Plas Madoc campaign gathers pace with race night

A pub will host a race night as part of the on-going fundraising campaign to save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre. 

 

The volunteer-run Splash Community Trust will hold the event at the Old Black Horse in Rhostyllen on Friday, June 27, following a recent successful money-spinner. 

 

The well-attended quiz night at Flexsys in Acrefair on Friday (May 23) generated nearly £600, and trust director Greg Ogden is hoping the next few events will be just as fruitful. 

 

Greg, who lives in Trevor said: “The trust would like to thank Keith and Wendy at the pub for contacting us to offer the Old Black Horse as a venue free of charge. It’s a fantastic gesture which will really help us raise as much as possible. 

 

“As well as cash prizes on the night, we will be giving away bottles of wine to the ‘owners’ of each winning horse – it should be another great night. We are now looking for individuals and local businesses to sponsor each of the eight races, so I would ask people to once again show their support for a wonderful community cause.” 

 

Greg added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to quash some of the rumours that Plas Madoc has closed forever and reiterate that the dream is very much alive. We are committed to the centre being once again at the heart of the community and beyond.” 

 

The race night will start at 8pm. To sponsor a race or buy a horse for the night, contact Jenny Miller on 07921 659099 

 

Another upcoming Plas Madoc fundraiser is the fun day at The Duke of Wellington pub in Acrefair on Sunday, June 15, when local band The New Foos will be playing from 3pm. 

 

Greg said: “I’d like to thank Shauny, the landlady, who as well as hosting the event is supplying a bottle of whiskey for a raffle. There will also be a bouncy castle, face painting, a barbecue and a sweets stall, while the other raffle prizes include a night at The Wild Pheasant in Llangollen and a meal for two at The Cornmill.” 

 

Before that, there is also an event at Queen's Square in Wrexham on Saturday, June 7, with two local bands playing – Tiny Wooden Angels and The Uninvited – from 4pm-8pm. 

 

The Splash Community Trust now has a PayPal account through which donations can be made. If you want to contribute, type the web address https://t.co/VlqCYUVROU into your internet browser. Alternatively, you can contact Jenny direct. 

 

The trust is also working on a new website, which is coming soon and will include a ‘donate’ button so supporters can boost the coffers at the click of a button.  

US cruise ship party rides on Llan Railway

* Some of the cruise ship passengers get a close-up

look the steam locomotive Jessie before taking their

seats for the trip to Carrog.

 

OVER 100 passengers from an American cruise liner stopped off at Llangollen Railway yesterday (Thursday) morning.

 

They were from the ship Ruby Princess (pictured right) which was making a one-day call at Liverpool's Cruise Liner Terminal, and were the first escorted coach party of the new season to take a circular tour of north east Wales.

 

Driven over by coach from Merseyside via Mold, Ruthin and the Horseshoe Pass, the visitors arrived at the station in time to join the 10.50am steam train departure from Llangollen to Carrog.

 

After lunch at the Wild Pheasant Hotel in Llangollen, they spent the afternoon at Chirk Castle before heading back to Liverpool in time to sail away on the next leg of a round-Britain cruise which started in Southampton.

Similar visits to Llangollen Station by other tour groups are planned as part of a full programme of escorted tours.

 

George Jones, for Llangollen Railway, said: "The visitors were from various parts of the USA and were quite taken with the Welsh countryside, even on a damp day when the mist was on the hills.

 

“The ride on the steam train through the Dee Valley was a memorable part of their great day out." 

Baton visits county tomorrow

Denbighshire is counting down the hours until the Queen's Baton makes it much-awaited visit to the county tomorrow (Friday, May 30).

A host of events are being arranged throughout the day to welcome the Baton to Denbighshire, only one of a handful of counties selected throughout the whole of Wales.

The baton relay routes and associated events are:

Rhyl Harbour  (9am-4pm)

The baton is welcomed into Denbighshire during the official opening of Rhyl Harbour.  At the beginning of the event, families will be able to enjoy a festival of colour and activities, including face painting, a treasure trail, bouncy castle, food, demonstrations from rescue services, kite surfing, watersports on Marine Lake and so much more.  For further details visit www.loverhyl.co.uk .  The baton  will be present between 9am and 9.30am

Rhyl Harbour to marsh tracks baton relay (9.30am-10.00am)

Six local baton bearers, Michael Kitchin, Nathan Montgomery, Callum Perrin, Jamie Turley, James Morgan, and Tracey Jones will carry the baton between the two Rhyl events. Starting from the harbour at 9.30am, around Marine Lake to promote water sport activities, over the railway footbridge and along the countryside services path at Glan Morfa and into the Marsh tracks cycling centre on Marsh Road.

Marsh Tracks, Rhyl,  (10am-4pm)

Free BMX and Road cycling bike hire and coaching, mountain bike track open as usual. Street games activities such as  football, rugby, ultimate frisbee, athletics, dance and more! Test your power against Team GB cyclists scores on the watt bikes leader board and recuperate with FREE drinks supplied by Asda (until stocks last) and food available to buy on- site from the taste academy, Rhyl. The baton will be there between 10am and 11am.

