Tickets go on sale for new Ladies of Llangollen play

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for a new play based on the true story of the Ladies of Llangollen to be staged at Theatr Clwyd in Mold this summer.

And the director says that at least a couple of people from Llangollen could be in the community cast that will help bring this stylish new work to life.

Celebrated Virgins, written by Katie Elin-Salt and directed by Eleri B. Jones, tells the story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby who famously lived at Plas Newydd in Llangollen.

* Director Eleri B.Jones.

When the two women found each other, they defied convention, fleeing their homes and families, cast out by a society who did not understand their love.

Starting a new life in Llangollen, they became celebrities of the day, forced to witness their own lives re-told by those who weren’t there. 

In this new play they are back, ready to reclaim the story that’s rightfully theirs, and this time, it’s on their terms.

The community ensemble, who will be fully involved in the show and an integral part of the company, has been recruited in a series of workshops and auditions held over the past few weeks.

They’ll be working with the cast of five professional actors – four women and one man whose names are yet to be announced - in rehearsals and will be involved in the show’s movement, text and visual language to help tell the story.

Eleri B.Jones, herself an actor who trained as a director at Theatr Cwlyd, said: “Celebrated Virgins has been in development for two years, starting just before the pandemic began, and is based on an idea I had after hearing stories about the ladies as a child.

“At the end of my trainee directorship at Mold the director asked me what I wanted to do for a show. The ladies were so well-known and loved that I wanted to do something about them.

“I also started my own career in local am-dram and love working with the community, which is how we came up with the idea of recruiting a community cast.

“I’m co-directing the show with a really talented, emerging playwright from South Wales, Katie Elin-Salt, and we are really thrilled with the way things have been going.”

Eleri, whose mum is Llangollen’s former deputy mayor Issy Richards, added: “The auditions for the community cast went very well and we now have two separate teams of eight people from across the area.

“There are both men and women and their ages range from 18 to their mid-70s.

“Both teams will take part in the Theatr Clwyd performances from May 20-June 4, which includes a couple of matinee performances, and then one of the teams will continue with the play to Cardiff where it will be staged at the Chapter Arts Centre from June 9-11.

“Although we’ve not quite yet decided the final composition of the teams we are hoping that at least a couple of the people will come from Llangollen.”

* Tickets are on sale from tomorrow (Tuesday March 22) and are priced from £10. They are available from the Theatr Clwyd box office at: https://www.theatrclwyd.com/event/celebrated-virgins or call the box office on 01352 344101.   

Physical punishment of children illegal in Wales from today

From today (Monday) physically punishing children will be illegal in Wales. 

The country joins more than 60 nations across the world to end the physical punishment of children. 

The landmark legislation removes the 160-year-old legal defence and provides children the same protection from assault as adults.

Under the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 all types of physical punishment, such as smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, are illegal. The new law will apply to everybody in Wales, including visitors, from March 21.

Welcoming the Act coming into force at a Toddler Takeover event at Techniquest, The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan said: “Today is a historic moment for children and their rights in Wales as we make physically punishing children a thing of the past. I have campaigned to make physical punishment illegal for more than 20 years. I am thrilled that from today children finally have the same protection from assault as adults.

“The law is now clear - easier for children, parents, professionals and the public to understand. Physical punishment is illegal in Wales and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”

“We want to protect children and their rights and this law will add to the fantastic work we are doing to make sure all children in Wales have the best start in life and to live the lives they want to live.”

First Minister for Wales, Mark Drakeford said: ”I am delighted the physical punishment of children is now illegal in Wales. This is a historic achievement for children and their rights.

“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children have the right to be protected from harm and from being hurt and this includes physical punishment. That right is now enshrined in Welsh law. 

"No more grey areas. No more ‘defence of reasonable punishment.’ That is all in the past. There is no place for physical punishment in a modern Wales.” 

This week's work planned on 2020 project

Work planned for week starting Monday, March 21 on the town's 2020 project is:

• Continue with paving preparation on east side of the bridge, heading round to the pedestrian crossing
• Kerb installation and groundworks on Abbey Road and Mill Street (north side)
• Complete paving on Parade Street to Dee Lane (Castle Street west)
• Continue paving on Castle Street east, heading north

Town council pays tribute to former mayor

* Mike Pugh as Town Mayor.

Llangollen Town Council says it is saddened to hear of the loss of former councillor and town mayor, Mike Pugh.

It describes him as "a well-respected local politician who loved the town of Llangollen and its people". 

He attended the local schools and in his youth was a keen sportsman, playing football cricket, running and  darts.

Upon leaving technical college he travelled the world with his work to destinations including Algeria Malaysia, Holland and China.

Commenting on his passing Town Clerk Gareth Thomas said “I knew Cllr Pugh when I first took up my post as town clerk in 2012 and found him to be a very amiable and supportive councillor. 

"Even after leaving the Town Council, at the 2017 elections, Cllr Pugh continued to show a keen interest in the affairs of the Town Council and was regular visitor to the Town Council offices. 

"He was particularly supportive of the Town Council Annual Service of Remembrance, and it is very sad that he has passed.”

He is survived by his wife Barbara and his son Geoff.

His funeral will take place at 3.30pm at Pentre Bychan on Tuesday, March 22. 

MP welcomes Wrexham's shortlisting for UK Culture City

* Simon Baynes MP at Trevor Basin which is in his constituency and part of Wrexham.

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes has welcomed news that Wrexham County Borough, part of which is in his constituency, has been shortlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025.

Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough comprise the shortlist of four for the prestigious title.

The four locations were approved by the UK Government based on independent advice made to the government by a panel of experts led by Sir Phil Redmond. 

The finalists were whittled down from a record twenty initial bids to eight outstanding longlist applications which also included Cornwall, Derby, Stirling and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

All bids were asked to explain how they would use culture to grow and strengthen their local area, as well as how they would use culture to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The vast benefits of winning the prestigious title include attracting millions of pounds in additional investment to help boost regeneration, a year in the cultural spotlight with hundreds of events encouraging long-lasting participation in the arts, and growth for local tourism.

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, said: “I am absolutely delighted to see Wrexham on the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2025. The bid has done a brilliant job flying the flag for Wales and reaching the final four against such high-standard competition.

“Wrexham already has much to be proud of – one of the oldest football clubs in the world in Wrexham FC, the UNESCO World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and an award-winning culture and arts hub in Ty Pawb. If the county is successful the UK City of Culture title will bring huge opportunities and I wish them every success.”

Simon Baynes said: “This is excellent news for Wrexham and the wider County Borough and I would like to congratulate Wrexham Council for putting together such an outstanding bid – which clearly impressed the expert panel. 

"As an area, we have so much going for us, and so much to be proud of, so I’m very glad to see this recognised. Like many others, I have my fingers crossed that we will win the bid, and reap the opportunities of the prestigious UK City of Culture 2025 title.”

Historic steam loco to visit Llangollen Railway

 

* Photo courtesy of JS Hancock care of https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/5619-2/ - 

The1925-built GWR 0-6-2T No 5619 will be visiting Llangollen Railway for its 2022 season from its usual home at the Telford Steam Railway. 

The Collett-designed 5600 Class will arrive at Llangollen for completion of its winter maintenance and then undergo its annual examination. 

The work will be completed at Llangollen by our MPD Team. 

The loco will see use throughout the spring, summer and autumn before returning to Telford in time to haul their very successful Polar Express Christmas trains. 

Tom Taylor, LR Trust Manager, said “N^o5619 should arrive in Llangollen before the end of next week (25^th March) and that they would will pull out all the stops to have her ready to welcome steam back to the Dee Valley for Easter. 

He added: "We are very grateful to our friends at the Telford Steam Railway for offering this superb loco to us. 

"Being a Great Western tank, it will look very much at home on our line, which was very much at the heart of GWR Country in its heyday. 

"It is a big step forward to us to source a visiting steam loco as we currently have no serviceable steam locomotives. 

"Later this year two of our Llangollen-based Great Western locomotives, 2-8-0 N^o 3802 and Pannier N^o 7754 are expected to return to steam. The prospect of seeing 3 working GWR locos on the railway together is something to really look forward to and another clear sign that the LR is very much back on track."

Mark Paynter, Commercial Director of the TSR, said: “The Telford Steam Railway are excited to enter in to a new partnership with the Llangollen Railway and we are more than happy to assist them with their steam loco requirements."

Update on changes to county's recycling and waste parks

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents of changes to its recycling and waste parks. 

From April 1 the three main sites in Denbigh, Ruthin and Rhyl will be managed by social enterprise Bryson Recycling, as part of a joint contract with Conwy County Borough Council. 

The new contract aims to increase recycling rates, introduce more reuse activities and implement a local circular economy approach to recycling. 

It will also see earlier opening times, improved access, a wider range of items accepted at the Ruthin and Denbigh sites and free compost, while Denbighshire residents will be able to use two Conwy recycling and waste parks at Abergele and Mochdre, says the council.

As part of the changes, a small charge will apply from April 1 for residents choosing to bring in non-household waste, such as DIY and construction waste from works or improvements. 

This waste is classified as industrial waste, not household waste, and Council Tax only covers the cost of collecting, recycling and disposing of household waste. 

Cllr Brian Jones said: “Working together with Conwy County Borough Council to appoint a single operator has enabled us to provide value for money for our residents, as management costs have reduced while increasing the amount of waste we recycle.

“The new contract also includes more green initiatives, such as availability of free compost to site users and a new ‘Choose to Reuse’ area at each site for customers to help themselves to useful materials that other people have brought, a charity run re-use shop at the Rhyl site and more support of reuse projects within our communities. 

“Bryson is also pledging £1 for every tonne of waste recycled to be donated to St Kentigern Hospice. 

“Under the new contract there will be no charge for household waste created in the day-to-day running of households.

“The council is not required to accept DIY and construction materials for disposal, even though that waste comes from a domestic property.  However, we understand residents do sometimes create this type of waste themselves and we can handle this waste at our sites with a small charge, to cover the costs of handling and disposal. 

“The charges are not designed to make a profit and have been kept as low as possible for everyone. 

“This change has been introduced to enable us to reduce the overall cost of providing the service to help the council to manage a balanced budget and continue to support our priority services for the people of Denbighshire. 

“Introducing a small charge also helps eliminate the temptation for businesses to deposit waste illegally at our sites. Despite strict controls in place to prevent this, we know some waste from commercial activity makes its way onto our sites by those masquerading as householders.” 

Charges will apply only to DIY and construction materials such as rubble, plasterboard, asbestos, gas bottle, tyres and insulation material. 

Gareth Walsh, General Manager at Bryson Recycling, said: “We are delighted to win this contract and have an opportunity to bring our social enterprise approach to the management of the three Denbighshire sites. We will focus on maximising recycling and reuse at the sites, while making a visit to the Recycling Centre an easy and pleasant experience.”