New book recalls Llangollen's bards

* The cover of the new book.

A FORGOTTEN father of the modern eisteddfod is recalled in a new book produced by a history group in Llangollen. 

More than two centuries ago, Jonathan Hughes was a keen competitor and supporter of local eisteddfods, winning the chair at the King’s Head – now the Royal Hotel – in the town in January 1789.

He later became a prime mover behind the expansion and wider promotion of the eisteddfod concept and its evolution into the major cultural event it has now become.

Despite this major contribution he has been largely forgotten.

But now Hanes – Llangollen – History has gone some way to setting the historical record straight by including Hughes in its new book, Remembering the Bards  - Cofio’r Beirdd.  

The 96-page bilingual book by Nia Rhosier features Hughes along with two other Llangollen poets, Taliesin o Eifion and Gwilym Ceiriog, who are all included on the Bards’ Memorial in the grounds of local mansion and home of the famous Ladies of Llangollen, Plas Newydd.

Gill Thomas, secretary of Hanes – Llangollen – History, said: “Our aim is to make the story of their lives and work more accessible to local people, visitors and Welsh learners and, by providing an introduction to the bards and their poetry, we hope the reader will be encouraged to explore further this important aspect of our cultural heritage, which is sometimes forgotten.

“Interest in the project arose when one of our members mentioned that there was a mystery surrounding the grave of Jonathan Hughes, who was buried in St Collen’s church yard, Llangollen in 1805.

“Our first reaction was, ‘who was Jonathan Hughes?’

“Once we realised that, in his day, he was a famous local poet and caroller who was important in the history of the modern eisteddfod, there was no stopping us.

                                                                                                                                     * Taliesin o Eifion.

“There was quite a bit of information in Welsh  - but very little in English - including a book published in 1951, Beirdd y Gofeb, by Daniel Williams, which covered the lives and work of the three Llangollen poets referred to above. 

“Their lives spanned nearly two hundred years, from 1721 to 1919, and all three had been awarded bardic chairs.”

Research for the new book revealed  Jonathan Hughes  was one of only four poets who competed in the 1789 Llangollen eisteddfod - although the situation was not helped by deep snow and a frozen River Dee.

Afterwards, he wrote to the Gwyneddigion , a cultural society of expatriates from north Wales, based in London, asking for their support and promotion of Welsh literature.

It was after this that, under the auspices of the Gwyneddigion, the format was changed and more competitions were introduced, encouraging an increase in interest of both competitors and the public, leading to the modern eisteddfod.

The book also shows that Taliesin o Eifion won the first ‘black chair’ – after his death - at the National Eisteddfod held in Wrexham in 1876, while Gwilym Ceiriog won several chairs, including one at the National Eisteddfod, Carmarthen, 1911 and an eisteddfod in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States.

Gill Thomas added:  “We felt these poets were so important that information about them should be available to everyone, and a bilingual book would be the best way to achieve this.

 

           * Jonathan Hughes                                                                            * Below: Gwilym Ceiriog.

“The research and writing took 12 months, and we are grateful to Nia Rhosier for coming to our rescue when it looked as if the project was going to flounder when our first author was unable to start the work. 

“Sadly, we have still not found Jonathan Hughes’s grave or gravestone, which it seems was removed when the church was altered in the 19^th century, but it is on our list of projects and perhaps we will be successful one day. “

As the book, which features colour and black and white illustrations, is a not for profit publication, it has been priced at £4.95 to cover costs and is available in Courtyard Books, Llangollen Museum, Plas Newydd, Llangollen Motor Museum, Passers Buy Antiques, Siop y Siswrn (Wrexham and Mold) or by post price £5.95. For more information visit: www.hanes.llangollen.co.uk

Advice service helps 2,500 gain extra benefits

Latest figures show that Denbighshire County Council-funded Welfare Rights Advice Services have helped 2,500 local people gain an extra £4.7 million in social security benefits and tax credits during the six months to October 2012.

This brings the running total to the major milestone of £101 million over the past 16 ½ years since the start of Denbighshire County Council.

A council spokesperson said: “This extra money is really good news for local people, the local economy and the council services when we are all living with the effects of the recession and welfare reform.

"Securing this extra income helps people who work on low incomes, reduces hardship for those that can’t and helps with essential outgoings like Council Tax, rent and mortgage payments.

"More claims for benefits like Pension Guarantee Credit and Disability Benefits can result in a larger grant to the Council from the Welsh Government. 

"These extra millions if spent locally on goods and services will have generated and sustained many jobs. Evaluation questionnaires returned from people who used the service showed how it has improved their independence, health and reduced their need to see a doctor.

“These results reflect the dedicated work of Advisers in independent and quality marked services: Denbighshire’s Citizens Advice Bureau, Rhyl Benefits Advice Shop and the Council’s Welfare Rights Team."

Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and Inland Revenue figures show that an estimated £26m in benefit and tax credits are unclaimed and £3m underpaid each year in Denbighshire alone. 

Help to claim this extra income will lessen the effect of the UK Government’s Welfare Reforms which will result in an estimated loss of £14m per year in Denbighshire.

Denbighshire residents who want independent advice or help with benefit and tax credit claims, disputes and appeals can contact the Council’s Welfare Rights Helpline on Freephone 0800 1696625 on weekdays between 10am and 4pm. 

All calls are free and confidential. More information on Council funded advice can be found under Welfare Rights on the A to Z of the DCC website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk

Human remains found by missing vet search teams

Officers from the North Wales Police Search Teams and the Regional Underwater Search Team deployed in Sealand, Flintshire in the ongoing search for missing Mold vet Catherine Gowing have discovered human remains.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI Mark Pierce said: “Following information received by members of the public, recent searches have focused on fields in Manor Road, Sealand. Yesterday search team officers discovered human remains in a shallow pool within the field known locally as the “Lum”.

“At this time those remains have yet to be formally identified as this will require medical as well as forensic examination. A post mortem is planned for later today (Thursday 1^st November).

 

"At this time we are not able to comment further however Catherine Gowing’s family have been informed of this distressing development and clearly our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time. I would ask that they be allowed privacy to come to terms with this news.”

Catherine Gowing has not been seen since approximately 8.40pm on Friday 12^th October 2012 when she was sighted on CCTV leaving Asda Supermarket in Queensferry. Since that time 46 year old Clive Sharp has been charged with her murder.

Anyone one with information about sightings or any suspicious activity in the Sealand area is asked to call North Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Japanese visitors in Llan to see Thomas

 

* Zuua Murakami and his mum from Japan meet the Fat Controller beside Thomas.

 

Whenever he turns up at Llangollen Railway to make one of his special appearances, Thomas the Tank Engine attracts fans from across a wide area.

 

But few come further than little Zuua Murakami who travelled all the way from Japan at the weekend to see his favourite steam train.

 

He and his mum, from Yokohamah, came up to Llangollen while staying with friends the Arlidge family in Coventry.

 

Mrs Murakami had previously stayed with them while attending university in Coventry.

 

Also turning out to see Thomas last Saturday and Sunday were a family with five children from Ghent in Belgium and another family from Dublin in Ireland.

Major changes to Business Rates called for

 

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates has called for major changes to the way Business Rates operate in Denbighshire.

The AM (pictured right) said he was in favour of devolving control of Business Rates to Wales so local councils could keep the proceeds of what they collect.

Mr Skates, who sits on the Assembly’s Enterprise and Business Committee, said allowing local authorities to retain some of the money they collect would give them an extra incentive to help grow the local economy.

During a debate on the issue in the Senedd, the Business Minister said she would investigate how this could be done.

Mr Skates said: “At present local councils in areas like Denbighshire collect rates, pass the money to the Government which then redistributes the money back to them as individual councils. This system is too convoluted and doesn’t create the right incentives for growth.

“A better system would be for Denbighshire Council to have greater control over the retention of business rates so they have an extra incentive to make high streets and local businesses in the area more competitive.

“By allowing councils to keep up to half of their future increases in business rates, it would help generate more innovation on our flagging high street. Currently business rates can take up to around a quarter of the cost of running a small local shop, so the ability to control rates could be a useful tool.

“It would also allow us to target rate relief more specifically to the areas that really need it and hopefully encourage people to start businesses in depressed areas of Denbighshire.

"Whilst there is no easy solution to our economic problems in Denbighshire, business owners are telling me the system needs to be made a lot simpler and much more flexible."

On Tuesday the Welsh Government announced its response to the Business Rates Review conducted by Professor Brian Morgan.

The Welsh Government agreed with the Group’s findings that the Silk Commission will need to consider issues relating to the devolution of business rates and the local retention of business rates as part of the whole funding system for Wales.

