All aboard for the Llangollen Garden Railway Festival!

* The 2023 Llangollen Garden Railway Festival at the Pavilion.

Llangollen will be the place to be on Saturday, May 11 as the town again plays host to one of the UK's largest garden railway festivals. 

Over 50 leading retailers have already confirmed attendance at the Pavilion with a fantastic selection of outstanding layouts of the larger scale in railway modelling, catering for all tastes, showing garden railways from different periods and countries.  

The event is the brainchild of Llangollen-based garden model railway enthusiast Keith Potts, who is expecting thousands to attend. 

Previous festivals have been hugely popular in a town famous for its annual International Musical Eisteddfod and own its steam railway.  

A garden railway or garden railroad is a model railway set up outdoors in a garden.

Keith has his own garden railway, set up in the front garden of his  home in Llangollen. 

He said: "Since we held our first garden railway festival in Llangollen in 2020 it has gone from strength to strength. Since COVID, the popularity of garden railways has gone through the roof.  

"Llangollen is famous for its steam railway, but more and people are heading to this part of north Wales for our garden railway event.  

"Not only will you get to see some amazing model railways in action, but there will also be plenty of opportunities to meet fellow enthusiasts and learn about different railway models and layouts.  

"The festival is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Llangollen countryside, and it's a great opportunity to spend a day out with friends and family.  

"Tickets are selling fast and the great things is that all accompanied children can attend for free."

The event is held at the Llangollen Pavilion on Saturday, May 11 from 10am until 4.30pm.  

The festival will feature over 50 exhibitors, as well as demonstrations of modelling techniques and larger scale and gauge societies, preservation and heritage societies and railway specialist interest groups.  

"There will also be locomotives running on various gauges, live steam, gas fired, digital and analogue operations."

* Tickets are priced at £12 for adults, with free admission for all accompanied children. They can be purchased from the Llangollen Tourist Information Centre, or by calling 01978 860828. On the day tickets start at 10am. For more information and for a list of exhibitors see https://www.lgrf.co.uk/

Ramblers' gruelling but enjoyable latest outing

Llangollen Ramblers at the start of their Offa's Dyke Path walk from Churchtown last week.  

Thirteen-plus miles later, after much mud, detours for waterlogged fields and pouring rain, they didn't look quite so chipper, according to a group spokesperson who added: "It's not always like that."

If you'd like to join the Ramblers for something rather less demanding, email Judy on smithdinbren@gmail.com for more information.

Taking a closer look at a trio of Mazdas

* MX-30.

*Mazda2.

MX-5.

Steve Rogers drives a trio of Mazdas

Mazda has clipped £3,000 off the price of its one and only electric car.

The MX-30 has been a slow seller and with mounting pressure from emerging Chinese brands the company has brought its pricing more in line with MG and BYD with the added bonus of a free home charger, so another £1000 saved.

Prices are now £27,995 to £32,395 for the three model range with zero finance on a PCP deal. The rotary engined plug-in hybrid MX-30 also gets a £3,000 reduction with a starting price of £31,495.

Mazda is banking on its reputation for reliability and quality to steer more customers to its showrooms. The MX-30 has always been trumpeted as a driver's car, its lightweight battery pack making it a more dynamic drive than its rivals which it is, but customers are wary of its low 124 mile range.

Mazda's own data shows its customers daily commute is 26 miles and argues that this makes MX-30 the ideal second car. We will wait to see if this big price cut does the trick.

Other headline news is an updated hybrid version of the Mazda2 supermini.

This is a car that looks nothing like a Mazda2 because it is a Toyota Yaris with a few tweaks to the front and rear styling, and a Mazda badge of course.

Hitching up with Toyota makes sense because it saves Mazda development costs and there is no better company than its Japanese rival when it comes to hybrid power.

Economy and low emissions are the name of the game here with the 1.5 litre petrol mated to a CVT gearbox capable of up to 74mpg and producing 87g/km to 98g/km depending on the car sitting on 15 or 16 inch wheels.

I topped 70mpg on a short drive and was impressed with the pick up from the 114bhp engine that sprints to 62mph in 9.7 seconds.

Mazda is offering a four model line up with prices ranging from £24,130 to £29,230.

Its own Mazda3 1.5 litre petrol has had a front end facelift as well and is priced under the hybrid from £18,615. There are three power options, 75, 90 and 115bhp. A good mid level option is the 90bhp Exclusive Line for £20,365 which has a reasonable amount of bells and whistles.

And finally.... Was 1989, the year the Berlin wall came crashing down, a memorable year for you?

Over in California I had a day to remember at the press launch of the Mazda 323. We had an exclusive viewing, and a 10 minute drive, in a new Mazda roadster. It was called Miata but we came to know it as the MX-5, a simple but stunning reincarnation of the British open top two seaters of the fifties and sixties with a particular no the little Lotus Elan.

It was an instant universal hit and quickly became the world's best selling roadster. To date nearly 1.3 million have been built with more than 135,000 coming to the UK. MX-5 is 35 this year, still a world beater and likely to be the benchmark roadster until the end of its days.

To celebrate this landmark MX-5 has had a few birthday presents in the shape of new LED headlight and tail light design, a larger 8.8in touchscreen, and a tech update to make it all function a little faster. Two litre models are now fitted with an asymmetric limited slip differential to give more stability when cornering.

MX-5 has turned into a legend yet it is not that quick, or particularly comfortable, with a cabin that is a snug fit for driver and passenger. But it corners as if on rails and that old school bark from the four cylinder engine, 1.5 or 2-litre, harks back to the old days and is a great feeling behind the wheel.

In a nutshell the MX-5 is to the road what the wartime Spitfire was to the skies...loved and revered.

Fast Facts

MX-30 BEV Exclusive Line

£33,150

Range: 124 miles

Battery: 35.5kWh

Battery warranty 8 years/100,000 miles

143bhp

0-62mph 9.7secs; 87mph

Zero emissions

Insurance group 19

Boot: 350-1155 litres

MP strongly opposes county's public toilet closure plan

Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies (pictured above) says he strongly opposes Denbighshire County Council’s proposals to close public toilets throughout the county and is urging them to explore all possible alternatives. 

The council argues it faces "unprecedented" financial challenges and hopes if the plans to shut public conveniences go ahead it will save more than £200,000.

However, James has said closing public toilets would have a detrimental impact on local economy and counter Levelling Up efforts. He is appealing to the Council to scrap the plans. 

He said: “Whilst I appreciate that Denbighshire County Council is looking at ways to save money, closing toilets is not the answer. 

“Many local people depend on these facilities and shutting them will lead to some elderly and more vulnerable residents being apprehensive about going out. The same is true for those with incontinence problems and gastrointestinal disorders. Closing the toilets would isolate a great many in our communities which I don’t think has been considered.   

“The council should also reflect on the fact that as well as serving local residents, these toilets are used by those who visit our towns and villages. Tourists coming to places such as Rhyl, Prestatyn and Llangollen, expect there to be toilets they can use.

“Families with young children and elderly family members who come to Rhyl for example, to spend the day on the beach, depend on these facilities. It is all well and good the council saying that they will be asking local businesses to open up their toilets for a £500 payment, but if these businesses are in the town centre, it is quite a way for people to trek from the seafront. 

“I also don’t think the plans are workable in Llangollen, where tourists arrive by the coach load. It would not be practicable for such large number to traipse into a local café or pub to use the toilet. 

“The council must additionally consider the impact of events which are held in our towns, which can attract thousands of people at a time. 

“I am concerned that removing public conveniences from Prestatyn seafront would result in the town losing its Blue Flag Status. 

“The loss of public toilets would also be felt in smaller towns and villages. Many people for example visit St Asaph to walk by the river, and families use the park. Not having toilets close by would be hugely inconvenient and could potentially put people off visiting. 

“I was pleased to meet Denbighshire County Council’s Chief Executive, Graham Boase, this week to highlight all of my concerns and to discuss potential compromise options which I think would work, such as involving Denbighshire Leisure Limited in the seafront provision. 

"It cannot be right that the council is spending millions more having increased its staffing numbers, has increased council tax by 9.34% and is spending £10m of its own funds on an unnecessary new recycling system, while education support, libraries and now toilets are under threat. 

"It seems that we are well and truly paying the price for Labour and Plaid Cymru having taken control of the council in 2022. 

“We need to be doing all we can to encourage people to visit Denbighshire and to boost our local economy, not getting rid of facilities which tourists use. Quite simply, if we don’t offer these basic facilities, people will go to somewhere that does.” 

Special Llangollen initiative to fix pot holes

* A use may have been found for all those old blue waste bins.

Llanblogger understands that another creative initiative from a Llangollen group - believed to be the first in Wales - is to be put to Denbighshire County Council to fix all the pot holes in the roads in the county.

With the roll-out of the Welsh Government policy of residents multi-sorting recycling into the three-tier trolley bins, the current blue bins become redundant.   

These bins were purchased at some expense by the county from Germany some years ago and are of high grade, wear resistant polythene. 

Group representative David Davies said: "The idea is to recycle these bins by melting them down and then pouring the liquid polythene into the multitude of pot holes in the county. 

"The pot holes would be air-blasted clean and then, using the liquefying heat power units that are on vehicles used for white lining, bins would become molten on site and poured into the holes sealing the solidifying polythene securely into the hole.

"Coloured blue, the results of the work will be clearly visible, much appreciated by motorists and will reduce the damage claims against DCC."

As of today, April 1st a meeting with DCC to discuss the scheme has yet to be arranged.

PTAs to stage school uniform swap and share event

The town's two primary schools are joining forces to stage a second-hand uniform pop-up event.

The aim of the initiative next month is to keep clothes from landfill and help save families a few pounds. 

On Friday April 12 Ysgol Y Gwernant PTFA and Ysgol Bryn Collen PTA are teaming up with Hwb Cymunedol Pengwern to hold the after-school uniform swap outside the school gates from 2.45 - 3.45pm. 

Organisers say families are invited to bring any unwanted school uniform in good condition, and/or take any items that they can use. Items can be taken without bringing anything. 

Cash donations will be welcomed to help support the good work of both Llangollen primary schools. 

Donations of girls and boys school uniform, including school shoes and PE kit, will also be gratefully accepted by both schools in the week prior to the event, or dropped off with Jen at Hwb Pengwern LL20 8BB (phone 01490 266004 for Hwb opening times).

 

llanblogger says Happy Easter