It's friendliness all the way for Westheads in China

* Eleven-year-old Nia hands over the panda lucky charm.

As the Westheads reached the largest city they have so far encountered in China one of the trio declared how much he loves the country.

Mates Dyfan Hughes, 18, from Llangollen, Louis Dennis, 19, from Garth, and James Thomas, also 19, from Wrexham, are making their 1,000 journey in aid of the British Heart Foundation in memory of Tony Edge, the father of their friend Harrison who died following a heart attack in 2024. 

Last week they reached Chengdu, which has a population of 20 million, where Louis told their daily video log as he walked about the city: "I love China. Everyone is always smiling. I've never felt so safe in my life ... China is the safest country in the world!"

Also on the log he sent a "massive shoutout" to the children at Llangollen's Ysgol y Gwernant, of which both he and Louis are old boys.

He praised them for having raised an amazing £840-plus for the lads' chosen charity, The British Heart Foundation, by taking their bikes to school and riding them in a fundraising game between posters set up on the school field showing some of the places where the Westheads had passed through so far.

The only real problems the lads have come up against of late have been the 42C degree heat, which forced them to take a short break from riding, and the local wildlife after James was bitten by a racoon in the street and needed some precautionary tetanus and rabies jabs.

* Chongqing, city in the sky.

But back out on the streets in Chengdu there was more evidence of the friendliness being shown to them by local people when an 11-year-old girl called Nia told them in extremely good English that she was gifting them a panda lucky charm.

In a later video log there was a brief glimpse of the city of Chongqing, something of a phenomenon as it's built into the mountains, which means that on one side your standing on the ground floor but actually 100 feet in the air when you step across the road.   

All the time the lads are taking in the spectacular sights and sounds of China there's a continuing flood of online donations from supporters back home for the British Heart Foundation for which they have so far raised over £50,000. 

* llanblogger is recording their adventures along the way. To follow the journey on their social media and make a donation if you wish, go to: https://linktr.ee/westheads 

Would you like to see Chamber of Trade and Tourism revived?

* The Town Council is seeking the views of local businesses on a possible revival of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism.

Llangollen Town Council is looking into the possibility of reviving the town's Chamber of Trade and Tourism and is sounding out support for the move with local businesses.

In a letter which has gone out to them, the Deputy Town Clerk, Heulwen Wright, says: "Llangollen Town Council has recently been discussing the possibility of re-establishing a Chamber of Trade and Tourism for the Town and surrounding area. 

"Before taking any further steps, councillors would like to understand whether local businesses would welcome such an initiative and, importantly, whether there is interest in becoming involved.

"A successful Chamber of Trade can provide a strong collective voice for businesses, help promote the town, encourage collaboration, and support local economic growth. However, for any new organisation to be effective, it is important that it reflects the needs and aspirations of the business community."

The council believes there are a number of areas that it would like to explore with local businesses, including:

* What businesses would like a Chamber of Trade to achieve and what its aims and objectives should be.

* Whether a membership fee should be introduced and, if so, what benefits members would expect in return.

*  What support the Town Council could provide to help establish the group and what support businesses would find most valuable.

* How the Chamber could become self-sustaining, resilient, and representative in the long term.

* Identifying common goals and priorities for the short, medium, and longer term.

* Opportunities for business and staff training.

* Interest in regular guest speakers, presentations, and networking events.

* Whether the Chamber should represent Llangollen alone or a wider Llangollen and District area.

* The roles that would need to be filled, such as Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, and whether business owners would be willing to take on these responsibilities and attend regular meetings.

* Working collaboratively with partner organisations, including North Wales Police and Denbighshire County Council.

The letter adds: "We would very much welcome the opportunity to meet with you, hear your views, and discuss whether a Chamber of Trade and Tourism could bring benefits to the local business community.

"Your ideas and feedback will play an important role in shaping any future plans, and we hope you will be able to join the conversation. Please tear the slip below and pop it through the door of the Town Council Office to enable us to gauge initial interest and plan a first meeting with Business owners.

"We look forward to hearing from you."

