Day Eddie Butler re-opened Chain Bridge is fondly recalled

* Llanblogger's picture of Eddie Butler re-opening the Chain Bridge in May, 2015.

One of the ceremony’s organisers has been recalling the day former Wales rugby union captain and legendary broadcaster Eddie Butler, who has died at the age of 65, officially opened the Chain Bridge at Berwyn.

Mr Butler passed away in his sleep while on a charity trek in Peru, aged 65, and tributes to him have been pouring in from across the country.

On May 28, 2015 he opened up the world-famous bridge after it had been in a state of chronic disrepair for 30 years.

One of those who invited him to perform the ceremony was Maggie Smith, then chair of Llantysilio Community Council which had teamed up with Llangollen Town Council to bring the historic footbridge across the River Dee back to life.

* Eddie Butler was one of the first to walk across the newly-opened footbridge.

Remembering the occasion, she said: “I travelled with Eddie on the train from Llangollen Station to Berwyn Station and then back to Llangollen on a canal boat after the opening ceremony.

“He was lovely to chat to and was interested in the bridge refurbishment and about Llangollen generally. He enjoyed both the train ride and the boat trip.”

In his speech, Mr Butler said it was good to be back in an “absolutely fabulous part of our country”.

“It is not the biggest bridge over the River Dee, and we know it’s not the strongest bridge over the River Dee – but it has been rebuilt,” he said.

“I visited here four years ago and there was just the notion that ‘just one day, wouldn’t it be good if we could get this bridge rebuilt?’

“It is a very special bridge, because it was built in the first place by a man with one of the greatest names of all time – Exuperius Pickering.

“And when your bridge is built by an Exuperius, you know you’ve got something special.”

After opening the entrance to the bridge, Mr Butler was among the first across – along with dignitaries including the Mayor of Llangollen Cllr Bob Lube and Clwyd South representatives Ken Skates AM and Susan Elan-Jones MP.

The project to bring the bridge back in to public use has been ongoing for about five years, after the Llangollen and Llantysilio Community Councils bought it from former owner, the late businesswoman Stephanie Booth, for just £1.

After receiving £350,000 in grants, the councils were able to commence work on rebuilding the bridge with Shemec Ltd – with about two-thirds of the rebuild making use of original materials from the bridge.

After rising to prominence with club side Pontypool, Mr Butler played 16 times for Wales between 1980 and 1984, captaining the side on six occasions and scoring two tries.

The number eight was called up to the British and Irish Lions squad that toured New Zealand in 1983.

After retirement he became a respected rugby broadcaster.

He started his newspaper journalism career with the Sunday Correspondent in 1988 before stints with Observer and the Guardian and returned to BBC Wales in 1990 after being brought back in by new head of sport Gareth Davies.

After McLaren's retirement, he became the BBC rugby lead commentator where he formed a notable partnership with the likes of former England hooker Brian Moore and ex-Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies.

In 2010, Mr Butler joined a host of former Wales captains who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for Velindre Hospital, Cardiff's specialist cancer treatment centre.

Butler presented history series on the BBC including Wales and the History of the World, Hidden Histories, Welsh Towns at War in 2014 and two series of Welsh Towns in 2015.

He was also an author after publishing three novels and two non-fiction books.

Away from rugby and broadcasting, Butler campaigned for Welsh independence in recent years.

Cwrt Glan Y Gamlas resident Mary celebrates 100th birthday in style

* Mary Trenant with her niece Jennifer Cooil.  

* Mary, top row in centre with dark hair, as a Land Girl in World War Two.

* Birthday past: Mary aged one with her older sister.

Fellow residents of Cwrt Glan Y Gamlas in Llangollen helped Mary Ternent celebrate her 100th birthday this afternoon (Thursday) at a party arranged there in her honour.

Along with her relatives, they made sure she was toasted in style with plenty of champagne and birthday cake.

Mary was born in Bangor in September 1922, the second of her parents' four children.

During the Second World War she enlisted in the Women's Land Army, working on a farm in the Menai Bridge area Anglesey. It was there she met her future husband Harry.  

After the war the couple lived mainly in the north east of England at towns including Middlesbrough and Darlington. Harry eventually rose to become chief valuer for the region.

For a number of years the couple bred Welsh terriers and showed some of them at Crufts.

Because of the death of Elizabeth II last week Mary wasn't able to get the traditional message from the Queen. However, she still hopes to receive a few words of congratulation on achieving her century from the new King Charles III.      

