Eisteddfod friends to host coffee morning at Memorial Hall

A coffee morning in aid of Friends of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod (FLIME) will take place next Tuesday, September 5, between 10am and 12noon, at the Memorial Hall in Market Street. 

Now in its 50th year, FLIME has raised over half a million pounds, which it has donated to the Eisteddfod and has helped fund prize monies, events and most recently shared sponsorship with the local Rotary Club of the White Flower Concert - a highly acclaimed event celebrating peace, commemorating the fallen in the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and showing support to Ukrainian friends.     

A FLIME spokesperson said: "Our world-famous Eisteddfod needs your support to keep it going. Croeso i bawb. The coffee morning is welcome to all."

Irish TV series to feature Ladies of Llangollen's story

* The story on GCN featuring the tale of the Ladies of Llangollen.

The famed Ladies of Llangollen will feature in a new six-part series about Ireland’s greatest love stories, Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, on an Irish TV network this September.

That's according to a story on the website of GCN, a free resource for the LGBTQ+ community.

The story says:

"Returning for its second season, the show will share the accounts of six new captivating and heartbreaking Irish relationships, set on the backdrop of some of the most historic events, including the 1798 Rebellion, Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence and American Civil War.

Among the stories featured in the new TG4 series will be that of Lady Eleanor Butler of Kilkenny Castle and Sarah Ponsonby of Woodstock House, Inistioge, also better known as the Ladies of Llangollen.

After their introduction in 1768, through family connections, the pair formed a lifelong bond, resulting in their emigrating to Llangollen in Wales in 1780, where they lived together for the rest of their lives.

The episode will explore how, despite their families’ aristocratic standing, the couple broke the social norms of their time and overcame many obstacles in order to be together.

Defying societal expectations and refusing to conform to traditional gender roles, their story caused a huge controversy at the time but has endured the ages to become an inspirational tale of undying love and unbreakable courage.

The ladies’ journey is not the first LGBTQ+ relationship to be explored by Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, as a previous series featured the tragic tale of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas."

* The new series will launch on Friday, September 8, and will be available to watch on TG4 and online.

Broken wrist changes plans by Judy (78) to run half-marathon

* Judy Smith, right, with her friend Sandra Woodhall at a Llangollen Round Challenge event.

A broken wrist has put paid to a Llangollen woman's plan to run a half-marathon in memory of her friend who died earlier this year.

At the age of 78, Judy Smith had registered to take part in this September’s Great North Run on September 10.

She aimed to tackle the 13-mile course to boost funds for Cancer Research UK in memory of her late friend Sandra Woodhall.

Together they had founded and organised the famous Llangollen Round Challenge which has raised many thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK since it began in 2012.   

But Judy has had to change her plans after suffering a broken wrist.

She said: "Unfortunately, I've managed to break my wrist falling over at the Erddig Parkrun on Saturday.  

"I have a lovely purple plaster on my arm but I think the Great North Run at the end of next week would not be a good idea.  

"I have therefore switched my entry to the Great South Run on October 15.

"It's 'only' 10 miles as opposed to a half marathon, but I do hope you'll still feel able to support me in memory of Sandra."

"I thank all those who have already supported me at this time."

* The link to support Judy is: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/judys-giving-page-109  

Training going well for John's charity challenge - apart from a puncture

 

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

Training is going well for a Llangollen man taking part in a triathlon event this weekend in memory of his wife who died from the effects of dementia earlier this year. 

On Sunday morning he will compete in a sprint triathlon in Ellesmere, just over the border in Shropshire.  

And at the same time as he grapples with the gruelling event his son Nic, who lives in Glyndyfrdwy, will be doing the Bala Standard Triathlon at Bala Lake.

Both father and son are raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of Lyn, who was respectively their wife and mother.

John said training was going well for both of them - apart from a slight hitch with a puncture as he practiced the cycling part of the triathlon between Chirk and Ellesmere last week.

"When I got the puncture I had no alternative but to walk the bike all the way back to Chirk," he said.    

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.

* There's still time to sponsor Nic and John on their gofundme page at: https://gofund.me/99c861be

Archives gives you chance to delve into your past

North East Wales Archives in Ruthin are to host a free ‘open doors’ event on Saturday September 9 welcoming all to come and explore some of the historical photographs that are held there. 

There will also be activities planned for families and children, such as Cyanotype printing with a local artist. This uses an early photography process known as Cyanotype or sun printing to create a beautiful blue toned image using inspiration from archive collections. 

There will also be a guest exhibition by local photographer Jac Williams named “Honest Agriculture”. The exhibition highlights the photographer’s lifelong project capturing evocative images of farming in North Wales.

