Young 'Uns dazzle with Joseph and his Dreamcoat

* The cast of Joseph take the stage.

* An emotional moment for Cassius Hackforth in the title role.

* The entire ensemble get in on the action.

Show preview by llanblogger
Pictures by Jon Haddy

The current production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Llangollen Operatic Society’s Young ‘Uns is every bit as dazzling as the fabulous garment of the title.

Almost 40 raring-to-go youngsters take to the Town Hall stage to deliver their interpretion of the classic Lloyd Webber and Rice musical which has had audiences flocking to see it for the past 50 years.

And ensuring that their vitality and talent have the perfect launch-pad is a small behind-the-scenes army who have built some wonderful stage sets and created dozens of clever, colourful costumes.

Add to that a powerful eight-piece band and a thoughtful direction/production team and it was hard to go wrong.

The show gives a modern slant to the biblical tale of Joseph’s coat of many colours from the book of Genesis.

The hero starts off as the favourite son of Jacob back in old Israel and is so adored that his doting dad hands him a splendid multi-coloured coat.

But when he’s beaten up and the coat ripped to shreds by his jealous siblings he ends up as an outcast eventually fetching up in neighbouring Egypt.

There his talent wins him favour with the Pharaoh which ensures a rapid rise to power and fame and his elevated status puts him in a position to turn the tables on his envious brothers.

The multi-talented Cassius Hackforth takes the title role which he handles, as usual, with supreme style displayed in both the acting and singing departments.

Shea Ferron, another of the Young ‘Uns rising stars, is the Pharoah interpreted nicely as an enormously-quiffed and hip-swivelling Elvis.     
     
Aled Morris doubles delightfully as old Joseph and Potiphar, while other principals who handle their parts with aplomb are Erin Roberts and Celyn Orton-Jones as the two narrators, Sophie Roberts as Mrs Potiphar, James Reardon as the Butler and  Luke Reardon as the Baker.     

Backing them all the way – an essential as it’s an all-sung show – is an enormous chorus who dazzle and shine at every opportunity.

Joseph must be one of the most testing shows that the Young ‘Uns have staged but the amazing back-up brigade have risen remarkably to the challenge. They're spearheaded by Pam Williams as producer, Julian Cattley as musical director and Jo Lloyd as artistic director.

The stage sets are amazing, the costumes fabulous and the music magnificent.

The show starts this Thursday and runs through until Saturday and go and see it if you want a little colour in your life on a drab winter day.       

* Tickets are still available from Bailey's, jades, Gwyn the butchers or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety

MP tells Europe about Welsh-medium schools

* Susan Elan Jones MP speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Susan Elan Jones MP has described the role of Welsh-medium schools and broadcasting outlets S4C and Radio Cymru at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Clwyd South MP outlined how the Welsh language was barred as an official language in the sixteenth century and Welsh children were banned from speaking it in school when universal education began.

However, speaking on behalf of the Socialist Group of democratic socialist and social democrat parties across Europe, Ms Jones made the point that nowadays it was not just Welsh-speakers who sent their children to Welsh-medium schools.

After her speech, she said: "The subject of regional and minority languages was debated following a very thoughtful report by a Hungarian Christian Democrat MP.

"In my contribution, I wanted to make the point that although  language differences across some parts of Europe can trigger division and in some cases, full-blown ethnic discord, it doesn't have to be like that. Minority and regional languages can and should be a source of great strength. I was pleased to share my experience as a Welsh MP."

Ms Jones was recently elected by the UK Parliament to be one of the Labour representatives on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - a body that meets a couple of times a year in Strasbourg. 

Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe has 47 member states, covering approximately 820 million people, making it far bigger than the 28-nation European Union. 

The Council of Europe does not make laws, but does have the power to enforce select international agreements reached by European states on various vital concerns including the prevention of torture and human trafficking.

Message from prostate cancer group

Llanblogger has received the following notification from Llangollen Prostate Cancer Support Group:

You will have seen a great deal of publicity recently about how more men die now from Prostate Cancer than women with Breast Cancer.

The funding for research into Prostate Cancer is way below that spent on Breast Cancer. It is often very difficult when someone has just been diagnosed with the disease and sometime one can feel terribly alone and not knowing where to turn for advice or information.

I thought this would be a good time to remind residents in the Llangollen area (but not exclusively) that there is a Prostate Cancer Support Group in Llangollen which has been established for about six years and with a membership of 25 all of whom have been through various stages of cancer.

Meetings take place monthly to support each other, to share experiences, to listen to expert opinion from consultants, nurses, equipment providers and pharmacists.

The Group is on a range of national websites, has funding from several organisations, contributes to courses and to research, and develops its own publicity and display materials. The Group meets at the Hand Hotel at 2.00pm on the third Wednesday of the month and are very friendly and informal.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer or indeed any benign Prostate problems is very welcome to attend. If anyone would like any further information about the Group then please contact:
 Mike Law  Tel: 01978 869285  Email: mike.law@froncastell.co.uk 

 Ian Parry   Tel: 01978 449365  Email: ian.parry@uwclub.net 

Council aims to amend hackney carriage charges

Denbighshire Council is proposing to amend the tariff charges in relation to hackney carriages.

The council has previously consulted with public and the taxi trade and have devised a table of charges relating to the maximum charges a hackney carriage driver can ask a customer for.

This table is available at the council’s offices at Caledfryn in Denbigh or by contacting the Licensing section on 01824 706432 or licensing@denbighshire.gov.uk

Hackney carriages are permitted to stand on taxi ranks waiting for customers, they can also pick up in the street after being waved down.

Councillor Tony Thomas, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing, Regulation and the Environment, said: “All hackney carriages are fitted with a meter which will, upon arriving at the destination, give the cost of the journey.

"The table of fares – the Tariff - is set by the council following public consultation.  The table of fares detail the maximum amount the driver may charge for a journey and must be displayed in the vehicle. The driver may not charge more than the amount shown on the meter but it is perfectly permissible to ask for less.

“Journeys may also be pre-booked and at that time a quote may be given for the cost of the journey which if accepted must be honoured by the driver, however, that quote must not be for more than the meter price.

“Passengers should ensure the meter is switched on before the start of a journey (even if they have pre-booked) and check the final fare requested against the meter reading, to ensure they are not overcharged.”

* Representations to these changes can be made, in writing, to the Licensing Section, PO Box 62, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 9AZ or by email to licensing@denbighshire.gov.uk before the 5 pm deadline on 7 February 2018.

Llan author publishes new novel

_{* Eamonn Griffin's new novel is set in the east of England.}

_{A Llangollen-based author has produced a new novel set in Lincolnshire – although he says that it was largely written at a popular café in town.}

_{Eamonn Griffin (pictured below) says he penned most of the book, entitled East of England, in the M'Eating Point on Berwyn Street, although it doesn’t mentioned Llan at all.} 

_{He says the noir-ish thriller has been published by an organisation specialising in crowd-funding called Unbound.}

_{Readers can also find out how to support the book through pre-ordering a copy (digital or paperback) and/or through signing up to a mailing list that'll keep them posted.} 

A synopsis of the story says: Dan Matlock is out of jail. He’s got a choice. Stay or leave. Go back to where it all went wrong, or simply get out of the county. Disappear. Start again as someone else. But it’s not as simple as that. 


There’s the matter of the man he killed. It wasn’t murder, but even so. You tell that to the family. Especially when that family is the Mintons, who own half that’s profitable and two-thirds of what’s crooked between the Wolds and the coast. And who could have got to Matlock as easy as you like in prison, but who haven’t touched him. Not yet.


And like Matlock found out in prison, there’s no getting away from yourself, so what would the point be in not facing up to other people?


It’s time to go home.


East of England blends a rural take on the noir thriller with a fascination with the British industrialised countryside that lies east of the Wolds, between the Humber and the Wash. Unlit byways rather than the neon-bright and rain-slicked city. A world of caravan parks, slot machines, and low-rise battery farms.


The flatlands of the east coast; decaying market towns and run-down resorts, and the distant throb of offshore windfarms. Where the smell you’re trying to get out of your clothes is the cigarette taint of old phone boxes and bus shelters, and where redemption, like life, is either hard-earned or fought for, one way or another.   


Author Eamonn Griffin was born and raised in Lincolnshire. 

He's worked as a stonemason, a strawberry picker, in plastics factories (everything from packing those little bags for loose change you get from banks to production planning via transport manager via fork-lift driving), in agricultural and industrial laboratories, in a computer games shop, and latterly in further and higher education.


He’s taught and lectured in subjects as diverse as leisure and tourism, uniformed public services, English Studies, creative writing, film studies, TV and film production, and media theory. He doesn’t do any of that anymore. Instead he writes fulltime, either as a freelancer, or else on fiction. 


Eamonn has a PhD in creative writing with the University of Lancaster, specialising in historical fiction, having previously completed both an MA in popular film and a BSc in sociology and politics via the Open University. He really likes biltong, and has recently returned to learning to play piano, something he abandoned when he was about seven and has regretted since.

For details of the book, go to: https://unbound.com/books/east-of-england/

Bus timetable is out of date, complains reader

A llanblogger reader and regular traveller has commented on the bus situation in the area:

* The bus timetable as displayed

at Ruabon station.

Our reader says it is now

largely a "work of fiction".

The reader, who wishes not to be named, says:

"Five weeks after D Jones & Son stopped running their service on route 5 Llangollen to Wrexham, the bus stop timetables at Ruabon station continue to show the former 20 minute interval service for weekdays.

"This is hardly the sort of misinformation visitors arriving by train at Ruabon want as regards the up to date service for onward travel to Llangollen with route 5.

"As now operated by Arriva Cymru at a 40 minute frequency, the Llangollen bus does not call at the station. Visitors need to know to walk down Station Road to the bus stop on Bridge Street - or wait for the near two hourly T3 Barmouth service.

"As Ruabon is the railhead for the Dee Valley and connections through to Barmouth, provision of correct bus service information is essential before the start of the season for visitors. They will not be aware of the reduction in service frequency or the lost convenience of buses at the station stop.

AM praises Corwen programme

* From left, Rona Aldrich (Big Lottery), Ken Skates AM, project manager Margaret Sutherland (South Denbighshire Community Partnership), Lesley Powell (Citizens Advice Denbighshire) and Michael McNamara (SDCP chairman of trustees).

Assembly Member Ken Skates praised a programme aimed at tackling rural poverty and isolation after it secured a £350,000 lottery grant.

The Clwyd South AM visited Canolfan Ni in Corwen to hear more about the Your Place or Ours project, a joint venture by South Denbighshire Community Partnership and Citizens Advice Denbighshire which was awarded £350,000 by the Big Lottery to address rural poverty and isolation through a number of initiatives throughout the area. 

Mr Skates said: “The Your Place or Ours project includes a variety of community events and activities and services such as ‘meals-on-wheels’. It’s impossible to underestimate how vital programmes like this are to the people who need them. They can reduce stress and anxiety associated with low income and fuel poverty and I’m delighted the importance of Your Place or Ours has been recognised through this grant from the Big Lottery. It’s a massive boost.”

A special launch event to celebrate the grant was held in Corwen last Friday. Representatives from organisations such as Denbighshire social services and the council’s housing team were also invited, and residents had the chance to take part in arts and crafts taster sessions and indoor sports. 

* For more information about the project, email sally@sdcp.org