Message from prince will open next week's online eisteddfod

* Prince Charles dances at the 2015 eisteddfod.

A special message from its royal patron the Prince of Wales will open a week of online activities in place of this year's Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod which was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.

Last month it launched Llangollen Online #connectingtheworld, a digital offering to bring together its global community following the postponement. 

And next week, in what would have been Eisteddfod Week, there is a programme of online activity to give a flavour of the festival to the many participants and visitors who usually descend on the town each July.

On Tuesday, to open the week, there will be a recorded message from patron Prince Charles.  

This continues a long relationship between The Prince of Wales and the eisteddfod, which he has visited three times. 

During the most recent visit in 2015, he was famously coaxed into dancing with members of a Punjabi bhangra group from Nottingham, the Sheerer Punjabi dancers, as he waved off the traditional Parade of Nations.

On Thursday 9 July, as part of the festival’s traditional Peace Day, online audiences will be treated to the premiere of a Global Peace Message. 

The main feature will be a relayed spoken word performance of a specially commissioned poem, Harmoni a Heddwch, written by Mererid Hopwood. 

Those taking part in the message include eisteddfod president Terry Waite plus children from Ysgol Rhostyllen, St Giles School Wrexham and Ysgol Dinas Bran. 

The online premiere will also present the first performance of a new piece of music sung by Wrexham soprano Elan Catrin Parry with words by Hopwood and music by Edward-Rhys Harry.

Eisteddfod artistic director Edward-Rhys Harry said: "We are delighted to open the week with a message from the Prince of Wales.  

"With Tuesday traditionally being our Children’s Day we will also have the online premiere of our Children’s Day Message of Peace, elements of which will be included in our Global Peace Message on Thursday. 

"This is the first time we have ever done anything like this and we are all so excited to be able to share it online with our international community." 

Mererid Hopwood is a Welsh poet who in 2001 became the first woman ever to win the bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, the Crown in 2003 and the Prose Medal in 2008. 

Over the past four weeks people have been voting via Llangollen.TV for their favourite performances and moments from the last 25 years, from footage showcasing performers from 57 different countries and well over 10,000 competitors. 

Tens of thousands of people have voted in five categories and the winners will be announced live on S4C’s daily show Prynhawn Da! as well as on Llangollen TV every day during what would have been Llangollen 2020 from July 7-11.

The week will also include the Young Peacemakers Awards, in association with the Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA), an online premiere of the Children’s Day Message by Chris Dukes with local school children from Ysgol Bryn Collen and St Joseph's Catholic & Anglican High School, Wrexham, plus competitor messages from across the globe.

Eisteddfod Week will culminate in a 90-minute documentary on S4C on Sunday July 12 at 7.30pm, featuring some of the most memorable moments from the past 25 years.

To precede the week, audiences can relive Llangollen 2019 with a special broadcast of last year’s highlights programme to be shown on BBC 2 Wales on Sunday 5 July at 7pm.

* Visit www.llangollen.net for full details of Llangollen Online.

Gallery exhibition celebrates the eisteddfod

* People hold an open air party to celebrate the eisteddfod last year. 

Oak Street Gallery will be hosting a photographic exhibition on the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod during July.

Due to coronavirus, there will be a silent stage with flagless posts and empty streets on the eisteddfod field this year. 

But Karl Young, who runs the gallery, said: "The exhibition is intended to show the colour and joy the eisteddfod brings to Llangollen and what Llangollen and its people give to the eisteddfod. For without our picturesque and beautiful town, without its people who participate, endure and enjoy, this festival could never be.

"I am grateful to Kim Price Evans, Allan Potts, John Evans and Lowri Page whose beautiful photography has captured the eisteddfod spirit. 

"Although the Oak Street Gallery will be closed throughout the exhibition I have set up the show so that the photographs and eisteddfod memorabilia can be seen safely from the street. 

"The exhibition will be up for the month of July. The Gallery lights will be on till 11pm so please walk by at any time and stand for a minute to admire the photographs and the event we are all a part of.

"I would also like to thank Corwen Graphics for their quality printing."

* For more details, go to: https://www.facebook.com/12OakStreetGallery/

Llangollen and Dee Valley businesses thank residents for shopping local during lockdown

At times during lockdown, some Llangollen businesses were doing a week’s worth of business in a day with no or few extra staff and little notice to stock up. 

An exhausting, but welcome, change following years of our independent retailers losing sales to supermarkets and national chains. Some had to change their business models overnight shifting from shopfronts to delivery, and some from wholesale to selling direct to customers.

Through the member group Llangollen & Dee Valley Food & Drink (formerly the Good Grub Club) local businesses have released a thank you to everyone who has shopped locally during lockdown, and to explain why it is so important to keep doing so as lockdown eases.

It launches today linked to the Welsh Government’s #CaruCymruCaruBlas / LoveWalesLoveTaste campaign in partnership with Taste North East Wales under the hashtag #KeepLocalAlive / #CadwchLleolynFuw

Robyn Lovelock, from the group’s committee, explained: “When supermarkets couldn’t deliver back in March, our local food and drink shops stepped up. They recruitedextra staff and volunteers to ensure everyone was able to access essentials and more, and worked so many overtime hours. Many local businesses worked together for the first time and generally moved mountains to deliver up and down the valley.”

Tracey Hughes, from Porters Delicatessen in Llangollen, said: “Expanding our home delivery service has been crucial in supplying our regular customers and has helped us find new ones too. And working with other local shops, particularly Dee Valley Produce, has also helped us reach more customers than we would have been able to on our own.”

Rachel Burns, from Rachels Vegan Cakes in Bwlchgwyn, has been overwhelmed with the demand and said: “I never expected to be so busy! People wanted to surprise or cheer up friends, people with birthdays and all sorts. I've loved writing little notes to people from their loved ones. I feel so grateful that people have trusted me to make their friend or relatives day.” 

This experience in Llangollen and the Dee Valley are in line with national trends which,according to research from Barclaycard, has found that food and drink specialist stores – off-licences, greengrocers, independent convenience stores, butchers and bakeries – saw 38%increase in consumer spending while overall spending fell by 37%.

But as we head out of lockdown, the local business group wants to emphasise how much local businesses will be reliant on their new-found support. 

Jo Edwards, from Aballu Artisan Chocolates in Rossett, describes the ways she has adapted and investments she has made in new systems “We’ve offered free local deliveries, invested in a payment system that enables our customers to pay using contactless or paying over-the-phone, and have worked long hours to compensate for furloughed staff. It’s been a steep learning curve for us, but I appreciate the support that people have given Aballu by choosing to buy from us rather than a big online company, and hope they will continue to do so."

Robyn says “We have to appreciate that spending our money with these local businesses, perhaps buying less but buying locally, means we are investing in our own community. These businesses have proven through lockdown they are here for us, - for essentials, for treats, for gifts.

"Our #KeepLocalAlive message thanks them for what they’ve done, as well as emphasises all the other benefits that shopping locally can providesuch aspersonalisedcare and attention, ability to order from a distance, quality of products, convenience of delivery, and more.”

June Lister, a Dee Valley Produce customer from Llandrillo, said: “Being in the vulnerable category and living in a remote village, I was worried how I would access regular supplies. Dee Valley Produce delivered to my door without fail throughout lockdown, with payments over the phone, and have kept me healthy throughout. It’s the personal attention that makes the difference, they know who I am and care about my order. Supermarkets failed to provide that service when I needed them most, and certainly cannot provide that level of customer service”

The research from Barclaycard suggests that over half of shoppers want to increase their support of non-essential local businesses, and the group is hoping this is the case.

As people start to return to shops and high streets, Robyn Lovelock says the message from the group is: “Customers have seen they can trust local businesses to deliver what they want, safely and reliably, even in a crisis.

"Let’s thank them for their support during lockdown by continuing to shop with them as the new normal emerges."

* For more information on the #KeepLocalAlive and the #CaruCymruCaruBlas campaigns and local food and drink businesses, please follow Llangollen & Dee Valley Food & Drink on social media @TasteDeeValley

Welsh Government lifts travel restrictions from Monday

* First Minister Mark Drakeford at today's press conference.

Travel restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus will be lifted in Wales from Monday (July 6), First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.

Speaking at the Welsh Government press briefing this afternoon, Mr Drakeford said people will no longer be bound by the 'stay local' rule, which suggested as a rule of thumb people should not travel more than five miles from their home address.

For the full story, see:  https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/mark-drakeford-coronavirus-live-announcement-18505167

Further Llan businesses announce their unlocking

More Llangollen businesses have taken to Facebook to updates on how they are emerging from the coronavirus lockdown 

Dee Valley Breaks posted: "We are pleased to announce that following an assessment of our risk assessments and policies we are certified "Good to Go" by Visit Britain!

"The "Good to Go" scheme, adopted by Visit Wales, provides a covid safe kite mark to businesses like ours which meet the safety criteria. We hope this will give our guests the confidence and reassurance to book their stay with us.

"We look forward to opening on the 13th July. We are fully booked until 7th October, and our next available weekend is the 7th November."

Tyn Dwr Hall posted: "We are very excited to announce that we are now able to begin private viewings at the hall once again. If you have been waiting to plan your dream day, now is the time!

"We are so happy to be back doing what we love, we've missed our couples and the happiness that weddings bring. The Team have made every effort to ensure the hall is a safe environment for you to visit and start planning your perfect day.

"We have appointments available on Saturday 18th July 2020 & Sunday 19th July 2020, please call the Wedding Team on 01978 884664 to book your exclusive visit.

"Please note that visits are strictly by appointment only."

A date for re-opening is less certain at Llangollen Museum, which posted: "Llangollen Museum has been closed to visitors since March 2020 due to the risk posed by the Coronavirus outbreak.

"We are a totally volunteer run museum and, due to the compact nature of the Museum building and the generally older age bracket of our volunteers, we feel that it is too risky to re-open at this time.

"The Trustees of the Museum will be reviewing the situation later this month and an update will be posted then.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause to anyone."

County car parks stay free for rest of July

* Market Street car park is one of those to stay free until the end of July.

Denbighshire County Council has updated its position on car parks across the county.

The majority of the council’s public car parks in the main town centres have remained open during the lockdown period and continue to be free of charge for the remainder of July. 

The council says free parking is there to encourage people to use their town centres for shopping and for doing business.   

The council has also confirmed it will be re-opening a number of car parks in Rhyl and Prestatyn from Monday.

Charges will apply at these car parks and additional signs will be put in place, notifying visitors of the parking charges.

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “As national restrictions on travel are due to be lifted across Wales, we need to be in a position to respond to an increase in demand for car parks. We are therefore pleased to announce that more car parks will be re-opening as part of our on-going efforts to reinstate services and facilities across the county.

“We are also pleased to be able to continue offering free car parking in our main town car parks during July, as we recognise that we need to support town centres through encouraging people to come and shop and spend their money locally.  We made an early decision to drop the charges during the lockdown and that position is under regular review”.

* Details on car parks will be updated on the Council’s website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk when the changes are implemented.

Fringe gives details of its online events programme

Llangollen Fringe has given more details of the online events it has arranged in place of its usual live programme which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

It says: "Forget the TV and tune in to our online events running from July 17-25.

"We have a selection of great stuff for all the family. From Storytelling on top of Dinas Bran to Humorous Antics from a bright room in Leeds (unless Silky forgot to pay his electric bill!), 

“Live Broadcasts from Mal's Llangollen Studio to Recorded Dance from Multinational Performers.

“And guess what... it's all FREE!  All you have to do is go to our website and register your interest, we will forward you a link to the event an hour or so before it is due to start... easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

Some of the events planned are, by venue:

Centenary Square (Tri Square)

The Fringe team says: “Is there a light at the end of the Coronavirus Tunnel?  We think so, but how many corners we have to turn before we get to it is uncertain.  But as soon as we are safe enough to hold a bash, we'll be groovin' on the stage of the Triangular Square... at a safe distance of course.  There will be little warning of this, so get your mask and Pac-a-Mac at the ready!

Town Hall

The team says: “We are still optimistically hoping for Sept 22^nd to be our first of a series of live gigs, but optimism may not be enough.  We will keep you posted on that one.

“For now though, stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy something a little different from the norm, on us.”