Local Friends of the Earth group has cause for celebration

 

* The Friends of the Earth Stall at Erddig Apple Festival, manned by members Lesley Richards (left), Bee Kim Glick and Kay Polley (right).

 

 

 

* The Mike Jacobs award celebration with Catherine Veasey, Llangollen Friends of the Earth (left) and Bleddyn Lake, Local Group Development Officer for Friends of the Earth Cymru.

 

 

Llangollen Friends of the Earth were once again at the recent Erdigg Apple Festival.

 

They ran a ‘Bee Cause’ stall complete with a giant bee and had a double cause for celebration.

 

The national Friends of the Earth Bee Cause has won its two-year campaign for both the Welsh and UK government to sign up to new Pollinator Action plans following huge public support. 

 

But the Llangollen group were also celebrating their own personal double victory. 

 

They won the Welsh Mike Jacob Award for the best local group in April and went on to win the Earthmovers 2013 award at the National Friends of the Earth Conference in July. 

 

“To win both has been fantastic,” said member Catherine Veasey. 

 

“At the national conference we were up against groups from England and Northern Ireland too.  We feel very proud that we came ahead of large city groups like Manchester who were also nominated.” 

 

The group's success comes after a busy year involving a wide range of activities including setting up the new Llangollen Community garden project which was visited by MP Susan Elan Jones in May, collaborating with the town council on its successful Cittaslow application, taking part in the Llangollen Fringe community art project and hosting a North Wales local groups gathering in June. 

 

“We are a small group,” said co-ordinator Warren Davies, “but we play to the strengths and interests of our members; its been a busy year, but we have had a lot of fun alongside the campaign work too.” 

 

The group also has an active web and Facebook page to keep in touch.  To find out more visit www.facebook.com/llangollenfoe  or www.foe.co.uk/llangollen

Fledgling firms urged to apply for loans scheme

FLEDGLING firms and entrepreneurs in Clwyd South are being urged to take advantage of a Welsh Government initiative by Labour Assembly Member Ken Skates.

Clwyd South AM Mr Skates says start-up businesses in his constituency can benefit from the low-interest loans scheme recently announced by Economy Minister Edwina Hart.

He said: “The introduction of these loans is part of Welsh Labour’s comprehensive support package for young companies and will help fledgling firms and entrepreneurs get up and running in business.

“Encouraging people to start their own businesses is an important part of our strategy for economic growth, and Wrexham County Borough Council is one of the five providers who will approve applications.

“I would strongly encourage anyone in Clwyd South who is looking to set up their own company or is just getting started in business to make enquiries and see if they’re eligible. To find out more call the Business Wales Helpline on 03000 603000 or visit www.business.wales.gov.uk.”

The minimum loan is £1,000, with the average around £4,500. The loans are to be paid back within five years at a fixed rate of interest, currently set at 6%. 

Police phone call warning

Police are advising people to check details of phone callers before providing them with any personal information.

 

The warning comes after a number of doctors’ surgeries received a phone call from a person claiming to represent North Wales Police.

 

The caller was asking the surgeries for money to have an advert in a campaign leaflet.

 

Chief Inspector Andy Williams said: “If anyone calls stating they are an official from any company or public service, people should ensure they check they are happy who they are speaking to.”

 

People are also advised to ask for a number on which they can ring the caller back.

 

North Wales Police are not currently seeking any advertisements for any campaigns.

Wrexham-Barmouth bus service saved from the axe

A bus service which runs from Wrexham to Barmouth via Llangollen has been saved from the axe.

Arriva Buses Wales announced some time ago that it would be cutting a number of services in North Wales, including the X94.

This sparked the launch of an e-petition by regional Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Aled Roberts.

The campaign now looks to have been a success.

* Aled Roberts AM.

Wales’ Transport Minister Edwina Hart said in the Senedd yesterday: “Following Arriva Buses Wales’s announcement about proposals to cut a number of services in north and west Wales, I convened an officials group to work with the three local authorities and to report back to me with options for maintaining services.

“I am in a position to be able to give you an update on progress. The group has now reported back to me with its recommendations and has identified a mechanism for securing the provision of the services, the majority of which are currently scheduled to end in December.

“To secure these services in the short term, we are discussing with local authorities the awarding of contracts under emergency procedures to local operators while we look at the longer term solutions for a sustainable network of services.

“Funding for the X94 service between Wrexham and Barmouth, which forms part of the TrawsCymru network, will be provided by top-slicing the regional transport services grant. We are continuing our discussions with the local authorities about the funding mechanisms for the remaining services.”

