Ysgol Dinas Bran to stage virtual open day

Ysgol Dinas Bran is to stage a virtual open day on Monday October 19.

For further details go to the school's website at: www.dinasbran.co.uk

Tribute to the Rev Charles Stallard who died recently

* This drawing of Charles Stallard is by his granddaughter Carys.

* Charles meets Terry Waite at a Llangollen Eisteddfod gathering. Picture by Mike Connolly. 

The Rev John Charles Stallard, who was well known in Llangollen where he lived for 10 years, died recently at the age of 85 in Llandudno.

The father of the Venerable Mary Stallard and her husband the Rev Andrew Sully, he had moved with his wife Daphne to the seaside town to be near them when they went there two years ago.

While Andrew became the vicar and ministry area leader of Llandudno, Mary, then the new Archdeacon of Bangor, became an associate vicar in Llandudno.  

Charles attended Whitgift School in Croydon and after National Service he read English and Theology at Selwyn College Cambridge. 

It was during his time at University that his vocation to the priesthood was nurtured, and there he also met his future wife Daphne.

After finishing his degree, Charles trained as a teacher before ordination training at Ripon College, Cuddesdon. 

He and Daphne moved to the Diocese of Birmingham where he served curacies in Sutton Coldfield and Hall Green before taking on his first parish at St Bede’s in Brandwood. 

Charles drew on his drama skills as a priest and became known for his plays, sacred and secular, and for the pantomimes which drew all kinds of people into the life of the church. 

He was always keenly involved with ministry to youngsters, he was a scout-leader and wherever he served he made sure there were youth clubs and Sunday schools. 

In the various dioceses in which he worked -  Birmingham, Newcastle and Worcester - in the parishes of St James and St Basil Fenham, St Hilda’s Warley Woods, Droitwich Spa and Pensnett, he used his gifts of liturgy, drama and education to enrich the life of  communities and to draw fellow clerics together at diocesan events.

In Newcastle, Charles had a school ministry as a chaplain and teacher. He served at Dame Allan’s school.

In retirement Charles continued to offer an active ministry, serving in St David’s, St Asaph, the Diocese of Truro (on the Scilly Isles) and latterly in Bangor Diocese. 

He was a lover of words and always read widely, keeping up a keen interest in theology, history, literature and politics throughout his life. 

He wrote throughout his ministry and had a book published of his reflections from the viewpoint of the rectory dachshund.

Bishop John Stewart Davies, former Bishop of St Asaph, wrote of him: “He seemed to me to possess all the best virtues of an old school parish priest - prayerfulness, intelligence, kindness, dedication. accessibility, that rare quality of 'stabilitas', and much much more. 

"I considered it a privilege to have him in the diocese and was always glad to see him. He came across as ever cheerful and attentive."

Charles had three children, Mary, Andrew and John, and four grandchildren - Mary's daughters Jo and Carys, and also Harry and George.

Mary said: "Dad loved the time that he and Mum spent in Llangollen. 

"They were so happy in the town and Dad loved being an active part of the community. 

"He had many friends in the town and enjoyed continuing to serve in the Church, taking part in Rotary Club meetings, visiting some of the residential homes, being part of various drama societies and volunteering at the Eisteddfod. 

"The family are all so grateful for the many messages of sympathy and shared memories of him that we have received.

"He and Mum both moved to Llandudno two years ago when Andrew and I moved. They came to be near us." 

Old Vicarage finds local distributor for its book

* Bill Gosson, 90, with the book Lockdown Legends. 

Courtyard Books in Llangollen has come to the aid of residents at The Old Vicarage care home after an overwhelming response to their book Lockdown Legends.

Sian from Courtyard books has said that they will be taking pre-orders for a print run, the book will be £9.99 and any proceeds will go to the residents' fund. Orders and payments must be made before 2pm on Monday October 19.

