Operatic's Christmas show in a real cracker

A talented cast from Llangollen Operatic Society polished up a whole stockingful of comic gems to present a delighted audience with a glittering pre-Christmas present at the Town Hall last night (Friday).

Their seasonal offering, entitled Comedy Tonight, does exactly what it says on the tin, serving up a varied selection of excerpts from some of the most hilarious TV shows of the past interspersed with stand-alone sketches and songs.

This feast of fun has everything – from a couple of hilarious helpings of ‘All Allo featuring that naughty hidden sausage routine and an acrobatic French Resistance girl to a rip-snorting recreation of the late great Victoria Wood’s legendary ditty of marital frustration, Can’t Do It.

Shining in both ‘Allo Allo tributes is Operatic stalwart Bill Cheshire who has just the right mixture of bashfulness and bawd to bring the wartime bar owner Rene startlingly back to life, and in the first knock-about snatch from the show he’s aided and abetted by a gendarme who’s so good he could really be French (actually, Nico Decourt genuinely is).

Bill’s back as a French landlord from a different era when he takes centre stage in Master of the House from Les Mis.

The superb chorus backing him and the setting – especially Bill’s fabulous Napoleonic military costume – makes the whole roistering experience a real highlight of the show.

But then there are many more, including Chris Sims’s gob-smackingly good portrayal of Victoria’s Wood’s Can’t Do It with its cheeky cascading lyrics and the re-visiting of the unforgettable Two Soups sketch which in the original saw doddering waitress  Julie Walter making real a hash of serving a couple of hapless diners.

Here Robin Crowley – who also directs the whole show – brings his own touch of hilarity to the piece.

Llangollen's neighbouring Twenty Club recently had a smash-hit run with another TV comedy icon, The Vicar of Dibley, with Louise Cielecki in the title role.

So with Louise being link woman for the night it would have been a sin for her not to revisit the crazy Gloucestershire parish in company with that man Chris Sims again and the marvellous Carys Stallard all of whom ensure that its sparkles anew.

Louise also works with her old sparring partner from their days in the society’s Young ‘Uns junior section, Nathan Lloyd, to present some delicious slapstick moments.

Talking about the Young ‘Uns, a group of them kick off the evening with a selection of numbers from their forthcoming production of Bugsy Malone led by its two stars, Cassius Hackforth and Celyn Orton Jones.

Helen Belton is the show's one-woman orchestra and it's amazing the musical power she can produce from just an electric piano.

The whole entertainment experience is the brainchild of Tracey Rawlinson and she deserves a round of applause as loud and strong as the production won from the audience at the end of a couple of hours of rib-tickling fun on its first of two nights.

If you want to get the Christmas snowball rolling in fine style why not see if you can grab yourself a couple of tickets for tonight’s closing performance as I believe there might still be a few left. 

They’re £8 (£6 concessions) and you could try the usual outlets of Gwyn Davies butchers, Jades Hair and Beauty or Baileys.  

Llan youth band triumphs at Brynhyfryd

* The Youth Band performs at Ysgol Brynhyfryd.

Llangollen Youth Band competed in the North Wales Brass Bands Association Annual Championships at Ysgol Brynhyfryd in Ruthin last Saturday.

They finished in second place and were awarded the Llandudno Challenge Cup in the Youth Section of the contest.

The band began with the beautiful hymn tune ‘Angels Watching Over Me’ before performing the test piece ‘Passing Moods’ by Thomas James Powell, with cornet player, Taya Castley, being awarded the Lixwm Challenge Cup for Best Soloist for her solo in the latter.

Conductor, Trevor Williams, was left feeling proud when reflecting upon the band’s performance.

He said: "All players in the Youth Band should feel immensely proud of their performance in the contest.

"We have put in several months of practice to prepare for this competition and all members have worked incredibly hard.

"The experience of playing in front of such a large audience and competing against other talented bands is sure to improve them all as players."

County taxis carry domestic abuse message

Denbighshire taxis will be the first in North Wales to relay this important message in both English and Welsh.

The new dash board stickers carrying the informative and impactive message about domestic abuse will be seen by all customers, from the end of this week, in the 430 licensed taxis across Denbighshire.

PC Les Jones, who came up with the sticker idea, said: “The message about domestic abuse will be relayed to thousands of men, women and children who use these vehicles, to transport them at all times of day.

“We hope the stickers will plant the seed of non-acceptance and that it will go towards reducing/preventing this often hidden crime and assists in making this county a safer place.”

The stickers will be issued in the run up to White Ribbon Day, but it is hoped the message will carry through to the festive period and beyond.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Cabinet Lead Member for Social Care, Adults and Children’s Services, said: “This is an extremely important message that we are trying to get across to residents in Denbighshire communities and we have been considering innovative ways of getting our message across in a visual and engaging way.

“This is another great example how council departments work closely together, in close association with our colleagues at North Wales Police to help protect the public from abuse."

Free After 3 parking announced for town

*Llangollen's Market Street car park which is part of the Free After 3 initiative.

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents and visitors that the "Free After 3" parking scheme is operating in the county to help support town centres and to 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. 

Amongst car parks included in the initiative are:

Llangollen 
East Street
Hall Street 
Market Street
Mill Street 

Corwen
Green Lane 

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

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 3 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. 