Aled Roberts AM commented on the development:  “I have been fighting hard to ensure the future of the X94 bus route and this news is very much welcome.

“I want to thank the many people who signed the National Assembly’s petition to save this bus route. This shows what can be achieved when we work together across North Wales and Meirionnydd to protect vital services.

“I held discussions with coach operators regarding a replacement service and I will be holding further talks this week with regarding the sustainability of this service.

“Many people rely on the X94 to make hospital visits, do their shopping and visit friends and family. Without this bus service, many people in rural areas would be isolated.

“This is now an opportunity for local operators to take a more active role in provision of bus services going forward.”

Thomas heads back to Llan

* Owner Mike Pearce with Thomas the Tank Engine.

The Llangollen Railway based Thomas the Tank Engine is on his way back home after a triumphant tour of preserved railways in Holland and Belgium, as well as three venues in southern England.

After a successful repeat visit to the railway at Haarksbergen in eastern Holland, the famous engine No.1 was transported to the Stoom Centrum at Maldegen near Bruges. 

There appearances on Belgian regional television ensured a record crowd turned out to see Thomas perform in a set piece demonstration.

 

Mike Pearce, the owner of the Llangollen based Thomas, travelled out to Belgium to be with the famous engine and was very impressed with the reception he was awarded by the Belgian railway volunteers.

 

Mike said: "The Stoom Centrum members were so pleased to have Thomas at their railway they extended considerable hospitality to me and I was involved in the operation of the engine throughout their event. I

 

"It was interesting to see how a very British engine was accommodated within a continental railway setting and how the undoubted appeal of the Thomas stories has a international recognition from all the fans, young and old."

Later in September the engine moved on to Spontin in the province of Namur in southern Belgium where it was a guest at the Chermin de fer Bocq, a line which is being restored by volunteers as a tourist railway in the very rural setting of the Wallooon region.

 

Although the region is less populated then the Bruges area, many fans were attracted to see the famous engine in action here too.

Having returned home  to Llangollen, the challenge is now to get No.1 ready for the last appearances of the 2013 season with the Days out with Thomas events planned for the weekends of October 19/20 & 26/27.

Skates hails £11m extra for children's schemes

CLWYD South AM Ken Skates has welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement that it will pump an extra £11m into a ‘vital’ free scheme which aims give children the best start in life.

Mr Skates said the plan to expand the Flying Start programme – announced by Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, Vaughan Gething, last week – was ‘fantastic news’ for families in Wales’ most deprived areas.

 

“This is further proof of Welsh Labour’s commitment to giving children the best possible start in life and it’s fantastic news for families in our most disadvantaged communties,” said Mr Skates.

 

“I know the Flying Start programme is making a real difference in Clwyd South as it is throughout Wales, and it’s a vital initiative of which I am particularly proud. Some 23,579 children are already benefiting from the scheme and we want it to cover 36,000 children and their families by the end of the Assembly term in 2016.”

 

* Flying Start is the Welsh Government’s early years programme for families with children under four years of age in some of the most deprived areas of Wales. It includes free part-time childcare for two and three year olds, an enhanced health visiting service, access to parenting programmes and early language development.

 

The Welsh Labour Government is to invest £6m of capital funding over the next two years to develop the facilities and infrastructure needed for the expansion of the programme. There is also additional funding of £5m revenue in 2014-15 for the running costs.

Top chef launches new book at Hamper Llangollen

 

* Dai Chef will be Hamper Llangollen with his

new recipe book.

 

A TOP celebrity chef who wowed opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti with his culinary skills has cooked up a new recipe book.

 

Dai Chef will be launching the book at this year’s Hamper Llangollen food festival, which is this weekend (October 19 and 20).

 

He famously cooked for Pavarotti when he came to perform at the International Eisteddfod in 1995, exactly 40 years after he first came to Llangollen as part of his father's choir from Modena, in Italy.

 

According to Dai, who also worked at the world-famous Carlton Club in London, the 100-page volume, entitled Let the Boy Cook, is packed with “fun, food and frolics” and designed to appeal to everyone from home cooks to culinary professionals.

 

He explained that the book’s title is based on a saying by his late father who often declared, “Let the boy cook!” whenever his vegetarian mother was proving a little reluctant to let the young Dai come up with tasty meat dishes at the family home in Aberystwyth.

 

“My Dad, Danny Davies, who died 10 years ago, was always very supportive when I wanted to try out my cooking. But my mother was a vegetarian, which back then in the 1950s wasn’t very common,” said 56-year-old Dai.

