Local Senedd Member takes over as Plaid interim leader

* Llyr Gruffydd MS.

Llyr Gruffydd, who represents this area in the Senedd, will take over as interim leader of Plaid Cymru following the resignation of Adam Price, the BBC is reporting.

Mr Gruffydd says he will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest.

His appointment was agreed at a meeting of the party's Senedd members on Thursday morning.

It will need to be rubber-stamped by the party's National Council on Saturday.

Mr Price quit followed months of difficulties in Plaid including allegations of a sexual assault and a toxic working culture and a week after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.

In his resignation letter, he said he no longer had the "united support" of his colleagues.

Mr Price said he had wanted to resign in the wake of the report's findings, but was initially persuaded not to quit.

"You have my personal assurance that I will continue to serve my country, my constituents and our party with determination and enthusiasm," he said in a letter to party chairman Marc Jones.

MP says he was honoured to be Coronation guest

* Simon Baynes MP with Penny Mordaunt MP after the Coronation.

Clwyd Simon Baynes MP says he was honoured to represent his constituency at the Coronation of  King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey last Saturday, having been successful in the ballot for 25 MPs to attend.

Mr Baynes and other MPs were seated high up in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, so they did not have a direct view of the service, but television screens in the gallery enabled them to watch all the proceedings.

After the Coronation, Mr Baynes had the opportunity to speak with BBC presenter Huw Edwards who was providing commentary from a nearby location. 

He says he also had the pleasure of speaking with Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP after the service whom he, like many others, described as "magnificent" in her role as Lord President of the Council carrying the Sword of State.

Mr Baynes said: “I was deeply honoured to represent my constituency of Clwyd South at the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and Queen on Saturday. 

"The ceremony was a magnificent and moving event with beautiful music, much of it composed for the occasion, which conveyed poignantly the deeply spiritual nature of the Coronation as King Charles III pledged to serve and protect his people.

“It was wonderful to see people from all over the country coming together to celebrate this historic moment. I am grateful to everyone involved in making this day so special and enjoyable for us all whether in the Abbey or watching on television at home. It was an experience that I will cherish for years to come.”

Find your past with your Llangollen library

Libraries around Denbighshire are giving their members the opportunity to take a look into their past through Find My Past and Ancestry. 

Access to these services is free and allow people to investigate their family background and hear the stories of generations past. 

Both services are easy to use on one of the library’s computers, and only a library card and PIN are needed to get started. The 1921 Census data is also available through the Find my Past service. 

As well as personal history, each library in the county has a section dedicated to local history books, allowing a peek into the past of the local area. 

Libraries also host meetings by local history groups, book launches and talks. 

Councillor Emrys Wynne, Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture & Heritage said: “This service offered by our libraries is a brilliant way for people to find out more about their personal history and family tree. It is great that our libraries can offer these family history mapping software services to their members so that they can discover more about their personal history.

"Library members can also explore the history of their local area, with a wide selection of area specific books available at many of our libraries."

* For more information on the library service, please go to: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/leisure-and-tourism/libraries/libraries.aspx

Llangollen bids to be age and dementia friendly

* Llangollen Town Hall where the film will be screened on May 18.

A group of people are pursuing official Age and Dementia Friendly status for Llangollen. 

The scheme is currently administered by Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council and local bidders say they need to meet a number of criteria to gain recognition.  

They say: "We started the process before Covid but of course everything was put on hold but we have managed to set up a working group.  

"We are open to ideas from people living with dementia or carers and would be delighted to welcome anyone who wants to contribute.

"On Thursday May 18 we are screening the documentary film The World Upside Down in the council chamber in Llangollen Town Hall in Parade Street, starting at 1.30pm.  

"It is a new innovative film about dementia and communication.  Following the film there will be tea and coffee and an opportunity for discussion of the film’s main themes."

To book a place follow bit.ly/World_Turned_Upside_Down_LLANGOLLEN_1805 or email Becky at: engagement@dvsc.co.ouk or on 01824 702441.

* If you want to know more about Age and Dementia Llangollen or advice on support with dementia, Denbighshire Social Services are organising a drop-in coffee session in the Town Hall on Friday May 19, from10.30am to 1.30pm.

 

A mean machine with a feeble name!

Honda Civic drive by Steve Rogers

This is not going to go down well with everyone but I am putting it out there anyway.

It is time to give Civic a new name.

It might have suited the family hatchback of the nineties but look at it, this is a mean machine with a feeble name. Call it something that packs a punch.

There, I’ve said it, now let’s back to the usual stuff.

Hard to believe Civic is 51 years old and this is the 11th generation. Thinking about it a good time to switch names would have been 2006 when Honda shocked the motoring world with a bold new look, the Civic with the Knight Rider headlights and space age dashboard.

The design of the new model is bang on the money but the main emphasis has changed from racey looks to hybrid engine efficiency, high end technology and more safety aids.

The new infotainment system, complete with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, is easier to use with sharper graphics, while the Garmin navigation, a bit of a pain on the old model, is now clearer and more detailed.

The real tech fest centres around the driver’s binnacle, now fully digital with a ‘pick a display’ feature. I usually switch off the lane departure alert but left it on because of the new graphics.

They amount to a tiny car sitting between two lines denoting a lane. Move outside the lane and the lines turn from green to orange as a visual warning. But the best bit is a graphic showing a car or lorry overtaking. Little things obviously please my little mind...

Tweaks to Civic’s body styling are best seen from the side. The roofline has been lowered and has a longer coupe style curve to the tailgate which is a new resin construction saving weight.

All this suggests a cramped, dark cabin, particularly in the back, yet it is anything but with generous legroom and plenty of light thanks to more glass. The lower roof is said not to affect headroom but that depends on the height of the passengers. My son is just under six feet and his head was brushing the headlining.

The roomy cabin extends to the boot, only bettered by the Skoda Octavia, so all in all Civic is a good alternative to an SUV.

Up front is classy without being overcomplicated, the standout feature a slim honeycomb grille hiding the ventilation outlets with mini joy sticks to direct the air. The textures and finishes have a quality feel and the centre console and door cards are coated in a scratch and fingerprint resistant finish. Could do with some of that on my car.

Main functions, apart from chunky switches for heating, are stored in a central nine inch touchscreen.

Civic is now hybrid only with a 2-litre petrol engine supported by two electric motors providing short stints on electric only driving at low speeds and occasionally when cruising. This should be good for an average in the mid fifties although I managed an impressive 60mpg on a 340 mile round trip. The only car to better that in the last few months is Civic’s big rival, the Toyota Corolla.

Performance is pacey with the best mid range pick up of any car in its class. Select sport mode and you will get a fake computer generated exhaust rap which some would say is silly, but brought a smile to my face and made me use it again....and again.

Matching the performance is cracking handling, well this is a watered down version of the magnificent Civic Type R so we should expect little else. Steering is nicely weighted and precise, it keeps flat through bends and the suspension, overly hard on previous Civics, is now perfectly damped making for a comfortable yet sporty ride.

The only negative note is more road rumble than expected, but that could be down to the rubber on the 18 inch low profile wheels. Things are probably a touch quieter on the entry model’s 17 inch rims.

Is this the best Civic to date? Undoubtedly yes, not the cheapest hatchback in its class, but given the generous equipment level across the range, safety features and efficiency, it is worth the money.

As for the Civic name, remember that when Honda decides to change it they got the idea from Llanblogger!

Is that a pig flying over Castell Dinas Bran...

Fast Facts

Civic e-HEV Advance

£36,470 (starts £31,040)

2-litre petrol, 184bhp

0-62mph 8.1secs; 112mph

56.6mpg combined

114g/km. 1st tax £185

Boot: 404-1187 litres

Insurance group 28

 

Llangollen Ramblers tackle Wales Coast Path

Twenty-three members of Llangollen Ramblers have spent the last week on the Wales Coast Path. 

Here they're exploring a ruined mill at Trefin, near St David's. 

Over 500 miles have been covered now. Only 300 more and they'll be at the end in Chepstow.

BGT star Shea back in spotlight for Llan charity concert

* Shea Ferron in the John’s Boys line-up on Britain's Got Talent.

* John’s Boys Male Chorus on the show.

A young singer who was part of the choir which wowed judges on Britain's Got Talent is one of the stars of a glittering charity concert in Llangollen later this week. 

Twenty-year-old Shea Ferron was in the line-up of the Rhosllanerchrugog-based John's Boys choir which sang the soulful number Biblical on the TV talent show recently. 

The stunning performance brought tears to the eyes of new judge Bruno Tonioli and led old hand Simon Cowell to declare he had never seen a choir on the show produce 'that' moment before. 

Now Shea, who is currently on BA (Hons) Performing Arts course at the ICTheatre College in Manchester and is from Ruabon, is back in the spotlight for a solo performance in Llangollen on Show, a fundraising variety and music hall show in aid of survivors of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria earlier this year. 

To be staged over two nights at Llangollen Town Hall this Thursday and Friday, May 11 and 12, the show will make history as the first time all three of Llangollen’s most popular amateur stage groups have come together for a joint production.

Llangollen Operatic Society, Llangollen Twenty Club and The Collen Players

are combining their considerable talents for the show all proceeds from which will go to the Disaster Emergency Committee in which 15 of the UK’s top charities have come together to supply a lifeline to areas devastated by the earthquake. 

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 – one specially written for the occasion – inspired by their own hilarious past hits. 

The Collen Players – including Shea who will sing two numbers - 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. 

* 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 nights.