They'll ring the bells for anything these days, even mammon. So it was to the sound of 45 minutes of peels that at 10 o'clock yesterday morning the so-called Rhuthun/Ruthin
Christmas Extravaganza began.
There was an 80-strong choir at The Old Gaol. Little wonder the car parks were full!
Various people at various times have tried to ignite a bit of Christmastide passion into Rhuthun. The low point was something we
personally enjoyed but no one else did.
Never mind the yellow lines
Yesterday's spectacular was at the zenith. And the most interesting thing: it was masterminded not by any official organisation. So, Santa hats off for an excellent event, a busy town, bumping into friends & neighbours, and cafés usually supporting ones and twos suddenly full. In spite (or perhaps because) of it, still the morning buses to Chester left full, though.
Shoppers in Clwyd Street... unheard of numbers
The best stalls seemed to be reserved for inside and outside at Nantclwyd y Dre. The place was just like Brown's of Chester used to be during late night shopping: rammed. In fact, in this coronavirus age, it was just a little uncomfortable. We're not sure Nantclwyd y Dre's design really works for stalls. The garden was different, though. Between the local churches, it was reported they raised up to £2,000.
At the opposite end was the hyper-local fundraising at St Peter's Church, with stuff from various parts of the Anglican mission area. It was no less busy.
The organisers also put on a free bus service using the county council's electric minibus. It was never full and also somewhat limited but what an excellent idea.
County Hall and the usually less popular Crispin Yard and Park Road car parks
Alongside, car parks *were* full, though. It wasn't one of the free parking days in Rhuthun (these are three Saturdays in December only), so this have a much-needed boost to the county council's treasury. But you could use county hall's car park for free. Plenty did. Not that it was signed.
