New Llan micro pub is a real conversation piece

* Welsh economy minister Ken Skates toasts the opening of The Hoptimist in Llangollen with Richard Green, left, of Dovecote Brewery, and Doug McPherson, of Cwrw Ial.

A new micro pub in Llangollen has banned electronic music and games in favour of good old fashioned conversation.

The Hoptimist, in Market Street, is the latest venture by a partnership of two craft brewers from Denbighshire, Richard Green, of Denbigh’s Dovecote Brewery and Doug McPherson, of Cwrw Ial, from Eryrys, near Mold.

The Llangollen branch of their budding beer empire is the third to open in a year – the first was The Hoptimist in Abergele, followed soon afterwards by a branch in Rhuddlan.

The latest addition to the stable got the thumbs up from local Assembly Member for Clwyd South Ken Skates, the Welsh Government Economy Minister, who dropped in to sample some of the craft beers and ciders they sell – along with a range of flavoured gins made by Richard’s wife, Sue.

He even sampled a fruit cider in a shade of brilliant green and said: “It’s brilliant to see The Hoptimist in Llangollen – it works perfectly with the character of the town.

“Llangollen attracts visitors from around the world and it’s great to see a place like this offering a range of the very best craft ales, many of them produced here in North East Wales.

“Craft beers are all the rage these days and at The Hoptimist you can be guaranteed a genuine taste of the region – they’re putting the ales in Wales.”

Richard and Doug took over the premises on the corner of Market Street and East Street three months ago and have a tenant of their own, a small bakery which sells a range of pies, pastries and Wales’s answer to the Cornish pasty, the oggie.

Richard, whose Dovecote Brewery recently reopened The Salusbury Arms in his home village of Tremeirchion, near St Asaph, also has its own brand micro pubs, The Dove, in Rhyl and Prestatyn.

He said: “This is a really good spot and Llangollen is a perfect town for us as it’s busy all year round.

“We’ve even got the bakery next door so you can pick up your pie and bring it in to enjoy with your pint.

“Doug and I met at a CAMRA – Campaign for Real Ale  - meeting when we’d just set up Dovecote and we didn’t want to be in competition and thought it would work better to be in a partnership.”

Doug, a New Zealander who got into home brewing because when he was growing up the legal age for drinking was 21, said: “It can be difficult for micro-brewers like us to get their beer into pubs so we thought it would make sense to have our own pubs to sell our beer in.

“It’s working very well. Although the craft beer market is still relatively small it’s growing all the time and we are looking at further openings in the future.”

Both breweries produce a range of craft beers using traditional methods but often tweaking the recipes to produce different products like Dovecote’s award-winning Dove Down Under, made with New Zealand hops, and both also include special seasonal beers in their repertoire.

Richard, an industrial chemist from Walsall, in the West Midlands, was persuaded by Sue to turn his home brewing hobby into a business just over two years ago while Doug has been in the brewing industry for 27 years but branched out on his own at Cwrw Iȃl in 2014.

All their beers are 90 per cent made with local ingredients including Welsh–grown hops and barley and adhere to the 503-year-old German Purity Laws which insist that beer can only be made from water, hops, barley and yeast.

Richard added: “We want to grow a self-sustainable business and that’s why it made perfect economic sense to open our own pubs which have a unique atmosphere.

“You won’t find electronic music or games here but you will find a warm welcome, an interesting range of beers, ciders and gins, board games and good conversation.

“Our pubs are smaller and more intimate than most pubs but here in Llangollen we have space upstairs for table football and darts and it’s a good venue for meetings as well and we have a great choice of craft beers, gins and ciders.

“The footprint of each Dove or Hoptimist outlet is more compact than your usual pub, but we have a wide demographic and appeal to ladies and gents alike and we’re dog-friendly too.

“It’s something we believe in and we know it works and we’re hoping to announce further new openings soon.”

Service of Remembrance to be held this Sunday

* Last year's Service of Remembrance in Centenary Square.

Llangollen's annual Service of Remembrance will take place at the war memorials in Centenary Square this Sunday morning.

The parade will form up in Market Street at 10.40am and march off at 10.45am.

The route will start in Market St and go across Castle Street into Oak Street, turning left on to Chapel Street then left on to Bridge Street before forming up on Centenary Square.

After the service, to be led by the Vicar of Llangollen, Father Lee Taylor, and including the traditional bugle calls and silence just before 11am and the laying of wreaths, the band will form up on the corner of Castle/Bridge Street followed by representatives of the Town Council, service standards, Llangollen branch of the Royal British Legion and other local organisations and clubs.
Setting off up Castle Street the parade will turn left into Oak Street, left into Chapel Street, left into Bridge Street.

As the parade passes the two war memorials there will be an "eyes left" order before it heads back on to Castle Street and Oak Street eventually falling out in Oak Street.

* Anyone picking up a wreath from the Town Council chambers for Sunday morning has been reminded that they are not free.

The cost of a wreath is a minimum of £18.50p and can be paid by either cash or cheque, both playable when you collect the wreaths to the Town Clerk. Cheques can be made payable to the Poppy Appeal.

Oak Street celebration event tomorrow

To celebrate the opening of a new exhibition in Karl Young’s Oak Street Gallery in Llangollen several shops will stay open late tomorrow (Saturday) aiming to create a vibrant, whole-street launch event.

Oak Street Gallery will host an exhibition from Jon Young Art with stunning colours in landscape and seascape paintings, many from around the glorious Welsh coastline. 

Gwalia Ceramics will also open its doors for drinks and nibbles. 

Visitors to the event will also be able to browse the gift shops, including the newly-opened Shop Around the Corner, and have a bite to eat in Oak Street Coffee or the Pretty Vintage Tea Room, which is licensed, accompanied by live music from The Cellar Door musicians.

Everyone is welcome to come along to enjoy the shops and cafés and start some Christmas shopping. 

The Jon Young Art Winter Exhibition runs from November 8-25 and is open every day from 10am – 5pm and 4pm on Sundays.

www.jonyoungart.co.uk

Search: “Oak Street Gallery” on Facebook

Museum art competition winners receive their prizes

* Councillor Sheena Grindley hands out the prizes to children's winners.

Over 30 children and nine adults were awarded with prizes for their entries in Llangollen Museum's 2019 annual art competition yesterday (Wednesday) evening.

During a presentation ceremony at the museum winners were honoured for their contributions across a wide artistic spectrum taking in paintings, drawings, collages, photographs and other media.  

Judges for the competition were town councillors Bob Lube and Sheena Grindley along with local artist Dory. Cllr Grindley presented the prizes.

All pieces of art are now on show at the museum.

Winners in the children section, with entries submitted in any medium on subjects ranging from Old McDonald Had a Farm to Let It Go from Frozen, were:

From Ysgol Bryn Collen - Polly Morris, Lily Davis, Robert Seddon, Manley Susanthan, Jack Bridge, Bella Davis, Dai Davies, Rayna Cooke and Edie Langford. From Ysgol Y Gwernant - Lucas Realey, Daisy Welsh, Lily Thompson, Dexter Andrews, Sasha Davies, George Jenkins. 

Year 1 - Grace Moulton.

Highly commended (either school) - Annabelle Wilcox, Alessa Roberts, Bronagh Cooke, Morgan Andrews, Lola Manley, Esme Luca, Luca Burgoyne, Elin Davies, William Fields, Emese Katona, Jay Jay Moulton, Zac Mdolski, Kia Thomas, Nathan Hughes and Sam Jones.

In the adult section entrants had to depict any song or piece of music of their choice, and winners were: Anita Jones (Fingal's Cave), Jan Murray (Under the Sea), Elizabeth Marley (Dirty Old Town), Simon Collinge (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - photograph). Other small prizes were awarded chosen by the museum staff. Specially commended were the adult entries by Lorna Davies, Sarah Jones, Margaret Morgan and Larrie Davies.

The judges commented on the high standard of work in every section and all entrants were thanked for their submissions.

A selection of the winning adult entries

Winning children's entries

    

Inner Wheel's "inspiring" guest speaker

* Rosemarie Williams addresses Inner Wheel members.

* Catrin Morris presents Mrs Williams 

with a cheque for the charity.

On Monday evening Llangollen Inner Wheel were privileged to have as their guest speaker Mrs Rosemarie Williams from Advance Brighter Futures in Wrexham. 

She gave an animated account of the work of the charity in supporting people with a wide spectrum of mental health problems. 

Their aim is to help people acknowledge their problem and to learn to cope with it and lead a full and active life. 

Her talk was truly inspiring. 

Catrin Morris presented Mrs Williams with a cheque for the charity to help with their work in the community.

Blackadder: a cunning plan which actually works

* Mat Oswald-Haggett (Blackadder), Richard Mascarenhas (Baldrick) and Tracey Kempster-Jones (Bob).

* John Clifford (Lord Melchett), Naomi Riley (Lady Farrow), Emily Swindley (Queenie) 

and Heather Wolfson (Nursie). 

* Nick Hawe (Lord Percy) and Mat Oswald-Haggett (Blackadder).

Llanblogger was given a sneak preview of Blackadder, the hilarious comedy which The Twenty Club brings to the Town Hall stage from tomorrow (Thursday) until Saturday

Members of Llangollen drama group The Twenty Club had a cunning plan to present three episodes of Blackadder in one performance charged with all the atmosphere and rollicking humour as the classic TV comedy penned by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton.

And, unlike most of the schemes hatched by Lord Blackadder’s intellectually challenged servant Baldrick, this one actually works, and works extremely well.

With every aspect of the production – setting, costumes, acting and direction - the attention to detail is simply stunning.

Charging ahead in the similarity stakes is Mat Oswald-Haggett as Blackadder – a man who looks, sounds and delivers his lines uncannily like the role’s famous originator, Rowan Atkinson. Where the club was lucky enough to find him, goodness knows but it seems to have a knack of finding precisely the right people for the leading comedy roles.

Apart from the obvious physical likeness, there in all its malevolent glory with Mat is the sardonic wit, the sarcasm and the lip-curling cruelty towards anyone whom he considers to be his inferior, particularly the long-suffering Baldrick.

Playing that down-trodden and malodorous side-kick with great skill is old Twenty Club hand Richard Mascarenhas – nobody can do things with a turnip quite like this guy.

The rest of the usual Blackadder suspects also line up to do incredible justice to their roles in this terrific triptych focusing on him in his Elizabethan incarnation.

Queenie is every bit as childish and petulant as we remember her from the telly thanks to a well observed performance by Emily Swindley while Nick Hawe is deliciously dopey as Lord Percy, Blackadder’s cousin.

Trying to emulate an actor who has become a national treasure partly for his portrayal of Lord Melchett, the queen’s snarling henchman, can’t be easy. But John Clifford takes on the role made famous by the great Stephen Fry with his usual all-round competence and confidence.

And Heather Wolfson, another Twenty Club regular, is just brilliant as Nursie, the woman always at hand to nanny Her Majesty.

We see this team shine in the episodes entitled Head – about Blackadder’s disastrous stint as Lord High Executioner; Bells which sees him fall oddly in love with young manservant who is actually a girl; and Beer about a booze-up he undertakes for a bet and which also lands him in heaps of trouble.

Each one is totally faithful to the way it was presented on the box and brings in some more excellent characterisations, such as those from Tracey Kempster-Jones as the gender-swap manservant Bob (Kate), David Connolly as her grasping father and also Lord Whiteadder, Howell Griffiths as Dr Leech, the doctor, Joe Clifford as the wonderfully over-the-top Flashheart and Sue Griffiths as the Wisewoman and Lady Whiteadder.

The costumes and impeccable and the setting and scenery are nothing short of brilliant and an absolute credit to the backstage crew headed up by producer Sian Glynne-Jones.

Also in line for honours is director Chrissie Ashworth who says in her programme notes that rehearsals were often difficult as both cast and crew were laughing so much. So it’s little wonder therefore that it does exactly the same to the audience.
Oh, and watch out for an unexpected touch from a usually purely dramatic group as the curtain falls.

Blackadder is on from Thursday-Saturday November 7-9 at 7.30pm with a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday. Tickets: 01978 822759, Courtyard Books, Gwyn Davies Butchers, Jenni’s Llangollen, 

hhttps://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Llangollen/Llangollen-Town-Hall/Blackadder-II-Beer-Bells--Head/13651656/. There’s also more information on the Twenty Club website, www.twentyclub.co.uk

L200 is a mud-plugger with a touch of class

* The new Mitsubishi L200. 

Mitsubishi L200 road test by Steve Rogers

Pick-ups need to be a lot more than mud slingers grinding out a living on farms and building sites.

That used to be the case until the company car brigade realised there was a lot of money to be saved in income tax and the manufacturers duly obliged piling in luxuries and making the pick-up less of a bone shaker. 

And that pulled in the lifestylers who need space for surf boards and snowboards along with genuine off road ability to tackle sand and snow.

So we have a whole new breed of pick-ups which can muscle their way around building sites and tow horse boxes, or cruise to the coast.

Proof of the upsurge in their popularity is as plain as day. The diehards like Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu and Ford have been joined by Volkswagen, Fiat and even Mercedes-Benz who will provide the ultimate in double cab pick up luxury...as long as you have a healthy bank account.

The arrival of the plush Mercedes X-Class made everyone sit up and take notice and Mitsubishi reacted with a big make over for its popular L200. It has been a favourite around the world since its launch in 1978 but Series 6 pushes the boundardies further than ever.

First up is the bold new face, customers wanted something a bit more jazzy, so they obliged with the new 'Dynamic Shield' design which fronts the Outlander and Shogun Sport, and it works here giving L200 head turning street cred. The restyled wafer thin LED headlights have been raised and the bonnet angle changed to give the driver a better view.

With a much broader audience in mind the designers set about the cabin which is now more like with comfortable seats and better quality facings for the dashboard. That is well laid out with numerous digital readouts sitting in the centre of the binnacle but missing a digital speedo.

That needs to be sorted given that the speedometer increments are set for Europe. This is important for the UK with the growth of 30mph limits often policed by camera vans. A head up display would be even better.

Although the L200s underpinnings are basically unchanged - Mitsubishi is sticking with leaf spring rear suspension rather than multi link - there have been revisions to the suspension damping and this has made a positive impact on ride comfort and road noise.

I drove over every bump I could find and found a noticeable improvement in the way driver and passengers are cushioned against our numerous road blemishes. On good surfaces L200 is a comfortable cruiser and not troubled too much by road or wind noise.

There is decent performance from a new 2.2 litre diesel, replacing the 2.4 litre which would never pass the stricter emissions legislation. Its strongest suit is torque which is a healthy 400Nm and vital for carting big loads and towing.

To tempt people away from SUVs the L200 is generously equipped, particularly the Barbarian X, a new range topping model, which provides just about everything to be found in a decent car, so expect heated front seats, auto dipping headlights, auto washers, quality carpets, LED cabin lighting and such like along with a full suite of safety aids.

If farmers and builders are worried the L200 has gone soft as it woos a whole new audience they can rest easy. Lower down the chain there is still plenty on offer but more importantly this is still a rugged off roader with a towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes and a class leading 1080kg payload.

Pick ups have gone from bone shakers to cool cruisers and Mitsubishi had to react if L200 is to retain its place as one of the best. I have always measured pick ups against the excellent Nissan Navara but Series 6 matches that on all fronts.

The bottom line for me is that I could live with an L200. It might be a pick-up but it is a very civilised pick-up.

Key facts

L200 Barbarian X

£32,200 (range starts £21,515)

2.2 litre turbo diesel; 150bhp

106mph

36.2mpg combined

206g/km. 1st year tax £1,815

Insurance groups 37-42