Showing posts from July, 2020
Preparations are underway at a couple of hospitality premises to reopen indoors on and from Monday, when in Wales this becomes permissible. So, tables are now rearranged in a distanced-fashion in the freshly redecorated and refloored W & G Jones c…
The latest stage as regards the unlocking of lockdown was evident yesterday: beauty salons were permitted to open and our two remaining such venues did so—Blossom's, Well Street; and a relative newcomer The Beauty Lounge on Upper Clwyd Street. Alt…
Of course, it could simply be paranoia. Why, though, as I walked through Rhuthun/Ruthin this afternoon at about 5.30p.m., did someone from a car hurl abuse at me? There was no one else around. A white Mercedes C-class rounded the Anchor Corner and the…
A case in point concerning traffic speeds in town came this afternoon, shortly after lunch. It was in the form of the confrontational approach of one of the local fauna, a young boy racer, complete with lugubrious moll beside him. He was behind the wh…
The Square yesterday was the busiest I've seen it since lockdown... and that was without the queue to the post office. There were cyclists and bikers, locals and a sprinkling of visitors. On the other hand, to be honest, the traffic in town was j…
Mococo cleared out its Rhuthun/Ruthin premises today. Out went literally every piece of jewellery, leaving an empty shop with nothing but advertising material and a space as deserted as a beach in a winter storm. In any case, Mococo had been slow…
All playgrounds were closed at lockdown. It's now deemed safe to open them again, as from today. This nicely coincides with the start of the school holidays. Today, then, the newly refurbished play area at Maes Hafod was available for the first …
Traffic through and around Rhuthun/Ruthin today was the highest since lockdown. It helped that it was warm and sunny, unlike the preceding couple of days. Yesterday, of course, was either very wet or there was a persistent drizzle before and after t…
Part 1 here If you want evidence of motorists' attitudes to and behaviours in 20 mph zones , you need look no farther than outside Ysgol Brynhyfryd. Three years ago, after on-off pressure over many years, the stretch of road outside our s…
We're one step closer to a blanket 20 mph zone in residential Rhuthun/Ruthin. This follows the Senedd approval of initial national proposals, yesterday. Your reaction to this will depend on whether you're more of a pedestrian than a motorist.…
Tuesday was a little busier in town (certainly the busiest day since lockdown but, in reality, still quiet). All our hair salons and barbers opened yesterday (Tuesday) and today (Wednesday), save for Kave. This Wednesday evening, The House of Ha…
The starting threshold for land transaction tax ('stamp duty') increases on July 27th from £180,000 to £250,000. This is a tax reduction that will last until 31st March 2021. What will the impact be? Let's take a look at the pre-reduction …
As predicted, no pubs opened this evening. They haven't the outdoor space, save for Wetherspoon's and they've said they'd only open all or nothing. And, let's face it, not everyone will have the confidence to order a pint. It's…
Let me make it clear. This morning, Rhuthun/Ruthin is not knee deep in litter. To suggest otherwise would be an exaggeration of sizeable proportions. But, for the first time since lockdown, there's suddenly an overnight mess in town. And all thi…
Overheard was this brief conversation between the proprietors of Bijou and Tŷ Celf, the newly (re-)opened craft studio at the junction of Clwyd Street and Upper Clwyd Street. Tŷ Celf: How's it going? Bijou: S*i*e. How about you? Tŷ Celf:…
County Hall is closed but what if it closed permanently? It's hard to believe that County Hall's doors have been closed to the public for 108 days, since March 24th. In actual fact, staff progressively began working from home from March 17th s…
I've mentioned before that it is difficult to walk around town where pavement widths are narrow while maintaining distancing and there is a plan to help at least with part of that. The worst part of town, however, is the approach to it from Well…
When, during the spring, this area was for the first time left uncut, we wondered whether this was something to do with coronavirus. After all, all such green spaces were left untreated. As others were dealt with, so this patch was left alone. There w…
I wish it were otherwise. I wish I could inject a bit of hope and optimism in these post-lockdown posts. But... Today, late morning, and overcast leaden skies and if not rain then a sticky dampness. So, it’s hardly surprising that the town was as …
Spotted yesterday (Sunday) in town were two visitors. At least I didn't recognise them¹ and they were acting just like tourists: very leisurely wandering around and pausing at each shop window to take a peek. Can't imagine residents doing that…
Maybe it's a sign of confidence. Or perhaps, suddenly, as the number of deaths in the UK have reverted to seasonal levels, we no longer feel so obliged to the NHS. It could also be that as business gradually returns to normal, so our view of fro…
A woman I don't know is bending the ear of the proprietor of Castle Bell. She's unhappy. And the focus of her ire? Our sub-postmaster, Huw Hilditch-Roberts . The newsagent customer feels that it's "disgusting" that the post offic…
