Wrexham.com is reporting that the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site are set for a UK Government Levelling Up Fund bid.
* For the full story, see: http://www.wrexham.com/news/world-heritage-site-development-set-for-uk-government-levelling-up-fund-bid-205217.html
Cupra Formentor road test by Steve Rogers
This is Seat
getting serious. The Spanish car maker has always been the sporty sibling in
the Volkswagen family and its new Cupra brand has taken it to another level.
Formentor, named
after a bay on the Spanish island of Majorca, is Cupra's first exclusive model
and is meant to make a big statement.
If this was a Seat it would be the Ateca SUV, yet it looks nothing like a Seat, and nothing like a bulky SUV, not that the neat Ateca falls into that class.
The designers have
been given the freedom to express and have come up with a futuristic coupe
crossover that looks as if it has landed from another planet. All we need if
for Martians to jump out to complete the fantasy.
It has that 'ready
to pounce' look with a long dipping bonnet, sloping roof and body panels with
so many slashes and creases it looks as if it has been in a scrap with a wild
animal. Exaggeration aside it looks great and has got everyone talking. I lost
count of the number who asked what it was and gave the thumbs up.
So this is a
crossover or SUV, whatever's your naming preference, that sits lower than the
majority, the only real clue to its status is the wide gap between tyres and
wheel arches, you don't even sit particularly high which makes it even more
appealing.
Formentor is a good
drive too and has the engines to back up its aggressive looks yet I am going to
make a bold statement: Look no further than the entry level 1.5 litre petrol!
I've been a fan of
this VW family engine since it was launched a few years ago because it is an
engine that keeps on giving, punchy, refined and good for 40 miles to the
gallon. Two of its four cylinders shut down when coasting to reduce engine
emissions and give a boost to economy. That's clever stuff.
Those seeking
something more racey can look to the 1.4 litre turbo hybrid or the outrageous
304hp 2-litre turbo that will reach sixty in under five seconds but you will be
looking to spend 40 grand plus for the pleasure.
Which bring us to
another good reason to stick with the entry 1.5 called V1. This is the best
equipped starter model I have come across with keyless entry, navigation, LED
headlights, and adaptive cruise control highlights of a generous spec sheet.
As expected inside
is digital dreamland with a treat for the driver who can choose from six
excellent binnacle displays, easily selected from switches on the steering
wheel. The display side bars are information overload but are easy to find and
easy to close.
Then we have the
12in 'floating' central touchscreen. I am not so sure it needs to be this big
and is a bit like putting a 56in flat screen tele in a box room. What's worse
is I found the system over complicated and most of the time used voice control,
and a very nice lady she is too ending commands with 'OK' or 'sure'.
She was a bit
puzzled when I asked for more fan speed because she calls it the blower but we
were all friends again after sorting that out.
There are touch
sensitive switches for heating temperature but they have no feel or sound so you
are never sure if anything has happened which means more time looking at the
switch and not the road.
Not enough though
to put me off Formentor which is a great driver's car with pedals perfectly
positioned and plenty of adjustment to get the perfect seating position.
Handling is solid even at V1 level but there is plenty more to come moving up
the grades.
It is not all about
performance either, the quality of trim is good with some neat touches while
the seats are comfortable and
supportive. Rear legroom is also generous although if feels claustrophobic
sitting fairly low behind the big front seats.
So a good first
effort for the Cupra brand, certainly offering something a bit different from
the norm with its coupe looks and good value for money to boot.
Fast facts
Formentor V1 6sp
manual
£27,3956
1.5 TSI petrol;
148bhp
0-62mph 8.9secs;
127mph
41.5mpg combined
143g/km. 1st VED
£215
Insurance group 19
Boot 450 - 1475
litres
A young entertainer well known to Llangollen audiences has told of his day filming for a forthcoming Netflix TV show.
Shea Ferron went over to St Helens on Merseyside with fellow members of the award-winning John’s Boys Male Voice Choir from Rhosllanerchrugog last Tuesday to record scenes for Stay Close, a crime drama based on the 2012 Harlan Coben novel of the same title.
Shea, 18, who lives in Ruabon, said: “Ourselves, along with some friends from the Royal Northern College of Music, were cast in the roles after entering a national search for established male choirs and singers under the age of 25.
“Aled Phillips, our musical director, was asked to submit a selection of previous pieces we have sung to show producers and directors in charge of casting the roles.
“They were so impressed with the music they heard that we were asked to sing live on the day.
“The music was arranged by Aled, who worked with the lead roles throughout to perfect their performances.
“After arriving in St Helens, the lads were chauffeur-driven to a top secret location at 6am in the morning for costume fittings and makeup, before tucking into a well deserved breakfast of sausage and bacon sandwiches.
“We were very enthusiastic about our tight-fitting costumes, none more so than Aled who proudly grew his beard especially for his role. He was, however, told he had to shave it off!
“The lads spent the previous few days rehearsing the piece, and recording live on set.
“Audiences and crew were blown away with the quality of the singing, and we had a very enjoyable experience overall.
Shea added: “There were 10 singers mixed between John’s Boys and the Royal Northern College of Music. It was a really fun day.
“We had a very early start and a very long day but we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were looked after well by the production team.
“There’s not a huge lot we are allowed to give away but the experience that we all had was amazing. A huge thank you to Aled Phillips for giving us the opportunity.
“Keep an eye out in the near future
for our acting and musical abilities in Netflix’s Stay Close.”
Shea has been rapidly building up a useful
portfolio of acting and singing appearances in the area for a number of years.
He has joined the cast of numerous shows, with
Llangollen Operatic Society, its junior section the Young ‘Uns, and the Collen
Players music hall group, winning a number of amateur stage awards into the
bargain.
There have also been numerous solo performances in
St Collen’s Church and his own church in Ruabon.
But Shea has really came into his own during the pandemic when by singing his way through a series of self-arranged open-air gigs to raise thousands of pounds for good causes.
One appliance and one wild fire unit are still in attendance at the mountain fire in Rhewl this morning.
Firefighters are damping down hotspots on the mountain.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service received a
call at 1.13pm yesterday (Tuesday 1st June) reporting the fire.
Fire crews worked with colleagues from Natural Resources Wales, Denbighshire Wardens from Denbighshire County Council, North Wales Police and the 4 x 4 volunteer group to bring the incident under control.
A helicopter attended and dropped water on the incident to help extinguish the fire. The fire was under control around 9pm last night.
Approximately 1km square of gorse, undergrowth and forestry was affected and the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.
Paul Jenkinson, Senior Operations Manager, said: “Please continue to avoid this area whilst crews are dealing with the incident. We will have a number of vehicles in the area again today and we are asking the public to assist us by staying away from this area until the incident is over.
“This incident highlights the importance of partnership working with our colleagues from the other agencies to be able to bring it under control quickly and safely. Our crews worked extremely hard on the mountain yesterday in very hot conditions and I would like to thank everyone who assisted with this incident.”
Trading Standards Wales has been made aware of a text message scam in relation to the national Census.
Recipients are told that there is information missing from their completed Census and asked to click on a link to complete their form or face prosecution.
By clicking the link they are directed to a site which appears identical to the original online census form, on completing the form and submitting the recipient is asked to pay a £1.25 fee.
Helen Picton, Chair of Trading Standards Wales, said: “Scam calls and texts to mobile phones are a serious problem, there is no mobile phone equivalent to a landline call blocker to stop them coming through.
“Some of these messages are very convincing. Remember, that no government agency would send you a notification demanding money via text or via automated telephone message.
“If a company sends you a link via text message to click on, ignore it. If you are unsure because you have an account with that company, contact them directly and don't use the link provided.”
There are some things you can do to cut down the numbers of scam calls and texts:
Wales' Test, Trace, Protect service, introduced to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, will be extended to next year.
A further £32m will be invested to extend contact tracing to March 2022.
The latest figures show that almost a year after TTP was launched in Wales, contact tracers have reached 99.7% of the positive cases that were eligible for follow up.
They successfully contacted almost 95% of the close contacts that were eligible for follow up, and provided them with advice, or helped to resolve their cases.
And local authorities have also approved more than 12,500 self-isolation support payments to help people to stay at home and reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading in their local communities.
Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan said: "Test, Trace, Protect has been extremely effective at supporting people who have tested positive and their contacts to isolate and providing advice, guidance and support. It is critical to stopping the virus spreading in our communities.
"It’s a year since we set up Test, Trace, Protect from scratch – at what the Auditor General for Wales described as an extraordinary scale and at pace. A great deal of hard work across NHS Wales, local authorities, the voluntary sector and partner organisations has created a highly-effective programme to help us keep Wales safe. Everyone involved can be extremely proud of their efforts.
"I want to thank everyone involved, including Public Health Wales and Digital Health Care Wales. In particular I want to thank the contact tracers and those providing Protect services who have provided much-needed support to people at an extremely difficult time in their lives.
"They have done much more than their title suggests – they have identified vulnerable people and got them extra support, whether that be someone to chat to, a food parcel, or linking in with vital mental health services.
"As we seek to stop the spread of new variants of concern, experienced contact tracers are key to doing this effectively and we are continuing to invest in this work."
Research has suggested that when coronavirus transmission was high before the firebreak last year, TTP reduced the R number from approximately 1.7 to 1.3. Using the more recent R number and improvements to monitoring, its impact may be to reduce R from 1.3 to 0.8.
Contact tracers and advisers working for the TTP service are now undertaking enhanced contact tracing to tackle variants of concern.
They also:
Firefighters are currently in attendance at a mountain fire near Llangollen.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Ruthin, Denbigh and Corwen are currently tackling a blaze in Rhewl, near to Llangollen.
* For the full story, see: https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/19342195.crews-battle-mountain-fire-near-llangollen/?fbclid=IwAR0e0plbhLCjRHO5_BE_0wm5Re6GueqmP1xCC9c_lL84hN7BBiE3gT8wyjI
In an update, North Wales Fire & Rescue Service say: "Machines from Ruthin, Denbigh, Corwen, Abergele, Johnstown and Wrexham are currently dealing with an event in Rhewl, Llangollen.
