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Sunday, June 19, 2022
Funding fair to be held at town hall this month
Roadworks planned for Aber Adda
Latest roadworks update from one.network is:
20 June - 20 June
Delays unlikely - Some
carriageway incursion
Description: MJ
QUINN TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING WORKS: RECOVER POLE...
Works location: SIDE
OF 1 ABER ADDA
Public facing description:
one.network has automatically assigned a category of Unclassified works to this
Works based on the information available. Please note: Works Descriptions are
not published by Openreach.
Responsibility for works:
Openreach
Current status:
Advanced planning
Works reference: BC006MQONSAWN0POFAA7495C
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Eisteddfod to provide dedicated chill-out area on field
* Davina Carey-Evans and son Benjamin.
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is to become the first major event in Wales to provide a special safe chill-out space for people with special and additional needs.
This year’s four-day Eisteddfod is back live again to celebrate its 75th anniversary, starting on Thursday, July 7, and will include a dedicated quiet zone at the heart of the field.
The innovation has come about
thanks to the event’s marketing manager, Davina Carey-Evans, who founded PIWS –
Welsh for purple –which aims to encourage businesses and events to improve
accessibility for families with hidden disabilities.
Davina, who is also High Sheriff of
Gwynedd, is the mum of three boys, one of whom, Benjamin, 27, has severe autism
and she has had a lifetime of experience of the difficulties faced by similar
families.
She said: “We all think of people
with disabilities as having visible stuff but there are lots of people with
very different issues, who can get over-stimulated, particularly somewhere with
lots going on, and the International Eisteddfod is the first event in Wales to
have a dedicated safe zone for them.
“It will be a tent with arts and
crafts activities and we’re planning to provide yoga and other well-being
therapies but essentially it is a place where when a child or person becomes
over-excited they can go there to calm down without being judged by others who
don’t understand.
“It’s something that PIWS is trying
to encourage everywhere to embrace and the International Eisteddfod with its
message of peace is the ideal place to start and it opens up the Eisteddfod to
a new audience, families who would not previously have visited.
“The Eisteddfod who will be
offering to train their army of volunteers with an introduction to
accessibility session, which supports them to understand what they can do to
help if someone with an issue like ADHD has a problem.
“I’m really grateful to them for
being so innovative because this is something that all organisations, events
and businesses will have to recognise in future because they should all aim to
have a similar safe space.”
The International Eisteddfod’s
embracing of the PIWS project is just one of the ways in which it is evolving
as it returns after a two-year Covid gap after being cancelled in 2020.
Last year it was held virtually but
on its 75th anniversary it is back with a new emphasis on extending and
improving the on-field activities and attractions and outdoors the site will
look and feel very different, Camilla King, the Eisteddfod’s new executive producer,
has promised.
She said: “It has been redefined
and reimagined and our wide-ranging outdoor activities will continue throughout
the day and evening until 10pm.
“We’ve also introduced a £5
half-day field admission after 4.30pm and with a full programme of music, dance
and activities going on all evening with food and drink on sale, it’s the
perfect space for people to bring their picnic blankets and enjoy themselves.
“The outdoor stage will feature
music and dance, and a new globe-shaped Geodome will be the hub for
spoken word, thought-provoking interviews , comedy and learning from different
cultures.
“The Eisteddfod is an essential
event where the arts and how they can contribute to peace in all senses of the
word meet one another.”
The popular festival which helped
launch the careers of opera superstars Luciano Pavarotti and Sir Bryn Terfel
had to be cancelled in 2020 for the first time due to the impact of the
Coronavirus pandemic.
In 2021 it took on a virtual format
with performances streamed online but this year Wales will once again welcome
the world to the little town in the Dee Valley.
This year’s festival starts on Thursday,
July 7, and culminates with Llanfest on Sunday, July 10, when the Eisteddfod
joins forces with the Llangollen Fringe Festival.
Over the four days there will be a
host of new attractions and activities on the revamped outdoor site, including
music, dance, talks, comedy, food, drink, shopping, workshops and pop-up
entertainment.
In the evenings there will be
concerts featuring the singing duo of Aled Jones and Russell Watson and
Anoushka Shankar, the British-Indian-American sitar player, producer, film
composer and activist who is the daughter of renowned musician Ravi Shankar, and
half-sister of singer Norah Jones.
The competitions climax on Saturday
night with Choir of the World and the contest for the Pendine International
Voice of the Future featuring the finest young singers from around the world on
the stage where Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, Elaine Paige, Michael Ball,
Sir Bryn Terfel and Luciano Pavarotti have performed.
This year’s Eisteddfod is a
shortened version of previous years but will still pack plenty in with a full
programme of competitions in the Pavilion and starting on Thursday with Schools
Day and the Young Peacemaker Awards.
Sunday sees the Eisteddfod let its
hair down for Llanfest before the climactic final concert.
