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2006 November
Unfortunately the Bash was poorly attended this year and ran at a loss with the day being saved by several people who made donations. Many thanks to all those who did attend or supported us with contributions.
Our income, as we have mentioned many times, is dependent upon sponsorship either through advertising or directly and from the Bash. The lack of income from the Bash and the decreasing number of people in business in the village means there will be a shortfall for the coming year but we will continue to publish until the money runs out!
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DENBIGHSHIRE - LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The present Unitary Development Plan will be superseded by a Local Development Plan (LDP) which will establish the potential areas for housing, employment and recreation. Carrog is identified within the County as a Rural Community and as such has always had a development boundary (the UDP).
The County Council identified key issues in sustaining rural communities such as ours.
These are:
• The need to sustain villages as thriving and dynamic communities;
• The important role as social centres of schools, shops, post offices, church and chapel;
• The need to provide people with the opportunity to buy a home or get a job in these communities.
There has been very little development in Carrog and Llidiart y Parc in the last 30 years or so following the construction of Maes y Llan, with only three new houses built since this time. Carrog has become a very popular place to live with consequently some of the highest house prices in the area. This makes it difficult for people to move from their first home to larger properties with the consequent result that housing stock is not available to first time buyers who would in any case struggle with prices.
The Community and County Councils have already identified several areas of the village for potential housing development and if anybody would like to see the proposed plan or propose the inclusion of other land, they should contact the County Environment Directorate (Planning) Trem Clwyd, Ruthin. Tel: 01824 708057
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY HAPPY RETURNS
To Mr Idwal Pritchard of Maes Y Llan, on reaching his 90th Birthday on the 8th of November. Many of Carrog’s long standing 30 and 40 somethings will remember Mr Pritchard as our Headmaster in Carrog School. He also played a key part in the acquisition of the first village hall and was later a Treasurer.
Thank you for the ‘Tynnu Llyn’ experience on a Tuesday afternoon and the Balloon bursting sessions at Christmas! We trust you will have a happy day and many more of them, from Carrog’s 30 & 40 somethings!
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Having just spent a good hour chasing a would be Casanova out of my ewes, it occurred to me that a significant amount of my time is spent chasing run away live stock.
Earlier in the year I woke to discover my cows had decided they required more food and so had gone to graze one of the hayfields. This in itself wasn’t too much of a problem as I only had to turn them from there and shut the gate, however when I walked to the gateway the gate was nowhere to be seen. It was around about then that I suffered my first sense of humour failure for the day. Whilst I was ranting and raving and cursing the criminal mastermind who had struggled in the dead of night across the fields with my gate on his back I noticed something odd out of the corner of my eye. It was as I turned to look I suffered my second sense of humour failure of the day. Enid, (a cow known for her belligerence) was wondering across the field wearing my gate around her neck. I don’t know if anyone has ever tried to remove a gate from a cow’s neck but I can assure you it’s not as easy as it sounds. Enid just wouldn’t co-operate and seemed to become quite fond of our new found bling. Having tried for the best part of the morning to ease the gate over her head, I suffered my third sense of humour failure of the day. I think Enid must have realised I had reached the end of my tether as I tugged at the gate, she twisted her neck and the gate came off. It just goes to prove, brute strength and ignorance does sometimes work.
With the cows safely locked out the field soon recovered from it’s uninvited overnight guests and it wasn’t long before we were mowing it.
For most of the harvest my backside was safely welded to the seat of the tractor (a fact which was pointed out to me on several occasions). While I was either mowing, tedding or baling I was constantly worrying about how I was going to carry the bales. The lads who have always helped me in the past have grown up, and the lure of birds and booze seems to be a preferable option to sweating in a dusty hayfield for a few quid, a bite to eat and occasional verbal abuse.
As it turned out I need not have worried. Fortunately for me the golden oldies stepped into the breach and saved the day. They were a gang of men for whom the days of birds (if not booze) were well and truly behind them. It turned out to be an expensive few days for me, as they all seemed capable of downing their own body weight in lager. I’m still taking the empties to the bottle bank now and the bar bill from the Grouse is going to take some serious explaining to the accountant! It might have cost a fortune at the time, but they were worth every penny. Thanks very much Gents. Same time again next year?
Shearing this year proved to be the same as every other year, a combination of sunburn, backache, cut fingers, bad temper, bad language and a general feeling of total disillusionment with life. As you can imagine, when the last sheep was sheared and the wool sheets were stored in the shed ready for collection life looked rosy again. Approximately a week later however Carrog suffered a cloud burst, and whilst I was busy brushing water out of the house, unbeknown to me a drain on the yard had blocked and the shed holding my wool had been turned into an indoor swimming pool. When the rain eased off and the threat to the house was over, I went down the yard and discovered the disaster. Luckily it was still thundering and my less than rational reaction to my sodden wool was drowned out by mother nature.
