Proceeds of record-breaking Christmas Festival raffle shared out

* At the Air Ambulance station are Barbara Matthews, Jane Williams, Paul Cakebread, Austin Cheminais, Simon Cartwright, Ian Parry and John Palmer.

* Outside Llangollen Food Share are Ian Parry, Steph Mitchell, Austin Cheminais and Jane Williams.

* Trish Earlam, Austin Cheminais, Angela Fuller, Elizabeth Pybus, Ian Parry and Jane Williams at the After School Drop In.

* Paul Cakebread, Simon Cartwright, Austin Cheminais at the Liberty Tavern cheque hand-over.

Representatives of the Llangollen Christmas Festival Group have been out and about sharing the proceeds of the Christmas raffle that ran alongside the last big Christmas event.

Thanks to an amazing effort the festival team sold a record 4,000 tickets last year.

This has enabled them to donate £1,500 to Wales Air Ambulance, £500 to Llangollen Food Share, £350 to the Combined Churches After School Drop In, £350 to Llangollen Scouts, £100 to Llangollen Brownies and they even managed to help Santa himself with a £200 donation towards a new red and white seasonal suit.  

The remaining £1,000 will help fund this year’s Christmas Festival which will be held on November 30.

The festival team’s Austin “Chem” Cheminais said: "Our thanks go to all the local businesses in and around Llangollen who donated prizes for the raffle, which included a light aircraft flight from the Air Ambulance base at Welshpool Airport.

“Whilst he was at Welshpool Air Ambulance station Santa took the opportunity to hand over a cheque for £250 which was raised during the Liberty Tavern Christmas quiz.”

Roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council

Latest local roadworks alerts from Denbighshire County Council are:

A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD 09/02/2024 09/02/2024 Trwsio Lon Cerbydau/ Carriageway Repairs DCC STREETSCENE

JUNC HALL STREET - JUNC VICARAGE ROAD HILL STREET until 15/03/2024 Gwaith Nwy / Gas Works WALES & WEST (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Outside The Corn Mill Dee Lane Llangollen CLYWD LL20 8PN DEE LANE 01/03/2024 01/03/2024 Gwaith ar Wasanaeth Uwchben/ Overhead Service Works SUNBELT RENTALS (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Horseshoe Pass now re-opened

**Update: The Horseshoe Pass has re-opened

North Wales Police have just posted on Facebook:

Please note that the Horseshoe Pass is currently closed due to the deterorating weather conditions ❄️ 

We are receiving several reports of (thankfully) minor road traffic collisions and road distruptions. Our teams are committed with those so please take extra care if you are travelling this afternoon. 

Thank you in advance. 

Snow finally arrives in Llangollen

* The snow which has been forecasted for the past week finally arrived this morning, leaving a blanketing over Llangollen, as can be seen from the rooftops here. The view of the castle was completely wiped out by snow and mist. 

Young 'Uns stage group launches hunt for new producer

 

* Food Glorious Food: the workhouse scene from the Young 'Uns production of Oliver! Picture: Aled Morris.

The much-anticipated staging of Oliver! by Llangollen Operatic Society’s junior section, the Young ‘Uns, later this month will be the final one with producer Pam Williams in charge.

And once the costumes and props from the show are packed away the search will begin for someone new to take charge of future productions by this popular group which has had a string of hits in recent years, including Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Little Shop of Horrors and The Addams Family.

Pam said: “I've done 11 years with Young ‘Uns and nine shows and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but feel that the time is right to step down and let someone else take over the reins, so to speak.  

“Youngs ‘Uns has a great tradition going back 33 years and we really want to continue this success story.”

She explained: “The new producer will basically choose a show and put it to the committee for approval and then look to put together a production team, with director, choreographer and so on.

“ Currently have a group of 27 children with many waiting to join.

“The producer’s role is to organise all aspects of the show and co-ordinate all the teams involved in front of the curtains and behind the scenes.

“It can be hard work but it’s also a lot of fun and can be very rewarding, so if there’s anyone out there who reckons they could fit the bill we’d love to hear from them.”

* If you're interested in the role you can contact the Young ‘Uns at: info@@llangollen-operatic.co.uk

Oliver!, which is the group's 33rd production since it was founded in 1990, takes place from Thursday-Saturday, February 22-24, at 7.30pm, with a 2pm matinee of the last day.

Oliver! is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

It follows the tale of young Oliver from his early days in a grim workhouse, his escape to London where he meets up with the gag of trainee thieves led by the old rogue Fagin and the trials he faces at the hands of the villainous robber Bill Sikes.   

Production team for the Young 'Uns version is Robin Crowley (artistic director), Julian Cattley (musical director) Pam Williams (producer), Deirdre Smith (assistant producer) and Sarah Marshal (choreographer).

* Tickets are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety or Llangollen Tourist Information, Jades Hair and Beauty, Llangollen Oggie Shop & Fine Foods.

Roadworks alert for Aber Adda

Latest local roadworks update from one.network is:

Aber Adda, Llangollen, Denbighshire 09 February - 13 February   Roadworks, Delays unlikely   Traffic management: Traffic control (give & take)   Description: MAINS CONNECTION   Works location: OUTSIDE 1 HILL STREET   Public facing description: Wales & West Utilities Ltd has not assigned a specific description to this Works. Please note: Works Descriptions are not published by Wales & West Utilities Ltd.   Responsibility for works: Wales & West Utilities   Current status: Advanced planning   Works reference: XY254003001625597/01

 

Man rescued following incident near Horseshoe Falls

On Saturday (February 3) NEWSAR (North East Wales Search and Rescue) and emergency services attended an incident at Horseshoe Falls, where a person had fallen into the water whilst kayaking. 

The man received CPR before being stabilised and transferred to hospital.

For the full story, see the Denbighshire Free Press at: https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/24102787.llangollen-man-taken-hospital-following-incident/