* For more on Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and its competitions and concerts as well as how to get to it and where to stay go to http://international-eisteddfod.co.uk/ or check out https://www.facebook.com/llangollen
Friday, June 17, 2022
First steam train to Corwen makes history for Llangollen Railway
Llangollen Railway made history this morning as the first steam train in almost 60 years pulled into Corwen Station.
The special service was run to conduct further testing of the platforms and station facilities and allow a very important person to be amongst the very first to use the station - the railway Trust's founding member and president, Bill Shakespeare MBE.
True to the line’s heritage, the train, proudly bearing the nameboard 'William Shakespeare', consisted of two pieces of Great Western Railway history - a 1923-built steam tank locomotive and an inspection coach, both of which were built at the GWR’s legendary Swindon works.
Bill Shakespeare has been involved in the railway from its creation as the Deeside and Flintshire Railway Preservation Society in the late 1970s.
He has given a lifetime’s dedicated service to the railway as a volunteer and served as chairman of the LR Trust between 1976 and 1998.
He was awarded an MBE for services to the railway upon his retirement as chairman in 1998 and continues to support the Trust in an honorary role as president.
Joining him on the special train to Corwen were three other past chairmen of the railway, Gordon Heddon, Neil Evans and Jim Ritchie.
On the footplate were driver Ian Ross, fireman Charlie Brook and inspector Andrew Maxwell. Second driver was Paul Reynolds.
Current LR Trust chairman Phil Coles said. “What an honour it is to be travelling with Bill in this wonderful inspection coach on our first officer’s special to Corwen.
"It was also a landmark occasion for us because this was the first steam to operate at Corwen since the mainline station closed in 1964.
"If anyone deserves to be the first into the new station then it’s Bill. His contribution to the railway has been incredible, with many years of hard work and inspirational leadership. We have all worked very hard to make this happen are looking forward to seeing the station completed."
Richard Dixon-Gough, manager for the Corwen Station Project, said “Seeing the special roll in with Bill on board is something me and the small team of volunteers who have built the station from nothing have been looking forward to for a very long time.
"Whilst this is still part of the testing phase of getting the station ready to open to the public, it’s another big step forward. We’ve got a fair bit more work to do in order to complete the platform buildings – with the roof to finish and the canopy to erect.
"We’ve been delighted to receive a Levelling Up Government Grant to help us fund the canopy and are about to place the order with a local steelwork supplier for it. All being well the station will open for passengers early next year."
Chairman Phil Coles explained that the Levelling Up fund contributed almost £165,000 of the £200,000 cost of the canopy, with the railway finding the remainder.
Llangollen Railway continues to recover from it’s economic challenges of 2021 and work towards a more sustainable future as a successful tourist attraction.
With healthy numbers of passengers using the current operational railway between Llangollen and Carrog, the railway’s management say they are looking forward to busy summer season, with a more intensive timetable of railcar, steam and diesel trains planned alongside some special events.
These include a Classic Transport Weekend on July 2 and 3 and a Diesel Weekend on September 1 and 2.
* Former railway press officer George Jones contributed the two pictures below, showing William Shakespeare looking out of the train window at Corwen Station and a wide-angle shot of the train after its arrival.
Skates attacks government on cost-of-living crisis
The UK Government response to the cost-of-living crisis has been branded ‘insulting’ by a Member of the Senedd.
Former Economy Minister Ken Skates said the measures announced so far by Chancellor Rishi Sunak are not enough – and barely cover the £1,000-a-year Universal Credit cut thousands of households in his Clwyd South constituency suffered in the autumn.
Mr Skates said only the Westminster Government had the ‘fiscal firepower’ to deliver what is needed, with experts predicting the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s.
The Senedd was told that more could have been done if the Tories hadn’t "squandered billions of pounds of public money" – and heard claims that UK Government loans had been used to purchase pornography and even fund terrorism.
During First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday (June 14), the Clwyd South MS asked Mark Drakeford: “Would you agree that the Chancellor's offer to households facing the cost-of-living crisis is simply not enough and, indeed, insulting given it's to be paid from the cut to Universal Credit last year?
“So much more could have been offered to hard-pressed households had the Chancellor not lost £11bn in failing to insure against interest rate rises, or by losing £6bn in fraudulent loans.”
The First Minister responded: “Ken Skates makes a very important point. As a former Minister responsible for the economy, I can see why he has wanted to highlight the fact that while this government fails to provide help for people faced with a cost-of-living crisis at the same time they are losing money hand over fist.
“The £11bn to which Ken Skates referred was highlighted only last week. The Chancellor was warned, time after time, that rising interest rates would have an impact upon his ability to service the £900bn of reserves created by quantitative easing. He failed to take out those insurance measures and, as a result, he is spending £11bn more than he would have otherwise have needed to. Now, imagine what the £11bn could have done in the lives of the people we have been talking about this afternoon.
“And when it comes to fraud from the bounce-back loan scheme, fraud is only a third of the loss that the UK Government itself say they now expect to make through that scheme. Five billion pounds lost directly in fraud, but £17bn which the government now does not expect to recover from those loans.
“There are court cases going through at the moment that show that those bounce-back loans, those fraudulent loans, were being used to pay for the purchase of private cars, for flying lessons, for pornography websites and, in a case which is to be in front of the courts next month, a case where someone who obtained a bounce-back loan is alleged to have used it to fund terrorist activity by Islamic State terrorists in Syria.
“Five billion pounds which, as we know, the National Audit Office says the government has failed to take the necessary action to recover. Government Minister, Lord Agnew, the anti-fraud Minister, resigned in January describing his own Government's efforts to control that fraud as ‘woeful’.”
Mr Drakeford added: “The point that Ken Skates makes is this, isn't it? We have a government who say that, in the fifth-richest country in the world, it’s not possible to provide enough money for people to stay warm and to be fed during this coming winter, but have managed to contrive the loss of tens of billions of pounds in just two schemes that I've highlighted this afternoon.”
Mr Skates was an outspoken critic of the cut to Universal Credit, which was pushed through last year leaving more than 6,000 households in Clwyd South £1,040 a year worse off.
Welsh Government Ministers set out a £380m package of support in the spring which included £150 council tax rebates and a new £200 Winter Fuel Support Scheme to be launched in autumn. At least 4,583 unpaid carers in Wrexham and Denbighshire will also receive a £500 support payment from the Welsh Government.
Mr Skates said that In April alone more than 2,200 payments were made from the Welsh Government’s discretionary assistance fund to people in Wrexham and Denbighshire – with more than 90% cash help for emergency food and fuel.
Mr Skates added: “The Welsh Government is doing what it can, but the UK Government must step up. They should be helping people – not simply replacing what they’ve already taken away from those struggling the most and then telling them they should be grateful.”
Latest local roadworks alerts
Latest local roadworks notified by Denbighshire County Council are:
120m east of Medical centre to The Sun Inn A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD 21/04/2022 14/07/2022 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights
Outside PONSONBY ARMS MILL STREET 15/07/2022 15/07/2022 I rheoli traffig ar llwybr amgen / Traffic control on diversion route
A539 OUTSIDE PLAS DERWEN, ABBEY ROAD, LLANGOLLEN ABBEY ROAD 04/07/2022 04/07/2022 Adnewyddu Polyn / Renew Pole PLATINUM (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights
A542 AT JUNCTION WITH A5 QUEEN STREET BIRCH HILL 26/09/2022 30/09/2022 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYRFDWY (EMMA) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure
DINBREN ROAD, JUNC WITH WERN ROAD AND WHARF HILL DINBREN ROAD 20/06/2022 20/06/2022 Adnewyddu Polyn / Renew Pole PLATINUM (DCC)
HALL STREET jnc with BERWYN STREET HALL STREET 28/06/2022 30/06/2022 Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN (DCC) LLANGOLLEN
The Beeches MARKET STREET MARKET STREET 28/06/2022 30/06/2022 Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN (DCC)
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Plaque honours Wynn's love for football club
* George Hughes, Bob 'Bala' and Gill Hughes with the plaque.
* Barbara and George Hughes, Bob 'Bala', Gill Hughes, Richard Hughes and Kevin Richards on the pitch at Tower Field.
The family of one of Llangollen's best-known residents have presented an inscribed plaque in his memory to the local football club he loved.
Wynn "Parrafin" Hughes died at the age of 86 in Chirk Hospital last November.
He was a staunch supporter of Llangollen FC for many years, helping them both on and off the pitch.
Money collected at Wynn's funeral in St Collen's Church has now been used to pay for the commemorative plaque, inscribed with words "Wynn Hughes Memorial Dugouts," to which the club will give a place of honour inside their Tower Field HQ.
In a tribute to him at the time of his death team manager and former player, Damien Tobin, recalled: “Wynn carried out several roles within the club over the years. He used to clean out the changing rooms, line-mark the pitch and help put out the nets and corner flags.
“He even used to run on the pitch with a bucket and sponge to treat injured players, to everyone’s amusement. He never missed a game home and away.
“The players loved having Wynn in the changing rooms before a game and every away team and referee made a fuss of him when they arrived at Tower Field.
“His famous phrases of “C’mon you Spurs,” and “Back and face, Llan,” would echo from the stand every game.
“Several players and friends of Wynn regularly picked him up from his house to take him to games and he was so thankful for that gesture.
“Life will never be the same at Llangollen Football Club without him."
The plaque was presented to the club last Sunday by Wynn's family when a team of veterans from Llangollen FC gathered to play their counterparts from a Wrexham team.
Wynn's cousin George Hughes, a former Llangollen town mayor, said: "He loved Llan FC so much we wanted to do something to help people remember him at the club."