Llangollen Inner Wheel has announced that its popular Christmas Cheer event will be back this year after a break of two years due to Covid.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Organisers say thanks for Christmas Festival success
* The lights go on in Castle Street. Picture: Barrie Potter.
Organisers of last Saturday's Llangollen Christmas Festival have sprung into verse to say thanks to everyone who made it such a huge success.
Thousands of people packed the town centre throughout the day to see the popular event return after a three-year pandemic delay.
In a statement to llanblogger the organisers say: "We would like to thank all the people who donated their time, effort, skills, equipment, money and expertise to make the Llangollen Christmas Festival such a successful event."
And they've penned a poem, entitled The Night Before the Festival (With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore), to sum up their feelings. It goes:
‘Twas the night before the Festival and all through the town
Not a creature was stirring not even a sound.
But we leapt from our beds with a loud joyous cry
When we looked out the window to see it was dry.
The morning was busy, the feeling electric
As the stalls were put out and the gazebos erected.
As the town clock struck one, the buses delayed,
When over the bridge came the Christmas parade.
Ahead went the Fire Engine in case on the night
Sîon got stuck in the chimney and his beard was alight.
Seated in luxury with his chain gold and shiny
The mayor looked magnificent in all of his finery.
Behind the Town Cryer was Llan’s Silver Band
It surely must be the best band in the land.
Then following behind was a wondrous array
Of faeries, a TukTuk, a bike and a sleigh.
No Donner, no Blitzen, no reindeer at all
Just kids on their scooters who were having a ball.
At last came Sîon Corn drawn along in his sleigh
His sack full of gifts to distribute that day.
The procession was over, the choirs in the tent
Kept the crowds entertained throughout the event.
As the afternoon darkened, in the street the folk came
They listened to speeches in spite of the rain.
The countdown began and Bob Lube pressed the switch,
The lights flooded the streets with nary a hitch.
Then over the Castle was a sight to behold,
The fireworks exploded in silver and gold.
The excitement was over, the crowd drifted away
And everyone went home at the end of the day.
But I heard Sîon Corn shout as he went out of sight
Happy Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.
Mean E-machine with colossal performance
Genesis electric drive by Steve Rogers
I am getting vibes that driving electric cars is going
to make life very boring.
A couple of friends, neither of whom have driven an
EV, predicted we would be moving like snails frightened of running out of power
before finding a charging point. And then there was the ‘you can’t beat the
thrill of a red hot hatch’ jibe.
My reply was ‘that’s the past’ and then said I have
been driving a electric hatchbacks with acceleration to sixty only a second
behind a Ferrari or McLaren supercar. The pace of these cars really is
electrifying.
Like it or not we have to prepare ourselves for E Day
in 2030 by which time the majority will already be driving EVs or hybrids. Car
companies are going hell for leather building electric models for all tastes,
and from the ordinary to the outrageous.
For the outrageous cast an eye over Genesis. For those
not familiar with the brand, Genesis is the luxury arm of Hyundai and launched
here early last year with a range of saloons and SUVs targeting premium players
like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Lexus, and not forgetting the rising star
that is Volvo.
This year has been all about electric power for the
G80 saloon and GV60, and this week saw the launch of the GV70 electric SUV
which is predicted to be the best seller.
Realistically we are talking hundreds because the
brand is still making its mark and cars are generally built to order in Korea
with a waiting time is around five months.
The all wheel drive GV70 has an electric motor on each
axle, together pumping out nearly 500bhp and an equally colossal 700Nm or
torque. To cope with the power the chassis has been stiffened by 24 per cent
over the petrol model.
Honestly, the performance is manic and if you are not
satisfied with hitting 62mph in 4.8 seconds a boost button provides 10 seconds
of increased power bringing the time down to 4.2 seconds. Going from 50-75mph
using boost takes a frantic 2.5 seconds.
Drive like that all the time and it is unlikely you
will get anywhere near the 283 mile electric range but you will have the
satisfaction of sitting in one of the fastest electric cars in its class.
With a price tag of £78,090 you sit in the lap of
luxury, pampered with top class materials but many buyers choose add-ons which
can amount to another £11k.
GV70 can take a 350kWh charge which can top up the
batteries to 80 per cent in 18 minutes. A similar range from a 50kWh post takes
73 minutes.
Although this was the big news of the day I couldn’t
wait to get my hands on the electric GV60 Sport+, smaller and lighter but with
the same power output and even quicker at FOUR seconds with the help of the
boost button which is perfectly placed on the steering wheel as is the drive
mode switch on the opposite side. The body styling is stunning and it is ditto
inside with a futuristic layout.
An innovative feature are interior side cameras
instead of door mirrors. They are a £1,240 extra but drivers need to experience
them first because they take a bit of getting used to and can be a distraction
with everything swishing by in the eyeline as well as offering no real
perspective. I would give them a miss.
You pay a top price for top technology and premium
features so £65,405 was no real surprise but I would be tempted to fork out
£740 for the stunning lime green paint finish.
Even though Genesis is part of the Hyundai group there
are no showrooms. Customers are given a virtual tour of the models at city
centre studios before buying online with the help of a personal assistant who
looks after the customer in a cradle to grave operation. After that it is five
year warranty, servicing, courtesy car, road side assistance and map updates.
At the start studios were set up just in the south
east, bosses believing this would be the only sales territory because of the
high price of the cars, but they got a reality check with half the sales being
scooped up throughout the rest of the country.
E-Day officially is 2030 but Genesis is not hanging around and want all their cars running on electric power by 2025. That is a strong message to the competition.