 

“She was always a bit reluctant to let me try meat dishes but that’s when Dad would come out with that saying telling her to just let me get on with it.

 

“I’ve remembered it all my life and when it came to coming up with a title for the book I thought it would be just perfect.

 

“People have been asking me for years why I didn’t write a cookery book but I never got round to it because I was busy with other things.

 

“Now I’ve finally written the book and am delighted to say I’ll be launching it Hamper Llangollen, where I always love to go to do cookery demonstrations and meet old friends.”

 

This year's festival is being supported by the rural development agency, Cadwyn Clwyd.

Cadwyn Clwyd’s contribution came via the Rural Development Fund for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.

 

The event has now established itself as one of the very best in the UK.

 

Hamper Llangollen was named in the Top 10 food festivals in Britain by the national newspaper, The Independent.

 

Dai was born and raised in Aberystwyth and trained at a culinary college in Haverfordwest. He lived in Chirk for many years.

 

He gained his initial experience in the kitchens of some of the largest hotels in London’s West End and by the age of 21 he was the youngest chef saucier – in charge of the creation of delicious sauces – at the world famous Carlton Club in St James’s.

 

Later, Dai became head chef at the White Hart restaurant in Lewes, Sussex, and for a time was the personal chef of the owner of Simpson’s in The Strand, which is based in the same building as the capital’s iconic Savoy Hotel.

 

He then returned to Aberystwyth to run his own restaurant and during a 16-year period starting in the 1990s was head chef at the Bryn Howel Hotel in Llangollen, which is where in 1995 Dai had the unforgettable experience of cooking for Luciano Pavarotti when the legendary Italian tenor was staying there for his appearance at Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

 

In 1996, Dai captained the Welsh team at the Culinary Olympics when it won a bronze medal for its culinary skills, and soon afterwards he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at Glyndwr University in Wrexham.

 

While he in charge of the kitchens at the Bryn Howel, Dai lived in nearby Chirk with his family and for a number of years was with Llangollen Rugby Club in the dual role as chairman and second row player.

 

After spell as a chef trainer – many of his pupils are now working in some of the world’s fin est restaurants – Dai took another hands-on role as chef director at the Ship Inn at Red Wharf Bay on Anglesey where he is still heading the team.

 

He said: “The book I’ll be launching at Hamper Llangollen later this month is a compilation of all my favourite recipes and has a very Welsh feel to it.

 

“Amongst the 100 or so recipes in there will be one of my signature dishes, Coracle of Llangollen Lamb. I developed it while I was at the Bryn Howel in Llangollen and it won me the Dragon Dish of the Year title in 1996.

 

“It uses every bit of the lamb including the sweetbreads and kidneys.

 

“The sweetbreads are cooked in cream and on top of them you have the loin or fillet and on the very top are faggots made from the liver and kidneys.

 

“I’ve also included my recipe for Cut Caws, which is goat’s cheese lightly grilled and topped with a little fresh orange chutney all set on a toasted brioche, and there’s also one for Llandegla Trout.

 

“The book will definitely be fun, food and frolics and by that I mean it will include some samples of my own poetry.

 

“It’s not heavy academic stuff, just some verses and sonnets I’ve written for family occasions such as weddings and christenings. There’s also some about St David’s Day and my beloved rugby.

 

“Hopefully, it will appeal to everyone from home cooks to professionals and I’m delighted to be launching it at the Llangollen food festival where I’ve been coming ever since it began.

“On the front of the book is a caricature of me, so if people don’t like it they can always put it up on their dartboard!

 

“I love the Llangollen event because, unlike some food festivals, it’s not in a marquee but in a proper setting with a big stage, which gives it a real sense of theatre when you’re doing cookery demonstrations.

 

“I also look forward to Llangollen because of all the old friends I meet there.”

 

Dai will be doing two cookery demonstrations on the Saturday and when he launches his book, which is priced at £9.99, he’ll be signing the first 150 sold.

 

Once again, he’ll be assisted by his 18-year-old Daniel, who has just back from Italy where he has finished his training in the front-of-house role of maître de’.  

 

Colin Loughlin, chair of the local committee that runs the festival, HehEhsaid: "In addition ot Dai Chef, there will also be a starring role for Graham Tinsley, the star of I TV's Taste the Nation and a former captain of the Welsh Culinary Team.

 

"We have a wonderful array of fantastic food producers clustered in the area and the festival is the perfect shop window for them.

 

Hamper Llangollen 2013 is on at Llangollen International Pavilion on October 19 and 20. For more information go to: www.llangollenfoodfestival.com