Dee Pizza and Wraps is semi-finalist in national competition

Llangollen's popular Dee Pizza and Wraps is one of the 20 semi-finalists from Wales in the 2026 14th British Kebab Awards.

* For the full story in Wales Online, go to: Wales' 20 best kebab shops | Wales Online

Collen Players' magical evening of mirth and melody

* The Players on stage for the grand finale.

The Collen Players promised their audience a cavalcade of mirth, melody and merriment with their latest variety show, Hammerbeams and Harmonies, and that’s exactly what they served up at the Community Hall last night (Friday).

And the side benefit was that a sizeable sum was raised for the current fundraising campaign to renovate St Collen’s ancient hammerbeam roof.

After the traditional opening remarks and warm up sing-song from the chairman, Mr Leo Naylor, the first act to take the stage was Deborah with an extremely melodic presentation of I Want to Sing Opera.

Phil Robinson was up next with his lively rendition of the old time classic My Old Man’s a Dustman.

Songstress and Collen Players regular Susan Stokes had a sweetly-voiced After the Ball Was Over for the audience. Then it was time for comedy as the duo of Chris and Neil offered a tale of domestic disaster and lyrical lamentation.

Lizzie Clifford presented two songs of sentiment, including They Say It's Wonderful from Annie Get Your Gun, before Collen Players favourite Colin Bourdiec closed the first act with a flourish of George Formby finesse.

Phil Robinson returned after the interval with a melody of menace entitled Mack the Knife specially for Halloween while Susan Stokes was back on stage with a novel parody of her previous number before Chris and Neil presented their hilarious Cissie and Ada routine, this time featuring Chris singing I Hold Your Hand in My Hand and There's a Hole In My Bucket.

Lizzie Clifford re-appeared, accompanied by Alison Jarvis and John Clifford, for a marvellous Three Little Maids. John had previously been on stage with an enthralling poem.  

On hand for some accomplished accompaniments were musicians Jayne (keyboard) and Clayton (drums).

The grand finale of the show came in his own inimitably entertaining way from Colin Bourdiec before the audience was encouraged to join in with a rollicking Down at the Old Bull and Bush to round of a highly entertaining evening.  

* Collen Players' Christmas show, Deck the Halls, a variety and music hall show in Victorian style, will be at  St Collen's Community Hall on Friday December 12, starting at 6.30pm. Tickets, including supper, can be booked by calling 01978 861768.

* Mr Chairman opens the show. All pictures by Jeanette Robinson.

* A divinely dramatic Deborah.

* A dark and debonair Phil Robinson as Mack the Knife.

* After the Ball with Sue Stokes.

* Neil and Chris become Cissie and Ada.

* Something Wonderful from Lizzie Clifford.

* Formby fun from Colin Bourdiec.

* Three Little Maids from school.

* The house band of Clayton and Jayne.  

Agency marks decade of improvements to homes of vulnerable

* Lynda Colwell, Chief Officer of Conwy and Denbighshire Care & Repair, with Chair Clifton Robinson. Picture by Mandy Jones

An agency celebrating 10 years of life-changing success has secured £4.6 million worth of repairs and home improvements for vulnerable people.

The news was revealed at the annual meeting of Conwy and Denbighshire Care & Repair which serves a vast area, stretching from Llangollen to Llanfairfechan.

Over the past decade the charity, a subsidiary of the Grŵp Cynefin housing association, has helped nearly 50,000 people aged 60 or over in privately owned or rented properties.

The aim is to help them continue to live safely, warmly and independently in their own homes and over the past decade.

Since the organisation launched in 2015 it has eased the burden on the NHS by saving 16,735 hospital bed days through its Hospital to Healthier Home quick discharge service.

It’s also assisted those in need access benefits they were previously missing out on - supporting 1,741 people to increase their income by a massive £7.4 million in the last 10 years.

The agency was created 10 years ago when the care and repair service in Conwy merged with its sister organisation in Denbighshire. At the same time, Grŵp Cynefin housing association was created with the merging of Tai Clwyd and Tai Eryri, and the agency became a part of Grŵp Cynefin.

Chair Clifton Robinson, who has vast experience in senior management and leadership roles in the housing sector, was deeply proud to lead the organisation.

He said: “I have been involved in lots of different organisations over the years, but I must say I feel with Care & Repair I have saved the best until the end of my career.

“I am so incredibly proud of Care & Repair both in terms of the staff, who are just tremendous, and also of my board colleagues - they are one of the best boards I have had the privilege of working with.

“The commitment of Chief Officer Lynda Colwell and her team is second to none. Their passion, their energy is incredible, they are just an absolute joy.”

He said key to Care & Repair’s success of the last decade was its relationship with the clients it has helped, and its commitment of helping people stay in their own homes as long as possible.

“We have had clients attend our board meetings and it’s been fantastic to hear from them about the difference Care & Repair has made to their lives.

“It is absolutely vital that people can stay in their own home for as long as possible.”

Chief Officer Lynda Colwell said: “It means the world to know you’re actually doing something for the good, that you can go home and think ‘I’ve helped somebody today, I’ve changed somebody’s life, I’ve made somebody safer, I have made them warmer’.

“It’s a sense of pride as well that we have a team who all work together, that we all have the same goals and strategies and want the same outcomes.”

Ms Colwell said the need for the services that Care & Repair provide will always exist, so finding the required funding in the future to do that work was essential.

She said: “Our adaptations grants are available but there are  more and more people needing them and the grant isn’t increasing by the volume of people who require our help. 

