AM calls for summit talks over bank closures

North Wales Lib Dem Assembly Member Aled Roberts has called on the Welsh Government to hold round-table meetings with the main retail banks to find out if community services can be set up to replace closing branches.

 

In an Individual Member Debate in the Assembly Mr Roberts (pictured) said: “Access to banking services is key, not only to small businesses and retailers, but to individuals, voluntary and charitable groups in communities throughout North Wales.

 

“According to the Campaign for Community Banking Services, community banks and banking centres offer a cost effective way to sustain a branch presence in vulnerable communities, extend coverage and opening hours and reduce banks’ operating costs.

 

"The first step offered by the community banking model would be a shared banking franchise. For some very small rural communities with no banking presence, a limited shared branching franchise could sit alongside an existing post office franchise.”

 

Get a slice of Valentine's action on Saturday

If you would like to send a personalised Valentine’s Day card to someone close to you the  place to be is Llangollen Town Hall on Saturday February 13 between 10.30am and 1pm. 

Cards with  a specially commissioned verse can be purchased  from £1 to £2 depending on the message.

This is all part of a Coffee and Cupcake event organised by the Inner Wheel Club of Llangollen to support Parkinson’s UK both locally and nationally.

There will also be various stalls including cakes and scarves and tombola.

The main raffle prize will be a food hamper donated by AF Blakemore & Son Ltd - Spar Llangollen.

The hall will be decorated with red and pink hearts and there will be appropriate live piano music. 

Coffee and a cupcake costs £2.

This a great way to start off your Valentine weekend  and support a very worthy cause at the same time.    

Two local businesses in countryside honours

Two local businesses are celebrating reaching the finals of the Countryside Alliance Awards.

 

Llangollen Brewery reached the finals in the Local Food Category, and Glyn Ceiriog Post Office were finalists in the Village Shop category.

 

The awards, dubbed the Rural Oscars, are an annual celebration of Welsh rural business, produce and communities.

 

* Llyr Gruffydd with a representative of Llangollen Brewery. 

The awards ceremony was sponsored by Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales' North Wales AM and his party's spokesperson on rural affairs.

He is also chair of the cross-party group on Rural Affairs at the National Assembly.

 

*Llyr Gruffydd with a representative of Glyn Ceidiog Post Office.   

Mr Gruffydd said: "It was a joy to see both businesses reaching the finals, and deservedly so. It is a recognition of the hard work that both businesses put in day in day out to make sure that they thrive. "But they also contribute significantly to their communities, either through employment, bringing in money or by providing much needed services."

 

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales' candidate for Clwyd South nominated both businesses.

 

He said: "Llangollen Brewery do an excellent range of ales, and John and Gilly at Glyn Ceiriog Post Office provide an essential service always with a smile, and Gilly's home baking is something else. Both businesses represent what is best about our rural communities, doing what they do for the love of it and not for any great commercial or financial gain.

 

"Rural communities are more than just green hills and fresh air, they are living breathing communities and these businesses are a reminder of this. It would do well for those who provide services such as banking, health, education and others to remember this."

 

Steven Evans, from Llangollen Brewery said: “We’re very pleased to get this award. An increasing number of people are enquiring about our beer, and we’re selling it as far afield as Anglesey. We’re looking forward to another busy and successful year.”

 

John Keen from Glyn Ceiriog Post Office said: “This was a nice surprise, and timely considering the campaign we’ve had to keep the Post Office here. We wouldn’t have such a thriving little business if it wasn’t for the support of our fantastic customers. We’d like to thank them all for their continued support.”

AM launches free forces swimming scheme

Labour AM Ken Skates has launched a new national scheme to provide free swimming for veterans and Armed Forces personnel in Wales.  

Free Swimming for Armed Forces is the latest initiative to be launched by the Welsh Government as part of its package of support for the forces community.

The scheme is being delivered by all councils in Wales to enable and encourage veterans and serving Armed Forces personnel to enjoy swimming as a form of physical activity and in recognition of the service they have given to their country. 

Launching the £100,000 scheme, Mr Skates (pictured) said: “Like many residents in Clwyd South, I believe very strongly that we need to recognise the service of our Armed Forces personnel, both past and present.

“This scheme is another way in which the Welsh Labour Government is acknowledging their huge contribution.

“I hope serving members of the Armed Forces and veterans in Clwyd South will be able to make full use of this opportunity, and I call on Wrexham Council to ensure the scheme is offered at all public pools in the county borough.”

An Armed Forces spokesman described the scheme as ‘very pleasing and a further show of commitment from the Welsh Government towards Armed Forces personnel and veterans living in Wales’.

