Sounds of Africa come to Llan tonight

 

* HAJAmadagascar & The Groovy People play the Pavilion tonight. 

Following their acclaimed performance at the Africa Oyé festival this summer, HAJAmadagascar & The Groovy People are appearing at Llangollen Pavilion tonight (Sunday) as part of their current UK tour.

 

Haja and his band, who all hail from the African island of Madagascar, are traveling across England and Wales this November to bring their unique Afro-Trance grooves to brand new audiences.

“Our music reflects our being”, Haja says.

 

“We love our traditions, but we live in big cities at the same time. Tradition and modernity can live well together. Afro-grooves are endless.”

Paul Duhaney, Artistic Director of Africa Oyé, said: "We are delighted to be touring one of the standout acts from lasts year's festival."

 

HAJAmadagascar & The Groovy People
Sunday 16th November, 2014
Llangollen Pavilion, Llangollen
£10 / 7:30pm
Tickets via skiddle.com

Limelight stages a Dickens of a good play

IF there was anything Charles Dickens relished more than writing his stories it was either reading them aloud in public or acting them out with family and friends.

And this is the basis of the current presentation by Limelight Productions at Llangollen Town Hall, A Dickens of an Evening, written and directed by Peter Read, which sees action from some of the great man's tales cleverly interwoven with aspects of his own life.

Not all Dickens’s tales had a happy ending and this is the case with some of those portrayed on stage by a fine cast of players.

Because, despite the massive fame and prosperity his writings helped him achieve in his own lifetime, Dickens was apparently not a happy man, we discover.

His difficult and strained relationship with his wife Catherine comes painfully across as does his relationship, considered scandalous at the time, with young actress Ellen Ternan.

Pete Darby gives a powerful and masterful portrayal of Dickens and thanks to his magnificent home-grown whiskers manages to look quite a bit like him too.

A sensitive interpretation of put-upon wife Catherine comes from Eiri Jones and there’s a neat cameo of Dickens’s close friend and fellow playwright and novelist Wilkie Collins by young Limelight star Joseph John Scatley.

Equally at home in his role as Dickens’s agent John Forster is Christopher Bawden, and Hannah Lilly Baker makes a believable Ellen Ternan, while Ellen’s mother, Mrs Ternan, is skilfully played by Fiona Bassett.

Each of the performers takes on secondary roles and, in the case of Christopher Bawden and Joseph John Scatley this deftly includes some of the toys from Dicken’s childhood as he reflects back on his own early Christmases.

The two-act play  includes some marvellous sequences from Dickens’s work such as his trademark Christmas Carol and his seasonally-themed short stories A Christmas Tree and The Haunted Man.

There’s still one performance of a Dickens of an Evening to run at the Town Hall, which starts at 7.30pm this evening (Saturday).

Llan's Shop Local drive joins national campaign

The Keep Llangollen Special (KLS) community group is arranging to have its next regular Buy Local Day coincide with the national Small Business Saturday to be held on December 6.

Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-political, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities.

The day itself takes place on the first shopping Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses.

Mike Edwards, of KLS, said: “We have asked Llangollen Chamber of Trade & Tourism and Cittaslow Llangollen to join us in promoting this event and we would like to appeal to all
Llangollen and Dee Valley businesses to become fully involved.

“We will be preparing and distributing posters and promotion material and I am the lead
KLS committee member on this initiative and I would be grateful if business owners would contact me at: BuyLocalLlangollen@keepllangollenspecial.org.uk.”

He added: “I would strongly urge businesses and residents to fully back Small Business
Saturday which keeps money recirculating in our Local Economy to everyone's benefit.

“We are fortunate to have numerous and diverse local businesses run by hard-working local people which keeps Llangollen vibrant and viable, and we are asking residents to use those business or face lose them due to the difficult economic circumstances."

* For more information on Small Business Saturday, go to: https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/

Trains through to Corwen "exceed expectations"

At the end of a short season for passenger trains on its new extension to Corwen, Llangollen Railway has hailed the operation a "great success which exceeded expectations".

In the first 10 days of operations after the first trains for supporters ran on October 22, nearly 4,000 passengers sampled a ride on the 2.2 mile extension beyond Carrog.

 

For seven days of the half term holiday the trains operated as one steam locomotive with four coaches for the scheduled three trains a day, when the engine ran with a special headboard, The Corwen Revival.

 

The trains early in each day were fully loaded with visitors eager to experience the journey to the new temporary terminus, known by the bilingual name as Dwyrain Corwen East.

 

* Black Five 45337 with The Remembrance as viewed from the access ramp at Dwyrain Corwen East on November 9.

Kevin Gooding, general manager of Llangollen Railway, said: "We are delighted with the public response to the Corwen train services. Visitors have come from near and far to sample the extended line.

"As well as those who travelled by train from Llangollen, others joined the train at Corwen to sample the reverse journey option.

 

"This is a passenger flow we wish to develop next year when a full season of operations will commence following an official opening for the station at Dwyrain Corwen East on March 1."
 

Ken Skates, Welsh Assembly member for Clwyd South, who was on the first public train on October 27, said: "It is fantastic to see this Welsh Government-supported project going full steam ahead after decades of incredible hard work and dedication by an amazing team of volunteers.
 

"While this restoration project has been a genuine labour of love for those involved, the unbelievable amount of blood, sweat and tear that’s gone into this fantastic achievement cannot be over estimated.
 

"They have turned a mission impossible into a reality and created something we can all be exceptionally proud of."
 

During the final weekend of trains, on November 8 and 9, the locomotive, Black Five, No.45337, ran with a special headboard, The Remembrance, to mark the national commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.

 

In addition, the owners of the locomotive, the 26B Loco Company, arranged for the nameplate Ayrshire Yeomanry to be fixed to the running plate, as formerly carried by long lost class mate No.45156.

The railway says that whilst the train operations were successful, some lessons have been learned about passenger expectations and that their needs will be incorporated into the procedures for the next series of trains to Corwen during the Mince Pie Special season from December 26.

 

In the meantime work will continue with the fitting out of the facilities at the temporary station which requires, amongst other things, the provision of electric power with a link up to the mains supply and the completion of a footpath to the entrance.

 

George Jones, for Llangollen Railway, said: "Everyone is pleased with the success of the trains on the extended line.

 

"However, the operation has demonstrated the limitations of terminating at the phase 1 station which is without facilities to run an engine around the train.

 

"This emphasises the need to proceed to the phase 2 terminal station nearer the town centre directly funding can be secured for this final stage of the extension project. Only then will all the advantages of serving Corwen be realised."

Share your views on local issues at World Cafe

Would you like the opportunity to discuss local issues that concern you?

If so, Cittaslow Llangollen is hosting a 'World Cafe' event this Saturday, 15th November, in the Town Hall between 1:00pm and 4:00pm (drop in at a time to suit you).

A Cittaslow spokesperson said: "A World Cafe is a way for anyone and everyone who cares to take part in a wider discussion about what matters to them, sharing ideas and perspectives.

"If you're not feeling chatty don't worry, you are welcome to write your thoughts down - we'd prefer that you share them any way you can.

"By learning about what people feel is important, we can create links to connect ideas and people, and take projects forward.

"Everyone is welcome to come along and get involved, young or old. Refreshments are available.

"Please share with your friends and help get as many people as possible to come along and share their thoughts."

Vote for schemes to support with collared villains' cash

* Winston Roddick, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, with Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki and Dave Evans, P.A.C.T project manager.

 

Voting lines are open for people across North Wales to choose which local community group they want to support - using cash seized from criminals.

A total pot of £42,000 is up for grabs as part of a new scheme set up by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick to reward groups which help tackle anti-social behaviour and combat crime and disorder.

 

The Your Community, Your Choice initiative is being supported by North Wales Police and the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT).

 

Two groups in each of the six counties will get £3,000 apiece and a £6,000 prize will go to the winning  organisation that operates across North Wales.

 

People will be able to vote via the websites of the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner and North Wales Police from November 10 to December 12.

 

The prize money includes cash confiscated from criminals through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the rest coming from the Police Commissioner.

 

Mr Roddick said: "This scheme has been designed to benefit community groups across North Wales and at the same time hit villains where it hurts them most - in the pocket.

 

"This is a first class scheme which brings the police and the community closer together and  gives an opportunity for the community to decide how they would like to see the funds we’ve confiscated from criminals spent in their community.

 

"The message to criminals is abundantly clear - we will seize their ill-gotten gains and use the money for the benefit of the communities from which the money was taken in the first place.

 

"We have had some fantastic entries which underlines how much excellent work is happening across North Wales in terms of reducing crime and disorder and making  North Wales an even safer place to live, work and visit."

 

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki was equally enthusiastic.

 

He said: “This is an excellent scheme which allows members of the public and local organisations right in the heart of communities to bid into a fund and to be part of the solutions to crime and disorder in their area.

 

"It is deeply satisfying that money taken out of the hands of criminals is being put back into the community in this way.

 

"Our aim is to drive home the message that crime doesn't pay and that the Police and the Commissioner are listening to people's concerns and then acting on them.

 

"This is about the local community and local organisations working together and working with the police to put things in place at a local level in order to tackle the issues which matter to the public most."

 

PACT manager Dave Evans explained "We want to see as many people as possible voting for the schemes they would like us to support.

 

"We are delighted that we have had some particularly high quality applications from across North Wales.

 

“The Your Community, Your Choice initiative gives us the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of community groups and also importantly gives our local neighbourhood policing teams the opportunity to engage with those groups and support them with those projects that they want to run."

 

Details about how to vote for your chosen community group can be found at www.northwales-pcc.gov.uk or www.north-wales.police.uk
 

Finalists        

 

Locally

 

The Plas Madoc Association of Volunteers want to run a  three month pilot project, Social Inclusion Futsal League, at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre for teams across the Wrexham area. This will comprise of a weekly competition, the aims and objectives of the league are to reduce crime, engage local young people, offer opportunities for training and C.V. building as well as an overall sense health and well-being.

 

North Wales

 

DangerPoint is a safety education and life-skills charity based in Talacre, Flintshire. Working regionally DangerPoint was set up via a public and private partnership to improve safety health and wellbeing of children and young people across North Wales and to encourage them to make positive life choices and not become involved in crime and antisocial behaviour. The Prevent project will build on the Key Stage Three programme aimed at young people in secondary schools, and will target specific groups of young people from youth justice teams and pupil referral units across north Wales.

 

The Flick Project is part of the VI-Ability Educational Programme which aims to use to use the motivational power of hockey to create safer, stronger and more respectful communities across six local authorities in North Wales through the development of young people’s potential. The activities will include late night rush hockey coaching and wellbeing sessions in targeted areas. Rush hockey is a new and exclusive product of Hockey Wales, and is a new way to play the game that is faster, more intense and focused.

.

North Wales Deaf Association has been working with the Deaf community and with people with hearing loss since 1994. They wish to run five crime prevention workshops in three locations across North Wales. These workshops will be designed to be easily accessible to people with hearing loss and will be designed to cove crime prevention topics which have been identified from feedback received whilst working in the community. 

AM aims to save commuter trains service

At a meeting this week between Arriva Trains Wales and Aled Roberts AM, the local Assembly Member called for the withdrawal of proposals to cut the 7.47 commuter train service from Wrexham to Birmingham which also serves Chirk and Ruabon in May next year.

 

Regular meetings are to be arranged between Arriva Trains Wales and the Lib Dem Assembly Member for North Wales which he hopes will ensure that local people have plenty of time to make their views known on any proposed changes to timetables next May.

 

“I met with Arriva Trains Wales today to voice local concerns that Wrexham will lose a commuter service when we should be getting more direct commuting services,” said Mr Roberts.

 

“We need transport priorities that get people to work.

 

 “Following the loss of a direct commuting train service that linked Llandudno and Manchester, I am concerned that North East Wales is being ignored by Cardiff-based planners in the Welsh Government and Arriva Trains Wales.

 

“The 07.47 train which provides a direct link without any changes between Wrexham and Birmingham is one of our busiest commuter trains serving Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham in time for the working day. Its likely replacement will leave about 15 minutes earlier and then wait at Shrewsbury which makes it very inconvenient for those who want to commute using public transport.

 

“I understand that the train which forms the current 07.47 service to Birmingham is to be transferred to the Cambrian line so that there is a new hourly service from May 2015 linking Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.”