Quilting group takes first prize at Midlands show

* Ladies of the Block Club with their winning quilt.

A group of quilters from Llangollen have sewn themselves a place in the honours after landing a top prize at a competition in the Midlands. 

As part of her small business, Bright Quilting, Carie Mason runs a number of classes for all levels of patchwork and quilters.

She instructs everyone from beginners to the more experienced looking to try something new.

Carie's group entered into the Group Quilt category at the Quilt and Stitch Village Show at Uttoxeter Racecourse one weekend recently and were delighted to take first place.

* Their first place rosette.

Carie said: "I have completed several beginners courses and the ladies were keen to learn more. 

"I started the Block Club initially for these ladies but one or two of those with experience joined too. 

"The group has eight ladies and to show them how they can make a large quilt we start a project with the aim of entering it into a quilt show.  Many months and many blocks later we created our quilt. 

"It is made of scraps of fabric which are acquired from everyone's sewing, making what we call a Scrappy Quilt. The quilt is called Sunshine Over The Scrap Box as it was quilted with a sunshine pattern.

"We entered the competition and to our surprise and happiness we came first and received a rosette and silver plate. It was a fantastic day and it was great fun to be part of."

Kia's new Niro ticks all the boxes

Kia Niro drive by Steve Rogers

Here’s a Kia that can’t stop winning awards.

This has been quite a year for the new Niro chalking up UK Car of the Year best crossover, and Women’s World Car of the Year among a string of gongs.

Niro laid the foundations for Kia’s electric programme in 2016 as the first hybrid model.  From its humble beginnings it is now the second best selling model, offered as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all electric, in fact more than 40 per cent of the company’s sales have electric power.

So what makes Niro so appealing? It is not a car to take to a track day, or attempt to go off-roading, but when it comes to performing its duties as a medium sized family SUV it ticks all the boxes.

New Niro really is new, sitting on a new platform, a restyled body that is bang on trend, and an eye catching digital dashboard, taking styling cues from Sportage and EV6 which were the first to receive a radical change in Kia’s design direction.

Let’s get straight into the cabin because that is where we can see some of the key changes. Niro has grown in every direction bringing it more into line with its rivals so there is more space for passengers and luggage which has grown by 15 litres.

There is ample room for four adults, five with a bit of a squeeze for the one in the middle, and backseat headroom is fine. This is, after all, a high sided SUV and Kia has avoided getting sucked into the current trend of a sloping coupe style roofline which can have taller folk brushing heads with the roof lining.

A neat addition are USB-C ports in the front seat back rests making it easy for passengers to charge mobiles and the like. There is also wireless charging in the centre console on all but the entry level model.

The new dashboard layout has the wow factor and mirrors the wide screen design first seen in new Sportage although it looks even better with a gentle curve towards the central touchscreen. The graphics are pin sharp and the system takes no time to fathom because the most used functions, heating and radio, are separate with physical buttons. If you want to be pampered voice commands will do the job so the driver’s eyes are always on the road.

My HEV model uses a 1.6 litre petrol engine backed up by a 32kW electric motor that contributes 43bhp and charges on the move, but what about this for a clever new feature. A green zone mode can be configured so the car automatically switches to electric drive in built up areas, or roads near schools and hospitals, to reduce noise and exhaust emissions.

Neighbours would also be pleased if ‘silent running’ was employed.

Don’t expect too much in the way of performance. Acceleration off the line is no more than adequate and the engine note is a tad noisy if pushed to the top end of the rev range but given the Niro’s family role flooring the fast pedal is not likely to happen that often. Economy, with the help of the electric motor, is good so low to mid fifties should be a given.

Safety features high on the spec list and there is plenty of it including adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, and cross traffic avoidance which saved my bacon while reversing out of a side parking space in a Kia XCeed a few months ago. It brakes the car when an approaching vehicle is picked up in the radar sensors.

Niro is one of those annoying cars for people like me who have to look beyond the gushing promotional spiel because it is more or less faultless, and it has the bonus of a seven year warranty.

However I did find one area that is perhaps below par and that is a lot of hard plastic below the waistline and the boot side walls, but I am still giving Niro a nine out of 10.

Fast facts

Niro HEV 3 6sp automatic

£31,560 (starts £28,810)

1.6 litre; 139bhp

0-62mph 10.8secs; 100mph

61,4mpg combined

106g/km. 1st tax £185

Boot: 451-1445 litres

Towing capacity: 1300kg

Insurance group 21

 

Llangollen Library to host evening with best selling authors

Llangollen Library will play host to three bestselling authors tomorrow (Thursday).

They will be talking about their writing and latest books from 7pm onwards. 

Authors Norma Curtis, Trisha Ashley and Juliet Greenwood will each discuss their work, their latest novels, and what inspires them to write.

Norma Curtis was born and raised in North Wales and her new book, The Coronation Party, is set in Llangollen at the time of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. She is also a former chairman of the Romantic novelists Association. 

Juliet Greenwood is based in Snowdonia, North Wales and her first novel was nominated as a finalist for The People’s Book Prize. Her first two novels also reached #4 and #5 in the UK Kindle store.

Trisha Ashley is based in North Wales and her Sunday Times bestselling novels have sold over one million copies in the UK and have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan award for Romantic Comedy.  

* To book your place and for further information, call 01978 869600.

Talented Young 'Uns team get ready for the big charity show

* Young 'Uns stars get hard at work in rehearsals for Llangollen on Show for Turkey and Syria. 

Eleven of a junior stage group’s most talented young stars are busy in rehearsals for a glittering charity variety concert in Llangollen next week.

And polishing their comedy routines for the big show alongside  members of the Young ‘Uns - the junior section of Llangollen Operatic Society - are some of the top performers from the Llangollen Twenty Club who have enjoyed hit after hit with their own shows over the past few years.

Also honing their parts for Llangollen on Show for Turkey and Syria, which aims to raise money to support survivors of the earthquake that decimated parts of the two countries and which takes the stage at Llangollen Town Hall on Thursday and Friday May 11 and 12, are stars of the Collen Players who specialise in recreating the dazzling days of old time music hall.

Apart from being one of Llangollen’s biggest-ever fundraisers the concert will make history as the first time three of the town’s performing arts groups have joined forces.

Like all members of the formidable cast, the talented team from the Young ‘Uns, aged from nine to 18, have spent many weeks rehearsing hard for their contribution to the two-act show.

Alongside members of the senior Operatic Society they will belt out such rousing sing-along show numbers as Oom Pa Pa from Oliver and Flash Bang Wallop What a Picture from Half a Sixpence.

Pamela Williams, who has produced some of the Young ‘Uns’ biggest stage hits of recent years such as Little Shop of Horrors and The Addams Family, said: “Just like the rest of the cast, these 11 very talented young people have been working incredibly hard on their part in Llangollen on Show.

“The songs they and the Operatic members will be performing are among the most rousing and memorable ever to come out of big West End musicals and should have our audiences – which hopefully will be large ones – singing and toe-tapping along with them.

“I know all the young people were desperate to be involved in this show because it’s for such a fantastic cause. The earthquakes may have been some months ago but the survivors in both countries are still in desperate need of help and we hope as many people as possible will support us by coming along to one of the two shows.”

The Llangollen Twenty Club drama group will present a series of comedy sketches – some specially written for the occasion – inspired by their hilarious past hits and acted out by some of their favourite performers.

One of the sketches, entitled Three Queens and specially written for the show by Ian Wright, is a nod the coronation that will have taken place the previous weekend.

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. 

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.

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

* Tickets, 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. Tickets are going fast so organisers advise on booking promptly.  

Drakeford urged to improve North Wales public transport

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales (pictured), has urged the First Minister to do more to improve public transport in the region during the tourism season.

Speaking in Welsh Parliament, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said: “First Minister, I am sure you will recognise that, during the summer months, North Wales brings in a huge number of visitors, which certainly boost our communities through creating jobs and prosperity. 

“Indeed, your own figures show that North Wales tourism day visits are around 22.7 million every year. And one of the things we desperately need during that peak season is increased provision of public transport. 

“It is unacceptable that parts of North Wales, whilst welcoming those many visitors, are having to work with a skeleton public transport system. It is not fair on the people who live there, as well as the visitors who come to enjoy our part of the world.”

Mr Rowlands asked Mark Drakeford how he will ensure that there is appropriate public transport during the summer months in North Wales as more people are welcomed in the summer ahead. 

The First Minister said his Government would continue to invest in bus services across North Wales. 

Mr Rowlands added: “I still remain very concerned about the public transport system in North Wales as investment is also needed in trains as well as buses. The people of North Wales and our visitors deserve better.”

New interpretation panels for World Heritage site

* One of the interpretation boards placed around the World Heritage site. 

A series of new interpretation panels has been installed along the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Llangollen Canal World Heritage site, as part of a project to engage people with the rich heritage of the area. 

The Our Picturesque Landscape project, a partnership scheme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has been working with partners from the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB and Canal and Rivers Trust to develop the interpretation.

It explores the feats of engineering and design that got the site inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2009, and tells the story of some of the pioneering engineers, artists, tourists, entrepreneurs, and canal labouring navigators who have helped to shape the landscape over the centuries.

The interpretation panels, produced by VisitMôr, have been placed at eight key sites across the 11 miles of the World Heritage Site, including Gledrid Bridge, Chirk Aqueduct, Froncysyllte, Trevor Basin and Llangollen, and will help provide visitors with a sense of place, sharing stories of local significance. 

This is the first phase of new interpretation, with further panels to be replaced along the canal between Llangollen Wharf and the Horseshoe Falls this summer.

Hannah Marubbi, Our Picturesque Landscape Project Manager, said: “There are so many special places along the 11 miles of the World Heritage Site, from the Horseshoe Falls, Llangollen Wharf, Chirk and Gledrid as well as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct itself.  This project has been about telling the story of all these places and encouraging people to explore the whole site.”

Emrys Wynne, Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage, said: “There is a rich vein of history and culture in this wonderful area and I am pleased to see it recognised through this fantastic partnership work."

Town council's coronation gift to two primary schools

Llangollen Town Council has agreed to purchase each primary school child in the town a commemorative mug to mark the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

There will be an English version for Ysgol Bryn Collen and a Welsh one for Ysgol Y Gwernant, both bearing the council's logo on the reverse.

The Town Mayor will make the presentations to the pupils.