Llangollen man helps pioneer £1.5m cancer 'pre-treatment' scheme

A Llangollen man is helping to pioneer a national £1.5m campaign to help Welsh cancer patients prepare for their treatment.

Former county councillor and town mayor Stuart Davies (pictured) has been appointed as a patient and public involvement representative for Cardiff University’s new I-Prehab prehabiltation scheme.

The university’s School of Healthcare Sciences, which is running the project, says prehabilitation helps people prepare for cancer treatment through helping them to eat well, be in the best possible physical condition and supporting mental health and emotional resilience.

This, it claims, can lead to fewer treatment complications and better recovery.

The funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research fund, will enable work to produce and evaluate a toolkit called I-Prehab.

This will support cancer workers to raise awareness and encourage participation in prehab services for cancer patients.

The researchers aim to work with patients, carers, cancer workers, and cancer service managers to develop the I-Prehab toolkit to overcome access barriers and provide tools to support adherence, particularly for those from socially deprived and ethnic minority communities.

Cardiff’s Professor Jane Hopkinson said: “Patients and the public will play a key role in this work. Patient and public contributors will be involved throughout the research including data analysis, design of methods, patient facing documents, impact plan and effective sharing of information.

“By working with our partner organisations, we aim to make I-Prehab available across Wales and the UK in the future.”  

Of his involvement in the project Stuart Davies said: “After being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer 14 years ago and being chucked in at the deep end of treatment with little preparation, I realise that a concerted effort to promote prehab, driven by a concerted study, can help people on their journey to get better.

“Better understanding of the data driven by better research can deliver better outcomes.”

He added: “My job is to make sure that we in North Wales make our voice heard so that our views are taken in to account.

“As a former Denbighshire county councillor I have contacted the council and their top team officers who have promised to engage with us on this.

“Members of the public who wish to have their views known can contact me on my email address skipperstu15@gmail.com”

Ramblers hit the heights of Offa's Dyke walk

A few of Llangollen Ramblers reached the summit of Penycloddiau on their last Offa's Dyke walk.  

The next walk, on August 31, includes Moel Famau.

And, according to organiser Judy Smith, there's still time to join in. 

She said: "We'll be pleased to see you."

* For more information, email Judy on smithdinbren@gmail.com.  

Solution in the bag for town's covered-up traffic lights

                * The bagged-up traffic lights at the A5/Castle Street junction.

Transport officials have explained what is to happen with Llangollen's now-famous "bagged" traffic lights at the junction of the A5 and Castle Street.

The signals have been covered by an orange sack on the Regent Street side since a programme of improvements was carried out by the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA) at the start of this year.

Drivers and pedestrians have complained about the confusion this has caused.

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards has been working on the case and has now received an update from NMWTRA.

She has been told: "As part of the review process that was initiated after the ‘bagging’ of the signal head, our designers have been reviewing the operation of the signals and tabling additional measures which the Welsh Government could consider in order to maintain safety at the junction and also assist with reducing congestion. 

"This process is now almost complete and a final set of design measures will hopefully be signed off in the coming weeks. 

"The main proposal within the design package will be the permanent removal of the signal head which is currently ‘bagged’. 

"In addition to this, a site trial of additional detection equipment will take place this week. It is hoped that this trial will determine whether above ground detection, as opposed to the conventional ‘loops’ which are located in the road surface, would benefit vehicular movements through the site. 

"Once our designers have the full results from the site trial, we will be in a position to be able to complete the design and procure an installation contractor to implement the proposed changes." 

Llangollen man and son in double triathlon challenge for dementia charity

* John Palmer, left, and son Nic are in training for their double triathlon challenge.

A Llangollen man and his son are planning to each do a triathlon in memory of the their wife and mother who died from the effects of dementia earlier this year.

John Palmer and his son Nic, who lives in Glyndyfrdwy, are looking for sponsors for their tough double challenge early next month.