In addition, the Business Rates Review group is being asked to further examine the effectiveness of schemes introduced in Northern Ireland and Scotland to bring empty properties back into use.

A494 east of Gwyddelwern now open again

Denbighshire County Council says the A494 east of Gwyddelwern, which had been closed earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) following a road traffic collision, is now open again.

Health shake-up plans come under fire

A powerful union has questioned whether major health service changes which seriously affect Llangollen have been properly costed.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the world’s largest professional union of nurses, representing over 400,000 nurses, midwives, health visitors and nursing students, including over 24,000 members in Wales.

It has just made its official response to the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board’s reconfiguration plan, "Healthcare in North Wales is Changing”, which in Llangollen has sparked a major backlash to plans to close the town’s Cottage Hospital and replace it with a new £5.5 million health centre, possibly on the site of the derelict River Lodge just down the road.

A copy of the response document has been sent to llanblogger by Keep Llangollen Health Services, the campaign group set up recently to ensure that services currently provided by the hospital continue to be available locally in the gap between it closing and the new facility being built, which it fears could run to a number of years.

In its response to the BCUHB proposals concerning Llangollen, the RCN says: “The general thrust of the document is in keeping with government policy to increase the volume of care delivered in the community by providing care at or closer to home and the plan indicates that the Health Board ‘will carry on looking at other services that can move from hospitals into local communities. We will need to release money from hospitals and other buildings to do this. We will monitor and discuss our progress with the Community Health Council.’

“There is however no indication that there has been a robust assessment of the financial impact of the overall proposed changes of shifting care into the community.

“The Health Board is operating under financial constraints and the proposed changes have cost implications.

“A number of the proposals in the Health Board pan are dependent on successful bids to the Welsh Government e.g. Llangollen Community Hospital (£5.5m), new NHS community hospital through redevelopment of the current Royal Alexandra Hospital site (£21m) Llandudno Hospital (£40m) and Flint primary care resource centre (£4m).

“In addition to the capital build costs the creation of new primary care resource centres and the development of enhanced care at home services will require education and training of staff for new roles in these new services and centres and this will require financial and human resources.”

The RC asks: “Have the proposed changes been costed?”

And it queries: “Is there evidence that the proposed community model is more cost effective (as well as clinically effective) than the current model?”

In a separate report, the Community Hospitals Association (CHA) has also criticised BCUHB's decision to close Llangollen Hospital.

The CHA claims that if implemented the changes set out by the health board “will have a devastating effect on healthcare services in North Wales”.

It adds: "The proposals reduce access to local health care services and reduce community capacity. The implications of this will be an increased reliance on specialist acute services, which is contrary to the policy of providing care close to where people live.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, of Keep Llangollen Health Services, said: “The health board have argued all along that these changes are clinically led and supported by health practitioners.

"It is clear that that is not the case, and highly respected health organisations are severely critical of these proposed changes.

"The health board have also argued that these changes are needed in order to save money, but again it is clear that these changes will not save any money, and serious questions are being asked about the robustness of their financial plans.

“We want to see our health services improved, but the health board provided us with two options only: maintain the status quo or adopt the health board’s downgrading proposals.

"The Community Hospital Association sets out clearly that there is an alternative, and that is to invest in community health services and work with local communities.

“While the official consultation period is now over, the battle to save our health services is far from over. We are encouraging people to contact the Community Health Council reiterating their opposition to these proposed changes.

* The RCN's response also deals with the controversial subject of how neonatal care will be provided in North Wales in the future.

And it says: “It is extremely disappointing that rather than addressing the development needs of the service in North Wales Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has chosen to ignore the clear clinical preference and put forward a proposal to simply outsource all longer term neonatal intensive care to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral.

“The Royal College of Nursing is firmly opposed to this proposal which we do not believe is the option that will provide the best care.”

The RCN also criticises the system used by the health board to brief the public on the proposed changes at a series of local public meetings.

These meetings, says the union, were “fraught with unnecessary difficulty which has undoubtedly caused public and professional anxieties to increase.”

It adds: “Our members have informed us that the audience in each meeting was restricted to 30 people resulting in many people being refused entry.

“The number and frequency of meetings was not sufficient to balance this policy of small group meetings.”

· The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board does not reply to communications from llanblogger, so we are unable to gain a response to this story for readers.