Apply for free childcare offer online, says county

Denbighshire County Council  has announced that parents and guardians can now apply online for the Welsh Government’s free childcare offer.

In 2017 the Welsh Government (WG) pledged to offer 30 hours a week of government-funded early education and childcare to eligible working parents of three and four year olds, for 48 weeks of the year by September 2020.

Children will be eligible to access the offer from the beginning of the term following their third birthday until the September following their fourth birthday.  

The new offer comes into effect in Denbighshire on Monday, January 7^th, 2019.

Eligible children will be entitled to up to 20 free hours of childcare during term time, on top of the 10 hours already provided by the Foundation Phase.

During the school holidays, when there is no early education, the offer will provide 30 hours a week of childcare for up to nine weeks. Parents are able to choose any registered childcare setting that suits their personal and family circumstance, whether inside or outside of county, in agreement with the provider and the local authority.

Those not currently accessing the 10 hours a week free childcare provided by the Foundation Phase will be able to apply for 20 hours free childcare, as part of the scheme.

To be eligible for free childcare, parents/ guardians must meet a set of criteria:  their child must be aged 3 or 4;  parents/ guardians work and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours at national living wage or national minimum wage, or are in receipt of specific caring benefits and they must live in Denbighshire.

Councillor Huw Hilditch – Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children, Young People and the Welsh Language, said: “We have worked tirelessly with the Welsh Government over recent months to bring the implementation date forward and we are delighted to be able to share this very positive news.  

“The aim of the Childcare Offer is to allow eligible parents to have more employment choices, increase their disposable income to help counteract poverty for those in low paid jobs and ensure that quality early education and childcare is provided to promote child development and prepare them for early education.

“Our colleagues in education have worked hard to get this scheme available in Denbighshire at the earliest opportunity and we would urge parents and guardians to go online and check whether they are eligible."

* All of the information about the childcare offer can be found at: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/childcare

Llan groups get an early Christmas cash bonus

* Representatives of the benefitting groups say cheers to Cittaslow for their cash windfalls.

A dozen Llangollen community groups received an early Christmas bonus last night when they each won a share of a £5,000 windfall from the Town Council.

The council’s Cittaslow committee hosted a presentation evening at the Town Hall for the annual Community Support Grant scheme which sees local groups benefit from cash injections from the council.

Members of the public, provided they were town residents, were invited to listen to short submissions from representatives of the various groups outlining why some extra cash would come in handy to help them continue to thrive.

The large audience was then asked to vote on which organisations they thought to be most deserving.

At the end of the process Cllr Austin Cheminais, speaking on behalf of Cittaslow, made the surprise but welcome announcement that there would be no losers as every one of the groups would get the amount of cash they asked for.

That meant the cash was handed out to:

Three of the groups each also received a cash bonus voted for by Cittaslow members.
Cooking for Wellbeing received an extra £100, Activity Outdoors got £50 while Soft Play received an additional £30.

Cllr Cheminais described the work of all the benefitting groups as “brilliant” and said what they did helped to make Llangollen the vibrant community it is.

Eisteddfod commissions two new musical pieces

* British Columbia Girls Choir from Canada.

Llangollen Eisteddfod has commissioned two new pieces of music to reflect the growing number of younger singers entering its choral competitions.

The festival has authorised one piece by Roderick Willliams OBE and the other by its Interim Music Director Dr Edward-Rhys Harry, entitled Reset the World.

Both pieces have been specifically commissioned to resonate with the festival’s teenage entrants and the organisers are encouraging choir leaders from across the globe to enter its Senior Children’s Choir competition, before the upcoming deadline of Friday 23^rd November.

Delight in Disorder is a setting of a poem by Robert Herrick and the music tries to capture the mischievous character of the words. 

It is designed to be suitable for various combinations of broken and unbroken voices across gender.

The piano part features a walking bass that remains unchanged throughout the piece.  While no doubt testing for the performers, hopefully it will also appeal to their sense of fun.

Reset The World reflects themes growing up in today’s world of technology and social media.

Edward-Rhys Harry said: “We have welcomed global performers since the end of the Second World War and to stay current we regularly look to modernise our offering to respond to our changing audiences. When writing the piece, I envisaged what it would be like if the world had its own ‘reset button’ similar to technological devices, hence the title of the piece.

“We hope this gospel-inspired song will be a valuable addition to the audition test pieces choirs choose to perform, as we would like to encourage teenagers around the world to ‘press pause’ and enjoy real world harmony, diversity and culture through music and performance."

Groups of no fewer than 16 voices and aged between 12-18 can enter for the chance to win, following in the footsteps of 2018 winners, British Columbia Girls Choir from Canada.

Successful entrants will compete on the Royal International Pavilion stage for the prestigious title of Children’s Choir of the World.

Closing date for the Senior Children’s Choir category is on Friday 23^rd November 2018 and applicants are asked to contact the Eisteddfod office to obtain a copy of the test pieces.

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will take place on 1-7 July 2019.

* For more information on all the competitions or to apply on the Eisteddfod competitors’ website visit: http://eisteddfodcompetitions.co.uk/

Colourful Christmas Festival lights up the town

* The lights in Castle Street right after the switch-on.

Thousands of people flocked to Llangollen's annual Christmas Festival this afternoon (Saturday) and llanblogger  was on hand to record some of the colourful scenes.

* Sion Corn waves to the crowds waiting in Castle Street.

* Chris Burton, dressed as Rudolf, belts out some 60s and 70s sounds in Centenary Square.

* People look for bargains at the Christmas fair inside the Town Hall.

* Market Street was turned into a foodies paradise with the Light Up Local Food stalls.

* The children's fairground ride swings into action in Market Street. 

* The parade heads into town led by a horse-drawn wagon.

* Town crier Chem announces the arrival of the big parade. 

* Llangollen Silver Band sets the pace for the parade.

* A vintage tractor represents the local farming community.

* Bikers in fancy dress were a major attraction.

* A stylish custom pick-up drew lots of attention.

* Town mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, arrives outside the Town Hall.

* Juggler Jay Gatling goes through his paces in the parade.

* A biker in steampubnk style roars in.

* Huskies were a top attraction with the crowd.

* An elf makes a collection for the festival's charities.

* The Silver Band plays a selection of seasonal tunes in Centenary Square.

* Shea Ferron, one of the stars of the Llangollen Operatic Young 'Uns' next production of Grease, takes the stage. 

* A chorus line from Grease performs.

* Cast member Celyn Orton Jones sings another number from Grease.

* Children from Ysgol Bryn Collen delight the Centenary Square crowd.

* A young visitor meets Sion Corn in his Town Hall grotto.

* Two festival volunteers take a break.

* Chef Brian Mellor gives a cookery demonstration.

* High jinks from juggler Jay Gatling.

* The cast of Llangollen Pantomime Group next production of Aladdin perform a selection from the show.

* Elvis Presley makes an appearance with some friends on the Centenary Square stage. 

* Llangollen resident Ann Owen, who has raised money for the town's Christmas lights in the past, switches on the illuminations with Cllr Karen Edwards who raised cash for them this year.

* A firework display rounds off the festival.

Christmas Festival is this afternoon

Thousands of seasonal revellers are expected to come flocking to Llangollen today for the town’s annual Christmas Festival.

Kicking off at 1pm with the famous parade which sees Sion Corn - the Welsh Santa – being escorted into town over its historic bridge by a colourful cavalcade of entertainers and local groups, the event features children’s fairground rides and games, circus acts, a magician, dancing and face painting.

There will also be a chance for youngsters to visit Sion Corn in his glorious grotto and put in their early requests from what they’d like to see him bring them on Christmas morning. 

During the afternoon visitors can look forward to an eclectic mix of musical entertainment from local groups on two outdoor stages and other on-street entertainment.

The fun-packed day rounds off at 5pm the ceremonial switching on of Llangollen’s legendary Christmas lights and a firework extravaganza. 

Llangollen Christmas Festival is organised by a group of dedicated community volunteers. It costs over £4,000 to stage each year and is self-funding.

The festival aims to provide a free family-orientated event in the safety of the town centre with surplus funds donated to Wales Air Ambulance and local community groups.

Over the last couple of years the police have estimated that the spectacular event attracts over 2,000 people into town during the course of the afternoon.

For the second year the festival has teamed up with Light Up Local Food, a project aimed at promoting Llangollen-based food and drink producers.

Chairman of the festival committee Austin ‘Chem’ Cheminais, who is also the local town crier and a member of the town council, said: “With the help of the community we manage, each year, to raise just about enough to fund the event and give a little to charity.

“Last year’s festival was particularly successful, in spite of the weather, and the feedback from those attending was very positive.

“The ‘market’ feel to the event provided by Light UP Local Food was particularly commented upon and helped to attract visitors from much further afield.

“Once again we’re expecting a bumper crowd to come along and help us to give a great early start to Christmas.” 

Try Llan Country Market for a Christmas bargain

* Country Market members Vicky Lucas, left, and Marion Williams at a stall loaded with Christmas goodies. 

Llangollen Country Market members have been celebrating the lead-up to Christmas in their usual manner.

They have been very busy creating seasonal goodies for all.

The members invite people to come in out of the cold, have a drink and stock up on the unique hand-made gifts, cards, wreaths, jams and chutneys and tasty cakes and pastries.

The market is open on Friday mornings, from 9.45am-12.45pm, in the Town Hall until Friday December 14 when it closes until Friday March 1 for its annual break.

Members say: "We wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our customers. Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda."

Play is a great way to start Christmas with a laugh

* The cast of The Flint Street Nativity.

Kids say the darndest things.

And a lot of the things they come out with accurately reflect what their parents say and do.

That's the main premise of the play The Flint Street Nativity currently being staged by the Twenty Club at Llangollen Town Hall.

And an unholy piece of hilarity it turns into.

The plot is that grown-ups play a bunch of kids at Flint Street primary school - located somewhere near Llan in this instance but actually in Liverpool as originally imaged by author Tim Firth - as they perform their annual nativity.

We see them first at rehearsal where we hear them inserting into their own childish conversations the phrases they’ve picked up at home from listening to their sometimes dysfunctional parents.

Quite a bit of this stuff  is malicious but is used innocently by the children as weapons in their own little feuds with other members of the group.

This produces some delicious comedy such as when the Angel Gabriel, marvellously played by Twenty Club favourite Sue Griffiths, wills Hannah Edwards’s superb Virgin Mary to fall sick so that at the last minute she can take over that role herself.

There’s much more of this stuff and the laugh factor steps up significantly when the actual nativity performance gets underway.

Another memorable scenario stems from Mary and Joseph’s weary arrival at the inn to be greeted by Si Kneale deftly portraying a far-from-genial mine host. I won’t divulge what happens but don’t forget to look out for it.   

Another stand-out performance comes from Nicola Holmwood as the Shepherd. She’s extremely believable as a little girl, right down to the perfectly-timed twitches, and delivers some real comedic gems.

James Broderick is sheer magic to watch and listen to as the Ass, so called because he spends most of the action wearing a big cardboard donkey head. However, that doesn’t prevent him perfectly delivering some of the play’s funniest moments.

Other neat performances come from Lizzie Clifford as Wise Gold – one of the Three Kings – Kevin Williams who gives a new twist to the Star of Bethlehem, Eiri Jones as The Angel, Joe Clifford as the Narrator, Gareth Edwards as Herod and Joseph and Rowena Owen as Wise Frankincense – just listen to how she delivers her character’s name with the lisp she puts on.  

Why the various kids say the things they do become clearer when the actors appear as their respective parents in the final scene.

The play, which you can still catch this and tomorrow evening (Friday and Saturday, when it helps round off the town’s Christmas Festival) at 7.30pm, is a credit to John Clifford in his first directorial role and is a cracker of a way to start Christmas.

* Tickets, at £8 and £6 concessions, are available from Courtyard Books, Gwyn Davies butchers, Jenni's or Mair Bowen on 01978 822759, or via Skiddle.com