Vicar to bless the beer aboard real ale train

* Father Lee Taylor blesses the Llangollen vicarage in Abbey Road earlier this year.

Llangollern's new vicar is to bless the beer aboard a real ale train due to steam out of the town’s railway station later this month.

Father Lee Taylor, who took over at St Collen’s and three other churches in the Valle Crucis Mission Area last Christmas, reckons reviving the ancient ceremony which goes back to medieval times is a good way of taking the church out into the community.

So when the special train leaves the platform on the evening of Saturday March 30 Father Lee will be on hand in his full regalia to say some specially chosen words over the local brews that will be on sale to lovers of real ale.

He said: “Back in medieval times it wasn’t unusual for priests to be called upon to bless all sorts of things, such as cheese, workmen’s tools or crops planted for harvest.

“It’s a way of the church responding to various activities in the community and a fun way of celebrating something that’s very good.”

Father Lee, whose mother was landlady at a couple of pubs back in his native Bolton, added: “The beer blessing itself goes back to 1614 and inaugurated in the time of Pope Pius V.

"There also a link with St Collen's because on the church roof is a depiction of a men with barrels.

“I’ll be performing the ritual in both English and the original Latin and I’ll be using holy water and incense - and then I’ll be joining the other travellers for the odd pint or two.

“Saint Arnold of Soissons, whose feast day is on August 14, and Saint Arnulf of Metz, whose day is on July 18, are bothe patron saints of beer and hop-pickers, so if any pubs or hotels in Llangollen would like their beer blessed on those days then let me know."

This won’t be the first time that Father Lee carried out his beer blessing ceremony.

Back in 2016 he hit the national headlines when he blessed the casks at his local pub when he was part of the clergy team at Croydon Minster in London.

And soon after he arrived in Llangollen a gathering of parishioners and friends watched him bless his new vicarage in Abbey Road.

Llangollen heritage railway’s business manager, the aptly-named Liz McGuinness, has raised a glass to Father Lee’s plans.

She said: “This is a great idea. We are so pleased that Lee is taking time out to re-enact an age old tradition. This will be great fun and we are really excited about it.”

Man dies in A5 collision

The Daily Post is reporting this morning that a man has died in a collision between a car and a lorry on the A5.

Full story see:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/man-dies-after-car-lorry-16000013

Playgroup children help to put Llan on the map

* The map of Llangollen created by children of Cylch Meitrin.

Creative youngsters at a Welsh language playgroup in Llangollen have helped to put the town on the map.

Cylch Meitrin aims to enable its young members to learn Welsh through play.

As a charity the group is always has an eye on improving its finances and over the past few months it has been busy designing and creating a map of the area which it hopes will help boost funds.

The group’s chairman Daniel Davies said: “The idea of the map is to raise money for Cylch. With so many people seeking funding in Llangollen we tried to design a product that tourists would be interested in.

“The children at Cylch drew and printed all the main sites around the Llangollen area on A4 paper and Dave Southwell, owner of WTE ased in Cefn Mawr, helped put everything together with his design and printing skills.

“We are so pleased with the results that we want to promote it through the town as much as possible.”

He added: “Anybody can buy the map, we can have large copies made if any local cafes and restaurants want to use up wall space.

“We would love it if it caught the eye of the council and a large permanent copy was erected within the town centre.

“Seeing how hard the staff and children have worked in Cylch Meithrin Llangollen I really hope this map becomes a success.

“Any money made will be reinvested into Cylch to help us become even better. This will ensure that young children of Llangollen will get the opportunity to learn the Welsh language through play.

“We have copyright over the map so it can’t be printed and used by anybody without our permission.”

* For further details about the map or to place an order, send an email to: daniel0163@hotmail.co.uk.

Slumbering giant to awake in Corwen

A visual art extravaganza will be taking place at Corwen this Saturday when the local community awakes one of the sleeping giants of the area. 

Drewyn the giant will wake up and walk invisibly (but loudly) through the landscape leaving gigantic footprints as he travels.

He’ll then fall back to sleep - leaving an impression in the ground where he lies. 

Members of the community and visitors will have the opportunity to experience it all.

Waking Corwen’s Giant has been created by artist Gordon Rogers of Structure & Agency and is led by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB in partnership with Addo and the local community and has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

Celebrating the Year of Discovery the aim is to provide the opportunity to explore the folk lore and mythology of giants in Wales and bringing to life the story of local giant Drewyn.

