Health changes are "for the worst" says Llan Protest

I fully support  Mike Edwards, Chair of Keep Llangollen Special, in saying we need Ken Skates to ensure our Cottage Hospital remains open, at least until a new facility is opened (llanblogger September 4).

I fully support  the notion that the Cottage Hospital should be kept open for beds and minor injuries, and that the proposed facility at the River Lodge be shared with the Powys Fadog community hub, which is complementary to the proposed Social Services, and that Oakleigh be refurbished for mental healthcare.

And that the Regent Street Health Centre be retained for consultations, because its location is perfect, and its other functions be shared out between the Cottage Hospital and the proposed new Health Centre.

This “Healthcare in North Wales is changing” is a change for the worse, there can’t be any doubt about that.

Once again, I call upon Ken Skates to nail his colours to the mast and support the community in the manner I’ve described here.

As Labour in Westminster is so fond of claiming that “Plan A isn’t working”, Welsh Labour’s Plan A for the NHS is a complete dud. Scrap it.

Martin Crumpton

Llangollen Protest

Families go batty at Plas Newydd

* A bat in flight.

Searching for furry hunters of the night

AROUND 40 people went batty in a famous Llangollen beauty spot on Friday evening.

But there was no need to call out the emergency services for they had gathered in the picturesque grounds of the Plas Newydd stately home to track the progress of some of its most fascinating nocturnal inhabitants – bats.

The quest to find the small furry flying mammals was arranged as part of a rolling programme of nature expeditions by the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) team in conjunction with Denbighshire County Council.

The people who turned up for the after-dark safari were mainly family groups, including lots of adventure-hungry kids.

And they weren’t disappointed because after spending about an hour in the estate’s Y Caban exhibition suite making their own paper and wood bats and colouring in pictures of the mysterious wee beasties under the direction of AONB team members Rhun Jones and Ros Stockdale – Denbighshire’s very own batman and batwoman – it was out into the grounds to seek out these enigmatic and much-maligned creatures.

Although their reputation might have suffered from their cinematic associations with vampires and other nasties of the night, bats are actually warm-blooded, family-conscious little animals –the only mammals that can fly – which spend their lives minding their own business looking for the food they love, which is insects rather than the blood of innocent human victims.

But if you’re an insect, particularly something like a midge, watch out because one hungry pipistrelle bat – one of the most common species in the UK - can eat up to 3,000 of you in a single night.

The image of bats as big as birds flapping in menacingly to syphon off your blood is also so much hokum as they are really quite tiny.

In fact, according to Rhun Jones, an old saying is that you can fit about 100 of them into a pint glass and that one is small enough to squeeze through a keyhole.

What makes them look menacingly big is their large wings.

Seeing them swoop down on their insect prey can also make people feel uneasy.

But they are not – repeat not –aiming for you!

Before the bat-hunters went out into the grounds of Plas Newydd as dusk descended – the creatures’ favourite hunting time – Rhun checked out likely areas to spot them.

Favourite location, he reckoned, was the gable end of the café where he had observed a large concentration of bat droppings near the light fitting above the emergency exit.

So that’s where the group went first, equipped with torches and bat detectors – sensitive hand-held instruments about the size of an old-fashioned mobile phone that can pick up and amplify the sounds bats make as they home in on their prey.

And here’s another fascinating fact about bats – they use their own form of radar to seek out the insects they feed on.

It’s called echolocation and means that as they fly they make shouting sounds.

The returning echoes from these shouts provide them with information about anything that is ahead of them, including the size and shape of an insect and which way it is flying.

These shouts – subtly different with each species of bat – are much too high-pitched to be heard by the human ear but they can be picked up by a bat detector set to the correct electronic frequency - in the case of the common pipistrelle between 40 and 55 kilohertz.

Our bat-hunters spent quite some time pointing their detectors at the gable end of the café but picked up only about a handful of recognition signals – represented by a rapid clickety-click sound from the device.

So Rhun suggested it might be more profitable to go down into the woodland area known as the Dell behind the main house.

He was right, because in seconds of the group arriving under a canopy of tall trees in the middle of the wooded area the detectors were going crazy, with the presence of bat after bat being recorded.

