Message for local councils at Llangollen conference

Public sector organisations in Wales should learn from each other - that was the message at a conference recently hosted by Denbighshire County Council in Llangollen.

Delegates from public sector organisations across Wales attended the Learning for Change conference at Llangollen Pavilion and heard from the council about Denbighshire's experiences of managing the challenges faced by the authority following a critical Estyn inspection report in 2007 and a Corporate Governance report in  2008.

The Council's Leader, Councillor Hugh Evans and Chief Executive, Dr Mohammed Mehmet spoke about the "dark days" and how the council worked on transforming its culture, communication, performance management and its scrutiny processes following the publication of both reports.

Keynote speaker at the event was Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister for Local Government who outlined the current challenges facing the public sector in Wales.

The other presenter was Steve Thomas, Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association, who spoke about Denbighshire's experience and the national picture of the public sector in Wales.
Councillor Hugh Evans, said: "It was a good opportunity for us to share our journey of improvement, but to also learn from other organisations about the challenges they have faced and their approach to managing their reputations and making changes to their services.

"I became Leader of the council at the start of our journey in Denbighshire.  We were clear from day one that things needed to change and we have focussed on a change in culture, improved leadership and a focus on performance and self-evaluation. We now have mechanisms in place to improve services and to monitor progress through service challenges and our political scrutiny system."

Mohammed Mehmet said: "Wales is a small nation and we should be sharing best practice and learning from each other. This is even more important during times of change and uncertainty.  

"Denbighshire has certainly gone through significant change and has transformed its way of working over recent years. Regulators tell public sector organisations they should learn from each other- that message came across clearly at the conference. Now we need to make that vision a reality - for the greater good of the public sector in Wales."

The  Minister, Lesley Griffiths, said: “Since becoming the Minister for Local Government and Government Business, I have stressed the importance of sharing best practice  across  the  public sector. It is  a challenging time for  public services but it is also a time of opportunity to consider new ways of working and new approaches to delivering services.

“During my visits across all 22 Local Authorities last summer, I saw many examples of innovative services and was impressed by the vision underpinning them.

“The examples I saw involved Local Authorities working with partners and citizens to create new approaches focusing on prevention, quicker action and more tailored service delivery. They also involved good collaboration within organisations.

“Local Government is at the frontline of providing everyday services for our communities. Delivering the transformational change to sustain services and deliver better outcomes for people and communities. The conference provided the platform for us to learn from each other, share experiences and discuss best practice.

“I congratulate and thank Denbighshire County Council for arranging  this conference,  to enable shared learning on such a  large-scale.”

Meeting looks at Llan newspapers of the past

To launch the availability of "Tuesday Review" and "Broadsheet" on line,  [http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/  and search for either Tuesday Review or Broadsheet,
there will be a joint meeting of Hanes - Llangollen Museum - and Llangollen Civic Society at the Hand Hotel Wednesday 30th April at 7:30pm.

Peter Jones will give a history of Llangollen Newspapers, from 4th November 1860 to the present day. 

He will also demonstrate how it is now possible to access those from 1868 - 1908 and 1915 - 1919 as well as the newly available 1947 - 1983. 

Janet Wakefield will then show instances of how the newspapers reflected the life of the times that the newspapers were written, by picking out some of the more characteristic pieces of the time. 

For those without access to the internet it should be possible to use facilities at the Library to access the newspapers. 

The museum also holds a collection of the papers from 1868 - 1944 on microfilm, and the digitised copies of Tuesday Review and Broadsheet. 

Hanes provided the bulk of the issues for digitisation, but Llangollen Museum and Llangollen Library were helpful in providing their collections, as were several people in Llangollen.

Llangollen Museum provided the A3 scanner, and the software was bought using a donation from Sara Pugh Jones's first cousin twice removed, in Bogota, Columbia.

Ken's been working on the railroad

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates got his hands dirty during a gruelling shift with a team of volunteers who are reinstating and extending a railway line.


The Labour Assembly Member (pictured right) rolled his sleeves up and got stuck into an afternoon stint with
the Llangollen Railway group in Corwen on Thursday afternoon (April 24).

He said: “It was great fun – I really enjoyed it. This is a fantastic heritage project and a
tremendous amount of work has gone into it so far, but it’s obviously a labour of love for the
volunteers. They’ve made astonishing progress.”

Mr Skates, who is based in Llangollen, spent the afternoon shifting ballasts and helping the
crew align quarter-tonne sleepers ahead of the planned opening of the Llangollen-Corwen.

