Railway's season starts on Saturday

* Great Western Pannier tank No.6430 at Berwyn Station.

Llangollen Railway resumes train services from Saturday 10th February.

This coming weekend, 10-11 February, the steam train will operate from Llangollen to Dwyrain Corwen East with three service trains a day.

The locomotive will be the Great Western Pannier tank No.6430, which will be operating steam services at weekends through to Easter.

Trains will depart Llangollen at 1040, 1300 and 1510 or, for complete return trips, from Corwen at 1120 and 1340.

From Monday 12 February, half term week, the off-peak service will be provided with the heritage diesel railcar.

This offers best views of the line in wintertime with the opportunity to see the way ahead when sitting behind the driver or the ‘where-you-have-been’ view in the rear coach.

After plenty of trackside vegetation clearance work by volunteers during the closed season, the train will offer improved views of the Welsh countryside along the ten mile route through the Dee Valley as it gets ready to wake up for springtime.

The railcar service will continue on weekdays through to 23 March and is popular with groups of walkers keen to access the countryside at one or more of the intermediate stations at Berwyn, Glyndyfrdwy or Carrog.

School parties can also be accommodated as an introduction to a journey by train for the younger generation who may not accustomed to rail travel.

Llangollen Railway’s Commercial Manager Liz McGuinness said: “We have an exciting season ahead of us at Llangollen Railway with some great new events planned, along with our regular events. A couple of great family events are visits by Paddington Bear and Peppa Pig to Llangollen Railway and a fab new Cocktail event for the adults.”

The events leading up to the end of April are:

* 11th February Valentine’s Special

* w/c 12th February Half Term Special, children ride for £1 with a fare paying adult

* 11th March Mother’s Day special

* 24th & 25th March Peppa Pig Visits Llangollen

* 31st March Real Ale Train

* 6th-8th  April Thomas visits Llangollen

* 13th -15th April Spring Steam gala – three days of intensive steam train services

Once again a trip on the Llangollen-Corwen train will provide the sedate way to see the lovely countryside in south Denbighshire and experience rail travel as it used to be. Full details can be found on the website at www.llangollen-railway.co.uk

Food event planned at Pavilion

A Blas Lleol – Meet the Producers event will be held on Tuesday March 13 at Llangollen International Pavilion, from 9am – 1pm.

It is aimed at food users such as retailers, chefs, accommodation providers, cafes and restaurants. 

An organiser said: "Whether you run an established business regularly using local ingredients on your menus, or are just starting out – come along to be inspired.

"We will have the best local food producers in Denbighshire and across North East Wales, as well as a range of relevant exhibitors keen to help strengthen and grow your business.

"Through product tasting, chef demos and ‘huddles’ with producers and exhibitors, we aim to showcase regional food and drink and inspire you with ideas for your business, whether big or small. A huddle is a programmed time when producers and exhibitors will present their product, message or story."

Attendance is free, but those planning to go will need to register at: Book a place

Food producers wanting a stand at the event should contact DeeValley.GoodGrubClub@gmail.com

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/