Town council makes history with first online meeting

* Last night's council meeting was held not at the town hall as usual but via video conferencing. 

Llangollen Town Council made history last night by holding its first ever online meeting.

Nine councillors plus the town clerk and five observers from the general public, all in their own homes, tuned into the video conferencing platform gotomeeting to take part in the hour-long virtual gathering being held via the internet instead of at the town hall due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

In an agenda which was shorter than usual they dealt with issues ranging from the usual financial reports to a question about how the Covid crisis was affecting the town council itself.

Town  mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, began by reading out a letter from Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes congratulating the council for the “fantastic” work it was doing to support the local community through the uncertain times of lockdown.

Mr Baynes said in his letter to the town clerk that he had been particularly impressed by the work done by the council to mark the 75^th anniversary of VE Day earlier this month.

And he added: “We should all be extremely proud of you.”

Llangollen resident John Palmer, who was at the meeting as an observer, exercised his right to make a personal statement at the start of the meeting.

He said that given the present uncertain times for local businesses the town council should carry out a survey to discover how they were coping and if they had been able to access available grants to help them through the lockdown.

The mayor replied he was sure the council would discuss this at some time in the future and, if it was unable to deal with it, pass it on to the proper agency.

Cllr Austin Cheminais asked how lockdown was likely to affect the council’s financial reserves.

Town clerk Gareth Thomas said he would be bringing a full report about this to the next council meeting.

However, he said the council had already lost all bookings of the town hall and suggested it was likely to be some time before lettings would be back to any form of normality given the requirement for social distancing.

Cllr Melvyn Mile asked if the town council had been able to get any form of grant assistance from the Welsh Government but the town clerk replied that as the council was financed from the public purse it could not go to the public purse for any form of relief.

Members then went through a small number of planning applications before County Councillor Graham Timms, who was there as one of the observers, gave a report on how Denbighshire was coping with the coronavirus crisis.

The only slight technical issues during the online meeting were with the muting and un-muting of microphones but these were swiftly resolved.

Barring any changes to the current lockdown restrictions the council will meet again online on the third Tuesday of June.       

  

New website aims to help businesses through the lockdown

* The Denbighshire page of the new business hub website.

A North Wales entrepreneur is inviting Llangollen businesses to get involved in his new online hub aimed at helping them trade through the Covid-19 lockdown.

Founder Aled Canter says that as Data House Wales prepares to launch in nearby Wrexham 20 businesses have so far signed up to the free service.

Aled says the website will help North Wales residents identify which retailers are still open - anything from food producers to shops and fast food outlets.

The company believes it will also help raise awareness of smaller businesses in the area, bringing them to the attention of the local community, as well as helping individuals who are shielding or in self-isolation get food and other necessities delivered to their homes.

Aled said: “We hope the hub can supply local goods to the people of North Wales and help people through the COVID-19 crisis. 

"We are always looking for more businesses to join and get them listed on the website. It is currently free for anyone to use from a local consumer to business owner.

"I would like to have loads of businesses from Llangollen joining us, which could help everyone."

He added: "We would like to thank Business Wales and Nick Palmer for helping us get this off the ground. 

"The future plan is to help out the local high streets in Wales by listing them on the website and thereby allowing people to see who is open in the local area and potentially use them by booking a service like a haircut or ordering and then picking up a coffee!"

* Businesses who would like to see their business advertised or listed in the region where they trade should go to www.datahousewales.com to learn more.

Local roadworks update

Hill Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 27 May — 29 May Delays likely - Road closure Works location: Bodwen Villas, Hill St, Llangollen LL20 8HE... Works description: MJ Quinns are to install 50m of ducting from box to box... Responsibility for works: Openreach Current status: Advanced planning Works reference: BC005MQ1W0LLANGOLLENPCP6

Julie zooms in on new skills to lift lockdown spirits

* Julie streams one of her new dance classes on Zoom.

One of Benny Hill's original Angels is using her skills to use to keep people active during the Covid lockdown.

Julie Kirk Thomas normally delivers her fun dance classes in Llangollen, Rhos and Oswestry.

But during the coronavirus crisis she's learned a set of new online skills to forge them into one Zoom class every Wednesday morning at 11am.

“It’s a whole new performance area I knew nothing about,” said Julie. “You could call me a ‘virtual virgin'!"

* Julie, centre, during her time in the Hill's Angels dance troupe.

Thanks to some technical assistance from her son Morgan she was up and running in a couple of weeks. Newcomers are always welcome.

“I even have a few ex-pro dancer friends from London joining in, which I was initially nervous about, but everyone is so friendly and just there to get moving and get together – we always have a good chin-wag at the beginning and end of each class."

Julie auditioned for the Benny Hill Show at the age of 19 and it was with trepidation that she agreed when they offered her a series contract.

* Julie with Benny Hill.

She recalled: “I didn’t always feel confident when it came to the sexy stuff, but luckily Benny wrote some nice character roles for me and I ended up appearing in two consecutive series with him.

“Benny and his producer found themselves in a ratings war with Kenny Everett and his new dance group Hot Gossip, so they decided to host an audition to find girls for an all-new group. This is how the Hill’s Angels came about.

“I remember performing in one particularly raunchy dance routine, which was set in a gymnasium. The phone lines at Thames TV were blocked up with complaints from viewers, including Mary Whitehouse, a self-appointed guardian of British morals, getting on her soap box about it. She really had it in for Benny, and I later learnt contributed to his demise from our screens.”

Julie's long CV includes West End performances, roles on the big screen and features on Jeremy Beadle's Beadle's About.

A couple of years ago Julie was invited to perform at The London Palladium, in tribute for Dame Vera Lynn’s 100th birthday celebrations. Julie was thrilled to be able to finally tick off two of her wish lists: to perform on the Palladium stage and dance in front of the Queen, who attended.

More thrills came for Julie’s Strictly Fun Dance class in Llangollen, as they were invited to appear on Sky's Got to Dance featuring her oldest attendee, 96-year-old Edward.

During the lockdown Julie has been busy creating the Fun Seekers’ Club, a group of like-minded people who love music and movement. Every alternate Friday at 6pm she delivers a 45-minute dance workshop on a different theme.

* To learn more and get involved, contact Julie on danceworkshops@yahoo.co.uk.

Inner Wheel members donate goodies for women's refuge

Moira (pictured above) and Mike Gleed of Llangollen have collected a car boot full of toiletries and small gifts from members of Llangollen Inner Wheel to be donated to Wrexham Women's Refuge. 

New TV licensing scam uses Covid-19 as a hook

North Wales Police are warning the public to be aware of a new TV Licencing scam which is using Covid-19 to try to steal personal information.

Action Fraud continue to see a large volume of TV licencing phishing emails circulating, but last week they received over 70 reports of a new version of the scam. 

Minor changes to the messaging and links have been made, with some including a Covid-19 related hook to reel people in.

The emails now being reported claim that the recipient’s direct debit has failed and that they need to pay in order to avoid prosecution.

These emails display the subject header “We couldn't process the latest payment from your Debit Card - COVID19 Personalized Offer: You are be eligible for a 1 x 6 months of free TVLicence”.  

They include a link to set up a new direct debit on a website controlled by the criminals.

The end of the email also offers six free months of a TV license, and to click the link to apply the offer. The link goes to a sign in page with an online application form, providing the criminals with an opportunity to steal email logins, passwords, and personal details.

Police say that if you receive an email like this one, or any other suspicious email, report it to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) immediately by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk

Police add that the NCSC’s automated programme will immediately test the validity of the site. Any sites found to be phishing scams will be removed immediately. This will help to protect yourself from fraud, as well as allowing us to warn others as well.

Temporary road closure to allow work on new water main

* The section of Vicarage Road to be closed to allow work on the new water main.

Denbighshire County Council is to make a temporary order prohibiting traffic from a length of Vicarage Road in Llangollen for just over a month to allow the laying a new water main.

The order, which will be effective from June 15 and last until July 20, will prevent traffic using Vicarage Road from its junction with Hill Street in a westerly direction for a distance of about 160 metres.

The order is necessary to facilitate the installation of a new water main, the transfer of services and the abandonment of the existing main by Amey Utilities.

A signposted alternative route will be via Willow Street, Hall Street, Hill Street, Bache Mill Road, Grange Road to Bank Farm and Fron Bache.

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the period of closure.