Food firm offers cash aid to community groups

* Harlech Foodservice Managing Director David Cattrall. Picture by Rick Matthews.

Community groups and local clubs across North Wales are being urged to bid for a slice of a new £5,000 charity fund.

Leading food wholesaler Harlech Foodservice, which has bases in Criccieth in Gwynedd and Chester, has launched a community foundation as part of the company’s 50^th anniversary celebrations.

The family firm was founded in 1972 as a holiday season supplier to pubs, hotels and campsites in North West Wales and has grown into a £30 million turnover business serving Wales, the North West and West Midlands.

Now Managing Director David Cattrall is inviting community groups, projects, associations and locally based charities to pitch for some cash.

He said: “We have grown from small beginnings into a major North Wales company with bases in Criccieth and Chester and we couldn’t have done that without the support of our loyal customers across the region.

“They have helped us grow into a business employing over 200 staff which supplies not just the tourism and hospitality industry but also schools, colleges, hospitals and care homes so we want to celebrate the success we’ve had by putting something back into the communities which have supported us

“We are asking local groups across North Wales who benefit the community in some way to come forward and pitch for funding which could provide them with some vital cash for something really important to them.

“It could be a mini bus fund for a local dance troupe or maybe some gardening equipment for a primary school, a new pool table for a youth club or art and craft equipment for a pensioners’ group which prevents older people feeling isolated and lonely.

“We are open to suggestions and the main criteria is that people need to show us how they are fundraising and how much they are aiming to raise.

“We are looking to give a helping hand to projects right across the region so we want to hear from the people involved and we’ll be looking to hand over up to £1,000 to the chosen deserving causes.”

Harlech Foodservices has a track record of helping out in the communities it serves and stepped up in the pandemic to make donations to food banks across Wales and into Cheshire and Shropshire.

When their delivery lorries were unable to carry stock to their usual customers they were diverted to charities from Conwy to Newport in Gwent and from their own doorstep in Pwllheli to Northwich and Telford across the English border.

Now as business reaches a peak in the busy holiday season they are looking to hear from deserving causes who can bid for a share of the £5,000 charity by sending a brief description of their organisation, what they are raising money for and what they are looking to achieve along with daytime contact details including a phone number. Bid descriptions should be sent to sales@harlech.lls.com

The business founded by Colin and Gill Foskett above a shop in Harlech in 1972 now delivers up to 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers across North and Mid-Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West from its modern bases in Criccieth and Chester.

Colin and Gill’s sons and daughter are still on the board and the third generation of the Foskett family are now among a workforce which has grown steadily as the business has expanded to include NHS Wales, care homes and schools, colleges and universities.

For more on Harlech Foodservices go to https://www.harlech.co.uk/ 

New history of Llangollen has some interesting little nuggets

It’s now more than 30 years since the last history of Llangollen was published.

Now there is a fascinating new version written by Peter Jones, a trustee of the town’s museum.

Its 48 pages are packed with basic historical information about almost every important aspect of local life, liberally interspersed with some marvellous nuggets that are probably less well known.

For instance, while detailing the rich past of Valle Crucis Abbey the author notes that back in 1535 many monasteries had become so corrupt that their inhabitants had been forced to turn to crime, including Robert Salisbury, Abbot of Valle Crucis, who was arrested for having been part of a highway robbery.

Another iconic landmark highlighted in the booklet, Castell Dinas Bran, has its own interesting little tale which centres on one of its medieval occupants, Myfanwy, daughter of tenant Iorwerth Ddu ap Ednyfed Gam.

Her unrequited love for a man named Hywel ap Einion is celebrated in a famous poem penned by John Ceiriog Hughes. Published in 1858 and entitled Myfanwy Fychan, the work was later set to music and became a staple of Welsh male voice choirs.

The booklet, produced thanks to the extensive use of the resources of Llangollen Museum with suggestions from David Crane, has compact and easily digestible sections on the town’s pre-historic beginnings, the bridge – one of the Seven Wonders of Wales – the canal, the Chain Bridge and the steam railway which Dr Beeching failed to kill off in the 1960s.

We also learn about the gradual development of the town centre, illustrated by some absorbing maps, and the area’s transition from a rural to an industrial economy facilitated by the building of the canal, the railway and Telford’s new road now the A5.

On the local industrial front, how many knew that the Llangollen Hide & Skin Company once based in Church Street from 1885 had during the Second World War produced leather jerkins for the army and, earlier, bindings for the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

It’s also interesting to note that the opening by a Manchester company of the Lower Dee Mill as a spinning and weaving factory in 1805 met with some local resistance.

However, its opponents did grudgingly concede that it was, at least, “a source of employment to local children who otherwise would have been a burden to the parish”.

* The Ladies of Llangollen.

That opposition to the new mill, we are told, was actually led by the legendary Ladies of Llangollen who get their own dedicated section of the booklet, which reveals that, although they were by far the most famous inhabitants of Plas Newydd they were not actually the only two ladies to occupy the town’s mini stately home.  

When the property was sold in 1832 following the deaths of both Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler, the buyers were two ladies who had long lived in Llangollen.

Amelia Lolly, had been born Liverpool 1783, the daughter of Walter Lolly a distiller, and Charlotte Andrew who was born in Harpurhey, Manchester in 1791, the daughter of Robert Andrew, a dyer. They were mockingly referred to by Eleanor Butler as the “Lollies and Trollies” because they had long tried to emulate the life style of the Ladies, but with little success.

Having bought the house for £1,400 they proceeded to embellish it, although one visitor of the time commented that “the whole place had a vulgar and commonplace appearance”.

And just as he shows that the much more famous duo weren’t the only ladies of Plas Newydd the author also describes how the international event staged since 1947 wasn’t the only eisteddfod to be sited in Llangollen.  