The children in the group were delighted and there were squeals of joy at each clickety-click which screamed from their detectors.

Result!

It had been a great and productive night, both for the bats who had had their fill of insects and for the bat-hunters who had so clerarly heard them doing it.

Only the midges had lost out and not a single drop of human blood had been drunk.

 

* Tell-tale bat droppings around the light

outside the café area at Plas Newydd.

* One of the highly sensitive bat detectors

is held up for inspection by Ruhn Jones.

.

 

* Intrepid bat hunters wait for signs

of the tiny flying beats outside the café.

 

 

* Night-time observers watch frenetic

bat activity in the treetops above the Dell.

Railway chairman hands out warm praise to volunteers

The chairman of Llangollen Railway has handed out a warm pat on the back to the dedicated band of volunteers who keep the organisation on the rails.

In a message to them he said: “2012 has been a very busy year especially for all those who volunteer and make it possible for the railway to run at Llangollen.

“From Thomas in February to the major nine-day SSS3 Gala in April, a railcar event in June, a special Jubilee Thomas event, followed by the 60's Weekend in July and a Classic Transport weekend in August through to this weekend's Autumn Steam Gala have all demanded very many hours of our time.

“Even as I draft this note at 10.31 on Sunday night I'm sure some volunteers will not have arrived home yet after being at the Railway today.

“It is always risky to single out people for special mention but I'm sure we all agree that those who are in each morning, many hours before most of us, to get the engines and trains ready and do not leave until some of us are already home, deserve a special thank you.

“On behalf of the board it gives me great pleasure to be able to thank you all for a job well done.

“Llangollen Railway has an excellent reputation thanks to the volunteers and staff that make sure that our visitors enjoy the experience of visiting our railway.

“You might be able to make some use of this as an acknowledgement of what it takes to make it all happen - the volunteer effort deserves wider recognition as without them the Railway wouldn't be here.”

 

Town could "lose out badly" in health shake-up

* Mike Edwards - warning.

Llangollen stands to “lose out badly” from a shake-up of regional health services. 

That is the warning from Mike Edwards, chair of the Keep Llangollen Special group, in a letter sent to Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates on Monday. 

 

Mr Edwards says in the letter: “The fear that we have is that since the proposal is to close the existing Community Hospital shortly, that in two years time or subsequently (allowing for delays) the HB (Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board) will turn round and say there is no longer a need for a new HC (health centre) and that Llangollen residents can continue travelling to Wrexham or Chirk.

 

“Also, their financial situation could deteriorate further in those two years and they would then say they have no funds to build a new HC.  

“Llangollen is in danger of losing out badly here in this exercise and we would appreciate it if you could press for assurances that this does not happen.  

“There is very strong public feeling about this since most families are touched by it and it is not only patients who are forced to travel, but also their family and friends support network.

“Surely this is contrary to WG (Welsh Government) sustainability policies, because it will increase vehicle journeys either to the new out-of-town HC or further afield to Wrexham, Merseyside or Manchester for specialist treatments? 

“There also seems no guarantee that capital receipts from the sale of the existing Community Hospital and Oakleigh will be re-invested in Llangollen or Denbighshire.

“I believe you also hold the view that these sites should be put to the best use to benefit the local community not sold to a speculative developer whose motive would be to generate commercial profit.” 

Mike Edwards

Chair

Keep Llangollen Special

 

Top dogs have their big day

llanblogger special feature

* Canine competitors line up for judging in the show ring.

TOP dogs were out in force in the grounds of Plas Newydd in Llangollen on Sunday.

The first-ever dog show to be held at the stately home was a huge hit with the scores of owners who turned up with their pride-and-joy animals, and hundreds of pounds were expected to be  raised for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the chosen charity of the day.

The area in front of the home of the famous Ladies of Llangollen was turned into a show-ring, which became the scene of  a host of hotly-contested classes.

During the morning session the pedigree dogs were in contention and in the afternoon it was the turn of the cross-breeds to take to the ring in the fun classes, which turned into a real crowd pleaser.

There were rosettes and prize cards for dogs up to fifth place in each of the 10 show classes, plus sample bags and food discount vouchers provided by show sponsors.