Visitors will even get a chance to have their portrait taken by ‘The Vintage Camera lady’ who has the only street box camera in all of Wales. 

Located at the Gaol in Ruthin, the open doors event will run from 10am to 4pm and will join the more than 200 other historic sites, landmarks and hidden gems that will be opening their doors during September. 

‘Open Doors’ is Wales’ annual contribution to the European Heritage Days initiative, which invites heritage organisations, private owners, local authorities and more to open their doors or offer activities to the public free of charge during September. 

Earlier this year, North East Wales Archives, which is jointly run by both Flintshire and Denbighshire County Councils, was awarded Archive Service Accreditation. 

Archivist, Sarah Roberts said: “We are excited to be involved in Open Doors once again and have joined up with some new partners this year to make the event even better. We will have some of our favourite photography collections on display which are always a popular attraction with visitors during open days.” 

Councillor Emrys Wynne, Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture & Heritage said: “It is great that the service is opening its doors for free to the public for this special event. The archives hold information and photographs from across the county, and beyond so it will be a great opportunity for locals to come and discover more about the history of the area they live in.” 

Artist activity has been funded by Welsh Government as part of the annual Explore Your Archive Campaign. This is a free event, except for takeaway portraits provided by The Vintage Camera Lady.

Ysgol Dinas Brân students celebrate 'very pleasing' GCSE results

 

There were scenes of joy at Ysgol Dinas Brân as Year 11s received their GCSE results this morning (Thursday). 

Many students have achieved their grades and are excited for their future and next steps in their education.

Headteacher Mark Hatch said the results were very pleasing after all the hard work that staff and students had put into achieving them. 

"'I am so pleased for all of the students that have worked so hard and gained fantastic grades. 

"The students are still suffering post pandemic from having missed so much education, however, with all the hard work and dedication of the students, staff and parents they have done so well. 

"I would like to thank everyone for the achievements and I wish all of our students the very best in their next steps, whether that be in our sixth form or college. Well done everyone!'

* Denbighshire County Council is congratulating pupils receiving their GCSE results.

Councillor Gill German, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children and Family Services, said: “On behalf of the Council I would like to congratulate all pupils that have received their GCSE results.

“This cohort has faced significant challenges over the past few years and they have made a tremendous effort to achieve their results, they have worked very hard to get here and overcome a lot of obstacles.

“There has been some fantastic partnership working to ensure students achieved the best results possible and pupils have received support from their families and schools. I would like to thank all those who have supported our hard-working students this last year.

“We would like to wish all learners the very best in their next steps.”

Proud Grandad

* Llangollen man Mike Edwards says he's proud of his identical twin grand-daughters, Katie and Lucy, who have both achieved 13 A-stars in their GCSEs.

The girls, pictured below, live in Wrexham and attend St Joseph’s School.

Roadworks set up at scene of electrical hatch blaze

* Roadworks around the site of the fire in the hatch on Mill Street.

Roadworks have now appeared around the site of yesterday (Wednesday) evening's fire in an electrical inspection hatch in Mill Street.

But a spokesperson for the power company carrying out the repair work says they are aiming to have the road clear again by tomorrow afternoon.

Two crews from the town's fire station were at the scene within minutes after the blaze erupted in the hatch, near to the bus stop on Mill Street (A539) just across the road from the Bridge End pub.

It is believed the fire was preceded by a large explosion which was heard across town around 7.20pm and appears to have blown the heavy metal cover off the hatch.

As firefighters tackled the outbreak using dry foam extinguishers police directed traffic around the area.

A team from the power company was also at the scene. 

* Traffic lights controlling the roadworks.

The incident coincided with a power cut affecting a number of local postcode areas, including LL208EB, LL208NU, LL208NY, LL208PN, LL208RJ, LL208RQ, LL208RY, LL208RZ, LL208SA, LL208SD, LL208SE, LL208SG, LL208SH, LL208SN, LL208SW, LL208TA, LL208TF, LL208TH, LL208UE.

A power cut warning put out by power company SP Energy Systems last night said the fault would take until at least 2am this morning to rectify. 

Today a note on the company's website said the power cut had been resolved.

The roadworks at the site, surrounding a large excavation where the hatch was located, have closed the pavement running behind the bus stop and are being controlled by temporary traffic lights at either end.

* A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks said: “There was a fault in an underground link box on Mill Street. Our engineers responded immediately and worked to swiftly and safely isolate the incident and restore supplies. 

"Our teams are onsite replacing the link box and are working hard to ensure this is done as quickly as possible to limit disruption.

"We apologise for any inconvenience and are working with our excavation service partners to ensure the works are fully reinstated and the roadworks removed by Friday afternoon.”