Motorcyclist dies after collision with car at Bryneglwys

The BBC news website has the following story this evening (Saturday):

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-26499718

Powerful portrayal of cannon fodder heroes

* Ally Goodman is a scene from The Accrington Pals.

In the patriotic fervour that immediately followed the outbreak of World War One, exactly a century ago this year, large groups of young men from the same towns, workplaces or youth organisations rushed to sign up for service on the Western Front.

They became part of what was known as Kitchener’s Army after the Secretary of State for War who had launched the massive recruiting drive and were dubbed “pals battalions”.

One such unit was the Accrington Pals, a bunch of hearty lads from the Lancashire mill town, officially known as the 11^th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment. 

But the tragedy of having large groups from the same area joining the ranks together was that when the guns began to fire they died together, and in horrendous numbers which decimated their home towns.

On the blood-soaked first day of the Battle of the Somme in July, 1916 the Accrington Pals attacked the German front line at Serre 700 strong but within just half and hour 235 of them lay dead and 350 wounded.

One of the survivors recalled: "We were able to see our comrades move forward in an attempt to cross No Man’s Land only to be mown down like meadow grass. I felt sick at the sight of the carnage and remember weeping."

Back home a rumour that spread around Accrington that only seven men had survived from the battalion and an angry crowd surrounded the mayor's house, demanding information.

This bitter tale of love and loss is retold in Peter Whelan’s 1982 play, The Accrington Pals, which is being performed by Llangollen Twenty Club at the Town Hall this week to mark the World War One centenary.

This powerful production, which has the last of three performances tonight (Saturday), vividly contrasts the pals’ life and experiences at the front with those of the women they left behind to keep the home fires burning in Accrington.

The story revolves around balsy market stall holder May Hassall, her young cousin Tom, for whom she has an unrequieted passion, and their friends Eva and Ralph.  

The performance provided by Anna Turner as May just doesn’t come any finer. Everything from her Lancashire accent to her gut-wrenching anxiety at the thought of young Tom going off to war is quite simply brilliant.

Tom – much more of an artist than a fighter - is played to perfection by Andy Evans, one of the many young men whose futures affected by the conflict.

An equally strong portrayal of Ralph, their jack-the-lad friend, comes from Twenty Club stalwart Ally Goodman and the part of Eva, his girlfriend, is played with feeling by Natalie Evans.

As is usual with the Twenty Club, the key players receive strong backing from those in the supporting roles.

Despite its tragic theme, the piece has plenty of lighter moments and there to deliver her fair share of laugh-lines is Hannah Brockley as Sarah, a mill worker who is a friend of May and Eva.   

A nice piece of casting is Andrew Sully as another of the pals, Arthur. He’s a bit of a religious type so it helps that Andrew is the local vicar.

To keep it in the family there’s a nice little cameo from Carys Stallard – Andrew’s real-life daughter – as Bertha the millgirl who becomes a wartime bus clippie.

Liz Evans turns in a neat performance as Annie, a housewife greatly affected by her husband going off to the trenches, and Joe Maddocks makes a useful Twenty Club debut as Reggie, the boisterous son of Annie and Arthur. 

David Connolly gives a strong interpretation of Company Sergeant Major Rivers, the old soldier who gives a guarantee to May that he will look after Tom in the hell of the trenches.

The show, a marvellous evocation of the era and its cannon fodder heroes, is a credit to director Rachel Morris and the entire team - both in front of and behind the scenes - who deserve campaign medals for their brave efforts.

If you’re lucky you’ll get a ticket for tonight’s performance.      

New foodbank "could soon be up and running"

CLWYD South AM Ken Skates is confident he can help get a foodbank up and running to help the most vulnerable people in his constituency.

Mr Skates recently met Andrew Sturgess from the Trussell Trust, the national charity which operates the community projects throughout Britain, and Ruabon businessman David Jones to discuss opening a branch to serve the Dee Valley.

Mr Skates said: “It was a really positive meeting and we are making rapid progress, it’s really encouraging. There is still work to be done, but I am hopeful we can get the Clwyd South Foodbank open for business within the next few months.”

He added: “Sadly, more and more people across Wales are having to rely on foodbanks because of a variety of factors such as rising costs of fuel and energy bills, static income, high unemployment and changes to benefits. Some 13 million people are currently living below the poverty line in the UK and food poverty is rising.

“Trussell Trust foodbanks play a vital role in helping the most vulnerable in our society by providing emergency parcels with enough nutritionally balanced supplies to last three days to those referred by health and social care professionals.”

There are currently has almost 400 Trussell Trust foodbanks in operation nationwide – including in Rhosddu, Mold, Denbigh and Oswestry – and the charity’s goal is for every town to have one.

Mr Skates and Mr Sturgess, a Trussell Trust development officer, identified what they say is ‘an obvious need’ for a presence in Clwyd South, and Mr Jones, a former chairman of Ruabon Community Council, responded to their call for help.

It is hoped the foodbank could be based within Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.

Mr Skates added: “I have long been a supporter of the amazing work the Trussell Trust does and would love to help get a centre up and running in Clwyd South. However, the project will
need at least a dozen volunteers to get it off the ground, so I would urge anyone who is interested in playing a part to email Ken.Skates@Wales.gov.uk or call my office on 01978 869058.”

* It has been pointed out since this story was posted that Matt's Food Bank has already been operating successfully for some time in Llangollen.

Work starts on canal towpath facelift

 

* Work in progress on one section of the towpath between Llangollen

Wharf and the Motor Museum. Picture courtesy of Mike Edwards.

 

A historic canal towpath is undergoing a makeover this month as part of plans to make it easier for walkers, boaters, cyclists and a traditional horse-drawn boat to use.

Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, is repairing 1,500 metres of towpath along the Llangollen Canal so that the route can continue to be enjoyed by visitors throughout the year.

The £220,000 project has been made possible thanks to funding from the Welsh Government’s sustainable transport programme, TAITH, and support from Denbighshire County Council and Sustrans Cymru.

The works include widening and resurfacing the towpath along the World Heritage Site between Horseshoe Waterfalls and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, adding to the 16km of towpath that have already been improved.

The towpath will be closed throughout the works, which are expected to take approximately six weeks to complete.

Jim Forrester, chair of the Canal & River Trust’s North Wales & Borders Partnership, said: “The Llangollen Canal is one of the most visited canals in Britain and these improvements are vital because of the high number of visitors who use the towpath everyday. We want to ensure our canals in Wales are suitable for everyone to enjoy the beautiful scenery, wildlife and the 200 year-old canal network.”

Councillor Huw Jones, Denbighshire's Cabinet Lead Member for Tourism, said: "The council is delighted to be supporting this work as we see the canal as one of the Dee Valley's most valuable assets from a tourism perspective. It is vital that we work with our partners to make sure the infrastructure is in place to enhance our tourism offer and provide visitors with a pleasurable experience when visiting our waterways."

Glyn Evans, North Wales Area Manager for transport organisation Sustrans, said: “We want to make sure that this popular route is suitable for all, from children on bikes, to mothers pushing prams and those with mobility issues. Resurfacing this path will enable many more local people to walk or cycle for shorter everyday journeys, or for a pleasant day out.”

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.”