“The problems are not going to go away, and it will become more of a challenge to access grants over the next 10 years. 

“But our team are clued up, they are fully aware of the challenges that we face.”

The charity also acts as a vital link between vulnerable, older people and organisations which can provide financial support.

It recently stepped in to help a pensioner who was finding staying at home alone in her flat especially challenging after suffering a stroke and the sad loss of her husband.

Conwy and Denbighshire Care & Repair was first put in touch with a client  after she was referred to the charity from the Stroke Rehabilitation Centre at Llandudno Hospital regarding difficulties with accessing her shower cubicle safely.

After learning that the client’s husband was a veteran, caseworker Amanda Derbyshire contacted SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, to see if they could fund bathroom improvements.

The inquiry ultimately proved successful - with SSAFA paying for the transformation of the bathroom, funding work to remove the bath and fit a modern and accessible walk-in shower.

The partnership also produced other improvements, including more accessible steps to the back garden and better access from a side door.

Ms Derbyshire said: “Care & Repair have a hospital to home service and occupational therapists based at several hospitals in North Wales can refer to Care & Repair to help speed up discharges.

“We work quite closely with stroke wards and other wards in hospitals.

“When our client came out from hospital the original referral was for an assessment for extra rails or equipment in the shower.

“She felt really unsteady after the stroke and felt the rails probably wouldn’t be enough. We referred for an occupational therapist assessment through Conwy County Borough Council because they have Disabled Facility Grants (DFG) which they use for level access showers, stairlifts, that sort of thing.”

Amanda said the work was a great example of the difference Care & Repair can make to vulnerable people’s everyday lives.

She said: “It just shows what you can do if you do come across somebody in hardship. It shows another side of the caseworker service, that we can investigate other avenues of funding as well.

“I think the client would have really struggled to maintain her independence and personal care if the funding hadn’t been found because the step into the shower was too high for her to manage and the cubicle was quite enclosed.

“I really don’t know whether she would have been able to remain where she was, the work has really made a massive difference.”

Denbighshire young people urged to claim their savings

Many young adults in Denbighshire could have an average of £2,200 waiting for them in their unclaimed Child Trust Fund account.

Child Trust Funds were introduced by the UK Government in 2005. Accounts were opened for almost six million children born in the UK between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011.

Nearly half of Child Trust Funds in Wales remain unclaimed. According to the Share Foundation, around 1,240 accounts are still unclaimed in Denbighshire.

Young people aged 16 or over can take control of their own Child Trust Fund, although the funds can only be withdrawn once they turn 18. Families can continue to pay up to £9,000 a year tax-free into a Child Trust Fund until the account matures. The money stays in the account until the child withdraws or reinvests it into another account. If a parent or guardian could not set up an account for their child, the government opened a savings account on the child’s behalf.

Every 16-year-old is sent information about finding their Child Trust Fund from HMRC with their National Insurance letter. Anyone unsure about their situation should check with their bank or building society. Alternatively, young adults and parents can also search on www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds to find out where their Child Trust Fund account is held.

Councillor Delyth Jones, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets said: “I strongly encourage all eligible young people to check their accounts and claim what is rightfully theirs. The investment could be placed into an adult ISA or put towards their education, housing or driving lessons.

"I would urge young people to use the online tool to track it down or, for parents of teenagers, to speak to them to ensure they’re aware of their Child Trust Fund. It could make a real difference to their future particularly at a time when finances are tight.”

The Child Trust Fund scheme closed in January 2011 and was replaced with Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISA).

* For more information on Child Trust Funds, visit www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds. Alternatively, visit https://www.meiccymru.org/do-you-have-money-hiding-in-a-child-trust-fund/, text 07943 114449 or call 080880 23456.

Llangollen pub appears in The Guardian's '30 of the best' list

A Llangollen venue has been listed among The Guardian's '30 of the best' UK pubs for 'an autumn escape with great food'.

* For the full story on Leaderlive, go to: Four North Wales pubs ranked on The Guardian's top 30 list | The Leader

Now it's the Pavilion in the frame for national TV stardom

* Eisteddfod volunteer Issy Richards (centre) meets the Escape to the Country couple Christina and Glyn (on the left) at the Pavilion. With them are presenter Alistair Appleton and (far right) Eisteddfod board director David Hennigan.  

Another of Llangollen's landmark attractions was filmed for a future edition of the BBC daytime TV property programme, Escape to the Country, this morning (Thursday).

Yesterday a film crew were at Llangollen Station shooting sequences for the same show, which features potential buyers searching for their dream homes in rural areas of the UK who are taken to look around three or four properties for sale, including a "mystery house," in their chosen region. 

In this case the home-seekers were Glyn and Christina who were looking to move from their home in the Wiltshire town of Chippenham to somewhere in this area, where they have friends and often visit.

* Camera, action - filming outside the Pavilion.

Today, the couple - plus presenter Alistair Appleton - were at Llangollen Pavilion where they were given the low-down on living in this area by Eisteddfod volunteer and former Llangollen deputy mayor, Issy Richards.

Over the few days the couple have been taken to see a variety of homes with a 30-mile radius of Llangollen.

The programme is likely to be shown in about 10 or 12 months' time, according to the production company, Naked.

Date for illuminated tractor run confirmed

* llanblogger's picture of last year's illuminated tractor run.

A story in the Leader says the date and the route for this year's Llangollen Illuminated Tractor Run have been confirmed.

* For the full story, go to: Date for Llangollen Illuminated Tractor Run confirmed | The Leader