Llan is start point for charity heritage walk

Llangollen is the start point for a charity walk in aid of Nightingale House Hospice families on Sunday May 21.

The 12-mile World Heritage walk, billed as a "stroll", takes place along the towpaths and footpaths of  Llangollen and Oswestry, an area steeped in local heritage.

The self-led route will take walkers through the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Chirk Aqueduct, Trevor Basin and the Chirk Tunnel while giving them a sense of the history that lies along the way.

After meeting up at the Lion Quays in Oswestry at 10.15am, a free coach will transport those taking part to the Chainbridge Hotel in Llangollen where the walk begins at 11.30am.

To keep you warm on your hike, tea and coffee can be purchased prior to the walk from the Chainbridge Hotel and at various stopping points along the way.

The walk is completely free of charge. All organisers ask is that you aim to raise as much sponsorship for Nightingale House as you possibly can.

The route is aimed at all the family with the route being suitable for pushchairs and dogs.

* For more information, or to book your place, please contact the Fundraising Team on 01978 314 292 or email info@nightingalehouse.co.uk.

Phil to share recipe of success with business leaders

North Wales is perfectly placed to play a key role in any drive for Britain to produce more of its own food.

This will be the main message a pioneering food entrepreneur from Llangollen will have for members of an influential business group tomorrow (Thursday).

Phil Brown (pictured) is a former schoolmate of Prince Charles who went on to create the nationwide Philpotts chain of sandwich shops with an annual turnover of £7.5 million and struck gold again by opening a hit seaside café on Anglesey. He will be sharing his recipe for success as one of the keynote speakers at the next meeting of Wrexham Business Professionals (WBP) at the town's Ramada Plaza Hotel.

The group is made up of successful businesses and highly skilled professional firms of solicitors, accountants and other business professionals working together to raise the profile of enterprise and expertise that exists in the region and beyond.

The topic for discussion at their latest meeting will be Powering Regional Prosperity – Taxing Times.

Also addressing the theme will be the other speakers, Professor Mark Drakeford, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, and Rachel Clacher, co-founder of Wrexham-based telephone answering giant, Moneypenny.

Phil Brown, who is originally from Neston on the Wirral and attended the famous Gordonstoun School in Scotland at the same time as the Prince of Wales, began his career as a junior reporter on the Birkenhead News in the late 1960s and went on to start a string of cutting edge businesses, including the first mobile disco in Sydney, Australia.

Back home 67-year-old Phil, who has lived in a Victorian water mill in the Vale of Llangollen for the past 32 years, went on to found the Philpotts bespoke sandwich empire.

After opening his first shop in Chester in 1985 he added fresh outlets right across the UK and likes to be remembered for being the inventor of the coronation chicken sandwich.

He sold his interest in the chain in 2006 and only retains the Shrewsbury shop which he rescued from impending closure by buying it back for just £1.

In the late 1990s he saved an historic but derelict water mill on the banks of River Dee in Llangollen – earning himself the nickname of “Phil the Mill” and leased it on to the group which then turned it into the highly successful Cornmill restaurant.

His own venture into the restaurant business came last July when he created 55 new jobs by ploughing more than £1.5m into launching the Sea Shanty Café in Trearddur Bay, Anglesey, "confounding sceptics who said it wouldn't work". 

Phil said: “I’m looking forward to speaking to Wrexham Business Professionals and will tell them a little about my life.

“Based on my own experiences in the food business, one of the main messages I’ll have for them is I see no reason why Britain can’t produce much more of her own food.

“We currently produce so many things, like honey, meat, and our own fantastic cheeses. One of the few things we can't do in our climate is to grow tropical fruit.

“In North Wales we’re very well served for food producers and I see opportunities everywhere I look.  

“It's clear to me North Wales could play an important role in helping Britain to produce more of her own food.”

Phil’s new Sea Shanty Café on Lon St Ffraid, which he runs with his business partner Neil Gitton, celebrates beaches, holidays and the village’s links with sailing and local history.

The nautically-themed bistro, just a stone’s throw from the beach, stands on the spot - and bears the name - of an old wooden café that was once a much loved haunt of holidaymakers for decades.

The new café’s ceiling is hung with historic sailing boats, while the walls are decorated with sand and shells collected from beaches around the world plus other sailing memorabilia and curiosities.

On the back of rave reviews from foodies, families and tourists the café recently added to its 50-strong team by taking on an extra three chefs and five front-of-house staff.

But Phil says that just as with everything else he’s done in business the Sea Shanty didn’t happen overnight.

“All my past successes have been the result of careful consideration and observation,” he said.

Gill Kreft, the chair of Wrexham Business Professionals, said: "We're delighted that we have such a high-powered line-up for our next meeting.

She said: "Phil Brown's many business successes are an inspirational example of what can be achieved when you have a great idea and the drive and determination to see it through.

"I am sure Phil, Professor Drakeford and Rachel will have some fascinating insights to share with the audience who will be able to apply some of those lessons to make their own businesses even more successful."

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.