Timings given for Sunday's illuminated tractor run

Organisers have given more details about Llangollen's first-ever illuminated tractor run which roars away next Sunday.

The event is being jointly run by Llangollen Young Farmers and the new Vale of Llangollen Rotary Club as a charity fund-raiser for the community.

Tractors will muster at 3.30pm at Llangollen Pavilion and, after judging, will be waved off at 5pm by town mayor Councillor Paul Keddie and Rotary district governor Paul Dutton.

The route goes up Castle Street on to the A5 and then through Froncysylte, Chirk, St Martins, Overton, Ruabon, Trevor and back to Llangollen. 

Short stop-overs are planned in Chirk and Rhyn Park School car park in St Martins for local people to walk around the tractors and for children to get their photo taken with our Santa.

Organisers have just posted an approximate timetable on Facebook which goes:

* 3.30pm – Tractors arrive at Llangollen Pavilion decorated and ready for viewing and judging

* 4.50pm – Drivers' briefing

* 5.00pm – Tractors leave Pavilion grounds and set off on the Run. Santa will hopefully be in one of the lead tractors

* 5.30pm – (5 miles) Arrive and travel through Froncysyllte

* 5.50pm – (3.3 miles) Arrive and travel through Chirk

* 6.05pm – (1.3 miles) Pass Dobbies Garden Centre

* 6.15pm - (1.2 miles) Arrive and stop at St Martin’s School car park

* 6.30pm - Leave School car park

* 6.55pm – (5.6 miles) Arrive in and travel through Overton

* 7.20pm – (5.2 miles) Arrive in and travel through Ruabon

* 7.40pm – (2.6 miles) Arrive in and travel through Trevor

* 8.00pm – (4 miles) Arrive back at Llangollen Pavilion

These times are approximations based upon average speeds of some of the vehicles

The post adds: "We will also be aiming to have a tracker with Santa so you can follow him and know when he is getting close to you. The link will be published on her at 4.45pm. The link relies on a mobile signal. If we loose signal we will try any to remake the link and publish the new link here.

"Please let people know here when they are passing you and lets have your photos and make this a real community event."

Inner Wheel's Christmas Cheer event is back this year

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. 

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.

Christmas quiz will support children's charity

 

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.