Operatic present cracker of a Christmas show

* A scene from Christmas Eve in the Parlour from the second half of the show.

* A duet from Simon Orton-Jones and Helen Belton.

* Members of the chorus belt out a seasonal number.

* A powerful solo performance from the Young 'Uns' Cassius Hackforth.

* The Young 'Uns on stage together in the first half of the show. 

Llangollen Operatic Society delivered an early Christmas present at the Town Hall last night, lovingly wrapped in enthusiasm and talent.

First on stage for their seasonal show, Mistletoe and Merriment, were over 30 members of  the society’s junior section, the Young ‘Uns, who served up a delicious taster for their forthcoming show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which runs from February 8-10 next year.

They set the perfect pace and style for the whole evening with a selection of songs from the production, including Any Dream Will Do, Jacob and Sons and Close Every Door.

Star atop the Christmas tree was young Cassius Hackworth as Joseph but, as always with this group, there was strength in depth as strong and thoughtful backing came from the entire ensemble.

Cassius stayed on stage – and did a quick change of character and pace – to present the World’s Greatest Dad from another hit show, Elf. He was followed by another Young’Uns gem, Shea Ferron, with a moving delivery of Walking in the Air from The Snowman.

It was then time for the society’s very useful chorus to let loose with songs from Home Alone 2, White Christmas, Polar Express and Meet Me in St Louis.

There were some strong duet and solo numbers, such as O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel),  Prayer from Quest for Camelot and When a Child is Born, by Helen Belton – also the show’s musical director – Jo Lloyd, Simon Orton-Jones and Daniel May.  

As last year, links between the pieces were hilariously provided by Louise Cielecki and Nathan Lloyd – both former Young ‘Uns members – who doubled up with their own interpretation of Baby It’s Cold Outside.

Spotlight next fell on keyboard wizards David Evans and Jayne Belton who set toes tapping within the large and appreciative audience with Jingle Bells and Sleigh Ride.

The chorus was back to end the first half with a poignant Happy Christmas (War is Over) and rousing Jingle Bell Rock.

Second half of the show was given over to a play written and directed by Lyn Aston entitled Christmas Eve in the Parlour, a seamless selection of comedy sketches on a seasonal theme.

At various points this featured the Cielecki/Lloyd double-act, Marcus Ansloos, Clare Wall, Sue Griffiths, Lizzie and John Clifford, James Reardon, Katie Clark, Joanne Lloyd, Tony Jones, Jan Bellis plus other society members who had already appeared in the first half – all neatly accompanied on electric keyboard by Chris Sims.

The evening was suitably rounded off with the audience joining in enthusiastically with A Partridge in a Pear Tree and a selection of carols. 

If this colourful and brilliantly performed show didn’t get you in the Christmas spirit it’s hard to know what will.      

Concern over proposal to develop community garden plot

* Community gardeners on their plot. 

Concerned volunteers running Llangollen Community Garden claim Denbighshire County Council has agreed to gift its vegetable plot to a private developer in return for unspecified improvements to Plas Newydd.

Last month the council's Asset Management Group decided to gift the 0.5-acre plot for housing on the basis that the developer will carry out works to nearby Plas Newydd.

Founders of the garden, which was established in 2012, say they received just four days’ notice ahead of the decision, which is due to be ratified on  January 11.

They claim that although they have requested to buy the land themselves, the council has said it is not prepared to commission an independent valuation of the site.

One of the gardeners, Warren Davies, said: "There was no consultation and we have put so much work into this project, an investment of thousands of hours of volunteer work.

“It is hard not to feel disillusioned. The council is an elected public body and we feel passionately that it needs to be accountable to that community. We do not believe they have met their responsibilities under the Well-being of Future Generations Act.”

The community garden is attended by local volunteers every Saturday morning throughout the year. It has attracted more than 75 gardeners since it began and welcomed 120 local children.

Labour, Conservative and Plaid politicians have all spoken out on the issue. 