MP calls for tougher sentencing of rogue drivers

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones will lead a debate in Parliament today (Wednesday) on the subject of road safety and the Government's proposed sentencing review.

Ms Jones (pictured), who received road safety charity Brake's award of 2015 Parliamentarian of the Year for her campaigning work, previously introduced a bill to Parliament calling for higher penalties for drivers who drive unlicensed or uninsured.

This year, she tabled a series of questions to the Government on the issue on the week Theresa May became Prime Minister.

Ms Jones said: "I met recently with the Transport Minister and over the summer I tabled a number of questions to Government Ministers.

"I finally got a commitment that the Government would announce a proper consultation on sentencing for road traffic offences by the end of the year.

"I am not giving up because every delay to this campaign is a slight to justice and an insult to the families of those innocent victims who die on our roads.

"There is a lot of support for fairer laws that will help secure justice and make our roads safer."

The train now arriving ...

* 6880 Betton Grange aboard a low loader is inched into the entrance to the railway works in Abbey Road. 

Traffic on Abbey Road was temporarily halted yesterday (Monday) afternoon to allow a prestigious steam engine to be shoehorned into Llangollen railway workshops. 

Last weekend 6880 Betton Grange had been one of the stars at the world’s biggest model railway exhibition, the Warley MRC event at Birmingham’s NEC, and was being returned to its home base. 

This was the first time the loco had appeared in public.

The Betton Grange Society's working parties had lovingly prepared 6880 for display at Warley, assembling all of the motion parts to finish the bottom end of the engine.

The boiler from ex-GWR loco No. 5952, Cogan Hall, was mounted on the frames for the display period.

This will allow the society to set out the pipe runs needed when No. 7927 Willington Hall’s boiler is finally refurbished for use on the completed engine.

The transfer of the boiler from Cogan Hall on to Betton Grange was handled by volunteers led by chief engineer Chris Moore.

The society has announced that TV presenter Mark Evans has agreed to be their first ambassador.

Mark has delivered a number of programmes on Channel 4 and Discovery including An MG is Born, A Race Car is Born and A Plane is Born.

He joined the society at Llangollen in October and received a warm welcome from the 6880 directors who explained all aspects of the project to him.

Ideas flowed as to how Mark could help members achieve their ambition of finishing 6880 within the next two years.

* Llangollen Railway's Winter Warmer gala weekend will be held on December 30 and 31.

It will feature an intensive timetable, authentic cameos and a real ale bar.

Services will be in operation between Llangollen and Carrog (the temporary platform at Corwen East being closed over the winter period as part of the new Corwen Central station works) and will feature a combination of steam, diesel and DMU traction.

Discounted advance fares are available through the railway's website: http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/event/, with an adult day rover being just £16 (£18 on the day) and just £9 for children. Senior and family discounts are also available.

   

Further developments on Vicarage Road plan

The developer aiming to build new homes on the Vicarage Road site in Llangollen has now put forward a number of amendments to the original scheme which sparked a storm of protest from opponents in the area when it was first announced.

Earlier this year Castlemead Homes submitted an application to Denbighshire County Council for a development of 99 dwellings comprising a mixture of two, three and four bedroom detached and semi-detached properties.

But people in the area argued strongly that local roads would not be able to cope with the extra traffic these would generate both during construction and when the new homes were occupied.

Now, with the application expected to go before the planning committee next month, the developers say there would be fewer homes than originally suggested – 95 instead of 99 – and that if the scheme is given the go-ahead they are prepared to build the access road before any homes are constructed.

Its representative also says there would be cash contributions for extra primary school provision in the area and also for improved open space.

These revelations come in a letter from planning consultants acting on behalf of Castlemead Homes to council chiefs, a copy of which has been sent to a member of the local group campaigning against the scheme.

The letter says: “You have asked me for a resume of our proposals following our various discussions over the past few weeks. 

“For the avoidance of doubt, the proposal is now for 95 dwellings, plots 96 – 99 have been deleted from the proposals (although these benefit from a separate permission).

“So far as other matters are concerned, in the event that you resolve to grant permission, then our clients would be prepared to commit to the following: 

“Highways: We propose to construct the new road access prior to the construction of any dwellings.

“The following matters would be covered in a Section106 Agreement: 

“Education – An education contribution of £172,800, relating to the expansion of primary school capacity in Llangollen, by means of either a contribution to a new build school or extension(s) to existing facilities. The contribution to be made prior to the occupation of the 51st dwelling.  

“Open Space - Commuted sum of £1,818.28 payable prior to the occupation of the first dwelling in the development, to be spent on the improvement or provision of open space facilities in Llangollen 

“Affordable Housing - Four dwellings provided on-site for (plots 7, 8, 50, 51), together with a financial contribution of £47,074.50 in relation to the residual requirement of an additional half a dwelling.”

County officers say they are anticipating that the application will be presented to the planning committee on December 14.

Planning permission to build 54 houses on land adjacent to Vicarage Road was granted to Castlemead on appeal by Denbighshire back in 2001.

Attached to the original application was a Section 106 agreement under which the developer was legally bound to build a new access road to the site before the scheme was started.

The field above the main site has since been included in the Local Development Plan at the request of the Planning Inspectorate to encourage the building of more houses to meet local demand.

Castlemead’s latest application, submitted earlier this year, had been to build a further 45 homes, making a total of 99 houses, on four parcels of land.