Interested businesses are asked to answer yes or no to the question: "Would you be interested in joining a Chamber of Trade and Tourism?" and, on a slip of paper, fill in the following details: 

Name of Business_______________________________________________

Name of Business Owner_________________________________________

Email Address _________________________________________________________

* The filled-in slips of paper can be dropped into the Llangollen Town Council office in Parade Street.

Mayor invites people to his annual Civic Service

The Town Mayor of Llangollen, Councillor Damon Richards-Gwilliam, has issued an invitation to everyone in Llangollen to attend his annual Civic Service to be held at St Collen's Church on Sunday August 9, starting at 11am.

The service will be led by Father Lee Taylor.

The Mayor said: "I’m looking forward to welcoming our community, local organisations and visiting guests and to my Civic Service. It will be a wonderful opportunity to come together, celebrate our community spirit and strengthen the connections that make our community so special. I hope to see many familiar and new faces there."

After the service light refreshments will be served at Llangollen Town Hall, to which all members of the congregation are invited. 

The Mayor added: "All are welcome - individuals, community groups and so on."

* To accept the invitation, email to: deputytownclerk@llangollentowncouncil.gov.uk by July 27.

Dream comes true for Aled at the Royal Welsh Show

* Aled Morris sings with the Hawkstone Farmer's Choir.

A Llangollen town councillor has revealed what it was like to achieve a dream by singing with his TV-star choir at the Royal Welsh Show.

Back in May former town mayor Aled Morris - himself a working farmer - stormed to victory in this year's Britain's Got Talent competition with the Hawkstone Farmer's Choir, which was formed by Jeremy Clarkson to boost mental well-being amongst the farming community.

Their prize was £250,000 and an appearance in the Royal Variety Performance.

The amazing run of success continued last week with a coveted appearance at the prestige Royal Welsh in Llanelwedd where they performed a rousing version of Welsh classic Calon Lân.

And Aled, who also got married recently to partner Sarah Griffiths, has told llanblogger exactly what it felt like to sing to thousands of adoring fans at the home of Welsh agricultural pride.

He said: "It was an incredible experience to have stepped into the main ring at the Royal Welsh showground.

"Many of the choir members had never been to the Royal Welsh Show before, so for many of them, it was their first experience, and what an experience to have!

"There was a real buzz around the place and I was stopped a number of times by members of the public asking what time we would be singing, which was 5.30, which is quite late in the day, but we were all blown away by the amount of people that had come to see and hear us. The grandstand was full, the bank was covered in members of the public, and it was five or six deep all around the ring.

"As we walked around the ring before the performance, we were cheered on with plenty of well wishers and high-fives a-plenty!

"We sang our three Britain's Got Talent songs and then sang Calon Lân, with the Welsh members singing the verses and the other members singing the chorus. It went down really well with a standing ovation from the members' stands."

During their performance, the 30-strong choir shared with the crowd that they are soon to release their first album and that their debut single will be This Is Home, the song they performed during BGT.

Aled added: "It was definitely a dream that was achieved that day and we have been all working incredibly hard down in the recording studio - real world studios - last week and will be there again this week to finish off our album with a single release planned for late August/early September and the album to launch- mid September."

Latest local roadworks update from Denbighshire County Council

Latest local roadworks update from Denbighshire County Council is: 

2m south of entrance to slurry pit JUNCTION OF A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD, 03/08/2026 - 05/08/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN, Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

TRACK TO LLANDYN HALL FROM A539, 03/08/2026 - 05/08/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

JUNCTION OF TRACK TO LLANDYN HALL FROM A539 TO APPROX 85M FURTHER EAST A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD, 03/08/2026 - 05/08/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works MJ QUINN, Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

ADJACENT DRILL HALL, WERN ROAD 09/09/2026 - 11/09/2026, Adnewyddu Polyn / Renew Pole PLATINUM TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Heol y Farchnad / Market Street, MARKET STREET, 10/10/2026 - 11/10/2026, Gwyl Fwyd Llangollen / Llangollen Food Festival CHAPTER 8 SOLUTIONS LTD, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

FELIN BACHE PONT, BACHE MILL ROAD, 11/08/2026 - 21/08/2026, Gwaith Ar Bont / Bridge Works QUANTUM TM (DCC), Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

FELIN BACHE PONT, BACHE MILL ROAD, 22/08/2026 - 23/08/2026, Gwaith Ar Bont / Bridge Works KM CONSTRUCTION (QUANTUM LLANGOLLEN) Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

FELIN BACHE PONT, BACHE MILL ROAD 10/08/2026 - 11/08/2026, Gwaith Ar Bont / Bridge Works KM CONSTRUCTION (QUANTUM LLANGOLLEN) Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

OUTSIDE PROPERTY GLANABER 2 BACHE MILL ROAD 29/07/2026 - 31/07/2026, Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

North Wales Opera lays on an evening of scintillating song

* Ladies’ choir Lleisiau’r Afon perform the witches' chorus from Macbeth.

The International Eisteddfod is famous as the place where Llangollen meets the world. And last night its Pavilion home greeted and played perfect host to a Night at the Opera.

For one night only the marvellous North Wales Opera, under the consummate direction of Anne Williams-King, filled the famous auditorium with a colourful cavalcade of scintillating singing where we could drink in the very best from the immortal pens of Verdi, Mozart, Puccini and and Verdi. 

As a bonus, towards the conclusion of a packed programme, came a tantalising taste of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Bernstein.

This feast was laid on in fine style by a hugely talented cast of professional and emerging singers from both near and far, all to the skilled accompaniment of musical director Andrew Charity. 

Priscilla Fong from Singapore and Linus Lai from Hong Kong let us hear well-known arias from operas such as the Magic Flute and Marriage of Figaro while also duetting with North Wales Opera's two youngest and most promising singers, 17-year-old Grace Worrall and Llangollen’s own Rose Burgon, 16, fresh from her recent success of being crowned the Eisteddfod's 2026 Young Voice of Musical Theatre.

Adding the voices of rich experience were acclaimed baritone Robin Gruffudd Hughes, who has sung with leading companies including the Royal Opera, and classical tenor Lee J Cander. By them we were treated respectively to the Father's Aria from Hansel and Gretel by Humperdink and Puccini's La Bohème. 

And it was Lee, from South Wales, who provided the evening's stunning grand finale with the timeless Nessum Dorma - once sung into legend from a stage just the other side of the Pavilion partition by Maestro Pavarotti himself. 

Also swelling the North Wales Opera ranks for this special occasion were Yorkshire-based soprano Victoria Price and North Wales soprano Eve Marie who skilfully performed arias from Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème, and Carmen.

Leigh Mason, musical director of the Fron Male Voice Choir and ladies’ choir Lleisiau’r Afon, and Lizzie Clifford, a regular in local productions by the Llangollen Operatic and Twenty Club, entertained with songs from musicals such as Carousel and Cabaret. 

Lizzie's Mr Snow was particularly sweet and fine and who can readily forget Leigh's clawsome Cat Duet with Katie Nilsbird. 

Only minutes earlier Leigh had been on stage at the helm of her choir for a spectacularly atmospheric version of the witches' chorus from Verdi's Macbeth.

It was truly an occasion for exquisite solos - Rose Burgon's hauntingly touching O Mio Babbino Caro, for instance - dazzling duets and powerful chorus pieces.

All this combined to create an evening of entertainment not easily to be forgotten.

But perhaps it can be somewhat relived as next up from North Wales Opera at the Pavilion comes Madame Butterfly this December. Booking: llangollenpavilion.co.uk or call 01978 862001.

* Robin Gruffudd Hughes with some expressive Mozart.

* Linus Lai journeyed from Hong Kong to perform.

* Priscilla Fong duets with Rose Burgon.

*  Katie Nilsbird, left, sets to in the Cat Duet with Leigh Mason.

* Lizzie Clifford's sweet on Mr Snow.

Police update on smell of smoke in Llangollen

Police have issued information on their Facebook page following numerous reports about a smelly of smoke in the area, which says: