Service for hospice to be held in St Collen's

The annual Llangollen Light up a Life Service in aid of Nightingale House Hospice will be held in St Collen's Church on Friday, December 6.

The service is organised by the Llangollen Community Support Group who work tirelessly throughout the year organising events to raise vital funds for the hospice. 

School choirs from Ysgol Bryn Collen and Ysgol Y Gwernant, Llangollen will also be taking part.

Nightingale House provides specialist palliative care services, completely free-of-charge, to patients and their families across a wide area stretching from Wrexham, Flintshire and East Denbighshire to Barmouth and the border towns including Oswestry and Whitchurch – that’s a population that covers around 391,976 people.

The service starts at 6.30pm prompt.

Campaign aims to give traders Christmas boost

* Carolyn Brindle, Denbighshire Council's Lead officer for Business Support, with Mike Horrocks, Economic and Business Development Manager.

A campaign has been launched to urge people in Llangollen to shop local this Christmas to give the town's high street traders a £2.5 million boost in the run up to the festive season.

On average in the UK each household spends £500 on presents, decorations and food and Denbighshire County Council wants local shops to get their share of the Yuletide action.

They are hoping to encourage at least a third of the county's 30,000 households, which would mean over 700 in the Llangollen area, to spend half their Christmas cash with their local retailers instead of buying online or go to the expense of travelling to the bigger shopping centres.

By spending locally Llangollen residents ensure their money will boost the local economy - experts say every £1 spent locally is likely to be re-spent 2.3 times which would mean over £400,000 stays in the town.

The Council is encouraging people to shop locally through the #LoveLiveLocal campaign.

Emlyn Jones, Denbighshire's head of Planning and Public Protection Services, who oversees the county's Economic and Business Development Team, said: "We have a wonderful selection of independent shops and businesses at the heart of our high streets and we want to encourage more local people to choose to spend their money locally and contribute to the local economy.

"Local shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs are at the heart of our towns and play a vital role creating new jobs and improving prosperity and that's why we are encouraging people to shop local this Christmas.

"It will be good for shoppers too because if they buy more locally this Christmas it will mean less travel, be a far more relaxing experience and they will be able find something a bit different to put under the tree for their loved ones.

"If half the £500 average Christmas spend of just a third of our households was spent with local traders, it would mean a £2.5 million boost to the county economy and crucially to our retailers.

"The other thing I would stress is that shopping locally isn't just for Christmas. If every adult in Denbighshire spent just £5 extra a week locally instead of online or at a chain store during the rest of the year, that would add up to over £300,000 more a week for the county's shopkeepers. At a time when margins are tight, that could make all the difference.

"It's about promoting the diverse and vibrant shopping experiences we have in Denbighshire and whether you're buying a turkey from your butcher or a pair of socks from a high street store you'll almost certainly get better quality than you will from the big chains and you'll be doing your bit for your town or village.

"Our businesses offer great value for money, a wide range of products and fantastic customer service and we want to play our part in showcasing what makes our towns special."

Meanwhile, retail guru Helen Hodgkinson, from Dyserth, who has worked closely with local businesses, has advice on how to make the most of Christmas which is the most important period of the year for sales.

Denbighshire County Council's #LoveLiveLocal campaign encourages people to use their local shops and services and for businesses to promote themselves and for everyone to use social media platforms Twitter and Facebook to share their positive experiences of Denbighshire as a fantastic place to shop.

Going online is key, according to Helen, a former fashion retailer and college lecturer, who said: "You have to talk about your offer and really promote it on social media and on your website - a lot of people don't shop local because they don't know what's available.

"You need to really push what you're offering and the benefits of shopping locally such as saving travelling time and the fact that the offer is very often niche, different and unique and you need to shout that from the rooftops.

"The towns have late night shopping so make the most of it, let people know when it is and what you're doing - it's an idea to invite other people like crafters and artists to exhibit in your store.

"For example Snow in Summer in Denbigh has done that very well so it's important to work with other people in your high street and telling the world why they should shop in your town.

"Shopkeepers need to get involved in events, Christmas fairs and markets - The Little Cheesemonger in Rhuddlan is doing that and that can drive people to your high street and your store."

As part of the Christmas #LoveLiveLocal campaign, Denbighshire County Council will be posting a video to highlight what the county has to offer and the campaign will encourage people to support local independent businesses by using the hashtag on Twitter and Facebook to share good experiences they've had as well as promote products and services locally they have 'loved'.

* For more information go to:
https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/business/business-support-and-advice/love
-live-local-caru-busnesau-lleol.aspx and businesses and customers can get
involved by including
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/lovelivelocal?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=has
h> #LoveLiveLocal in their tweets on Twitter and
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/288253468315903/> joining the
#LoveLiveLocal group on Facebook.

2020 to hold public meeting on parking

Volunteers rebuild historic stone wall at Plas Newydd

* The volunteer dray stone wallers in the Dell at Plas Newydd.

A team of volunteers have been busy learning new traditional skills and putting them to use at Plas Newydd.

The Dell is the Ladies of Llangollen’s naturalistic garden and some of the 200-year-old revetment walls there are crumbling and falling into disrepair.

The Our Picturesque Landscape, which is National Lottery Heritage funded, is leading on a five-year restoration of the Dell which has started this autumn with repairing many of the crumbling stone walls holding up the banks leading into the Dell. 

Led by experienced Richard Jones of RJ Countryside Skills the volunteers have learned the skills involved in removing a crumbling wall and how to rebuild it to last another two centuries. 

