Cycling vicar takes Etape challenge

LLANGOLLEN’S cycling vicar has pedalled his way to over £100 by taking part in the recent Etape Cymru race.

The Rev Andrew Sully joined the gruelling event, part of which took him and fellow competitors over the Horseshoe Pass not too far away from his parish of St Collen’s, to support two good causes.

The first is Action Duchenne, a national charity that aims to find a cure for Duchenne, a severe genetic muscle wasting disease, and the second is facelift of facilities at St John’s Welsh language church in Llangollen.

Mr Sully (pictured left during the event) said of his Etape experience: “It was a lovely autumn day weather-wise and the cameraderie of the other cyclists meant that although there were six climbs on this gruelling 88-mile challenge, we were helped on by the other cyclists and by the spectators who had turned out to offer their encouragement.

“Although my official time was six hours and 13 minutes, my time in the saddle was only five and a half hours, with an average speed of 13.5 mph.

“I have so far raised £110 for Action Duchene and people can sponsor me again when I take part in next year’s  Land's End to John O'Groats 10-day challenge by going to my Just Giving website, www.justgiving.com/andrew-sully1.

“I also cycled in the Etape Cymru to raise money for St John's in Abbey Road where we are hoping to install a toilet and kitchen in the back of the church in the new year.

“The night before the ride we held a tapas and prosecco party in St Collen’s Church's Community Hall and raised over £1,200 towards the work at St John's and I’d like to say many thanks to all those who supported this fundraising evening.”

Man fined after littering in town

Littering the streets of Denbighshire could cost you a fortune, as one man found to his detriment.

The council issued a fixed penalty notice to a resident for dropping litter in Llangollen.

The man failed to pay the £75 notice and was taken to court.  

At his hearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court, the man was issued with a fine of £700, with £145 in costs.

The council says it hopes that this will act as a deterrent to other people to think twice before they drop litter.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “Litter is a really anti-social form of behaviour and residents tell us that it is a problem that they want to see us addressing.

“Denbighshire has some of the cleanest streets in Wales but our efforts to rid our streets of rubbish is hampered by a small group of individuals who think it is right to drop litter on our streets.

“The courts are also now taking a tough stance on littering and this man was given a serious fine for his actions. We would rather not issue any fines at all and our appeal is for people not to drop their rubbish in the first place.”

TV show featuring Llan gets second showing

* Prunella Scales and husband Timothy West aboard their narrow boat during the recent TV series.

George Jones of Llangollen Railway says that an episode of a TV series featuring the town is to have a second showing later this month.

Actors Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales recently hosted Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys on which they embarked on four spectacular trips on waterways in Britain and France.

George says the third episode, which sees the couple journeying back to Llangollen where they spent their honeymoon and taking a trip on the railway, is to be shown again at 5.45pm on Saturday, September 27 on the channel More 4.     

He added: “Those who watched it the first time round told us in the exhibition coach how nice it was and how it encouraged them to come to Llangollen.”

New ladies' rugby team kicks off

Sporting evening with Joey Jones planned

The Llangollen Fundraising Committee for Cancer Research UK is hosting a sporting evening with football legend Joey Jones early next month.

It will be held on Thursday, October 9 at the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club, 7.30 for 8pm.

A two-course meal will be followed by a talk by Joey Jones, ex-professional footballer for Wales, Liverpool and Wrexham.

The final part of the evening will be an auction of numerous items and fantastic sporting opportunities.

All proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK.

For further details and tickets (£15) call Sandra on 01978 861486, or Jean on 01978 861545.

Choc and fudge sausages to premiere at food festival

 

* Arran, his dad John and his older brother Jonathan with the sausages.

 

A new range of sausages made with chocolate and fudge will be launched a top food festival.

 

The special bangers are being developed by young farmer and trainee butcher Arran Davies and his butchery mentor Brin Kelly at Abbey Farm, just outside Llangollen.

 

Their meat counter at Abbey Farm Shop, which also supplies local hotels and restaurants, is just up the road from where the Hamper Llangollen food festival will be staged on Saturday and Sunday October 18-19.

 

Now recognised as one of the UK's top 10 food festivals, Hamper Llangollen is supported by rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd.

 

Cadwyn Clwyd’s contribution comes via the Rural Development Fund for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.

 

The event at the Royal Pavilion sees a wide range of food and drink exhibitors along with demonstrations by top chefs, plus a Rail and Ale evening excursion on board a steam train with Llangollen Railway.

 

Arran, 27, is the third generation to work on Abbey Farm, next to the historic Valle Crucis Abbey, which has been in the family since the 1930s.

 

The secret recipe for the sausages, which also use pork from pigs raised on the family farm, is still being tweaked, admitted Arran.

 

“It’s a recipe that Brin has previously made, though he used cocoa powder then. This time we are using chocolate chunks – there will be dark chocolate and milk chocolate versions, plus a fudge one, which we think caramelises the sausage as it cooks, so it’s a sweeter taste.

                                     

“Our customers at the farm shop are going to be asked to sample it over the coming weeks until we get the recipe just right,” said Arran.

 

“I am learning the ropes from Brin – he is a traditional butcher and I am like an old-style apprentice, learning at first hand-hand. I split my time between working in the Farm Shop with Brin and working on the farm with my older brother Jonathan, 30, and my dad John. My younger brother Billy, who is 23, also works on the farm, though he also does contract work elsewhere.

