Children with special communication needs can now ‘phone a friend thanks to a pioneering TV producer from Wrexham and S4C.

Makers of one of S4C’s most popular children’s TV series Dwylo’r Enfys (Rainbow Hands) have taken the knowing little teddy, Ffion Ffȏn, into the smartphone revolution and created her very own apps – the first of seven Ffion Ffȏn apps has just been released.

Dwylo’r Enfys visits children with special needs across Wales when Heulwen, a lively and colourful character, leaves her home at the End of the Rainbow to meet the children and take them on adventures.

“Chwarae Chwilio” – their search for three objects during the programme is directed by Ffion Ffȏn.

The first series of Dwylo’r Enfys, produced by Ceidiog TV, was a huge success and the most popular on S4C’s Cyw programmes, and the second series starts on Monday and will coincide with the launch of the app.

The suite of apps has been produced with investment from S4C’s Digital Fund and can be downloaded from the App Store.

Ceidiog was established in 1996 by award-winning broadcaster, producer and director Nia Ceidiog, who hails from Coedpoeth, near Wrexham, and is now based in Cardiff. She is a former pupil of Ysgol Morgan Llwyd and the daughter of the late Gwilym Ceidiog Hughes and his wife, Edna.

Nia, who also wrote the original versions of Fireman Sam in English and Welsh, has been shortlisted as a finalist at the BAFTA Cymru awards for her work on Dwylo’r Enfys.

She said: “I suppose Ffion Ffȏn now has her own production, she’s gone for her own apps. We are starting with a launch of four apps and the most important will be on Monday with the launch of Ffion’s very own app.

“There will be a gradual release of another three apps which will be available from the apps store but Ffion’s very own app is very exciting.

“Ffion is an orange little teddy and in the series she calls Heulwen and the children on the smartphone  three times in the show to tell them what they are going to do next.

“The app is a new departure for Ffion. Children and adults will be able to call and play along with Ffion, it’s great fun.

“What the app does is encourage people to talk to her because she repeats everything in her funny voice. On a more serious note there is an educational purpose because it encourages children, who may have difficulty communicating to vocalise or speak because she speaks back to you and makes you laugh.

“These are two things which are quite powerful tools for learning for children with special needs and were developed after discussion with practitioners in the field from Caernarfon, Caerphilly and Swansea about games which would appeal,” said Nia.

She has developed the apps in conjunction with Rantmedia of Cardiff. Director Anton Faulconbridge explained: “The app listens for a sound and what it hears it records and when the sound level drops it plays it back at a slightly higher pitch.

“So when a child says ‘Hello’, Ffion moves her mouth and she will say ‘Hello’ back. It encourages children to speak basically. It’s quite amusing, you find kids cracking up and saying stupid things.

“As well as  repeating things, the animated character can be activated by action buttons which will make Ffion do various things. She waves and says ‘hello’ while another button makes her do a funky walk. With another, a woollen ball comes bouncing on screen and Ffion kicks it and it cracks the screen.

“Also on the top of the screen is a Rainbow xylophone which you can play. We have three other apps which have been commissioned by S4C which are in development.”

Rantmedia has been operating for 10 years and moved from creation of websites to apps and mobile games production with a team of nine based in Cathedral Road, in Cardiff.

Nia said: “The second series of Dwylo’r Enfys starts on Monday (Sept 2) and that will be the beginning of another run where 13 children with special needs will go on adventures as Heulwen crosses the Rainbow and comes to Wales. The difference now of course is that her boss, Ffion, now has her own app!

“Heulwen will be taking them on all sorts of adventures for example – on Monday, Jayden from Bangor goes on a visit to the Air Ambulance at Dinas Dinlle, and other adventures take in the Colwyn Bay Mountain Zoo and the Heatherton Country Park in Pembrokeshire.”

After the launch of the flagship app, the three others involve a visit to a fire station, one at the doctors and one about crossing the road.

The 69p Ffion app is truly international since whatever you say to Ffion, in whatever language she will repeat back to you.

“Whatever you say she will mimic in her own voice. The important thing is to make it accessible,” said Nia.

“We will see how these progress and then hopefully we will produce another three apps so that we have seven in all, one for each colour of the rainbow.

“These days children of all ages are using smartphones and ipads and they very soon learn how to download apps. We need to be on these new platforms.

“Children are engaging with technology intuitively and we just want to be part of that and provide something suitable for all children – whatever their needs -  which has value and can be measured educationally and that value is to encourage communication.”

S4C’s Digital Manager Huw Marshall said: “The response to Dwylo’r Enfys since its launch on S4C last year has been incredible.

“Many parents and teachers have contacted us to say how much their children and pupils enjoy the programme, and how the programme has raised awareness of Makaton and children with special needs.

“This interactive app will appeal to children of all abilities and helps to develop speech generally, but we also  knew that there was a distinct lack of apps for children with special needs using Welsh, and so creating a suite of Apps starring Ffion Ffon was a great opportunity to address this

“This app demonstrates our commitment to further developing our content to a very important part of our audience across a broad range of platforms.”

 Dwylo’r Enfys is on S4C at 8.25am every morning and you can watch previous episodes on s4c.co.uk/clic.

An internationally renowned photographer has revealed how she swapped saving marriages for life behind the lens.

Llinos Lanini used to work as a counselor for the relationship advice organisation Relate but her career now has a completely new focus.

A chance encounter with a group of hungry sheep on a snow-swept Welsh hillside propelled her unexpectedly to national and international recognition.

She is now one of North Wales’ most celebrated photographic artists and the winner of some outstanding professional honours.

Llinos, who is originally from Denbigh and now lives in Mold, spent the first eight years of her career as a social worker in the central London borough of Westminster, where she dealt with the full range of issues from mental health to child care.

Later, she was a counselor for the relationship advice organisation Relate for 15 years before becoming involved with the management of a nursing home in Mold.

Along the way, she married and had two children, daughter Lisa, 26, and 27-year-old son Sion.

It was in late 2005 that Llinos bought the camera that gave her a whole new perspective on life.

She said: “I was looking for a way to keep fit but didn’t really want to get a dog. Instead, I bought a slightly better camera than the one I already had and then just couldn’t put it down.

“In March 2006 I was out near Bwlch y Groes, above Lake Vyrnwy, when I happened to see a group of hungry sheep and took a picture of them.

“Then somebody pointed out a photographic competition in the Daily Telegraph and I entered it with the sheep picture I had taken.

“Unexpectedly, I won the competition and my prize really changed my life. It was a trip to Singapore to take pictures for a calendar being produced for their tourist board.

“A number of photographers took images for it and had their work used in the calendar. I took quite a few all over the city but the one of mine which was eventually used showed a café and a big balloon.

“This was the first of my pictures that had ever been published and from there things really took off.

“In January of 2007 I decided to have a crack at becoming a professional photographer and I left the jobs I had at the time, which were with Relate and in a GPs’ surgery.”

Since that decision, Llinos has hardly looked back and vast array of subjects have fallen into her viewfinder.

The stunning images she produces include the unusual and often unseen aspects of life, in towns, cities and in the countryside. Nature has also contributed greatly with spectacular images of light, frost, rain and snow.

She exhibits a collection of photographic prints and takes commissions from businesses, charities and individuals.

Llinos has had regular exhibitions of her work across the region, including at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in her home town of Mold and Venue Cymru in Llandudo.

Her self-taught artistic ability brought her fresh professional accolades when she won the Photography Award at the Welsh Artist of the Year 2010 and was a finalist in 2009.

She is also a regular speaker at camera clubs and other local organisations across North Wales and not long ago journeyed to the University of Cumbria to talk to students about her work.

For the past five years Llinos has been a  volunteer with Helfa Gelf – or ‘art trail’ – the North Wales Open Studios Network Project supported by Cadwyn Clwyd which gives artists and craftspeople the chance to step out of the shadows and exhibit their work to a wider audience.

The project has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.”

Llinos has also been a regular Helfa Gelf exhibitor herself and the next eagerly anticipated showing of her work will be an exhibition at the Manorhaus hotel and restaurant in Llangollen over the weekend of September 6-8.

North Wales Open Studios Network Project Co-ordinator Sabine Cockrill said: “Llinos is a real talent and is a stalwart of Helfa Gelf ,but she got her start in photography in a real fairytale way.

“She is an example of the range of fantastic artists we have across North Wales whose work can be seen in their studios every weekend throughout September as part of Helfa Gelf.”

Helfa Gelf / Art Trail is now North Wales’ biggest Open Studio event with over 300 artists inviting the public into their studios across Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham  every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during September.

Llinos has just spent a week manning the North Wales Open Studios Network stand at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Denbigh ,where  a series of mini exhibitions and hands-on activities were staged with six different Welsh-speaking artists.

There was the chance to create a book of Welsh poetry with Rebecca F Hardy, monoprint making with Barry Morris, Lino print with Sandra Webb, a cyanotyope workshop held by Sian Hughes, badge-making with Peris and Corr and pot-throwing with potter Louise Schrempft.

Llinos said: “The Eisteddfod Maes was just a couple of fields away from where I am originally from in Denbigh, so it was nice to return there.

“We had some brilliant artists visiting our stand and we also attracted many visitors because we were in such a good location. It was the first time North Wales Open Studios Network had taken a stand at the Eisteddfod and we’ve really enjoyed being part of the buzz of the event.”

“Helfa Gelf is a very important organisation and we currently have 171 participating studios, which is nearly 30 more than last year.

“After the Eisteddfod I am now about to start on my next big project which is to take a series of pictures of traditional Welsh chapels in North Wales, and I am doing this thanks to a grant I have received from the Arts Council of Wales.

“This new career I’ve had in photographic art has been completely and utterly unexpected for me.

“I didn’t think I had an artistic bone in my body but it has given me a fantastic opportunity to delve into a new world. It’s been magic and I can’t complain about anything.”

For more information on Llinos visit: top">http://www.llinoslanini.com/

For more information about  North Wales Open Studios  Network visit www.nwosn.org