ORB's live-streamed New Year show aims to lift spirits

On New Year's Eve Llangollen-based ORB Sound and Lighting are teaming up with party band Rhythm Train to stage a live stream event which aims to raise the spirits of the community after a tough year by showcasing local talent.

The action-packed three and a half hour show, which runs from 9pm until 12.30am next morning, will be produced from one of the venues in Denbighshire the company usually works closely with but the exact location is being kept secret due to Covid regulations. 

An ORB spokesperson said: "The stream will include three live 45-minute sets from the band, interspersed with some pre-recorded content and adverts from local sponsors and local community groups

"We will also encourage people to send in messages to friends and family using a hashtag which can be moderated and shown on the bottom of the stream.

"The event will be shared across our own website, YouTube and Facebook sites, as well as shared on the evening by other groups such as Ty Pawb in Wrexham.

"We aim to reach as many people as possible as we realise New Year's Eve can be a hard and lonely time for many people - this year more so than before. 

"We want to bring people together virtually, lift spirits as we enter the new year, and to give back to the community."

ORB Sound and Lighting provides staging, equipment and technicians for the outside stages of the International Musical Eisteddfod and Llangollen Fringe Festival each July.

They also support Llangollen Operatic Society, Young 'Uns and the pantomime group with all their equipment alongside technicians, who installed all of the new upgraded equipment for the Ysgol Dinas Bran ‘Curtains Up’ appeal, and who most recently gave up their time and equipment weekly during lockdown to beam a ‘Thank You’ message across the town during the Clap For Carers campaign.

The spokesperson added: "We have chosen a venue which we can adhere to Covid regulations and will have a number of measures in place including strict social distancing between all persons present.

"All equipment will be thoroughly sanitised before and after use, face coverings will be worn by the production team, and sanitiser will be provided throughout. 

"The building will also be locked during the entire evening to ensure we can remain safe inside, and that no members of the public can enter.

"Although the event is free we are asking for people to buy tickets for it to help us cover the costs. 

"We are asking them to pay what they can and the link is on the event's Facebook page at: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-year-eve-live-stream-featuring-rhythm-train-tickets-133473720491?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

"We are still appealing to local businesses to help sponsor the event, and we will have a page set up to take donations on the night. 

"We are estimating the total cost of the event to be in the region of £2,000, and are offering sponsors publicity on the night from adverts on the stream. Company logos will be included on all our publicity posters and page shares on social media sites."

Stricter Covid rules apply in Wales from midnight

* Announcement: First Minister Mark Drakeford.

The whole of Wales will be placed under level four restrictions from midnight with festive plans cancelled for all but Christmas Day.

First Minister Mark Drakeford made the announcement after urgent talks with fellow ministers over a new strain of coronavirus.

From 23 to 28 December rules had been due to be relaxed to allow people to celebrate the holidays with loved-ones.

But now this is limited to just Christmas Day.

In a statement issued just minutes ago Mr Drakeford said: "Today, I met the First Ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Michael Gove, from the UK Government, to discuss the very latest information on a new strain of coronavirus.

"We now know that this new strain is significantly more infectious and spreads more quickly than the original one. 

"Many of you will have heard the Prime Minister this afternoon setting out the pattern of transmission in London and the South East of England, which has been linked to this new variant of coronavirus.

"This is remarkably consistent with the rapid acceleration of transmission in Wales and the high rates of cases we have seen in recent weeks.

"The latest evidence suggests this new strain is present throughout Wales.

"Throughout the public health emergency, we have had to respond quickly to the rapid changes, which have been so typical of coronavirus.

"Today has been one of those days when new information has required an immediate response.

"This afternoon, the Cabinet met to discuss this worrying new development in the pandemic and to hear the latest advice from our senior medical and scientific advisers, including the impact on our NHS.

"The situation is incredibly serious. I cannot overstate this.

"We have therefore reached the difficult decision to bring forward the alert level four restrictions for Wales, in line with the action being taken in London and the South East of England.

"These new restrictions will come into effect from midnight tonight instead of during the Christmas period."

He added: "This will mean non-essential retail, close contact services, gyms and leisure centres and hospitality will close at the end of trading today.

"Stay-at-home restrictions will also come into effect from midnight.

"Unfortunately, we must also look again at the arrangements for Christmas – we cannot expose people to the risk of this new, more virulent strain of coronavirus.

