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FINDING THE SAFE ROUTE TO SCHOOL
I often attend at Ysgol Blessed William Davies, as well as other schools in Llandudno, either at the start or the end of the school day. Like other schools in the area Blessed William Davies periodically have problems with vehicles parking on the zig zags outside the school.
On one morning last week, after seeing all the children in safely and ensuring no-one violated the parking restrictions I found myself assisting Fran Birch of Kerbcraft deliver a session at the school.
Kerbcraft is a practical child pedestrian training scheme, developed in Drumchapel, Glasgow, by Professor James Thomson at the University of Strathclyde. It is designed to teach pedestrian skills to 5 to 7 year olds, by means of practical road-side training rather than teaching in the classroom. It is built around teaching three skills: choosing safe places and routes; crossing safely at parked cars and crossing safely near junctions. These skills are taught over the course of at least 12 roadside sessions. Children are taught in the road environment near their schools, in pairs or groups of three children, by trained volunteers.
Kerbcraft is supported by classroom lessons during poor weather conditions. Kerbcraft trains the three skills over an academic year to ensure training is progressive.
The scheme is reliant on volunteers to help train the children alongside the Child Pedestrian Training Co-ordinator and child pedestrian training support officer. All volunteers are recruited via the schools involved.
Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, Kerbcraft links to the council’s Safe Routes to School programme which aims to reduce serious casualties and fatalities in the vicinity of schools.
The scheme obviously works as later in the week I was crossing a road in Llandudno with two teenagers. When I told them to be careful they came back at me with “line of sight”, looking right, right again and straight ahead. All of these skills were taught to them in primary school by Kerbcraft officers and have, thankfully, stayed with them.
The lessons at Blessed William Davies were enjoyable and all the children taking part received stickers and are working towards certificates when they complete the sessions.
For further information on the work being done by this very worthwhile scheme, click on the link below.
www.kerbcraft.org
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. . . FOR EVERYONE
Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd in Llandudno is holding regular Bike It sessions at the school. The courses are run by Gwen Thomas who is the Sustrans Bike It officer for the school, along with Sustrans volunteer, Graham Harper. The sessions are designed to teach basis cycling skills, as well as improve control of bikes through a series of cycling games helping to improve confidence and make pupils safer cyclists. Anyone wishing to take part in a session must already be able to ride a bike. The sessions are for groups of 6 pupils at a time.
Some pupils cycle to school every day and below are photos of the area where their bikes are left on a normal school day.
 
C2811 Pam Hayers and myself attended a session at Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd, where we offered pupils the opportunity to have their bikes post coded. The children were very enthusiastic about this and we also offered advice on keeping their bike safe.
 
They were all advised to lock their bikes when they left it, even if only for a few minutes. Other advice included taking a photograph of their bike and keeping it safe. It is amazing how many people cannot accurately remember the make or colour of bikes they report stolen.
We know that millions of children want to cycle to school in this country, yet only 2% do. Sustrans has stepped in to sort this out with Bike It, a ground-breaking project that has already quadrupled the number of children cycling to its target schools. Children feel fitter and more independent - they just love being out and about on their bikes. Just look at the difference in the number of bikes bought to school on the day of the BIKE IT session - amazing!
 