 

“I’ve been worked on the farm since I left school, like my dad, who worked with his dad,” added Arran, who admits that he prefers the more traditional style sausages he also makes for the farm shop.

 

Brin, from Penycae, used to run his own shop in Coedpoeth until he moved to take over at the Abbey Farm Shop butchery three years ago.

 

“I have previously made chocolate sausages and thought they would be ideal for our stand at Hamper Llangollen - in past years we discovered that visitors like to try something a bit exotic, something they can’t buy every day. These sausages will be savoury but with a sweet edge, especially the fudge ones.

 

“We will also be doing a pig roast at Hamper Llangollen, as pulled pork is so popular these days,” said Brin.

 

Arran’s dad John Davies is the one who helps select the porkers to be raised at the 500-acre Abbey Farm. He also rears beef cattle plus runs two caravan parks.

 

“I buy the pigs in as weaners to fatten up, I like a mix of traditional breeds such as Gloucester Old Spot, and the modern varieties, which are much leaner, and crossed with the Welsh White.

 

"One of my earliest memories of my dad is him cutting a slice of bacon from a flitch hanging down in the kitchen, to cook for his breakfast.

 

“He was a big Shire horse man, always preferred horses to tractors, and he won a lot of prizes with them. The stables, where he kept the horses, are where the Farm Shop, Tea Rooms and Bistro are now. I like to think he would have pleased to see what we have done with the farm, which he took on as a young man just after the depression.”

 

A quartet of Wales’s best chefs will have a starring role at the festival. Graham Tinsley, executive chef at Carden Park in Cheshire and Conwy’s Castle Hotel, will be cooking up a Welsh feast with Mike Evans, hospitality lecturer at Coleg Llandrillo, Rhos on Sea, and Dion Jones, one of Europe’s finest young chefs.

 

The ever popular Dai Chef, now the resident chef at Bodnant Welsh Food, the centre of excellence for Welsh food in the Conwy Valley will be there too.

Robert Didier, a baker who trained with culinary legend Raymond Blanc will also unveil the UK’s most expensive loaf – made with champagne and 24 carat gold, at the event.

 

Cadwyn Clwyd agri-food project officer Rob Price said: “Hamper Llangollen is a prime example of how Cadwyn Clwyd is helping to stimulate the local economy. The event will bring a large amount of people – and extra money - into the area, whether they are visiting for the day or staying the weekend

 

"There’s been a lot of interest in stands at the festival, both from established companies who have been many times before, and from new food and drink producers.

 

“There will be many new products on offer  -such as Arran and Brin’s chocolate and fudge sausages – as well as more traditional foods, so there will be something for everybody.”

 

More on Hamper Llangollen at www.llangollenfoodfestival.com.

County's leisure strategy goes under microscope

Denbighshire County Council's efforts to successfully transform its leisure provision was under the spotlight at a prestigious conference  staged by the Welsh Government at Llangollen Pavilion this week.

The Council's leisure services has been transformed over recent years from a failing service into a sector leading  service.

The Council was asked to host the Welsh Government Conference on Leisure Services for Physical Activity. Leader of Denbighshire , Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, addressed the conference. The Welsh Government also commissioned an independent view of Denbighshire Leisure by a specialist in the leisure sector.

Councillor Evans, said: "We were  delighted that the Welsh Government approached us to host this prestigious conference in our county, with a focus on our journey of improvement. We have a story to tell and we want to share our experiences.

"It is safe to say that leisure was seen as a struggling service in the past.  We have come a long way from those dark days when our leisure centres were not operated efficiently. Indeed, they lacked a clear vision and commitment to improving the offer.

"Over recent years, we have become a lot more business focused, listening to the needs of our customers and bringing them back to the fold through offering a far more attractive programme of activities.  

"We have recognised the need to be far more competitive,  understanding the market a lot better and generally being a lot more customer-focussed.   The culture and ethos of the service have also changed. Effective communication has been key, and we have now implemented a management structure that is fit for purpose and makes the best use of expertise and resources we have in the service.

"Our leisure centres have become virtually self-sufficient and we are now in a position where people are turning to us to hear about our experiences, to learn from what we have been through, how we have transformed leisure and to hear our future plans.

Jamie Groves, Denbighshire's Head of Communication, Marketing and Leisure, said: "Leisure is now very much a corporate service with strong working relationships with colleagues in education, health and social care.  Leisure is also increasingly becoming an important element of the Council's economic and regeneration ambitions.

"We are bucking the trend nationally when it comes to investment. You only need to pick up a newspaper or listen to the television news bulletins and often the headlines involve the threat of closing  leisure centres somewhere in the UK.  In Denbighshire, we are actually investing in our leisure facilities and a number of our key leisure centres has been significant investment over recent years. At Denbigh Leisure Centre, where we have carried out a major refurbishment  -  the demand for activities has grown so much that we are having to carry out further work to meet that increasing demand.

"Our ambition for developing the leisure offer along the coast has been well -publicised. We have a clear vision - to develop first class leisure facilities  that will have long term benefits to the health and well-being of residents, but will also be a major contributory factor in enhancing the local economy. We want our future leisure developments along the coast to be a catalyst for further inward investment and we are currently assessing proposals that have been submitted to re-vamp our leisure offer, so watch this space.

"Of course there is more that we can do to develop leisure in the future and we will not become complacent.  We think we are in the right place to further develop our leisure vision, for the benefit of our residents."