Museum to host coracle and craft day

AM joins fight against criminal scammers

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has joined the Friends Against Scams campaign, an initiative that aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to ‘Take a Stand Against Scams’.

Having accepted an invitation to become a ‘SCAMbassador’, Mr Isherwood (pictured) has joined the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team (Wales), the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and others in WASP (Wales Against Scams Partnership) as part of a cross-party network to protect everyone from scams and the damage they cause, working locally and nationally to educate and support those who may be vulnerable to scams.

Each year scams cause between £5bn and £10bn worth of detriment to UK consumers. In addition to the financial impact, scams can have a severe emotional and psychological impact on victims.

Mr Isherwood said: “Scams often target the most vulnerable people in society but the reality is that anyone can become a victim of scams.

“Scams damage lives and can affect people financially and emotionally so it is with great pride that I have joined the work of the National Trading Standards Scams Team, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and others who are working together to prevent people from being victims of scams. By signing up as a ‘SCAMbassador’ I will seek to influence and drive forward changes in policy to reduce the effect of scams on people in North Wales and beyond.”

Louise Baxter, Team Manager, National Trading Standards Scams Team said: “The tactics used by scammers leave victims socially isolated and ashamed of telling their friends and families what’s really going on behind closed doors.

“It is fantastic to have such an influential figure in the community to help us tackle this problem on a local, regional and national level and I would encourage all those who are interested in showing their support to join the campaign and be part of our growing network.”

* To find out more visit https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk

Keep your dog on lead, owners advised

Don’t forget to take your lead – that is the message to dog owners intending on taking their animals out to the open Denbighshire countryside.

With a settled spell of weather and the bank holiday weekend fast approaching, more and more people are expected to venture out into the stunning Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but they are asked to be responsible and follow the Countryside Code.

The appeal follows a spate of incidents on Moel Famau over recent weeks where dogs off their lead have worried grazing sheep livestock, injuring some of them.

Councillor Tony Thomas, Denbighshire’s Cabinet Lead Member with responsibility for the Countryside, said: “We have become increasingly concerned at the number of incidents experienced lately.

“We have been running a campaign, Take the Lead,  encouraging people to make sure they keep their dogs on leads when they are out in the open countryside. Whilst the majority of people have listened to the message and act responsibly, there are some who simply allow their dogs to roam free without thinking of the consequences. It is to those individuals that we are targeting this message.

“They really must be mindful that they are crossing valuable grazing land where there are sheep roaming. The effects of attacks on animals can be devastating, to the animal and to the landowner.

David Shiel of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, said: “Over 300,000 visitors come to Moel Famau every year to enjoy the stunning scenery on offer. We want that to continue and for all visitors and landowners to be able to work side by side.

“Warning signs have been placed along the route to Moel Famau and we will continue publicising the Take the Lead campaign through the media and social media to encourage the minority of dog owners to change their behaviour and keep their dogs under control at all times."

Ysgol Dinas Bran students score well in GCSEs

* Jumping for joy: Sephorah Evans, Cassius Hackforth,

Olivia Eggington, Eve McSpadden, Jenna Leon, Laura McAndrew, Robyn Bourne, Sarah Gibbs, Ryan Verscheuren and Laura Gibbs.

* Twins peak: Two sets of very successful  twins - Lucy Brown, Emma Brown, Laura Gibbs and Sarah Gibbs.

Delighted Year 11 students at Ysgol Dinas Bran are celebrating their GCSE results today. 

There were particularly strong performances in Art, Biology, Chemistry and Physics where the pass-rate was 100%. 

Over 50% of grades awarded in the Separate Sciences were A* or A.

There were some fantastic individual performances including a host of students who achieved the very top grades. 

Twins Lucy and Emma Brown from Llangollen each gained an incredible ten A* grades, four grades and distinctions in Additional Maths. 

Laura and Sarah Gibbs, from Llangollen and who are also twins, performed well, Laura achieving eight A* grades, four A grades, two B grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths, while Sarah achieved four A* grades, eight A grades, two B grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths. 

There were tremendous results, too, for Zoe Nicholas (Llangollen), Laura McAndrew (Glyndyfrdwy) and  Sephorah Evans (Corwen) who all achieved nine A* grades and three A grades, together with Distinctions in Additional Maths. 