As part of the work a time capsule has been buried in the wall for someone to find long into the future, detailing who repaired the wall and why.

This project 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.

Other projects within the restoration programme are the creation of stepping stones across Afon Cyflymen which flows through the Dell, repairing the steps leading up to the summer house, creating a bog garden, extra seating and replacing the existing handrail with something more in keeping with the garden as it would have been two hundred years ago.

Volunteers Paula Wilding and Dave Smith said: “This has provided an interesting feature leading visitors down from the historic formal heritage garden into the ladies' naturalistic planting within the Dell.”

* If you would like to get involved by volunteering with the restoration, please get in touch with the team on 01824 706163 or contact:  our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk

Boris says Tories can win Clwyd South seat

* Stuart Davies supplied this picture of Boris Johnson canvassing in Castle Street during the 1997 general election.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Conservatives can win the local Clwyd South seat, which he unsuccessfully fought himself in 1997 - as a winnable seat in the general election.

He revealed this aim as he unveiled his party's Welsh manifesto on a whirlwind visit to Bangor on Dee racecourse earlier this afternoon.

* For the full story, see Leaderlive at:

https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/18059176.boris-johnson-eyes-clwyd-south-seat-tories-22-years-failing/

Sion Corn tries helicopter for Christmas festival arrival

* Sion Corn tries out the Wales Air Ambulance 

for his rapid arrival at Llangollen Christmas Festival on Saturday.

Sion Corn – the Welsh Santa Claus – has been checking out the quickest way to reach Llangollen when the town stages its annual Christmas Festival this Saturday November 30.

Thousands of seasonal revellers are expected to come flocking to the Denbighshire tourist spot for the big event.

As Sion Corn will be starring in the traditional parade and wants to make sure he’s there in good time on the day he’s been trying out various modes of travel over the past few weeks.

And he reckons that by far the quickest way of reaching Llangollen from his home in the Far North is aboard the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter which the festival is once again this year raising funds to support along with local groups in the town.

So he went along to its base near Welshpool to check it out.

Later he said: “Apart from its fantastic range of lifesaving equipment and its dedicated crew, both medical and pilots, I was very impressed with how fast it can reach its patients.

“If it can be on the scene of an emergency so rapidly it shouldn’t take long at all for it to whisk me and my helpers across to Llangollen on the big day.

“My trip aboard the helicopter also convinced me the Christmas festival couldn’t be supporting a worthier cause.” 

Kicking off at 1pm with the famous parade, which sees Sion Corn being escorted into town over the historic bridge by a colourful cavalcade of entertainers and local groups, this Saturday’s event features children’s fairground rides, food stalls, choirs, craft stalls, circus acts 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 with 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 being donated to Wales Air Ambulance and local community groups.

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

For the third 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 thanks to the good 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.” 

Festival organisers have also arranged for free parking throughout the day at local car parks.

New claims from Stuart Davies in cancer scan battle

* Former councillor Stuart Davies.

The Llangollen man who spearheaded a campaign for men across Wales to have equal access to a prostate cancer scan now claims the local health board is making it difficult to receive it.

Former town mayor and county councillor Stuart Davies, 71, paid Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) nearly £900 for a multi-parametric MRI (mpMRI) scan when a cancer that he'd beaten several years ago returned in 2017.

The mpMRI is a specific type of investigation that can give more detailed images of the prostate than a regular MRI scan and was recommended to Mr Davies by the health board as a way of specifically deciding upon the correct treatment for his cancer.

But after receiving the scan he was shocked to learn that it is offered for free by other health boards in Wales.

He organised a petition, which attracted over 6,000 signatures, demanding equal access to the scan across Wales and sparked a discussion in the Senedd in Cardiff, Shortly afterwards Mr Davies marched on the capital, joined by fellow campaigners.

Before the petition was launched, just three of the seven health boards in Wales, offered mpMRI before biopsy and only one board provided it to a standard high enough to safely rule men out of biopsy.

This meant men in four health boards did not have access to mpMRI as a diagnostic test, unless they paid to have it done privately.

Mr Davies’s own health authority, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, recently wrote to inform him that the new mpMRI scanning service has now been implemented in north Wales.

But Mr Davies now claims some men in the region are being refused the scan while the health board is refusing to refund those who have paid for it to be done.

He said: “Men are still contacting me to say that the Betsi is making it difficult to get this scan and are now refusing refunds.”

His claim comes in correspondence he’s had with the Petitions Committee of the Welsh Assembly, which has agreed to consider his petition at its next meeting on December 3.

He has also submitted letters in support of his campaign from leading cancer charities.

He wrote to the Petitions Committee: “My thanks to the committee for continuing to support our petition.

“It is interesting to see that Cancer Research Wales is supporting our stance in that while some boards are implementing this measure that the private sector and or other boards should provide these.

“Given that the private sector charges roughly £900 to the public and yet only £360 trade price to the NHS it seems stupid that the NHS is ‘forcing’ patients to pay privately and then refund them when it would be £600 cheaper to do it directly.”

A statement from the Betsi Cadwaladr UHB says: “Following considerable efforts over recent months we are now at a point to begin accepting referrals for pre-biopsy mp-MRI scans.

"This will enable a proportion of gentlemen to avoid an invasive biopsy procedure."

A board spokesman added that if anyone who has a complaint to make relating to refunds can do so through our complaints process here: https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/contact-us/make-a-complaint/”