Parents know Sustrans are offering something really positive for their child and trust them to do everything they can to help their child towards a healthier, happier journey to school.
Teachers say Bike It has transformed their schools. Children are energised, excited, ready to learn and travelling safely and independently.
Local authorities enjoy the success of Bike It in their areas. It has attracted the praise and attention of many Government ministers and national newspapers and TV.
Everyone loves the empty car parks and full bicycle sheds!
In its fifth year Bike It continues to be a success story. For a quick introduction to Bike It, download Brilliant Bike It. To get a full report on what Bike It is, how it works and how to get involved, download the 2009 Bike It Project Review or, in Welsh, Bike It Adolygiad o'r Prosiect 2009.
Meet the Bike It team and find out whether they are working with schools near you.
Read the latest Bike It news online or sign up for the school travel e-update.
If you are a school interested in having a Bike It officer, ask your local authority to contact Sustrans and express its support for an extension of Bike It. You can register your own interest: Ask for Bike It.
If you are a parent, teacher or governor and would like to champion walking and cycling to your school, visit the Safe Routes to Schools website.
If you would like to know more about the National Standard Cycling Training or would like some bicycle training yourself, contact the CTC National Training Helpline on tel: 0870 607 0415 or visit www.ctc.org.uk/cycletraining.
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LLANDUDNO WELCOMES YOU . . .
As the sign says at the top of Penrhyn Hill, there is always a welcome for you in Llandudno. Half term in February saw our latest Bluelight event take place at the Broadway Boulevard, attracting young people from all over the area.
 
As with all previous events held at the Boulevard this was, once again, a great success. For the first time the venue reached its capacity - more than ONE THOUSAND young people had travelled from far and wide, as well as from the local area, to attend the Valentine Disco.
Another first was the agreement between ourselves and Arriva buses to allow those attending the event free travel from their local area and back home. Anyone wanting to take advantage of this facility had to apply to PC Mike Smith, who then took their details and sent them a printed ticket to use on the designated buses. This was a roaring success, with hundreds of tickets sent out for use on the night.
Also for the first time, unfortunately, this meant that we had to turn some young people away. Once there were one thousand inside the venue, licensing laws meant no-one else could be admitted. Although this obviously left some of the youngsters disappointed it didn’t deter from the success of the event.
  
Inside the Boulevard the dance floor was jam-packed from the beginning of the night till the very last tune was belted out by the DJs. Talking to those present it seems that the dance floor is the main attraction, although to an old-timer like me being packed together like sardines is not very appealing.
Also attending at the event were recruitment officers from the Army and Royal Navy. They spoke with the young people present, offering advice and handing out literature outlining the recruitment process for the Armed Forces.
  
This is an important part of any Bluelight event, providing information and access to partner agencies – it’s up to those attending if they want to speak with the agencies, nothing is forced upon them.
Once again we also had members of North Wales Police Cadets on hand to assist with the policing of the event. This is great experience for the trainees, who are all hoping to take up a career with the police at the end of their two years as cadets.
 As you can imagine over one thousand people queuing up for near enough an hour to get in to the venue can present some problems. Every person entering is searched for alcohol, cigarettes or any other banned items. This all takes time but is absolutely necessary, as even though the young people know that these are alcohol and drug free events, there is still a minority who try to get in, despite either having consumed alcohol or having it hidden on their person. This invariably results in a handful being taken home to face the music when we inform parents of their childs' misdemeanours.
None of this can detract from the success of the event. The number of young people turning up is testimony that events of this type are needed in the area. Long may they continue and I know - because they told me - that the youngsters are already looking forward to the next disco, planned for the Easter holidays . . . let's hope we'll be chock-a-block again!
Just in case . . . Cadburys buttons eggs always go down well . . .
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. . . THE NICK BEER 10K THAT IS
The Nick Beer 10K took place in Llandudno recently and was a massive success. The event attracted more than 600 runners from across the UK.
The race is run in memory of Nick Beer, who was a member of the North Wales Road Runners Club. Nick collapsed and died after the Lake Vyrnwy Half-Marathon of 1991. A portion of the entry fee goes to his parents' chosen charity, the Association of Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus. Other charities to benefit from the race are Hope House - Ty Gobaith, St Johns Amblance and Childline.
 North Wales Police are among the sponsors of the race, which started at the Cenotaph on Llandudno promenade and continued around the Marine Drive and onto West Shore, taking in Abbey Road and Church Walks before re-joining the promenade for the run-in to the finish line opposite Venue Cymru.
A quick look at the route map gives you an idea of the gruelling, yet very scenic route, the runners had to endure, sorry - enjoy!
The race was won by Jason Dunkerley of East Cheshire Harriers in a cracking time of 33 minutes and 22 seconds. Sergeant Tom Prytherch and Community Safety Officer Ifan Hughes were both competing in the event. Tom finished a very creditable 29th overall in a time of 38 minutes and 23 seconds.
The first female home was Jennifer Clague from Liverpool Harriers, seen at the front of the pack at the start of the race above. Her time was 38 minutes and 3 seconds. You can just spot Tom Prytherch behind the runner with the white shirt and red hat, getting off to a good start with the front runners
 
