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Friday, January 31, 2014

Woman taken to hospital after Horseshoe Pass accident



An elderly woman was taken to hospital following an accident on the Horseshoe Pass on Friday afternoon.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 12.01pm to reports of a single-vehicle road traffic collision on the A542 Horseshoe Pass.

“We sent an emergency ambulance to the scene, and a woman in her 80s was taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital for a precautionary check up.”

Hip hop comes to Llan Eisteddfod

An international festival of music and dance is aiming for a younger audience with a new urban dance competition.
 
The urgent beat of hip hop will be mixing with the more traditional sounds of folk music and choral singing at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in July.
 
The street dancers will join competitors from all over the world to perform on the same stage as artistes as diverse as opera superstar Bryn Terfel and rock legends Status Quo.
 
The closing date for entries from urban dance groups is March 7.
 
Musical director Eilir Owen Griffiths (pictured right) said: "Last year's event was a fantastic success of which I am very proud but the last thing we can afford to do is rest on our laurels.  If we are to maintain and improve our standards we must not be complacent.
 
"It is therefore always a good to look at what we do to see if there are any ways we can do things even better next year.
 
"It is vitally important that we remain true to the core traditions of the Eisteddfod and we will always keep the faith with our cultural heritage, after all that is our raison d'etre.
 
"By the same token we must also be aware that culture is a living, vibrant, evolving phenomenon and we must also attract and remain relevant to new audiences as well as continuing to provide a platform for more traditional music and dance.
 
"In recent years, the choral competitions have been enriched by the inclusion of barbershop and show choirs. It has been an extremely popular development.
 
"We are now introducing a similar experiment in the dance competitions at this year's Eisteddfod.
 
"At the suggestion of our dance judges, we will have a Hip Hop dance competition so that the contemporary urban dance tradition can be represented too.
 
"It is a highly popular and culturally important part of the dance scene so we think it makes sense to introduce a Hip Hop competition to assess how successful it is and whether is should be included in future festivals.
 
"We will of course be rigorous in ensuring that the Eisteddfod's high standards are maintained at all  times so there will be preliminary rounds to decide who is worthy of competing on the main stage.
 
"I think this is a really exciting development in the Eisteddfod's history and will help us reach out to a new audience while at the same time respecting our rich heritage."
 
we have been able to arrange, what will be the opening event of the 2014 festival.”
 
The curtain raiser for this year's Eisteddfod will mark the return of opera superstar Bryn Terfel to Llangollen.
 
The acclaimed bass baritone will be playing the lead in a special English-language production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street featuring an all-Welsh cast.
 
This year's will also feature concerts by Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo as well as a world premiere of a new work, Adiemus Colores, by top composer Karl Jenkins.
 
He will conduct his Latin American themed work with American tenor Noah Stewart, Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores and Latvian accordion player Ksenija Sidorova to the accompaniment of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Orchestra.
 
The Friday night concert, Spirit of Unity, will feature the Cape Town Opera, Africa’s premiere opera company, famed for their "vibrant vocalism and high-octane stage performances".
 
Appearing with them will be Wales’ representative in Cardiff Singer of the World, Gary Griffiths, the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kidz Aloud Chorus under the baton of celebrity conductor Tim Rhys Evans and British Sinfonietta, one of the UK's leading independent professional orchestras.
 
The Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy on the Saturday night is the blue riband event of the week-long festival which will close with a Sunday night concert by Status Quo. To book tickets and for more details about the urban dance competition go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Time to bin it to win it

Kingdom Security, working in conjunction with Denbighshire County Council, is offering people the chance for people to be entered into a regular prize draw to win a £50 high street voucher for anyone who is seen disposing of their litter responsibly or picking up after their dog.

If an environmental enforcement officer sees someone disposing of litter in a bin or picking up after their dog, they will be commended personally for their action and also given a postcard and asked to complete their details and send it in to the Council to be included in the monthly prize draw. The prize is funded by Kingdom and the Council is co-ordinating the draw and providing the administration and postcards.

Denbighshire contracted Kingdom to carry out environmental enforcement patrols across the county in October 2012 and since then, officers have issued 4,466 fixed penalty notices and their work has attracted widespread praise for cleaning up Denbighshire's streets, which is one of Denbighshire's Corporate Priorities.

Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, Councillor David Smith, said: "Issues of dog fouling and littering have repeatedly come out in our resident's survey as one of the main things that bothers people greatly and this is why we made 'clean and tidy streets' as one of our Corporate Priorities.

We contracted Kingdom Security to carry out environmental enforcement and have been running a widespread campaign since last February to educate people and change behaviour.

"We know the vast majority of people do dispose of litter properly and pick up after their dogs and we are seeing improvements across the county but we feel it is important that we also acknowledge those who do the right thing and ensure they are also recognised for their public spirit."
Steven Gillespie,  of the  Environmental Protection Division for Kingdom Security, said: “The Bin it to Win it scheme has been hugely successful in four other counties, so we thought we’d launch it here in Denbighshire. It allows Kingdom, in partnership with Denbighshire County Council, to demonstrate our commitment to acknowledging and rewarding members of the community who display environmental awareness.”

Operatic's Young 'Uns to stage Oliver! at Town Hall

For its 25th annual show Llangollen Operatic Society’s junior stage group, Young ‘Uns, will be presenting the musical Oliver! at the Town Hall from Thursday-Saturday, February 6-8.

