The Denbighshire Free Press is reporting that an injured man was rescued by firefighters from the River Dee in Llangollen.
Llangollen Fire Station said the crew got called at 5.34pm on Saturday to a man who had fallen in the river with an injury.
* For the full story, see: Llangollen: Firefighters save man who fell into River Dee | Denbighshire Free Press
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Blood Among the Threads is the 13th in David Ebsworth’s series of bestselling historical fiction novels.
They include his popular Yale Trilogy, with many scenes also set in Wrexham in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
In this new
release, Wrexham has been hit by a series of accidental deaths which
increasingly seem more than simply accidental. But can those deaths
truly be linked to the huge coverlet on display at Wrexham’s magnificent 1876
Art Treasures Exhibition? And is there, literally, blood among the coverlet’s
threads?
Born in Liverpool, David Ebsworth has lived in the area since 1981.
Formerly a union organiser, he took up writing after he retired in 2009 and now writes every day without fail.
His previous novels cover lesser-known episodes from the Spanish Civil War, 6th Century Britain, the 1879 Zulu War, the lives of Elihu and Catherine Yale, the 1815 Waterloo Campaign, and from the tale of a Liverpool-Welsh suffragette family during the turmoil of 1911 (The House on Hunter Street).
In addition, he has recently published his non-fiction Wrexham Revealed, a
companion for self-guided walking tours of the city’s history.
He said: "I was intrigued by all those major events which took place here in Wrexham during 1876. That was the year when the Football Association of Wales was first organised at the Wynnstay. And then, from July until November, there was the enormous Art Treasures Exhibition on the ground where Argyle Street currently stands.
"It attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all over Britain and abroad. After that, the first National Eisteddfod ever to be held in Wrexham – and, as it turned out, a very famous one. And much more besides. It seemed to me that it would be neat to bring these things to a wider audience by using all these events as the backdrop for a murder mystery – so here it is."
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Latest local roadworks alert from one.network are:
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Junction With A5 At Bryn Derwen Terrace to River Dee
Junction, Corwen, Denbighshire 29 October -
03 November Delays
likely - Diversion route Name:
Diversion Location:
Junction With A5 At Bryn Derwen Terrace To River Dee Junction Description:
Streetworks / License - Streetworks Responsibility
for event: Denbighshire County Council Current status: Planned
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Details of the funeral of John Evans – known as the “Voice of the Eisteddfod” – who died last week have been given on social media by his son.
For many years John – also
affectionately known as “John the Voice” - was stage manager and an announcer
at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
He was also a regular
performer with Llangollen Operatic Society for which he took many leading roles
and had sung with the famous Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir.
John died on Friday
October 20 after a short illness and news of his death sparked many glowing tributes
on llanblogger and social media from the large number of people who knew him.
Earlier today his son, Adam Gaunt-Evans, gave details of the funeral arrangements on the eisteddfod volunteers’ Facebook page.
He said: “For anyone who knows and wants to pay their respects to Dad - his funeral will be at Pentre Bychan Crematorium, Rhostyllen, Wrexham next Friday 3rd November, at 12pm.
“This will be followed by a gathering (and hopefully some singing) at the Hand Hotel, Llangollen, from 1.15pm.
“Please share these details with anyone who might not see this post. We're very sad, obviously, but also looking forward to welcoming people next week to celebrate John's life with us.”
John,
a native of Acrefair, was former Stage Manager at the Eisteddfod, a past member
of the Standing Board, past Chair of the Music and Staging Committee and a
member of Grounds Committee.
He
was also a proud competitor when he sang with the Froncysyllte Male Voice
Choir.
John’s
fellow Eisteddfod volunteers have spoken fondly of his sometimes wicked sense
of humour and of his dedication to the festival.
His
beloved Stage Crew shared many happy memories, in particular Mark Jones, John’s
successor as Stage Manager.
He
said: “You just expect some people to be around forever. John was that, almost
parental. I’ve a lot to owe to him dragging me up to the side of stage all
those years ago, when he found me photocopying in the music office; he learnt
that I was more interested in the technical side and it’s opened up more doors
for me than could be imagined.
He
added: ‘There isn’t much that could be safely printed when it comes to tales of
John but his character will always live on and his company will be greatly
missed.”
Loggerheads Country Park is experiencing major disruptions in the aftermath of Storm Babet.
Denbighshire County Council says it is working hard to
carry out repairs to the site which has sustained significant damage due to flooding - the worst the site has experienced since 2000.
Some areas, including various footpaths
and buildings, will remain closed until further notice, with a number of events
having to be postponed or cancelled as a result.
The café has already been able to reopen while the
Visitor Centre is aiming to partially open soon.
The council is advising those who are hoping to
visit Loggerheads Country Park during half term to expect "significant
disruptions" to usual services and walking routes at the site.
Cllr Win Mullen-James, Lead Member for Local
Development and Planning, said: “It is sad to see the devastating impacts
that the recent storm has had on Loggerheads Country Park, as well as other
parts of Denbighshire. This news may be disappointing for anyone wishing to
visit the site over the half term, and we advise that anyone who has made plans
to do so expect some disruption to the norm while various repair work is
undertaken.
“I would like to thank the team who are working tirelessly
to undertake the necessary repairs to allow the areas which are currently still
closed to re-open safely to the public as soon as possible. In the meantime, we
would wish that anyone visiting this location is still able to enjoy the beauty
of the park.”
The biggest changes to social housing standards in Wales more than 20 years present ‘a huge opportunity in employment terms’, says a former Economy Minister.
Clwyd South MS Ken Skates lauded the announcement of a new Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) by Climate Change Minister Julie James in the Senedd on Tuesday.
“This is a bold and progressive standard that sets ambitious targets to make a difference to the overall quality of people’s lives, raises the bar for social housing and reflects the voice of tenants in Wales,” said the Minister.
And Mr Skates believes the ‘outstanding’ plans, which were welcomed by all parties, provide Welsh businesses with a golden opportunity.
He said: “Minister, I'd like to thank you for this outstanding statement. It contains huge ambition, which is very welcome indeed.
“And it is true that the scale of the challenge is extensive, but it's also a huge opportunity in employment and economic terms. So, will you be working with the Economy Minister in looking at how we maximise the economic and employment benefits of the investment that you'll be making into social housing?”
He continued: “The extra money is a significant sum. How do you anticipate ensuring that as much of that investment as possible remains with Welsh firms, who will be procured to undertake the work of upgrading social housing?”
The Minister said her department would work alongside Economy Minister Vaughan Gething on an apprenticeship programme, and promised: “We will be making sure that as much of the Welsh pound stays in the Welsh economy as possible.”
She added: “We work with our RSLs (Registered Social Landlords) and our stock-holding councils to make sure that they get the benefit of that. Many of our stock-holding councils, of course, still have direct labour organisations that benefit from that, so they will be able to directly take on both new craftspeople and, indeed, apprentices.
“So, I think you're right. This is not only a great opportunity for the tenants – it’s actually a real economic investment in the future.”
The original WHQS was introduced in 2002. Since then the Welsh Government, together with partners, has invested billions of pounds to improve and maintain the quality of social homes.
The WHQS 2023 sets out a new and challenging set of standards for social landlords to meet which the Minister said ‘will address decarbonisation in the social housing stock, ensure that homes are of a higher quality, affordable to heat and fit for the 21st century and beyond’.
Funding in the region of £270m is already available to help social landlords, with an additional £140m earmarked for the current financial year and next.
The Minister said: “What we learn from upgrading the 230,000 social homes in Wales will drive how we as a nation tackle decarbonising the 1.2m privately owned homes in Wales. The challenge of retrofitting the existing housing stock is vast. Every single house has a different history, and therefore our mission is to reduce carbon emissions home by home, and street by street.”
To social landlords, she added: “It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge of upgrading social housing. We have done it before, and together we can do it again. We need to be pragmatic and rise to the challenge – Welsh tenants are counting on us.”
