County's business programme hailed a success

* The Driving Sales Through Marketing course.

Denbighshire’s biggest-ever programme of business events has been hailed a success.

More than 400 people have taken part in 12 workshops, conferences and networking sessions across the county as part of Denbighshire County Council’s growing March for Business programme.

Events included training workshops around e-commerce, social media and marketing, a conference on growth and investment opportunities in Denbighshire, ‘ask the expert’ sessions and a networking dinner held in conjunction with the Federation of Small Businesses.

The programme was devised by the Council’s Economic and Business Development team following feedback from Denbighshire’s annual Business Survey and is part of the Council’s work on developing the local economy through its Economic and Community Ambition Programme, which aims to support healthy private businesses and create higher paid jobs.

Mike Horrocks, the Council’s team and programme manager for Economic & Business Development, said: “This year’s March for Business has been a fantastic success. We have seen record attendances for our biggest ever programme with many events fully booked.

“The most important thing is that we have had great feedback from businesses who have told us the sessions have been of real benefit to them.

“I’d like to thank all the businesses who took time out of their busy schedules to invest in networking and skills development events that have helped make March for Business a success.  The real target for us is to see the success of the programme translate into local business success and there are some strong signs that this is happening.

“There are now more businesses starting up every year in Denbighshire, from 280 a year in 2012 to 350 in 2015, we have the best one year survival rates and the highest percentage increases in business financial turnover of anywhere in Wales.

“To add to that employment in Denbighshire has topped 40,000, with more than 1,500 more people in work now than when we started the programme in 2013.

“As part of our focus on getting maximum benefit to businesses we’ll be following up with those who registered for March for Business in order to see how they put the contacts, skills and information gathered during the events to good use in their business – that’s what it’s all about.”

Extra workshops have been scheduled for April 25^th and May 16, 17 and 23^rd and will include sessions on marketing, social media and building your business online.

* For more information visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/business/business-support-and-advice/training.aspx

Two more acts announced for Llanfest

Indie band Reverend and The Makers (pictured left) along with Radio 1 regular Huw Stephens (below) have been added to Llanfest line up, supporting Manic Street Preachers.

Renowned for their 2007 smash Heavyweight Champion of the World, Reverend and The Makers will classic songs and hits from their 2015 album Mirrors.

Best known for his weekly appearances on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Cymru C2, Stephens will bring an eclectic mix of inspired tracks and undiscovered gems to Llanfest, setting the tone for the evening line-up. 


The day will begin with performances on the outside stages by acts including Roving Crows, Army of Skanks, Ben Roberts, Buddy Holly and the Black Jacks, Captain Zed, Delta Radio, Full Circle, Living Sounds, Mr Blunders, Skeet Williams, Thunderbug, Tom Wilson and Y Gogs. 



There will also be plenty of exotic international cuisine on offer from a  range of food and drink stalls on the field.

With Llanfest tickets offering all day access to the festivities from 2pm, revellers can choose from either a £65 or £50 ticket, dependent on seating or standing options.   

The festival’s music director, Eilir Owen Griffiths, said: “Llanfest 2017 is going to be an unforgettable day and alongside the rest of the week’s line-up, which features acts including Sir Bryn Terfel and Gregory Porter, will put the festival on the global map as a destination for live music.”

Huw Stephens said: “I’m honoured to be a part of a festival that is celebrating its 70th anniversary and as a passionate supporter of new talent. I can’t wait to see what the day has in store.

“It’s fantastic to see such big names headlining a show in Llangollen, especially Manic Street Preachers, who are world class."

There will be live performances from a range of artists from 2pm on the outside stages, with Reverend and The Makers and Huw Stephens launching evening performances in the International Pavilion, before the Manic Street Preachers take to the stage.

* For more information and to buy tickets go to http://international-eisteddfod.co.uk/events/sunday-llanfest/

Methodist Church has its spring concert

AM raises questions over water takeover

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has questioned Severn Trent Water over its takeover of Dee Valley Water and sought assurances that customers and staff will not be adversely affected.

    

Mr Isherwood attended Friday’s Consumer Council for Water Wales Meeting in Public at Glyndwr University, which included a presentation by Severn Trent Water on their takeover of Dee Valley Water and service in the Dee Valley Water area. 

He also questioned Severn Trent Water over local concerns regarding the takeover.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said: “We were told that they remain committed to Dee Valley Water’s Wrexham and Chester sites.

“They told us that they wanted to give everyone in the team at Dee Valley Water at least three options, that they had spoken to them on an individual basis and that just 14 out of 166 team members only had the option of voluntary redundancy.

“Responding to my questioning, they told me that team members still have a month before they have to come back with their decisions and that this information would then be shared with us.

“They stated that their ambition is to be an ‘upper quartile’ performer in water and waste, to join their sector performance on billing.

“They also stated that they planned to improve customer experience through a shift to digital service channels. When I highlighted that the most vulnerable customers were the least likely to use digital channels, they stated that if they identify vulnerable customers in their system, they treat them individually, that identifying vulnerability is a priority and that they were building a cross-industry data base of customers known to be vulnerable.

“I was also told that they will be retaining a ‘Customer Challenge Group’ in Wales.”

Twenty Club skilfully presents The Entertainer

* A scene from The Entertainer featuring, from left, Victoria White, Roberta Bailey and Grahame Smith.

Washed-up music hall comic Archie Rice shows no emotion as he trots through his dated and pathetic routines in front of his bored audience.

And he brings exactly the same non-emotions to bear as he deals with his dysfunctional family.

The character, which has become an icon of the British stage, and his bickering relatives are brought faithfully and believably to life - although there’s precious little of that left in Archie – by a very useful cast as Llangollen’s Twenty Club amateur players staged The Entertainer, John Osbourne’s legendary drama, at the Town Hall over three nights last week.

Archie is hanging precariously to the increasingly bedraggled coattails of old-fashioned music hall as its world is shattered by the advent of television in the mid-1950s.

There’s not a trace of joy in him as he goes through his down-at-heel comedy routines for an audience which wants to be there even less than he does.

He’s grown this hard emotionless shell over many years, developing the motto which he brings out in one of his little songs which has the lines, “If they see you’re blue they’ll look down on you, why should I bother to care?”

Back home there’s his old dad, himself a retired musical hall turn, his alcoholic wife and a son who preferred a spell in jail to doing his National Service and being shot at on some foreign field.

Catalyst for tipping the delicate balance which exists between them is an unexpected visit by Archie’s daughter who has just broken up with her boyfriend.

Archie, a role once occupied on film by Laurence Olivier, was played with panache by Twenty Club stalwart David Edgar employing just the right measure of deadpan comedy and pathos. He also took a prodigious amount of lines easily in his long stride.

His drunken wife Pheobe was neatly portrayed with both sympathy and emotion by Roberta Bailey who is a newcomer to the group.

And although it was only his second time on stage for the club, Grahame Smith very competently handled the role of Billy Rice, Archie’s father.

Another club second-timer, Victoria White, gave a very polished performance as Archie’s granddaughter Victoria and Dan Pedley, who has had three previous roles for the group, was right for the role of Archie’s son, Frank.

The Entertainer’s other son, Mick, we don’t meet but merely see the family mourning after word comes through that he’s been killed in action as he faithfully serves his country in the army which his brother had side-stepped.

This development at least stirs something in Archie but not for too long as he’s soon back on stage doing his patter again.

But as he strides off into the dark at the end of his act we could be left wondering if this is the final curtain for him. Or, actually, like The Entertainer himself, could we really give a damn?

This was a nice piece of work by Barry Cook, taking his first stint as director after many appearances on stage for the club, ably assisted as usual by a small army of backstage volunteers.

A neat touch towards the end was bringing on powerful gospel singer Sandra Butterworth to join in with the farewell to father Billy who dies near the end of the piece. That, unlike Archie, was full of emotion.

llanblogger takes a short break

llanblogger is taking a short break and will be back into about a week's time with the latest in local news.

Llangollen Railway steams back to 1957

* In May Llangollen Station will go back to eisteddfod week in 1957.

Llangollen Railway will soon be turning back the clock to the golden days of Eisteddfod Week in 1957.


During its Victorian Weekend on May 13 and 14 when it will be recreating how things were on the railway more than a century ago, the heritage organisation also has a second time-travelling event planned.


It is taking visitors back half a century to the late 1950s when the platforms were alive with people coming to and from the town’s world-famous international eisteddfod.      


Event organiser Peter Dickinson said: “The key concept of the Victorian Weekend is based around a perceived time-travelling experience from the present day back to the 19th century, so that each section of the journey brings new experiences, opportunities or attractions for our visitors.  


“Walking down the station ramp at Llangollen, the initial stage involves a fictional 60-year change from 2017 back to 1957.


“The next 60-year gap back to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year of 1897 is achieved by boarding a steam-hauled train from Llangollen to the next station at Berwyn.”


He added: “With the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, this means that in 1957 it  was its celebrating its 10th anniversary.


“Back then, huge crowds of visitors and competitors would have arrived at Llangollen station by train bound for the Eisteddfod.


“The station staff went out of their way to decorate the station in preparation for the event, with bunting and flags adorning the station platforms. It was known for performances to be made on the platform intermittently, as passengers waited for their train to arrive or as new competitors arrived.


“I have already received support from the Llangollen Motor Museum, who have committed to providing suitable 1957 vintage vehicles for display on the station ramp.


“Likewise, the Llangollen Male Voice Choir have agreed to perform on the platform at regular intervals on the Saturday, with the station being resplendent in bunting and flags once more to recreate the 1957 Eisteddfod Week.”


* Further details on the Victorian Weekend can be found at: http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/event/victorian-weekend-14th-may-2/