ColwynBayBlogs

Welsh house prices rise

House prices in Wales rebounded in June on the back of strong demand from first-time buyers and landlords.

Property prices in Wales rose by 2.1 per cent from June 2011 to June 2012, and ‘house sales’ rose by more than twice than the expected increase,.

The Welsh housing market is has a “fundamental resilience” in the current recession.

First-time buyers have benefited from lower prices compared to other parts of the country, causing property prices to rise. In addition buy-to-let landlords have taken advantage of low prices and affordable loans.

“While there are some affordable mortgage rates available, it’s a minority of borrowers with big lump-sums to put down on properties that can take advantage.

“Despite the improved picture in June, the challenges in the Welsh housing market remain widespread and deeply rooted.”

Buy-to-let investors are benefitting the most, taking advantage of high yields and lower rates.

“They are increasingly finding lower-end properties that are attractive additions to their portfolios and some people are incorporating buy-to-let into their retirement planning.

Saturday 1 September 2012 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Jade Jones from Rhyl Wins Gold Medal

For more on this story click on the link Jade Jones from Rhyl Wins Gold Medal
This page is a compilation of news stories e.g. from eurosport
Olympic gold for Jones makes it 25 for Team GB

Jade Jones won Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal after beating China's Hou Yuzhuo in the final of the women's featherweight division at the London Games.

By Reuters | Eurosport – 10 hours ago

Jones, who had lost to Hou in the final of last year's world championships, rode a wave of support from the home crowd to bully her way past the Chinese fighter, running out a 6-4 winner to earn Britain's 25th gold of the Games.

The 19-year-old from north Wales grabbed British and Welsh flags from the crowd and raced around in a lap of honour as the 8,000 fans in the ExCel arena roared her on.
Jones, who won gold at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore after the people of her hometown Flint helped finance her trip for the qualifiers, said winning gold was something special.
"It feels crazy. It's amazing and the crowd's amazing," she said. "To be the first (British) athlete to win Olympic (taekwondo) gold is amazing."
Jones also paid tribute to her team mate Sarah Stevenson, who will compete in the welterweight division on Friday, and said she owed everything to her coach Paul Green.
"The coach is a legend. Without him I wouldn't be where I am today."
Green praised his charge's work ethic and said there was more to come.
"The work this girl's been putting in over the last six months is ridiculous. She's been getting up at six, tears every day, but she's a fighter and she works hard.
"She's still got improvements to make in the game but the future's bright for her. She delivers under pressure."
Jones was in fearsome form in the opening two rounds, overwhelming her opponents 15-1 and 13-3 and, despite facing a serious step up in class against world number one Tseng Li-cheng in the semi-final Jones simply forced her way into the final.
The first two rounds of the gold medal match were cagey, but heading into the third Jones had sneaked a 2-0 lead.
With Hou desperate to get back on level terms, Jones bided her time and landed kicks to her opponent's midsection to seal the gold medal.
"Before I came out I thought I'm not letting her beat me here in front of the home crowd," said Jones.
China's Hou was not too disappointed to miss out on gold and conceded that Jones had been the stronger fighter.
"This is my first Olympic Games, so I'm 90 per cent satisfied with the silver medal," said Huo.
"I've already been world champion twice but at the Olympic Games there's more pressure."
Marlene Harnois of France and Taiwan's Tseng won the bronze medals after the repechage competition.
Another Brit Martin Stamper was unable to claim another taekwondo medal beforehand, losing the men's bronze medal match 5-3 to Afghan Rohullah Nikpah.
"The Olympics are always special, I'm happy. I'll bring this medal back home," said Nikpai.
"I think that right now everyone in Afghanistan must be dancing."
Earlier, Stamper was beaten by Servet Tazegul, the Turk going to win the men's featherweight gold medal with victory over Iran's Mohammad Baghrei Motamed in the final.
Tazegul, the world number one and Beijing bronze medallist, won 6-5 and was the class act of the -68kg category.
His aggression and speed was too much for Motamed, who also lost to Tazegul in the final of last year's world championships in South Korea.
Tazegul dedicated the gold medal to his mother, who died earlier this year.
"I lost my mother two months ago. I really wanted to get the gold for her," he said. "But it was a hard time, I did not train much plus I had the injury."

Friday 10 August 2012 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Land Of My fathers

Below, a video of the English and Welsh words to Land of My Fathers.

Below is an English translation, which is possibly quite old, as it calls Anglesey 'Mona's Green Shores'

The Words from Paul Robeson
Land of My Fathers
Dear land of my fathers, whose glories were told
By bard and by minstrel who loved thee of old;
Dear country whose sires, that their sons might be free,
Have suffered and perished for thee!
Wales! Wales!
Land of mist and wild, Where'er I roam,
Though far from my home, The mother is calling her child
The Lords of great Snowdon in brave days of yore
for thee fought for freedom by *Mona's green shore
their courage undaunted inspires all our lays
our harps ere resound to their praise.
Wales! Wales!
Land of mist and wild, Where'er I roam,
Though far from my home, The mother is calling her child
Wales! Wales!
Land of mist and wild, Where'er I roam,
Though far from my home, The mother is calling her child
Môn is the Welsh name of Anglesey, and Mona is assumed to be the old English word for Anglesey from the British enisis mona, and this name was first seen as being used for Anglesey in the Roman era

The song by Paul Robeson is from 'An Evening with Paul Robeson', who sings the Welsh National Anthem as as sign of respect to Wales, especially South Wales, and the miners and their families who suffered extreme hardship as explained later.
The US Government made life difficult for Paul Robeson and when he was invited to sing at
the Miners’ Eisteddfod in Porthcawl, he could not attend as the US Governement withdrew his passport
In 1957 (October) he managed to take part in the Miners’ Eisteddfod with a transatlantic telephone link from a secret recording studio located in New York.
.
***North Wales*** -- Land Of My Fathers Dear Land of my Fathers, whose glories were told ... The Lord of great Snowdon in brave
It is only 30 miles from Snowdon to Cowyn Bay SeaVille, taking about 45 minutes by car.

Robeson’s
association with South Wales dates from 1928 when, whilst performing in
‘Show Boat’ in London’s West End, he met a group of unemployed miners
who had walked to London to draw attention to the hardship and suffering
endured by thousands of unemployed miners and their families in South
Wales.

Robeson visited South Wales many times between
1929 and 1939, singing in various towns including Cardiff, Neath and
Swansea. In 1938, he sang to the 7,000 people who attended the Welsh
International Brigades Memorial at Mountain Ash to commemorate the 33
Welshmen who had died in Spain. He told the audience “I am here because I
know that these fellows fought not only for me but for the whole world.
I feel it is my duty to be here."

Robeson’s links
with South Wales were reinforced when in 1939, he starred in The Proud
Valley, a film about life in a mining community in the Rhondda.

Every
year between 1952 and 1957, Robeson was invited to sing at the Miners’
Eisteddfod in Porthcawl but he was unable to travel because his
passport had been withdrawn by the US Government because of his
outspoken left wing and anti-racist views. In October 1957 however,
Robeson was able to participate in the Miners’ Eisteddfod by means of a
transatlantic telephone link to a secret recording studio in New York.

The
South Wales miners added their voice and signatures to the
international petitions that eventually forced the US Supreme Court to
reinstate his passport in 1958.

At a reception given
in his honour by the South Wales Area NUM in 1958, he told the
audience, “You have shaped my life – I have learnt a lot from you. I am
part of the working class. Of all the films I have made the one I will
preserve is The Proud Valley.”

Unfortunately,
Robeson’s health deteriorated during the 1960s and after his wife’s
death in 1965, he stayed out of the public eye. Paul Robeson died in
1976.

While its nice being in Colwyn Bay, its also nice to get away for a break, and Colwyn Bay is very fortunate to have an intercity railway line.

Wednesday 8 August 2012 Posted in | Land of my fathers, paul robeson, welsh anthem | 0 Comments »

Welsh Exports, Quarter 4 2011

ref http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/economy2012/120308/?lang=en

The latest National Statistics on UK regional exports produced by HM Revenue and Customs for the fourth quarter of 2011 were released on 8 March 2012 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

UK Statistics Authority website Welsh exports for the whole of 2011 were up 13.8 per cent on 2010 (sum of the UK countries and English regions up 13.1 per cent). Figures for 2011 quarter 4 in isolation were up on the same quarter of 2010 but down on the previous quarter.

