Llangollen 20 Club names its play for November

Llangollen 20 Club drama group has announced the play it will be presenting this November.

Members have chosen A Bunch of Amateurs, written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.

It's a modern-day comedy set in rural England where a struggling drama society seeks sponsorship and a has-been Hollywood actor arrives to take on the play's leading role 

The 20 Club's Chrissie Ashworth said: "Unfortunately, it's not all plain sailing and the eccentric, diverse characters of the amateurs all add to the complexity and humour of this lovely play.

"However, the 20 Club is anything but amateurish and we welcome new members both on stage and backstage for this production."

Open auditions are set to take place at 7.30pm on Tuesdays August 1 and 8 at the RAFA Club in Llangollen.

* Anyone interested should just turn up or contact the director on 07970 449843.

Simon Baynes MP to fight North Shropshire at general election

* Simon Baynes MP celebrates his new candidature with Conservatives in North Shropshire (from his Facebook page).

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes has been selected to fight the neighbouring seat of North Shropshire for the Conservatives at the next general election. 

Mr Baynes is hoping to move on as his present constituency, which he took from Labour’s Susan Elan Jones in 2019 with a majority of 1,239, will disappear under boundary changes before in time for the election. 

Over the weekend he was selected as candidate for North Shropshire, just across the border in England. 

The seat had been held for the Conservatives by Owen Paterson who left the House of Commons in November 2021 after being found by the standards authority to have broken rules on paid advocacy.

The episode threw Boris Johnson's government into turmoil, as the then-prime minister tried to overhaul the misconduct system to save his MP from suspension.

At the subsequent by-election North Shropshire was taken for the Liberal Democrats by Helen Morgan with a majority of 5,925, which indicated a swing of 34.2% away from the Conservatives.

Announcing his new candidature on his Facebook page, Mr Baynes said: “I am very honoured to have been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for North Shropshire given that, under the boundary changes, my Clwyd South constituency will cease to exist at the next general election.

“Having grown up on the Welsh borders at Lake Vyrnwy, been to school in Shrewsbury and through my work as the neighbouring MP, I know North Shropshire very well. 

“I will continue to represent Clwyd South as the MP and then look forward to being the Conservative candidate at the next general election for North Shropshire.”

Sale of popular field sparks concern on social media

* One of the agents' pictures of the field which is up for sale.

The proposed sale of a popular field close to the town has caused concern amongst local people on social media.

A post appeared last Saturday revealing that agents J.J Dell & Co of Oswestry were offering “a very rare opportunity to acquire approximately one acre or thereabouts of pasture land with road frontage situated in the town of Llangollen."

Comments about this on Facebook have identified the plot as what is known locally as Sara’s Field or Cae Hir.

The agents’ description says there is a public footpath running the full length of the land, which is being sold freehold with vacant possession through informal tender.

It goes on: “Use of land is restricted to pasture. Clawback – there is an expired Planning Permission to develop for housing. If development shall become possible within the next 20 years the purchaser will be obliged to pay a quarter of the increase in value to the seller.”

Another Facebook post giving background on the field quotes an article from the Daily Post, originally published in 2005, which says: “An action group yesterday called for the public to come up with memories of a field to save it from developers' bulldozers.

“Cae Hir, a long narrow field which overlooks the town of Llangollen, was left for the use of local people by writer Sara Pugh Jones.

“Plans to build houses on it have been thrown out, but the Cae Hir Action Group fears there could be an appeal.

“John Fowles, a member of the action group, said: ‘Before Sarah Pugh Jones died, she tried to ensure that the field would be kept for pastoral purposes. She offered it to the National Trust and to the then Llangollen Council, but they were not prepared to take it on.

"’She then left it to three local men, with a covenant that it should not be built on. The field has, however, been sold and the new owner wants to build houses on it.’”

A number of those who commented on Saturday’s post were opposed to any development of the field.

One said: “No more houses please,” and another, “they might as well take all the beauty of our fantastic town,” while another asked, “could a village green application be put on it?”

There was also talk of an action group being set up to purchase the field to save it from any future development, with one suggestion of a Just Giving page being set up to finance this.

Roadworks alerts from one.network and council

Latest local roadworks alerts from one.network are:

Willow Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 26 July - 27 July   Roadworks, Delays possible   Traffic management: Traffic control (two-way signals)   Description: TM PURPOSES ONLY. POLE IN PRIVATE   Works location: WILLOW STREET OUTSIDE 5   Public facing description: one.network has automatically assigned a category of Unclassified works to this Works based on the information available. Please note: Works Descriptions are not published by Openreach.   Responsibility for works: Openreach   Current status: Advanced planning   Works reference: BC006MQONSAWN0KFWF3M348Y   Aber Adda, Llangollen, Denbighshire 26 July - 27 July   Roadworks, Delays unlikely   Traffic management: Some carriageway incursion   Description: MJ QUINN TO CARRY OUT THE FOLLOWING:: RENEW JOINT BOX FRAME AND COVER FOOTWAY   Works location: OPPOSITE ADJACENT BELLA VISTA ABER ADDA   Public facing description: one.network has automatically assigned a category of Unclassified works to this Works based on the information available. Please note: Works Descriptions are not published by Openreach.   Responsibility for works: Openreach   Current status: Advanced planning   Works reference: BC006MQONSAWN0POWF2T724G  * Local roadworks update from Denbighshire County Council is: A542 Abbey Road ABBEY ROAD until 30/09/2023 Ailwynebu/ Resurfacing DCC WORKS UNIT 10 mya/10 mph Convoy  PENGWERN COMMUNITY CENTRE CAR PARK LINK ROAD BETWEEN PENGWERN AND MAES PENGWERN 01/08/2023 03/08/2023 Gwaith Trydanol / Electrical Works O'CONNOR UTILITIES Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure  OPPOSITE BUILDING KNOWN AS GLAN YR AFON BROOK STREET 21/08/2023 25/08/2023 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure.

Judy to run half-marathon at 78 in memory of friend Sandra Woodhall

 

* Judy Smith, right, with her friend Sandra Woodhall at an event celebrating the success of the Llangollen Round Challenge last year.

A friend and fellow organiser of the hugely successful Llangollen Round Challenge is planning to run a half-marathon in memory of Sandra Woodhall who died last month.

At the age of 78, Judy Smith has registered to take part in this September’s Great North Run, tackling the 13-mile course to boost funds for Cancer Research UK, the charity for which the Llangollen Round has already raised many thousands of pounds since it began in 2012.   

The Challenge was set up by Sandra and Judy and other members of the Llangollen Ramblers group and is based roughly on the Alpine Walk Tour of Mont Blanc.

The amount it has raised for Cancer Research UK has climbed steadily from £33,000 to over £120,000 the last time it was run in 2022.

Judy said: “On September 10th I shall be running the Great North Run half-marathon, raising funds for Cancer Research UK in memory of Sandra Woodhall, who sadly died in June. 

“So many local people knew her, both as a most diligent local vet, and as a great friend. 

“She herself was passionate about Cancer Research UK, being chairman of the local committee, and in her lifetime raising more than half a million pounds for that charity.”

She added: “I’m not exactly a spring chicken – OK, I’m 78 - so that 13-mile run won’t be easy, but I wanted to do this as a tribute to her. 

“Several of the establishments around town have boxes where people can donate, including Dee Valley Vets, Pro-Adventure, Leisure Centre and the Ponderosa Cafe, or you can donate through my online Just Giving page at: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/judys-giving-page-109/

“Cancer Research UK will be very grateful for any donation you can make in Sandra’s memory.” 

* To contact Judy about her half-marathon challenge, call 01978 869364 or 07905 330788, or email: smithdinbren@gmail.com

Team looking for aspiring film-makers to help with short movie

The county council’s Working Denbighshire team are looking for aspiring film-makers in the area to help with creating a new short film which will celebrate the people they support and the work of the organisation. 

No previous experience is needed, and professional filming and editing equipment will be available to use during shooting thanks to arts and media charity, TAPE. 

Beginning on the July 25 five dedicated days are planned, which will be solely focused on both the creation of ideas, filming, and editing. The days will be divided up as follows: 

* July 25 – Decide what stories you want to tell and how the stories will look and sound. 

* August 8 and 9 – These are the production days, with filming on location and interview filming taking place. 

* August 15 and 16 – These days will be dedicated to editing and adding the finishing touches to the film. 

The film will later be used in Working Denbighshire’s promotional materials going forward. 

Steve Swindon, Founder and Creative Director at TAPE, said: “TAPE is excited to be involved in this project. We know how getting involved with something like this can be really positive for young people and lead on to other exciting opportunities in the film and creative industries."

Councillor Jason McLellan, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Economic Growth & Tackling Deprivation, said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for any aspiring filmmakers to come and share their ideas and get the chance to use both professional filming and editing equipment for free."

Working Denbighshire is part funded through the Welsh Government Communities for Work Plus Programme which supports those most disadvantaged in the labour market to overcome the barriers preventing them from gaining employment. 

Working Denbighshire has received £3,529,632 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

*To get involved in the film, contact workingdenbighshire@denbighshire.gov.uk or call 01745 331438.

Latest Citizens Advice column

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice is:

Q: I bought a pram for £400 online, but it never arrived. At checkout it said delivery would take 3-5 working days, but I never received any tracking information. I chased the seller and they said they’d speak to the delivery company, but now when I try to phone them my call goes straight to voicemail. I’ve had no response to emails either. The website I bought it through looked legitimate but now I’ve seen people posting on review sites about products that never arrived and some are saying this is a bogus seller. Have I been scammed and if so, what can I do? 

This sounds like a very frustrating situation, and unfortunately scammers are always finding more sophisticated ways to trick shoppers, including having very legitimate-looking websites. 

From your letter, there are signs it could be a scam. We’ve detailed information on our website about how to spot the signs of a scam that you might find useful to check. 

As you’ve already parted with your money, the first step is to contact your bank immediately to let them know you think you’ve been scammed. 

In terms of getting your money back, a lot depends on how you paid. We have full details on our website on the routes you can take. For example, if you paid by debit card, your card provider can ask the seller’s bank to refund the money. This is known as the ‘chargeback scheme’. If you paid by credit card and the item cost more than £100 but less than £30,000 you might be able to claim under the Consumer Credit Act. This is known as a ‘Section 75 claim’. Under £100 on credit card you can’t use Section 75, but you can use chargeback. 

It’s always a good idea to report a scam, even if you haven’t got your money back yet. You can do this by contacting Action Fraud. 

It’s also worth knowing your rights as a consumer in case the seller does get back in contact and turns out not to be a scammer. If something you ordered hasn’t arrived, it’s the seller’s responsibility to get the item to you. So if they say they don’t know where the pram is, you can ask for a redelivery or, depending on how long you’ve waited for a delivery, you may be able to get a refund from the seller. We have advice on our website about how to do this. 

It’s also worth knowing that if a trader, having taken your money, refuses to deliver an item, Trading Standards may be able to investigate them. 

For more advice on dealing with suspected scams or problems with traders, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline 0808 223 1133 or talk to an adviser online through the Citizens Advice website. Many people may need emotional support after falling victim to a scam, and we have advice on our website about how to get this too. 

Citizens Advice runs Scams Awareness campaigns aiming to: give people skills to identify scams; encourage people to share their experiences with scams; help people gain the confidence to report scams. The campaign is led by Citizens Advice in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP).