Town's Christmas Festival is today

* The festival programme.

A scaled-down version of the town’s annual Christmas festival taking account of ongoing pandemic safety measures will be staged this afternoon (Saturday).

Organisers say their aim is to help get people into the festive spirit while avoiding large crowds gathering.

Instead of the usual parade to kick off the event, this year’s more modest Celebration of Christmas will centre on a programme of top-class entertainment in Centenary Square.

The highlight of the afternoon’s activities, which start at 2pm, will come at 5pm with the ceremonial switching on of the Christmas lights along Castle Street by Sion Corn - the Welsh Father Christmas - and end with a bang as proceedings are rounded off in traditional style with a spectacular firework display launched from the hillside overlooking the town.

Taking the stage in a Christmas gazebo on the square during the afternoon will be talented performers from the Young ‘Uns, the junior section of Llangollen Operatic Society, who will give a taste of their smash-hit musical Little Shop of Horrors which is due to open at the Town Hall next February.

Also helping to provide a true seasonal feel with a rousing selection of Christmas music will be Llangollen Silver Band.

Llangollen’s own Wandering Minstrel, Chris Burton, will belt out a string of popular sing-along hits throughout the afternoon and there will be solo spots from Leonie Kirby and the Melodics Choral Group plus Karl Joseph.

At 3pm Sion Corn, in his traditional green and white robes, will make an appearance in Centenary Square.  

Town Mayor, Cllr Austin Cheminais, who chairs the Christmas Festival Committee, explained that despite its less ambitious scale, the event was still intended to help get people in festive mood.

He said: “Last year, given the pandemic, we had no alternative but to cancel the festival entirely and with Covid-19 still very much in the background, we reluctantly decided to limit the size of this year’s event.

“But we’re still absolutely determined to have a great time and give a hearty Llangollen welcome to Christmas by celebrating the season in style.

“We have some fantastic performers lined up for our concert on the square. I’ll be switching on the amazing Christmas lights and, as usual, the team which puts on the firework display will be pulling out all the stops to end the day with a colourful flourish.”

Once again this year the festival committee is hosting its popular Christmas Scarecrow Trail.

Throughout December they are encouraging people to come up with some creative and colourful entries.  

It was held last year and even during the pandemic it managed to attract over 50 inventive entries from all parts of the town.

Cllr Cheminais said: "I knew of 40 locations on the list and there were a lot more out there that I didn't know about.

"I’m hoping to get even more this year as I know how incredibly creative Llangollen people are.

"Santa and his elves will judge the competition in the week leading up to Christmas, and there are two main prizes of £25 plus five runners-up prizes of £10.

"People can help choose the winner by sending a picture of their favourite to: santa@btinternet.com."

Julie goes on breakfast TV to defend repeats of Benny Hill Show

* Julie Kirk Thomas on Good Morning Britain.

An actress and dancer from Llangollen has appeared on national TV to describe how she feels about repeats of the famous Benny Hill Show in which she starred being scheduled for a return to the small screen after an absence of over 30 years.

Despite being one of Britain’s most popular programmes the show was pulled by TV bosses in 1989 when they became worried about Hill’s slapstick character chasing scantily-clad young women from the group named Hill’s Angels through various risque routines.

But now a series of re-runs forms part of the festive schedule on Freeview channel That's TV Gold, renamed That's TV Christmas for the season.

* Julie (above) debates the return of the show with Debbie Arnold interposed with a scene from the show.

* Benny Hill's show was pulled by TV bosses in 1989 after years of success.

Julie Kirk Thomas, who runs a series of popular dance classes in Llangollen, appeared as one of the Angels in a number of the original episodes and went on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning to give her reaction to the show’s comeback.

The interview, conducted by presenters Adil Ray and Suzanne Reid, became a good-natured debate about the relevance of the show to today’s audiences between Julie and Debbie Arnold, a contemporary performer who refused an offer to appear in the Benny Hill Show back in the day.

She said: “I turned it down because I thought it was terrible. The show was just awful and so sexist.

“I know that the girls loved doing it but it was so, so dated. It was written by men for men and not for women.”

But Julie put up a stout defence of the programme, saying: “The targets of Benny’s humour were often the men in the show.

“It should be seen again because it was known all over the world. He didn’t swear and never used bad language.

“Charlie Chaplin had a shelf full of Benny Hill films in his office. Benny was one of the greats and should be shown again.   

“People  in care homes and with dementia love to see old things because it brings back memories for them.

“I agree that we’ve moved on – but what have we moved on to?”

After her TV days Julie went on to appear in a number of hit films.

Apart from running her dance classes at Llangollen Town Hall, in recent years she has performed with Llangollen Operatic Society and other stage groups such as the Collen Players.

Bulb energy firm going into administration

The BBC is reporting this afternoon that the energy firm Bulb is to go into administration.

* For the full story, see:

Energy firm Bulb set to go into administration - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59373198

Burnt out car left at Llangollen Golf Club

The Shropshire Star has reported that the charred wreck of a car was left next to the first tee at the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club last Friday.

The story says that one fire engine from the Llangollen station was scrambled to the blaze at 3.04am.

A spokesman for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire is thought to have been started deliberately.

The car was said to have suffered 100 percent fire damage and remained overturned and next to the first tee with police tape around it several hours later.

“One crew from Llangollen attended and used one hose-reel jet to extinguish the fire,” the fire service spokesman said.

Police warning over free lottery frauds

North Wales police has issued a warning about free lottery frauds.

A message on the force's Neighbourhood Alerts system says: "Action Fraud have reported a dramatic increase in Advance Fee Lottery Frauds over recent months. 

"Over £925,000 has been lost by victims over the last six months. 

"Victims have reported losing an average of just over £1,500 with 70% of victims aged 50 or over."

Lottery fraud occurs when criminals use fake messages and calls to convince a person that they have won a lottery or a prize draw. 

The victim is then informed that they will need to pay an advance “fee” in order to receive the winnings.

Police advice is:

STOP: Unsolicited offers of large sums of money in return for a small upfront payment should always raise a red flag. Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

CHALLENGE: Could it be fake? After all, you can’t win a prize in a competition you didn’t enter. Remember, it’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you. 

PROTECT: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

Online event planned for budding business starters

Aspiring Denbighshire micro entrepreneurs are being encouraged to drop in at a free online event this month.

It's aimed at anyone interested in using their skills to set up and work for themselves, helping and support older or disabled people.

Social Enterprise Community Catalysts in partnership with Denbighshire County Council are holding online sessions on November 25 to discuss the free support they provide to help entrepreneurs breathe life into their ideas for helping older or disabled people do what they enjoy, and giving them what they need.

The Community Catalysts programme is now up and running across Denbighshire which means you can get free professional advice to help you work for yourself offering care and support.

A number of people from a range of backgrounds are already in the process of setting up. They are offering various services, from DIY to gardening, companionship to help with washing and dressing.

Fabrizio Donati, who is leading the project for Community Catalysts, said: “Lots of people in Denbighshire need some extra help to live the way they want to, perhaps because they are older, disabled or have a long-term health condition. We can help you set up as self-employed offering care and support. You don’t need to have a professional background in care or know how to run a business – you just need to know what good care looks like.”

“Our online event will explain the free mentoring programme, and how you can put in motion your ideas for supporting older or disabled people. We are looking forward to you all joining us.”

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Community Catalysts to help provide more support to the older and disabled population. This is a great programme which can really help entrepreneurs develop their own ideas to bring needed support to people and I look forward to seeing these come to life through this partnership.”

* To find out more about the process of setting up and to ask any questions, come along to a free online event on Thursday 25 November at 12pm or 18:30pm.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/offer-help-at-home-in-denbighshire-tickets-204485751387 You can also contact Fabrizio Donati, Denbighshire Community Catalyst on Fabrizio.donati@communitycatalysts.co.uk

Work planned for next week on 2020 project

Work planned for week starting Monday, November 22 on the 2020 project in the town centre is:

• Continue with the paving down Castle Street west
• Complete the paving on Bridge Street north
• Prepare the footpath for paving on Market Street north
• Digging for the new tree on Castle Street west