Megan Jones (Corwen) achieved six A* grades, four A grades, and a Distinction in Additional Maths and Eve Barrett (Llangollen) was awarded six A* grades, two A grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths. 

Headteacher Martyn Froggett said: "We are really pleased for all our students. 

"They have worked really hard and deserve their success.

We are looking forward to seeing many of the students back in our Sixth Form in September. 

"Great praise and thanks to the staff who have supported them and helped them achieve so well."

In a statement, the county council said: "Pupils across Denbighshire are celebrating excellent examination results this year. Early indications show that approximately 62.8% of students have achieved A* - C grades which is in line with the national average for Wales.

"Results in Welsh and English are particularly pleasing and are above the Welsh average.

"The pass rate grades A*-G was 97.1% is above the Welsh average of 96.9%.  There have been some outstanding individual results."

Police boss tackles BBC over language issue

A police boss urged the BBC's Newsnight programme not to insult the Welsh language again - and to seek the opinions of real experts if they discuss the subject in future.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones (pictured) hit out after the late night programme provoked outrage when it asked whether the Welsh language was a "help or hindrance to the nation".

The BBC has since expressed its regret and conceded the programme would have "benefited from more thorough analysis and debate".

Mr Jones has written in Welsh to the programme's editor, Ian Katz, seeking an assurance the same mistake will not be repeated.

The discussion on August 9 did not have anybody who could speak the language involved, with contributions from author Julian Ruck and Ruth Dawson, Wales Editor for the independent news and analysis website The Conversation.

At the start of the programme presenter Evan Davis asked of the language: “Is it the government’s job to promote it and is it a help or a hindrance to the nation.”

He later went on to say: “We will see how people will choose to speak it and how many will have it as a hobby, and how many speak it as their main language.”

In his letter Mr Jones accused Newsnight of discussing the language in "a childish, derogatory and irresponsible way" adding they had managed to raise the hackles of a whole nation.

He went on: "There was a weak, unconvincing apology the following night that did not persuade anybody that there was any real regret on your part.

"Asking whether the language is a hindrance is totally unacceptable, and it's irrelevant in any context. The Welsh language exists. People speak it as their first language every day.

"Should we make those who speak the language feel irrelevant and a hindrance or should we do our best to safeguard the language as an integral part of the tapestry of life in our little corner of the world?

"The BBC would not dare question whether a person's religion or ethnicity was a hindrance. Think of the justifiable outrage there would be to such an insult! How therefore can a public body that we pay dearly for justify questioning whether a language, especially one that is native to these islands and has existed well before English, is a hindrance?

"You could argue that slighting someone's language is more of an insult than questioning their religion because language is an inextricable part of who each one of us is as an individual.

"I would like to convince you that the Welsh language is integral in my work and a bit more important than the "hobby" Evan Davies referred to on the programme.

“As a fluent Welsh speaker in an elected position with responsibility for £143 million in spending, I believe passionately that I need to uphold my responsibilities to those who want to receive services in Welsh or English; neither language is treated less favourably than the other.

"Every other public body in Wales has a statutory duty to ensure that the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than English. Even though the majority of people in North Wales are able to speak English, dealing with a public body in your second language is different to communicating in your first language.

"In future I therefore call on you, as somebody who works for a public body, to carry out your moral responsibilities in relation to equality and to do your homework before any such programme is broadcast.

"If you deal with Welsh again it would be good if you could show some respect to the language, and the people who speak it, by making sure it is discussed by experts and not by contributors who can't speak the language and have very little knowledge about the subject."

Plas Newydd art exhibition comes to an end soon

Plas Newydd is reminding art lovers there are only eight days left to see Maria Hayes exhibition in Y Caban.  It is open until Wednesday August 30 at 4.45pm.

Walking and cycling meeting to be held

On Wednesday August 30 Denbighshire County Council will be holding a drop-in public consultation event at County Hall between 10am and 3pm.

This is one of four events being staged across Denbighshire with the purpose of having face to face discussions with Denbighshire residents about walking and cycling issues in their communities.