Denbighshire Free Press is reporting that plans are under way to turn a Llangollen bed and breakfast into a bedsit for healthcare workers.
A story says that Nadarajah Pragash has applied to Denbighshire County Council’s planning department for permission to change the former Four Poster Bed and Breakfast premises on Mill Street into a house of multiple occupation.
* Jen Rush (far right) joined others to raise awareness and promote the #KnowYourSkincampaign to MPs.
A Llangollen couple are contributing to a national campaign this Melanoma Awareness Month to encourage everyone to stay safe in the sun and look out for signs of potential skin cancer.
James Rush, a former tree surgeon and
retained firefighter at Llangollen Fire Station, was diagnosed with stage 4
melanoma skin cancer in 2020, a week before the UK’s first lockdown.
Sharing his story with Llanblogger, he said: "Receiving this diagnosis within a few
weeks of welcoming our daughter, and while the world was dealing with COVID
made it a very difficult time.
"I had previously had a melanoma surgically
removed, but it was considered stage 0 and I was given the all-clear.
"Five
years later I developed a cough, the result of metastatic melanoma that had
spread to my lymph nodes, liver and bowel.”
James underwent major surgery and has just
completed two years of monthly immunotherapy treatment.
He was initially
treated at Glan Clwyd, but transferred to the Christie in Manchester after
surgery, where there is a large specialist melanoma department.
James added: “Depending how my recent and future scans
go will determine whether I need more doses. It would be nice to think I
didn’t, but obviously it’s unpredictable.
"I am grateful to Dr Cooper and the team at
Llangollen Health Centre – he made what was probably an overly-cautious initial
referral that has been life-saving.”
* Llangollen
Fire Station crew raised money for Melanoma Focus in 2021
to support their colleague James (far right).
James and his wife, Jen, who has just been elected as Llangollen's Deputy Mayor after winning a town council seat earlier this month, work with the
charity Melanoma Focus through her local digital marketing agency.
James has
designed the #KnowYourSkin campaign posters, which are appearing in service
stations and offices throughout the UK this month.
* The
poster is one of four designs appearing throughout the UK.
This week, Jen attended a parliamentary
event to raise awareness of the charity’s #KnowYourSkin campaign, together with
clinicians, patients and the Patron of Melanoma Focus, Chris Bryant MP.
The family would like to share Melanoma
Focus’ message this melanoma awareness month – wear SPF 30+ and visit your GP
if you’re concerned about a mole or lesion.
Jen told Llanblogger: “86% of melanoma cases can be avoided by
protecting your skin from the sun and, if diagnosed early, melanoma is usually
very easy to treat with minor surgery.
"I wouldn’t want anyone to go through
what our family have in the last couple of years – please avoid sun beds and
protect your skin when enjoying the (hopefully!) good weather this summer.
"If
you’re worried about a mole or spot anything changing on your skin, don’t put
of visiting your GP – early diagnosis saves countless lives.”
* You can find out more information about
melanoma and sun safety on the Melanoma
Focus website.
* The story in the New York Post. Marc Mountford and Katie Morran feature with Cooper the mastiff.
A story which started off in llanblogger has just hit the pages of the New York Post.
Earlier this month we reported on a string of local Facebook messages about a dog which refused to walk past the former Gwyn Davies butchers shop in Castle.
And theories abounded that the pooch may have shied away because the empty shop was haunted.
The story was first picked up by a regional newspaper and has now made its way across the Atlantic to the Post in New York.
The story says: "A couple and their 168-pound Mastiff, Cooper, had a real-life Scooby-Doo moment in Wales while traveling in their camper that they appropriately named their “Mystery Machine.”
According to Daily Post UK, Marc Mountford and Katie Morran said their furry friend “went mental” when he passed a former butcher shop in Llangollen, Wales, that is said to be haunted.
“As soon as he reached the shop, he went wild,” Mountford said. “He was uncontrollable — I was so close to going under a coach [bus].”
Luckily, several people were around and helped the couple control Cooper.
“We had to get him across the road to calm down. But he was still shaking,” Mountford added. “He wasn’t making a noise but his tail was between his legs and he was clearly in distress.”
This isn’t the first time the pup’s been spooked by the shop, either. The family has taken the Mystery Machine to Llangollen four times, and said Cooper’s spooked reaction is always the same.
“When he was younger he was easier to control, but now he’s fully grown it’s different,” Mountford said. “This was the first time he’s dragged me into the street. When a 12-stone Mastiff starts pulling, it’s almost impossible to stop them.”
“This behavior is totally out of character,” he continued. “He’s a lovely dog and we’ve been past plenty of other butchers’ shops with no problems — especially if we pop in for a bone! But there’s something about this particular place.”
The now-vacant shop belonged to Gwyn Davies until he retired last year. Some Facebook users wondered whether Cooper could smell the old slaughterhouse in the back of the building.
Old photos of the town show carcasses hanging up in front of the shop.
“Row upon row of sheep, cows and chickens, before Gwyn had it,” said one Facebook commenter, the Daily Post reported.
Another added, “[The] smell of blood, maybe it lingers?” While a third comment read: “[Cooper] feels like he is walking past a graveyard with all the dead meat in there.”
The theories continued as an alleged former employee of the butcher shop chimed in, saying the cellar and an upstairs apartment were both haunted.
One of the people that helped the couple calm Cooper was a town historian. The couple happened to meet her in a neighboring town after the encounter, and she told them she’d find a history book with the ghost story recorded — which she did.
According to “Tales of Llangollen: Past and Present” by Trevor Roberts, the shop’s then-butcher swore he saw the owner of a nearby fishing tackle shop outside while on his way to work.
Once inside, he was informed the angler had died the day before, but the butcher always stood by his sighting."
* The story has also appeared in the Mirror in the UK.
British Cycling's National Downhill Mountain Bike Series Round 3, presented by GT Bicycles, takes place in Llangollen this Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29.
Venue for the action is One Giant Leap at Tan Y Graig Farm, LL20 8AR.
The newly revised Squirrel Track will be used.
It's super steep and technical as it winds itself down the famous Llangollen hillside with a number of recently added features and wider line choices to keep the riders on their toes.
The tried and trusted BDS Team are back organising their first National race since 2017 and say they have been working around the clock to deliver this event to bring back the good old days.
Organisers say spectators are welcome and there is free parking plus free admission to anyone aged 12 and under. For those aged 13 or over the charge is £5 per day to spectate.
Saturday 09:30 to 18:00 Practice
Sunday 08:30 to 10:45 Practice 11:00 to 14:00 Seeding Runs 14:00 to 17:00 Race Runs
Denbighshire
County Council has elected a new Leader and Deputy for the authority.
Jason
McLellan (Labour – Prestatyn North) is the new leader and a co-operation
agreement with Plaid Cymru has been negotiated to form a ruling partnership.
A
former Prestatyn High School pupil, Cllr McLellan has lived in Prestatyn most
of his life.
He qualified in Law from the University of Liverpool before
working as a legal aid lawyer across North Wales for many years. He then worked
for a Member of Parliament and two Members of the Senedd and is a former
Denbighshire councillor, having served one term.
He said: "I believe that Labour and Plaid Cymru have a mandate from
the electorate to form a cabinet and deliver for the people of Denbighshire.
"I
am looking forward to working with Plaid and we have so much in common in terms
of policies around economic regeneration, addressing housing issues and
promoting the Welsh language and culture."
* Deputy Leader - Cllr Gill German.
Meanwhile,
Cllr Gill German (Labour- Prestatyn North) has been elected Deputy
Leader.
Councillor German is also from Prestatyn and a former pupil in
the town.
She has worked as a primary school teacher for over 25 years, with
the majority of those years spent at Ysgol Penmorfa.
She says one
of her biggest wishes is to work on creating greater equality in education.
* Back row from left, Volodymr, Lidiia, Sarah, Simon Baynes MP, Kim, Nataliia, Tetiana. Front row, Andrii, Anastasiia, Kateryna and Maryna at the home of Sarah O’Brien near Trevor.
Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes recently met Maryna Ustymenko who is now living in Llangollen after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He also met the Paliura family, whom his office helped bring
over to Wales and are now staying in Trevor.
Mr Baynes spoke with Maryna, who speaks fluent English having been a teacher back in Ukraine, and also her sponsor Kim Evans from Llangollen.
The MP also met the
Paliura family, which includes Volodymr and Lidiia Paliura (grandparents), Nataliia and
Anastasiia Minaieva (mother and daughter), Tetiana Paliura (daughter) and her
two children, Andrii and Kateryna Maliuk.
They have been welcomed into the home
of their sponsor Sarah O’Brien near Trevor.
During the visit they discussed the ongoing issues experienced by Ukrainian refugees with their visa
applications, and the welcome and support they have received from the community
in Clwyd South.
Kim Evans and Sarah O’Brien said: “This is a very rewarding experience
and we both feel we have gained life long friends and extra family members.”
Mr Baynes said: “As the local MP I was very
grateful to have the opportunity to meet our new Ukrainian friends and to
welcome them to our community in Clwyd South.
"I was delighted to hear that
since arriving they have been made to feel very welcome.
"I also want to thank
Sarah O’Brien and Kim Evans and their families for welcoming the Paliura family
and Maryna Ustymenko into their homes and for the kindness they have shown them
since fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
"My office has been very pleased to help
them and other families come to Clwyd South and is always available to help
others from Ukraine in the same way in the future.”
The Friends of Llangollen Health Centre, like so many other organisations, has been affected by the pandemic.
One of its projects has been to contribute to the cost of installing defibrillators.
The latest one is now outside the Conquering Hero in Rhewl.
The official hand-over (pictured above) was attended by Maggie Smith, Chair of Llantysilio Community Council, the Clerk to the Council Sandra Baker, and Audrey Brameller, a member of the Board of Trustees.
The Trust was also pleased to receive a generous donation from the Friends of Oakleigh represented by Ruth Tamms to the Friends' John Palmer (pictured above).
The Friends is a charity whose objectives are to relieve sickness and to preserve and protect good health amongst permanent or temporary residents in the catchment area of Llangollen Health Centre and Llangollen GP practice, including Glyn Ceiriog & Plas Madoc,by the provision of facilities, support services and equipment not normally provided from statutory funds.
However, the Friends will be resuming fundraising with a coffee morning in the Memorial Hall on Market Street on Tuesday May 31 and would like t see as many people as possible coming along to show support.
* If you have any ideas on how we can support patients, please email John Palmer friendsofllanhc11@gmail.com
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