Latest local roadworks notified by Denbighshire County Council are:
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.
OPPOSITE CLOGWYN GERAINT LLANGOLLEN GERAINT until 19/10/2022 Gwaith BT/ BT Works PLATINUM (DCC) LLANGOLLEN
Cyffordd / Jct A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD SUN BANK 03/10/2022 07/10/2022 Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN'S (SCOTT POWELL) LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights.
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Llangollen’s showbiz vicar is due to make another national TV appearance tonight (Saturday).
Fresh from his guest spot on the BBC’s Song of Praise just a few weeks ago, Father Lee Taylor, priest-in-charge of St Collen’s, will this time pop up on a Channel 5 documentary about much-loved comedienne Hattie Jacques, starting at 8pm.
He is among family, friends, fans and co-stars who will chart the highs and lows of her career.
Father Lee is a leading light in the Victorian music hall revival and regularly chairs and appears in the variety shows staged at London’s famous Players’ Theatre, known as the home of British music hall.
In Llangollen he also founded the Collen Players which presents music hall shows at the Community Hall.
And, as he will recall on screen, it was there that Hattie Jacques, who went on to huge acclaim as a star of the Carry On films, had her start in show business more than 70 years ago.
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The theatre in Bloomsbury Way dates back to 1936 when it was co-founded by Leonard Sachs, the tongue-twisting, gavel-wielding compere of smash-hit TV series The Good Old Days in the sixties and seventies.
Since
then it has become the venue most associated with the music hall revival,
attracting legendary entertainers such as Hattie Jacques, Ian Carmichael, Clive
Dunn, Daphne Anderson, Maggie Smith, Marion Grimaldi, Margaret Burton and Sir
Peter Ustinov who in 1996 became its honorary president.
Father Lee said: “The Player's Theatre was the launch pad for Hattie Jacques's career. It is where she made her first stage debut, developed her persona, formed many acting partnerships, met her lover Major Charles Kearney and her future husband John Le Mesurier.
“During the Second World War nearly all London theatre closed but not The Players! The Players moved from its Covent Garden location to the basement premises at No. 30 Albermarle Street.
“It
is here where Hattie's brother, Robin, was working as a lift operator and
cloakroom attendant. He introduced Hattie to The Players while she was working
as a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse. Hattie fell in love with The Players and
would regularly attend the 'Late Joys' as well as help out backstage.
“It
was in the summer of 1944, at the age of 22, that Hattie had her first audition
with Leonard Sachs. She sang Call Round Any
Old Time , a song originally sung by music hall performer Victoria Monks,
and A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good,
a song popularised by Marie Lloyd.
“She
sang in the style of Marie Lloyd which impressed Sachs as he was on the lookout
for just the right person to perform in the style of Lloyd. He hired her on the
spot. That was a Thursday afternoon. The following Monday night Hattie was on
the bill at The Players' Theatre.
“Hattie
was a hit with the audience. They loved her warmth, energy, comic timing and
her teasing glances. Hattie would also interact with the MD - a six-piece band consisting of one pianist
and five absentees - adroitly making innuendo over the short musical interludes
in the score.
“The
audience would chant, 'We want Hattie!' and she soon became known as 'The Queen
of The Players' or 'Queen of The Joys'.
“Hattie performed in many pantomimes, plays and revues at The Players up until the 1960's. She appeared regularly as The Good Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty in The Wood. The Times reported that she was most definitely one of the 'funniest fairies' to be seen on the stage!”
* Above and below: Inner Wheel members at their latest meeting.
The meeting started with a minute silence in remembrance of the Queen.
The President, Enid Law, welcomed members and guests, Karen Davies, President of Inner Wheel GB and I, Melanie Nichols, Administrator of IW London Office, and speaker, a representative of the Welsh Air Ambulance.
The meeting was
held in St. Collen's Community Hall where members enjoyed a good buffet supper.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