* The residents' lounge at Cwrt Glan Y Gamlas decked out ready for Mary's party. This picture and the one below by Sylvia Rawlings.

* The 100th birthday cake ready to be cut.

County council announces arrangements for Queen's funeral bank holiday

* The kiosk at Riverside Park will be closed for the Queen's funeral bank holiday on Monday.  

Denbighshire County Council will be observing the national Bank Holiday arrangements being put in place on Monday, September 19 – the day of the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – as a mark of respect.

This means that the majority of council services will be closed on the Monday, re-opening as normal on Tuesday, September 20.

Buildings: All public buildings, including schools, libraries, one stop shops and recycling centres will be closed, as well as facilities operated by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd.

Countryside Service: Loggerheads and Moel Famau Country Parks will be open as normal. The Countryside Centre at Loggerheads and the Shepherds Hut at Moel Famau, however, will be closed. The grounds of Plas Newydd, Llangollen will be open but the House and Tea Rooms will be closed. The kiosk in Riverside Park in Llangollen will also be closed.

Waste and refuse collection: Collections from households on Monday will start earlier than usual at around 5.30am. Residents are asked to make sure that refuse is presented on Sunday evening, ready for the early morning start on Monday. The Council will collect as many bins as possible but will stop work before the funeral begins, as a mark of respect.

Any outstanding bins not collected will be picked up over the following days, therefore residents are asked to leave their containers out in a safe place until they have been emptied.

Collections due on Tuesday, September 20 through until Friday, September 23 remain unchanged.

Highway works: All highway works (apart from any emergency works) will be suspended on Monday.

Public transport: Buses will operate a Sunday/Bank Holiday Service. Timetables can be found on the website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel

Care services: Essential care services will continue to be provided by the council and its partners.

Customer Services: The council’s main telephone line: 01824 706000 will be closed on the Bank Holiday.

In the event of emergencies or urgent calls only, people should call 0345 053 3116; for Adults Social Services call 0300 456 1000 or for Children’s Social Services, please call 01824 712200.

People will still be able to access information on this website.

The council says it would like to thank people in advance for their co-operation and understanding over the Bank Holiday closures.

'Report fly-tippers' plea from council after Butlers Hill dumping

* The divan base and the armchair that were left on Butlers Hill.

*The mattress which was left further down the hill.

Denbighshire County Council is asking the public to report any fly-tipping of waste they see.

The plea follows llanblogger reporting to council chiefs how three large items of furniture were found dumped in two places along Butler's Hill, the narrow tree-lined pathway leading from the A5 to Plas Newydd yesterday (Wednesday) morning.

Higher up the hill were an armchair with a divan base resting on top of it and, lower down, a mattress had been propped up against the stone wall.

All the dumped items have since been removed.

A council spokesperson said: "Fly-tipping is a form of anti-social of behaviour and a criminal offence.  It’s a blight on the landscape and has a negative impact on the quality of life for residents. 

"The vast majority of people are law-abiding citizens who dispose of their waste responsibly through our council waste collections or by taking items to our recycling centres.

"There is no excuse for dumping rubbish anywhere and the council is asking anyone with information about any offenders to get in touch."

There have been suggestions that the lack of a permanent recycling facility to serve the Dee Valley area - forcing people's drive across the county to the nearest Denbighshire recycling centre in Ruthin - makes fly-tipping more likely.

There has also been surprise expressed by some users of the council's Saturday morning pop-up recycling facility at the Pavilion car park that they are still having to book a spot in advance of their visit, a measure originally put in place during the pandemic.

To this the spokesperson responded: "We have adopted a permanent booking system at all of our recycling centres because we found that it makes them more efficient to operate and more convenient for the public because it reduces queuing at peak times.”

Health board explains its services on Queen's funeral bank holiday

The Betsi Cadwaladr health board, which serves Llangollen, says anyone with an appointment or procedure booked with any of its services on the bank holiday declared to mark the Queen's funeral next Monday should assume it is going ahead as planned unless told otherwise. 

As part of the period of official mourning, Monday September 19 will be a national holiday to allow people to observe the state funeral of Elizabeth II who died last week.

The health board said in a statement: "Our services will be running in line with normal Bank Holiday arrangements. We are working hard to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum. Anyone who has an appointment/ procedure within any of our services that day should assume it is going ahead as planned unless told otherwise.

"There is no need to call us as we will contact any patient whose appointment/ procedure needs to be re-arranged.

"If you have an appointment/ procedure for Monday which you no longer wish to attend, please let us know at the earliest opportunity using the contact details on your appointment letter, or by cancelling your appointment online. 

"Urgent and Emergency services and our Urgent Primary Care Centres will run as normal. GP Out of Hours services will also continue to be available."

The statement adds: "Some GP practices will be open on Monday, September 19 and a list of these will be available here as soon as possible. 

"If GP practices close on the bank holiday, they are responsible for rescheduling pre-booked appointments as necessary and supporting patients to receive prescriptions, especially repeat medicines, in advance of the bank holiday. For patients of GP practices that will close, the usual out of hours service will be provided over the bank holiday as normal.

"We would advise people to contact dental, optometry and community pharmacy providers to confirm available services on the bank holiday. There will be no change to emergency dental services. Contact information for minor injury units, dental, optometrists, pharmacies, mental health services, GP Services, NHS 111, sexual health clinics.

"Across North Wales will be open for pre-scheduled appointments. Currently our vaccination booking team is contacting members of the public to offer an alternative date for those booked in on Monday, if preferred. Scheduled care home visits will be maintained and delivered as planned."

Information on the COVID-19 Vaccinations Programme.

New Rotary Club has successful launch evening

* An illuminated tractor run, on December 4, in association with Llangollen and District Young Farmers Association, is an early project by the new Rotary Club.

Founders of the new Rotary Club serving this area are aiming to create an organisation whose members “make a difference” within their local community and abroad – while still having fun.

That was the message the people running the new Vale of Llangollen Rotary had for potential new members during a launch meeting held at Liberty Tavern in Market Street – its new base - yesterday (Monday) evening.

About 10 possible recruits heard from club president John Clifford that it was about bringing like-minded people together to see how they can collectively help the community, whether directly or by supporting others.

Secretary Mike Lade gave a potted history of the movement which he said was started in Chicago in 1905 by a group of businessmen who would “rotate” their meetings around one another’s offices – hence the name Rotary.   

The international organisation now spanned around 200 countries and numbered 1.4 million members. In Great Britain and Ireland there are 1,800 clubs.

Llangollen’s original club folded earlier this year when its numbers began to dwindle after 60 years in existence, although it was explained there was a hope its successor club would be able to attract the 20 members necessary to inherit its all-important Rotary charter.  

There was much emphasis during the meeting on the way Rotary had been changing to become more modern in outlook.

Mr Lade said the new Llangollen club – covering the whole of the vale area – would have “no funny handshakes and “no gongs”, adding “You don’t have to wear a jacket and a tie and don’t have to attend regular meetings”.

Although the club, he said, would meet every Monday at Liberty Tavern, attendance was not essential. However, he did point out the importance of members turning up for the monthly business meeting – on the third Monday – to receive updates on what the club was planning and to vote on proposals.

While there would be no sit-down meals, as many Rotary clubs still held, there would be the occasional guest speakers at these meetings.

The new club would be “dual gender” with membership open to “anyone over 18 of good character who want to be involved in their community”.

Mr Lade went on to outline the areas in which Rotary is involved, including the promotion of peace, the prevention of disease in Third World countries and the environment.

Locally, the new club was helping to run the Bra Bank scheme to raise money for the Third World by either reclaiming or re-making and re-using unwanted bras donated at collection points in the area.

Another idea from the new club was the creation of a business hub in which small and medium businesses would have a forum to aid their future development.

The club was also backing the Rotary concept of holding competitions to for young musicians, chefs, photographers, poets and sculptors.

“We want people to enjoy each other’s company in the name of friendship. We want to be a social group,” said Mr Lade.

“We want to work together as a team, either raising money for others or for specific projects. We want to make a difference but we also want to have fun.

“We’re part of a new breed of Rotarians, relaxed in style. But it is also important that the work of the old Llangollen club is carried on.”

The cost of club membership is £10 a month and a number of people at the meeting expressed an interest in joining.

* For more details, go to the club website at: valeofllangollenrotary.com or check out the Facebook page: @ValeofLlangollenRotary  

Council serves notice on 'unauthorised' campsite

Denbighshire County Council has served an enforcement notice on an unauthorised campsite between Llangollen and Trevor, according to the Denbighshire Free Press.

The story says that the council has issued an update on the case which it says it has 'received a high volume of queries' about.

The site has been purchased by a family who are now residents there. The council says that, 'to its knowledge', this family is not from the Gypsy/Traveller community.

* For the full story, see: https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/21313999.llangollen-council-issued-update-unauthorised-campsite/