Merry Christmas from llanblogger

Watercolours to go on show at Oak Street Gallery

* Rocks, Frikes, Ithaca, Greece (2001).

* St Agnes in the Scilly Isles (2001).

Watercolour paintings by  late Wrexham artist Mike Coates will be on show in an exhibition which opens at The Oak Street Gallery in Llangollen at 7pm on Saturday January 4.

Mike Coates (1943-2006) achieved his Art Degree at Cheltenham College of Art and Design. He also spent a two formative years at Falmouth College of Art. 

He taught all his life and after retiring from Bryn Offa School in Wrexham he went sailing in the Mediterranean, visiting new islands and countries as he traversed the Bay of Biscay and entered the Mediterranean via a quick stop in Gibraltar. 

Mike found true fulfillment in his sailing and painting. All his work was painted ‘Plein Air’ and once the boat was anchored safely he would trek off with his rucksack to find that image, that view, to paint. 

In 2005 whilst on an impromtu cycling trip to France he became ill. Eventually being diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiform, a brain tumour. He died in 2006. 

These watercolours are a record of all the places he  visited, seen from his unique perspective - Journeys by sea.

St Collen's holds atmospheric carol service

* The candlelit St Collen's carol service.

St Collen's hosted its well-attended Carols by Candlelight evening yesterday (Sunday).

The event began, literally, on an atmospheric note with the first verse of Once in Royal David's City being sung from the back of the church.

The refrain was taken up by the powerful choir who added the second verse and the rest of the favourite carol was sung by the congregration.

The service, for which the church lights were switched off and the congregation held lighted candles, was interspersed with prayers led by the vicar, Father Lee Taylor, and readings by various people closely associated with the town.

Further favourite carols, augmented by or performed solely by the choir, included While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night, We Three Kings of Orient Are, O Come All Ye Faithful and, finally, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.

St Collen's has its Crib Service at 4pm tomorrow (Christmas Eve) for which children are invited to come dressed as their favourite nativity character, and Midnight Mass at 11.30pm tomorrow.

Grants up for grabs this winter

Christmas has come early for change makers, social entrepreneurs, voluntary and community groups and third sector organisations in Denbighshire this year. 

Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC) launched four grant rounds at their Winter Funding Fair, which took place at the Naylor Leyland Centre in Ruthin last Thursday.

The Dementia Aware Denbighshire Community Led Grants, Welsh Church Act funding for wellbeing initiatives as well as community grants for Learning Disabilities and the Youth Led grant programme opened for business on 12^th December with a total up to £23K available. 

The deadline for applications for all grant programmes is the 20^th of January 2020. Match funding from the Welsh Church Act will also be available for projects meeting the fund’s criteria.

At the funding fair DVSC welcomed over 20 voluntary and community groups, social entrepreneurs and Third Sector organisations from Denbighshire. 

They met with different funders one to one and DVSC staff were at hand to talk them through the grant criteria, answer questions and give examples of best practices.

Dementia Aware Denbighshire Community Led Grant

DVSC is continuing to spread awareness about dementia throughout the county by launching a third round of Dementia Aware Denbighshire grants of between £250 and £2,000.

Helen Wilkinson, Chief Executive at DVSC, explains: “For this third round we have set criteria around place-based activities which can raise awareness about dementia. We are also encouraging collaboration and partnership between organisations and projects that are building community capacity.”

The grants will be open to voluntary and community groups, social entrepreneurs, third sector organisations, social enterprises, small businesses and individuals in Denbighshire. As with the first two rounds a volunteer led Dementia Aware decision-making panel, including people with lived experience, will review the applications and make funding decisions.

Welsh Church Act

The Welsh Church Act Fund, with grants of up to £500 available, supports wellbeing and will be open for both specific applications and match funding. “The aim of the fund is to support voluntary action and local voluntary and community groups in Denbighshire”, Helen says. “Groups can apply for the grants for activities relating to or based in church run premises. Projects battling loneliness and isolation or promoting wellbeing can also be funded through the grants.”

Organisations applying for the Dementia Aware Denbighshire, the Learning Disabilities grants or the Youth Led Grant programme can get match funding from the Welsh Church Act, providing they meet the criteria set for the funding.

Denbighshire Learning Disabilities Grant

Grants of up to £ 1,000 are available for community groups and organisations thanks to the Denbighshire Learning Disabilities programme. Helen elaborates: “It is the first time we will be distributing these funds, for which we have set several criteria. Schemes aiming to integrate people with learning disabilities into mainstream activities, initiatives around progression from child to adult services and projects focussing on raising awareness with employers are just a few of the applications to be eligible for funding.”

Youth Led Grants

The final grant programme that was launched at the Funding Fair is a second round of Youth Led Grant funding. The aim of the Youth Led Grants is to support a range of small volunteering projects and activities, led and carried out by young people which are based around six priority areas identified by Welsh Government.  

“The projects that will be awarded funding will be those which have the potential to make the greatest contribution to long-term prosperity and wellbeing”, Helen continues. “So, we encourage applications built around one of the six criteria being early years, better mental health, housing, skills and employability, social care or decarbonisation.” An independent youth led panel will be reviewing the applications.

If you are interested in applying for one of these exciting funding programmes, you can find all necessary information on the DVSC website: www.dvsc.co.uk/grants. Alternatively, you can call Mair, DVSC’s Community Development Officer or Gareth, #DenbighshireVolunteers Support Officer on 01824 702 441. DVSC is supporting all grant applicants with a free organisational health check, increasing each organisation’s chances to get the right funds for their next project.

* If you want to find out what the future holds, you can sign up for DVSC’s Spring Funding Fair, to be held on 25^th March at the Market Hall in Ruthin. To confirm your attendance for the fair, follow the Eventbrite link: bit.ly/SpringFundingFair2020. More details about the Fair and other exciting events will be announced on DVSC’s social media channels, Twitter and Facebook or you can follow Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council on Eventbrite to be notified of any upcoming events. You can also sign up to DVSC’s Sector Support Bulletin.

Stay safe taxi advice from county council

Denbighshire County Council is urging residents to stay safe this Christmas and book taxis in advance of their evening out.

Although there have been no reports of unlicensed vehicles in Denbighshire, they can be a common problem across the country, and with the Christmas party season in full swing it's important to know how to tell an unlicensed taxi from a licensed one, says the council 

All vehicles will be identified by individually numbered plates front and back with hackney carriage vehicles also having a roof sign, while all drivers will carry ID badges.

Emlyn Jones, Head of Planning and Public Protection, said: "Unlicensed taxis may seem to offer a better deal but it's not worth risking your safety to save a few pounds.

“These vehicles are not insured as taxis and the drivers have not gone through the rigorous checking involved in the licensing process.

“Licensing officers will be carrying out checks to ensure no unlicensed taxis are operating in the area. Never get in a taxi without first checking that it's the one you have booked or that it's a legitimate Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle.”

When the party is over and you need to get home, remember these guidelines about council licensed taxis:

•             Hackney Carriage Vehicles have a plate attached to the front and rear of the vehicle displaying the vehicle details and licence number.

•             Hackney Carriages can ply for hire from designated taxi ranks and can pick up passengers who flag them down.

•             Private Hire Vehicles have a blue sign attached to the rear doors of the vehicle showing the licence and a plate at the rear of the vehicle displaying the vehicle details and licence number.

•             Private Hire Vehicles can only be booked in advance through an operator.

Never get in to a vehicle that does not display an appropriate plate at the rear. It is not insured and may not be licensed. 

Ensure that the driver is displaying a council approved driver's badge. For your own safety, always take a council licensed vehicle - the driver and vehicle have both been vetted.

Emlyn Jones added: “Don't let a good night out be ruined by an unlicensed taxi. Always book in advance or make sure you have the number of several local taxi firms stored in your mobile phone before going out."

New MP votes for EU Withdrawal Bill

* Simon Baynes MP, left, with Brexit Minister James Duddridge MP.

Simon Baynes MP fulfilled his promise to voters in Clwyd South by voting, for the first time as a new MP, for the Second Reading in Parliament of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill which passed by a majority of 124 yesterday. 

The Withdrawal Agreement Bill will ensure that the UK ceases to be an EU Member State at 23:00 on 31 January 2019. 

At this point the EU Communities Act 1972 will be repealed and the UK will enter the implementation period. 

Earlier in the day, Mr Baynes met with the Brexit Minister James Duddridge MP to discuss the Brexit bill before the parliamentary debate.

The Withdrawal Agreement will take Britain out of all EU laws and aims to allow the UK to strike its own free trade deals. 

It will also end the direct jurisdiction of the European Court in Britain and mean that the UK government rather than the EU will be in control of taxes. 

It will ensure that Northern Ireland will be in the UK customs territory and it will abolish the backstop. 

Any further delay will be avoided by ruling out any extension to the implementation period beyond 2020.

It will end free movement of people and a new Immigration and Social Security Co-Ordination Bill will create an Australian-style points-based immigration system which the Government says will "welcome skilled workers from across the world to contribute to the United Kingdom’s economy, communities and public services".

The Withdrawal Agreement will be complemented by a new Employment Bill which will protect and enhance workers rights, making Britain the best place in the world to work. 

There will also be a new Environment Bill which the government claims will transform the UK’s environmental governance after leaving the EU by putting environmental principles into law, introducing legally binding targets, and establishing a new Office for Environmental Protection.

Simon Baynes said: “It was a great honour to vote as the new MP for Clwyd South in today’s historic vote in parliament which will ensure that we finally release the country from the stranglehold of indecision, restoring confidence to people and businesses and get Brexit done. 

"The Queen’s Speech set out not only how we will leave the EU but how we will maximise the opportunities of Brexit – taking back control of our money, our laws, our trade and our borders, introducing an Australian style points-based immigration system and investing in the NHS.

"We will work around the clock to repay the trust millions of voters placed in this People’s Government and ensure that work starts with getting Brexit done.

"At the beginning of the new decade, at the beginning of a new dawn for our country, our Parliamentarians will return to Westminster to immediately finish the job, take us out of the EU on 31 January and move this country forward.”

Town council to investigate recording its meetings

Llangollen Town Council is looking into the possibility of its meetings being recorded.

At the moment its rules do not allow proceedings of the full council or its committees being either photographed, recorded, broadcast or transmitted without written consent. 

But at this week’s full council there was a move to change this.

A report submitted by Cllr Robyn Lovelock said: “It is becoming increasingly common for town councils to produce an audio or video recording of meetings as a means of increasing transparency and community engagement.

“A quick search reveals plenty of examples of town councils sharing videos or live webcasts of their meetings on their websites.

“The meetings are already open to the public. The primary benefit of recording meetings would be to assist those residents who are keen to follow proceedings but who are unable to attend meetings in person due to disability or caring responsibilities, or to clashes with other commitments.

“Technologically meetings could be recorded with video equipment available within the town or livestreamed via Facebook Live.”

Cllr Lovelock explained that the three recordings of the Llangollen 2020 videos recently shared online received between 300 and 2,000 viewings,”showing a high level of interest in the idea within Llangollen.”

The report recommended that the council conducts some research into options for recording meetings with a view to revising its standing orders to allow video recording of meetings and for the publishing of video recordings of meetings online via its own website.”

In a short debate a number of councillors expressed their support for the move.

Cllr Sheena Grindley said: “Any way to get local people interested in what is going on is well worth looking into.”

Cllr Andy Beech said he had “serious misgivings” about the idea as recordings could be changed into different formats and “changed beyond all recognition”.

Deputy mayor, Cllr Issy Richards, said: “I agree. I have concerns about recordings would be used once they are out there.”

But Cllr Austin Cheminais argued: “I’m in favour of looking into. Live coverage of councils is increasingly being discussed.”

The council eventually voted in favour of further investigations into the idea being carried out.