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Thursday, March 21, 2019

Eisteddfod gets £75,000 Welsh Government boost



* Ken Skates AM with Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones at last year's eisteddfod.

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has received a £75,000 funding boost from the Welsh Government.

A letter to local Assembly Member Ken Skates from Eluned Morgan, Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language, outlining the cash support says: “I am pleased to confirm that the Welsh Government will be providing a three-year funding package 2019-21 amounting to £75,000 to support the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s audience development project. 

"The overall aim of the project is to increase visitor numbers from the current 35,000 (2018 event) to 45,000 in three to five years.”

The Minister said the funding will "support the expansion of the festival, enabling it to widen the scope and reach of the event to a global audience and support the promotion of the festival through enhanced marketing activity".

Around 35,000 visitors descended on Llangollen last summer and the festival is estimated to generate around £1.5m for the region’s economy each year.

Mr Skates said he was ‘thrilled’ that the Welsh Government is supporting the world-famous event to help it increase visitor numbers by 30% in the next few years.

He said: “Llangollen Eisteddfod brings tens of thousands of visitors to Clwyd South and provides a huge shot in the arm for the regional economy each summer, with people staying in local hotels and B&Bs, drinking in local pubs and eating out in our fantastic array of restaurants and cafés.

“It’s a huge event which promotes our wonderful part of the world on a global stage.

“This year’s festival is also expected to be one of the first major international events staged in Wales after Brexit, so I think its messages of hope and peace is even more important than usual. I’m thrilled and proud that the Welsh Labour Government is supporting it.”

Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies said: “I would like to thank the Welsh Government for its support in these uncertain times and its recognition that the Eisteddfod is the premier international cultural festival in Wales, where we have the opportunity to promote Wales on the international stage which will be so important in the future.

“The investment will enable us to promote Llangollen further and attract new audiences and competitors and thus a greater number of visitors to Wales and help sustain the viability of the International Eisteddfod.”

Mr Skates said the Welsh Government is currently in the process of planning its corporate presence at this year’s event, which runs from July 1-7.

* For more information on the festival visit international-eisteddfod.co.uk.

No cause established for massive mountain fire


* The fire pictured on July 26 last year.

llanblogger special report

No cause has yet been found for the massive fire which devastated a huge area of the mountainside above Llangollen last summer.

A senior fire officer told a special meeting of Denbighshire County Council’s Communities Scrutiny Committee held yesterday at the Pavilion to examine the seasons for the blaze and its effects on local communities that he was not prepared to speculate on the cause.

The fire burned on and off for a total of 68 days from July 19 until September 25 and damaged around 700 acres of Llantysilio Mountain which is a site of Special Scientific Interest.

At some stage firefighters from every part of north Wales were drawn in to fight the smoke and flames.

Over a full day the committee took evidence from every public agency involved in the huge operation and also heard from residents and businesses in the affected area.

It was made clear at the outset that the aim was for the meeting to be an exchange of information and not to attach blame to anyone for what happened.

A report will now be drawn up which will look at whether any lessons can be learned from the incident.

Richard Fairhead, assistant chief fire officer for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, was asked during his interview by the committee if the cause of the fire had been determined and whether it might have been controlled burning.

He replied: “It is too difficult to know what exactly caused the fire and I wouldn’t like to speculate,” adding, “a controlled burn it wasn’t.”

Later in the day the spokesman for an organisation representing sheep farmers issued the grim warning that unless there was more co-operation between those with an interest in the mountainside a similar fire could happen again.  

A landowners’ representative claimed that if it had been hit “hard and fast” early on what started as a small future would not have turned into a large incident.

Going further into the situation his officers had found on the mountainside Mr Fairhead said it had been “one of the largest and most challenging” incidents ever to break out in north Wales, reigniting several times during its course.

He said it had presented a number of health and safety issues for his crews, including battling their way on foot through smouldering vegetation and driving all-terrain vehicles across the mountainsides. Three operational vehicles had rolled over which he said was something that had never been encountered before.

Apart from flames there had been large volumes of smoke, which was the reason why the Ponderosa Café had to be evacuated rather than being under threat from the flames.

Firebreaks had eventually been cut to allow the fire to be brought under control, he explained.

Mr Fairhead was asked whether the service had considered using aircraft to fight the fire but he said this had not been considered a viable option as water dropped from the air tended to roll off hillsides rather than sinking into the vegetation.

He was also questioned on why the army wasn’t called in to help fight the fire as it had been more recently on Saddleworth Moor.

Llandrillo county councillor Mabon Ap Gwnfor, who raised the issue, said he had been told this had been ruled out on cost grounds.

Mr Fairhead replied that the army was only asked to assist when an incident was beyond the capability of a fire service to cope and this case it hadn’t been. He said this was the reason rather than finances.      

The day began with Natural Resources Wales showing drone footage of the seat of the fire near the road known as the Conquering Hero which runs across the mountain. Much of the land in this area was reduced to ash and sand.

Gwyn Rowlands representing the Horseshoe Pass Graziers’ Association said in his written submission to the committee that the fire service was reluctant to involve members in any way, with all offers of assistance, including water supplies and the cutting of fire breaks with their own machinery, had been declined.

He said it has also been perceived that many of the firefighters lacked experience in dealing with such incidents.

Mr Rowlands also pointed out that as a result of economic factors grazier numbers were reducing leading to reduced manpower available for routine habitat management.

He added that graziers would like to see the cutting or burning of firebreaks reintroduced.

He also referred to the association’s belief that a co-operative policy should be drawn up and agreed between all parties with interests in managing Llantysilio Mountain and other areas.

During the meeting he told the committee: “There needs to be a change of attitude and somebody needs to get on with doing something.

“I’ve not heard anyone say today they made mistakes but mistakes must have been made because we’re all human.

“I’d like to see someone taking a lead role, talking to farmers and learning from them, or this fire is going to happen again.”

Asked if there were deficiencies in the way the fire was fought in the first few days, he said: “There were deficiencies in the early stages but the job the fire service did was immense.”

He finished his submission to a round of applause from members of the public in the audience.
William Shuttleworth, landowners’ agent for Llantysilio Estates, said: “What started as a small fire, if it had been hit hard and fast, would not have turned into a large incident.”

He also said he understood that the cutting of firebreaks had been refused because of doing damage to the Special Scientific Interest site.

Referring to the firefighters, he said: “Many of those attending had little or no experience of dealing with mountain fires and the estate is hoping to allow access for on-site training for the fire brigade and others.”

He added that the consequence of less sheep and less grazing on the mountain was that the undergrowth was growing.    

A major player in the fire operation was Natural Resources Wales, which is a category one responder to major incidents such as this.

Its Denbighshire team leader Bethan Beech replied to the first of many questions on the issue of firebreaks and their effect on the course of the fire, which came from Llangollen county councillor Melvyn Mile.

He suggested he had heard it suggested that if enough breaks of sufficient width had been cut at an early stage this could have prevented the spread of the fire. He also said he had been told local people had offered to do this but had been declined permission.

Ms Beech said she knew of no approach to cut the breaks other than from the fire service later during the course of the incident.

Llangollen’s other county council Graham Timms asked Ms Beech to confirm the period of when controlled burning was allowed. This, she said, was between October 1 and March 1, which meant the fire began outside this timeframe.

She added that NRW had never refused permission to anyone on Llantysilio Mountain to carry out a burn during the specified period.

The committee then turned to the issue of public access to the fire area, with County Cllr Holland saying firefighters had been amazed to see people coming towards them out of the smoke when the blaze was at its height.

Ms Beech replied that there was not much could be done about this, although the fire service had put out a plea for people not to go up there to see the fire.

Committee chair County Cllr Huw Williams asked if permission had to be obtained from NRW to dig firebreaks in such an incident and whether granting it was a lengthy bureaucratic process.

Ms Beech replied that her agency had had an officer on site at all times during the fire who would have been able to give an immediate answer.

Questioned on whether better management of the land in this area would have made the fire less likely to have broken out, she said: “More management needs to be done in many areas of Wales, including Llantysilio. We need to work with local graziers.”

Cllr Timms asked a number of questions to various agency representatives about information for the public about how the fire was progressing and being tackled.

Nick Thomas of NRW said the fire service had been in charge of issuing information and that the press officers of the various agencies had taken their leads from them.

Asked by County Cllr Mile whether the fire could have been stopped earlier and, if so, how assistant fire officer Richard Fairhead replied: “Any suggestion that we chose to let the fire burn longer than necessary is completely without foundation. It couldn’t have been stopped earlier because of the prevailing conditions.”

Questioned about firebreaks and offers by people in the area to cut them, Mr Fairhead said: “There were several offers which the incident commander did consider but had to decline on the grounds of people’s safety and welfare.”

Asked by County Cllr Mile if he was satisfied that personnel taking over on shift changes had been fully briefed on the situation confronting them, he said: “They were briefed and took part in a full reconnaissance of the area before taking over.”   

He described as “unhelpful” the incorrect messages posted on social media about the fire and the way it was being fought.    

Neal Cuff, manager of the Regional Emergency Planning Service, was asked by Martyn Holland, county councillor for Llanarmon-yn-lal/Llandegla, if as a result of the fire a combined action plan for all the agencies to work from would be prepared and whether this would be made public.

Mr Cuff said such a plan was currently being prepared but could not give a definitive answer to when this might be published.

Chief Inspector Andrew Williams of North Wales Police was asked by County Cllr Merfyn Parry of Llandyrnog if the cause of the fire had been established and, if so, any charges had been brought.
He answered: “My understanding is that this is not the case and I am not aware of any suggestion of a criminal act. I am not aware of any criminal investigation.”

Rhys Hughes of Llantysilio Community Council and a former Llangollen county councillor said: "It was a catastrophic fire. Imagine the main road into Rhyl being shut on and off for a month, how would businesses there react?
“This was the hottest summer in a very long time. What a hot summer brings is a harvest for the tourist industry, they don't always get one and there were about half a dozen businesses in the area that had to close because of this fire."

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.”

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

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.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

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