Moel Famau (12 noon – 4pm)

The baton arrives on horseback, walking groups will relay the baton to the peak of Moel Famau, come and join in and see the views across the Clwydian Range whilst listening to a live band performance at the summit too! Fell runners will take the baton back down. The baton will be there between 1pm and 3pm.

Ruthin Family FUN day, Cae Ddol (12-5pm)

An afternoon on activities for the whole family. Come down to Cae Ddol and join in and watch the battle of the bands, local sport fixtures, bouncy castles, face painting and sporting taster sessions from local clubs such as rugby league, netball, athletics, football, fun fitness boot camps, tennis, golf and bowls.  The baton will be there between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Coed Llandegla Forest (9am – 8pm), Oneplanet Adventure site

Fun open day for mountain bike enthusiasts, all mountain bike tracks open as normal. Go-Race events organised by Welsh Cycling throughout the day, test your power against Team GB cyclists scores on the watt bikes leader board. Live music and entertainment from 6pm for the official baton handover event. The baton is there between  5pm and 6pm

Pol Wong speaks out over River Lodge controversy

* The derelict River Lodge.

Pol Wong, leader of the Powys Fadog community group which once had hopes of developing the former River Lodge now destined to be bulldozed to make way for Llangollen's new £5 million health centre, features in an article in the online newspaper Daily Wales on the latest aspect of the controversy that has surrounded the building.

See it at: "http://dailywales.net/2014/05/28/tories-urged-to-provide-real-scrutiny-of-government/"

Service planned for Valle Crucis Abbey

St Collen's Church has asked us to publish the poster below for its forthcoming Pentecost Service ...

 

 

Llan adventure firm wins top accolade

ProAdventure Activities Ltd, the Llangollen-based adventure activity and training not-for-profit company, has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award, having been number one attraction on Tripadvisor in the town for two years.

The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. 

Establishments awarded the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website. 

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account reviews ratings. 

Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, volume and recency of reviews. Additional criteria include a business’ tenure and popularity ranking on the site. 

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at ProAdventure and we’d like to thank all of our past student and customers who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said Peter Carol, founder and managing director of ProAdventure Activities Ltd.

“There is no greater seal of approval than being recognised by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.”

Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for Business, said: “TripAdvisor is pleased to honour exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence.

“The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.

“From Australia to Zimbabwe, we want to applaud exceptional hospitality businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.” 

ProAdventure provides activities and training to groups, companies, families and individuals.

Along with running its canoe school and instructor training programmes, it also provide rock climbing, abseiling, bushcraft and first aid training and other activities including archery and axe throwing. 

£5 million due to be approved for new health centre

 

* An artist's impression of the new health centre.

 

Health Minister Mark Drakeford is due announce tomorrow (Thursday) a £5m investment for a new primary care centre in Llangollen, which will provide health and social care services in the heart of the community.

 

The new centre will also be a base for voluntary services – bringing care closer to people’s homes – while also improving the training and the recruitment and retention of staff.  

Patients will have access to more services locally, including pain management, community-based heart failure services and diabetic retinopathy. Community mental health and social services teams will be based at the new centre.

 

More treatment sessions will also be able to take place at the centre as nurse practitioners and GP registrars will no longer need to share a room as they do currently.

 

It will be supported by an enhanced  care at home service which provides care for people who might otherwise need to go into hospital. The patient’s GP practice will decide, with the patient and their family, whether they can be safely cared for at home with extra help from nurses, therapists, social workers and voluntary organisations. Care will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

        Professor Drakeford said: “The new primary care centre will provide an expanded and enhanced service for the people of Llangollen.  It will bring a number of services together in one place and will be a base for social services.

 

        “Importantly, it will also support the development of an enhanced care at home service, helping more people to be cared for at home and avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital. 

 

        “This is an exciting development for Llangollen and will mean more services available on the community’s doorstep.  It will result in an enhanced local health service and I look forward to seeing the start of work on the centre.

 

        "This scheme, and investment by the Welsh Government, demonstrates our determination to deliver on the pledges made as part of the process of changing healthcare in North Wales."

 

Dr Peter Higson, chairman of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board,said: "We are delighted this important scheme has been given the green light. 

 

"Our plans for Llangollen will increase the range of services we can offer in the town, and provide a base for our teams who are delivering more and more care to patients in their own homes.  The extra space and improved facilities will enhance the experience of patients attending the new health centre and opens up new opportunities for colleagues from the health, social care and the voluntary sector to work together.”

 

The Welsh Government says work on the new centre is expected to begin in June this year with completion by June 2015. 

 

The centre will be on site of the former River Lodge hotel in the town. 

 

The additional services available at the centre will include pain management, community based heart failure, diabetic retinopathy, group physiotherapy, a range of outpatients clinics such as gastro, surgery and mental health, and children’s brain injury and speech therapy clinics.