41 people fined for littering in county

Denbighshire County Council’s tough stance on littering in the county continues with a further  41 people receiving fines through the courts for offences.

 

The council took action through the courts against 41 individuals.

 

The courts issued a total of £8,800 in fines and ordered individuals to pay £7,380 in costs (in total).

 

The cases against a further 19 individuals were withdrawn, mostly due to the fact they had paid their fixed penalty notices prior to the court appearance.

 

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Public Realm, said: “Our residents have told us they want to live in a clean environment and that is why we have made cleaner, tidy streets one of our main priorities in Denbighshire.

 

“The majority of residents in our county treat the environment with complete respect and that leads to a better quality of life and improves the visual image of the area.

 

“However, there is a minority of people that are responsible for environmental crime such as dog fouling and don’t clean the mess.  Those are the people we are targeting as part of our on-going education campaign which has received support from local communities.

 

“We will not tolerate examples where people wilfully allow their dogs to foul in public.  Enforcement action is very much a last resort and we will continue to be vigilant and work with communities to try and rid our communities of any kind of environmental crimes."

 

Cynwyd group on song for MS charity

 

 

* Helen Whittaker and Jean Hughes of the MS Society Wrexham branch receive the cheque from y Gymdeithas, Cynwyd.

Cynwyd community group Y Gymdeithas raised £543 for the MS Society following a Christmas service and carol singing in the village over the festive period.

The funds are to be split between the Wrexham MS Society branch and research into MS.

Each year the group organises a community carol singing session, with people of all ages visiting the homes of people who are housebound or lonely and singing at the village square.

The group has grown from strength to strength, and this year over 30 people took part in the singing.

They also arranged a Christmas service at Bethel Chapel, inviting each community group to attend and participate, with the aim of making sure that various village groups worked together for their common good.

This year Y Gymdeithas chose MS Society as their charity of choice.

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable and incurable condition that affects people’s nervous system. It can attack suddenly or progress steadily, bringing a range of symptoms which can include sight loss, incontinence, fatigue and mobility problems.

No-one with MS can be sure when or how it will affect them next.

In the UK there are more than 100,000 people living with MS. In Wales, over 4,900 people are living with the condition; 300 people are newly diagnosed with MS every year.

Helen Whittaker, representing the Wrexham Branch of the MS Society, said: “We are very grateful for this generous gift from Y Gymdeithas in Cynwyd to the MS Society.

"As a charity we depend on the generous donations of individuals, groups and societies to allow us to continue with our research nationally, and locally to fund equipment to assist people living with and affected by MS.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, representing Y Gymdeithas, said: “Our small community has seen the effects of MS, and are grateful to the charity for the work that it is doing in helping those suffering from MS and in doing vital work to research into how to beat this disease.

"We all had a lot of fun raising the funds, signing in the rain, and bringing the Christmas cheer to those who were housebound or lonely. We’re looking forward to starting practising for next year’s carol singing.”

Curtain goes up again on New Dot cinema

* A scene from The Lobster, the film to be shown next Friday.

New Dot Cinema is back for a new season.

After a highly successful first year, a new programme of quirky, provocative and entertaining films
kicks off at the Town Hall in Llangollen with a showing of The Lobster on Friday, February 12th.

This year, New Dot will be screening temporarily as 'Micro Dot' in a smaller venue in the Town Hall council chamber.

With seating for around 35 people, organisers say screenings will be intimate (but still very charming) so tickets will be in high demand. Delicious homemade cakes, fairtrade tea and 'real' coffee will be on offer. There’s no bar, but people are welcome to BYOB.

New Dot Cinema co-founder Jen Sandiford explained: “We had such a fantastic response to our first season, we wanted to keep up the momentum. Using this smaller venue gives us a chance to experiment with quirkier films that people might not otherwise get a chance to see.”

Already lined up for the new season are: Tulpan, a funny and moving film set in the stunning Kazakh steppes, about a young man who dreams of being a shepherd; the gentle Oscar-winning Czech film, Closely Observed Trains, in which an apprentice train dispatcher working at a sleepy train depot during WW2, pines for Máša, a pretty train conductor; and Dear White People, an American satire of race relations on an elite university campus.

More films will be added to the programme very soon, including a gala film to be shown as part of the Llangollen Fringe so sign up for New Dot Cinema’s email at the facebook page or at NewDotCinema.org.

Tickets are priced at £5 and are available at Baileys Deli and online at: http://tiny.cc/grds8x

New Dot Cinema is entirely volunteer-led. If you’d like to get involved in any way from programming to being an usher for an evening, please contact the team at: http://newdotcinema.org/dot/contact/

More information: www.NewDotCinema.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/newdotcinema
Twitter: www.twitter.com/newdotcinema