Work planned for week starting March 14 on the Llangollen 2020 project is:
One of the best-loved and most experienced performers with Llangollen Young ‘Uns is due to take her final curtain call with the group later this month.
Celyn Orton Jones has been appearing on stage with Llangollen Operatic Society’s junior section since she was just six, winning many plaudits for her acting and singing abilities along the way.
But as the maximum age for appearing with the group is 18, which she has now reached, she’s finally ready to bow out with her final role, the female lead Audrey, in the fun musical Little Shop of Horrors which comes to the town hall stage from Wednesday March 30 to Saturday April 2, with two performances on the Saturday at 2pm and 7.30pm.
The Young ‘Uns are pleased that it will be the first live musical theatre show in Llangollen since the pre-pandemic days of February 2020 and the group is excited to be back performing for the community.
The show, billed as a black horror rock comedy, is packed with memorable songs and has a small cast of 10 of the older Young ‘Uns who have each been with the group for years.
The show is co-directed by Robin Crowley and Jo Lloyd with Julian Cattley as musical director.
Celyn, who due to complete her course in performing arts at Coleg Cambria this summer, is one of the group’s longest-serving and most successful performers ever.
Little Shop of Horrors will be her eleventh show. Her first role was Molly, the youngest orphan, in Annie in 2011 set in a New York orphanage.
Celyn’s reckons her proudest moment came when playing Blousey Brown in Bugsy Malone in 2017, because this was the first time she got to sing a solo number and it also won her the Jane Herniman Trophy for best performer that year.
Her favourite role remains Rizzo in Grease in 2019 but Celyn says she loves the new show and considers it very challenging and iconic but “really, really fun”.
She is also amused at having to go blonde for the role, wearing a wig over her naturally dark hair throughout the show.
Celyn says she has greatly valued and enjoyed her time in Young ‘Uns, gaining confidence and overcoming her nervousness and also making many friends.
After college she sees her future in the performing arts and has submitted 11 applications to join suitable courses in locations across the UK.
* Tickets for Little Shop of Horrors can be purchased from www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety or the outlets in town, The wharf, Jades, Oggies, Tourist Information Centre and Georges cafe, at £12 and £10.
* MC Wynne Evans.
A search has been launched to find the unsung heroes and heroines of social care in Wales who have “risen magnificently” to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Entries are being sought for the 2022 Wales Care Awards, to honour
the skill and devotion of people who work in social care looking after
vulnerable children and adults.
The event is making a welcome return after being cancelled during
the last two years because of the pandemic
The awards were introduced Care Forum Wales to inspire excellence
in the care sector.
As ever, this year's event will take place in the magnificent
surroundings of City Hall in Cardiff, on Friday, October 21. The deadline for
nominations is Friday, April 29.
Anybody who has been nominated over the past two years will be automatically
entered this time.
Short listed finalists will receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze Wales
Care Award, an invitation for themselves and a guest to the Oscars-style gala
award ceremony.
The event will be hosted by the top opera singer, Wynne Evans, perhaps
best known these days as Gio Compario, the moustachioed tenor from the Go
Compare TV ads.
There are over 150,000 people in Wales receiving social care and
the sector employs more than 80,000 staff. That's equivalent to five per cent
of the Welsh workforce.
Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales and the founder of
the Wales Care Awards, "Care Forum Wales is engaged at every level in
trying to raise the status of the social care profession and in particular the
value to society of the many thousands of social care workers who provide such
an important service to communities across Wales.
"The Wales Care Awards is now firmly established as one of
the highlights in the Welsh social care calendar although over the past two
years everything had to be put on hold because of the pandemic.
“Front line staff working in care homes and in domiciliary care
have been in the eye of the Coronavirus storm, protecting the most vulnerable
people in Wales from the ravages of this dreadful virus.
“The pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges and our
fantastic workforce responded heroically, putting their own lives on the line
to shield their beloved residents and staff.
“Care Forum Wales continues to campaign vigorously to ensure that
these frontline heroes and heroines are properly rewarded.
“In Wales, pay rates for carers are effectively
determined by local councils who set the level of fees care homes and
domiciliary care companies receive.
“Most local authorities and health boards use a
formula which calculates how much they want to allocate towards all care home
costs, including what staff are paid.
As a result, wage levels have been unfairly
suppressed by the local authorities who have managed the budgets for a quarter
of a century.
“This is an opportunity to nominate the champions and
ambassadors of social care and contribute to raising public awareness of the
vital contribution of our sector, a contribution that has been even greater
during the nightmare of the past two years.
"The dedication, professionalism and quality of the workforce
within the care sector are an absolute inspiration.
"It is occasions like the awards night that enables Care
Forum Wales to recognise and celebrate such skills, talents and heroic
commitment.
"Our aim is to acknowledge the unstinting and often
remarkable dedication of the unsung heroes and heroines working in the care
sector.
"It is always a pleasure to honour the contribution of all
the finalists. Each and every one of them should be very proud of their
achievement.
"We are now accepting entries for the 2022 awards and we are
looking forward to a fantastic occasion during which the dedicated men and
women who work in social care can enjoy their well-deserved moment in the
sun."
* Further information, including nomination forms can be found on https://walescareawards.co.uk/ or you can call 01978 755400 or email janet@careforumwales.co.uk
* The picture of the bridge on social media yesterday evening.
Denbighshire County Council has admitted that stones were ‘displaced’ from Llangollen Bridge by contractors working on the town’s 2020 Project yesterday afternoon.
They
say work is now going on to replace the stones while a full site survey is
carried out to see what other work may be needed.
Pictures were posted on social media yesterday
afternoon showing what seemed to be cracks in the stonework of the ancient
monument as the contractors worked on the pavement to renew pavements on Castle
Street above.
Llangollen town councillor Stuart immediately asked
questions about the consequences of any damage to the bridge, which is one
of the Seven Wonders of Wales, and urged that a full structural survey being
carried out.
This morning the county council has told llanblogger: “Stones displaced on Castle Street Bridge in Llangollen on Thursday afternoon are currently being relocated back into position.
“During ongoing public realm improvement works in the town, a small number of stones were displaced from the bridge during the removal of the base of a street lighting column.
“Work is ongoing to put them back into position and there is no risk to the structural integrity of the bridge.
“A full survey of the site is being carried out in
partnership with CADW to determine what further repair works will be required.”
Stuart Davies said yesterday evening: “Back
in 2017, when I served as a county councillor for the area, we received a
report from engineers to say that water ingress had caused some damage to the
structure of the bridge. They said it was alright for the moment but that we
would have to keep an eye on it.
“I have now written to the county council’s
chief executive and leader to say that what appears to have happened yesterday
means that we should have a structural engineer take a good look at it to see
if there has been any damage which might weaken the bridge.”
He added: “If there has been any damage, repairs
cannot be done quickly as this is a Grade 1 Listed structure and an ancient
monument for which permission needs first to be obtained from CADW.
“If there has been any damage there is also the
question of whether heavy traffic can still be diverted through Llangollen and
over the bridge as happens when the A483/A5 viaduct is closed.
“These are the questions I have asked of the county council leaders.”
Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents to make sure they are registered to vote in the County Council and Town, Community and City Council elections taking place on Thursday, May 5.
Voting also
ensures residents have a say on the issues of the day while being on the
electoral register can maintain people’s credit rating.
In order to
vote in the upcoming elections, people’s name needs to be on the electoral
register. Residents are urged to check the letter that has been sent to
homes, to ensure everyone entitled to vote is on the list.
Everyone is
responsible for registering themselves – if their name or the name of another
person residing at your address is not on the list, then they are not registered.
* To register,
go to: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
The deadline
is midnight on Thursday 14 April to register to vote. People also have
until 5pm on Tuesday 19 April to apply for a postal vote and 5pm on Tuesday 26
April to apply for a proxy vote.
Members of the public can have their say on a draft management plan for the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.
A consultation
has been launched for the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty draft Management Plan 2020-2025.
Areas of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) contain some of the most beautiful,
spectacular and dramatic areas of countryside in Wales and have strict
guidelines for the conservation of landscape.
The Clwydian
Range and Dee Valley AONB covers approximately 390 square kilometres,
stretching from the coastal hills near Prestatyn to the north and extending as
far south as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Berwyn Mountains.
It includes
land in Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham and is managed by the three county
councils with Denbighshire County Council as the lead authority for the joint
AONB committee.
Cllr Tony
Thomas, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Communities,
and Chair of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB Joint Committee, said: “In
late 2020, Denbighshire County Council on behalf of the joint AONB committee
carried out a consultation which was used to help develop this draft management
plan.
“Now the draft
management plan has been written, the AONB committee is keen to understand
whether the contents and aims reflect what people told us was important.
“We know that
many residents and visitors enjoy visiting the area every year and it is
therefore important people have their say on the future management of the AONB
by taking part in this consultation.”
* The
consultation runs between 9th March and 20th April 2022 and to get involved and
have your say visit https://countyconversation.denbighshire.gov.uk/project/661
Hard copies of
the management plan are available for viewing in:
Loggerheads Country
Park Visitor Centre, Ruthin Road, CH7 5LH
Llangollen
Library, Castle Street, Llangollen, LL20 8NU
Hundreds of walkers joined the popular Llangollen Canal Walk to support Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith Children’s Hospices, raising more than £15,000.
The event, which was held last Sunday saw walkers take in the stunning Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and
beautiful canal-side scenery under stunning sunshine.
The 10-mile walk began early at
The Trevor Basin before ramblers headed over the aqueduct towards the Poachers’
Pocket and back again.
Fundraiser Cat Dowdeswell said:
“It was amazing to have everyone back together for our Llangollen Canal Walk.
“Our supporters really do make
the events and in the glorious sunshine, we all had a lot of fun.
"To raise more than £15,000
is incredible and we would love to thank everyone who joined us on the day and
supported us to reach this amount, which will do so much to help support
children and their families who receive care at Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith."
The event was sponsored by
Wrexham-based Net World Sports.
* If you were unable to take part,
but would still like to donate then you can do by visiting www.hopehouse.org.uk/donate