The exceptionally dry summer we’ve experienced this year has been a somewhat double edged sword. It has made for a good if low yield in harvest, and has allowed me earlier in the year to finish lambs with relative ease. However as the dry weather really started to bite and the Llan began to resemble the Serengeti, the lack of rain became a major issue.
Poor re-growth after the harvest has meant a lack of available clean grazing for weaned fattening lambs. Consequentially there are more lambs left on the farm at this time than in previous years. As the days shorten and it gets colder these lambs will be harder to finish and are going to require more nutrients than grass alone can provide, so it looks like the feed bill is going to be larger than usual this year.
Plans to plough and sew a field with rape in order to fatten lambs had to be put on the back burner as the dry conditions would have made for poor crop establishment. Although crop establishment was one factor in the jobs postponement the main reason was simply that the field was so hard and dry we just couldn’t get the plough in the ground!
Fencing was another job affected by the dry weather. I spent a week after the harvest doing a stretch, and the ground again was so hard and dry it took a super human effort to knock the stakes in. I was almost relived when the handle on the sledge hammer broke and I had to take a break.
Watching the forecast on Sunday I was please to discover a wet week was promised and so with a bit of luck the ground will soften to make my fencing a bit easier. Unfortunately, once it starts to rain it tends not to stop, so I should imagine that my next article will be a rant about the weather being to damn wet.
Gareth Llan.
© Copyright Gareth Bryan 2006
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Carl and Lorraine, our resident artists are currently featuring paintings of Carrog in the exhibition at Y Capel in Llangollen, along with other local artists. Please pay a visit in support and maybe even be tempted to make a purchase.
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Amanda Jane Williams who died suddenly at her home, Carrog Isa on October 15th.
Our deepest sympathies are extended to husband Iwan and their three children Gruff, Jac and Lowri. Amanda was secretary at Glyndyfrdwy school. Her funeral took place at Glyndyfrdwy on Wednesday 25th October.
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Mrs. Valmai Webb identified my sister Olwen.
Her surname is Williams. My brother’s name is Trevor, and my mother was Betty.
Our father Hugh (Hughie) was the gamekeeper. We lived, as Mrs. Webb says, in Ty Cynnes. I went to ballet classes for a while with her daughter Elspeth, I used to wait for Mrs. Webb to pick me up by the milk churn on a concrete platform opposite the Smithy.
My grandfather Sam Williams lived in Erw Dala. He was also a gamekeeper, as was his father. My Great Uncle Llew (Llewelyn of course) Williams lived at Ty Gwyn, and he was station master at one time, though before I knew him. My great uncle Tegid lived way up the hill on the main road that goes across the top there. He was a great dog trainer.
I had other great uncles (the family had about 12 boys and one girl I think) but they were the ones who lived locally.
Sam William’s first wife (my grandmother) died young at 32 of TB. They lived at that time in ... I forget the name of the cottage, it is between Carrog and Corwen on the back road up on the hillside. Owain Glyndwr was supposed to have hidden in the ivy there. He must have done an awful lot of hiding in ivy.
Sam married again and had a ‘second brood’. His daughter Jean married Glyn ? another Williams or maybe Roberts ? and they ran the milk bar in Corwen for a number of years.
When his mother died, his Dad Sam was still incapacitated from WW1 and my Dad as the eldest remembers looking after his two younger brothers and taking them to school. He used to make sure their knees were clean, mainly! One day they walked to school through the brook, and thought their ‘crime’ undetected till they left wet footprints all through the schoolroom - their boots were full of water.
It is a pity that generation is all dead, not least because they would have loved to fill you in on some old stories of Carrog. My dad and his brother my uncle Vaughan were great storytellers, full of humour. My Uncle Vaughan once put a corncrake in the school piano! The youngest brother was Sam, and they had a sister who died at 13 months.
I live in Perth, Western Australia.
I visited Carrog a few years ago with my husband and two boys. They were astounded at its beauty. I was too, I thought maybe I had built it up in imagination in my years of absence, but it was even more beautiful than I remembered. It might have been on that same holiday that I met up with my Carrog School best friend Elin Robson from Ty Canol.
I found “Y Bont” on the web, and look forward to each edition. Keep up the good work!
Regards
Di Jacoby
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1st - 31 Tina Wombwell
2nd - 13 Ian Lebbon
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Owain Glyndwr League - Tuesday October 17th
Glyndyfrdwy 5 - Carrog 1
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* BOYS OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL, LLANSANTFFRAID GLYN DYFRDWY- 1902
Headmaster - Mr Fred Davies, Infant teacher - Ann Davies (wife of Fred), Pupil Teacher - Anne Marie Dau
Back Row - 3rd from left Emlyn Hughes, Ty Pyrs
Third Row - next to Headmaster his son Fred, 3rd from right Evan Davies, Derwydd
Front Row - centre William Edw. Roberts, Fedw
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1 ?
2 Eric Stanley
3 Dennis Jones, Bluebell
4 Jack Astley, Plas Cedryn
5 Eifion Jones, 3 Mount Cottages
6 Godfrey Edwards, Dee Bank
7 Ernie Newness, 3 Tai Teg, Parc
8 Vyrnwy Jones
9 Glyn Thomas, Carchardy
10 Samuel Green, 1 Dee Mount Cottages
11 Islwyn Davies, Sycamore Terrace
12 Merle Davies, Y Wern
13 Eunice Davies, Ty Capel (MC)
14 Enid Davies, Derwydd, Parc
15 Icy Spencer, Parc
16 ?
17 Eliza Green, 1 Dee Mount Cottages
18 Glenys Jones, Parc Terrace
19 Heulwen Evans, Parc Terrace
20 Mair Edwards, Carchardy
21 Falmai Roberts, Cadogan
22 Gwenol Jones, Carchardy
23 Rhiianon Davies, Derwydd, Parc
24 Eleanor Green, 1 Dee Mount Cottages
25 Margaret Williams, Tanllan
26 Morfydd Williams, Carrog Isaf
27 Beryl Williams, Erw Dalar
28 Alwena Parry, Parc
29 Maggie Green, 1 Dee Mount Cottages
30 Morwena Roberts
31 Connie Williams, Penarth
32 ?
33 Marion Evans, Gwylfa Terrace, Parc
34 Beryl Jones, Parc Terrace
35 Annie Jones, Fedw Isaf
36 Barbara Williams, Ty Gwyn
37 Sylvia Armstrong, Penlan
38 Betty Webb, Ty’n Llwyn
39 Mair Jones, Ty Du
40 Rhys Webb, Ty’n Llwyn
41 Francis Parry, Pint Ynys y Gwiail
42 Oswald Jones, Ty Du
43 Danny Jones, 3 Mount Cottages
44 Conway Edwards, Carchardy
45 Myfyr Lloyd
46 Gwyn Jones, Bluebell
47 Stanley Newness, 3 Tai Teg, Parc
48 William Edw. Roberts, Tyn Celyn
49 Phillip Williams, Ty Gwyn
50 George Green, 1 Dee Mount Cottages
51 Tom Ellis Jones, Gorffwysfa
52 Jane Ann Jones, Ty Du
53 Connie Jones, Ty Du
54 Catherine Armstrong, Penlan
55 Eirlys Jones, Ty Du
56 Mona Edwards, Islwyn, Parc
57 Menna Jones, Llys Owain, Carchardy
58 Ronald Jones, Llys Owain, Carchardy
59 Herbert Williams, Tanllan
60 Grenville Teague, Gwyfla Terr., Parc
61 Tommy Roberts, Groes Faen
62 Frank Lewis, Allt y Celyn
63 Miss Ceinwen Humphreys
64 Mr. Williams Jones, Headmaster
65 Miss Kitty Lloyd, Teacher
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Carrog School Council members were chosen to give a presentation at the Young People’s Conference at Oriel House, St. Asaph. They informed the audience of 150 people about their meetings and decisions with photographs of events and school council projects.
The school pupils took part in the Chapel and Church Harvest Thanksgiving Services and were praised by the congregations at both services. £32 was collected for Macmillan Nurses at the Chapel service which brought the total to £132 raised in total for this charity this term.
An art exhibition of the children’s work on the theme of Australia was held in the Village Hall. The work displayed was the winning entry in the Llangollen Pavilion competition. 27 children received medals and certificates from the local librarian as a result of taking part in the summer reading programme.
The young children went to meet the author Malachy Doyle in Corwen Library and attended the Jamboree in Llangollen Town Hall.
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The following has been received from the Welsh Tourist Board:
Rock Blasts Will Make A5 Safe
Massive rock excavations to make safe and re-open permanently the new A 5 route at Ty Nant will begin next month.
A series of blasting operations over the next few months will enable contractors to remove some 250,000 tonnes of rock towering over part of the route between Corwen and Cerrigydrudion - and prevent the rock-fall hazard which led to the closure of the new road.
The re-opened section of the old A5 road currently serving as an alternative route will need to be briefly and temporarily closed on a regular basis during the blasts to avoid any possible risk to the road users.
The closure periods will be kept to the absolute minimum required to enable the contractors to check the blast zone prior to and after each blast and will last no more than 30 minutes.
It is currently planned to close the re-opened route for blasting for 30 minute periods at 2 p.m. each day on Monday to Friday each week beginning in the week commencing November 6th. The target is to complete the blasting operations by Easter next year. Completion of the works and the reopening of the new A5 section is anticipated in late spring.
Before the start of blasting operations, the Assembly Government intends to stage a presentation at Ysgol Dinmael to give local communities and businesses the fullest details of what will be entailed. The precise date and time of the presentation will be announced shortly.
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