AM praises progress on Corwen rail project

* Ken Skates AM meets project leader Richard Dixon-Gough at Corwen.

Assembly Member Ken Skates joined volunteers to see how a ‘fantastic’ rail project is progressing with Welsh Government support.

The Clwyd South AM joined members of the Llangollen Railway team on Saturday to see how their work to create a platform at Corwen Central Station is developing.

The Welsh Government is providing funding of £128,000 – around 80% of the total costs – to build an island platform at Corwen, where a volunteer workforce, aided by contractors, has re-engineered the disused railway embankment to accommodate a new terminal.

Mr Skates said: “I’m thrilled for the team that this Welsh Government investment will help expand Llangollen Railway services to Corwen town centre. This is fantastic news for the company, the local economy and for North East Wales’ thriving tourism industry.”

The 160-metre platform will allow an eight-coach passenger train to be accommodated on one side and a smaller six-coach train on the other, maximising visitor numbers to Corwen.

The new platform is situated close to the town’s car park and bus interchange and a concrete subway has already been constructed to access the elevated platform.

Mr Skates said: “This is also a good example of how the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Programme is delivering real improvements for local communities.”

Project leader Richard Dixon-Gough said: “The project team members were pleased to be able to show Ken how much had changed on site since his last visit and the way in which Welsh Government grant aid had aided the building of the platform."

Big boost for town's health services

* From left, Iolo Jones, Senior Project Manager; Jane Jones Jane Jones, Planning & Commissioning Manager; Councillor Huw Jones; Berwyn Owen, Chair of the Corwen Health Centre Redevelopment Project Board.

A long running campaign to improve health services in Corwen was given a boost when the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board agreed to the £1.5m development of an improved Health Centre in the town.

Campaigners and community leaders have been working to ensure the development for over five years.

It is expected that the building work will start in eight weeks, and should be completed within 12 months.

The improved health centre will have two new additional consulting rooms, an enlarged treatment room, two dental surgeries, with associated decontamination facilities and storage space and other expanded facilities.

In presenting the proposals Dr Berwyn Owen, chair of the Corwen Health Centre Redevelopment Project Board, said: “This is an important development. It’s a positive step for the Health Board, and is to be welcomed."

Cllr Huw Jones, Corwen, said: “It’s taken a long time to reach this point. It’s excellent news that the Health Board have approved these plans, and we can now look forward to having a first class Health Centre in Corwen.”

His Plaid Cymru colleague, Cllr Mabon ap Gwynfor, Cynwyd/Llandrillo Ward, said: “We campaigned long and hard for the people of the Edeirnion valley. This is a rural area, and we’re deprived of many of the facilities and services that can be found elsewhere. Corwen serves a vast area, and is an important town. The Health Board should be praised for listening to our calls.”

Plaid Cymru North Wales Assembly Member, Llyr Gruffydd, said: “This investment is warmly welcomed. The increased dental provision is also vitally important, and will serve a huge area, from Betws-y-Coed over to Llangollen. Many people have worked hard to secure this investment and they should be thanked for their perseverance.”

Town crier goes hot foot to raise £1,000

_{Llangollen’s town crier Austin “Chem” Cheminais braved the hot coals to raise around £1,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance by completing a fire walk at Chirk Boathouse last night (Saturday).}

_{The 63-year-old retired teacher, who is also a town councillor, has raised hundreds of pounds for the air ambulance over the past few years as a way of saying thank you for the way the Midlands helicopter zoomed in to airlift him to hospital back in 2010 after he was run over twice by a delivery van in the car park of the school in Walsall where he was headmaster at the time.}

<sub>In his latest fundraising venture, along with other charity dare-devils, he walked over red-hot coals in full costume and ringing his bell every step of the way

After his ordeal by fire Chem said: “I actually raised around £1,000 and I'd like to thank everyone who contributed.</sub>

_{“At the end of it my feet didn't hurt at all because I'd been fully prepared beforehand by the organisers.}

<sub>"If you sort of psych yourself and tell yourself you're not going to be frightened and it's not going to hurt then you are okay."

* Chem's charity page is at</sub> https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chemshouts 

Kings Bridge to close temporarily

Denbighshire County Council has made a temporary traffic order for the closure of the B5103 Kings Bridge in Berwyn.

