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According to a story in the Denbighshire Free Press, residents in Denbighshire deserve better than the former board of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, says the leader of Denbighshire Council.
For the full story, see: ‘Residents in Denbighshire deserve better’ from Betsi Cadwaladr | Denbighshire Free Press
* The Rotary Club's bra bin at Llangollen Health centre.
Vale of Llangollen Rotary has been collecting sacks full of unwanted bras from the Against Breast Cancer Bra Banks in Llangollen and Chirk.
Their aim is to keep the expensive textiles out of landfill for the recycle value of the textile of £700 per tonne for the charity.
The collection of unloved or ill-fitting bras is one of the Rotary Club's environmental and international projects.
The club has moved the Bra Banks from Stans Nisa Store and the Co-op in Llangollen and has just installed one at Llangollen Health Centre in Bishops Walk.
You will find the pink Against Breast Cancer Bra Bank bin near the doors where bras can be deposited.
The club says it doesn't matter what condition the bra is in - it is still wanted provided it is laundered.
This initiative also helps support the Against Breast Cancer charity in the UK and helps families in Africa.
The collected bras go to a recycling company in the UK to get sorted and baled to start a new life in African countries such as Togo, Ghana and Kenya.
Here the bales are bought by the African women to resell as small businesses for them to support their families by selling the bras in the marketplaces.
Many of the bras are resalable as they are. Some are taken apart by the African women and remade as cottage industries.
The ones that are not reusable in the sorting process in the UK are broken down and recycled as cotton waste and metal.
The recycling company are donating £700 to cancer research for every tonne of bras collected, that's only 9,000 bras!
The Vale of Llangollen Rotary says it is ready to welcome individuals and couples of 18+ from the local community who want to be people of action.
The club normally meets face-to-face at Liberty Tavern in Market Street, Llangollen on Monday evenings at 7.30pm. Alternatively, people can join the meeting from wherever they are via the club's Zoom account connection.
* For more information on the club, contact Mike Lade on 07803 038858, valeofllangollenrotary@gmail.com or see www.valeofllangollenrotary.com.
Latest local roadworks alerts from one.network are:
A539 Llangollen Road, Llangollen, Denbighshire
03 March - 05
March
Delays
likely - Diversion route
Name:
Diversion 1
Location: A539
Llangollen Road
Description:
Streetworks / License - Streetworks
Responsibility
for event: Denbighshire County Council
Current
status: Planned
Mill Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire
03 March - 05
March
Delays
likely - Diversion route
Name:
Diversion
Location: Mill
Street
Description:
Streetworks / License - Streetworks
Responsibility
for event: Denbighshire County Council
Current
status: Planned
* Baritone Emyr Lloyd Jones is presented with his prize for winning the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition by Mario Kreft MBE, proprietor of Pendine Park.
A global search has been launched to find a new international singing star.
The prestigious Pendine International Voice of the
Future competition will be one of the main highlights of the Llangollen
International Musical Eisteddfod which gets underway on Tuesday, July 4.
It will be the first full length festival since the
pandemic struck, with international competitors once again returning to the
picturesque town in the Dee Valley where Wales meets the world.
The aim of the Pendine International Voice of the
Future competition which started in 2013 is to advance the careers of the
world’s most gifted young singers.
Applications to take part are now being accepted
with a £3,000 cash prize for the winner as well as exciting career development
opportunities, while the runner up will receive a cheque for £1,000.
Last year's winner, baritone Emyr Lloyd Jones from
Bontnewydd near Caernarfon, Gwynedd put in a stirring performance to take the
title and was dubbed the new Bryn Terfel.
He was presented with the Pendine Trophy – a solid
silver salver - and the £3,000 prize by Mario Kreft MBE, proprietor of the
arts-loving care organisation, Pendine Park, who sponsor the competition.
Once again the prize this year will come from the
Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT) which supports cultural and community
initiatives across Wales.
The festival’s executive producer, Camilla King,
was excited by the changes being introduced to the competition for 2023.
She said: "Last year, we celebrated our 75th
anniversary, and for the first time staged the final of the Pendine
International Voice of the Future on our closing Saturday night, alongside the
prestigious Choir of the World competition, broadcast live on S4C, and it
proved to be a roof-raising climax to the Eisteddfod.
“Twenty competitors made it through to the live competition, with six in the
semi-finals and two artists competing for the winner’s title. This year, we’ve
added a third spot to the final stage.
“We’re also introducing an International
Accompanists prize, in recognition of outstanding achievement by a young
pianist. So many of our talented young singers form a creative partnership with
their accompanists who are of a similar age and we wish to recognise their
ability.”
She added aspiring young singers should be aged
between 20 and 32 on July 5, 2023 and prepare a contrasting programme of music
from oratorio, opera, lieder or song.
The International Accompanist competition carries a
prize of £1,000 and eligible accompanists will be aged 28 or under on July 5,
2023.
The competition winners also enjoy the opportunity
to perform at future Eisteddfod concerts and with other Welsh arts
organisations, and will receive a working session with one of the UK’s leading
opera companies.
Pendine Park proprietor Mario
Kreft MBE said: "My wife, Gill, and I are delighted to be sponsoring the
Pendine International Voice of the Future competition once again via PACT.
“The Pendine Trophy, which is
solid Edwardian silver bearing a Chester hallmark, was kindly donated by the
late Tony Kaye of Kaye’s Jewellers. It’s a stunning and beautiful trophy.
“Our
aim in supporting the competition is to provide a springboard for brilliant
young singers from around the world to achieve their dreams of establishing a
career on the global stage.
“The competition
chimes perfectly with our ethos at Pendine Park because the arts in general and
music in particular provide the golden thread running through everything we do
to enrich the lives of our residents and staff alike.
“Last year a star was
born when we were enthralled by the emerging talent of Emyr Lloyd Jones whose
bravura performance was rightly likened to that of a young Bryn Terfel.
“I am sure that this
year’s competition will also be a memorable musical treat.”
Looking forward to this year's Eisteddfod, which
runs until July 9, Camilla King said: "Audiences can expect six days of entertainment, with a new
improved Eisteddfod Maes, the annual Parade back, bigger and better than ever,
and some exciting changes for the closing Sunday, in the form of new
competitions.
“Music, dance,
culture, has the power to help us understand the world around us, and to lift
our spirits, bringing people together in the joy of performance. This is what
Llangollen was founded for, and what we strive to continue to do, 76 years
later.”
* Applications for the International Voice of the Year competition closes on March 24. Further details online at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk
|
Health Minister Eluned Morgan has announced that Betsi
Cadwaladr University Health Board will be put into special measures because
of serious concerns about performance, leadership and culture. |
|
The Chair, Vice Chair and independent members of the Board have agreed they will step aside. New independent members will be appointed
to the Board to lead the organisation as it continues to rebuild its services
following the pandemic. Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan said: “I have serious concerns around the performance of the health board and I have not seen the improvement in services I expect for the people of north Wales. I have therefore decided to take action to rectify this. “I have informed the Board that I
am putting the organisation back into Special Measures with immediate effect.
This significant decision is made in line with the escalation framework. It
reflects serious concerns about the performance of the organisation, about
its governance, and issues with leadership and culture that are holding back
progress. “I recognise that the health
board has had significant challenges for a number of years and has worked
hard to overcome these challenges. But now is the time for new leadership to
deliver the improvements that are needed.” A number of direct appointments to the Board have been made by
the Minister to ensure stability. The non-executive team will be led by Dyfed
Edwards as the new Chair of the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, a former leader
of Gwynedd Council and the deputy chair of the Welsh Revenue Authority. The new Chair will focus on renewing the leadership and
culture of the Health Board which will support its workforce to provide
safe and effective services for the people of north Wales. Dyfed will be supported by Gareth Williams, Karen Balmer and
Rhian Watcyn Jones as interim independent members of the Board. Further direct appointments will follow in the next few weeks.
A campaign to recruit new independent members to the Board who will take the
organisation forward beyond this initial period of stabilisation will
commence later this year. Key to developing and building a sustainable organisation will
be the appointment of the substantive chief executive. The recruitment
process for this post is about to start. The health board will also be supported by an intervention and
support team. Eluned Morgan added: “Every day thousands of people are receiving good care from the NHS in north Wales but there is a large degree of inconsistency in safety, performance and quality across the region, addressing this inconsistency will be the focus of the new board. Whilst special measures will apply to the organisation, I wish to reassure both patients and communities served by the Health Board, as well as the staff working for it, that day to day services and activities will continue, with an increased focus on quality and safety.” * Gill Harris, Interim Chief Executive of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, sent out this message to patents this afternoon: "Following the publication of the Audit Wales report on Board effectiveness last week and in light of the significant challenges we continue to face, the Health Minister has today announced that the Health Board will be escalated into Special Measures. "While this is extremely disappointing, I acknowledge that more needs to be done at a greater pace to regain the confidence of our staff and our communities. "The increased level of intervention and support that special measures provides will involve working more closely with Welsh Government and the development of an improvement plan with key milestones. "The arrangements will also involve the creation of a Health Board turnaround team during the coming weeks. Alongside this, our Chair Mark Polin, Vice Chair Lucy Reid and independent Board members have stepped down. The Health Minister will now appoint a new Chair and a number of new independent members to work alongside our Executive Team." |
The team which organises Llangollen's annual Christmas Festival would like to hear from anyone interested in helping out with this year's event.
According to their chair, Austin 'Chem' Cheminais, the 2022 festival was the best yet, thanks to the support they had from the community and generous donations from anonymous donors.
He said: "The hardworking team who put the event together have already had their first meeting of the year to start planning this year’s festival, which will take place on Saturday November 25.
"We hope to make it even bigger this year.
"If you would like to get involved in helping to organise the event or are able to support us financially please contact me by emailing chemshouts@gmail.com."
Representatives of the festival Group recently shared the proceeds of the Christmas Raffle that runs alongside the festival, which sold 3,000 tickets last year.
This enabled them to donate £1,000 to Wales Air Ambulance and £1,000 to Llangollen Food Share. The remaining £1,000 will help fund this year’s festival.
Chem added: "Our thanks go to all the local businesses in and around Llangollen who donated prizes for the raffle, which included a light aircraft flight from the Air Ambulance base at Welshpool Airport.
"Thanks also go the businesses and shops around Llangollen, the groups and individuals who joined the parade, our local schools, the groups that performed for us on the day and to Sunbelt Rentals who provided the traffic management without charge."
