Twenty Club returns to Fawlty Towers

Following their acclaimed, sell-out production of Fawlty Towers in 2012, the Twenty Club in Llangollen will be performing three more episodes of one of the UK's finest sit-coms next month.

These include Communication Problems, Waldorf Salad and Basil the Rat.

Many of the 2012 cast will be reprising their roles, including Ally Goodman as the snobbish, manic Basil; Helen Belton as Sybil, his over-coiffeured, domineering wife, and Richard Mascarenhas as the hopeless but ever-hopeful waiter Manuel.

* The dining room scene from the 2012 production of Fawlty Towers.

New members of the cast this time include Carys Stallard as the calm and capable Polly as well as Ian Wright who takes on the role of the oft-confused, Major.

The show will be directed once again by Chrissie Ashworth.

Goodman is particularly looking forward to stepping back into best-loved bad hotel in the world.

He said: "I don't think I've laughed as much during a theatre run than when we did the show three years ago.

"Having the opportunity to do three more episodes is fantastic and all the cast and crew are really excited for people to come and see it."

Fawlty Towers runs from Thursday 5th to Saturday 7th November at Llangollen Town Hall.

Doors open at 7pm each night and there is a one-off matinee performance at 2pm on the Saturday.

Tickets are available now at tinyurl.com/fawltytowerstickets or via the Twenty Club page on Facebook.

The Twenty Club is one of the oldest dramatic societies in North Wales.

It was founded in 1946 with 20 original members, which gave the club its name.

The club presents two plays a year, in autumn and spring, with a mixture of comedy, drama and period productions.

Skates pats health centre builders on back

* The new Llangollen health centre.

An Assembly Member paid a visit to a construction company to meet the team behind a ‘fantastic’ new health centre in his constituency.

Ken Skates, AM for Clwyd South, was invited to Read Construction’s UK headquarters at Brymbo Enterprise Centre on Friday (October 2) by managing director Richard Heaton.

The company won the contract from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to build the new Llangollen Health Centre, which opened in mid-September, following a multi-million pound investment by the Welsh Labour Government.

Mr Skates, who is based in Llangollen, said: “It was a pleasure to meet the team behind the fantastic new facility, and I’d like to thank Richard for inviting me to visit.

“The health centre is a very welcome addition to Llangollen and will become a huge asset to the town, and it is particularly pleasing to see a company in my constituency deliver it to such high standards.

“As the local Assembly Member, I’m proud that the Welsh Labour Government, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the practice have worked together on such a key project, and I’m thrilled that Read Construction has brought the plans to life and created such high-quality, modern healthcare facility the town can be proud of.”

The Labour AM also congratulated the firm on being nominated for a national Construction Quality Award for its work on Ysgol Ty Fynnon in Shotton.

Your chance to raise local health issues

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies is asking anyone from the area with concerns about local health services to get in touch with him.

He said: "Denbighshire County Council has a special meeting this Wednesday at which health issues will be discussed.

"There will be representatives from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board there, so I'm inviting anyone who has issues or concerns to raise about health services to get in touch with me and I'll then do my best to take them up with those concerned at the meeting."

* Cllr Davies can be contacted by phone on 01978 860832, or by email at: stuart.a.davies@denbighshire.gov.uk

The agenda for the meeting is at: https://moderngov.denbighshire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=5254&x=1&LLL=0

Society about to audition for new show

* Artistic director Nia Pickering, left, with musical director Elen Mair Roberts.

Rehearsals for Llangollen Operatic Society’s next production of Mel Brooks’ risqué, smash hit musical The Producers are now well underway.

And the production team says it could not be more pleased with the interest it is generating. 

Following the overwhelming success of Sister Act earlier this year, the society’s next choice of show was always going to be a challenge but The Producers is already on a promising track with several new or returning members signing up and preparations in progress for auditions, which are scheduled for the beginning of November. 

New artistic director Nia Pickering said: “I’m thrilled to finally be getting the new season and rehearsals underway.

"The interest we’ve had so far is very encouraging and I hope to see even more in the coming weeks.

"The atmosphere is electric with everyone’s excitement and we can’t wait to cast it in the next few weeks."

Auditions for principal roles will be held over the weekend of November 7 and 8 in Llangollen’s Hand Hotel and will be open in format.

Nia added: "There are a good number of comedic roles on offer, in particular for male performers, although there are some fun opportunities for ladies too, including a randy granny and a sultry Swedish receptionist!

"This show promises to have audiences, and indeed the cast, absolutely aching with laughter."

* If you are interested in getting involved, either on stage or off, e-mail Tracey Rawlinson on traceyrawlinson@btinternet.com, call 07875 639533 or like the society's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/llanoperaticproducers2016?ref=bookmarks for further details.

AM goes pink for breast cancer awareness

 

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood  has shown his support for women with breast cancer by dressing up in pink and encouraging his constituents to take part in Breast Cancer Now’s flagship fundraiser, wear it pink, on Friday 23^rd October.

 

wear it pink, the UK’s biggest pink fundraiser, calls on supporters across the country to ditch the day-to-day colours and pull on some pink to raise money for Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving breast cancer research.

 

Mr Isherwood joined fellow Assembly Members in wearing it pink this week to encourage people across Wales to get involved.

 

Now in its 14^th year, wear it pink raises over £2 million each year for world-class research into breast cancer, and this year it is back and bigger, brighter and bolder than ever before.

 

Anyone can take part, whether in school, at work or at home. All you have to do is wear something pink and donate whatever you can.

 

Mr Isherwood said: “On average 634 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in the area covered by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB). The breast cancer incidence rate for BCUHB is 166.8 per 100,000, which is not significantly different from the national average for Wales of 165.6 per 100,000.

 

“On average 152 women a year die from breast cancer in the area covered by BCUHB. The breast cancer mortality rate in the Health Board is 37.9 per 100,000, which is not significantly different from the national average for Wales of 36.7 per 100,000.

 

“Together, we can make a big difference for women with breast cancer, now and in the future; I hope everyone in the local community will join me in wearing it pink on Friday 23 October and show their support for Breast Cancer Now.”

 

Launched in June 2015 with the ambition of ensuring that no one dies from the disease by 2050, Breast Cancer Now is the UK’s largest breast cancer charity, created by the merger of Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

 

* For more information or to register for wear it pink visit www.wearitpink.org.

Conservatives select Clwyd South candidate

Clwyd South Conservative Association has announced the selection of Simon Baynes as the Welsh Conservative Prospective Assembly Candidate for Clwyd South.

Association Chairman, Tony Partridge, said: “We are delighted that Simon Baynes has been selected as our candidate for next year’s Assembly elections here in Clwyd South.

* Simon Baynes with the Prime Minister.

"He lives in the area and has been active in politics for over 10 years as a parliamentary and assembly candidate and as a councillor.

"We will be fighting a vigorous and positive campaign on local issues and our national policies for increased health spending, better education and a freeze in Council Tax for the people of Wales.”

 

Simon Baynes lives in the area and works as a writer, local councillor and administrator of the charity that he founded called Concertina – Music for the Elderly which makes grants to charities that provide musical entertainment for the elderly community in need - www.concertinamusic.ork.uk

 

He grew up at Lake Vyrnwy, where his father ran the hotel.

 

At the last Assembly elections he achieved a swing of 7% to the Welsh Conservatives in Dwyfor Meirionnydd and he has been an active, campaigning county councillor and town councillor for many years.

 

Cllr Paul Rogers, former candidate for Clwyd South and deputy chairman of the Clwyd South Conservative Association, said: “I have known Simon for many years – he really cares about the local community and will campaign on local issues such as the threat to maternity services at Wrexham Maelor, working with Andrew Atkinson in Wrexham.

 

"We are all looking forward to working with Simon and winning the Clwyd South Assembly seat for the Welsh Conservatives so we get a better deal for the people of Clwyd South.”

Skates backs Corbyn over "missing" voters

A Labour Assembly Member has echoed new leader Jeremy Corbyn’s call to ‘stop Tory gerrymandering’ – and wants missing voters to make sure their voices are heard.

Earlier this year Clwyd South AM Ken Skates backed a campaign led by Ed Miliband to ensure a million extra people were able to be part of the democratic process.

He said: “Every voter counts, so it’s crucial that as many people as possible who are eligible to vote are on the electoral register.”

Labour’s pre-General Election drive highlighted that around a million members of the public, many of them young people, were in danger of being denied a vote after disappearing from the register following changes made by Westminster.

This week, at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, Mr Corbyn said he would launch a new bid to give the missing voters their voice back.

He accused the Conservative Government of ‘gerrymandering’ by changing the registration rules and proposing boundary moves which would make it easier for David Cameron’s party to retain seats in the House of Commons.

Mr Skates said: “The tactical introduction of a new system – where people must register individually rather than one member of a household filling in a form – is the cause of this. The Tories don’t want to hear what these people have to say.

“The Labour Party has worked hard to ensure that as many of these voiceless voters are given back their democratic right, and we won’t give up.”

Earlier this year, Wrexham County Borough Council revealed that its number of registered voters had fallen by 2,769 in 12 months, from 104,532 to 101,763.

Mr Skates added: “There has been a huge emphasis on ensuring non-voters get engaged with politics, yet the fact that so many people – especially students – are unable to vote is completely undemocratic. Young people deserve to have their voices heard.

“We are seeing attitudes to politics change, and – while there will always be a degree of disillusionment and disinterest – huge swathes of the UK are now actively engaging like never before. Labour alone has seen an incredible 166,000 new members join since the General Election, and that number continues to grow, but there’s still work to be done.”

Mr Skates added that being on the voter register can also help people boost their credit rating and therefore help with loan, credit card or mortgage applications.

Visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote for more information.