It's open doors at historic sites this Sunday

North Wales South East Wales South West Wales

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates has announced the Welsh Government is opening the doors, free of charge, to all of its directly-managed Cadw sites on Sunday June 26 June to mark Wales’ historic achievement at reaching the final 16 in the European 2016 Football Championship.

That includes Valle Crucis Abbey in Llangollen (pictured).

Following Monday night’s 3-0 victory against Russia, which also placed Wales at the top of its qualifying group, Ken Skates said: "We entered this competition with a real feeling that qualification was just the start for this group of players and we were right. 

“From fan behaviour to Wales’ performance on the pitch, this tournament has captured the hearts and minds of this country and really helped to showcase to the rest of the world what Wales is truly capable of.” 

Earlier this month Mr Skates, who is also responsible for Major Events and Elite Sport in Wales, said he would be delighted to offer free entry to Cadw’s historic castles and monuments on June 26 if the Team reached the final 16.

Following Monday’s result he said: “We waited 58 years for this opportunity but it was certainly worth the wait.

“This has unquestionably been our Year of Adventure so far and long may it continue. I am pleased to confirm that not only will our castles remain illuminated in red but also, this Sunday, everyone will have the opportunity to visit our directly-managed Cadw sites for free.

“I hope the people of Wales will take full advantage of this opportunity and enjoy a thoroughly fun, informative and fulfilling day out to help celebrate the success of our national football team.”
There are 24 directly-managed Cadw sites in Wales where the special offer applies.

With more than 130 sites to explore across Wales, further information about all of Cadw’s castles and properties can be found on the Cadw website

The 24 directly-managed Cadw sites in Wales where the special offer applies are:

• Beaumaris Castle
• Caernarfon Castle
• Conwy Castle
• Harlech Castle
• Criccieth Castle
• Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House
• Denbigh Castle
• Rhuddlan Castle
• Rug Chapel
• Valle Crucis Abbey
• Cilgerran Castle
• Kidwelly Castle
• Laugharne Castle
• Oxwich Castle
• St David’s Bishop’s Palace
• Strata Florida Abbey
• Caerphilly Castle
• Castell Coch
• Chepstow Castle
• Raglan Castle
• Tintern Abbey
• Tretower Court & Castle
• Blaenavon Ironworks*
• Caerleon Roman Baths*

* Caerleon Roman Baths and Blaenavon Ironworks are already free to enter so although they are included on this list the offer of free entry is not limited to June 26.

Isherwood campaigns for armed forces community

* Mark Isherwood AM meets RAF veteran Andy Davies to discuss the campaign at the Welsh Assembly.

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has declared his support for The Royal British Legion’s ‘Count Them In’ campaign which calls for questions on the Armed Forces community to be included in the next UK Census.

It is estimated that there are currently between 6.5 million and 6.7 million members of the Armed Forces community living in the UK, representing about a tenth of the population.

However, says Mr Isherwood, little is known about the exact numbers, location and needs of this significant group.

He believes that including new questions on the next census would provide public bodies, and charities with information to ensure they are able to deliver the best services they can for the Armed Forces community. 

After meeting veterans' representatives, he said: “There could be up to 250,000 veterans in Wales, but without this data we cannot plan for the NHS Wales capacity needed, commission the wider services required, or provide the support on which family and carers depend, and we cannot  deliver on the promise made by the Armed Forces Covenant that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.”

Chris Simpkins, Director-General of The Royal British Legion, said: “As a nation we promise to provide lifelong care and support for those who serve our country, and by adding questions to the 2021 UK Census we can help public bodies and charities to deliver the best services they can for our Armed Forces community where they are needed most. We thank Mark for adding his support to our campaign and it’s time to make the next census count for our Armed Forces community . We count on them, lets Count them in.”

* People can show their support for the campaign by visiting the campaign website, www.britishlegion.org.uk/census, or by posting on social media using the #CountThemIn hashtag.

MP's concern over fire service cuts plan

Susan Elan Jones, Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, has written to every member of the North Wales Fire Authority expressing deep concerns about proposals to cut 24 posts one of Wrexham’s two full-time engines.

Ahead of the authority’s meeting yesterday (Monday), at which the controversial plans were discussed, Ms Jones urged members to ‘go back to the drawing board’.

She said: “I am extremely concerned. This news comes only weeks after the service moved into a brand new joint ambulance and fire station, a £15m facility built with joint investment from both services. It’s quite astounding.”

Ms Jones said she feared response times would increase and lives consequently put at risk by the ‘short-sighted’ cuts put forward.

She added: “I understand Wrexham Fire Station is already dealing with more than 40% of all North Wales arson incidents, and a large proportion of the road traffic accidents across the region, and it will be facing increased pressure over the coming years with the anticipated 20% increase in the local population.

“Cutting the second appliance from Wrexham would, surely, result in delayed responses. In an environment where every second counts, this could be considered to be a deliberately irresponsible course of action.

“The second appliance based at Wrexham also supports outlying fire stations in Clwyd South at Johnstown, Chirk, Llangollen and Corwen. It is extremely worrying that standby support in these areas would cease, leaving large areas along the A5 corridor without adequate cover.

“I would urge the authority to go back to the drawing board and seriously reconsider these short-sighted proposals for the safety of the public.”

Wrexham Fire Station receives around 1,000 calls per year, about a quarter of the total for North Wales. Another 50 fire engines cover the remaining 75% of the region.

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates said he would also be writing to the authority to raise his concerns.
UPDATE ...
North wales Fire and Rescue Authority said it will consult on the proposals, the BBC reported yesterday (Monday).
For the full story, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-36570627

Wild Pheasant goes on the market

The Daily Post is reporting today (Monday) that the Wild Pheasant Hotel in Llangollen has gone on the market for £2.25 million.

For the full story, see: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/llangollens-wild-pheasant-hotel-spa-11495088

Band tuning up for Picnic in the Garden

* Last year's successful Picnic in the Garden at Plas Newydd.

Llangollen Silver Band will be holding their popular Picnic in the Garden event at Plas Newydd next Sunday, June 26, from 4 – 6.30pm.

The event will feature all three of their bands  - training, youth and senior bands - performing sets alongside other musical guests.

Band spokesman, Robert Stock, explained: “In addition to brass music provided by our three bands, we’ll have string performances from Florence Harvey, Lucy Mwale and Elizabeth Mwale.

"We’re also delighted that Ysgol Bryn Collen’s Drama Group will again be joining us, following their successful performance alongside us at a concert in Llangollen Methodist Church back in March.

"They will be performing a selection of favourites from musicals such as The Sound of Music, Annie and Cinderella Rockafella.”

Tickets for Picnic in the Garden are now on sale at the cost of £5 and are available to purchase at the Council Office on Parade Street, Tourist Information Centre, Glyn the Butchers on Castle Street, and from band members. Tickets can also be purchased on the gate.

Concert goers are asked to bring along a folded chair, picnic and umbrella. 

A cake stall will also be available to purchase a range of homemade treats.

Should the weather on the day be particularly poor, the even will be held at Llangollen Town Hall instead.

Check the band's twitter page at www.twitter.com/llanband for any announcement regarding to where the event will be held.

Rock star heads hand hygiene campaign

* Rock star Mike Peters is to lead an Olympic-style baton tour around North Wales.

Rock star Mike Peters is to lead an Olympic-style baton tour around North Wales, as part of a Hand Hygiene crusade to help prevent the spread of life-threatening infections.

The Alarm front-man is among a team of NHS patients and staff who will carry the Hand Hygiene baton around the region, championing the message: 'Clean hands save lives'.

Mike, 57, from Prestatyn in Denbighshire, is battling leukaemia and so has learned first-hand the importance of hand washing when it comes to staying infection-free.

The Hand Hygiene baton will tour North Wales during nine days of events organised by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, including visits to Ysbyty Glan Glwyd at Bodelwyddan, Wrexham Maelor Hospital and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

Mike will take the baton on a tour of wards at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and speak to patients about the importance of hand hygiene, from 9.30am on Friday July 1. 

Four symbolic Hand Hygiene batons are being passed around communities across the UK this summer, in a campaign organised by the Infection Prevention Society (IPS), and delivered in North Wales by the BCUHB Infection Prevention team.

The tour was launched in Scotland on May 5 to coincide with the World Health Organisation's World Hand Hygiene Day, and will finish on September 26 in Yorkshire. 

It will be in the Wrexham area on June 27 and 28, Bodelwyddan area on June 29 and 30, and July 1 and Ysbyty Gwynedd from July 3 to 5. Full details of the tour will be revealed at a later date.

The idea is to spread the message, not the bugs, says the Infection Prevention team at BCUHB. 

Mike hopes his visit to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd on July 1 will help catapult the important message that ‘Clean Hands Save Lives’ into the national spotlight. 

During a glittering career Mike, 57, has shared the stage with A-listers Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Bono and Neil Young, while The Alarm has achieved 15 UK top 40 hits and sold more than five million records worldwide. 

Despite his illness he continues to tour, both at home and overseas, spurred on by the passionate support of his army of fans.

The married dad of two who lives with wife and manager, Jules, and their two sons, Dylan, 12 and Evan, nine, near Dyserth, Denbighshire, knows from personal experience how important hand hygiene is, particularly for those with low immunity levels, the very young, frail and elderly. 

He is a staunch supporter of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and Ysbyty Gwynedd, without which he says he would not be alive today.

Mike was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995. Chemotherapy treatment forced it into remission, but the cancer came back in 2005 in the form of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. 

Further treatment kept the disease at bay until last year when it recurred. In a crushing blow for him and his family Mike was told he had developed a resistance to the life-saving drugs he was on and doctors had to urgently change his treatment regime. 

He is now on a trial drug to which his body is so far responding positively. He has regular treatment and check-ups at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

Mike says after years of suffering from cancer and going through times when his strength and immunity levels were dangerously low, he knows how easy it is for a commonplace infection to develop into something more serious and potentially lethal.

He said: “I had absolutely no hesitation when asked to support the infection prevention campaign because I know first-hand how effective it is when it comes to saving lives. 

"Simple preventative measures like washing your hands regularly can make a huge difference, stemming the spread of bacteria and viruses and so protecting the vulnerable.”

Tracey Cooper, the Assistant Director of Nursing in charge of infection prevention at BCUHB, will hand the baton to Mike before he takes it on tour around Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

She said: “It’s the year of the Rio Olympic Games and we’re all up for a challenge, but we’ve set ourselves a very specific goal here in North Wales – we want to stop potentially fatal infections from getting out of the starting blocks. 

"We’re over the moon Mike has agreed to be an ambassador for us.”

Infection Prevention Nurse, Kathryn Chapple, who has organised a week long hand hygiene events programme for BCUHB, added: "Mike’s visit will be a highlight of our campaign. 

"He has a large fan base here, among staff as well as patients. He will tour the various departments and visit wards.”

Experts estimate that eight out of 10 infections are spread by touch. 

Nurse Kathryn Chapple said: “That’s why washing your hands properly is one of the most important things you can do to help prevent and control the spread of many illnesses. 

“An efficient hand hygiene routine can significantly reduce the risk of contracting colds, flu, food poisoning and stop healthcare associated infections being passed from person to person. We recommend people wash their hands frequently, not just after going to the toilet, or before meals, but regularly throughout the day.”

The message was firmly reiterated by Mike’s wife Jules who admits to having become a ‘hygiene obsessive’.

She said: “I don’t want to sound paranoid of anything, but as a carer I know how bad it can get. 

"When Mike was first diagnosed I was terrified of people coming near him or even visiting him in hospital because of the risk that they could spread on infection. 

“He has so many adoring fans and has always made himself so accessible to them. I urged him to start doing ‘fist bumps’ instead of handshakes to minimise the risk.

“We all pick up invisible bacteria during the course of the day, just by touching things around us – hand rails or door knobs, for instance – and these bacteria are easily passed from person to person. 

"If you are in full health you may have the ability to fight off colds and other viruses picked up in this way, but if you are vulnerable in the first place they can become life-threatening. 

“Passing on an infection is so easily done just by shaking hands with or hugging someone when you have not washed your hands.  

"But it is also easily prevented by one simple measure – hand washing. If there is not a washroom nearby then carry an anti-bacterial cleanser. I am always telling Mike and the boys to carry anti-bacterial hand gel round with them and to use it regularly.”

Jules’s determination to support the hand hygiene campaign is strengthened by her experience of having spent a traumatic month in isolation in hospital after picking up a virus while on a fund-raising climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. 

It was in aid of world leading rock and roll charity the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation which Mike co-founded following his cancer diagnosis.

The foundation promotes music related, outreach and awareness programmes for leukaemia and cancer sufferers, survivors and their families. It builds cancer centres, funds medical equipment and supplies, raises awareness about cancer and campaigns for more potential donors to sign up to the organ and bone marrow registers.

It has seen Mike perform at famous summits around the world, from Mount Snowdon, on his home turf, to the top of New York’s Empire State Building, the world’s highest rock concert on Mount Everest, a dawn concert at Mount Fuji, Japan, and the ‘roof of Africa trek’ to Mount Kilimanjaro. 

It was following that trip when Jules suffered a blood clot which caused her leg to swell up, coupled with a mystery virus, which nearly killed her, and resulted in her having emergency treatment in Liverpool’s Tropical Disease Centre isolation unit. 

She said: “It was a very frightening time, during which I had to be quarantined from everyone including Mike and the boys, all my family, and friends, for a month. 

“I put myself in the hands of the doctors and followed their advice to the letter because I knew that was the best thing I could do. 

"I was very lucky to come out of it alive and one thing it has taught me is how easy it is for what seems like a small insignificant infection to escalate out of control. 

“That’s why the Hand Hygiene campaign is so important to us as a family, because it can make such a massive difference. It is amazing to think that such a simple task can have such a huge impact, but all the evidence is clear, washing our hands regularly really does save lives.”

The Hand Hygiene tour is the largest campaign of its kind held by the Infection Prevention Society and coincides with the 2016 World Health Organisation Clean Your Hands offensive, leading up to an infection prevention conference in Harrogate this September. 

You can follow the Hand Hygiene tour on Facebook and Twitter by searching @BCUbeatthebugs or #IPSTorchTour16

For more information visit www.ips.uk.net

Llan MP's tribute to murdered colleague

WHILE taking sensible precautions for their own safety MPs should never forget they are there to represent individuals and communities and cannot do that by hiding themselves away.

That was the message from Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones as she paid warm tribute to fellow  Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered on the streets of her Yorkshire constituency last Thursday.

Ms Jones (pictured) said: “The tragic news about the murder of Jo Cox has shocked the whole country.

“It is clear that Jo was a person who cared very deeply about other people, both in this country and across the world.

“She had a career of distinguished service as an aid worker and a campaigner before she entered Parliament and she was every bit as dedicated in her work as an MP.

“Jo was also a mother to very young children. I know many people across our country and the world will hold her family and close friends in their thoughts and prayers at this very traumatic time. 

“Many of us were very moved by the words of Jo's husband after her death that we can best remember Jo and honour her life by standing up against the hatred that led to her death.”

Ms Jones added: “Regrettably, there often seem to be much hatred, fear and extremism in politics in our country today. However, there is also much that is good.

“One thing that I believe that we must cherish is the right of individual constituents to meet with their Members of Parliament.

“Of course, MPs and everyone in the public eye must take sensible security precautions, but we MPs should never forget that we are here to represent individuals and communities.

“And we can't do that by hiding away from people.

“Yesterday (Friday) I visited the museum in Cefn Mawr and then held a constituency surgery in Llangollen Library with Ken Skates AM.

“I will continue to do all I can to help and represent my constituents to the best of my ability.

“Democracy and tolerance are precious treasures in our country and across our continent. We must never let the voices of hatred and extremism threaten them.”