He added: “It was hard work, but I don’t think I did a bad job keeping up with the volunteers
and I was glad to be able to help. The next step is to build and install a 100-metre platform and
access ramp leading off the embankment at Dwyrain Corwen East, but the laying of the track
was completed recently ahead of schedule so it’s now full steam ahead.

“I’d like to thank the team for having me along and wish them the best of luck – I’m sure their
wonderful vision will soon become a reality.”

Roadworks update

Latest update to roadworks in Llangollen from the county council includes:

Fron Bache, from May 6-8, road closure to allow BT works.

200 flock to Plas Madoc photoshoot

* Kids in roller disco gear for the photoshoot at Plas Madoc.

More than 200 people turned out to show their support for a campaign to save under-threat Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.

Alison Roberts, a committee member of the recently formed Splash Community Trust, organised a photoshoot to help with marketing material as the charitable group bids to reopen the popular facility in Acrefair this summer.

 

The shoot was held to coincide with a half-term roller disco for children on Thursday – and Alison, who works in marketing, was thrilled with the turn-out.

 

She said: “It was fantastic. The roller disco event is hugely popular and there was in excess of 200 there despite many thinking the centre had already closed. We had a professional photographer come along and the shots will be used in future marketing material.

 

"Parents and children were happy to support so we’ve got some brilliant pictures to use to promote Plas Madoc while our work to reopen it continues.

 

“It was an event tinged with sadness as it marked the last one, and for children, parents and staff it was emotional to say farewell to this iconic activity at Plas Madoc.”

 

The Splash Community Trust is working to take over the running of the Plas Madoc from Wrexham Council and operate it as a community enterprise, with all profits ploughed back into the facility. But they face a major battle to generate the funds needed.

 

Alison added: “The centre has been really busy over Easter, so we’re confident that if we can reopen in time for the summer, when usage is always high, we will be able to get off to a great start.”

 

A third public meeting is expected to be held over the next few weeks. In the meantime, anyone with fundraising ideas is asked to email jennymiller08@hotmail.co.uk or call Jenny on 07921 659099.

Musical mission in Llangollen

* Ksenija Sidorova is heading for Llangollen. 

“I am on a mission”, declares Latvian-born Ksenija Sidorova as she talks about her appearance at the 2014 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

The classical accordion player, a former student of London’s Royal Academy of Music, says she wants to bring her instrument to the world and to audiences that simply don’t appreciate its versatility or true possibilities.

Ksenija, the ‘j’ is silent she is quick to point out in near perfect English, says she is honoured to have been asked to appear at the Eisteddfod having heard all about the festival from Bryn Terfel.

The Welsh bass-baritone knows Ksenija well, particularly after her success in being named, in 2012, the first international award winner of the Bryn Terfel Foundation.

Ksenija will be performing Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus Colores alongside acclaimed American tenor Noah Stewart and musicians such as Venezulan trumpet player Pacho Flores and a host of others.

She said: “I’m delighted to be having the chance to appear and perform under the baton of Karl Jenkins, who I admire so much.

“I’m really excited about the concert particularly as Bryn Terfel has told me so much about the festival and its wonderful history. It really will be an honour to perform in Wales again.

“I have worked with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and performed at Bangor a few years ago but I haven‘t been to Wales for quite a while. And I have never been to Llangollen which I’m told is such a beautiful place.”

Ksenija, 25, was encouraged to play the accordion by her grandmother although she says her mum also plays a similar instrument.

She said: “My mum plays a Bayan, a type of Russian button accordion, while my grandmother plays a slightly different instrument. Both are nothing like the classical accordion I play which has a keyboard and not buttons.

“As a child my grandmother encouraged me to learn and play and I’m glad I did. It wasn’t quite love at first sight but there was always something about the instrument. My family is quite musical, my dad also plays the guitar, but they only really play for their own pleasure.

“I had a very serious music teacher and everything had to be absolutely right and I was a quick learner. Perhaps my path in life, my destiny, was already set out for me and the accordion.

“I also played the piano which had more of the cool factor about it that, perhaps, the accordion didn’t. Other children seemed to find the accordion funny but I was always, more and more, sort of drawn to it.

“It’s a wonderful instrument and can be so many things, cool, sweet, sexy, it can produce sounds to suit any mood. It’s almost there when it comes to being recognised as a truly classical instrument. We just need to finally secure its place with the general public.

“It is up to people who have fought for it to have its own identity and to gain its full acceptance to bring it to the world, so everyone can listen and hear its true potential.”

Ksenija says she is delighted to be able to fit the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod into her busy concert schedule.

She said: “I have travelled extensively this last year with concerts in Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Kazakhstan to name just a few places; it’s been a really hectic year.