The key results are as follows:

The value of exports for Wales for the whole of 2011 increased by £1,629 million compared to 2010.

There was an increase in exports to both EU and non-EU countries, up £693 million (13.9 per cent) and up £936 million (13.7 per cent) respectively.

All of the twelve UK countries and English regions saw increases over this period, with Wales having the seventh largest increase. London had the largest increase (up 23.9 per cent) followed by the East of England (20.7 per cent). The smallest increase was in the South East (up 1.9 per cent).

Between 1999 and 2011 there was a 110.0 per cent increase in Welsh exports, the third largest behind the North East and the East of England. This compares with an increase of 70.1 per cent for the sum of the UK countries and English regions. Scotland was the only region to see a fall over this period.

Looking at 2011 quarter 4 in isolation, total exports (by value) for Wales rose on the corresponding quarter in 2010 by £126 million (up 4 per cent) to £3,285 million. All but one of the twelve UK countries and English regions had increases over this period with London having the largest increase (up 17.1 per cent) whilst the South East fell (down 2.1 per cent). Overall, the value of exports for the sum of the UK countries and English regions increased by 8.1 per cent.

Welsh exports for 2011 quarter 4 were lower in value than in the previous quarter (down £2 million or 0.1 per cent), whilst the sum of the UK countries and English regions rose by 4.8 per cent. Ten of the twelve UK countries and English regions saw increases over this period with the East of England having the largest (up 10.3 per cent). The remaining two UK countries and English regions, Wales and the North West, had falls over this period with the North West having the largest fall (down 0.5 per cent).

Friday 9 March 2012 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

New Travelodge opens in Colwyn Bay and looks really busy

Well they only started building in March and it is open already and seems to be doing really well

Here are a couple of photos I took -- turned out better than expected

You can always read the latest news, breaking news and 24 hour new on Blottr.

They also have a section for Welsh News
Apps are also useful, they can be used for booking over the internet, finding a location, reading a review etc.

The best app developers are often in major cities, where there is competition, and they keep up with the latest technologies. Yahoo now identifies that it is better to work in an office than at home, the more people to meet and talk to and bounce ideas off the better in the IT world.

Monday 22 November 2010 Posted in | colwyn bay, travelodge, travelodge colwyn bay | 0 Comments »

Prom Day in Colwyn Bay

Prom Day in Colwyn Bay was heaving, well its not surprising, great beach, sunny weather and fewer people flying to beaches in Spain (the volcano flight disruption is not helping).

Monday 17 May 2010 Posted in | colwyn bay, Prom Day | 1 Comments »

Colwyn Bay Police amongst the Best in the UK

The Police in Colwyn Bay are amongst the best in the UK. It really is a low crime area. Residents can walk about comfortably at night and in the early hours of the morning and never see any evidence of drugs or drug dealing.
The Police have a very difficult job to do.

This is the inside of 6*, where the previous tenants were evicted for no good reason (November - a few months ago -court order on a post below).
The current tenants are also being evicted and it is said they had to go to the police because S* threatened harm.
They may post their own story when they are able to get on the internet?
They say they have been told The B* are reported to be coming to 'physically evict' them tomorrow (Wednesday 27th Jan), and 7 or 8 neighbours are going to stand with them outside the front door if necessary. The tactic of telling tenants 'the landlord is coming tomorrow' has been used lots of times and very rarely happens. Telling tenants their landlords are coming simply causes the tenants to be distracted from things they should be doing.
The photo's on this post cannot be disputed, and the court order identifies to those who want to know who the tenants were.
Unlike the Thoughts of Oscar, every post is verifiable

Tuesday 26 January 2010 Posted in | colwyn bay, Police Best in the UK | 0 Comments »

Harassment by Landlords

(

These tenants had been harassed and can give their story. They had been given a months notice, and had arranged to leave after 4 weeks, 2 weeks before they were moving they received this --with the court saying 'The defendant pays the claimants (The Beddows) costs of £150.00
No5thing on the blog is anonymous or uses someone else's name. This post was by the Glyn Ward cllr who went to the Colwyn and County Court with sufficient evidence for the defendant NOT to pay the £150.00

Monday 25 January 2010 Posted in | 6* greenfield road | 2 Comments »

Harassment of Darren Williams posted January 2008, was harrassed in 2007!!

On January 25, 2008 posted on the internet relating to his problems in 2007!! -

Sylvia of 6* G** Rd Colwyn Bay, . Has claims to have evicted many tenants in the short time that I have known her. Until December, I thought that she might have had good reason to have done so.

This woman not only had myself and my flat mate evicted from our home but also attacked me in the hallway of the building causing cuts to my neck, then reported me to the police saying that I had attacked her. Her allegations have now been disproven and I am taking action against her. But I am still without a home.

I am trying to get together to share our stories about this Woman so that all can see her for what she really is. She has this public reputation for being a well mannered lady who can't do enough to help her community. When actually she just likes to be the centre of attention.

She is kind to you until you cross her.

I used to help her out with odd jobs. She used to leave the main door open during the winter months. I asked her to keep this door closed as we could not afford the extra gas for heating. This didn't change a thing. I complained to our landlords about her but they took no notice of my complaint.

I told her off twice for propping the door open with a fire extinguisher, and then I was evicted. The landlords say that Sylvia had complained that we where having load parties ( which we were not) She also stated that I had used abusive language ( which again I did not). As I had signed a section 21 I had signed away all my rights as a tenant.

She has had her windows put through 3 times and had at least 3 serious death threats yet somehow she is still allowed to live there. What is going on in this world??

This blog allows others who have subsequently had the same treatment to add their stories.

There is also a good side to Colwyn Bay, the beach, prom day, the Cinema.

Unlike e.g. The Thought of Oscar, nothing is anonymous or uses someone else name. This post was originally written by Darren Williams Lots of people associated with 6* G** Rd Colwyn Bay knew Darren and that this was his post. Sylvia knew about the post and her friend Sarah M***k*** replied to it on the same blog that Darren Made and posted his first post.

Eventually due to abuse - and some unpleasant posts by S***** and S*****M******* the blog was taken down.

Posted in | | 3 Comments »

Test - and cure for red faces

This is a test for the 'ColwynBayBlogs'
Councillors were called scum at the recent meeting about the pier. Hopefully there eventually be some red faces.

ref: bassandboney.com/news/rosacea-ltd

says:

Prior to beginning any new rosacea treatment, one needs to prepare the rosacea sensitive skin, and allow the skin to heal from the effects of previous aggressive rosacea treatments, which may have left the skin damaged or overly sensitive. Many rosacea treatments leave the rosacea sufferer’s skin so sensitive that “even water hurts their rosacea affected skin”.

The importance of jojoba oil in the treatment of rosacea comes from its similarity to the natural restorative oil produced by the sebaceous glands in the dermal layers of the skin. Jojoba oil is non-allergenic and will not clog the pores.

Jojoba oil will help reverse damage to the epidermis caused by harsh soaps, facial washes, and topical rosacea medications. Jojoba oil also helps replace moisture lost from the use of facial peels, chemical treatments, laser and light rosacea treatment It is beneficial in enhancing skin healing (cell division and growth) within the middle layer of the epidermis. Jojoba Oil helps balance sebum excretion (related to acne) and helps normalize keratin sloughing off from the dermis (related to acne).

When choosing a rosacea treatment regimen, jojoba oil is a natural and beneficial companion to successful control of a difficult skin condition.

For people reading this test:-

How do Intense pulsed light treatments get rid of Rosacea

The basis of pulsed light treatments is that it delivers a pulse of light that is attracted to chromophores (colour attracting elements) in the skin. The blood in dilated capillaries is a chromophore. When the light hits the chromophore it turn to heat and destroys the dilated surface vessels causing the redness.

Does Intense Pulsed light treatment work in everyone with Rosacea?

Pulsed light treatments are not effective in every one with rosacea but work in the vast majority. In one study on rosacea sufferers, 174 out of 188 patients achieved 75%- 100% clearances in 1 to 4 treatments. That is fairly good odds.

Saturday 23 January 2010 Posted in | | 1 Comments »