Throughout the event visitors will find out more about Drewyn as a figure of kindness and his defining act of creating Caer Drewyn hill fort as a gift for his sweetheart - a milk maid - as a place for her to keep her cattle.

On his way down from Caer Drewyn, as well a leaving a trail of footprints he’ll drop a variety of personal belongings - it turns out he has a hole in his pocket -  and visitors will be able to follow this trail of clues which reveal his interactions with neighbouring giants and hint at his ongoing relationship with the mysterious sweetheart.

The concept behind Waking Corwen’s Giant was developed and designed by artist Gordon Rogers of Structure and Agency who developed the process with engineer John Kettles.

Ceri Lloyd, AONB Sustainable Development Officer, said: "Waking Corwen’s Giant is an opportunity to celebrate the myths and legends of the area while bringing a lesser-known local story to the forefront. 

"Working with the local community and businesses to promote the town of Corwen and conserving our environment, the aim is to link in with other organisations and businesses and encourage people to visit throughout the year and enjoy the natural beauty of the area."

Making Corwen’s Giant will be open to the local community and visitors to attend (limited number of tickets) and anyone wishing to attend and experience it all on March 23 will need to register their place at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/waking-corwens-giant-deffro-cawr-corwen-tickets-58280687104.

Illness means new date for Twenty Club's latest play

Llangollen Twenty Club Players are well into rehearsal for their forthcoming world premiere production of Dinner with Otto.

The play, written by Tom George and directed by Lyn Aston, was due to open mid March but due to an unfortunate illness had to be postponed. 

However, the cast, crew and members of Twenty Club were determined to show what they say is a  remarkable piece of writing, so decided to re-schedule the play to show at Llangollen Town Hall on May 30th, 31st and June 1st.

The play is set in March 1919 after the conclusion of the bloodiest conflict in history. 

It tells the story of a young soldier, Ben, returning home to his mother and friends after witnessing the atrocities of war, and now having to live with a deep sense of guilt, and hopelessness for his future. 

Ben had promised to protect his friend, Aled, who went to war with him, but Aled was killed, further adding to Ben’s sense of guilt. 

Aled’s mother forgives him, which leaves Ben feeling even more wretched.  

On his return Ben’s mother sadly realises that he is not the same boy she waved goodbye to. 

Ben shares some of what he witnesssed but his mother realises he has many other secrets that may affect the future course of his life.

With real footage of  World War One transporting you into a very dramatic, and to some, surprising end, it is sure to  keep you on the edge of your seat.  

This is Ben’s story,  a sad and haunted young man trying to come to terms and live with the trauma that impact of any war has on the returning soldier. 

* Tickets are available from Courtyard Books, Gwyn Davies Butchers and Jenni's Llangollen, or

online: www.skiddle.com

Body found near aqueduct

The Leader is reporting this afternoon that a woman's body has been disovered near to the aqueduct

For the full story see:

https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/17508479.womans-body-discovered-at-pontcysyllte-aqueduct/

Llantysilio fires go under the spotlight this week

A special scrutiny meeting looking at the circumstances around the mountainside fires at Llantysilio Mountain last summer is being held this week.

The session, being arranged by Denbighshire County Council at Llangollen Pavilion on Wednesday, March 20, will hear evidence from a range of organisations, including North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, North Wales Police, Denbighshire County Council, Natural Resources Wales, as well as representatives of the local community.

As well as the operational response to the fire, the county's scrutiny committee will also hear about how the moorland is currently managed.

Councillor Huw Williams, chair of the committee, said: “This is a special meeting with the aim of understanding all the circumstances and issues around the fire and the response of the various agencies. 

“We feel that the fire was significant in terms of size and the length of time it was active, as well as the impact on the local community, and warranted a special scrutiny meeting to debate these issues.

“Due to the nature of the terrain and the special site of scientific interest designation, there were a number of agencies involved in the response to the fires.   

"Organisations will have considered their own responses but this is about bringing people together for a wider debate. Discussions will provide a clear picture of how each organisation responded, what worked well and what did not work as well.  It will also help us learn any lessons and whether we need to amend existing response protocols. 

“We recognise that the fire had an impact on local residents and motorists using the Horseshoe Pass and we will be discussing the concerns and issues raised by local people at the meeting."

A report will be drawn up after the meeting and will be presented at a later date.