Have you ever fancied trying out some of the activities on offer at our leisure and activity centres, but didn’t know which one might be right for you?
Would a taster weekend where you get to try things out for free be of any interest?
From Friday, March 1 until Sunday, March 3, Freedom Leisure will be opening the doors of its four centres run in partnership with us at Wrexham Council, and inviting the public in for free.
That includes: Waterworld Leisure & Activity Centre, Gwyn Evans Leisure & Activity Centre, Queensway Stadium and Chirk Leisure & Activity Centre.
The range of activities on offer during the Open Weekend will include:
FREE use of the fitness suites
FREE exercise classes
FREE use of pool inflatable Aqua Run for Under 16s (at Waterworld, Gwyn Evans and Chirk)
FREE use of squash courts and athletics tracks at Queensway
Membership offers, including three months FREE, or membership with no joining fee
– and plenty more!
The open weekend marks three years since we joined in partnership with Freedom Leisure, to run our leisure and activity centres.
Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Youth Services and Anti-Poverty, said: “There’s likely quite a lot of people out there who have wanted to give gym or pool membership a go, or wanted to try out an exercise class, but haven’t been sure whether or not it was for them.
“The open weekend, which marks three years since we joined with Freedom Leisure to run our leisure and activity centres – will provide an excellent opportunity for anyone who’s considered trying something out.
“And if they enjoy the day to the point where they want to take things longer-term, we’ll have membership offers available as well.”
Andy Harris, Freedom Leisure Area Manager, said : “As Cllr Atkinson says, we are running this free open weekend as a sort of ‘try before you buy’ type event – because we frequently hear from locals that they don’t use the facilities because they have no idea what they will and won’t enjoy.
“This way people can come and try whatever they fancy for free without any obligation, then if they decide to join, they can take advantage of some of the special offers we currently have running.”
Becoming a parent is one of the most exciting and wonderful experiences of your life and spending quality time with your child in those important first months can help you to develop a bond with your child that will last a lifetime. This has a positive impact on your child and the family unit.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) encourages parents to share the joy of parenting and bond with their child, while keeping in touch with the workplace.
This year the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are focussing on informing parents and employers of the practical aspects of taking SPL, as well as exploring the benefits for families and the workplace.
Why take Shared Parental Leave?
Bond with your baby in their first year.
Split leave in a way that works for both of you.
You’ll never forget your baby’s firsts. With Shared Parental Leave, you can both be there for those special moments.
Shared Parental Leave is not just for birth parents. Adoptive parents and parents having a child through a surrogate can also take Shared Parental Leave.
Shared Parental Leave is a government campaign to encourage more parents to ‘share the joy’ of looking after their baby in the first year, narrowing gender stereotypes and giving women the option of returning to their careers earlier.
Parents can take their leave in a flexible way, sharing up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay.
They can be off work together for up to six months or alternatively stagger their leave and pay so that one of them is always at home with their baby in the first year.
A recent mental health awareness event held at Tŷ Pawb was visited by over 300 people, who took time to talk to over 30 stallholders offering information and advice on improving their mental health and wellbeing.
Ian Bancroft, Chief Executive at Wrexham Council, said: “It was great to see so many people attend this event and I would like to thank everyone who attended.
“I hope everyone benefited from the excellent information and advice available. It’s important that we we all start to talk about our mental health more in our daily lives and in the workplace.
“There’s a lot of help and advice out there and accessing it quickly and without any barriers is a good thing. I hope everyone starts to take the time to talk to colleagues, family and friends in order to break down the stigma that can surround mental health.”
“Time to Change”
Ian also signed the “Time to Change” employment pledge which shows the council’s commitment to change how we think and act about mental health in the workplace, and make sure our employees who face mental health problems are supported.
Some of the organisations who attended included Advance Brighter Futures, National Trust, NHS Wales, Stepping Stones, Denbigh Men’s Shed, Communities for Work, Time to Change Wales, Papyrus Hopeline UK, MIND, The Samaritans, In 2 Change, and Community Well-being Services.
Have you seen the new recycling stickers popping up on household waste bins in Wrexham? You might even have one on your bin!
If you have, don’t worry 🙂
As part of the council’s continued recycling drive, the distinctive red and black stickers are being used to remind people to recycle as much as they can before filling their blue or black bins.
Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, says: “We’ll still be emptying black bins where we find they contain recyclable items, but we want to do everything we can to encourage people to recycle wherever possible…and these stickers are part of that drive.”
Space is ace…
You can recycle all sorts of materials in Wrexham, and by taking a closer look at packaging, food and other stuff you’ve finished with, you might find you can save some space in your blue or black bin.
And recycling more is better for our planet (and let’s be honest…Earth needs all the help it can get).
So it’s really important to get it right, and put the right things in the right bins, boxes and bags.
Here’s a reminder of what goes where…
Blue reusable bag, or top container of wheelie box
All types of paper and cardboard including newspapers, magazines, toilet roll tubes, egg boxes and envelopes.
Green box, or middle container of wheelie box
All types of drinks cans, food tins, clean foil, empty aerosols (not including de-icers) mixed plastic’s including plastic pots, tubs trays and bottles.
Black box, or bottom container of wheelie box
All types of glass bottles, jars and containers.
When recycling glass jars and other food containers, please try to make sure there’s no remains of leftover food, as this can be recycled in your food caddy.
All food types including leftovers, out-of-date and even frozen food. Use the free compostable liners provided and not carrier bags, as these aren’t compostable. If you require more compostable bags please tie a liner around your caddy handle on collection day and you will be left another roll.
Organisation: Bradley Park Bowling Club & Brickfield Rangers Football Club
NERS Champion: Enis Stevens
Service to Sport: Tony Birch (Posthumous Award)
Coach of the Year: Kieran Howard
Junior Sports Personality: Daniel Thompson
Volunteer Of the Year: Delwyn Derrick
Disability Sports Personality of the Year: Sabrina Fortune
Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Youth Service and Anti-Poverty, with responsibility for Leisure, said: “I was very pleased to be able to attend the Sports Awards ceremony, and had the opportunity to meet many of the sporting stars, coaches and volunteers nominated during the course of the evening.
“The effort they each put in to their respective fields is outstanding, and it’s good that we recognise that so much of the community sporting world in Wrexham relies on them and their efforts.
“I also want to congratulate all those who won on the night – their awards are thoroughly deserved.
“And I also want to thank the Active Wrexham team for their efforts in organising the annual Sports Awards.”
For this instalment of ‘five interesting things about places in Wrexham County Borough’, we’re looking at Chirk 🙂
There’s plenty to take you through, so let’s get cracking with our number one pick, which – let’s face it – will probably come as little surprise…
1. Chirk Castle
Chirk Castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk and it was part of King Edward I’s group of fortresses across North Wales, used to keep Wales under English rule.
The castle was built with defensive strategy in mind, including having five-metre thick walls. The entire build was extremely well thought-out.
In 1595, Sir Thomas Myddleton purchased Chirk Castle for £5,000 – which sounds like quite a small sum by today’s standards – but actually, it wasn’t.
Thomas then spent large amounts to improve the castle, including building the North Range and the State Rooms, with the intention of using it as his family home…but he resided mainly in Essex.
Over the next 400 years, the Myddelton family ruled from Chirk Castle, with subsequent generations consisting of ambitious industrialists, entrepreneurs, and politicians.
In 1910, Thomas Scott-Ellis fell in love with Chirk Castle and negotiated to lease it from the Myddleton’s. This lasted until 1946, when he eventually retired back to his Scottish estates.
Today, the National Trust owns it and the public have the opportunity to visit. Visitors to Chirk Castle get to travel through the State Rooms, pass the Cromwell Hall (which has rare Civil War firearms), visit the Chapel, walk in the beautiful gardens, and witness the Servants Hall, amongst many other highlights.
There’s also a number of activities here that you could join in with, such as Nordic walking and identifying trees in winter.
Chirk Castle is simply a great place to visit 🙂
2. Brynkinalt Country Park
Much less well-known than Chirk Castle, but charming in its own unique way, Brynkinalt Country Park is a great choice for our second pick.
It’s been described as a ‘hidden gem’ as it probably doesn’t attract the same numbers of visitors that some of our other country parks do.
But if you visit, you’ll be treated to a network of paths guiding you through the landscape and an abundance of wildflowers and wildlife (look out for some very pretty blue butterflies in the summer months).
The park also contains cool mining artefacts – a coal wagon and cutting disc – to celebrate the park’s industrial heritage.
Here’s a short video to give you a taster…
3. Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, and it consists of ten arches – each with a span of 40 feet.
But you still can’t help wondering when looking directly at it – ‘how on earth did that get there?’
4. Chirk and River Ceiriog walk
There’s plenty of choice around this area if you’re a keen walker, but this one is particularly nice.
It’s a circular walk that takes you from Chirk (starting near the railway station), to Chirk Castle, before descending to the River Ceiriog, with a walk along the river back into Chirk.
There’s great scenery in all directions, so make sure you have a camera or smartphone handy.
It’s around seven miles long, so you’ll probably need a full day to take it all in and stop for breaks. Or if you don’t stop, expect it to take you around four hours to complete.
So grab those walking boots…that’s if you haven’t already left to visit Brynkinalt Country Park 😉
5. Billy Meredith
William Henry Meredith, better known as Billy, was born in Chirk in 1874 and he went on to become a professional football player.
He played to a very high level – he represented both Manchester clubs – and he was capped 48 times for Wales, scoring 11 goals.
He’s been described as ‘Chirk’s most famous son’ and ‘Manchester United’s first superstar’ – two incredible claims to fame.
His favourite position was ‘outside right’. For those unfamiliar with this role, think of a young Cristiano Ronaldo-style – playing from the right of the pitch, with an intent to attack.
He was part of the group of players that helped United win their first-ever league title. He would go on to add another league title, an FA Cup, and two Charity Shields in his time there.
More of Billy’s story can be found in this BBC News article. He was a fascinating character who unbelievably continued to play professionally into his fiftieth year!
We hope you enjoyed this instalment, and as always, keep your eyes peeled for the next one.
Play is an essential part of every child’s life and is vital for the enjoyment of childhood.
Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Through play, children develop resilience and flexibility, contributing to physical and emotional wellbeing. Playing is important to all children no matter what their impairments or behaviour.
In 2012 the Welsh Government passed a law meaning that every three years all local authorities in Wales must carry out an assessment of children’s opportunities for playing in their local communities.
Complete our short survey and help us to build a picture of what it’s currently like for children playing in Wrexham.
By filling in and sharing our survey you will be helping us to build a picture of what opportunities and barriers there are to play, for children in the area. We will then use the information to try to find ways of protecting and improving children’s time and space for playing in Wrexham.
Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Lead Member for Youth Services and Anti-Poverty said; “Play is vital to the development and wellbeing of children. In Wrexham we are committed to providing safe opportunities for children to play. By completing the survey, parents and carers will be helping us to find ways to improve and protect play in Wrexham.”
An artist-led session for children and their families to explore our galleries and develop imagination and making skills.
This session is a family drop-in, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Sunday
Family Crafts Hour
11am-12pm
In the Food Court
Free!
Decorate a paper-doll with the Tŷ Pawb volunteer team.
This session is a family drop-in, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Monday
Indoor Teddy Bear’s Picnic
10am–12pm.
£2 per child.
Whatever the weather – bring your bear to Tŷ Pawb today!
Enjoy story-telling, decorating your own picnic paper plate and cup and making a felt accessory for your teddy bear. Plus, help us find our lost Tŷ Pawb teddies!
Bring your own picnic or purchase food from any of the great eateries on site.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Adults go free.
Face Painting with Sophia Leadill
£1
2pm-4pm
Thursday
Face Painting with Sophia Leahill
£1
12pm-2pm
Alter Ego Pop Art Disco
2pm-4pm
In the Flexi-space
Free!
Dress-up as your alter ego for a fashion-forward drawing disco
inspired by Julie Cope’s Grand Tour.
Expect lights, music and lots of exciting art materials to create your own stylish characters with moving limbs.
This session is a family drop-in, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Friday
St. David’s Day Family Activities
10am–12pm
Free!
Make your own bunting, classic Welsh children’s TV, plus decorate a popcorn box.
Face Painting with Sophia Leadill
£1
10am-12pm
Saturday March 2
Family Art Club
10am–12pm
In Gallery 2
£2 per child. Adults go free.
An artist-led session for children and their families to explore our galleries and develop imagination and making skills.
This session is a family drop-in, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Family Film Club
The Boy In The Dress (2014)
1pm–3pm.
Followed by themed crafts with the Tŷ Pawb volunteer team.
In the performance space.
Booking advised to avoid disappointment, limited places.
Free!
Sunday March 3
Family Crafts Hour
11am-12pm
In the Food Court
Free!
Decorate a paper-doll with the Tŷ Pawb volunteer team.
This session is a family drop-in, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Available every day in the galleries
10am–5pm – Free entry
Invent a Drawing Machine Tinker and experiment with making drawing machines from everyday objects! What kinds of patterns, shapes and lines will yours make?
Gallery Explorer Pack for Families Grab everything you need to help kids’ get the most from our exhibitions! The pack includes information, craft activities, and questions for children to ask and answer.
The 2019 programme for Wrexham’s Carnival of Words has been announced and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
Now in its fifth year the line-up includes stars such as The One Show’s resident scientist Marty Jopson, Former Government Minister Alan Johnson and the No 1 international bestselling author Amanda Prowse. As well as the hugely popular author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Deborah Moggah, queen of crime writing Elly Griffiths, Alison Weir bestselling historical fiction author, The Reverend Peter Laws and bestselling author and historian Clare Mulley. Literary fans will not be disappointed!
Events will be held at venues across Wrexham between Saturday 27th April and Saturday 4th May 2019.
The Wrexham Carnival of Words has been a resounding success since it was first held in 2015, with an increasing number of events, which have proved popular with local people.
“Come and join us!”
Shan Cooper, Libraries Lead said; “We are very excited about the programme that has been put together and I would like to encourage anyone who loves books and writing to come and join us during the week. There is definitely something for everyone.”
Back by popular demand, Wrexham Library will host another Murder Mystery as part of the carnival, which is sure to be another sell-out. Put your sleuthing skills to the test and experience what it is like to investigate the most serious of crimes at our nail-biting Murder Mystery evening. Join us as you play detective for the night and help to figure out ‘whodunit?’
Tempted? What are you waiting for? Get your tickets today!
Tickets prices vary but many events are free. You can buy them from Wrexham Library or online via the Wrexham Council website.
More details and the full programme can be found on www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com or follow the festival on Facebook and twitter, #WrexhamCarnivalofWords.
So how did you get on? It doesn’t matter if you didn’t get 5/5 straight away – the important thing is that you want to learn and get better at recycling 🙂
One of the main ways you can get better at recycling is by cutting out single-use plastic and using biodegradable or re-usable options as much as possible.
