Young 'Uns head back down the Yellow Brick Road

* Main cast members of the Wizard of Oz. Picture by Barrie Potter.

Young ‘Uns, the junior section of Llangollen Operatic Society, are once again dancing down the famous Yellow Brick Road to mark their 30^th anniversary.

The evergreen tale of the Wizard of Oz was their first full production back in 1991 and later this month they’re presenting the same show to celebrate their three decades of pleasing audiences.

In their earliest days they had actually presented two reviews, Songs From the Shows – Oliver and Remember When, which had a 1980s theme, before their first full-scale performance.   

The group has staged a show every year since, everything from Annie to Bugsby Malone and from Beauty and the Beast to Grease.

Along the way they’ve picked up a host of amateur stage awards, the most recent of which was Best Youth Production Musical Theatre for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2018.

Up to 50 enthusiastic six to 18 year olds take part in Young ‘Uns shows each year.

Members are drawn not only from Llangollen but also from a wide range of surrounding areas, including Chirk, Corwen, Glyn Ceiriog and Wrexham.

Many of the Young 'Uns go on to achieve academic qualifications related to theatre work and some have followed a stage career.

Wizard of Oz runs at Llangollen Town Hall from Thursday to Saturday, February 13-15 and features a cast of 47 youngsters accompanied by a full orchestra led by musical director Julian Cattley.

Grace Roberts plays Dorothy, Katie Clark plays the Wicked Witch of the West, Ethan Roberts is The Wizard of Oz, Ethan Le Cheminant is the Tinman, Matthew Humphreys is the Scarecrow and Aled Morris is the Cowardly Lion.

Behind the scenes is a production team led by producer Pam Williams and including assistant producer Dee Smith and co-directors Robin Crowley and Jo Lloyd.

Producer Pam Williams said: “Pioneers of the Young ‘Uns recall that after announcing the new stage group was forming in 1990 they were shocked to open the doors on audition day to find that over 60 young people were waiting eagerly to enter.  

“For the past 30 years, volunteers from the Operatic Society have developed this wonderful talent in the Young 'Uns, providing rich, but very affordable opportunities for our members to experience creative and cultural development and to engage in musical performance, dance, stage-craft skills, and dramatic interpretation and presentation, culminating in four performances of an exciting annual show.

“We’re delighted to be presenting the Wizard of Oz to mark our 30^th anniversary and it promises to be another exciting and thoroughly enjoyable show.”

Evening performances begin at 7.30pm and there is a Saturday matinee at 2pm.  

* Tickets are £12 with £10 concessions. They are available locally from Gwyn the Butchers, Jades Hair and Beauty, Llangollen Oggie Shop and Stella Bond on 01978 860441.

New MP sees work on Corwen station project

* The inspection party (from left) Phil Rogers, Richard Dixon-Gough, Simon Baynes MP and Peter Neve at the west end Corwen signboard.

The recently elected Member of Parliament for Clwyd South visited Corwen to see progress towards the completion of the new station project.

Members of the Corwen Central Railway Development team invited Simon Baynes to a meeting last Saturday to be briefed on the project and its likely completion in 2020. 

After a review of the Llangollen Railway’s rebuilding since 1975, the effort by the volunteer workforce to build a new terminal station on an abandoned railway embankment over the past five years was explained with regard to the availability of limited resources.

An escorted tour of the station site allowed for the inspection of the completed new trackwork, and the progress with the work on the island platform. 

This now includes the installation of four new heritage style lampposts and the columns for the platform end Corwen running-in board. 

Work on the excavation of a trench for concrete foundations provided a visual demonstration of the effort required by volunteers to install the final pair of canopy columns. 

The completed subway access stairway with disabled chairlift was also inspected and a photo-display in the ticket office building provided a graphic review the many phases of the project since 2015.

Denbighshire’s annual business month returns

Denbighshire County Council’s March for Business month returns for its fifth year offering a mix events, training and workshops for the county’s traders.

Events include social media training covering Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as workshops with Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales.

The Denbighshire Support Provider Network event will provide tips on how to take your business to the next level with a keynote speaker, workshops and the chance to speak to advisors and professionals.

Other highlights include Blas Lleol, a showcase of local food and drink suppliers, a celebrating enterprising women event and the annual Federation of Small Businesses networking dinner.

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire County Council, said: “Our March for Business programme is designed to meet the needs of businesses in the county and offers a chance to network and get expert advice around issues that matter to them.

“They can then take this knowledge forward and help grow their business, making a real difference to the county’s economy.

“I’d encourage local businesses to take advantage of the varied events held during March for Business by booking online.”

March for Business is part of the Council’s work on developing the local economy to make sure the county’s communities are resilient and residents have access to goods and services.

For more information or to book visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/marchforbusiness

Kerry's business idea impresses local MP

* Simon Baynes MP meets Kerry Mackay in her Llangollen business base. 

A young mum who once had to rely on a food bank to feed her family is to have the product she invented tried out in the House of Commons kitchens.

New Clwyd South Conservative MP Simon Baynes recently visited Kerry Mackay in her business base in Llangollen and heard how she came up with the novel idea of producing Scrubbies, which are bio-degradable cleaning pads.

He was so impressed that he bought some to take with him to the Commons kitchen.

Mr Baynes had heard about Kerry from her local councillor, Trevor Bates, who represents her home area of the Ceiriog Valley on Wrexham Council.

He told the MP:  “I have been hoping to send you something about this remarkable young lady for some time.

“It is only recently that I found out that over Christmas 2018 and Jan 2019 Kerry was having to rely on the food bank to keep herself and young son fed.

“She persevered with her business developing and selling Scrubbies against the odds to reach the position today when her biggest problem is keeping up with sales demand.

“When our local MP attended the community lunch at Glyn Ceiriog I was telling him about her strength and determination and he asked to visit her office to meet her.”

Tax cut bad luck for climate, says county councillor

Denbighshire Tories and Independents would rather cut council tax by 13p per week than give the county’s climate change plans a boost, according to Graham Timms, Labour county councillor for Llangollen (pictured). 

“That’s the message I took from the Conservative and Independent group at the recent County Council meeting," he said.

“In early December, Denbighshire councillors were presented with a budget which showed a 4.8% rise in council tax for 2020/21. A few days later the Welsh Labour Government came true on its promise to substantially increase their financial support to councils so that local authorities would be able to deliver better services across Wales.

“So I was really disappointed when the Tory/Independent cabinet in Denbighshire decided that instead of improving services to our residents they would cut the council tax. This was the biggest increase from the Welsh Government for years and should have been used for the purpose it was intended, rather than cutting council tax.”

He added: “At last week’s council meeting the Denbighshire Labour group proposed to use a small amount of the money from Welsh Government to tackle climate change. 

"It would have cost 13p per week for the average Band D household. We suggested that the money should be spent on a range of measures to combat climate change and to encourage residents to support the county-wide effort in reducing their own emissions.

“The proposal was defeated by 24 votes to 14 meaning that the council tax cut went ahead.

“Back in July every single councillor voted to support the declaration of a climate and ecological emergency and yet they could not agree to support this proposal. It seems that they are far more faint-hearted when they realise there is a cost involved."

The proposed council tax in Denbighshire has been cut by £6.64 for a Band D house next year, making Denbighshire’s 4.3% increase one of the smallest in North Wales.

Brexit disagreement becomes major talking point

* The Brexit day picture which led to the exchange of  views.

The Brexit disagreement on llanblogger between Langollen’s county councillors old and new has become a major talking point, particularly on social media.

It started when llanblogger carried a picture last Friday sent by former town mayor and councillor Stuart Davies showing his yacht moored in Portugal decorated with the flags of Wales, England and Scotland to celebrate Britain’s official departure from Europe.

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This prompted a response on Saturday from the town’s present county councillor, Graham Timms, in which he said: "It’s a pity that one of our former county councillors thinks that it’s a good idea to send pictures of his private yacht in Portugal to celebrate the split between Europe and the UK.

"We need to remember that 48% of the population (and rather more than that in Llangollen) are disappointed about the split."

And he went on to stress Llangollen’s long history of welcoming people from across Europe and the rest of the world.

The two stories, shared to social media, sparked a lively response from people on both sides of the argument yesterday.

Since then Stuart Davies has been back hit back at Cllr Timms’ contribution with: “Typical comments from a Remoaner, it shows the Labour Party of which he is representative, still haven’t got it!

“We live in a Democracy, the People Voted! His MP lost her seat because she didn’t listen to what the people voted for. I predict that his AM will lose his seat in the coming Welsh Assembly elections.”

Ramblers stride out for a sunny Chester walk

Llangollen Ramblers took a sunny riverside walk through Chester last week. 

A spokdesperson for the group said: "We're not always off up the hills - we truly have walks to suit all capabilities. And we are always keen to welcome new walkers. 

"If you are interested, email Judy at smithdinbren@gmail.com for more information."