County council issues advice on waste collections hit by weather

Denbighshire County Council says that due to the adverse weather some of its scheduled waste collections in areas including Llangollen may have not been completed.

In a message to residents it says: "Our recycling crews have encountered some road access issues on smaller, more rural, roads during some of their rounds today. 

"It is therefore likely that some scheduled waste collections will not be completed. 

"If you have been missed today, the council will be prioritising the re-collection of residual and Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP) waste. Once the weather clears and the roads are deemed safe, we will be working as hard as possible to collect these missed collections.

 

"However, if there are further issues tomorrow with bad weather, further communication will be given on this issue in due course. As the recycling is a weekly collection service we will not be returning to collect any missed recycling containers this week and therefore these properties will be collected on your next scheduled collection day. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

"Please note we will take additional recycling material next week from any households we weren’t able to collect from today. If you need to present additional recycling then this material needs to kept separated.

 

"If you live in any of the areas mentioned - including Llangollen - and we missed your waste/recycling collection, please do not report this via our website or our Customer Services Team as we will already be aware of this missed collection."

Nightingale House Hospice holds its Christmas celebration

 

Bleak scene around Castell Dinas Bran

 

* The snow has not long stopped falling leaving this very bleak and wintry scene around Castell Dinas Bran just before noon. 

Snow continues to fall in town this morning

After starting yesterday evening, snow continued to fall on Llangollen this morning (Tuesday), leaving a covering over the town.

Reports overnight show the snowfall was particularly heavy in the Wrexham area where the main A483 was impassable for a short time, according to North Wales Police.

In Llangollen much of the snow has now melted underfoot but remains on upper surfaces such as rooves and vehicles.

The Met Office's yellow weather warning, in force from 7pm last night remains in place until 11am today.

llanblogger has pictured some of the local snow scenes. 

County council issues advice after snow warning

Denbighshire County Council (DCC) has sent out a briefing about the Yellow Weather Warning issued for the area for later today and early tomorrow.

The warning, from the Met Office, says that between 7pm tonight (Monday) and 10am tomorrow (Tuesday) an area of snow may bring disruption to a central swathe of the UK during Monday night and Tuesday morning.

It adds that the most likely scenario is for most of the snow to accumulate on hills, with 5 to 10 cm possible above 200 metres and perhaps as much as 15 to 20 cm above 300 metres. 

There is a small chance of snow settling at lower levels, where 5 to 10 cm would prove much more disruptive, but this remains very uncertain. As rain, sleet and snow clear on Tuesday morning, ice may form on untreated surfaces.

 

DCC says it has resources on standby throughout the warning period to respond to any weather-related incidents should they arise.

 

The council advises:

Please report any issues to our Customer Service Team between 8:30am – 5pm Monday to Friday, by:

1) email to customerservice@denbighshire.gov.uk

2) telephone 01824 706000

3) visit in person a One Stop Shop.

4) use an online web form, available on Denbighshire’s website:

www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/online-forms/online-forms.aspx

In the event of any emergency situation requiring an immediate response, contact should be made directly via the out of hours contact centre between 5pm – 8:30am including weekends on 0300 123 3068.

 

Subaru that could trounce rivals in a mud fight

Subaru Crosstrek drive by Steve Rogers

And now for something completely different. A family runaround that just loves playing in the mud.

What else could it be but a Subaru? The Japanese company has built its reputation on all wheel drive cars, whether it is winning world rally championships with the Impreza, or tackling the most difficult terrain in a Forester.

And it is ditto for the Crosstrek, a compact SUV that would trounce its many rivals in a mud fight.

Subarus are a bit thin on the ground in the UK, the company has just celebrated 250,000 sales and that milestone has taken 48 years, but that does not tell the whole story.

The cars sell well in colder countries like Sweden and Finland where four wheel drive is top of a driver's priority list, but it is across the Atlantic where Subaru is a household name. I travelled down the east coast of Canada into Massachusetts and was stunned by the number of Crosstreks and Foresters. They filled the roads and seemed as popular as Ford.

Crosstrek was launched in January as a replacement for the XV and has the same rugged credentials Subaru owners love. The symmetrical all wheel drive system has gained legendary status and can almost match off roaders costing 20 grand or more than Crosstrek.

Ironically that can dent its appeal. The cost of a permanent all wheel drive system makes Crosstrek a pricey car and buyers have to consider whether they need such an elaborate system. Apart from that all the mechanicals take up space, you have only got to look in the boot to see how small it is compared to the opposition.

For the record the Crosstrek’s off road capabilities are immense, even with the entry Limited model, which has hill descent control in its armoury to control the wheels on icy surfaces. That is certainly worth having. Move up to Touring and the X-Mode system provides more safety features.

Crosstrek also has 220mm of ground clearance should you find yourself on a rocky forest track and the plastic moulding around the wheel arches are there for a purpose, not just decoration.

It can do normal as well with a decent amount of room for five adults and, in spite of its high riding stance and firm off road suspension, is comfortable easily blocking out pothole thuds.

A look around the cabin gives out the message that it is hard wearing with lots of wipeable surfaces so do not expect any carpet lining the boot walls. The 11.6in vertical screen is a bold statement and suggests a high tech makeover but the driver display is analogue which looks dated when everyone is switching to digital, yet for us old ‘uns there is a certain charm to a good old speedo and rev counter.

The infotainment is easy enough to work out and linking a smartphone via wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto takes no time at all. Adjusting the heating is a mixture of physical buttons or tapping into the touchscreen so no real stress.

You will be happy with the level of equipment with the entry Limited, heated seats, LED headlights, rear view camera etc, while Touring’s extras include leather seats and trim, navigation, powered driver seat, and steering wheel paddle shifters. Both models get the excellent Eyesight safety system which has been upgraded to include rear automatic braking, cross traffic alert and front seat centre airbags.

Performance and economy are a bit of a mixed bag. One engine: the tried and trusted 2-litre Boxer which, surprisingly, musters a paltry 134bhp. Acceleration from standstill is behind the best of the rest, yet stab the throttle for a quick overtake and it responds through the CVT gearbox with its eight preset ratios.

By today’s standards the economy is some way behind the opposition although I managed to beat the official average clocking 42mpg on a 200 mile round trip. On a positive note the handling is sharp and drama free.

In the UK Crosstrek is something of an enigma. It does not hit the heights we expect on performance, economy and carrying space, yet exceeds them on safety, customer satisfaction and reliability. The challenge isn’t keeping existing customers, it is tempting new blood into the Subaru fold.

Fast facts

Crosstrek Touring CVT

£36,290 (starts £34,290)

2-litre petrol; 134bhp.

0-62mph 10.8secs; 123mph

39mpg combined

174g/km. 1st VED £1,085

Boot: 315-922 litres

Insurance group 20

Eisteddfod features in TV’s Bargain Hunt

* The Bargain Hunt team filmed at the Eisteddfod in June.

* Chris Adams speaks to presenter Roo Irvine outside the Pavilion.

The Eisteddfod was featured on BBC One’s Bargain Hunt this lunchtime (Monday). 

Presenter Roo Irvine lookedg into the history of the festival, with assistance from Eisteddfod volunteer Professor Chris Adams. 

Following broadcast the programme will be available on BBC iPlayer.

The team from the popular BBC afternoon television programme visited the Eisteddfod in June, just a few days before Canadian legend Bryan Adams performed in the Pavilion. 

Fronted by Roo Irvine, they were recording a programme at the Oswestry Antiques Fair and chose to include a feature on the Eisteddfod and its history.

The guest in Llangollen was Professor Chris Adams, a long-time student of Eisteddfod history, and the Chair of the Eisteddfod at the time of filming. 

Also featured were a number of autograph books loaned by Eisteddfod supporters, including that of archives committee member Issy Richards dating from 1964.

* The 1964 autograph book owned by Issy Richards shown on the programme. 

Professor Adams said: “The crew were fascinated by the story of our festival, and the artefacts we have around the offices. They loved the large sheets of embroidery which are displayed on the walls of the Boardroom, with visitor signatures from the 1950s onwards, including Harold and Mary Wilson, and Princess Diana. 

"We discussed the way in the early days how collecting autographs filled the niche now occupied by taking selfies, as a way of getting to meet people. We showed our autograph books and also photographs of autograph hunter in action.

“But what really captured them was the trophy, complete with our shield and motto, how the art and poetry encapsulate our Welsh spirit, and the aims of the Eisteddfod to seek to build better international relations, by bringing ordinary people together through the common love of music and dance. Chris talked about the motto, its bardic origins and its poetry. 

"We showed Bargain Hunt how the trophy, and its message, has travelled the world, even to the garden of the White House in Washington during the Vietnam war. The trophy was Roo’s favourite object.

“It was important to them, too, that the Eisteddfod was so clearly a community initiative, and the Cardiff-based visitors left amazed, not least by the idea that they hadn’t really heard about the Llangollen Eisteddfod or appreciated it before. It’s great to once again share our amazing Eisteddfod story with the wider world.”