Linking Memories: Your Bridge – Your Stories

* The world famous Chain Bridge.

Do you have memories about the Chain Bridge? 

The Chain Bridge Project, a new £350,000 Heritage Lottery funded project, along with Menter Iaith Sir Ddynbich, are inviting anyone with memories of the famous bridge to attend the Linking Memories: Your Bridge – Your Stories event, between 10.30am and 4pm on Saturday, March 8 in Llangollen Town Hall.

The event will celebrate the bridge, its fascinating past, and more importantly, its significance to everyone who has used and enjoyed it. Your stories will help the project understand its past. 

Gareth Thomas, Llangollen's Town Clerk, is looking forward to Linking Memories.

He said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for local people to come and share their memories about the Chain Bridge.”

Sandra Baker, the Town Clerk for Llantysilio Community Council, said: "People in Llantysilio have many stories to tell about the Chain Bridge. I even have some of my own to share.”  

Linking Memories is free and open to everyone. Since memories come in any shape or form, feel free to bring photos, posters, and documents. There will be trained volunteers on hand to help to scan your items and take down your stories. 

If you are unable to attend Linking Memories on Saturday but would still like to take part in it, contact Samantha Jones at chainbridgeheritage@gmail.com or call 07936 590867. 

Stay in touch and find the latest updates on the Chain Bridge Project on Facebook, Twitter, and the project’s official website. 

VIPs see railway extension progress

* The AMs and others at Bonwm with the engineers' train alongside.

* Susan Elan Jones MP with the volunteers near bridge 28A.

 

 

* The decorated class 03 locomotive with the ballast train at Carrog.

 

Over the course of the past week a series of VIP guests has visited Llangollen Railway to see progress of the track extension to Corwen.

 

Last Thursday, a group including Clwyd South AM Ken Skates, North Wales AM Mark Isherwood, Plaid Cyrmu candidate Mabon ap Gwynfor and officers from Denbighshire County Council took a tour of inspection from Corwen.

 

In the inclement weather use was made of the Corwen Community bus to take the party along the A5 road where they could see the work completed on the station site with the footings in place, the repaired over bridge 28A by Plas Derwen and the new track laid through to the site of the former Bonwm halt.

 

Here they received a briefing about progress and the future potential for riverside erosion unless some remedial action is taken.

 

After a return to Corwen the site engineer for the contractors McPhilip's reviewed progress with the Corwen Flood Alleviation Scheme which has impacted on the railway embankment at the site where the phase 1 station is to be built.

 

All expressed themselves very satisfied with the progress of the railway to date and the prospects for opening through to Corwen later this summer, on a date still to be advised.

 

On Saturday - St David's Day - the railway played host to Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones who was given escorted access to the track bed and met volunteers at the rail head.

 

She later saw a ballast train operate on the section of new track. For this occasion the diesel shunter locomotive carried appropriate decoration with Welsh flags and the Welsh train headboard "Y Cymro" (The Welshman).

Ms Jones said: "I was delighted to visit the railway extension works and meet some of the volunteers who are tackling this project.

 

"The achievement to date is tremendous and I am sure they will achieve their dream of having a train at the new station in Corwen later this summer."

AM makes council tax comparisons

Figures published today (Tuesday) suggest an average council tax rise in England for 2014-15 of 0.6%, while, under Labour, Welsh councils are facing rises of between 3% and 5%.

 

Just over half of Welsh local authorities have so far confirmed their council tax increases for next year, with the lowest agreed rise of 3%.  Swansea, Conwy and Ceredigion have confirmed rises of 5%.

 

Council tax in Wales has already increased by 148% since 1997.

 

Mark Isherwood AM, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said: “As Welsh councils continue to set inflation-busting council tax hikes, these figures show families in other parts of the UK are seeing very modest increases, a freeze or even cuts in their bills.

 

“Under Labour, council tax has risen by 148% and now hard-pressed households are set to see their bills rise again by double the rate of inflation.

 

“Council tax has been frozen for years in much of England and in Scotland, but Carwyn Jones’ Labour Government has refused to pass on a freeze to Welsh councils, forcing them to choose between cutting services or putting up council tax bills.

 

“Welsh Conservatives are a low tax party.  We want people to be able to spend more of their own money, which is why we support a council tax freeze to put more money in people’s pockets.”

Police seek information on shed break in Abbey Road

North Wales Police are appealing for information following a shed break on Abbey Road, Llangollen.

Sometime overnight between 02/03/2014 and 03/03/2014 unknown persons forced entry to a garden shed and stole an orange Husqvarna chainsaw.

If you noticed anything suspicious, or have any information relating to this incident please contact North Wales Police by dialling 101 quoting reference RC14031855.

Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers Wales on 0800 555 111.

North Wales Police has urged residents to always report suspicious activity to them at the earliest opportunity.

Public meeting planned over Plas Madoc

The group set up to save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre is said to be making rapid progress, with a variety of experts offering to help the takeover bid.

Spearheaded by Clwyd South AM Ken Skates, the Cross-Community Working Group has called a public meeting at 7pm on Thursday, March 13, at the Air Products Social Club in Acrefair.

The volunteers have held productive and positive talks with community activists fighting for the future of the facility, which Mr Skates believes could be reborn as a vibrant community hub capable of hosting events and encouraging wealth creation in what is considered one of Wales’s most deprived communities.

 “We are approaching the potential of Plas Madoc with broad minds and ambition. Our vision is to secure its future and ensure it rediscovers its rightful place at the heart of the Clwyd South community,” said Mr Skates.

“We have been humbled by the support offered from experts and residents and I would like to thank the working group’s members for stepping up to help without hesitation or fear. We want to succeed in saving Plas Madoc, but we need people to stay loyal and keep using it.”

The public meeting will provide an opportunity for the group to explain to residents how a community-owned leisure facility would work.

Mr Skates added: “We want to see a united campaign to give Plas Madoc a future. The fight for its survival has been divisive and heated, which is not unexpected as people care passionately about the county borough’s second most popular facility.

“Now we must all come together a work for something that unites us – a lasting future for Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.”

The working group’s plans would see the facility transferred to community ownership, with a new governance structure and minimal impact on staffing or services. Similar structures for operating leisure centres operate across the UK, the best known being Greenwich Leisure Limited, established in 1993.

The group says community ownership of leisure services enable savings to be made where councils are unable to find them, as well as opening up capital funding opportunities.

County has "cleanest streets in Wales"

Denbighshire has the cleanest streets in Wales, according to information issued by Keep Wales Tidy.

The organisation carried out surveys of the cleanliness of streets across all Welsh counties and the findings provide a snapshot of problems with litter and other environmental issues.  

The survey showed that 100% of the streets surveyed in Denbighshire received a Grade B and above, which showed the streets had a high or acceptable standard of cleanliness. Denbighshire was the only authority to have all of the streets surveyed reach the standard.
The survey also shows that Denbighshire is the only county in Wales that has seen a continuous increase in its cleanliness indicators, rising from 66.7 in 2008/09 to 71.7 in 2012/13 -  the highest in Wales.

The survey also highlighted:

* Denbighshire had the lowest percentage of graffiti, vandalism and fly-posting in Wales.

* Denbighshire had amongst the lowest percentage in Wales for pedestrian, business, domestic, construction an animal faeces litter and consistently performs better than the Welsh average

* Second lowest percentage of dog fouling in Wales.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: "Providing cleaner streets for residents and visitors to Denbighshire is one of the Council's key priorities and it seems that all the hard work is paying dividends.

"We have teams of staff out and about cleaning our streets, as well as dealing with environmental crimes and we are regularly publicising our initiatives to make out streets cleaner. We are extremely pleased that our campaigns such as our anti dog-fouling initiatives are making progress and that people's behaviour is changing.

"Street cleanliness is everyone's responsibility and we must all work together to tackle the issues. Of course, there is never room for complacency and we will continue with our efforts to make Denbighshire streets even cleaner in the future."

Young stars audition to sing alongside Bryn Terfel

Singing for Bryn, auditioning at the Wales Millennium Centre for the chance to sign with Bryn Terfel in Sweeney Todd at this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod were, from left, back, Elizabeth Smith, Meinir Wyn Roberts, Bethan Rumsey, Angharad Elise Thomas, front, James Hope, Rhys Nicholson, Daniel Lee and Owain John.

A young singing star from the Vale of Clwyd was among over 30 hopefuls to try out for a prestigious role alongside opera superstar Bryn Terfel at this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

 

The great bass-baritone from Caernarfon (pictured below) will head an all-star Welsh cast in a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway smash hit Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The show, first performed in 1979, will see Terfel play the title role of the murderous barber with a cast that also includes Carmarthen tenor Wynne Evans, Gio Compario of the Go Compare television ads.

 

And 11-year-old Owain John, from Llansannan, near Denbigh, took part in auditions held in Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, singing Not While I’m Around, from the Sondheim show.

 

Now a shortlist will be drawn up from over 80 young singers performing at the auditions, in Cardiff and at the Royal International Pavilion, in Llangollen, on Saturday, March 8, so that Bryn Terfel can himself choose the three young unknowns who will take the stage alongside him.

 

The roles to be filled are star-crossed young lovers Anthony and Johanna and street urchin Tobias Ragg who works for Todd’s rival, Pirelli (Wynne Evans) and then for piemaker Mrs Lovett, Todd’s murderous accomplice.

 

The Anthony and Johanna roles are for tenors and sopranos over 18 while Tobias will be played by a ten to 14-year-old.

 

At audition each singer performs a song from the show and after the Cardiff event Eilir Owen Griffiths was impressed by the quality of the entrants.

 

He said: “The standard has been very, very high and it’s been very exciting.

 

“Everyone is coming very well prepared and they are clearly taking it very seriously but then there is a lot at stake because performing a major role alongside an icon like Bryn Terfel could be the springboard for someone’s career.

 

“Each of them has had to sing a piece from Sweeney Todd, a song by the character they are trying out for and I’ve been very pleased with the quality of the singing.

 

“One of our roles at the Eisteddfod is to provide an opportunity for young talent to flourish and there can be no bigger opportunity than to sing alongside a legend like Bryn Terfel.

“Just the chance to actually audition for a role like this is an experience in itself and one which will stand them in good stead in the future.”

 

Owain, who goes to Ysgol Bro Aled, in Llansannan, began singing in the village eisteddfod aged about three and already has National and Urdd Eisteddfod successes under his belt.

 

He is also a member of Only Kids Aloud and is due to sing with Bryn Terfel in Cape Town, in South Africa, this year.

 

He and his mum made the long journey down to Cardiff to audition because the Llangollen auditions clash with the Urdd Eisteddfod preliminaries.

 

He said: “I enjoyed singing the audition and I’m looking forward to singing with Bryn Terfel in South Africa but it would be great to sing with him at Llangollen as well and with Wynne Evans.

 

“I love singing and I go round Eisteddfods singing duets with my older brother Dafydd Cernyw, who is 13.”

 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Sondheim is set in 19^th century London and tells the story of the crazed barber who murders his clients and supplies the bodies to his accomplice, piemaker Mrs Lovett.

 

Sondheim’s multi-award winning classic was first performed on Broadway in 1979 and has since been a regular production across the world and on the big screen in 2007 when superstar Johnny Depp played Todd and Helena Bonham Carter his accomplice.

 

Bryn Terfel has played the role before, in 2002 in Chicago but hasn’t sung it since 2007 although he will be fronting a performance of it by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Center in New York this month.

 

It will be the first time he has performed on the International Eisteddfod stage since he opened the 2006 festival and that was his first appearance at Llangollen in a decade.

 

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled I’m able to appear at the 2014 International Eisteddfod. I’m a proud Welshman and the International Eisteddfod is unique, the atmosphere, the colour, the audience, even the flowers, it really is a very, very special event.”

 

Eilir Owen Griffiths added: “It’s brilliant to have Bryn back this year and what an experience for those who come through the auditions to be on stage with him.

 

“It’s very exciting and the orchestra for the performance, the Sinfonia Cymru, is a very young orchestra also, conducted by maestro Gareth Jones.

 

“We need to be leaving a legacy and giving an opportunity for young people to shine.”

 

Sweeney Todd will be the curtain raiser to six tremendous days at Llangollen which kicks off on Tuesday, July 8, with this year’s concerts featuring Dutch jazz diva Caro Emerald, American tenor star Noah Stewart, a new work by composer Karl Jenkins, the Cape Town Opera, the Choir of the World competition on Saturday night and legendary British rockers Status Quo closing the event on Sunday night.

 

To book tickets and for more information on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk