Fancy touch to Christmas festival parade

Organisers say they are hoping to make this year's Llangollen Christmas Festival parade more colourful than ever by inviting youngsters to take part wearing fancy dress.

There say there will be prizes for the best costumes.

Warning over Halloween costume safety

With Halloween 2016 is fast approaching, Trading Standards across Wales are urging parents to be aware of the potential fire risk presented by children’s fancy dress costumes.

In October 2014 television presenter Claudia Winkleman’s eight-year-old daughter was severely burned after her witch costume caught fire, having been in contact allegedly with or in close proximity to a lit candle inside a pumpkin. 

Following this incident a co-ordinated survey was conducted by Trading Standards Services throughout the UK to assess the level of compliance of children’s costumes available at that time.

The safety of children’s costumes currently falls under the need to comply with the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, which is achieved through meeting the requirements of Part 2 of the Toy Safety Standard EN71.

Compliance with Toy Safety Regulations doesn’t mean that these costumes won’t catch fire as a ‘maximum allowable rate’ at which the flame can spread is defined.  Parents are advised to only purchase costumes that are CE marked and to follow the instructions and safety information carefully. 

Fancy dress costumes must be labelled with a ‘CE’ which is a declaration by the manufacturer that they comply with the Toy Safety Regulations.

Emlyn Jones, Denbighshire’s Public Protection Manager said: “We would encourage parents to be vigilant and aware of the potential risks associated with fancy dress costumes and fire or naked flames.

"The simple advice is to keep your children away from candles and naked flames or use an LED equivalent. Children are wearing fancy dress costumes more and more, including wigs and masks, not only during the Halloween period so follow this advice at all times. 

"Only buy costumes labelled with a ‘CE’ and report retailers to your Local Trading Standards Service if you encounter costumes that do not bear this important safety mark.”

Councillor David Smith, Denbighshire Council’s Lead Member for Public Realm, said: “The messages about highly flammable costumes are ones which we should make sure all members of our families are aware of. 

"Ensuring that safe products bought from reputable sources are the only products which enter our homes, should be seen as a priority for all families.”

* Children’s fancy dress costumes discovered without the CE mark should be reported to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.    

Ambulance Trust launches communications app

* The Trust’s Pre Hospital Communication Guide App on a phone screen.

THE WELSH Ambulance Service has launched an app to help frontline staff to interact with patients who have additional communication needs.

The bilingual Pre-Hospital Communication Guide App is a useful tool to assist those who are deaf, hard of hearing, don't speak English as their first language, have learning difficulties, or whose illness or injury affects their communication.

It is available to download both for staff and members of the public on their mobile phones and tablet devices, and displays images and supporting text to find out important information about the patient and what has happened if they have had an accident.

It can also identify if they use a specific communication method or the language they speak.

Pioneered by the Trust’s Patient Experience and Community Involvement Team, the app is based on a small booklet which was developed and issued by the service in 2013.

Claire Bevan, the Trust’s Director of Quality, Safety and Patient Experience, said: “Our staff will often come into contact with members of the community who have difficulty communicating, whether it’s through injury, illness or because they speak a different language.

“As a Trust it’s important that we recognise the communication needs of each individual and are able to find out those crucial details.

“Especially in the event of a medical emergency, it’s vital that we have a simple means available to quickly discover what symptoms they’re experiencing, as well as their medical history.

“This app is a very positive development in addressing that and we would encourage members of the public and our colleagues alike to download it to their phones.”

The app is available to download on mobile phones using the iOS, Android and Blackberry systems.

For iOS search your app store for ‘PreHospApp’, for Android search ‘pre hospital app’ and on Blackberry search for ‘Pre-Hospital Communication App’.

Free parking in run-up to Christmas announced

* Llangollen's Market Street car park is included in the Free After 3 scheme.  

Christmas shoppers are being given a festive treat from the county council when shopping in Denbighshire towns, including Llangollen, this festive season.

The "Free After 3" parking scheme will again be in operation this December to help support  town centres and encourage local shopping in the run-up to Christmas.

The scheme provides free parking in all council operated pay & display car parks in town centres after 3pm on a daily basis until December 31.

The car parks included in the initiative are:

Llangollen 
East Street 
Hall Street 
Market Street 
Mill Street 

Corwen
Green Lane 

Ruthin 
Crispin Yard (Cae Ddol) 
Dog Lane 
Market Street 
Park Road 
Rhos Street 
St Peter's Square 
Troed y Rhiw 

Denbigh 
Multi-storey 
Crown Lane 
Factory Ward 
Post Office Lane 
Vale Street 

Prestatyn 
Lower High Street 
Kings Avenue 
Railway Station (Coronation Gardens) 

Rhuddlan 
Parliament Street 

Rhyl 
Children's Village (Underground) 

Morfa Hall 
Morley Road 
Sky Tower 
West Kinmel Street 

St Asaph 
Bowling Green 

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment, said: “We are delighted to be offering free parking across Denbighshire after 3pm again this year. 

“We feel this is a good way of encouraging people to support the town centres and to access the wide variety of goods and services available from our local businesses."

This initiative coincides with the Small Business Saturday initiative across the county where the council is urging people to support their local businesses and services on December 5 and in the run-up to Christmas.