_{Graham Timms, the Welsh Labour county councillor for Llangollen, said:  “There has been a huge reaction to the possibility of the community garden losing their current site adjacent to Plas Newydd and I have received lots of emails urging me to take action.}  

_{“The community garden has made a substantial contribution to the wellbeing of the town over the last five years. They should be proud of their achievements in providing a wide range of opportunities for lots of adults and children in Llangollen.} 

_{“Over the last few years Denbighshire, in common with councils across the country, has suffered from a huge loss in funding due to the austerity programme of the Government. This means that It has had to explore ways of using its assets that would never have been considered in more normal times.}

_{“Whilst I understand the duty of the council to maximise the value of its assets, I fully understand the valuable contribution that organisations such as the community garden play.}  

_{“Local residents can be assured that I will do everything I can to ensure that the community garden has a long term future.  I will be presenting the views of all those who have contacted me about the community garden at the meeting in January when it meets to reconsider the issue.”} 

Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones said: “I urge Denbighshire Council to liaise to take into consideration the community wellbeing of both current and future generations. Community wellbeing needs to be protected wherever possible.”

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates said: "I completely support Susan’s call for Denbighshire County Council to work closely with the community garden group towards the overall wellbeing of the community with a view to bringing this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.”

Mark Isherwood, Conservative AM for North Wales, said: “All councils should acknowledge that meaningful dialogue between public services, communities and individuals – and consideration together of all options – is crucial before decisions are made affecting community assets and local services, not only because Welsh law requires this, but also because it produces better outcomes for all."

Plaid's North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd said "The community garden in Llangollen was a piece of wasteland before the community garden got their hands dirty and turned it into a fantastic community resource, which educates children and adults alike.”

"There are plenty of other parcels of land in the area that are more appropriate sites for development and there's no reason for a committee of unelected people to decide the future of such an important community resource."

The group is appealing to Denbighshire Council to save the Community Garden, and has set up a petition which can be found on their Facebook page and website.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “The developer has offered an alternative location for the community garden, but this offer has been rejected.

“The council has continued to engage with the Community Garden and are trying to be open and transparent with them. To this end the Community Garden have been provided with all the reports associated with the proposal.

“The council has also committed to providing a revised report for the next meeting of the Asset Management Group in January, when this group will review the decision made at the November meeting, reflecting on the additional information and supporting documentation provided by the Community Garden.

“The Group will then decide whether to progress with the proposed exchange or follow a different course of action."

Ysgol Dinas Bran tops school meals picture contest

The catering team at Ysgol Dinas Bran have come out top of the class in a national competition for the most mouth watering pictures of school food.  

As part of activities for this year's 25th National School Meals Week Dinas Bran entered a competition for school caterers across England and Wales called #cookeditmyselfie which encouraged them to send in pictures of the food they prepare and serve daily.

The online competition took place on Twitter @NSMW and hundreds of photos were sent in showing what modern day school food looks like.

A judging panel, including last year’s winner, looked at every picture and Ysgol Dinas Bran was named as the winner and took the prize of £500 worth of equipment or marketing support.

Emma Williams, catering manager at the school, said:  “We have been heavily involved with #cookeditmyselfie this year.

"Not many days have gone by in the past few months where we haven’t posted a meal. The pictures show what we do every day, the food is great and the pupils love it. We use lots of local ingredients and prepare the food with love and passion."

Councillor Julian Thompson Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance Performance and Strategic Assets at the county council, said: “This competition gave school catering teams across the country the opportunity to showcase their service and the pictures submitted by Emma and her team at Dinas Bran were not of food or dishes devised specially for the competition – they were of food and dishes served on a daily basis.

"Emma has a highly motivated and dedicated catering team and the Denbighshire School Meals Service and Denbighshire County Council are rightly proud of their achievements."  

Venerable steam loco heads off to new owners

* No.2859 on Abbey Road as it heads off for its new owner's base where it will celebrate its centenary next year, having been built at Swindon in 1918.

A steam locomotive which has stood sentinel at the railway yard in Llangollen for the past 30 years has left for pastures new.

Great Western Heavy Freight loco No.2859 came to Llangollen from a scrapyard in October 1987 as an intended restoration project.

However, the cost of the task proved too much for the owners, the Llangollen railway GWR Loco group, who already had a project underway to restore a GWR tank engine.

After much heart searching, the owners agreed to find someone else to buy the No.2859 and the successful bidder brought an articulated lorry along to take the engine away to a restoration base at Congleton in Cheshire.

One day, when No.2859 has been restored to steaming condition, it may come back to Llangollen to operate on the line.

In the meantime, the proceeds from the sale are being put into speeding up the completion of Prairie tank No.5532 which the group now hopes to have in action once the boiler has been overhauled.

Operatic's Christmas event is next Tuesday

Llangollen express back to boost Ruthin

* Putting their shirts on Ruthin, Waterco are sponsoring Ruthin Rugby Club for the sixth season and pictured with top try scorer Josh Wilson, left, and 1^st XV captain Jordan Jones is Waterco Managing Director Peter Jones.