The shop will be open from 10am-2pm, or you can contact them on the Courtyard Books Llangollen Facebook page, or on courtyardbooksllangollen@gmail.com

They are able to post worldwide for an extra postage fee.

Latest coronavirus update from Welsh Government

Latest coronavirus update from the Welsh Government - dated yesterday - is: 

• Businesses across Wales can now find out if they can apply for funding from the third phase of the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF).

• Economy Minister Ken Skates announced the new phase of the fund last week which will see an additional £140 million being made available to businesses.
• The eligibility checker will enable businesses to see if they can access the £80 million tranche of the fund which will support firms with projects that can help them transition to the economy of tomorrow. It will require co-investment from companies and a clear plan about how they will adjust to the post-covid economy.
• More information: https://gov.wales/economic-resilience-fund-find-out-if-your-business-eligible-support-third-phase
• Eligibility checker: https://fundchecker.businesswales.gov.wales/erfphase3?_ga=2.21145278.420969385.1601908497-1590441122.1572622477

• Health Minister Vaughan Gething is urging everyone in Wales to help protect vital NHS services over the winter months by using the right service for their needs.

• Welsh health boards are reporting around 20% to 30% of people who present at emergency departments could be better treated elsewhere or in a different way.
• As part of the Protect the NHS campaign people are being asked to use the online symptom checker on the NHS 111 Wales website or call 111 for advice on where to go to get the right treatment.
• More information at: https://gov.wales/now-more-ever-we-need-people-think-carefully-about-where-seek-advice-avoid-extra-pressure-nhs

• Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services Julie Morgan has published an update about the Welsh Government’s care homes action plan and an independent rapid review undertaken by Professor John Bolton https://gov.wales/written-statement-care-homes-action-plan-update

• Rapid review: https://gov.wales/rapid-review-care-homes-relation-covid-19

 

Coronavirus in numbers

• The latest figures published by Public Health Wales today show there have been 752 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 27,624 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales since the start of the pandemic.

• Sadly, there were three more deaths reported by Public Health Wales today. The total number of deaths reported by Public Health Wales is 1,643.
• These figures are updated daily at: https://public.tableau.com/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection#!/vizhome/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary 

Where to find the latest information

• Information about local restrictions in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly borough, Cardiff, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Llanelli, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham areas: https://gov.wales/local-lockdown  

• Public Health Wales provides a daily update about the number of cases of coronavirus in Wales. It is available at: https://covid19-phwstatement.nhs.wales/
• Information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government’s website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws
• Information about support for businesses is available at the Business Wales website https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/
• If you can help the effort to produce PPE in Wales please visit https://businesswales.gov.wales/news-and-blogs/news/provision-critical-equipment-and-personal-protection-equipment-ppe
• The Welsh Government holds a regular media briefing about coronavirus. These are on-the-record, on-camera and supported by a BSL translator.

• From Monday October 5, these will be held at 12.15pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and live-streamed on our @WelshGovernment Twitter channel.
• Dr Frank Atherton, Wales’ chief medical officer held today’s press conference. You can watch again at: https://twitter.com/WelshGovernment/status/1313799645387055104

Major changes take place on Llangollen Railway board

Major changes have taken place on the board of Llangollen Railway, which is currently closed for the second time due to government coronavirus restrictions.

A press release issued by Llangollen Railway Trust Ltd in the name of director Bob Gordon says: "The Llangollen Railway regrets to announce the resignation of the chairman Liz McGuinness from the board of LRT (Llangollen Railway Trust) and LR (Llangollen Railway) plc.

"Her fellow elected directors Hugh Shipton and Quentin McGuinness and two co-opted members, Robin Matthews and Rhys Williams, have also resigned.

"The sole remaining elected director is Bob Gordon who is presently endeavouring to co-opt new directors for both boards to be in place within the next few days pending the forthcoming AGM.

"The resignations arise from major differences of opinion with the Board’s heritage policy as being applied to the Corwen project.