Ifan did manage to give me a wave as he passed me, on the West Shore, on his way to a time of 52 minutes and 2 seconds, to end up in 292nd place, finishing in front of more than half the field of runners. Ifan assures me that he didn't get a lift on the police motor cycle which led the runners round the course.
  The race is, obviously, a serious event, rated by many as the top 10k in the UK. There was one gentlman, however, who completed the run in aid of charity. He ran (and walked) the route to raise funds for DebRA - the national charity working on behalf of people in the UK with the genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a genetic condition where the skin breaks at the slightest touch, causing painful, open blisters and wounds. EB can mean a life of extreme pain, disability and, at its worst it is fatal in infancy. People with severe EB are likely to contract a fatal skin cancer. DEBRA provides specialist EB nursing, funds extensive medical research and provides counselling, welfare, respite and advocacy.
DebRA was founded in 1978 by a group of parents whose children were affected by EB. At this time only some 200 people with EB were known to health professionals in the UK.
Well done to this gentleman for raising awareness of this condition, it was certainly something that I was not aware of.
If you are affected by EB or if you want more information you can visit the DebRA website:
www.debra.org.uk
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ON THE INTERNET . . .
On a daily basis children in North Wales use the internet and, unfortunately, are often subjected to cyber bullying, grooming, viewing of inappropriate images and identity theft. Their Parents and Carers need to know how to keep their children safe, but unfortunately most adults don’t have the necessary skills or knowledge to do this.
 i-PAT is a Welsh Company and Sue Jackson of ByteBack Training from Colwyn Bay has taken on the role of Area Manager for North Wales.
To launch i-PAT in North Wales, a special event was recently attended by the local neighbourhood policing team, head teachers, teachers, organisations working with young people, school governors, local councillors, and local government education officers at Tŷ Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd yr Orsedd, Llandudno.
Gareth Jones, the Plaid Cymru AM for Aberconwy, Chair of the National Assembly's Enterprise and Learning Committee, which scrutinises Welsh Government policy on education matters, was also present at the launch. Mr Jones is a former headteacher of Llandudno's Ysgol John Bright and an education consultant.
i-PAT (Internet Parental Awareness Training) works with primary and secondary schools, councils, companies, clubs, societies and youth organisations to provide internet awareness training sessions so parents, carers, teachers and youth workers can learn how to keep children safe on the internet. The community beat team members attending the session found the information closely mirrored and supported the message about staying safe on the internet being delivered by school liaison officers to pupils at local schools.
For more information on i-PAT, including future course dates for parents, please contact Sue Jackson on 07770 472488 or email suejackson@i-pat.org.uk. Visit www.i-pat.org.uk, or call the Cardiff office on 02920 090 178.
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Betws-y-Coed anti-speeding group
Drivers who have been treating a Conwy Valley beauty spot like a race track have had their cars seized following a zero tolerance crackdown by police and residents.
Betws-y-Coed is better known as a hot-spot for tourists and day-trippers, but more recently its main car park on Station Road has become a racing track late at night.
Residents from nearby Railway Cottages, on Station Road, complained to the Police and the local community council in November, regarding a number of young people driving at speed and carrying out dangerous manoeuvres in the car park.
Community Beat Manager PC 1488 Mark Howell-Walmsley is working closely with residents, the council and Snowdonia National Park Authority who own the land, to crack down on the culprits.
“We ask residents to be vigilant of the late night activities, and note down car registrations, and dates and times of dangerous driving and speeding activity at the car park. Anyone caught breaking the law there in their vehicle is given a Section 59 Notice, which is a written warning by the police, regarding their anti-social behaviour. Anyone caught again will have their car seized.
“So far we have seized two 4x4 vehicles. The owners will have to pay a £150 fine to get them back or the cars will be crushed. We have also issued a number of Section 59 Notices to other drivers and we will continue to crack down on this kind of activity in the area. We are taking a zero tolerance attitude to this kind of dangerous anti-social behaviour.”
Steps are being taken to secure the car park. Through partnership working North Wales Police are looking at preventative measures such as traffic calming and gates to stop the activity from continuing. “In the meantime we will continue to patrol the area and ask residents continue to be vigilant noting down car registrations.”
PC 1488 Mark Howell-Walmsley
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PCSO Delia Bellis attended Ysgol Bro Gwydir recently to talk with the pupils about Crime Prevention.
While at the school Delia postcoded 50 bikes, took pictures and will be senting up a database of all these bicycles at the Police Station. If any bikes where to be lost or stolen there will be a record of the bike plus a photograph. The youths were also given a bicycle lock as part of this initiative, which was provided by the Llanrwst Neighbourhood Policing Team and Conwy Safety Partnership.
PCSO Delia Bellis
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Last Year temperatures soared, as did visitors to Deganwy on Friday and Saturday, 29th and 30th May,
with over 70 runners on Friday evening taking part in a road (DASH) race through Deganwy
and over 2000 vistors to Deganwy Prom day on Saturday.
We are hoping for even greater numbers this year as the
DASH will take place on Friday 4th June and the Funday the day after on Saturday 5th June 2010
A dedicated website is available on
www.deganwypromday.org.uk
We hope to have the following attractions plus more
Both days are a benefit to the Village & Neighbouring Buisnesses
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CIRCUS STARR - A CLASS ACT
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I was told there would be a Circus appearing at the Town Hall in Llandudno recently. I needn’t have worried about animals escaping and running wild in Mostyn Street as the Starr Winter Magic show’s magical mix of top-flight acrobatics, breathtaking balancing and non-stop comedy performs to audiences of all ages in more than 75 towns and cities in England, Scotland and Wales each year.
 Circus Starr occupies a unique position in British circus by raising thousands of pounds for local charities from the advance sales of tickets to local businesses. They work with over 70 local charities in the UK, in particular raising funds for hospices and hospitals. They also have the support of over 23,000 companies across the UK who assist Circus Starr to raise over £100,000 a year for local charities. Since taking to the road 22 years ago, Circus Starr is proud to have raised more than £1 million for these charities.
Circus Starr also donate over 75,000 tickets per year to underprivileged and disabled children and other local community groups who otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to see a circus show. This is how a party of twenty four youngsters and several volunteers from Ty Llywelyn community centre in Llandudno came to be attending at the Town Hall.
My idea was to go along after the show had started, stand at the back of the audience and say hello to the party from Ty Llywelyn when I had the chance. No such luck, I was spotted straight away by the eagle-eyed youngsters and lots of waving and calling my name alerted the escapologist, who was just about to start his act, to my presence.
Needless to say that within minutes of silently sneaking into the assembly rooms I found myself on the stage assisting Andrew Van Buren, one of Britain’s most highly acclaimed masters of illusion, with his act. Andrew’s unique talents have baffled audiences throughout the world and earned him the coveted membership of Magic’s most exclusive society - the Magic Circle.
For my part all I had to do was check that the old fashioned handcuffs were tightly fastened, that the locks and ties on the straight-jacket were all in place and that there was no possible way that Andrew could escape his shackles. I did my job then stood back and watched as Andrew duly loosened himself from the handcuffs and the straight-jacket. As I left the stage I was given a generous round of applause from the audience, most of whom I knew from working in the Tudno ward of Llandudno.
I wasn't alone in being called up on stage as a couple of the volunteers from Ty Llywelyn found themselves either tying knots or ending up in knots thanks to the Circus Starr performers.
 
Supporting Andrew, it was laughter all the way with the hilarious antics of Duo Delbosq, whose infectious style of physical comedy knows no boundaries of language or age when it comes to pure entertainment. Firm favourites with circus audiences throughout France and Spain, they come direct from the spectacular Gandey’s Circus tour.
Following their appearance in Llandudno Circus Starr moved on to Burnley and Stalybridge in Lancashire. The month of February sees the circus moving to Scotland with dates in Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh.
St David's Hospice was the beneficiary of Circus Starr performing in Llandudno. St David’s is a purpose built hospice, situated in the idyllic location of Llandudno, in a quiet residential area a short walking distance from the West Shore promenade.
St David's strive to look after the patient emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially whilst also supporting the family both before and after death. The hospice benefits from having a qualified and skilled nurse and doctor team who have vast experience in end of life care. The Hospice believes in working in a multi-professional way and has complementary therapists, diversional therapist, physiotherapy and visits from the chaplaincy and pharmacist.
Who'd have thought that appearing for one night only could lead to such benefits for our local hospice. Along with the other memers of the audience I came away wondering . . . "how did he do that" . . . how did he make someone disappear in front of my own and other audience members' eyes? Obviously I'll never know, but one thing I do know is that I have no plans to give up the day job to run away with the circus, despite thoroughly enjoying my brief appearance with the master illusionist.
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"FIVE HOURS OF PUSHIN BROOM"
Another successful clean-up day was held in the Kings Road, Llandudno area of Tudno Ward recently.
Conwy Council's Environment Department led the day with partners from Communities First, North Wales Police, Probation Services, Cartrefi Conwy, North Wales Housing Association, Keep Wales Tidy, Youth Inclusion and Community Justice Intervention Wales all playing a part in the operation to clean up the area.
The clean-up started at 9.30 am and for five hours everyone worked relentlessly with the residents of the area, litter picking and removing rubbish and waste. Cleaning up the community to make the area cleaner, safer and more pleasant to live in. The day, coupled with the recent improvements to the appearance of the houses on Kings Road, hopefully, will help restore pride in one of the oldest residential streets in the town.
 
A total of 22 tonnes of rubbish was removed from the area, of which 54% was recycled. This brings the cumulative total of refuse collected from these events, so far, to a staggering 154.5 tonne.
A number of Community Environment Days are programmed to take place over the next few months, and representatives from all the agencies have shown their commitment to this.
Michelle Brown, Environmental Strategy Office with Conwy County Council, the person charged with organising these events, told me that the next event is planned to be held in the Abergele area. Then it's down to organising the environmental action days for the next financial year when, hopefully, other areas of Llandudno will benefit from this very successful operation.
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The above picture taken on Thursday 28th January 2010 at the Glan Conwy Coffee Morning and features Community Beat Manager PC 1321 Chris Perkins explaining the North Wales Police
"Balance Your Bobbies"
project to patrons. This project allows members of the community to express their views about Policing in their communities.
You can have your say about your
and let us know your
priorites for local policing
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DWI'N FFRIND I MISTAR URDD
At the recent Family Fun Day held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno I managed to make a new friend - and I've got the sticker to prove it! Myself and Jake, who attends Ysgol Tudno in Llandudno, are pictured above with our new best buddy.
Lots of parents and their children from Tudno Ward attended the event, which was a huge success with all those present.
There were countless workshops and demonstrations, with an opportunity for all to try their hand at a large variety of activities to do with art, dance, drama and music.
These included, ART: face painting, badge making, craft workshop, paper flower making, sound of music inspired drawing, with Oriel Mostyn and 3D modelling; DANCE:clog dancing, dance workshops, street dancing and break dancing; DRAMA workshops: Sound of Music, Hairspray, Sister Act and Llandudno Youth Theatre held an "Only Boys Allowed" workshop, where they were looking for young males to join the group. Also and "Act on It" session with theatre games, mime and improvisation.
MUSIC: Do-Re-Mi sing-a-long and music workshops with Ensemble Cymru. All these activities were well attended throughout the day and many took place in meeting rooms with the incredible view of Llandudno promenade and the Irish sea in the background.
There was also a very popular circus skills workshop and Wii games in the main hall area. There was also an animated film, Gelert, showing every 30 minutes for all the family to enjoy.
I spent some time talking with those providing the workshops, as well as parents and young people attending. I also tried my hand at a bit of juggling, as demonstrated by the experts, above. I can be seen below with Lizzie Higgins, a volunteer with Communities First, neither of us actually daring to let go of the pins but still enjoying the experience.
The Children's Exchange Service provided a Craft Card Making activity on the Mezzanine on the first floor and the Jones family from Llandudno can be seen below, mum and dad watching daughter Olivia busily making greetings cards as baby Samuel decides to sleep through the occasion.
This event hopes to introduce young people of all ages to Venue Cymru and what it has to offer in an informal and relaxed way. The activities are all linked to various aspects of the theatre and performance with something for everyone to enjoy.
This year’s event was even bigger and better as staff worked hard to secure new, exciting workshops in addition to bringing back some popular activities from last year. The day ran from 11am to 4pm and was completely free to all.
Last year's Family Fun Day saw more than 1,200 children and their parents flock to Venue Cymru and 2010 was no exception, let's hope the event is back again, bigger and better, in 2011.
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ALL WALES FINAL ON THE HORIZON
Over 24 secondary school children recently took part in the regional final of the All Wales School Liaison Core Programme Quiz, held at Venue Cymru, Llandudno.
The quiz was based on topics the pupils have covered in their lessons by their School Liaison Officer – a police officer who teaches the children about community safety, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour. All the answers were found in booklets provided by the School Liaison Officers:
The regional final saw six teams participating, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy from Llanrwst, who had won through the regional semi-final held recently at Force Headquarters in Colwyn Bay were representing Conwy county. Ysgol Tryfan, Bangor; Ysgol Bryn Alyn, Gwersyllt, Wrexham; Ysgol St. Richard Gwyn, Flint, Ysgol St. Brigid’s, Denbigh and Ysgol David Hughes from Menai Bridge were the representatives from the other regions.
There were six rounds in total and the teams should all be proud of themselves as they were the final six out of 33 teams originally entered in the competition.
The pupils were welcomed to Venue Cymru by Supt Richard Brough, who wished all those taking part the best of luck in their bid to reach the all Wales final, to be held at the Copthorne Hotel in Cardiff in February.
The All Wales School Liaison Core Programme aims to work towards achieving a reduction in crime and disorder amongst young people through the medium of education and to promote the principles of positive citizenship in schools and their wider communities. It became fully operational in September 2004 and is taught in 97% of primary and secondary schools across Wales. All core programme lessons are delivered by police school liaison officers and focus on substance misuse education, social behaviour and community safety.
 