In their joint gofundme page, which is already attracting steady support, Nic says: "Mum died earlier this year after succumbing to the long terms effects of dementia. 

"This despicable condition robbed her of her love for life and us of a wife, mum and nain.

"As a family, we have always enjoyed spending lots of time outdoors and finding adventures.

"Dad and I decided to take on a challenge in mum's memory and have signed up to each do a triathlon to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK in the hope that one day this awful condition can be eradicated."

Nic goes on: "On September 3rd, Dad will be doing a sprint triathlon at Ellesmere and I will be doing the Bala Standard Triathlon at Bala Lake on the same day.

"Thank you in advance for your contribution and we are training hard to do Mum proud."

Nic is going to be doing an Olympic triathlon which consists of a I.5 km swim followed by a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run.

John, in deference to his age, is taking on a speed triathlon which is a 7.5 km in Ellesmere lake followed by a 25 km bike ride and a 5 km run.

He said: "In march of this year my wife Lyn and Nic’s mother died from dementia.  

"While she died peacefully holding my hand she was first diagnosed in 2013.  

"More and more people and their families are living with dementia. We want to raise money for Alzheimers Research to help find a way of finding a cure for the disease.

"Training is going pretty well. Most of the swimming has been in a pool but more recently we have been swimming in Lyn Tegid, which came as a bit of a shock - wetsuits essential.  

"Cycling has given me a sore bum. How the Tour de France guys do it day after day amazes me.  

"I run quite regularly anyway so that is not so much of a problem but of course that remains to be seen on the day.  I'm sure the dog will be glad when it’s over."

Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. 

It funds world-class pioneering scientists to find preventions, treatments and a cure for dementia.

* To sponsor Nic and John, their gofundme page is at: https://gofund.me/99c861be

New Nissan X-Trail is big step forward

Nissan X-Trail drive by Steve Rogers

This is the new face of X-Trail. Not quite a wow moment but a big step forward on what has gone before.

Some would say it’s about time Nissan gave its largest SUV a bit of TLC. It was a trailblazer when it first appeared on our roads 22 years ago, a bruising 4x4 that was not afraid to get its tyres muddy on the most challenging of surfaces.

Then Nissan had a lightbulb moment and came up with a new style of car, a smaller SUV that drove like a family hatchback. Enter Qashqai and we all know what happened next.

The dust has settled on that chapter and Nissan’s focus is very much on the new electric age. Remember it got in early with the Leaf and is pushing hard with Ariya, the latest electric model.

And that is where this new X-Trail comes in. As well as picking up some styling cues from its very elegant sister, the big SUV shares a lot of electric technology but still has a petrol engine. By the way, there is no diesel option.

Topping the range is e-4ORCE. In case you don’t get it straightaway, that is Nissan’s novel name for electric four wheel drive. How does it work? There are two electric motors, one on each axle, powered by batteries which are charged by a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre engine.

Acceleration is swift, similar to an electric car, but because there is a powerful turbo charged engine emissions are still pretty high at 152g/km.

Regenerative braking is on hand with the e-pedal the most aggressive, bringing the car to a virtual stop. It slows to a creep but why the car cannot came to a dead stop, like a Volvo, is a missed opportunity.

Once you get the hang of it the car can be slowed sufficiently without using the brake pedal, harnessing power for the batteries and saving on brake wear, so a few tweaks will make this a fully beneficial system.

Apart from an electrical spark what else has happened to X-Trail? Quite a lot, in fact it is new from the ground up, sitting on a bang up to date Qashqai platform and eye catching design, particularly head on where the stylists have gone to town on the swooping grille and headlights.

The new chassis has done good things for handling which has come on leaps and bounds with a big reduction in body roll, in fact it has almost been eliminated, and a more comfortable ride from the new suspension.

Inside is a tale of two X-Trails. It is a five model range but the first two are sort of the poor relations and do not get all the high tech so it might be worth starting at N-Connecta which has a central 12.3in touchscreen and the excellent digital binnacle with its plethora of easy to find information. A driver’s head-up display is a bonus and is one of the best I have come across.

