Llan panto group presents Alice in Wonderland

 

* Justine Bradey as the Queen of Hearts. 

 

LLANGOLLEN Pantomime Group is marking the 150^th anniversary of the publication of the story Alice in Wonderland with a spectacular local production.

 

Rehearsals are well underway for the annual pantomime which will take place at Llangollen Pavilion from Thursday, January 14 to Sunday, January 17.

 

Billed as the traditional story with a modern twist, the show will include bush-tucker trials and will be accompanied by a live band.

 

The script has been written by the pantomime’s director, Nico Decourt from Abbey Road, Llangollen.

 

He said: “We’re delighted to be performing Alice in Wonderland as it marks its 150^th anniversary. It’s a story which stands the test of time and brings plenty of opportunities for fun and mischief in the modern pantomime setting.

 

“The cast and crew are working really hard to ensure the audience enjoys a fabulously entertaining show once again.”

 

This is the 31^st production by the Llangollen Pantomime Group. Whole families regularly participate in the production with parents and grandparents performing alongside their children and grandchildren.

 

This year’s lead, Alice, is performed by Serena Young who is making her debut in the Llangollen Pantomime. 

 

The show runs from Thursday, January 14 to Sunday, January 17 at Llangollen Pavilion.

 

Doors 7pm, show 7.30pm, Saturday and Sunday matinee (doors open 2pm, show 2.30pm). For the first time, tickets are available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenpanto and from Jades Hair & Beauty, Llangollen or Gwyn Davies (Butchers), Llangollen. You can also reserve tickets by calling 01978 860297.

Pedestrian dies in A5 collision

The Daily Post is reporting online this morning (Saturday) that a pedestrian died following a road collision on the A5 between Llangollen and Chirk last night.

For more details, see: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pedestrian-killed-in-a5-crash-10553054

Silver honour for Llan care home manager

 

* Bronwen Morris has won a silver accolade.

 

A silver accolade has gone to the oldest care home manager in Wales.

 

The prestigious honour was presented to Bronwen Morris, of Llangollen at the annual Wales Care Awards, at a glittering dinner and ceremony in City Hall, Cardiff.

 

Bronwen, 77, runs The Old Vicarage care home in Llangollen and was nominated by its deputy manager, her son, David Morris.

 

She was thrilled to receive a silver, though she said she had ‘butterflies in my stomach’ all the while the awards were being announced by BBC Wales TV news presenter Lucy Owen.

 

Bronwen said: “I was very nervous, and really thought I might not get anything as there were so many other deserving people all around me. Some of them have done such good work, I was sure I wouldn’t get anything like a silver.”

 

But the judges thought different, having been impressed by Bronwen quarter of a century’s unstinting service to her local community.

 

She took over The Old Vicarage 25 years ago with her husband of 54 years, retired accountant Brian, and they were determined to ensure their residents felt as much at home as possible.

 

Having had no formal experience in the care sector, they trained for 18 months before opening The Old Vicarage and continue to keep themselves updated with training and care home procedures.

 

Just six years ago Bronwen studied for two years for a new management qualification when she was aged 71.

 

She remains the registered care provider and proprietor of The Old Vicarage, though her son now shares the day to day workload.

 

He said: “Mum is still a very hard worker and as determined as ever to make sure all our residents’ needs are met and that they are happy, even though she is nearly as old as some of them herself now.” 

 

Bronwen believes her age is an advantage as it gives her more understanding of residents’ needs. She plays a key role in organising social activities for them and taking those who are able out to local events including Llangollen WI and the Wednesday Club. She is also a volunteer with the Parkinson’s Society and the Alzheimers Society.

 

The Wales Care Awards are run in association with Care Forum Wales, a not-for-profit organisation set up in 1993 to give independent care providers a single professional voice with which to speak on one of the most important issues of our time – how to provide better quality care for those who need it most.

 

Bronwen was presented with her silver in the Outstanding Service Award category, sponsored by Hallmark.

 

She modestly said she felt honoured to have been nominated and was delighted to receive a silver, but didn’t feel she had done anything extraordinary, except care for people in the best way that she could. Her priorities for all her residents, she said, were to ensure they are well, feel at home, comfortable, and among good friends.

 

Mario Kreft, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, said: “There are only winners here tonight so it is only fitting that the finalists will receive a gold, silver or bronze Wales Care Award.

“I trust that they will continue to inspire those around them as role models and encourage others to aspire to even greater heights in the months and years to come.

“This awards ceremony is our opportunity to pay tribute and to celebrate the talent and commitment that is improving the quality of life for thousands and thousands of people throughout Wales.

“We take our hats off to them.”

As well as David, Bronwen and her husband have another son Richard, who lives in Carlisle and daughter Liz, of Ruabon, plus eight grandchildren aged from 13 to 30.

 

Warning: Storm Desmond to hit region

The BBC news website is reporting a warning from forecasters that gales of more than 70mph could bring disruption across north and mid Wales.

For details, see:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34997842

Rotary stages grand Christmas raffle

The Rotary Club of Llangollen is spending today and tomorrow (Saturday) in the entrance of the Co-op store in Regent Street selling tickets for its grand Christmas raffle, proceeds from which will go to various local charities.

Members will be there from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

Prizes include grocery vouchers for £100, £50 and £25 and ticket prices are £1 each.

The raffle will be drawn on Monday December 14.

Special loco heading for Llan Railway

* The Small Prairie loco No. 4566 on the Severn Valley Railway this summer.

LLANGOLLEN Railway is expecting a special visitor next spring.

Arrangements have been made for GWR Small Prairie No.4566 to attend the Spring Steam Gala which will take place over three days from Friday - Sunday April 8-10.

Featuring an intensive timetable of both passenger and freight trains, a great collection of historic steam locomotives and special attractions along the line, the event aims to offer something for railway enthusiasts and families.

Normally resident at the Severn Valley Railway, No.4566 will be travelling by road to visit the line and will be in operation alongside the railway's own home fleet.

For more details, visit the website: www.llangollen-railway.co.uk

MP explains her position on Syria bombing vote

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones has issued the following statement explaining her position on last night's vote to allow the RAF to bomb in Syria:


I would like to thank all my constituents who have contacted me since the atrocities in Paris, Beirut, Sinai, Tunisia and Ankara with their views on how best we should deal with the global threat that our country and the rest of the free world faces from ISIL/Daesh.

With our security services having foiled at least seven serious terror plots in the past year and our country's threat of attack at 'severe' level, I am not surprised that most people in our area paid little regard to the argument peddled by some that we as a country are to blame for standing up for the security and defence of our nation.

I received a very wide range of opinions from hundreds of constituents regarding whether the United Kingdom be authorised to extend targeted air-strikes from Northern Iraq across the border into Syria. Some constituents felt we needed to go further than Government proposals and that the UK should send ground troops. Others expressed a purely pacifist position - against any form of military action in Syria or anywhere else in the world at any point.

But most views I received stood between these positions. Some felt we should 'stay away' yet others spoke of the need to support the UN resolution by joining France, Germany, Russia and the US in targeted air-strikes, as one constituent put it: "Labour is an internationalist party; it is right that we show solidarity with President Hollande and the people of France".  Others pointed to the logical inconsistency (a view I have long held) of supporting air-strikes against ISIL/Daesh in Northern Iraq but not across the Syrian border in Raqqa where ISIL/Daesh have their headquarters.

Both among constituents who favoured air-strikes and those who did not, there was strong support for the Vienna talks held by the international Syria Support Group and the way in which that group had brought together a wide coalition of nations. The UK is indeed now part of a coalition of over 60 nations, and it is incumbent on us to work with other countries to cut off the flow of finance, fighters, and weapons to Daesh/ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

What struck me most from communications from constituents was the very thoughtful nature of most of the emails and letters, with one constituent, who was personally against air-strikes, expressing the views of many by describing the decision as "finely balanced". Another constituent described how air-strikes had enabled the Kurds to stand up to ISIL/Daesh. Others feared that there would be inadequate ground-troops in Syria and feared that Britain might have to send ground troops (something I do not feel that we should support).


I appreciate the very considered feed-back from my  constituents. I read every single piece of correspondence from my constituents on this issue. While I was not immune to receiving some limited and unacceptable abuse, this was happily rare, compared with that received by some MPs in other parts of the country. I know most of my constituents will be aware that I do not get intimidated by any attempts of bullying, whether on social media or any other way! Any attempts to intimidate me in the exercise of my representative duty will not succeed.

One issue that concerns me immensely is that we must always challenge the casual racism that insinuates ISIL/Daesh is anything to do with ordinary Muslims, as it is Muslim people who have been on the receiving end of more ISIL/Daesh brutality than that of any other faith group. Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are always wrong. In an area like ours which is home to only a very small number of Muslims and Jews, I think it is particularly important that we all challenge abusive comments against people of these faiths.

Finally, I realise that Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Shadow Cabinet have been viciously criticised by groups like the 'Stop the War Coalition' and by individuals like George Galloway for allowing Labour MPs a free vote on the decision that came before Parliament. Although I have always been open about the fact that I did not vote for Jeremy Corbyn in September's Labour Leadership election, I believe that he and the Labour Shadow Cabinet deserve heartfelt praise for that courageous decision. They acted in the spirit of the democratic socialist party that Labour is; not the narrow sect that some people would like to turn the Labour Party into.

It was that openness to allow Labour MPs to choose in line with conscience, careful consideration and constituent opinion, that led me to go into the same division lobby as Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and many other MPs. The key factors for me were: it made no sense to allow our RAF to undertake targeted air-strikes in Iraq but not across the border in Syria, the location of ISIL/Daesh's headquarters; and that I could not reconcile the unanimous resolution of the UN that we should take all necessary measures to counter ISIL/Daesh into a false choice between military and non-military action. The motion that MPs supported makes a clear commitment to seek to cut off ISIL/Daesh's sources of finance, fighters and weapons: it is right that it does so.

When tomorrow's Hansard is published, I would urge everyone to read the outstanding speech made by Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, towards the end of the Parliamentary debate. The speech well illustrates how our commitment to pluralism, freedom and the security of our nation and all those who face suffering matters in a dangerous world.