"We will therefore change the current rules, which allow two households to come together to form a Christmas bubble over a five-day period, so that they will apply on Christmas Day only.

"Throughout the alert level four period, a single person household will be able to join with one other household.

"While we all want to avoid further disruption to businesses and plans for Christmas, our overriding duty is to protect lives here in Wales.

"We know that 2021 will be a different and a better year.

"Our economy will recover.

"Christmas will come again.

"But lives which are lost, are lost for ever.

"This new strain of the virus is another dreadful surprise in this long-running pandemic.

"We now have a pandemic within a pandemic, a crisis within a crisis.

"It is another challenge we must overcome. But one we will overcome together.

"We will continue to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and, together, we will keep Wales safe." 

Government earmarks extra £110m for covid-hit businesses

The Welsh Government is making an extra £110m available to support businesses affected by the alert level four restrictions which will come into force from the end of trading on Christmas Eve.

The new restrictions will mean all non-essential retail, including close contact services and all leisure and fitness centres, will close from end of trading on Christmas Eve, with hospitality businesses following at 6pm on Christmas Day.

The new support package – which is addition to the £340 million already available to businesses under alert level three – will help 35,500 firms.

Businesses in the hospitality and non-essential retail sector, which are impacted by the new restrictions, receive small business rates relief and have a rateable value of £12,000 or less will be eligible for a £3,000 payment.

Hospitality and non-essential retail businesses with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £150,000 will be eligible for a £5,000 payment.

Tourism, leisure, retail and supply chain businesses in the same rateable value bracket will also be eligible for this support if their turnover has fallen by 40% or more during the restriction period.

Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language Eluned Morgan made the announcement at today’s Welsh Government press conference. 

She said: "We are making incredibly difficult but necessary decisions to protect the health and lives of our people.

"We recognise these decisions have a knock-on effect on our economy and this will be another blow to many businesses who have had to deal with so much during this incredibly challenging year.

"To support businesses affected by these latest restrictions we are making a further £110 million available. We expect around 35,500 businesses in Wales will benefit from this support.

Economy Minister Ken Skates said: "This latest package is in addition to the £340 million for businesses we announced at the end of November, taking our total package of business support during this pandemic to more than £2 billion.

"Our financial assistance has already helped protect thousands of companies and safeguarded 125,000 jobs. We are working hard to get funds out to businesses quickly as possible and in the last two weeks alone, almost £20 million has landed in the bank accounts of our businesses.

"The vital additional support being announced today will be administered by local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association and I want to thank them for their ongoing hard work and efforts to ensure money reaches businesses quickly.

"Sadly rising coronavirus cases mean we must take action now to drive the virus down. We recognise this is hugely challenging for businesses, but as a government, we will continue to do all that we can to protect them, our people and our communities through these difficult days.

"Eligible hospitality and non-essential retail businesses, which registered for non-domestic rate support during the firebreak will be paid directly through their local authority. All other eligible businesses and those businesses, which did not register during the firebreak, will need to do so with their local authority in January with payment following soon after.

"Businesses not eligible for non-domestic rates will be able to continue to apply to local authorities for a Lockdown Discretionary Grant of up to £2,000."

* More information about the package of business support is available on the Business Wales website.

Latest Toyota Rav4 is an impressive all-rounder

Toyota Rav4 road test by Steve Rogers

The hybrid story part two.

In the first episode the little Yaris popped in a driving score of 86 so what could the Rav4, its much bigger SUV brother do? I don't want to brag but I reached the dizzy height of 90 after a 70 mile drive and even hit 93 for a good part of the trip.

If it sounds that I was puddling around at 40mph just to boost the score I was not. This is driving to the speed limits, so that is up to 70mph occasionally, but doing everything gently so that the batteries can be recharged on the move and give as much electric driving power as possible.

The average for the trip was 47.3mpg but the most telling figure is 46.2mpg at the end of a week's driving which is impressive for a petrol SUV.

In fact fifth generation Rav4 was impressive all round which came as a bit of a surprise. Not a car I have ever taken to, dull to look at, dull to drive, although am clearly in the minority because it is the world's best selling SUV.

Like Yaris the Toyota designers have gone back to the drawing board and with the help of a spanking new platform have created a totally different animal. And this one is roaring!

We shouldn't be surprised by the dynamic styling of Rav4. For years Toyota design has been far too cautious but everything changed with the daring CH-R crossover and things have been on the up ever since.