Flying winger Josh Wilson is back to boost one of North Wales’s top rugby clubs and is in hot pursuit of its try-scoring record.

The Llangollen express, who rejoined Ruthin this season after two years away at Chester, has run in nine tries in his first eight games back.

It is his second spell with the Blue and Whites and he is now past the 50-try mark for them and closing fast on the club record of 81 held by team-mate Gethin Hughes.

Things are looking up for Ruthin, who have just celebrated a short sponsorship deal with flood prevention and water management experts Waterco who are based in Ruthin and have offices in Chester and Manchester.

They have put their shirts on the Cae Ddol club, the only one of the original members of the old North Wales League never to have been relegated, and are also kitting out the 2^nd XV.

And Waterco’s faith is being repaid as the club, which narrowly survived the drop on the final day of last season, are up to fifth in Division One North of the Welsh National League and have already claimed the scalp of leaders Nant Conwy.

Their young side, coached by former Wales and Sale prop Eifion Roberts and Andy Williams, are fresh from two thumping home bonus point wins, 33-22 over Bethesda with including two tries from Wilson, followed up by a 31-0 thumping of Caernarfon.

Wilson missed that game but is likely to be back for the trip to Croesyceiliog this Saturday in the Welsh Rugby Union Cup.

The 25-year-old, who lives in Cefn Mawr, said: “It’s great to be back at Ruthin. I had a successful time here before when we won the North Wales Cup and that season I had 26 tries in 23 games.

“This season has started well too so I hope to score a few more tries.

“It would be brilliant to get Gethin’s record but I just love playing for Ruthin. They’ve done a lot for me and the expansive way they like to play means I’m going to get plenty of ball.

“I know they struggled last season and I hated to see that because they’re a top five club and a great club to play for but we’ve got a good young side and a good squad and we’re headed in the right direction.”

Pedr Jones, Director of Waterco whose clients include major construction and civil engineering companies across the UK as well as local authorities and utilities businesses, used to wear the blue and white hoops of Ruthin himself.

The prop played alongside Eifion Roberts in a very successful Ruthin Youth side which also included Bristol and Scarlets centre Rob Higgitt, the last man to score a try at historic Stradey Park.

He said: “Ruthin has always been a fantastic club with flourishing mini, junior and youth sections and almost all their first team began as little kids playing mini rugby on Sunday mornings.

“Their roots are in the local community and so are our own and we’re delighted to be involved with Ruthin Rugby Club for a sixth season.

“It’s great to see them on their way back again and the current side is young enough and good enough to make a big impression on North Wales rugby in the coming years.”

To keep up with Ruthin Rugby Club go to http://www.rygbirhuthun.com/ and to see what Waterco are doing go to https://www.waterco.co.uk/

TT ace McGuinness to guest again at LlanBikeFest

* One of the stunts performed at a previous LlanBikeFest.

Legendary 23-times Isle of Man TT winner  John McGuinness will be guest of honour for a second year at LlanBikeFest 2018 –  the Llangollen Motorcycle Festival – at the town’s Royal International Pavilion on August 4 and 5. 

Despite being chair-bound and battling pain from horrific injuries he sustained when he crashed at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland in May, John (pictured below) reckons he had such a good time at LlanBikeFest in 2017 that he is raring to return.

“I will definitely be at LlanBikeFest in August,” he said.

“It’s a weekend of fun and a great family affair. I feel completely re-charged. Everything feels good – but it’s been a long journey.

"Hopefully I will be in better shape next year and there is no reason I can’t bring a few more of my bike collection with me and just enjoy it.”

LlanBikeFest co-founder John Hutchinson said: “John’s courage at this year’s festival was amazing. He worked so hard to talk with fans and well-wishers that we virtually had to drag him away to take breaks occasionally. We are absolutely delighted he will be fit enough to enjoy even more of the event this year.

“As John said, LlanBikeFest is a great weekend for families as well as bike enthusiasts, with free entry for accompanied children aged 16 and under,  and lots to see and do -  hundreds of motorcycles of every type on show, spectacular riding displays, birds of prey, rides and children’s’ entertainments, plus a great line-up of bands both days.”

Star entertainments will include jaw-dropping stunts by champion trails rider Steve Colley and Savage Skills, the UK’s leading freestyle mountain bike team, plus beautiful birds from the Talonted Feathers falconry.