Railway now in healthy financial state, board told at AGM

* The trusty diesel railcar two-car set.

The new trust board of Llangollen Railway has issued a statement about their annual general meeting which was held yesterday (Tuesday).

This was the first AGM since the PLC trading arm was placed into administration, and therefore the first opportunity for the membership as a whole to discuss the outcome and quiz the new board in a lively Q&A session afterwards.

The main message was that the trust is now in a healthy financial state.

The statement says: "The 31st December 2020 accounts were presented. These show a small loss of £7,252 after write-offs of £220,000, mostly in connection with the PLC trading arm now in administration.  No further write-offs in that respect will be required.  

"The Trust is in a healthy financial state with a positive bank balance, no debt and minimal creditors.

"Phil Freeth, finance director, reported the up-to-date position showed the bank balance had increased significantly since thanks to a mixture of generous donations from supporters and the general public, grants, delays in rehiring staff, operating fewer steam trains, relying on DMU (Diesel Multiple Units) and diesel for midweek operations in particular, and passenger loadings had been about 10% above forecast. 

“'We would like to take the opportunity to again thank all our supporters and members of the public who have made generous donations and visited the railway since we reopened in July,'” said Phil.  We also wish to thank again the Welsh Assembly Government and Denbighshire County Council for their support, and the media without whose generous coverage and supportive stance our plight would not have reached so wide an audience.'

"The board was also able to announce that approximately £200,000 had been approved under South Clwyd’s Levelling Up fund application towards the cost of the canopy at Corwen. 

"Richard Dixon-Gough, project manager for the Corwen Station development, was delighted to say, 'This is the final piece in what has been a massive jigsaw. There are still a number of critical steps required before the station can open, and dozens of non-critical tasks to be done before the job can be considered complete.'

"To much applause, Richard thanked his team of volunteers, average age 68, who have progressed the works in all weathers over the last 8 years, having overcome numerous challenges along the way.

"Tom Taylor, an adviser to the board on organisational structure, governance and planning matters, gave an update on progress of his One Railway initiative. Although only in its very early stages, Tom has received over 70 responses so far to the online consultation survey and conducted numerous 1-1 interviews. 

"Feedback has been mixed but as Tom said, 'There’s no such thing as bad feedback. It’s only by reaching as many members as possible and capturing their views that we will be able to shape the organisation for the future, and put it on a sound footing that is fit for purpose.'"

The statement comes with a picture of one of the engines which has become the backbone of its renewed operations.

Railway publicity officer George Jones explained: "By way of illustration, and in acknowledgement of the major part played in the 2021 season's operation, the photo shows the diesel railcar two-car set at Carrog station. 

"Operated by the volunteers of the Llangollen Railcars Group, their fleet of heritage diesel units have provided the bulk of the train services on the line when steam has been in short supply.

"By their last day of service in 2021 on Sunday November 7 they will have operated on 85 days and carried over 23,000 passengers in the course of running 3500 miles on the Llangollen line since services resumed to Berwyn on July 9.

"Their appeal to the modern generation of visitors is as trains on which they perhaps went to school or to work 40-50 years ago. 

"Visitors riding these trains appreciate the viewing opportunities from the all round windows when taking in the Dee Valley scenery and observing the driver and the operation of the railway. All such interesting opportunities are denied in the modern units now employed on Network Rail, so they are pure nostalgia for some." 

Virtual dementia tour planned at St Collen's

A Virtual Dementia Tour Llangollen will be held at St Collen's Church, Llangollen, on Wednesday November 17, from 1.30-3.30pm and 2.30-3.30pm.

It is described by organisers, Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council, as a "window into dementia".

They say places are limited and advise booking is essential.

Register at: https://bit.ly/DAD_VDTLlangollen1711; email, engagement@dvsc.co.uk; or call 01824 702441.

This week's work on the 2020 project

Latest work planned for the ongoing 2020 project in the town centre foe the coming week is:

Work planned for week starting 1 November 2021

Below is a summary of the work planned in different areas.

Bridge Street (North footpath)

Pave footpath outside of the Royal Hotel.

Castle Street (East footpath)

Install new kerb line.

Castle Street (West footpath)

Continue with excavation for the new footpath.

Market Street (North footpath)

Laying of the paving.

St Collens' atmospheric alternative Halloween

* Father Lee speaks of the original meaning of Halloween. 

* The roof carving of a man with two barrels.

* A flight of angels carved into the roof.

* The original main door to the church.

While the kids were outside trick-or-treating the vicar was inside St Collen's Church last night acquainting people with the original meeting of Halloween.

According to Father Lee Taylor, rather than the ghouls and ghosts of recent popular culture, the term actually refers to All Hallows Eve - traditionally the day before All Hallows on November 1 when, in the ancient church, the lives of the saints were celebrated.

Father Lee, against the background of a darkened church atmospherically lit with flickering candles and some haunting 16th century ecclesiastical music, gave a run down on a couple of the more colourful of these, including a certain St Simeon who was famous back in medieval times for attracting the attention of his congregation by throwing nuts at them.

The vicar's discourse on the saints was deftly interwoven with many interesting facts about his ancient Llangollen church the origins of which go back as far as the seventh century when it was founded by St Collen, the man whose name it bears and for whom the town which grew up around it is named.

Father Lee next drew attention to the church's magnificent roof whose breathtaking carvings date from 1450, his audience was informed.

One of the carved features he pointed out was that of a diminutive figure rolling out a couple of barrels, perhaps no surprise when one learns that in medieval times beer was so revered as a life giver and enhancer that it even had a special prayer of homage composed for it.

Opposite the tiny drayman the roof is adorned by a whole squadron of angels, every one of them crafted with incredible precision.

The vicar highlighted many more features of interest which mirror the church's evolution over the centuries, last and not least of which was the stout oaken door in the corner near the font which dates back to the 12th century and was once the original entrance to St Collen's. 

It may also have been the portal via which those fleeing from the clutches of the law once sought the sanctuary of the church to which they were historically entitled. With the blessing of the vicar, of course.

It was a brilliantly informative evening and a most satisfying escape from the pumpkins and witches of October 31, 2021.

Bikers gather in square to launch annual Poppy Appeal

* Above and below Father Lee Taylor leads the Service of Remembrance.

* Gary Perriton has just completed a 650-mile solo bike ride around the  Welsh coastline. 

* A poppy wreath laid at the war memorial by one of the legion bikers.

A group of Royal British Legion bikers were in Centenary Square this morning (Sunday) to officially launch the 2021 Poppy Appeal.

The motorcyclists, who are all armed forces veterans, were making their way around various towns in north Wales to help get the annual fundraising campaign underway.

They took part in a Service of Remembrance, led by Father Lee Taylor from St Collen's, at the two war memorials in the square which ended with the traditional two minutes' silence and the sounding of Last Post by a legion bugler.

The Llangollen branch of the legion had a gazebo set up in the square selling poppies and other tokens of Remembrance.

Just before the service began they were joined by Llangollen's Gary Perriton who has just completed a 650-mile solo bike ride around the entire Welsh coastline.

Gary took on his momentous challenge with the aim of raising awareness of homeless veterans.

He started his journey from Chepstow on Monday, October 18 and finished his odyssey in Chester on Friday.

Gary, a Royal Navy Reservist who served 34 years in the Royal Navy, cycled the entire Welsh coastline in 11 days (on the road) and at times, battled winds of up to 50mph, horizontal rain and hailstones.

However, he continued with his challenge of raising awareness of homeless veterans and funds for his two chosen charities - Launchpad and the Royal British Legion.

The charity has two houses in Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne and Launchpad has supported over 525 veterans since it opened in 2013.

Thanks to help from family and friends and businesses that attended the recent BITA Liverpool networking lunch event, Gary has raised over £2,500.

* People can support Gary via his fundraising page at Just Giving at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/garyperritoncycle

Support local traders this winter and #lovelivelocal

Denbighshire residents are being urged to support local traders this winter.

A campaign highlighting the wealth of businesses, goods and services available in Denbighshire is being launched as the county appeals for people to shop and buy local this winter.

The campaign is an extension of the #lovelivelocal initiative, with a push to encourage people to spend their money in the county, to encourage businesses to showcase their products or services on social media and to entice old and new customers to town centres.

As well as supporting businesses and the local economy the campaign aims to encourage sustainable shopping by buying local produce and reducing long car journeys.

Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire County Council, and Lead Member for the Economy, said: “The purpose of this campaign is to remind people of the wonderful businesses we have in Denbighshire, to shop and use local services wherever possible to keep the Denbighshire economy thriving and lower our carbon footprint.

“It has been a difficult 18 months for businesses and we have been providing support to traders through Welsh Government funding and our Economic and Businesses Development team.

“We think it’s more important than ever to push the #lovelivelocal message to our residents and remind everyone there are many shops in our towns and villages that offer a wide range of products, from food and drink to beauty and fashion, from arts and crafts to professional services.

“A walk into our towns and villages will reveal some hidden gems. We want to help businesses showcase their products, to encourage people to visit and to surprise and excite the consumer about what is on offer.

“Give Denbighshire businesses a go and #lovelivelocal.”

As part of the campaign the Council is sharing social media assets with traders and encouraging them to shout about their businesses online.

Shoppers can help by sharing great experiences and products on social media to let people know you have shopped local this winter and encourage others to #lovelivelocal too.

* You can get involved by visiting http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/business/business-support/love-live-local.aspx

St Collen's Church bells ring out for COP26 conference

The bells at St Collen's were chimed for 30 minutes at 6pm this evening (Saturday) to draw attention to the start of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. 

Church bells were rung at this time throughout Britain to mark the importance of the conference and of caring for the climate.

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from tomorrow until November 12.

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.