Ksenija moved to London from her native Latvia as she wanted to take advantage of more concert opportunities and the chance to study at the Royal Academy of Music.
She became a prize-winning undergraduate before receiving her Master’s degree with Distinction.

Awards and international competition successes have flowed regularly since 2009 and she is now very much in demand as a classical concert accordionist and has worked with a host of composers including Hans Abrhamsen, Samantha Fernando, Elspeth Brooke and of course, Karl Jenkins.    

Always keen to promote the accordion, Ksenija manages to fit in outreach work at primary schools across the UK with the support of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.

And like many musicians Ksenija says she treats her instruments almost as human.

She said: “I have two accordions, both Italian and made by Pigini. They are delicate and I’m afraid I have to pay full adult fare on flights around the world for them. Whichever one I’m using travels with me and is placed on the adjacent seat.  
  
“As an instrument they are far too delicate to be put in aircraft baggage holds and, at £20,000 each, too expensive to replace.

“A benefactor helped pay for one while the other I had to pay for myself through a lot of saving and hard work although my family helped too.

“Each has its own characteristics, despite being the same model, and sound, to me very different but each also becomes an extension of my being when I play.”

She added: “I am really excited about the Llangollen International Music Festival and working with Karl Jenkins. I think Colores is a magical mix of classical and Latin music which the audience will really enjoy.

“And if I can convert another audience into loving the accordion as I do, well, it will be mission accomplished in Wales!”

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 production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street featuring a stellar cast including top tenor Wynne Evans.

 

This year's will also feature concerts by Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo.

 

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 ring the box office on 01978 862001 or go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

 

Two projects aimed at easier canal access

Two projects are making it easier for people to access Wales’ waterway World Heritage Site on the Llangollen Canal. 

A 200-year old ‘roving bridge’ built by Thomas Telford in Trevor is being updated to make it easier for cyclists and people with mobility scooters or pushchairs to cross the canal and a stretch of towpath in Llangollen is being resurfaced. 

The projects are being carried out by Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, as part of its ambition to make the canals of Wales accessible to all. It is being supported with funding from the players of the Peoples Postcode Lottery, WREN Community Landfill Tax, Northern Marches Cymru Rural Development Programme (ERDF), Wrexham County Borough Council, Taith Sustainable Transport, Denbighshire County Council and Sustrans Cymru.

Postles Bridge is a 19th century ‘roving bridge’ that was constructed to allow horses, towing laden canal boats, to cross the canal without the need to be unhitched.  Located immediately next to Trevor Basin in the World Heritage Site it forms a key link between this site and the canal corridor through to Llangollen. 

Access from Postles Bridge back onto the towpath is currently via a cobbled ramp which runs parallel to the canal with a steep turn at the foot of the slope.  The project, which will be completed by the end of May, will construct a new ramp from the bridge to meet current disability requirements, making the canal from Trevor Basin to Llangollen Wharf fully accessible to everyone.

As part of the project, Glandŵr Cymru commissioned Phil Chambers, an independent countryside and heritage consultant, and expert on wheelchair and accessibility issues, to undertake an access audit and provide recommendations to enable better access for all. 

The towpath improvements will include: widening and resurfacing 1,500 metres of towpath along the World Heritage Site between Horseshoe Waterfalls and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, adding to the 16km of towpath already improved by the Glandŵr Cymru. 

Kate Pearson, Deputy Head of Charities, Peoples Postcode Lottery, said: “Our players are delighted to support the project.  Opening up the countryside and making this Welsh World Heritage Site open for all is a really important addition to the local community and all that visit from across the country and beyond.” 

Jim Forrester, chair of the North Wales & Border partnership, said: “The bridge was very steep and the ramp was unsuitable for mobility scooters and cyclists and parents struggled with their pushchairs.  Thanks to the funding the new upgraded bridge and our other project currently on site, to upgrade the towpath along the Llangollen Canal, will allow everyone access to the hugely popular and beautiful World Heritage Site.”

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."

Allan Forrest, Northern Marches Cymru Manager, Wrexham Council, said: “Wrexham Council is pleased to support the improvements to Postles bridge and the towpath which will significantly improve access for the local community and visitors at Trevor Basin.”

Richard Thorogood, grant manager for WREN, said: ‘WREN is very pleased to be a funding partner with such an important project to this World Heritage Site in Wales. The applicants submitted a good application which has resulted in WREN funding £50,000 towards Postles Bridge. The advisory panel were impressed by the consultation which showed that the improvements to Postles Bridge are needed and that local people support the project.’