Well, there's certainly plenty of things to see and do around the region this Bank Holiday weekend with loads of local events - but will you be bothered to get out there and get in a queue of traffic? It might be worth it...
Read the rest of this entry
More and more young people are posting worrying messages to this website asking for help and advice as they fight health problems related to weight loss.
Among the latest is Catie who writes: "I am a bulimic. I wake up in the middle of the night and throw up for 1 hour... someone help."
Meanwhile, anonymous 'XX-XX' left the message: "I want to take help but don't want to get too fat."
Read the rest of this entry
Whilst much is being said about as we consider its legacy on this the anniversary, Jeannette has been in touch to share her experiences as each year she takes children from Belarus into her home in Connah's Quay to give them a holiday and some respite.
She recalls: "In 1994 my family hosted our first two children from Belarus. Their names were Erena and Kseniya, The first night they stayed we heard the water running for a long time and, being a typical 'Mother Hen', I went to investigate. I walked in to find them washing their clothes ready for the next morning. All they had were the clothes they arrived in."
Read the rest of this entry
Well, that's what Glyn is hoping to do by visiting his old stomping ground. He left a message to say: "In the 50s I used to go to Cefn Mawr to do a little courting. Now, back in the area, looking to see how Edith Williams is doing."
A local band has recorded an England World Cup song with Wayne Rooney’s cousin - and his fiancee, Coleen McLoughlin, could star in the video.
Songwriter and lead guitarist for rock trio No Reason, Steve Maitland, 47, from Ewloe, near Buckley, told the : “Coleen said she wants to be in the video, which we’ll hopefully be shooting next month."
Model gallows and a letter from the infamous official hangman Albert Pierrepoint will be on display at an exhibition at Ruthin Gaol in May, reports .
Meanwhile, says there is a selling exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse at Erddig Hall, near Wrexham, from May 17.
Flintshire schools face a massive £29m repair and maintenance bill to bring them up to scratch - but there's no chance of that being done any time soon.
That's the grim prediction of Heather Loveridge, assistant director of education in Flintshire. She told the : "We have a huge backlog of works because of historic under-investment. You don't just catch up on that in a couple of years."
The website says it is understood that at least half of Wales' 22 councils have admitted they are lagging behind on the Welsh Assembly's target to have all schools repairs made good by 2010.
Wrexham Council may spend £80,000 on a steel fence around a poisoned lagoon in Rhos, near Wrexham, reports . The lagoon is on the site of the old Llwyneinion brickworks site and when it caught fire in 1980 the effects of pollution were felt 20 miles away. It's thought the pool contains more than 1,100 chemical drums dumped since the 1960s.
Pensioners in Flintshire are worried about possible cuts to the bus services they currently use, reports . Many of the older people affected do not drive and would be unable to afford taxis, leaving them effectively "confined to their own homes".
It's not just older people who have concerns about public transport. 'Wales lover' from Buckley, who is a student, complains about the difficulties of getting to college in Wrexham. Likewise, Yale college student Aneurin sees the lack of evening buses as a drawback to life in the area.
It seems the availability of public transport can affect quality of life for young and old.
Steel company Corus Living Solutions has won a to build accommodation for British soldiers. The new contract means that 120 jobs will be secured at the company's plant in Shotton, Flintshire.
At one time, Shotton Steelworks employed up to 13,000 people and dominated the local landscape. Ken, living in nearby Flint, remembers "...the night sky lighting up when they tapped the blast furnaces, giving off marvellous views over the river into the Wirral and Cheshire, it was a sight you would never forget, better than any firework display."
Wrexham's is competing in the Formula Woman racing competition and is hoping to prove that women can succeed in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport. The post-graduate student hopes to turn her passion for go-karting into a full time career.
Younger people too are making inroads into what has traditionally been a male preserve, with girls' football in the area continuing to grow in popularity. Perhaps some time in the future women's football will start to receive the same sort of attention as the men's game?
So-called 'yob culture' is such a problem in Prestatyn that North Wales Police Chief Constable has agreed to go and see for himself, reports the .
But it's not all gloom as Phil and others have been in touch to say how much they love the town.
Says Phil who has just moved in: "Thanks to all the people of Prestayn for making us feel so welcome." Meanwhile, Stacey adds: "I've lived in Manchester all my life, I love Prestatyn, would move there tomorrow."
Is there still a place for beauty contests in this day and age? Well, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of girls vying for the crowns - despite mounting opposition.
Six women from north Wales, two of whom are from Wrexham, are in the running for the title of Miss Wales 2006, reports . The top prize is the chance to represent Wales at the Miss World finals and a modelling contract.
But does this sort of competition put pressure on young people to worry about their appearance too much? Hannah and Rebecca think the media is responsible for pressurising young people into excessive dieting.
Meanwhile, Fay writes: "I think the modelling industry is to blame for girls becoming underweight. They look at them and think they are perfect, but in fact they are not because they are underweight in reality and being underweight in my opinion is not 'perfect'."
Wrexham's chances of reaching the play-offs could be fading as they were beaten by neighbours last night. They need to win all their remaining games if they hope to gain a play-off place and climb their way back into League 1 but boss isn't giving up hope just yet.
Yesterday, the businessman leading a bid to buy the club applied for planning permission to develop part of the . The club must be sold by June 3 when it will have been in administration for 18 months so change will be inevitable.
A local businessman plans to at his farm near Corwen, Denbighshire. Their meat is said to be lower in cholesterol and fat than fish and chicken, which, in these health conscious times, has to be a selling point. A far cry from the school dinners of 30 years ago when 'cheese pie' was the most exotic thing on the menu and is fondly remembered to this day!
People like Rhona have been recalling how village life changed with the demise of the local shop.
Rhona remembers: "One could say that Rhosymedre (in Wrexham), as a village, was quite self contained because one could get anything one wanted in the Co-operative Society building. There was a ladies' department, gents' outfitting, shoes, hardware, the bakery and the dairy, and a shoe repair place. When it closed it made a terrific difference to the village."
Read the rest of this entry
What did you think of the way scriptwriters killed off Mike Baldwin in Friday's Coronation Street? Well, Barry, for one, was not impressed.
Barry, who posted his views on The Rant section of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales NE website, says: "I was amazed to see that none of the other characters attempted to resuscitate him after he gasped his last breath. There was no attempt to check his circulation, and no attempt at mouth to mouth. OK scriptwriters, kill him off! But it sent out a poor first aid message." What do you think?
Find out more about the storyline from the website.
"Did it ever occur to you (men) that you too can help prevent pregnancies? Keep it in your boxers for a start!" So says Carla who has been in touch to defend criticisms levelled at other young mums - mainly from men.
The debate was started because Wrexham is the captial of Europe with the number of under age pregancies. And as we have mentioned previously, Wrexham Council is now considering giving out condoms and even the morning after pill to pupils at one secondary school. Use the weblink to find out more.
Frazer has been back in touch and he may have hit upon a novel way to clear one's conscience for misdemeanors of old - use the web and say sorry from a safe distance!
He left a message on the Cefn Mawr village memories page to convey his apology - "To Del Evans & Trevor, I apologise for chucking bricks in the river when you were trying to catch that giant pike."
Perhaps the rest us who still feel the need to say sorry for some wrong doing years ago could use this blog. We would at least be comforted by the thought that we said sorry out loud - at last - and maybe, just maybe our victims will somehow find out.
Here's mine: 'To Kevin at St Thomas's RC High School c1975, sorry for helping myself to your strawberry bonbons.' It works, I feel better already.
Right! Who's next? Use the Comments link below to add your apology.
Frazer has emailed the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales NE website suggesting the villagers of Cefn Mawr are unique - but we reckon we can show why some of the other local communities are equally distinctive - and perhaps you could point out the rest.
Read the rest of this entry
"I am sorry for Tom and for those who perished chasing a dream. For us fans we should never forget the pleasure those men gave us on Sundays." - F1 fan Paulo.
Paulo is one of a small army of fans who email the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales NE site on an almost daily basis to honour the memory of racing driver Tom Pyrce from Ruthin who died in a race crash in the '70s.
The Web Team have just uploaded a special tribute section in memory of Tom, made up of memories and photos shared by fans who knew the driver and friends who knew the man.
Shrewsbury Town will be backed by a travelling army of 2,000 fans as they aim to complete only their second ever League double over Wrexham FC this weekend, reports the .
Meanwhile, as considers the latest news coming from the Racecourse, Wrexham fans have been remembering their favourite match and the first games they ever saw.
In Fans' memories Bob says: "The first game I watched was in about '64 when Wrexham beat Hartlepool 10:1. I think that 3 of the forwards scored hat tricks, the other scored a single goal and they could have won by a far greater margin had they not tried to get the remaining forward on the scoresheet."
Events are starting to come into the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales NE website publicising events over Easter. As well as the usual Easter egg hunts there are also ideas about other activities taking place over the school holidays. Visit the Family Fun or Entertainment section for more information. Plus, you can publicise your own events in the Entertainment mini site.
Big expansion plans for Broughton Retail Park will mean up to 850 new jobs and a new M & S store, reports . The plans are due to go before Flintshire's planning and development control committee tomorrow.
Soccer star Michael Owen has appealed to the Welsh Assembly after Flintshire councillors rejected plans to extend his £5m home.
reports that the England and Newcastle striker wants a £250,000 extension to the gatehouse in the grounds of Lower Soughton Hall estate, near Mold. You can view information on the appeal via the website.
Meanwhile, Bob has written complaining about Michael flying over his home in the Owen helicopter. Says Bob: " Michael, if you can't get a job nearby with the European Champions (Liverpool), drive up to Newcastle the night before."
A new website with an of film locations used in North Wales has just been launched, showing at a glance where characters like Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) went tomb raiding and where Corrie's Platt and Battersby families took their holiday from hell. Find out more about the website from .
One recent film shot in North Wales is called Hawk about a boy who retreats into a world of fantasy based on Celtic folklore.
Meanwhile, you can watch films made by local people online right now by using the Audio & Video mini site on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales NE website.
Officials have given locals 12 weeks to share their views on plans to shake-up the region's health service which could see the closure of Abergele Hospital and St Asaph's HM Stanley Hospital.
reports that the proposals also recommend changes at Llandudno Hospital, where it would lose its coronary beds and breast cancer services.
The consultation period will include a series of local public meetings and exhibitions. For more information, read the health report, via the .
| 11:46 UK time, Friday, 28 April 2006
