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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Watch group sends out scam phone calls alert

Neighbourhood Watch has sent out a warning message about scam phone calls to its members in this area.

It says: "This alert is being circulated due to the amount of calls being received. Over the weekend there have been a number of calls to elderly persons in the Wrexham and Flintshire areas purporting to be from the HMRC (Tax office).

"The caller states that the aggrieved person owes them money. They then request that the elderly person buys ITunes vouchers to pay the outstanding bill. These ITunes vouchers can be purchased at supermarkets across the counties.

"Fortunately, some supermarket staff have thought that this was suspicious and have stopped the elderly person from going ahead with this fraud.

"Some persons have already been conned into sending over the details of the vouchers and enquiries are in hand to catch these people.
"This is a SCAM don't let these people get away with it.

"The Tax office will not phone people at home demanding money and expect a payment via ITunes.

"Please pass this on to your family and friends to ensure no one gets caught out with this scam.
Officers are visiting the local supermarkets to speak to the managers to make them aware."

If you need to reply regarding this message, click on this email address: watch@owlcymru.org

Libraries get creative

Libraries in Denbighshire are inviting local people to join in with the Get Creative Festival 2018 from March 17-25.

Get Creative Festival shines a light on all the great cultural activity that takes place right across the UK on a regular basis and encourages people to try their hand at something new and creative.

A range of activities have been arranged and there’s warm invitation to everyone to call in:

Llangollen Library

Today, Tuesday, March 20, 2.00pm
Crochet, decoupage, embroidery and tapestry and more with Llangollen Craft Group

Friday March 23 (all day)
Hand made wood carvings and wet felting with Roger and Julia, Oblivious Gnome Creations

Corwen Library
Friday, March 23, 9.30-2.00
Collage craft workshop with local artist Carys H Roberts and Felt Ball making



Monday, March 19, 2018

Llan Community Garden wins reprieve from development


See updates at foot of story ...

Llangollen Community Garden is to remain in the ownership of Denbighshire County Council, securing its future as a community asset.

The council’s Asset Management Group has decided to retain the site in council ownership.

Denbighshire had previously considered disposing of the site, but after working with the local community, has decided to retain the land.

A council spokesperson said: “In light of the views expressed by the community, we decided the best course of action is to retain the site and work with the Llangollen Community Garden group and Llangollen Town Council to secure the site for community use now and in the future.”

Llangollen Community Garden is located close to Plas Newydd and was established in 2012.

Llangollen county councillor Graham Timms (pictured) said: “I am delighted that the future of the Llangollen Community Garden has been secured on its current site. The decision by Denbighshire's Assets Committee to retain the land in council ownership means that the community garden will be able to continue to develop the land that they have occupied for the last 6 years. A new deal between the group and the County Council will enable them to have a much more secure future with a longer lease on the site.”



“I'm also pleased that the currently derelict Weaver's Cottage, also on the site, will be preserved and hopefully brought back to its former glory, celebrating the history of the building. Although there are no plans yet to renovate the cottage its best chance of survival for the future is to continue to be in the council's ownership.   A long term future for the site could see it linked to the adjacent Plas Newydd, providing an extra attraction for visitors to the house and gardens.”

Reader Mike Edwards comments: "I would like to point out that Officer who you quoted is being disingenuous with his comments. The land in question was acquired by Denbighshire CC with the benefit of a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant to protect Plas Newydd from residential development on its boundaries. The Council in 1998 commissioned a report from Nicholas Pearson Associates, Specialist Landscape Consultants in support of their grant application who described it is “as part of the Plas Newydd’s essential setting which should be protected from residential development”.

"The Council’s spokesman has failed to make it clear that under the terms of the grant the Local Authority are in fact unable to dispose of the land as they proposed late last year. So it is misleading to imply the Denbighshire CC are now doing the Community a favour by allowing it to remain as a Community Garden."

Peppa Pig set to arrive at the station


A railway spokesperson said: "Two steam trains will be out to cope with the expected crowd of families coming to meet this attraction and a muddy patch is being prepared for toddlers to wade through on platform 2."

Sunday, March 18, 2018

County issues snow update

The following update on this morning's snow across the county has been issued by Denbighshire County Council:

Snow in Denbighshire – Sunday morning

Snow has fallen in parts of Denbighshire overnight and this morning.

Gritting teams have been out and about treating the county’s roads and continue to do so this morning.

Roads:

The Horseshoe Pass is closed, but all other routes are passable with care advised.

Leisure Centres and Facilities:

• Ruthin, Denbigh and Prestatyn - open, All Weather pitches closed.
• St Asaph, Nova, Rhyl – open
• Llangollen - open but care needed on the hill • Corwen - closed
• Ruthin Craft Centre – open
• North Wales Bowls Centre & Rhyl Harbour –open

AM highlights importance of Llan Railway


North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the First Minister to take action to promote the economic benefits that heritage railways such as Lllangollen bring to Wales.

Questioning Carwyn Jones in the Assembly Chamber, Mr Isherwood said it is important that all levels of government and business activity have a better understanding of the positive impact heritage railways can have on the areas they serve, and asked what assessment the Welsh Government has made of the economic benefits that heritage railways bring to Wales.

Speaking in the Chamber, he said: “Writing in last November's edition of the 'Heritage Railway' magazine, its Editor, Robin Jones, referred to the Llangollen Railway big push into Corwen Central, as well as the Bala Lake Railway extension, highlighting the multiple economic benefits to local councils and others that heritage railways can guarantee.

"What action will you therefore take to ensure better understanding, at all levels of government and business activity, of the benefit that heritage railways, such as Llangollen Railway, can bring to the areas they serve?”

In his reply the First Minister said the Welsh Government understands how important heritage railways are, that it has supported them in the past and that it will continue to do so in the future.    

Mr Isherwood added: “As Heritage Railway magazine’s Editor said of Llangollen Railway’s big push into Corwen Central, ‘It will not only be railway passengers who will benefit, being able to alight and visit the town centre’s shops and pubs, but coach operators who will see the line as a way of getting their customers into Llangollen.”

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Twenty Club dig up a hit with their comedy creepy

The advance publicity material describes the Twenty Club’s latest outing at the Town Hall as “Agatha Christie meets the Addams Family” and that perfectly sums it up.

A Tomb With A View by Norman Robbins is a traditional whodunnit woven around a scary, crazy family called the Tombs not one of whom is anywhere close to normal.

Their idea of good time is squabbling amongst themselves like a pack of snarly dogs or bumping off visitors to the family home and leaving them pushing up the marigolds outside in the garden.
They live in a big tumbledown mansion called Monument House where we join the five Tomb siblings and their retainers – along with two mystery guests – as they gather for the reading of the last will and testament of the head of the family, a grim-faced, creepy old geezer whose forbidding portrait hangs on the library wall.  

It’s old man Tomb’s disembodied voice which narrates the introduction to the play, raising the question whether he’s actually dead or not.

And that’s what you continually have to ask yourself as one after another of the characters bites the dust.
To reveal any more of the plot would spoil things, so I’ll say only that there’s a nice little twist at the end.

Members of Twenty Club involved in the piece bring their usual versatility to bear in every one of the many roles.
Paula Sutton, devoid of any feminine touches, is the butch Emily Tomb whom one feels would like to sink her teeth into more than her favourite red apples, while her sister Dora Tomb, who loves to poison people with her home-brewed wine, is played with the perfect measure of eye-rolling madness by Rowena Owen.

Underneath a mop of mad-scientist hair is Mathew Oswald-Haggett who gives an accomplished performance as Lucien Tomb and another club stalwart David Connelly couldn’t be dottier as Marcus Tomb who thinks he’s Julius Ceasar and even wears a toga around the house.
Perfectly completing the lunatic row of Tombs is Sue Griffiths as man-mad sister Monica.

Stepping into the Twenty Club limelight for the first time is James Broderick. But on the strength of his neat portrayal of scheming family solicitor Hamilton Penworthy it won’t be his last.
Lyn Aston is as competent as ever in the role of Agatha Hammond, the sinister old housekeeper who has as many murderous tendencies as the rest of them, and Hannah Edwards makes a very believable Anne Franklin, old man Tomb’s live-in nurse.

Peregrine Potter, the nervous and shy visitor to Monument House who turns out to be central to the action, is played extremely proficiently by Twenty Club favourite Dan Pedley, and there’s a stylish performance from Esme Sallnow as his up-market associate Ermyntrude Ash whom you can also catch taking one of the lead roles in Llangollen Operatic Society’s forthcoming production of My Fair Lady.
This rewarding little comedy thriller provides a great night out and is a credit to director Jenni Lloyd and the whole behind-the-scenes team who help bring it to the stage.      

There’s one final performance of the play tonight at 7.30pm.