Major prize-winners, including Best in Show and Best Puppy, picked up specially-made wooden plaques along with their rosettes and a trophy for the best rescue dog of the day was provided by the online charity Lurcher Link.

It was Lurcher Link which gave a new lease of life to a dog who became a real celebrity with people attending the show.

* Michaela Walker with Nicky. 

Nicky, a smooth coat Saluki of about two years old, was left for dead after being run over by a car in Merseyside last February.

He was trapped under the vehicle and abandoned by his owner when it became apparent how badly injured he was.

He was eventually rescued and taken to a nearby vets where his right front leg had to be amputated.

Lurcher Link heard of his plight and agreed to foot the bill for his treatment.

The organisation also found him a loving new home with former vets nurse Michaela Walker of Rhyl who was one of the helpers at Sunday’s show.

She brought Nicky – now fully recovered - along with her and he became a real star attraction as he lay contentedly lapping up the attention in the organisers’ tent.

Michaela said: “He is the perfect pet and such a good friend.

“Despite having only three legs he can do everything a four-legged dog can do.

“In fact, he is my own paralympic star.”

One of the main organisers of the show was Karen Tyler, one of Denbighshire County Council’s heritage managers who is responsible for Plas Newydd.

Karen, who ran her own dog agaility demonstration during the show’s lunch break, said: “Over the years there have been issues with dogs up here at Plas Newydd, so we came up with the idea of staging the first show ever to be held here to get local people involved with dogs in a more positive way.

“We wanted to show that dogs are welcome here if their owners have respect for the property.

“We also wanted to have a bit of fun and raise some money for charity.”

 

* Alastair Pingram of Llangollen with his

six-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lottie

which came third in the puppy class in her first dog show entry.

 

 

 

* Mark Williams and his partner Jocelynne Cyprien of Llangollen with their dogs Toki,

a four-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Lily, a 21-month-old Beagle,

which both contested the hound class.

 

 

 

* Jayne Clays of Bwylchgwyn, with her three-year-old male Beagle

Ace, a regular dog show competitor, which was entered in the AB hound class.

 

* A show judge runs her expert eye over one of the dogs

competing in a pedigree class.

 

 

*A pedigree class contestant is walked

around the show ring by its proud owner.

 

 

* Last minute grooming for one of

the competitors.

 

 

 

* Greenfield Greyhound Rescue’s tent at the show. 

Council bags a recycling initiative

Denbighshire County Council, in partnership with Local Social Enterprise Co-Options, has re-launched its  existing clothes recycling scheme, with an introduction of a red bag for unwanted textiles.

The council says the introduction of this red bag has seen a massive increase in participation and the generosity from local residents has supported a scheme which provides employment opportunities for local people with and without disabilities.

After a successful trial in Rhyl, the scheme will now be rolled out further with the intention of delivering the red bags to all properties in the county which receive the x2 wheelie bin service.

The red bag is for any unwanted textiles (including children’s and adults’ clothes, shoes, belts, handbags, curtains and bedding, but not pillows or duvets, and will be collected on the same day as your blue bin.

The support from local residents has allowed Co-Options to extend their shop on Wellington Road, Rhyl and‘Kit Out the Kids’, now sells a full range of adult clothing too.

John Turner, of Co-Options, said: “We would like to thank everybody for your tremendous support so far.

“If you have not yet received one of our red bags, we have not missed you. It is our intention; to hand deliver a red bag to each property who receives the x2 wheelie bin service over the upcoming months.”

 

Temporary lights lead to A5 queues

* Temporary lights led to delays on the A5 on Monday. 

Temporary lights in Castle Street led to sizeable build-ups of traffic along the A5 at times on Monday.

The lights will operate until Friday to allow Wales & West Utilities to carry out gas works in Castle Street. 

Latest roadworks bulletin from Denbighshire County Council reveals there will be temporary lights in Berwyn Street from September 10-12 to allow electrical works by Enterprise to go ahead. 

 

Panorama Walk outside Llan will be temporarily closed on Sunday to allow the Etape Cymru cycling event to pass through.

 

Electrical work by ScottishPower  in Chapel Street  from September 5-7 will necessitate a road closure.