American cruise visitors take a ride on Llan steam "railroad"

llanblogger exclusive

* From left, American tourists Greg Piegari from Houston, Texas, Sandy Shafter from

Atlanta, Georgia and L.C.Partin from Richmond, Virgina with engine driver Mike Compton at the

controls of the Black 5 engine.

* American visitors in their carriage on the train wave "hi" for llanblogger.

* The Caribbean Princess docked in Liverpool.

A group of 150 American tourists stopped off at Llangollen Station today (Thursday) as one of the highlights of their round-Britain cruise.

The three coach-loads of visitors were from the luxury cruise liner Caribbean Princess, which docked in Liverpool in the morning.

They journeyed over through the North Wales countryside via Mold and Ruthin to arrive at the station mid-morning and board two waiting coaches hauled by a Black 5 steam engine for a trip along the line – in a brilliant sunshine – to Carrog.

Later, they enjoyed lunch at the Wild Pheasant in Llangollen before touring Chirk Castle during the afternoon and then heading back to re-join their ship.

One of the group, Greg Piegari of Houston, Texas, said: “I’ve never been to Wales before but I’m really enjoying the trip – especially this part at the steam railroad – as there is so much to see.”

The previous day the tour group had docked in Belfast and this evening they are due to set sail for their next port of call, Dublin.

Llangollen Railway spokesman George Jones said: "The organised coach parties for tourists to pay a day visit to North East Wales from cruise ships visiting the River Mersey shows how economic advantage can be gained from activity outside the immediate region.

“With Llangollen just over an hour away from the port of call, the passengers can enjoy the delights of North East Wales by easy travel convenience and take in a trip on a steam train as part of the visitor experience, something which is always popular.

"Special arrangements are being made to accommodate the visitors on a train during what is a Day Out With Thomas' event and they are getting an unexpected view of engine No.1 as they pass through Llangollen station."

Ship facts:

·         MS Caribbean Princess is operated by Princess Cruises and has a capacity of over 3,600 passengers.

·        She has 900 balcony staterooms and a deck of mini-suites.

·        She was the first modern cruise ship with an outdoor theatre,

Woman's body found near aqueduct

* Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

The Leader is reporting today that the body of a woman has been found at the foot of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, near Llan.
The woman, who is said not to have been formally identified, was pulled from the water in Trevor on Monday shortly after 11.30am.
The Leader story says police believe the woman may be from Shropshire and are not treating the death as suspicious.
The 120-ft aqueduct was cordoned off for more than an hour while police made investigations.
The story adds that an ambulance and one fire engine from Llangollen were called to the World Heritage Site but were not required to take action.

Campaigners seek support for "save our hospital" petition

* The future of Llan Cottage Hospital will be debated tomorrow night.

Aim is to get 1,000 names

North Wales Assembly Member Llyr Huws Gruffydd has agreed to be one of the guest speakers at the community meeting being held tomorrow (Thursday) evening on the future of Llan’s Cottage Hospital.

* Llyr Huws Gruffydd AM

The Plaid Cyrmu AM will join Conservative counterpart and Shadow Welsh Housing and Communities Minister Mark Isherwood on the platform for the meeting.

It has been organised by new local campaign group Llangollen Protest to fight the closure of the hospital proposed recently by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

A spokesman for Llangollen Protest said he had also sent out an invitation for someone from the health centre to attend but had not yet received a response.

Main aim of the group at the meeting, to be held at the Hand Hotel from 7pm, will be to gather support for a local referendum to be held on the closure issue.

Meanwhile, Llangollen Protest is asking people who oppose the hospital closure to sign an online petition at:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-llangollen-hospital-services-cadw-gwasanaethau-y.html

Petition organisers say they aim to get at least 1,000 signatures on the petition online.

They will also be distributing hard copies of signature sheets across the town tomorrow, they add.

A campaign spokesman said: “A thousand signatures should be possible.

“There is a campaign to save the bank in Corwen at the moment which has had over 1700 signatures.

“One thousand names in a community the size of Llan would be a fair representation, I think, and would show the strength of feeling.

“We have only some eight weeks left (before the consultation period ends) to gather these and hopefully more.

“This, along with the local referendum campaign, should be effective.”

The health board aims to close the local hospital and transfer some of the services it currently provides across to neighbouring Chirk.

There is also a longer-term plan to build a new health facility on land now occupied by the derelict River Lodge hotel and which is owned by the Welsh Government

County council invites views on its future blueprint

* What are you views on the future of Llan?

 Denbighshire County Council is developing a new Corporate Plan for 2012-17. This will define our priorities and the outcomes the council aims to deliver for communities such as Llan.  During the past year, the authority has undertaken a considerable amount of consultation and engagement with residents, our staff, and elected members. This helped to identify priorities for its new Corporate Plan.  The council says its engagement work has included the following: · A Residents’ Survey: 2,256 households responded to a survey which included questions about the biggest issues facing our communities.· A Public Survey: 1,228 people responded to a survey on our website and in our leisure centres, libraries, One-Stop-Shops and council reception areas.· Workshops with young people: run with the Denbighshire Youth Council and Student Councils in our High Schools. A council spokeswoman said: "We have developed our draft priorities to reflect what you have told us, and we would now like to know what you think before we finalise and publish our new Corporate Plan." This consultation has just started and is open until Tuesday 11 September, and it is also available online at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/corporateplan. The final draft of our Corporate Plan will be presented to our Elected Members on Tuesday 9 October for agreement. The spokeswoman added: "The priorities have been chosen based on what people told us were important to them in previous consultations. "We are particularly interested to know if you think anything is missing, or if there is anything specific within any of the proposed priorities that you think we should focus on. "If you’d like to comment on the priorities we have suggested for our Corporate Plan 2012-2017, you can send an e-mail to corporate.improvement@denbighshire.gov.uk, telephone 01824 706161, or write to Corporate Improvement Team, Denbighshire County Council, County Hall, Ruthin, LL15 1PH."

Your views sought on extending Blue Badge scheme

The following story may interest Blue Badge holders in Llan:

 

Transport Minister, Carl Sargeant, has launched a consultation on plans for extending Blue Badge eligibility in order to make sure that eligible badge holders continue to receive a badge following planned changes to the UK welfare system.

Tuesday 07 August 2012

The consultation, which will run for three months, is in direct response to proposed changes in the UK welfare benefits system that will see Personal Independence Payments (PIP) replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64.
Currently, eligibility for a blue badge is automatic for those that receive the ‘Highest Rate Mobility Component’, of the DLA. Proposals to link automatic eligibility for a blue badge to PIP will be outlined in the consultation.
Carl Sargeant said:

“We are concerned about the potential impact that the proposed UK Government welfare reforms may have on some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Wales.”
“ By linking PIP to blue badge eligibility we will help inform local authority decisions on blue badge applicants and help reduce the burden of assessment on vulnerable applicants.
“ In the Programme for Government we have made a commitment to reduce poverty amongst some of our poorest people and communities.
“ I want to ensure that changes being introduced at UK level to the welfare system do not have a detrimental impact on those that currently access the free blue badge in Wales.”
“ I would urge people to get involved in this consultation and share their views on these proposals.”

The potential consequences of not linking PIP to Blue Badge eligibility include:

• blue badge holders not being automatically eligible for a badge when it expires (usually three year period)
• increased requirement for scrutiny, assessment and verification by the local authority of applications for a badge
• possible increase in use of GP assessment with costs being passed on to Local Health Boards potentially over half a million pounds a year.

At the end of last year the Minister announced that the new Blue Badge - which is harder to copy, forge and alter as a result of an improved design – was free to all holders.
This followed eligibility of the Blue Badge being extended to parents of children under three years old with specific medical conditions, people with disabilities in both arms and severely injured armed forces personnel and veterans.
The Minister is determined that the successes of the Blue Badge Scheme must continue despite the UK welfare reform programme.
The consultation will run until October with changes to the welfare system being phased in from April 2013.

Town comes to standstill for Albert Hammonds' funeral

* Llan Silver Band plays in tribute to Albert Hammonds outside their hdeadquarters in Parade Street.

* The funeral cortege turns into Market Street.

                                          

* Mourners line the pavements in Castle Street.

* The funeraal procession turns out of the church car park into Regent Street.

                                                          

LLAN town centre came to a standstill this lunchtime (Tuesday) for the funeral of Silver Band stalwart Albert Hammonds who died on July 31.

St Collen’s Church was full of the scores of mourners who attended to say their final farewells to Mr Hammonds who was the band’s famous musical director.

Band members played selections during the service, which was led by the vicar, the Rev Andrew Sully.

Following the service mourners followed the hearse from the church to the band’s newly-opened headquarters in Parade Street.

The solemn parade, which was marshalled by members of the Tidy Towns Team who held by the traffic, marched to the solemn beat a muffled drum along Regent Street and into Castle Street and Market Street where many more mourners lined the pavements.

Tourists also paused in silence to watch the parade go by.

Deep Harmony

Outside their headquarters, for which Mr Hammonds had been a prime fundraiser, the band played the tune "Deep Harmony" - one of Mr Hammonds’ favourite pieces.

The muffled drum once again provided a single-beat accompaniment for the funeral procession as it continued back on to Church Street and into Abbey Road on its way to St John’s Church cemetery where interment took place.

Mr Hammonds’ coffin, which was borne into St Collen’s for the service, had his own silver instrument, a baritone horn, placed on top of family floral tributes.

Mr Hammonds had been a keen brass band player since childhood and was a member of Llangollen Silver Band for over 66 years.

In his youth he would happily play for any band in the North East Wales area that needed a baritone player, and he often boasted that in those days it was possible to play at rehearsals for a different band every day of the week with minimal travelling.

A well-known figure in Llangollen, he has more recently been able to enjoy the pleasures of walking his dogs, looking after his grandchildren, playing bowls and chatting with his many friends, but most of all he will be remembered for his dedication to the survival and prosperity of the band.

His role over the years encompassed playing the baritone horn, conducting, organising and fundraising, especially towards the costs of the building of the new band-room.

Although his health had been failing him since March this year, fellow band members were delighted that he was well enough to be with them for the grand opening of the new band hall on June 16.

Silver Band stalwart's funeral today

A large number of mourners is exp-ected to attend the funeral at 11am today of Albert Hammonds, the much loved character and mainstay of Llangollen Silver Band for many years.

It is at St Collen's Church, Llangollen and afterwards there will be a march fom the church to the bandroom in Parade St,reet where the band will play "Deep Harmony" one of Alberts favourite tunes, and then the parade will continue on to the cemetary for the interment.