Denbighshire County Council is also helping support local businesses through its shop local campaign, #LoveLiveLocal which encourages people to share positive experiences of Denbighshire as a fantastic place to shop on social media and a Christmas video which will showcase what the county has to offer shoppers over the festive period. 

North Wales is in Lonely Planet's top 10 list

North Wales has made it on to the Lonely Planet’s Top Ten ‘Best in Travel 2017’ list – the only destination in the UK to do so.

The area came in at number four on this prestigious list but what caught the eye of the Lonely Planet - said to be the world’s leading travel authority - is the way the former industrial landscape has been reinvented and repurposed to create a series of truly world class attractions, from high speed zip lining and inland surfing, to underground trampolining in a 176-year-old disused slate mine.

Wales has enjoyed two record breaking years with visitor numbers crossing the 10 million mark for the first time in 2014 and record spend from domestic and overseas visitors in 2015.

Wales is looking to sustain this performance with the raised profile from international events such as Euro 2016, and the success of the 2016 Year of Adventure tourism campaign.

Economy Secretary and North Wales AM, Ken Skates, said: “This is such fantastic news for Wales as our Year of Adventure draws to a close.  Being listed as one of the best in the world by such a well respected and established publication such as the Lonely Planet is a real coup for north Wales. 

“The award will of course play a big part in our marketing for 2017 as we move on to celebrate the Year of Legends in Wales.  I’m sure it will make people who haven’t visited before think about Wales as a holiday destination and will also entice those who haven’t visited for a while back to Wales.

“This recognition is testimony to the commitment and partnership working between public and private sector to deliver a world class visitor experience.  North Wales has reinvented itself over recent years and the addition of some cutting edge, world class facilities to match the awe-inspiring scenery has given people compelling reasons to visit the area.  

"We’ve seen Investment in products which are attracting people to Wales – many for the first time and once in Wales they experience the warm welcome, culture and history of the area.”

Tom Hall, Lonely Planet’s Editorial Director, said: “We included North Wales in this year’s list of top ten regions because it deserves to be recognised on the global stage. It’s a stunning area with a vast array of activities on offer to keep travellers entertained.

"North Wales has also become a haunt of in-the-know foodies, so however visitors get their kicks, once they’ve worked up an appetite, they’ll also be well catered for. North Wales is a gem and should be on every traveller’s radar.”

Top 10 Regions in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017:

1. Choquequirao, Peru
2. Taranaki, New Zealand
3. The Azores, Portugal
4. North Wales, UK
5. South Australia
6. Aysén, Chile
7. The Tuamotus, French Polynesia
8. Coastal Georgia, USA
9. Perak, Malaysia
10. The Skellig Ring, Ireland.

AM raises questions on children from Jungle Camp

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood (pictured) has raised questions over the number of unaccompanied children from the ‘Jungle Camp’ in Calais who will be given protection in Wales and highlighted the challenges facing North Wales local authorities in dealing with the specific needs of refugees.   

Responding to the Statement by the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee on the Committee's Forward Work Programme including Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Unaccompanied Children, Mr Isherwood, who is hosting and sponsoring the ‘Sanctuary in the Senedd’ event with the Welsh Refugee Council on 7 December, when Members can meet asylum seekers and refugees from across Wales, spoke on the issue in the Assembly.

He said: “Obviously, references have been made to the horribly named Jungle camp in Calais and the fact that that’s closing down.

"The Children’s Commissioner for England has previously said that about 300 children there, from countries like Syria and Afghanistan, will come to the UK.

"We know that, last week, British and French officials began registering unaccompanied children in the camp who are hoping to join relatives in Britain. Do you have any indication if those figures are accurate or can you perhaps drill down to try and establish the number? If it is 300, or more, what proportion will be in Wales?

“Similarly, the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has said the UK Government is, to quote, ‘moving quickly’. She wants as many children as possible brought to the UK before the camp is shut. But the charity Safe Passage UK, which is working with the UK Government, says it’s not yet been shown any operational plans setting out how the children will be transferred. Again, could you look at the operational plans as they develop, not only with the UK Government but with the Welsh Government, in terms of the settlement here?

“I have represented people, with a number of councils, and there have been different approaches, but above all, the key points raised are, for example, in Wrexham—which has already agreed to accept people (under the Syrian Refugee Settlement Scheme) —the need for language support and, in Flintshire, for full language and curriculum support in schools, supporting integration of families into local communities, as well as the hard-end issues such as housing and health.”

Mr Isherwood added: “As a Wrexham Council representative said, we have a proud tradition of welcoming people in need, but as Gwynedd Council, which has already welcomed people from Syria, have told me, they must be sure before accepting unaccompanied children that we are able to provide a stable and sustainable environment, and as Flintshire Council stated: “the bigger challenges will be to integrate families into local communities, remembering that people will be mentally and emotionally scarred by their experience and will be in need of empathy and support.”

Signs of the times at Llan Museum

Local traditional sign writer David Kynaston will be giving a talk in Llangollen Museum this Wednesday at 7.30pm.

David grew up locally and it was in art classes at school he developed his love of "lettering".

Now he is known internationally and travels the world sign writing and doing workshops.

He is responsible for almost all the beautiful signs around Llangollen.

All welcome. Admission £3 to include tea/ coffee.