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| The Seven grass-skirted organisers take a lap of honour (Click to enlarge) |
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| And the band played on... amongst the huge crowds in Llangefni town centre (Click to enlarge) |
The organisers were all volunteers, but between them they managed to breathe more fresh life into Llangefni in just one day than several other bodies I could mention have managed in years... Let us all hope it returns to being an annual event from now on.
17 comments:
It would also be interesting to find out the fiscal stimulation provided by the carnival on local businesses. It was a tremendous achievment by a community reborn. Well done to everyone and glad to see The Druid proving his importance for the people of Anglesey.
Dylan Jones
Fantastic blogg.
Couldn't agree more, Paul. The most telling words I heard, said by a very elderly gentleman, were: "I haven't seen so many people in Llangefni for years."
Well done, indeed.
That is what the Big Society is all about - similar happened in Bangor recently. As you rightly say ....breathed more fresh air into the town than many other bodies have achieved. I wonder how the costs were met - a mix of public/private money. My guess is that local businesses etc would be more keen to give to this sort of thing rather than a public-sponsored event - because they know the organisers, can possibly have some direct input into the organising, are more directly a part of organising it etc etc
If IoACC arranged the Carnival then the projected cost would have been astronomical and labeled a complete waste of Public money.
Well done to the people of Llangefni for making it happen.
The word on the street is that the Taffia in IoACC are in the firing line and they are fully aware of who is leading the investigation.
LMAO
Mwynheais i'r rhaglen ar S4C odd e'n braf gweld cymuned yn dod at ei gilydd i wneud pethau'n well a chryfhau eu cymunedau, angen mwy o brosiectau tebyg i rhoi'r galon yn ôl i fewn i'r gymuned.
The S4C program on the carnival was great it was nice being able to see a community coming together to improve things and strenghthen their community spirit, we need more similar projects putting the heart back into the centre of community life.
I want to say what a wonderful job the "Seven" carnival girls have to raise the profile of LLangefni. We must have had the best publicity a town could wish for with there work organizing such a wonderful day. The S4c programme showed the people, the determination and hard work that was behind the carnival, a soap opera on LLangefni. Tudur Owen commentary during the programme was wonderful.
I believe that there were issues with the council and in this case the council should have been more help full than the hindrance that the jobs worth showed. Some friendly advice and turning a blind this time would have been better, because all they did was embarrass the authority. Trust that we all learn by our mistakes.
I wish all the best to the carnival organizer and look forward to next years carnival.
"The organisers were all volunteers".
.......Good. And so should be. I'm glad it went well and that the event generated some community spirit in Llangefni. The town could certainly do with some.
In fact I can never remember sensing any community spirit whatever in Llangefni in the several visits I've made to the town over the years.
And yet, by dint of geography and socialist planning, Llangefni - a charmless place with nothing much going for it - has been imposed on Anglesey as the de facto administrative "capital" of the island.
Most of the island's present ills can be laid at the door of Llangefni's foolish, vainglorious, inward-looking and deeply stupid political cliques.
Llangefni's utter failure to attract any tourists harms the entire island's tourist industry.
Whilst I commend the locals who organised the carnival (there are plenty of other long-established and very well-supported carnivals in the rest of Anglesey by the way) Llangefni remains what it always has been - a place to just drive through - and now, mercifully, it's easier to bypass than ever.
The issue for Llangefni is not that there was a carnival which brought the town alive for just one day. Llangefni residents should be asking themselves why doesn't the town feel like that on the other 364 days of the year?
...The solution is in their hands.
@Richard Seltzer
I feel very obliged to reply to your comment!
As a Llangefni resident, I'll tell you in a nutshell why it feels like that:-
1) The county council (hopefully that will improve with the commissioners)
2) The town council being at the mercy of the county council, even to the point of being undermined on many occasions.
3) 'Cwmni Tref Llangefni', as I understand, has nobody actually living in the town. (One member does however own a certain type of shop in the town, to be fair)
4) Bad behaviour by certain infamous individuals, and the police's inability to sort out the problem.
On that point, some 'bad lads' vandalised a car and set it alight at around 1am around Easter this year. The fire from the car spread to a works van, which was also seriously damaged (but not beyond repair).
What's notable about this incident? It was literally next to a street camera, yet the police still couldn't do anything and the 'bad lads' got away with it!
Don't think for a moment that Llangefni residents don't care; we darn well do, just we're always being fobbed off by the powers that be.
Anon 09:01
Well stop being fobbed off and start taking action. Direct action.
You have no need to be at the beck and call of the police force. The police force is there to serve you. You pay for it, you control it and you can, if you so choose, take steps to replace each and every member of it.
If the police force does not act in support of the community that community has a right, nay duty, to take matters into its own hands.
Please, please, please encourage others to voice their concerns on blogs such as this one, because it is by the collective actions of you and others that swift change can and will be brought about.
ANON&KP: Good points made in both contributions.
KP I only wish that local people DID control the police - but they don't. North Wales Police are controlled by Tal Michael - son of Labour MP Alun Michael.
Alun Michael was once (for barely a year) "Deputy Home Secretary" - a brief tenure which it seems has not harmed the ambitions of his son (even though the title was also an appellation bestowed on David Blunkett's guide dog).
Although Alun Michael hails from Bryngwran, perhaps someone here could inform us whether Tal Michael has ever actually set foot on the island. If not, given Llangefni's policing problems, perhaps he should.
It's Anon 9:01 again.
You have no need to be at the beck and call of the police force. The police force is there to serve you. You pay for it, you control it and you can, if you so choose, take steps to replace each and every member of it.
Yes, they're paid for by the taxpayer and therefore, in theory, are answerable to them.
The reality is quite different. Who would you complain to? Would they then take any notice? What would be the end result even if they did take notice? Call me a cynic, but I think the overall result would be practically nothing.
As an example (broadly and not specifically the same, I admit), look at the bother Peter Rogers got into with the police... if he had been a typical member of the general public, would the outcome have been the same?
If the police force does not act in support of the community that community has a right, nay duty, to take matters into its own hands.
Though very tempting (and I for one would turn a blind eye to it), anyone doing that would end up being arrested and likely gaining a criminal record. I've been 'warned' about taking matters into my own hands by a policeman many years back when there were troublesome youths near where I live.
I have read your comments and I think it is disgraceful that when the people of llangefni make an serious attempt to improve the area that the council, police and other public bodies do not seem to support the efforts of the community, I would say you all make very valid points in your posts, if anybody feels that they must take matters into their own hands without the support of the agencies you mention, it highlights the failure of those public sector bodies, to deliver for the public taking matters into your own hands concerning economic affairs is one thing as to the public order problem it needs to be handled very carefully and should be a measure of last resort.
The Police are there to serve but in reality are their resources or shall I say lack of preventing them from delivering or is it just an excuse for failing to manage their resources properly.
Take for example, if you phone Holyhead Police on the local number 01407762323, you are redirected to Police HQ in St. Asaph, and put on hold.
It can be argued that the young lady brutally murdered in Porthmadog would have got home safely if she would have been able to phone the local Station, who would have sent out a Patrol Car. This would have cost next to nothing and would have taken less than ten minutes to reach the victim from the time of the emergency call.
Today is overcast, and you will not see many Police about, but I guarantee when the weather is nice and sunny they will be out in force in their short sleeve shirts basically posing or cruising around Trearrdur Bay taking in the scenery.
I've witnessed one and one fights when the Police have stood by in force in their cars and paddy wagons and done absolutely nothing until the crowd disperses and then intimidate the by-standers on the way home asking them where they have been knowing damn well they just witnessed the same fight 20 yards down the road.
They over react to minor incidents and cannot be found when it really kicks off because it's deemed to be dangerous.
The local Plod should be sent on work experience to places like Toxteth and Moss Side so they can see the how cushy they have it in North Wales.
As for Tal Michael, would he be in the position he is now if it was not for his father? The answer is "No"
Holyheader
It's Anon 9:01 (27/7/2011) again.
That's quite shocking!
Mind you, I wasn't trying to imply that the police are lazy/not doing their jobs. I really do feel for the majority of them having to carry out orders/policies from their superiors that, quite frankly, beggar belief.
That said, I do know one (now possibly ex-) constable who did think they were the bees-knees which I sadly crossed swords in work with them. Luckily, my line-manager at-the-time echoed my sentiments and backed me up.
The point I was trying to make (in a nutshell) was that the law seems heavily biased in favour of the wrong-doer!
oh no! is someone suggesting that top jobs in the the public sector in wales are awarded not on merit but because the candidate is somebodys son or that there is a job for the boyos, programme in the government of wales your right about the police avoiding conflict as well they call it conflict avoidance i heard old style police and others call it something else.
Concerning the current rioting.
As far as I can see, there is no difference between the current Inner City riots and the Student Protest riots earlier this year.
The Police do not want to provoke the lower classes into full scale rioting because they know the current rioting is nothing in comparison to the full blown Broadwater Farm and Toxteth Riots experienced in the 80's.
The use of rubber bullets will escalate the riots because the rioters will resort to using Petrol bombs and possibly fire-arms and will put the situation far beyond the control of the Police and they know it.
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