Monday, November 28, 2022
Elvis joins another brilliant Abbey Road Christmas creation
* Elvis, complete with giant sideburns, jumpsuit and mic, joins the Three Kings.
* The shepherds, surrounded by sheep, rinse out their socks ready for Christmas and hang them to dry on the fence.
* An angel looks down on the tableau from above.
* Some handy signs around Elvis.
The crafty Christmas constructors of Tan Y Ddol have been busy again producing what must be their most adventurous seasonal tableau to date.
Over the past few years they've set the festivities off in style with a series of ingenious creations outside their court off Abbey Road.
They've just put the finishing touches to their latest masterpiece - a three-part nativity scene featuring the Three Kings - including Elvis, the King of Rock 'n' Roll - and a group of shepherds washing their socks by night in a corruption of the famous hymn lyrics.
And presiding over the whole seasonal scene from a perch atop a brick pillar is a magnificent angel.
A close-up look shows a couple of clever signs on the Three Kings scene, one held by Elvis declaring there's "No Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" and another, on the wall, pointing the way to Bethlehem.
Llangollen trio shine in fundraising dance competition
* Vicky from Tyn Dwr Hall and her partner Mario in their winning quickstep routine.
* Father Lee dances the tango with Julie.
* Norah with her partner Alex do the foxtrot.
Three fleet-footed competitors from Llangollen waltzed to
stardom in a glitzy dance competition to raise funds for a hospice on Saturday
night.
One of them, Vicky Jones from the team at the Tyn Dwr
Hall wedding venue, took the coveted glitterball trophy in the Strictly
Nightingales contest at Liverpool’s swanky Titanic Hotel on a night which saw
over £36,000 raised for Nightingale House.
Two others – Llangollen’s showbiz vicar Father Lee Taylor from St Collen's and Norah Pye from the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club – were amongst the best
scorers on the night, which attracted hundreds of hospice supporters.
The terrific trio were dancing against five other pairs, each
comprising an amateur contestant plus a professional partner, from businesses
and other organisations in the area served by Nightingale House.
All had trained for months to polish their dancing
styles.
Vicky Jones, the eventual winner with both judges and
audience members who also had the chance to vote, danced an extremely proficient
quickstep with pro Mario Zwolinski.
One of the judges, James Wilson, described her
performance as “absolutely fantastic”, adding: “You are a naturally gifted
dancer.”
Father Lee is no stranger to the limelight as a key member of
the British Music Hall Society and also founder and on-stage
chairman of Llangollen's Collen Players which stages regular old time music
hall and variety shows at the town's Community Hall – the next one this coming
Friday evening.
He
teamed up with Llangollen-based professional dancer Julie Thomas, who also partnered
another dancer on the night, to display a dramatic Argentine tango which
put them halfway up the leader-board.
Head
judge Chloe Hewitt praised the routine and said it left her wanting to see
more.
Also in the honours was Norah Pye, the local golf club’s lady captain. Dancing the foxtrot with professional Alex Whyatt, she won praise from head judge Chloe for her elegance of style and the 99 per cent efficiency of her footwork around the floor.
Sunday, November 27, 2022
County has warm welcome ready for residents
Denbighshire County Council is supporting a Warm Welcome for residents this winter.
Across the county - including Llangollen - warm hubs are being set up as safe places for people to go to keep warm within their local community.
The 2025 Movement has brought partners together from across North Wales through the Croeso Cynnes/Warm Welcome initiative to deliver this project.
Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC)
is distributing Welsh Government funding to charities
and community groups in Denbighshire to help coordinate
and deliver the activities in support of this project.
The venues are intended as locations in the local community where people can find a safe, warm and welcoming environment during the day.
There will be a variety of offers, depending on the needs of visitors, from a simple offer of refreshments and somewhere to relax, through to hot meals, advice and information on energy saving and keeping warm; digital inclusion offers and social activities.
A Warm Welcome webpage which people can access here has been set up to signpost Denbighshire residents to
their nearest warm welcome venues.
Cllr
Jason McLellan, Leader and Lead Member for Economic Growth and Tackling
Deprivation said: “As we face the pressures of the current cost of living
impact and increased energy costs, this is an important initiative that will
help those who are struggling to have the ability to keep warm and safe during
the winter months.”
“As
partners in 2025 we all feel very strongly about supporting people through the
cost-of-living crisis – Croeso Cynnes is about using the resources that we have
in our buildings and community centres and opening up spaces that are safe,
warm and welcoming to residents.”
“I
would encourage anyone in the county who is facing pressures from rising costs
to check out the available hubs near them in their community. As well as
keeping warm, they will provide valuable welfare support and the chance to
socialise with other people in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.”
Denbighshire
Voluntary Services Chief Officer, Tom Barham, said: “It is a very difficult
climate out there for many residents due to the Cost of Living crisis.
Charities and community groups as well as libraries, churches and others are
really working hard to support those in need over the winter months and this
initiative we are helping to coordinate will make a difference for those
struggling to heat their homes.
“The
locations and information regarding the warm hubs can be found simply by
clicking on the web link and if you are facing hardship, please don’t hesitate
to take a look at where you could go for the day to keep warm and safe.”
* To find out the location of the warm hubs and what they offer please visit the Warm Welcome webpage at - https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/warm-welcome
Llangollen Warm Welcome Hub
The local Warm Welcome Centre is at: Llangollen Library and One Stop Shop / Llyfrgell a Siop Un Alwad Llangollen
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