Warning over fraudsters claiming to be police officers

North Wales Police are warning the public to be alert to courier fraud scams after Police received a number of reports from members of the public last week.

Residents have reported receiving phone calls from scammers claiming to be from Westminster Police or the Serious Fraud Office with the caller identifying himself as DC Cole or DC Ryan. The fraudster goes on to tell the victim that their bank account has been compromised and their details used to make large purchases in an Argos store in London. 

The fraudster convinces the victim to withdraw a large amount of cash from the bank to protect their money. Once the victim has the cash in their home the fraudster will send a courier to collect the money from the address with the promise that the money will be kept safe.

In one case an elderly female victim, not in North Wales, was asked to go to her bank and withdraw £9700 in cash in order to protect her money. The victim was also told by the scammer not to inform the bank staff of the reason for the withdrawal and to make an excuse for wanting such a large amount of money. The victim was advised to call 111 to confirm it was the police she was speaking to.

Financial abuse safeguarding officer DC2675 Rachel Roberts said “luckily there have been no financial losses in North Wales reported as yet but similar scams have been seen across the UK with victims handing over large amounts of cash to fraudsters.”

 “Often the victims have no reason to doubt the fraudsters as they appear to know the victims personal details. The fraudsters will urge victims to act quickly and create a fear that the victims money is in danger of being lost.”

Police have issued the following advice to residents

If you receive a telephone call from ANYONE asking you to move or withdraw your money END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY. 

• Your bank and the police will NEVER ask you to withdraw your money or transfer your money into a different bank account.
• Beware of cold calls even when the caller appears to have personal information such as your address, date of birth or bank account details and do not give out your personal details to callers.
• If you are concerned or receive a similar request use a different phone or neighbors phone to call 101 to report the matter or wait 10 minutes to make to call to ensure the scammers have cleared the phone line.

 For further information visit the North Wales Police public web page and clicking on the fraud information box. Here you will find advice on various types of fraud and a link to Action Fraud (www.actionfraud.police.uk) or call on 0300 123 2040.

Food festival organisers thrilled with turnout

* Jim Norman and Damon Richards-Gilliam from Ysgol Dinas Bran filming Osian Roberts, Elis ap Gwynfor, Osian Gruffydd and Owain Beech during  a taste test.   

* Michelle Davies of Nuts about Cinnamon.     

* Katie Lancashire with the ridiculously rich by Alana fudge cakes.                   

      

Thousands of food lovers got a taste of the Welsh language at a popular festival – as well as sampling the international language of coffee.

Organisers of the Llangollen Food Festival were thrilled with the turn-out over two bustling days at the popular event which has been hailed as one of the highlights in the UK’s culinary calendar.

Visitors also given the opportunity to sample the delights of  the Welsh language as they browsed more than 100 stalls at the famous International Pavilion.

The festival teamed up with Menter Iaith Sir Ddinbych, one of a network of organisations established across Wales to promote the language, and pupils from the nearby high school, Ysgol Dinas Bran and Ysgol Brynhyfryd, in Ruthin.

The youngster set up  a taste-test panel and produced a Vlog which was posted on YouTube.

Menter Iaith Sir Ddinbych chief officer Ruth Williams said: “Llangollen Food Festival is a brilliant event, attracting thousands of people yearly and a perfect chance to get more people who don’t normally converse in Welsh to try basic sentences.

“Welsh-language speaking exhibitors agreed to wear lanyards signifying they are bilingual. It meant fluent Welsh-language speakers could talk to them in their native language, but learners and complete beginners also knew immediately that they could have a go at conversing with the stall holder in Welsh.

“We had leaflets produced to distribute among festival goers providing basic translations of words which might be useful in a culinary environment. They include Blasus (tasty), Cacen (cake), Siocled (chocolate) and bread (bara).

“The project’s been a great success with really positive feedback from people who enjoyed trying out Welsh in such relaxed, fun surroundings.”

Ysgol Dinas Bran media studies students Damon Richards-Gilliam, 15, and Jim Norman, 16, filmed the taste-test vlog.

Damon said: “We’ve worked with the food festival Menter Iaith team for three years and always found that talking about food is a great way to break down language barriers.”

One exhibitor invented his own language to promote his Rhyl-based Mug Run coffee roasting business.  Tim Parry had postcards printed for distribution to customers, teaching them the novelty sign language.

He said: “I’m really proud of it. I formulated it as a result of years of experience. I realised that when customers talk about coffee brewing machines and methods, they use different hand signals.

“A flat hand pressing downwards, for instance, means a cafetiere, a clenched fist is a stove top method, a finger pointing down indicates a drip pour machine. I became so expert at interpreting them that I eventually decided to catalogue the different signs by hand-drawing small sketches of them to print on my postcards.”

Tim has exhibited at Llangollen for five years but for the first time he delivered a workshop for people to taste different coffee flavours and have a go at making their own. He also produced a blend of roasted coffee, called Hamper, in celebration of the 2019 food festival.

“It’s a great event I always enjoy so I wanted to create a blend especially for it,” said Tim who was helped on his stall by his mum Meryl Bowker.

Neil  Moffat and wife, Claire Hemingway-Moffat, who launched Hemingway’s pesto in Churton, near Farndon, cooking up their special recipe in their home kitchen, were also having a great time.

Neil said: “We’ve got four children who all went off to university, but none were very good cooks.

“When they would come home Claire would make up a giant jar of her delicious pesto sauce for them to take back to their digs.

“We used to call it Red Cross pesto because it was designed to give them something healthy and nutritious to eat. It was so well liked by their student friends that we began making more and more of it and now it’s really taken off and become a mini-business.”

Famous entrepreneur and star of television’s The Apprentice, Alan Sugar, recognised the potential for success in the fine foods market when he invested in the cake making business of 2016 The Apprentice winner Alana Spencer. Her company, Ridiculously Rich, also had a stall at this year’s Llangollen Food Festival, manned by Katie Lancashire.

Katie said: “I love being Alana’s ambassador. To be able to display and sell her delicious cakes in an arena like this is a fabulous opportunity. Llangollen festival lives up to its reputation of being a great event for foodies of all ages.”

The festival has been named one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK by the Independent and Daily Telegraph newspapers.

Organiser Phil Davies said: “We’re absolutely delighted. It went very, very well. Our exhibition stands were full and included some newcomers to the festival which is always nice to see, and everyone had positive feedback on both the trade stands and the interactive workshops and demonstrations.”

Latest Citizens Advice column

Q: My mum has a non-visible disability, which causes her walking difficulties.  I heard something on the news about how she may now be eligible for a blue badge. How can I find out about this and help her apply? 

A: On 30 August, the Blue Badge scheme was extended to people who live in England and have non-visible disabilities or conditions which affect their ability to walk. As a result, your mother may now qualify for a badge.

Your mother will be automatically eligible if she gets certain types of benefits. These include some categories of Personal Independence Payment and the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance.

If she’s not automatically eligible she can still apply for a badge. Her local authority will use evidence from doctors and other healthcare professionals to determine whether she qualifies or not.

Your mother can check her eligibility and apply for a local authority-issued Blue Badge at gov.uk/apply-blue-badge. If she can’t do this herself, you can apply on her behalf.

You’ll need a recent digital passport-style photo, proof of her identity, address, details of any benefits she receives, her National Insurance number, and evidence of how her non-visible disability or condition affects her mobility.

MP explains her position on yesterday's Commons vote

* Susan Elan Jones MP. 

Clwyd South Labour MP Susan Elan Jones has explained why she was among those who voted for the "Letwin amendment" and not Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in Parliament yesterday.

"I know many constituents were watching BBC Parliament on Saturday - and I was delighted to receive so much feedback locally over the last few days. I am doing my best to respond to each email and letter individually.

"A constituent made the point very well: 'The Tories are saying that people are fed up with delays and that’s why they should vote for it, I feel that it doesn’t matter how long it takes we should not vote for a bad deal which this is, let’s not forget that Bluster Boris voted against it twice'.

"A couple of right-wing Tory MPs also let the cat out of the bag when they said they were voting with Johnson because they’d been assured it would ultimately lead to a Crash Out Brexit.

"The Letwin amendment protects against that. We know that Johnson and his ilk support fewer employment protections - and I am concerned by that. Having met with local farming representatives on Friday, I have renewed concerns about deals that would see massive tariffs imposed on local farmers for access to their current markets. I am also troubled about the creation of a border in the Irish Sea.

"In addition, whether my constituents are Hard Brexiteers, convinced Remainers or somewhere in between, I am firmly of the view the decision must belong to them - not just the politicians - in a confirmatory referendum."

A Glorious piece of off-key comedy takes the stage

* A scene from Glorious with, from left, Chris Jones, Cheryl Kendrick, 

Helen Belton and Brian Gilbert.  Picture by Stephen Cain Photography. 

Review: Glorious at Grove Park Theatre, Wrexham

A woman is born with a burning ambition to sing.

The only trouble is she can’t sing.

In fact, she has the kind of excruciating voice that makes grown men weep, dogs howl and music teachers run for cover.

But that doesn’t stop her singing at every opportunity. And if her wretched recitals are in public then so much the better.

Her ambition might have been restricted to very small audiences if it hadn’t been for her daddy leaving her very comfortably off.

She uses tons of his cash to literally buy herself a stage on which her performance dream can take ear-busting flight – and even uses her influence to personally interview potential audience members who she thinks most likely to keep the secret of her chords of discord.

If all that seems a little far-fetched then just Google Florence Foster Jenkins and you’ll see all this is painfully true.

Meryl Streep starred in the film based on her story a few years back and the play on which this was based, entitled Glorious!: The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the Worst Singer in the World by Peter Quilter, is being staged by a superlative amateur cast at Wrexham’s Grove Park Theatre until October 26.

To play someone who sings as badly as Flo you have to be a pretty good singer yourself – remember Les Dawson deliberately and hilariously making a hash of playing the piano?

Luckily, that’s precisely what Helen Belton can do, as she’s proved time and again with the various singing roles she’s had, mainly with Llangollen Operatic Society, over the years.

She needs every ounce of her considerable vocal talent to mangle the notes just like Flo, at the same time as delivering a superb comedy performance.

This piece, set in New York in 1944, is packed with laughter – mainly at Florence’s expense – but the humour is always clever and never too cruel.

Helping the laughs along in a big way is Chris Jones who is excellent as Flo’s resident pianist Cosme McMoon and has a delivery that’s as dry as a bone.

Also memorable in her role as the dotty Dorothy, Flo’s neighbour and helper, is Cheryl Kendrick.

Another outstanding piece of comedy acting comes from Heather Kingnorth as Flo’s very odd Mexican maid Maria. And Brian Glibert is simply spiffing as her superannuated English actor boyfriend St Clair.

Ade Garrett has a walk-on part as the appalling Mrs Verrinder-Gedge. But her appearance on stage makes quite an impression.    

The play is directed by David Underwood.    

School's petition demands curbs on plastics

Environment-conscious students at Ysgol Dinas Brân in Llangollen are doing their bit to save the planet.

A petition they organised calling for the abolition of single-use plastics was formally presented in Parliament on their behalf earlier this week by Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones.

The petition call for a halt to the use of non-essential plastics in all UK schools by the end of this year and also demands the immediate banning of Styrofoam from all schools.

This is the culmination of a long and continuing campaign led by the student council to make all schools sustainable and environmentally responsible in a bid to protect the future generations and prevent a climate emergency.

Ms Jones said: "The petition was very widely supported in the school and it has been excellent to work with the school council and other students on this. 

"I am hoping to continue to do more campaigning and practical initiatives with them on environmental issues."

* To see the presentation of the petition in the House of Commons, go to: 

https://www.facebook.com/YsgolDinasBranSchoolLlangollen/videos/796321770787032/

Police warn over fake banknotes

Police are warning businesses to be vigilant after several incidents of passing counterfeit notes have occurred in the Gwynedd south area over the last 24 hours.

The individuals concerned have mostly attempted to pay for low value goods using fake Bank of Ireland £50 notes in Penrhyndeudraeth, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog.

The two men and a woman are travelling in a dark blue Ford Transit, and have Irish accents. One of the men has what is described as having an “Angel wing” tattoo on the left side of his neck.

It is believed that these individuals may travel throughout the North Wales area, and as such we advise anyone who is offered a Bank of Ireland £50 note to undertake the usual checks, and if any suspicious circumstances occur, please contact police on 101 or via the live webchat. Likewise, any sightings of the distinctive vehicle pictured which has Irish number plates should be reported immediately.