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Preliminary works in relation to the Newbridge Road landslip repair are nearing completion, according to a story in the Leader.
Recent traffic diversions through Llangollen due to the long-term closure of the road have caused traffic chaos.
* For the full story, see: Wrexham: Councillor's update on Newbridge Road repair works | The Leader (leaderlive.co.uk)
* The visiting experts included, from Liverpool University’s Faculty of Archeology, Classics and Egyptology, Dr Ruth Nugent, Dr Glenn Cahilly-Bretzin, Katherine Foster and Tom Farrow, from York University, Louise Hampson. Also in the party was Tom Livingstone of T L Stonemasons, Summerhill, Wrexham. Showing them around is Genesis project leader Sue Evans, far left.
A team of experts interested in the many historical aspects of Llangollen’s famous parish church visited St Collen’s earlier this week.
The ancient place of worship dating back to the seventh century
has embarked on an ambitious re-ordering project, known as Genesis, which aims
to make a series of sympathetic adaptions enabling it to meet the
needs of the 21st century.
Last September Genesis was awarded almost £95,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to kick-start the first phase of the project which includes taking away some pews to make a space for a stage platform where the church can host more plays, concerts and school nativities.
There is also a desperate need for toilet facilities and better heating and lighting to generally allow the building to have more flexibility and inclusivity, creating a community hub which can be enjoyed by a variety of local organisations and also making it more accessible to the many visitors it attracts.
This
week, Genesis project leader Sue Evans welcomed a team of experts led by Dr
Ruth Nugent of the University of Liverpool to the church.
And
she explained: “They were interested in the many historical aspects of the
building and would like to help us to offer an accurate interpretation of St
Collen’s and its long history for our community.
“People
who were able to join us for the community presentations we have given so far
know that alongside the general re-ordering of the building, which includes the
addition of a new disabled toilet and access, we are also looking to create
exciting opportunities for the community to help with the research and new
interpretation boards. These would be made available inside the building,
online and in new leaflets.
“We
aim to undertake community events where you can actively contribute to the
research. For example, you might like to know more about the medieval ceiling,
Bardic connections or how Virginia Woolf is connected to our church.”
Sue
added: “We are fortunate to have experts on medieval carvings, stone masons,
art historians, pilgrim’s experts, and church archaeologists at hand and we
will be working towards creating a community project worthy of our fabulous
grade I Listed building.
“T.
Hughes said of St Collen’s, ‘This pell-mell vision is our own Sistine ceiling,
what we got in Wales while Michelangelo was working in Rome.’
“Local people should look out for future community events where they will be able to contribute to the future of the church and see how we can create a community space for all.”
Denbighshire Leisure Ltd (DLL) has announced a range of activities across the county to celebrate St David’s Day, including ‘design a t-shirt’ competition for children.
DLL is inviting young artists to participate in the contest themed around What Makes You Proud to Be Welsh, aimed at children aged 11 and under.
The designer of the winning entry will receive four tickets for SC2 Ninja TAG, and their design will be featured on t-shirts worn by DLL fitness instructors across the county, as part of our commitment to promoting Welsh culture.
Jamie Groves, Managing Director at DLL, said: "As a Welsh business it’s important to us to celebrate our Welsh culture and this year we're thrilled to work with local children to create a t-shirt that our fitness instructors will wear to show our Welsh pride.
"This competition not only allows children to express their unique perspectives but also provides an opportunity for children to showcase their love for Wales while celebrating St. David's Day across the month of March, and this is hugely important to us as a welsh business. The Welsh-theme specials at Café R and 1891 available for St David’s Day are delicious, it’s the perfect treat for this special day."
The t-shirt design competition invites children from across Denbighshire to unleash their creativity on a blank piece of A4 paper, expressing their perspectives on Welsh identity, culture, and heritage. Entries will be accepted until midnight on Sunday, March 10, providing ample time for budding artists to craft their masterpieces.
The winning A4 poster design, which will be featured prominently on fitness instructors' t-shirts across all DLL leisure sites and DLL premium clubs on Friday, March 22 as well as the executive team of DLL all wearing the winning design.
* To participate, children can submit their poster designs via email to marketing@denbighshireleisure.co.uk or drop them off at the reception desk of their local DLL site. Entries should include the child's name, age, and contact information for parental consent.
Music fans are being given a golden opportunity to experience Llangollen Eisteddfod’s six Core Concerts in style this summer.
The Core Week of the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod opens on Tuesday July 2 with a headlining set from music legend Sir Tom Jones, who kicks off six days of evening concerts, with mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins closing the week on Sunday July 7.
Between these dates, audiences can enjoy a huge variety of evening events, featuring award-winning folk band Calan, royal harpist Alis Huws, Britain’s Got Talent favourites Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, West End and Broadway stars Kerry Ellis and John-Owen Jones, and two-time GRAMMY award-winning jazz sensation, Gregory Porter.
And now, fans are being encouraged to get their hands on a Gold+ Season Ticket, giving supporters of the international peace festival the opportunity to enjoy a range of perks, including:
· Exclusive seats close to the front of the stage, at a much lower price than buying tickets for the six concerts individually
· Free souvenir programme
· No ticket commission fees
· Complimentary tea and coffee
Eisteddfod Artistic Director Dave Danford said: “Our GOLD+ Season Tickets are like gold dust – they are undoubtedly the hottest tickets in town this summer!
“They provide the complete Core Eisteddfod Week experience at the prestigious Llangollen Pavilion, with an exclusive seat closer to the front of the main stage, where the late, great Luciano Pavarotti sang an unforgettable set in 1995, and where singer Alfie Boe wowed audiences last summer.
“GOLD+ gives you unspoilt views of your favourite global stars in a unique setting. This includes our opening concert with Tom Jones on Tuesday July 2, right through to our closing concert with Katherine Jenkins, on Sunday July 7.
“Between those dates, we have a week packed full of first-class entertainment, including performances from Welsh folk superstars Calan, Britain’s Got Talent favourites Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, the Royal Harpist Alis Huws, and jazz sensation Gregory Porter. We’re also bringing two of musical theatre’s biggest stars to Llangollen with an evening featuring Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones.
“Alongside these big names, we’ve made it a priority to remain true to our Eisteddfod heritage, with our popular daytime competitions, featuring an array of international competitors, all travelling to Llangollen to celebrate peace, music and our rich and diverse cultures.
“The finals of some of these competitions are being included in the Wednesday and Thursday evening concerts for the first time, and our Choir of the World competition on the Saturday evening marks the culmination of our competitive schedule.
“We’ve increased the range of Season Tickets this year, to give our loyal audiences more choice, and to ensure that affordable options are available to all, too. We’re looking forward to welcoming music-lovers back to Llangollen in large numbers this summer.”
* To book GOLD+ Season Tickets, or any of our other Season Tickets and for more information about the Core Eisteddfod Week concerts and best-ever full summer line-up, call the Box Office on 01978 862001.
Cupra Ateca drive by Steve Rogers
Come the day when the only new cars are electric there will still be plenty of used firecracker motors to satisfy the petrol heads.
And here is one of them, the hotshot Cupra Ateca. It might look ordinary but under that modest exterior lies a mean machine with a more than solid pedigree.
But isn't this family SUV a Seat? Well, yes and no. Seat set up a stand-alone sports brand in 2018 and Ateca was the first to wear the Cupra badge.
Cupra is growing into a serious sports brand and shares the company's high-tech racing division factory next to Seat's Barcelona HQ. Convincing stuff.
Yes, it is an Ateca, the SUV we have come to love, but this one growls. As part of the Volkswagen group Cupra was able to raid the engine store and come away with the well proven, 300bhp 2-litre turbo, the same as you will find in a Golf R and Audi SQ3, and mated with the razor sharp seven speed double clutch automatic gearbox. And it has steering wheel paddle shifters. Oh joy!
The car is very much a wolf in sheep's clothing and is certainly not dressed to impress. It has quad tailpipes but there is little else to distinguish it from a bog standard Ateca, apart from the zany Cupra badge and copper alloys, a £1,135 extra.
Less obvious but a significant part of Cupra's fun factor is the slightly lowered stance and beefed up suspension. Thrown in with the all wheel drive and you have a boxy SUV that will give a hot hatch more than a run for its money.
For a more racier body you could look at the Formentor which is pure Cupra, sitting lower to the ground than Ateca, and with more style.
The Cupra Ateca range has been expanded to take in less powerful engines, all of which are available in the cheaper Seat Ateca, but look to Cupra for the big horsepower.
With a sprint to sixty taking less than five seconds and a virtually unusable 155mph top speed, this is one quick motor with solid handling to harness the power. It is also surprisingly comfortable given it sports pedigree and is good at stifling the effects of our awful road surfaces.
This should be fairly obvious but I will mention it anyway. If low running costs and economy are on the wish list then this is not the car for you. About 30mpg is the going rate with may be 35/36mpg tops in slow moving traffic. Exploit that performance and you are quickly into the twenties.
Ateca has always been an excellent family choice and the same applies to Cupra for those wanting adrenalin rush performance. There is ample room for five adults, although the transmission tunnel is a hindrance for the middle seat passenger, while the big boot will cope with all the holiday luggage.
By today's standards the Cupra interior, which virtually mirrors the Seat model, shares the same bland look and looks outdated compared with the wow, wow Peugeot 3008 rival.
Yet it is one of the most user friendly fuss free layouts I have come across, an easy to master central touch screen and clear, physical switches for the heating. The digital driver's binnacle has a choice of three layouts and is faultless.
As for the price, well it can't be sugar coated, it is jaw dropping. My teenage great niece posed the question and gave a critical critique from her front seat ending with 'this car doesn't shout £50,000 to me'.
With the flash copper alloys and a sun roof at £1,210, my VZ2 model was within touching reach of the half century at £49,675. It is well equipped and with a raft of safety features, and of course it is all wheel drive.
You can make an argument that this car is decent value for money. This sort of performance in a similar sized Porsche Macan would be upwards of 60 grand. Okay, it has that magical name, but the Cupra is nevertheless something to ponder and emphasises my point that this will be a hell of a second hand buy in years to come.
Fast facts
Cupra Ateca VZ2 4 Drive
£46,700 (starts £36,045)
2-litre TSI 296bhp
7sp DSG automatic
0-62mph 4.9secs; 155mph
31.7mpg combined
202g/km. 1st tax £1,565
Insurance group 31
Boot 485 litres
For the rest of the year it will be based there on the second and last Friday of each month.
On sale will be a wide range of home-baked goods, like cakes, jams, preserves and honey.
Also on offer will be home-grown seasonal fruit, veg and plants, along with hand-made crafts, jewellery, walking sticks and other goods. All sellers live locally.
Currently Wrexham Country Market is also joining in selling their goods too.
And so far they have about a dozen blankets ready to send.