Back in 1858 a large eisteddfod was held in the town which was a precursor of what was to become the National Eisteddfod.

Some of the competitions were a little bizarre, such as “The day labourer whose weekly wage does not exceed £1 with the greatest number of children present at the Eisteddfod able to read and write in Welsh”.

The Flannel Mill generously provided a woollen tent on the bowling green of the Ponsonby Arms. Unfortunately, there was heavy rain before the event, which caused the tent to collapse.

The National Eisteddfod was held here in 1908 at a site off Vicarage Road and was attended by both David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill.

* A Brief History of Llangollen by Peter Jones is available from Llangollen Museum in Parade Street for £4.50. 

Welsh Blood's next local donation session

Welsh Blood are back in Llangollen this summer and are looking for blood donors.

They are at Llangollen Pavilion August 30 and remind people that one blood donation can save the lives of six babies.

* Click here to book: https://wbs.wales/LlangollenandDistrict

Mae’r Gwasanaeth Gwaed yn ôl yn LlPangollen yr Haf yma ac yn edrych am roddwyr gwaed!  

Pafiliwn Llangollen 30/08/22

Gall un rhodd o waed achub bywydau chwech o fabanod!

* Dewch yn achubwr bywyd! Cliciwch yma i gofrestru: https://wbs.wales/LlangollenandDistrict

Police launch campaign to recruit more officers

* Chief Superintendent Sian Beck.

A major campaign has been launched to recruit more police officers in North Wales.

The drive is being spearheaded by Chief Superintendent Sian Beck who has just started a new role in charge of local policing across the region.

She is keen to get the message out that being a police officer is a great career with  “amazing job satisfaction”.

The window for applications is open from August 18 to August 29 and details can be found on the North Wales Police website www.northwales.police.uk

Chief Supt Beck, a mother-of-one, said: “It’s a fantastic job with a whole range of career options”.

“We are a 24/7 service and there are times when you have to put the hours in but we are very much welfare-focused and supportive of a good work-life balance which is helpful in terms of recruitment and retaining officers.

“I know from my own experience that I benefited greatly from a lot of support from the force when I was doing a master’s degree which was incredibly important.

“Diversity and inclusion has come on massively especially with the support of our Chief Constable who’s the national lead for diversity, equality and inclusion.

“Policing has moved into the 21^st century in North Wales in terms of how we recruit and how we understand the challenges that people face from under-represented communities or different genders.

“We’re always striving to do things better but policing is a more inclusive family these days.”

Ironically, becoming a police officer was not part of Sian Beck’s original plan – even though she was a big fan of TV crime dramas, particularly the long-running hit show, The Bill.

Growing up she was also mad about horses and went to the University of the West of England in Bristol to do a degree in equine science.

But she had a “eureka moment” when a friend showed her a policing recruitment brochure.

She said:  “I’d never thought of being a police officer until I saw the brochure, did some more research about the role and realised that was what I wanted to do.

“I’m a people person so I love working in teams and I am quite practical and outdoorsy so the thought of doing a job helping people and the unpredictability of every day being totally different really appealed to me.

“The other attraction was that you have the security of one career but a load of different opportunities within the job.

“I joined North Wales Police in March 2000 and I knew immediately that I had made the right decision.

“The police family is full of like-minded people with honesty and integrity who want to do good in their communities.”

Although it was a hugely rewarding job, Chief Supt Beck stressed that being a police officer was not an easy option.

She added: “You have got to come into it understanding that it is a 24 hour service and it’s shift work, so we don’t work 9 to 5. You don’t always go home when you want to and you’re not always at home when your family are celebrating bank holidays.

“You do see people when they are at their most vulnerable and in the worst time of their lives and that can be upsetting.

“However, on the flip side, being a police officer is the most amazing career with a host of different opportunities.

“You can have a really long and successful career as a patrol officer, building up a wealth of and knowledge of the communities they serve.

“If you prefer you can go for a whole range of specialisms. The opportunities are endless and you can have a whole range of careers within the police.

“Whichever route you choose, you’ll be working with some incredible colleagues and making a real difference to people’s lives on a daily basis, whether you’re a chief constable or a PC on patrol in our communities.

“It’s a massive responsibility but also a great privilege.”

* For more details about how to apply go to www.northwales.police.uk

Plans to improve land around cemetery to be unveiled

Llangollen Group of Anglican Churches is to host a special event at St John's Church in Abbey Road on Friday August 26.

Between 10am and 1pm people can hear about plans developed in partnership between the Mission Area of Valle Crucis and Llangollen Tidy Town Team to improve the cemetery and adjoining woodland for bio-diversity and access for the community. 

The event will feature a guided talk, a walk and free refreshments. 

Injured mountain biker rescued near Llangollen

* The Coastguard helicopter hovers over the scene of the rescue. Pictures from NEWSAR.

* The casualty is examined at the scene.

A mountain biker was airlifted to hospital after suffering "serious injuries" in an incident near Llangollen. 

North East Wales Search and Rescue (NEWSAR) said it was called to the incident on Sunday afternoon. 

A spokesperson said: "He had sustained what appears to be serious injuries and after initial treatment by the team he was evacuated by Coastguard helicopter to hospital due to the urgency of the situation.

"Thanks to passing members of the public who helped by looking after the casualty until we arrived." 

More details given of local electric vehicle charging points

* Market Street car park is due to have two EV chargers installed.

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards has obtained more details about the electric vehicle charging points due to be installed in the town.

Denbighshire County Council officers have told her that:

* Market Street car park will have two 22 KW AC machines able to charge four vehicles. 

* The Pavilion car park will have two 22 KW AC machines able to charge four vehicles .

Cllr Edwards has been told it is hoped to install the chargers later in the year.

* The Pavilion car park is due to have two chargers.