My Tekna model is another step up the ladder and has quality fixtures and fittings and is knocking on the door of the premium boys but the improvements do not match Mazda’s new CX-60 which is also better on economy.

X-Trail is a big car and everything in it is big. The door bins are big and take a two litre bottle although the cup holders in the centre console are too big and need the pop out inner holders found on many rivals

This is a roomy five seater with a good sized boot, but not class leading. The rear seat slides fore and aft but is mainly to gain access to the optional third row. I wanted to stow the boot cover under the floor but it is pretty crammed down there so no luck with that.

Tekna is just one off the top rung and is packed with equipment and all the toys we love, and  has just about every safety aid available.

X-Trail has been living in the show of Qashqai for well over a decade but has come in from the cold with this substantial update. It won’t be first choice for a lot of buyers because there is a lot of good opposition to contend with but now stands a much better chance.

Fast facts

X-Trail Tekna e-Power, e-4ORCE

£46.075 (range starts £32,890)

1.5 litre turbo; 211bhp

0-62mph 7.2secs; 111mph

42.2mpg combined

152g/km. 1st tax £635

Boot: 485-1298 litres

Towing capacity 1650kg

Insurance group 31

Skates calls for action on 'greedy' north Wales fuel prices

A Senedd Member is calling on the UK Government to end the North Wales Tax on the region’s motorists. 

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates has highlighted the inflated costs of fuel along the A55 from Deeside beyond Conwy – and wants UK Ministers to step in where the ‘toothless’ Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has failed to protect taxpayers.

“There have been various news reports in recent months about the CMA warning supermarkets over petrol pricing, which has been a long time coming. But nothing has changed,” said Mr Skates.

“There continues to be an island of high prices in North EastWales from the border with England where prices are consistently more expensive than can possibly be justified by the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, the two go-to excuses of the Westminster Government.

“This is something I, and many others, have been frustrated about for a long time. The industry claims price differences are due to competitive circumstances – for example, the lack of competition on motorways leads to increased prices – and to buying decisions. Some chains buy at fixed prices which apply for several weeks to protect against oil price increases, whereas others buy at cost.

“I can understand and appreciate the latter, but my concern is with the competitive element. My strong belief is that there should be tighter controls over prices, but this is bound up in competition law which is non-devolved and rests with UK Government Ministers. Drivers on motorways are a captive market, so it’s only fair that they should be protected from inflated prices. Likewise motorists living in remote places where there are few fuel stations.”

Mr Skates pointed out that people in North Wales are already having to deal with the highest energy bills in Britain, with fixed daily charges more than £120 more a year than in the East Midlands. 

He continued: “If you compare high volume supermarket sites, for example, where the cost difference for a 35,000-40,000 litre delivery from the Stanlow depot is negligible, they really are taking advantage of North Wales motorists. 

“Sainsbury’s charges 8-10p more in Rhyl than Wrexham, and Morrisons charges 8-9p more in Rhyl than Runcorn. In fact, if you’re in Rhyl, you’d have to drive at least 30 miles to find lower prices. 

“Asda, the gatekeeper of this gauntlet of greed along the A55, sets the tone by charging around 7p more at Queensferry than it does in Runcorn. How can these hikes be justified? 

“The CMA has been utterly toothless, and successive UK Government Ministers have failed to act. You’d have thought they’d show an interest once they finally had some MPs in North Wales, but we’re still waiting – and we’re still paying the price.”

Roadworks alerts from the county council

Latest local roadworks alert from Denbighshire County Council is:

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

A542 O/S BUILDING KNOWN AS GLASCOED BACHE MILL ROAD 21/08/2023 25/08/2023 Goleuadau traffig i reoli traffig ar lwybr amgen / Traffic signals to control traffic on diversion route HAFREN DYFRDWY (DANIEL) LLANGOLLEN Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights