Shea joins line-up of all-star charity show

 

* Shea Ferron is amongst those appearing in the special charity show next month.

A young entertainer who became a local celebrity after appearing in a string of hit productions with a junior stage group is amongst the line-up of an all-star charity concert in Llangollen next month.

Shea Ferron, 20, has played leading roles in a host of musicals presented by the Young’ Uns, the junior section of Llangollen Operatic Society, including Half a Sixpence, Honk! the Musical, Bugsy Malone, Joseph, 9 to 5, Grease, Wizard of Oz and Little Shop of Horrors.

He has also been entertaining crowds with his solo performances since he was a tot, raising thousands of pounds for various charities.

And Shea, now away at college, became one of the first to sign up when three of Llangollen’s most popular amateur stage groups decided to join forces for the first time ever to present a glittering variety and music hall show in aid of the earthquake victims of Turkey and Syria.

Llangollen Operatic Society, Llangollen Twenty Club and The Collen Players are combining their considerable talents to stage Llangollen on Show for Turkey and Syria at Llangollen Town Hall over two nights on Thursday and Friday May 11 and 12.

All proceeds will go to support the Disaster Emergency Committee in which 15 of the UK’s top charities have come together to supply a lifeline to thousands of survivors of the earthquake which devastated southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria in February.

Organisers say it will also be the perfect way to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III which will have taken place the previous weekend. 

The Llangollen entertainers have spent months planning for the big show which will see each of the groups involved showcasing their skills to audiences of up 250 on each of the two performances.

The Operatic, an all-singing and dancing outfit, will perform numbers from the smash-hit shows Hamilton, Six, Oliver Les Miserables and Half a Sixpence,  while the Twenty Club drama group will present comedy sketches – some specially written for the occasion – based on their own hilarious past hits such as Blackadder and Absolutely Fabulous.

The Collen Players will provide a taste of the rip-roaring Victorian music hall shows for which they have rapidly become famous, with their founder, Lee Taylor, acting as chairman for the show which starts each night at 7.30pm. 

There will be a bar and prize raffle on both nights and a number of local businesses have pledged their financial support.

Shea Ferron is currently on BA (Hons) Performing Arts course at the ICTheatre College in Manchester and is also a member of the John’s Boys Choir which recently won the male voice choir category of the Derry International Choral Festival in Northern Ireland and was the 2019 Choir of the World winners at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Shea, who will be belting out the songs on this occasion for the Collen Players, said: “The reason I signed up for Llangollen on Show for Turkey and Syria is because it’s a great opportunity to do what I absolutely love and is raising money for a fantastic cause.

“It’s also very exciting that the three main performing arts societies within the town are performing together. It’s going to be one special night indeed.”

Tracey Kempster Jones, one of the show’s organisers, said: “Llangollen is famously bursting with entertainment talent and this show will be a historic occasion because never before have all three of Llangollen’s main stage groups come together to put on such a show.

“Almost as soon as all of us heard about the dreadful earthquake in Turkey and Syria we know we had to do something.

“We’ve had some really dedicated people working on the show, both on stage and behind the scenes, and we’re counting on our respective regular audiences and others to come along to support this fantastic cause and have a great night into the bargain.”

Tickets for the show, priced at £12 (no concessions) are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety or from Courtyard Books, Llangollen, and the Llangollen Oggie Shop in Caste Street or on the door on the night. Demand is expected to be such that organisers advise on booking early.  

Latest county council roadworks alerts

Latest roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council are:

O/S GARDD GERRIG TO THE TOWER TOWER ROAD 24/04/2023 19/05/2023 Gwaith Nwy / Gas Works WALES & WEST (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

BRYN MELYN RTW SUN BANK 17/04/2023 28/04/2023 Gwaith Ar Wal Gynnal/ Retaining Wall Works DCC BRIDGES AND STRUCTURE LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

APPROXIMATELY 130M FROM ABBEY FARM A542 HORSESHOE PASS ROAD TO ABBEY DINGLE NURSERY 19/04/2023 19/04/2023 Gwaith Trydanol / Electrical Works AMBERON

Three Eagles named in National Pub & Bar Awards

North Wales Chronicle is reporting that The Three Eagles in Llangollen is one of two hostelries in this region named Best in County in the 2023 National Pub & Bar Awards. 

They are part of a 94 recognised in the best in list and will be up for the regional and national Pub & Bar of the Year accolade at an awards ceremony in London on June 28.

* For the full story, see: https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/23448117.best-pubs-bars-wales-revealed-part-2023-awards/ 

Latest Citizens Advice column

Here is the latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice:

Q: I recently started a new job where my boss has told me I’ll have to work on bank holidays. This was never the case in my old job. Can my employer really make me work on a public holiday, and should I get paid extra if I do? 

A: Congratulations on the new job and wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the work. 

Unfortunately, when it comes to bank holidays, whether or not staff have to work is up to their employer, and you don’t have to be paid more if you do. The situation will vary from job to job and may depend on a number of factors such as whether your place of work is open on bank holidays, your hours of work and crucially, what your contract says. 

Take a look at your contract, if you have one, to find out what your personal situation is. Your contract might say you will always get bank holidays off but it might say you may sometimes be required to work them or will always be required to work. If your place of work is normally open on a bank holiday you’ll probably be asked to work at least some. But if your contract says you get bank holidays off you shouldn’t be asked to work. 

Your contract might say something like: “In addition to bank and public holidays, your annual entitlement to holidays is X days”. This means you get public holidays off in addition to your annual leave entitlement but it might not mean you’re entitled to take the specific days off. You may be required to work a bank holiday, in which case you should get another day off instead. 

Alternatively, it might say something like: “Your annual holiday entitlement (inclusive of bank and public holidays) is X days” - this means you have to take bank holidays off as part of your annual leave entitlement. Bank holidays will either be deducted from your annual leave allowance (so you’ll have to book all bank holidays as paid time off) or counted as additional holiday days. 

A common misunderstanding around bank holidays is that employers have to pay you extra for working them. This is not the case. Unless your contract says you’ll be paid extra you will just be paid your normal amount. If your contract says you are entitled to bank holidays but you’re asked to work, you should be able to take a different day off in lieu. Your employer has to follow what’s set out in your contract, if they don’t, you should raise this with them. 

If you don’t have a contract, the legal default position is that your employer can tell you when you can or can’t take time off. If you’d like to request a bank holiday off, use the normal method for requesting time off. 

If you find you need to resolve an issue with your employer, first ask for an informal chat, where you can raise your concerns. If this doesn’t get you anywhere, you may need to raise a formal grievance. If you need advice on this contact your local Citizens Advice.

Stretch of A5 closed after vehicle overturns

The Daily Post was reporting just before 2pm today (Tuesday) that A stretch of the A5 has been closed after a vehicle overturned, sparking major traffic jams on the A483. Traffic officers have warned motorists to expect delays.

The crash is affecting traffic between the A483 (Halton Roundabout, Halton) and B5070 Chirk Road (Gledrid Roundabout, Chirk). There is also congestion around Chirk as motorists seek alternative routes.

Skates slams Barclays over Llan branch closure news

* The Castle Street branch is earmarked for closure.

Member of the Senedd Ken Skates has slammed Barclays after the company confirmed that the only surviving bank branch in his constituency will close this summer. 

He has accused the banking giant of not being honest about its future and promised to raise the issue with the Welsh Government as a matter of urgency. 

The Clwyd South MS has previously criticised high street banks and the UK Government for ‘opening the floodgates’ for the raft of closures in Wales – with his constituency among the worst affected. 

And this week Mr Skates accused Barclays of not being honest about its intentions after it announced its Llangollen branch would shut on July 7. 

He said: “The news that yet another high street bank has turned its back on customers in our area is as unsurprising as it is disappointing. 

“Over the years Barclays has repeatedly refused to guarantee the long-term future of the Llangollen branch, so we knew this was coming at some point despite the company’s insistence there were no plans to close it and despite the best efforts of local people. 

“The timing of the announcement was telling, too - just before the Easter weekend when many people go away. People are right to be angry.” 

Mr Skates added: “The floodgates were opened when the UK Government scrapped an agreement with the banking sector which made it compulsory for the last branch in a community to stay open. It has proved to be disastrous for communities like ours, as the big banks wasted little time in cutting costs and shutting down valued local branches in order to maximise profits.” 

During his time as Economy Minister, Mr Skates launched plans for a Community Bank of Wales to bring branches back into local communities.  

This week he said: “It’s becoming clearer every day that people who want to bank in-branch just can’t rely on the high street chains. I will raise this matter urgently with the Welsh Government and urge them to do everything possible to accelerate the rollout of the community bank, which will be the first of its kind anywhere in the UK.” 

New look aims to get Audi SUV ahead of the game

Audi Q5 Sportback drive by Steve Rogers

The SUV has become the nation’s favourite choice of car but the boxy shape can be a bit of a turn off.

Some companies have decided to spice them up, trimming the roof line to give a sharp coupe look.

What do you think of this one? It’s an Audi Q5 Sportback which is a Q5 but with a roof that has had some pretty drastic surgery. Actually the Sportback has been given a new body which is a tiny bit longer and a tiny bit lower at the mid point than its sibling. Face on the cars look identical but there are a couple of subtle changes for Sportback, notably the grille design, which is a sort of mesh effect, along with redesigned air intakes.

The first thing that occurred to me, viewing the car side on, was a serious lack of headroom in the back given that swooping roofline. Not the case at all. I am about average height but still had 13cm of headroom, that’s five inches to us old ‘uns, so unless you need to carry the likes of six foot whatever Peter Crouch (he’s the lanky footballer) then there is no need to fret.

Boot space is compromised but not by much. Ten litres less than Q5 with the back seats up and 40 litres less with the seats down which is no more than a medium sized bag. You will have noticed the use of the word ‘less’ so are we going to be paying less for Sportback? Nope, less is going to cost more to the tune of £2,450. Sorry to burst your bubble.

That aside, Q5 Sportback is a seriously nice car. Let’s look at driving first. It’s an Audi with quattro drive so it is bound to handle well, and this car handles very well, one of the best in its class. Be careful because it gives the feeling of invincibility barely putting a tyre tread out of line in the tightest of quick corners and that is before switching to the sports setting.

This holds on to the revs under hard acceleration, weights up the steering and stiffens the dampers but not by a lot, and at any rate the car feels so secure in the standard setting it is hardly worth the bother.

Performance is brisk  thanks to the S tronic seven speed automatic gearbox where changes are super fast although Audi has missed a trick by going for a 12 volt hybrid electric motor rather than a 48 volt which is becoming the norm and provides more punch when accelerating in the mid range.

Running costs are likely to be heavy because drivers will be luck to get more than 30mpg and that is with a fairly light foot on the fast pedal.

Let’s get back to an area where Audi always excels. I have been saying for decades that no one in the premium class trims a car to Audi standard and I stand by that but the finishes are all very dark and although everything looks neat and orderly it is not as plush as the Genesis GV70 reviewed last month.

Nearly a decade ago Audi raised eyebrows with a radical dashboard layout. Instead of the traditional two clock binnacle the driver looks at a 12.3in high resolution LCD colour screen that can display a number of combinations and with Google Earth sat nav filling the whole screen.

It started a trend that others followed and is still a standout feature. The wide screen infotainment centre dominates the dashboard but it is a shame Audi has ditched the rotary controller although the touchscreen responds instantly and the definition is as good as it gets. At least the heating controls are arranged in a neat strip with good old fashioned switches.

So to the big question. Is it worth spending an extra two and a half grand for a sloping roof? You could put the money to a couple of worthwhile packages to spec up your Q5, or you could spend it on a holiday. I’d go for the holiday.

Fast facts

Q5 Sportback 45 Edition 1 TFSI quattro

£56,705 (starts £47,875)

2-litre; 250bhp

0-62mph 6.1secs; 149mph

32.5mpg combined

197g/km. 1st year tax £1,565

Boot: 510-1480 litres

Insurance group 40

Towing capacity 2,400kg