Coming into force on October 16, it has been made to facilitate highway drainage improvements and carriageway works by the county council's bridges section.

The order lasts for 18 months or the completion of the works, whichever is soonest.

The signposted alternative route will be via the B5103 from its junction with the A5(T) to the junction with the A542 Horseshoe Pass Road, Abbey Dingle Nursery to Abbey Road, Abbey Road, Castle Street and the A5.

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the closure period. 

County campaign puts spotlight on older people

A week-long series of events is being to take place across Denbighshire in the run-up to International Day of Older Persons (October 1) to celebrate the contribution of older people.

Nearly 30 years ago the United National General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.

Last year the United Nations took a stand against ageism by drawing attention to and challenging negative stereotypes and misconceptions about older people and ageing. 

This year, a series of events is being arranged by the Denbighshire Ageing – Well Networking Group to showcase what support is available.

This Partnership includes Denbighshire County Council, Age Connect, Alzheimer's Society, British Red Cross, Care & Repair, Care Forum Wales, Citizens’ Advice Denbighshire, NEWCIS and the NHS and many more.

Events will include sessions of the Lost in Art project, social events, arts and textiles, a ‘culture club’ for arts and dance and Talking Points sessions for people to get advice and information on well-being issues.

A social media campaign will also get underway to promote the projects and help raise the profile of issues relating to older people.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, who is also the Council’s Older People’s Champion said:  “The increasing age profile is a fact we can't ignore.

“Throughout their lives older people have gained a wealth of knowledge, and as living longer becomes the norm, we need to recognise, value and harness their contribution.  We must encourage people to take responsibility for keeping well and fit and to stay independent for as long as possible.

“Denbighshire has the second largest population of older people in Wales. Nearly a half of the population of Denbighshire are aged over 50 and a quarter are over 65.  More and more people are living past 100 than ever before and this is a fact that needs recognising and celebrating."  

* To find out more visit the Talking Points between Monday September 25 – Friday September 29, or contact Karen Eynon, Older People’s Strategy Development Officer on  01824 706356, e-mail: Karen.eynon@denbighshire.gov.uk.

A copy of Denbighshire’s Ageing Well Plan can also be found by visiting: http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/ageingwell.

Figures show Denbighshire performing well

Denbighshire continues to be one of the top performing councils in Wales, providing a high standard of service to the county’s residents.

Figures compiled by the Local Government Data Unit compare the performance of councils across Wales on a range of issues. 

The results for 2016/17 show that Denbighshire performed in the top half for the majority of activities it was assessed against, when compared with other councils.

Results also show Denbighshire has the least number of measures appearing in the bottom quarter of any authority in Wales. It had also shown an improvement in 17 out of 25 indicators it was assessed against

Denbighshire had:

• One of the lowest waiting times for delivering disabled facilities grants
• One of the highest rates for turning private sector dwellings to occupied through direct action by the Council.
• 100% of final statements of special education need issued within 26 weeks.
• One of the lowest sickness absence rates

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance, with responsibility for business performance, said: “This report makes very pleasing reading and reflects the commitment and dedication of both staff and councillors for Denbighshire to be a continuing high performing authority, providing the best quality services to its residents and its communities. This is at a time of on-going financial pressures.

 “The headlines speak for themselves and we are proud of our achievements. However, we recognise that there is always room for further improvement and we will not become complacent as we work to continue to be as good as we can possibly be in all areas of our work."

Couple take big bite out of artisan biscuit market

* Sweet taste of success...James Shepherd with the Aberffraw biscuits.

An enterprising couple are supplying one of the world's most famous stores and prestigious outlets in Singapore and Kuwait after reviving Britain's oldest biscuit.

Four years ago James Shepherd and his wife Natasha re-created the historic Aberffraw Biscuit which dates back to the 13^th century.

They won plaudits from lovers of fine food when they officially launched it at Llangollen Food Festival in 2013.

Since then the premium shortbread, made from only the finest butter, flour and sugar, has become a firm favourite across the UK.

Among the places you can now buy the mouth-watering biscuit is the flagship Selfridges store in London’s Oxford Street.

To say a big thank you for helping to power the biscuit’s amazing rise to popularity the couple’s are returning to the festival which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

The event, which  has been named as one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK by the Daily Telegraph and Independent newspapers, will be staged at the iconic Llangollen Pavilion on October 14 and 15.

James, originally from Llandudno, and Natasha, a Welsh-speaker from Trefriw, met at Leicester University, married 14 years ago and have two children Rowan, 11, who is a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy in Llanrwst, and nine-year-old Jasmine who attends Ysgol Bro Cernyw in Llangernyw.

The couple were watching the Great British Bake Off in 2012 when a feature about the Aberffraw biscuit, which was first baked in the Anglesey village of the same name 800 years ago, caught their eye.

Taking the same basic recipe from ancient times, they set up a company to start baking and marketing the biscuits.

The following autumn the tasty scallop-shaped treat was showcased for the first time in the new products section of Llangollen Food Festival.

After a couple of years Natasha left her part-time job with a governmental agency to join former journalist James as a co-director of the growing business which has gone from strength to strength.

Recalling how it all began, James said: “We started chatting about hearing about the original Aberffraw Biscuit on Bake-Off and realised that despite the fact we were both from North Wales and lived here all our lives, we had never even heard of it, despite the fact it was supposed to be Britain’s oldest biscuit.

“After working out our business plan we set up production at a unit in Llanrwst with me making the biscuits and even designing the packaging.

“From the start we wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, from the unique stamp for the scallop shape of the biscuit to the ingredients which include only top quality British products.

“Over the past four years the business has just grown. In fact, the scale of it now gets a bit staggering at times and I sometimes have to pinch myself as a reminder that it’s all really happening.

“We make the biscuits in four different flavours – traditional, chocolate, lemon and bara brith - and they’re all very popular.

“Apart from outlets across the UK, we’ve been selling 500 packets at a time to Dean & Deluca, an up-market chain of stores for their Kuwait branch and Gourmet Grocery, a high-end deli in Singapore, has been taking a similar order.

“After doing a couple of tasting sessions with Selfridges they are now taking them for their flagship store in London’s Oxford Street. Apart from that we’re doing a good online trade through Amazon.”

To cope with the upsurge in sales James and Natasha, who live in Llansannan, now have two production units in Llanrwst and employ five staff to help them.

In the past few years the biscuits and the company have been showered with awards, including Ambient Food Manufacturer of the Year - The Food Awards Wales 2015 (Overall Winner), Great Taste Award 2015 (Traditional Aberffraw Biscuit), Great Taste Awards 2017 (Lemon Abberffraw Biscuit) and Food & Drink Entrepreneur of the Year - Entrepreneur Wales Awards 2015 (Overall Winner).

​Ex-journalist James  added: “Being at Hamper Llangollen this year, especially as it’s the 20^th anniversary, will be good because it’s where it all began for us.  

“Apart from that, it will be great just to be part of the event and to thank them for all they did to help us get the business off the ground.

“Hamper Llangollen is a great festival in a fantastic location which attracts people who are really enthusiastic about good quality local produce.

“We can’t wait to meet the visitors and show them all our new developments.”

The Aberffraw biscuit (or sometimes Aberffraw cake) and is said to originate from 13th Century Anglesey.

Legend has it that a Welsh king was holding court in Aberffraw and his wife was walking on the beach there and, spotting a pretty scallop shell, asked for a cake to be baked in the same form.

A far more realistic source for the biscuit was the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

This pilgrimage to the church of St James in Galicia, north western Spain, began in about the 8^th Century with pilgrims wearing badges on their hat in the shape of a scallop shell.

It’s for this reason Aberffraw biscuits are sometimes also called James cakes. Under the patronage of King Gruffudd ap Cynan (1075-1137) or his son and successor Owain Gwynedd (1137-70), a stone church was built at Aberffraw with Romanesque features similar to 12^th Century churches on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

This building is the final link to the scallop shell of St James pilgrims and the small Welsh village of Aberffraw.

Llangollen Food Festival committee member Phil Davies said: "We're delighted that James and Natasha will be helping us celebrate our 20th anniversary this year.

"We're particularly proud that we played a role in the launch of their Aberffraw biscuits which have been so successful.

"As a festival, it is an important part of our mission to provide a shop window for a host of extremely talented indigenous food producers like James and Natasha."

Check out Aberffraw biscuits at www.aberffrawbiscuits.com and Llangollen Food Festival at www.llangollenfoodfestival.com