"Bob Gordon immediately set about reassuring the Corwen project team regarding support for completing the new station as planned with work to start on the building of the platform, waiting room and toilets.

"He said, 'The need is to get the station finished and ready to receive passengers during 2021 with appropriate shelter to hand on the platform. This aim is dependent on this winter’s weather and, of course, any continuing impact of Covid 19 on the volunteer workforce.'

"Supporting these comments, the Railway’s President, Bill Shakespeare MBE, said, 'I am full of admiration for the way in which the Corwen Project team have tackled the creation of the new station and feel they should be allowed to continue the completion of the project with the building of the waiting room.

"We need to overcome this current difficulty and continue the progress towards an opening through to Corwen as soon as resources allow.

"I have always thought that Llangollen Railway is a broad church and can accommodate all shades of opinion.”

Llangollen Railway spokesman George Jones said: "Co-opted members have now formed a new board which has had its first meeting. 

"The board members have experience and long-term commitment to Llangollen Railway."

Abbey Dingle Care Home to hold coffee morning for Macmillan

* Abbey Dingle residents Wynn Hughes and Esther Whittall with some of the raffle prizes.

Abbey Dingle Care Home in Llangollen is holding a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support tomorrow (Friday) at 3pm.

Due to Covid restrictions they cannot invite anyone from outside the home to join them but you can take part by making a donation and staff will purchase a raffle ticket on your behalf.

Home owner Carol Mascarenhas said: "We have a lovely Christmas pamper hamper with prosecco, two Christmas wine glasses, pomegranate and fig toiletries, a Christmas box of Toffifee, a stag cushion and a red fleece throw, all in a decorated Christmas box.

"Families have donated prizes and we say a big thank you for this. We are very sorry they are unable to join us. Thank you for your support.

"All our residents are looking forward to having a lovely afternoon and supporting such a good cause. There will be home made cakes , a bric a brac stall and the raffle. Teas and coffees of course.

Stick to local restrictions says county council

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents to continue to follow local restrictions and to follow stringent hygiene and social distancing measures in the efforts to reduce the number of covid cases.

Last Thursday, local restrictions were introduced in Denbighshire, Conwy, Flintshire and Wrexham.  

The restrictions will mean that residents will not be able to travel out of the county in which they live without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education. 

People will only be able to meet people they do not live with outdoors for the time being. They will not be able to form, or be in, extended households  - sometimes called a “bubble”.

The council says residents should also remember about adhering to social distancing measures of two metres, ensuring they wear face marks to visit shops and to travel on public transport and follow stringent hygiene measures.

It is also reminding young people to continue to social distance. Last month the council launched a campaign to ask young people to #keepyourdistance and that campaign has been supported by organisations across North Wales.

Councillor Mark Young, Cabinet Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities, said: “We really need to carry on with our efforts to try and reduce the spread of coronavirus from escalating in our county. We firmly believe that the restrictions are completely necessary in the fight to halt the increase in the number of cases in our county.

“We fully recognise and understand that this will prove difficult for some residents and that they are making a sacrifice again, but compliance is essential and we really need to do this to try and protect our most vulnerable in our communities.

“We are working closely with our partners to try and keep the public health messages in the public eye and using local media, social media and websites to get the messages across.  It’s only Denbighshire residents that can make the sacrifices to protect Denbighshire communities." 

Residents are also asked to remember to stick to existing guidance, which includes:

• Staying at home if you have Coronavirus symptoms and request a test immediately.
• Working from home wherever you can.
• Avoiding car-sharing.
• Those over 11 must wear a face-mask in indoor public spaces and on public transport.
• Covering your mouth whenever you sneeze or cough.
• Keeping your hands clean.
• Hospitality businesses in Wales have to close by 10pm, with table service only, and off-licences and supermarkets having to stop selling alcohol from 10pm.

* Further information is available at: www.gov.wales