The new platform has boosted two important elements: space and handling. New Rav is a tad shorter than its predecessor but has more cabin space with loads of rear legroom and a big boot. And with a lower centre of gravity the car's handling has been transformed.

Not that you can go rallying. The car has been set up for comfort but because its sits closer to the tarmac there is far less body roll. Some will prefer rivals with even sharper handling but I think the compromise between comfort and driving dynamics is spot on.

The cabin has been designed to make another powerful statement with better quality trim and typical bullish SUV design. Compared to the minimalist look of a Volvo XC60 or Peugeot 3008 the Rav is far busier. It has a large central touch screen where you can see navigation directions, radio stations and the like, but heating controls are conventional with a couple of oversized switches which are easy to see and easy to use so eyes are fixed firmly on the road and not searching for the fan or temperature control.

Move to the driver's binnacle and things are a bit too busy with the focus on everything hybrid, so much so that I didn't spot the digital speedo for a while because it is stuck at the top like an afterthought.  I spent a while pressing buttons in the hope of changing the display but without success. I suppose the readouts are important because hybrid is the only Rav4 on offer although that does not phase me.

The encouraging mix of performance, economy and low emissions is becoming a real tonic. Stab the fast pedal and Rav4 is off the line in a flash. There is no worry about balancing the clutch and getting the right revs for a quick getaway, it is handed to you on a plate and the power surge goes on and on. Be warned, too much of that will seriously hurt economy but it is good to have a blast now and again.

The all wheel drive Dynamic model comes with all the bells and whistles, which is reflected in the price, but one piece of good news is that this is a hybrid with a reasonable towing capacity.  The Rav will pull 1650kg which is a family sized single axle caravan.

So a lot going for the new Toyota whether you want a big family car, a tow car, or a company motor because here it is like living in a tax haven with a very low benefit in kind penalty.

There is just one irritation that Toyota should sort out and that is the painfully slow and noisy powered tailgate... but it was still difficult giving this car back.

Need to know

RAV4 Dynamic AWD

£37,555

2.5 litre petrol; 219bhp

0-62mph 8.1secs; 112mph

47.8mpg combined

Transmission: Electric CVT

101g/km. 1st tax £140

Insurance group 30

Boot: 580 litres

Schools to provide remote learning for first week of new term

Pupils in Denbighshire are set to return to face-to-face learning after the Christmas break on Monday, January 11.

Following guidance from the Welsh Government and discussions with schools, Denbighshire County Council is informing parents that remote learning will be in place during the first week of the new term, the week beginning January 4.  

All Denbighshire schools have a pre-arranged INSET day on January 4 and many schools have a second INSET day on January 5.

However, in circumstances where there is a clear public health and safety reason, individual schools may continue with remote learning for one extra week.

Cllr Huw Hilditch-Roberts, the Council’s Lead Member for Education, Children's Services and Public Engagement, said: “There is an expectation from the Welsh Government that cases of coronavirus will increase over the Christmas period.

“Despite confirmed cases associated with Denbighshire schools being low they are increasing and we have taken the difficult decision to follow Welsh Government guidance for schools to provide remote learning at the start of term, with the expectation that face-to-face learning will resume on Monday, January 11.

“Any children who test positive for coronavirus or are asked to self-isolate through the Test, Trace and Protect system must complete their self-isolation period before returning to school.

“We take any change to pupils’ education very seriously and have not taken this decision lightly. We have acted now to provide clarity to parents and guardians as early as possible as well as allowing us to manage the return to education after the Christmas period as safely as possible.

“I would again like to thank pupils, parents and staff for their support during what has been a hugely challenging term for all of our schools and the communities they support and work in.”

Face to face learning will be offered to the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils and schools will inform parents and guardians with their individual arrangements. 

Reminder of Free After Three parking for festive period

* Market Street is one of those offering Free After Three parking until December 31.

Residents are being reminded that Denbighshire County Council’s festive free parking scheme continues until December 31.

To encourage more people to use their local high street for shopping in the run up to Christmas, free parking is available in council-run town centre car parks from 3pm every day.

The Free After Three initiative will be available in the following car parks:

Llangollen: Hall Street; Market Street; Mill Street

Corwen: Green Lane

Denbigh: Multi-Storey; Crown Lane; Factory Ward; Post Office Lane,

Prestatyn: Lower High Street; Railway station

Rhuddlan: Parliament Street

Rhyl: Central; Morley Road; Queen Street; Sky Tower; West Kinmel Street, Rhyl Railway; Rhyl Library (disabled bays only)

Ruthin: Crispin Yard; Dog Lane; Park Road; Rhos Street; St Peter's Square; Troed y Rhiw

Morfa Hall private car park, Rhyl, is not included in the initiative.

As well as the Free After Three scheme, the council continues to offer two hours free parking at any time during the day until December 31 at the following car parks:

East Street Llangollen; Vale Street, Denbigh; King’s Avenue, Prestatyn; Market Street, Ruthin; Bowling Green, St Asaph and Town Hall Car Park, Rhyl.

Cllr Brian Jones, the council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said, said: “The Free After Three parking initiative has been established now for a number of years and complements our #LoveLiveLocal campaign to encourage more people to use our high streets for their festive shopping. 

"We understand it has been a difficult time for businesses and we are encouraging shoppers to use this opportunity. There are a wealth of independent shops and businesses county-wide that offer a wide range of goods and services.

“We also want to remind residents of the two hour free parking scheme we introduced in the summer to help businesses struggling with the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. With our two free parking initiatives, we hope more people will come into our towns to see what they have to offer. I’m sure they won’t be disappointed.”

Terry Waite stands down as eisteddfod president

* Terry Waite at the official opening of Llangollen's Centenary Square in summer 2018. He is flanked by the then-mayor and deputy mayor Jon Haddy and Issy Richards.

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s long-time president Terry Waite has stood down from the position. 

The news comes in an update on the past year’s tumultuous events, which included the cancellation of this year’s festival due to the pandemic, by eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies. 

The famous human rights campaigner, who was held hostage in the Lebanon from 1987-91, became the festival’s popular ceremonial head a number of years ago. 

Dr Davies says in his message to the network of eisteddfod volunteers: “Terry Waite has stood down as our President after many years of support. 

“Terry had originally indicated he would be retiring in 2020 and unfortunately events over the summer deprived us of an opportunity to share a final eisteddfod with him. 

“We will be inviting him back to a future eisteddfod when we can thank him publicly and possibly hold a concert in his honour.

“His commitment to the Eisteddfod has been exemplary forever promoting our festival and extending the hand of friendship.”

Elsewhere in the update Dr Davies talks of plans for the next eisteddfod.

He says: “When the Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to postpone Llangollen 2020 little did we know then about the impact that Covid-19 would have on our communities – locally, nationally and internationally.

“Months later and we are now fortunately able to start looking to the future, whilst considering carefully how the public health situation may unfold.

“It is currently uncertain whether mass events will be able to be held in Wales by the summer 2021 and the Board is working on flexible scenarios that will ensure that the Eisteddfod has a presence next year that is fitting for the profile and ethos of the event that we all know and love.”

Dr Davies goes on refer to the financial help the eisteddfod has received during the year.

He explains: “Having received vital financial support from Welsh Government in the immediate aftermath of the postponement decision, I am pleased to advise that we have also been successful in our application to the Cultural Recovery Fund.

“These funds will help to sustain the organisation over the next three months as we plan for 2021. 

“We have also secured funding for a new community engagement programme from the Arts Council of Wales, under their Connect and Flourish funding strand.” 

Referring to the running of the eisteddfod, Dr Davies details changes in the board and says that Betsan Moses has joined as interim CEO “providing valuable management assistance as we navigate this challenging time”. 

The chairman has a special word of thanks for the volunteers, adding: “Throughout this period volunteers have shown their commitment and enthusiasm for our event, and a determination that we will continue and return from this even bigger and better.” 

Terry Waite, who is known and revered by many people around Llangollen, has been awarded the MBE and CBE for his humanitarian work.

He was serving as special international peace envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury when in 1987 he journeyed to Lebanon – then one of the world’s most dangerous place – in a bid to secure the release of four hostages, including the journalist John McCarthy, being held by an Islamic jihad organisation.

During the tense negotiations he was himself taken hostage on January 20, which was the start of his journey into the hell of four years of captivity in a Beirut dungeon.

For most of the time Terry was kept in solitary confinement in a room without any natural light, chained to the wall and forced to sleep on the floor. He was beaten and subjected to mock executions.

He recalls of how every day he did his best to hold himself together spiritually, mentally and physically.

In the final stage of his captivity, his robust health began to deteriorate when he contracted a severe lung infection.

His torment eventually ended in November 1991 after 1,763 days as a hostage.