and solar to green construction and engineering, we’re creating good work you can build a future on, without having to move away from the place you call home.
"North Wales has the skills, the ambition and the community spirit to lead the clean energy transition - and I’m proud that Labour is backing us to do just that.”
* See the Clean Energy Map at: https://clean-energy-map.energysecurity.gov.uk/
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has announced the extension of Dave Danford’s contract as Artistic Director, as the world-renowned festival marks its 79th year in 2026.
* From left: Lionel Clarke, Llyr Gruffydd, Mary Clarke, Tom Foules, Neil Craddock, Chris Clarke.
A pioneering process that turns waste products into a soil improver has been praised by Plaid Cymru’s Member of the Senedd for North Wales, Llyr Gruffydd.
He made his comments during a recent visit to BionerG in Glyndyfrdwy, which is developing world-leading carbon removal technology.
The company, led by Professor Lionel Clarke OBE, has developed cutting-edge technology to produce biochar - a charcoal-like substance created from forestry by-products such as wood offcuts, windfall and brash.
When produced at high temperatures, the resulting biochar is almost entirely pure carbon and offers huge potential both environmentally and economically.
Biochar is highly valued in the agriculture sector as a natural soil improver. It can make pasture more drought-tolerant, increase soil pH levels (reducing the need for lime), and support better soil microbiology. The process itself is regarded as carbon-negative, as it effectively locks atmospheric CO₂ - absorbed by growing trees - into the soil for generations to come.
BionerG has also secured a patent for its software platform that allows users to trade the carbon credits generated by biochar production on the global market. This innovation means the technology not only contributes to the fight against climate change but also offers a new revenue stream for producers.
Llyr Gruffydd said: “It’s inspiring to see this kind of innovation happening here in North Wales. BionerG’s technology takes what would otherwise be waste from the forestry industry and turns it into something that benefits both the environment and our agricultural sector.
“This kind of carbon-negative technology has enormous potential - it sequesters carbon for generations, improves soil health, and strengthens the environmental credentials of farms across Wales. It’s exactly the type of forward-thinking enterprise we need to see more of.”
The biochar technology developed by BionerG has several advantages:
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A free afternoon school storytelling session will be held in Llangollen Library on Wednesday October 22 as part of National Young Storytellers Week 2025.
It promises to be a lively evening's entertainment of song and dance from Llangollen Panto Group, the Operatic Society and their youth section, the Young 'Uns.
The idea of the concert came about with the sad passing in 2024 of Sarah Marshall who was the inspired and dedicated choreographer for all these organisations.
One of the concert organisers said: "Sarah worked tirelessly, weaving her magic into everything she did, the results of which were bright, inspired and managed to make the least confident look confident and polished, such was her talent.
"Two very worthwhile charities close to Sarah's heart stand to benefit from the proceeds, these being Friends of the Earth and Nightingale House Hospice, where she spent the last few weeks of her life."
On the night there will be a bar and a raffle.
* Tickets £10, available from Solitaire Jewellers in Llangollen, or online at: ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety.
* Taken backstage at the Young 'Uns production of Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2018 as Stella Bond, society president, presents the Herniman Trophy for Best Performance with Cassius Hackforth and Katy Clark.
Long-standing Llangollen Operatic Society member, Stella Bond, passed away earlier this week.
A well-known figure in Llangollen, Stella spent her childhood on a hill farm in Pontfadog before moving to Llangollen in 1967 upon her marriage to Donald Bond.
They moved into their house on Birch Hill and it was also in that year that Don persuaded Stella to join Llangollen Operatic Society, a decision which gave her much pleasure over the years.
She was an active cast member, appearing on stage in numerous shows, held the committee positions of treasurer, chairman and, latterly, since 2015 was the president.
Stella worked as a clerk in the National Provincial Bank, later known as Natwest.
She was an enthusiastic member of the Inner Wheel, taking on the role of president of its local branch for a while.
A dedicated church member at St Collen's, she maintained her support and interest after declining health prevented her from continuing in an active role.
A close friend said of her: "Stella was one of the 'old school' - diligent, hard-working, with old-fashioned values."
She leaves a son David, daughter Mair and grandson Ryan.
Her funeral will be held at St Collen's and details will be announced shortly.
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The three Llangollen area lads - known as the Westheads - whose progress llanblogger has been following as they cycle to Thailand have hit the Welsh national headlines.
As they head deeper in Eastern Europe an interview with them has appeared on the BBC's Cymru Fyw online news site.
* For the full story, go to: Llangollen boys cycling to Bangkok - BBC Cymru Fyw
Here is a translation of the article from the Welsh in which it appears:
Three boys from the North East are currently on an
unforgettable adventure, cycling from Llangollen to Thailand.
Dyfan Hughes and Louis Dennis are from Llangollen, with
James Thomas coming from the Wrexham area. The journey to southeast Asia will
take over a year, stopping in a number of countries along the way.
The tour began in Llangollen on 2 August, and the boys are
now in eastern Bulgaria, not far from the border with Turkey.
Speaking to Cymru Fyw from the city of Sliven in Bulgaria,
Dyfan explained why they are making this trip. "We have a friend called
Harrison who lives in Thailand, and he recently lost his father, and we cycled
to him. Harrison lived in Cefn near Llangollen and we became good friends with
him." All three will be raising money for the Heart Foundation by doing
this challenge.
Cycling from north Wales to the south-east of England the
three camped, making the most of the fine weather.
"We crossed into the Netherlands, and then went through
Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and now we are in
Bulgaria."
The plan is to cycle to Turkey in the next few days, and
travel along the north of the country into Georgia.
"We're going to stay in Georgia for five months, hoping
to work there. The reason we stay so long in Georgia is because it's too cold
to cycle through Kazakhstan all winter.
"The hope is to work at the ski resorts, but we'll have
to choose any job that's available to tell the truth. "We're trying to get
a visa to enter China, but if we can't, we'll have to fly down to India."
'
Everything is fine' so far. Things are going smoothly on the
journey so far, and they're starting to get used to the challenge of the roads.
"So far everything is going fine. Of course, a large
number of punctures, but we're able to patch those up very quickly now."
The boys weren't used to cycling before embarking on this
challenge, as Dyfan explained: "All three of us were quite fit, but now
we're growing!" In fact, the boys only bought their bikes at the beginning
of the summer of this year.
As well as being avid supporters of the Wrexham football
team, all three also play for Llangollen, so at least they're used to using
their legs! The boys have a huge following on social media, with 48,000
following on Instagram (west.heads) and 98,500 following them on TikTok
(@westheads).
The layout of all three is quite similar every day,
following the map from west to east.
"We start cycling around 10 every morning... We're not
very good at picking up to be honest. We had breakfast in the first shop we
saw, and had lunch around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
"We decide every morning where we want to go, with the
intention of finding somewhere to sleep for the night by 6 at night."
Are Dyfan's parents, James and Louis, worried about them
travelling so far alone?
"They used to worry a lot at first, but now they're a
lot happier," says Dyfan. He went on to say that the three are constantly
texting back home so that the family can find out how the trip is going.
The boys plan to arrive in Thailand in October 2026, with the hope that they will have raised a significant amount for a worthy cause.
The Collen Players are promising a sparkling night of laughter, melody, and good old-fashioned entertainment for their next show at St Collen's Community Hall on Friday October 31.
Topping the evening's bill, which starts at 6.30pm, will be Colin Bourdiec, the ukulele maestro who pays a jolly tribute to the great George Formby.
The Chairman of Charm delights with “I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana” and Phil “Razzle-Dazzle” Robinson tickles the crowd with “My Old Man’s a Dustman.”
Miss Sue Stokes, billed as our Silver Songbird, will enchant with “After the Ball Is Over.”
Jayne and Clayton — the Melodious Magicians of Melody and Mirth - will provide some stupendous backing throughout the night, with Jayne weaving wonder upon the keys and Clayton conjuring cadence on the drums, this dynamic duo deliver rhythm, rapture and rollicking rejoicing.
And from the parlour to the promenade, presenting those blushing belles of banter and bloomers will be Cissie and Ada presenting a riotous rendering of corsets, cackles and common-sense, recalling the glorious gossip of yesteryear.
Deborah and Jayne - the Mistresses of Melody and Mischief - have their uproarious rendition of “I Want to Sing in Opera,” these tuneful temptresses taking to the stage with trills, thrills, and theatrical tomfoolery.
The evening is all in aid of our Roof Restoration Appeal.
* For an evening of toe-tapping tunes, hearty laughs, and a night that’ll have you whistling all the way home book at:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=hammerbeams%20and%20harmonies
Following several visits across the county, Denbighshire’s Trading Standards team has successfully seized over 600 counterfeit goods from the shelves of local traders.
More than five visits that took place throughout the county and officers seized a number of items bearing the Labubu, Coca Cola and Disney trademarks amongst other well-known brands.
These counterfeit goods are often the result of social media trends that lead to the demand of the product outweighing the manufacture’s ability to supply them and are usually cheaper to buy than the genuine product.
Upon further investigation, it was clear that the seized items posed a major risk for young children as they included small detachable parts that were easily broken.
Denbighshire County Council’s trading standards team say they will continue their crackdown of counterfeit goods across the county and help educate local traders on the dangers of selling these illegal goods.
Councillor Alan James, Lead Member for Local Development and Planning said:
“Having come across a number of social media posts advertising the sale of Labubu dolls within stores across the county, our trading standards team wrote to all the traders concerned with general advice about counterfeit goods, specifically the Labubu brand.
“Due to the recent increase in demand of these Labubu dolls, our officers were concerned about possible rise in counterfeit products that were being presented as the genuine article when being sold in the county.
“The seizure of these illegal goods is a great result for the team and highlights the important work that our officers do in ensuring the safety of our residents when it comes to buying these goods that they believe to be a genuine product.
“It is important to remember that many of these products are only available on ‘official’ sites, and potential buyers should refrain from purchasing these items if they doubt that they are a genuine product."
* Businesses can get in touch with Denbighshire’s Trading Standards Team for advice on counterfeit products on Denbighshire' website.
* South Denbighshire Community Partnership celebrating at Llangollen after clinching £500,000 in Lottery Funding, From left, are Gwion Tomos Jones, SDCP, Liz Grieve, Denbighshire County Council, Julian Sampson, SDCP Chair, Sally Lloyd Davies, SDCP Project Manager, and Ken Skates, Senedd Member for Clwyd South. Picture by Mandy Jones Photography.
Social enterprise South Denbighshire Community Partnership (SDCP) will take over the town library one day a week to launch a new Development and Learning Hub in partnership with Working Denbighshire, the county council’s employment and skills arm.
The project aims to give local people easier access to job opportunities, course and support – and make sure rural communities aren’t left behind.
The plan was unveiled by SDCP Project Manager Sally Lloyd Davies at events in Llangollen and Corwen to celebrate the award of the Big Lottery Fund grant from the People and Places fund to expand its services for the next four years.
As well as managing two community centres, Canolfan Ni in Corwen and Pengwern Community Hub in Llangollen, SDCP provides a raft of services designed to “improve the health and wellbeing” of mainly older and vulnerable people in the area.
According to Sally Davies, the new funding was a “huge vote of confidence” in the work of SDCP.
She said: “It tells us that people wanted us to carry on the work we have been doing since 2010 and to continue to expand the services we offer in the Dee Valley.
“The new Development and Learning Hub will increase access to employment and training in a collaboration with Working Denbighshire to take advantage of their specialist and targeted services.
“There is a real need for this service in the Dee Valley and basing it in Llangollen will enable us to more easily link in with organisations like Coleg Cambria to provide a long-term solution to the challenge of providing upskilling and employment opportunities in the Dee Valley.
“In our work in the community we have found that the Welsh language, local heritage and culture are massively popular and we are also listening and reacting to that and seeking to expand our services.
“We have a really good working relationship with Denbighshire Council and are looking to develop services by using Llangollen library as a hub on the days when the library is closed and that alongside our base at Pengwern Community Hub gives us a strong presence in the town.
“We can back that up with our transport services to help people from Corwen and Edeyrnion travel to Llangollen.
“That is helped by the renewed funding for our transport programme and now with this grant we have the staff, the centres and the contacts to help and support the people of our communities.
“People want to work with us at SDCP because they know we can get the people in – not just Denbighshire Council but many other providers and working with them brings huge benefits to our area.”
The award has been welcomed by Clwyd South Senedd Member Ken Skates, the Welsh Government’s Minister for North Wales, Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru’s local Regional Member of the Senedd, and by Liz Grieve, Head of Housing and Community Service at Denbighshire County Council.
Ken Skates said: “SDCP has done phenomenal work in securing this significant grant by putting together such a strong and compelling bid and we are already seeing the benefits of it in this community.
“It’s a perfect example of how community funding can reach into every part of the UK and bring about beneficial change in how people interact with each other and offer them a range of services and opportunities that are life-enhancing.
“What they are doing is not just benefiting the physical health of the people of the Dee Valley but also benefits them mentally and spiritually.”
Llyr Gruffydd attended the event in Corwen and said: “It was great to join SDCP and local residents to celebrate this huge vote of confidence in the power of community enterprise.
“When the public and private sectors withdraw services it’s often the local community that steps in to fill the void. SDCP has not only done that, but it has also gone further in empowering local people and communities to do even more.
“This is the start of a new and exciting chapter for communities across south Denbighshire, and I look forward to supporting SDCP and its great work for years to come.”
Liz Grieve added: “One of the reasons SDCP is so successful is that they do what it says on the tin and it’s all about South Denbighshire, its communities and partnership working.
“SDCP are great at maximising what they can get for their communities and they work with everyone and support everyone in a way that makes this part of the county thrive.
“From our point of view it’s a great partnership and SDCP have done a great job in getting this funding and will do a great job in carrying out their work.”
Llangollen residents Beryl Pugh Jones and Anne Davies attended the Llangollen launch event and Beryl said: “SDCP provide an excellent service, especially for those of us who couldn’t get out because there was no transport.
“But now they have given us a new lease of life with their transport and shopping services and their staff are marvellous, considerate, passionate and kind.
“It’s really good they have got this new funding because there’s something for everyone, no-one is left out.”
Anne added: “SDCP have started to develop services and now with the new funding they can do even more and they’re full of ideas – their community transport is a godsend.
“It’s really exciting for Llangollen and because we’re close to Wrexham its important that we’re not forgotten by Denbighshire and SDCP gives us a voice in the county because there are huge needs here as well.”
SDCP, founded in 2010 with a remit to combat rural poverty, has helped local people claim millions in unpaid benefits, forged strong partnerships with Denbighshire County Council, the Citizens Advice service and banking services, introduced community transport schemes along the Dee Valley, run a meals on wheels service and lunch clubs and even pioneered hydro-electric power schemes.
The events in Corwen and Llangollen showcased some of the services currently being provided by SDCP and its partners including health and social care, financial advice and support, transport, including bus and electric car services and hire, and health and fitness activities, story-telling, craft work and art classes.
* For more about South Denbighshire Community Partnership and about their work in the community go to www.canolfan-ni.org or https://www.facebook.com/SouthDenbighshireCommunityPartnership or call 01490 266004.
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