The eventual winners at Llandudno were, once again, Ysgol David Hughes from Menai Bridge with 56 points. In second place were the team from Ysgol St. Brigid’s, with only two points separating the winners from the runner-up.
 
Third place went to Ysgol Tryfan with Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy finishing a creditable fourth. Ysgol St. Richard Gwyn were the fifth placed school with Ysgol Bryn Alyn finishing sixth on the day. The fiinal scores were extremely close and all those taking part should be incredibly proud of themselves for reaching the regional final.
 
Each team member received a certificate, a pen set and also a voucher to be spent at W H Smith. Ysgol David Hughes also took back to their school a trophy which, I’m sure, will be proudly displayed to commemorate their success.
The question master for the final was John Grisdale, the School Liaison Co-ordinator for North Wales Police. Also present were representatives from North Wales Fire Service Arson reduction team, Maldwyn Roberts, NW Co-ordinator for Substance Misuse and Community Safety and Sergeant Mel Brace, a new member of the Community Safety team.
Sadly Maldwyn will be retiring soon and this will have been one of his last duties before leaving us. As you can see from the photograph above, at least he sent the pupils from Ysgol David Hughes home with huge smiles on their faces. Maldwyn commented “I must congratulate the winners, but I must stress that the standards demonstrated by all the schools have been excellent. The quiz encourages children and young people to learn about the problems caused by drugs and alcohol.”
Also in the picture is PC Dewi Thomas, School Community Police Officer for Anglesey and North Gwynedd, who will accompany the children to Cardiff. “They have all worked hard, but there is now tremendous pressure for the school to follow in the footsteps of the previous year 8 pupils who won the competition last year” commented PC Thomas.
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THEY KNOW IT'S A BLUELIGHT CHRISTMAS!
The last of our discos for the under eighteens in 2009 was held at Broadway Boulevard in Llandudno on Tuesday night.
The previous events have all proved very successful with an average of around 800 young people attending on each occasion. This special Bluelight Christmas event proved to be even more popular, over 900 revellers paid £7 each for all-incluseve entrance to the venue.
  
It had been agreed beforehand that £1 from each ticket would be donated back to the Bluelight cause. So with over £900 due to swell the Bluelight coffers it has to be classed as a very successful evening for all concerned.
  
As always, there was a strong police presence on the night, which, as all Bluelight events are, is advertised as an alcohol-free and drug-free occasion. We had a police sergeant, police constables, special constables, PCSO's and Police Cadets on duty, performing traffic and crowd control outside and mingling with the young revellers inside the venue. There were also representatives from other agencies available to give advice and guidance, if required, to the young people present.
We are there to ensure that everyone keeps to these rules. When you think that over 900 young people attended on the night, there were only a handful of minor issues to deal with, it is a testament to the high-spirited but well-behaved young people who were there to simply . . . enjoy themselves.
  
The queues start to form early and, despite the cold, the young people were well-behaved as we checked out the crowd for anyone who was drinking alcohol or appeared the worse for wear. Lots of the young ladies had made the effort to dress up as Santas, angels and elves and pixies. The young men, typically, had decided that it was enough that they had just turned up!
 
The night went smoothly but noisely, if you want to check out the volume just click on the link below for a 2 minute synopsis of the evening. You can't see much but you get an idea of the noise levels and how much the young people enjoyed the evening. The dance floor was jam-packed from 7 o'clock unitl the last tune at 10.00.
Once outside at the end of the night the emphasis turns to keeping the revellers safe, ensuring the younger ones are picked up by their parents, guardians, brothers and sisters, as promised. Also the traffic control at that time of night, which, unfortunately, coincided with a large volume of traffic leaving the theatre, becomes a serious issue. Thanks to everyone being patient and understanding, it's not too long before the crowds have dispersed and we can all go home, tired but happy, after a brilliant night. Or was that just me?
The next Bluelight Disco, again at the Boulevard, is due to be held in February. It looks like a Valentine's Disco which will be held on Tuesday 16th. I know I heard the DJ ask the crowd if they were going to attend the next Bluelight event and the ovewhelming response was . . .
YES!
See you all in February . . . meanwhile have a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKCAwo7saxQ
Also you can check out the Bluelight website for information and photos at bluelightnorthwales.co.uk
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MERRY CHRISTMAS &
HAPPY 2010
to all the people we serve
in our Beat areas
Pc 1321 Chris Perkins
PCSO 2620 Jill Buerdsell
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