More than 40 young performers, aged five to 18, are involved in the production, which features a host of evergreen songs such as Food Glorious Food, Where is Love? Who Will Buy?, Consider Yourself and Reviewing the Situation.

Based on the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist, the show, with words and lyrics by Lionel Bart, is a tale of Victorian orphans, workhouses, crime and tragedy.

Some of the key players are Joanna Stallard, as Nancy, Beth Evans as Bet, Wilf Wort as the villainous Bill Sykes, Rhys Penge as Oliver, Charlie Hackforth as The Artful Dodger, Connor Phillips as Mr Bumble; Holly Broadbent as Widow Corney, Megan Howlett as Mrs Sowerberry and Will Edwards as Mr Sowerberry.

Guest starring from the adult operatic group is Christopher Sims as the scheming and charismatic Fagin.

The Young ‘Uns are delighted to welcome their new artistic director, Christine Dukes. Christine, who was artistic director of the Youth Theatre at the Stiwt in Rhos for 14 years, brings a wealth of skills and experience to her new role.

Musical director is Elen Mair Roberts and there is full orchestral support. Production co-ordinator is Deirdre Smith.

Shows are at 7.30pm on Thursday 6,  Friday 7 and Saturday 8, February, with a matinee on the Saturday at 2.30pm. 

Tickets are available from Llangollen Tourist Information Centre (01978  860828), Jades Hair and Beauty, Gwyn Davies, Butcher, or Stella Bond (01978  860441). Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for concessions.

County agrees new budget

Denbighshire's Full Council has approved the budget proposals which have identified savings of £8.5m.

The Draft Local Government Settlement indicates the Council needed to find in the region of £8.5m in savings for 2014/15.

The budget process to date, initially resulted in savings of £1.7m, which were approved by Members in September plus a further £4.7m, which again was approved in December. This latest phase, agreed by Cabinet earlier in the month identifies a further £2m in savings, which has now been ratified by Full Council.

Cabinet Lead Member for finance, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill said: "Denbighshire really has had a tight budget settlement from the Welsh Assembly Government - the lowest in Wales for 2014/15.

"At all times we have attempted to protect frontline service and jobs whilst minimising the impact of council tax increases to our residents.

"We will continue to look at all services to see if we can be more efficient in the way in which we work, whilst maintaining the best possible services for the people of Denbighshire."

Councillors also agreed an increase in Band D Council tax of 3.5% for 2014/5.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ambulance response times come under fire

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, has criticised the Welsh Labour government’s handling of the ambulance service, after figures show that the 8 minute emergency target was significantly missed.
 
Only 57.6% of emergency responses to Category A ‘immediately life-threatening calls’ arrived within 8 minutes.  This is despite the Welsh Government’s target for 65% of these calls to be responded to within this time.  It is also a decrease in performance compared to the previous month when 63.2% of calls were responded to within 8 minutes.
 
Kirsty Williams AM said: “These shocking figures seriously undermine the Labour Health Minister’s assurances that response times are improving.
 
“The Minister may blame winter pressures, and it is true that there were a high number of emergency calls, but the fact remains that poor ambulance response times take place all year.
 
“Having 65% of life-threatening calls responded to within 8 minutes is not an ambitious target, yet the Welsh Labour government consistently fails to meet it.  The Minister needs to be looking at why, after one month of achievement in October, response times are once again on a downward spiral.
 
It’s a sad fact that the Welsh Labour government is failing patients across Wales.  Whether it is inadequate cancer care, poor ambulance response times or dire A&E waiting times, the Welsh Labour government is not offering a health service that patients in Wales deserve.”

Live comedy comes to Pavilion tomorrow

Live stand up comedy makes a welcome return to the Llangollen Pavilion this Friday evening.
Throughout 2014, Llangollen Comedy Club promises to bring some of the best talent from across the comedy circuit to the town's Pavilion.
The first show takes place this Friday, January 31.
Headlining the first show is Keith Carter in the guise of loveable Liverpool 'scally' Nige.
A previous winner of Comedian of the Year at the Liverpool Echo Arts Awards, Keith has also been a runner up in the BBC’s New Comedy Awards and Channel 4′s “So You Think You’re Funny”.
Apart from being a gifted character comedian, Keith is also a talented comic actor and writer. His credits include work for BBC Radio 2 and 4 as well as a play for Liverpool's Unity Theatre.
Compere on the night is Ray Peacock (pictured right). A prolific writer and performer, Ray is one of the most popular comperes and headline performers on the circuit.
Since 2009 he has co-hosted the award winning Peacock and Gamble Podcast. The Guardian listed the show as one of the top 10 comedy podcasts, describing it as "35 minutes of pure gold".
His TV credits include acting roles in Doctor Who, Skins and Harry Hill’s TV Burp and stand up on Russell Howard's Good News.
Completing the line-up is Welsh comic Kiri Pritchard-McLean. Named Breakout Act of the Year by Nottingham Comedy Festival, she combines a charming stage manager with a quick, deft wit.
The shows are a joint venture between Llangollen based Radiant Events and Kill For A Seat, who also run comedy shows at Mold's Theatr Clwyd.
Tickets for this Friday's show, priced at £8.50, are available to buy online at www.llancomedy.co.uk or in person from the Llangollen Pavilion or Gales of Llangollen. Doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 8pm.