Tributes paid to town's British Legion chairman

* Phil Stroud.

One of the key figures in the town's ex-service community has died after a short illness.

Phil Stroud, well known locally as chairman of the local branch of the Royal British Legion, passed away at his home last week.

Mr Stroud, who was originally from Manchester and served for a number of years in the army with the King's Regiment, leaves his wife of 23 years Marie, children and grandchildren.

In a tribute to him, Llangollen Town Council says: "The Town Council were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Phil Stroud after a sudden but short illness. 

"Originally from Manchester, he made Llangollen his home where he served as an active member of the town’s Royal British Legion for a number of years most recently in the role of chairman."

Commenting on the loss, the Town Mayor Cllr Paul Keddie said: “Phil was a well-known citizen of Llangollen and a stalwart of the Llangollen branch of the Royal British Legion. 

"He worked closely with the Town Council staff to ensure that the Annual Service of Remembrance ran smoothly and his presence on the day as the chair, supporting the clergy and laying the Legion's wreath will be missed.”

Gareth Thomas, the Town Clerk, commented: “I express my sincere condolences to Phil’s family; he was a gentleman and contributed a great deal of time and effort in supporting the Legion and especially the arrangements for Remembrance Sunday. 

"I will miss his dry wit and the support that he has offered me over the years. It is truly sad news.”

* The funeral of Phil Stroud will take place at St Collen’s Church on Tuesday May 23, at 2pm.

Emergency services called to incident at Chirk Aqueduct

Leader Live is reporting that emergency services have been called to Chirk Aqueduct this afternoon (Monday, May 8).

The Welsh Ambulance Service has confirmed they are responding to an incident and the air ambulance is also in attendance.

* For the full story, see: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/23508004.live-emergency-services-called-chirk-aqueduct/

Incident update....

Superintendent Jon Bowcott said "Officers from North Wales Police, along with colleagues from emergency services from both Wales and England this afternoon responded to a medical emergency in the vicinity of Chirk Aqueduct. The activity in the area has understandably created significant public interest and concern. Operations at the site have now wound down, and I would like to reassure people that there was never a threat to the wider public nor are there any ongoing issues of concern."

Talk on railway history planned for June

Llangollen Railway will be welcoming heritage specialist Fiona Gale (pictured) on the evening of Thursday June 1.

Until her retirement she was the county archaeologist in Denbighshire and has been a consultant and mentor to numerous community groups.

She has organised, led, or participated in, hundreds of events, guided tours, talks and lectures and in 2020 was was appointed an MBE for her services to heritage in Wales. 

On June 1 she will be presenting her illustrated talk on 'Denbigh, Ruthin & Corwen Railway in the Vale of Clwyd'. This will be held in the Henry Robertson Suite at Llangollen Station, with refreshments available.  

From the 1860s until the 1960s, the Vale of Clwyd was served by a railway which connected Corwen in the south to the North Wales coast line via Ruthin and Denbigh. 

Recently a project in Ruthin to refurbish a crane connected to the railway has worked as a catalyst for a wider project, collecting memories of the line, examining some of its features and researching a little of the history. The talk will explore some of this work. 

Tickets cost £5 each and are available to pre-book through Llangollen Railway's website: https://llangollen-railway.co.uk/denbigh-ruthin-corwen-railway-in-the-vale-of-clwyd-an-illustrated-talk-by-fiona-gale/. 

Due to the size of the venue, only 50 tickets are available and these are being offered on a first-come-first-served basis, so organisers advise people to book now to avoid disappointment. 

Roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council

Latest roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council are:

FROM NUMBER 57 TO NUMBER 77 PENGWERN 07/05/2023 07/05/2023 Parti Stryd / Street Party, Road Closure

A539 Ponsonby Arms MILL STREET 10/07/2023 11/07/2023 NMWTRA

A539 Castle St, Llangollen CASTLE STREET 15/05/2023 17/05/2023 15/05/23 Road Lining/stop go DCC WORKS UNIT

Market St, Llangollen MARKET STREET 15/05/2023 17/05/2023 Gwaith Llinellu / Lining Works DCC WORKS UNIT

Wrth / Nr DALMORE ABBEY ROAD 22/05/2023 24/05/2023 Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN (DCC)

Chapel St, Llangollen CHAPEL STREET 15/05/2023 17/05/2023 Gwaith Llinellu / Lining Works DCC WORKS UNIT

Wrth / Nr 3 ABBEY ROAD 10/05/2023 10/05/2023 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

A542 carriageway MAESMAWR ROAD 30/05/2023 02/06/2023 Cynnal y Lon Gerbydau/ Carrigeway Maintenance AARON MACDONALD (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Parade St, llangollen PARADE STREET 15/05/2023 17/05/2023 Gwaith Llinellu / Lining Works DCC WORKS UNIT

Bridge St, Llangollen BRIDGE STREET 16/05/2023 16/05/2023 Adferiad/ Reinstatement DCC WORKS UNIT Road Closure

Oak St, Llangollen OAK STREET 16/05/2023 16/05/2023 Adferiad/ Reinstatement DCC WORKS UNIT Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closurei

Council cash brings power to Riverside Park bandstand

Supplying power to the bandstand in Llangollen's Riverside Park has been completed thanks to cash support from the county council.

A number of projects have been undertaken across Denbighshire to enable communities to host more sustainable and cost-effective events in their areas.

Total value of the schemes supported is £128,000. Also in the programme were sound, lighting and storage improvements at Y Ganolfan, Llandrillo and an upgrade to the kitchen at Carrog Hall.

All projects have been supported by Denbighshire Council’s Community Development Team which has been on hand to offer guidance, facilitation and act as liaison with internal departments as required.  Further projects are expected to be completed by November 2023.

Councillor Rhys Thomas, Lead Member for Housing and Communities said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for community groups and event organisers to improve facilities across the county. Many of these locations are a crucial hub for community engagement and events and we’re pleased to see the funding has led to improved infrastructure in Denbighshire and we look forward to bringing the remaining projects in receipt of funding into fruition soon.”

* For support in developing a community project or idea, please get in touch with Denbighshire County Council’s Community Development Team via email: communitydevelopment@denbighshire.gov.uk

Llan artist's new exhibition to open at Dory Gallery

A new exhibition by Llangollen-based painter Edward Bell, who designed album covers for stars such as David Bowie and Elton John, opens at the town’s Dory Gallery later this month.

Edward Bell was born in 1950 and he studied at the Royal College of Art.

During the 1970s he was a freelance photographer and illustrator for Vogue, The Times and Penguin Books.

In the 1980s he was a portrait painter and album cover designer for David Bowie, Elton John, Hazel O’Connor and Kim Wilde and others.

During the 1990s he spent 10 years in Southern Ireland where he became a landscape painter and ceased producing commercial art.

In the 2000s he became an inner landscape painter, which means he doesn’t usually paint real places but the impression or idealisation of landscapes.

It's more of an abstract interpretation than realist rendering. In other words, it represents an artist’s own inner landscape.

Bell also lived in Paris and spent long periods in India, Florence and Venice. And for over a decade he has lived and worked in Llangollen, Wales.

His previous exhibitions have been in London and Shropshire.

The exhibition at The Dory Gallery in Regent Street, which runs from May 25 until August 20 and takes over from Jac Williams’s Honest Agriculture exhibition, features his new paintings are produced with oil paint on canvas or board. They explore ‘lies inspired by the photographic eye’.

He explained: “The images are chosen and stolen from Pandora’s Reticule, plucked, juxtaposed and coaxed to sing.”

Opening times for the exhibition are 10am - 4pm on Saturday and Sunday or by appointment.

The Dory Gallery, , which occupies the former National School for the Poor and was later the doctors’ surgery, officially opened in June 2021 and aims to be a creative and cultural space showcasing the best in contemporary art.

The gallery is run by Suzanne Mathieson and artist Tony Mallon.

Latest Citizens Advice column

Here's the latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice:

Q: I’ve just had my bathroom retiled, but I’m not happy with the work.  

At first, things seemed to be going well, but then the tradesperson left to do another job and I had to chase them for updates. They did eventually come back and finish the job, but the work was pretty rough around the edges. They also left all the old tiles and plaster for me to dispose of, which I wasn’t expecting. I’ve now got the invoice, but I don’t think the price reflects the work done or the service I got. Can I challenge this? 

A: It’s always frustrating when you run into problems with home improvements. 

You mention that the job looked “rough round the edges”, if this is to a degree you could consider the job unfinished or unsafe, you should be able to get the tiler to come back to fix it. You could also suggest removing the old tiles might be considered as part of finishing the job.  

If the tiler considers the work complete, it’s worth knowing you’re protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which says the tiler should have completed the work with ‘reasonable care and skill’. If they haven’t done this, they’ve broken the law. The Act means you’re legally entitled to ask the tiler to fix the problem (if they provided the tiles as well as the service) or get money refunded (if they just provided the service and you bought the tiles). They should fix the problem or refund you in a reasonable amount of time, without causing too much inconvenience. As you’ve received the invoice for the work but not paid yet, now would be a good time to ask them to fix the issue or you can negotiate a lower price for the work. 

Let the tiler know you understand what you’re entitled to. Speak to them in person, or contact them in writing/over email, there are template letters on the Citizens Advice website, either way make sure you have a written copy of anything agreed. Before you contact them, it’s a good idea to take photographs to use as evidence of the problem. Make notes about what happened, including dates and times. You should also gather any paperwork and receipts - was there any prior written agreement about who would dispose of the old tiles? Was the final cost was in line with estimates or quotes given to you at the outset of the work. If not, there is advice on the Citizens Advice website about steps you can take. 

If you’re struggling to come to an agreement with the tiler, there are other steps you can take to solve your problem  these include using ‘alternative dispute resolution’, which is a way of solving disagreements without going to court. There are full details about how to do this on the Citizens Advice website.