Problems in some communities are being caused by a minority of anti social people. But what can you do - or what can be done by the authorities - to make the situation better if they aren't prepared to do their bit to restore the peace?
So-called Friend has been in touch to name the people he or she believes are causing the problem on one estate, in this case Maes Gwyn in Flint. We can't publish the names for we've no idea whether Friend is right or wrong and what Friend deems as a 'problem' being caused by the neighbours might not be considered an issue by others.
So what steps - if any - can you advise Friend to take to help resolve the situation and do you think the authorities have enough powers to deal with problem people?
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If you are looking for something to do this weekend when you may want to try the in Llangollen which includes a night burn and fireworks display as well as amusements and stalls throughout the day at the . A group of us camped at a small site above the showground last year, taking some photos, and watching the display whilst relaxing around an open fire. Magical!
There's growing resentment to the fact that rubbish from Merseyside is being dumped in a landfill in Wrexham.
reports the 'anti-colonisation movement', , has condemned the Welsh Assembly for failing to look after the interests of the people of Wales by allowing councils from Merseyside to dump at the former Hafod quarry, Johnstown.
Meanwhile, more than 300 people have signed an in the last few days against the tipping. And others have started to use our messageboard to air their views, like Rhenleu who is calling on people to email their concerns to local politicians.
You can find your local MP via and local Welsh Assembly Member from .
Denbighshire Council says it is not covertly monitoring the waste people put in their wheelie bins - despite the fact a device has been found in some people's carriers.
The council has been forced to issue a statement through its after the reported people's concern when the devices were uncovered.
Instead, the authority says it was cheaper to have the bugs installed when the wheelie bins were ordered rather than have them fitted retrospectively in the future if the council wanted to monitor what people were dumping.
What do you reckon - is the council right to monitor you this way?
Flintshire Council is looking to provide 50 one and two bedroom granny flats in a new complex in Shotton complete with a restaurant, shop, hairdressers, hobbies room and library following the closure of Hafan Glyd care home.
You can find out more via or see the plans on show at Poplar Community Centre, September 7, 4-7pm, and St Ethelwood's Church Hall, September 11, 4-7pm.
No, it's that's North Wales Helicopter again! And sometimes I think it's following me because wherever I am in North Wales you can bet I will see it when I'm out and about.
Now, the force's heli' team are to start providing online updates of their operational missions - when appropriate - to explain what they've been up to. And the Chief Constable says the video evidence the crew shoot will be made available online too. "Some of the video we’ve shot is almost literally beyond belief," he says. Find out more from the website.
At last, you might say, but police and council officials are now planning to stop young people from doing what has become a dangerous and yet annual summer time pursuit for some - jumping off Llangollen Bridge into the dangerous and rocky waters of the River Dee below.
Prestatyn is to get a brand new primary school after the Welsh Assembly's Education Minister gave her approval to Denbighshire Council's bid for £3.5m to help fund the building. Find out more via
That's what the is claiming amid news that planning applications for a massive development on a 500-acre site, including the former RAF Sealand site and Corus land at Deeside, are expected to be put to Flintshire Council in the coming few months.
Proposals for a giant mobile phone mast in Holywell have sparked protests, reports the . The telephone company O2 have proposed siting the mast at the bottom of Pen-y-Maes road, but local councillors have lodged a protest calling the possible location "totally unacceptable".
Volunteers have helped bring about a record number of rare Little Tern fledglings at Wales' only remaining Little Tern colony in Gronant, according to . The vigilance of wardens working for Denbighshire's Countryside Service and the volunteers assisting them prevented many of the eggs from being taken by crows prior to hatching, resulting in 193 fledglings to date this year.
A seventeenth century building in Ruthin has been saved from dereliction and transformed into a centre for small businesses, reports . Among the businesses operating from the building is a radio sports agency "providing coverage of major sports events to radio stations world-wide". It's good to see a historic building saved for future generations and serving a useful function once again.
A national tv news online series looking at seaside resorts around Britain has turned its attention to . The report describes the town's "slightly frayed, dejected appearance" and "negative publicity about drug use and petty crime". Cheap flights haven't helped, as holiday makers have been lured abroad instead of visiting traditional British seaside resorts. However, one Rhyl hotelier is optimistic about the future and points out that Brighton, now a fashionable destination, once had "a terrible reputation". Can Rhyl turn itself around in the same way?
Three of Wrexham's parks have received Green Flag awards, given by the Civic Trust in recognition of the fact that the parks "have reached a particular high standard". You'll find further information on and take a look at some pictures of Bellevue Park, one of the Green Flag winners.
Special boards for graffiti artists have been set up at Prestatyn Skate Park, reports the . The boards will give graffiti artists an opportunity to display their work and it is hoped the scheme will reduce the amount of unauthorised graffiti in the town, which has been a problem in the past. Earlier this year, for example, police were on the hunt for one graffiti artist who had sprayed what were thought to be his initials in several different places in the town.
Traders in Wrexham's Butchers' Market say the market is declining and think it's because the town has chosen to invest in the booming club and bar scene at the expense of its more traditional attractions, reports the . Certainly, the town has seen great changes over the past few years. Can the markets, a feature of Wrexham life for so many years, survive?
World Cup star Dennis Lawrence has signed for Swansea City and is expected to make his debut for the south Wales side this Saturday, reports . Having been with Wrexham for five years, football fans are sure to have many memories of the 6ft 7in Trinidad and Tobago international, not least his appearance in this summer's World Cup competition.
Why not add your memories of Dennis Lawrence, and other Wrexham players, to the fans' memories page - Chris is the latest to recall "getting a meat pie thrown over my head from the back of the kop during a typical Kevin Russell (Rooster) goal celebration!". Happy days!
The annual takes place tomorrow at the Green, Denbigh. Events this year include a jousting stunt team as well as regular attractions like show jumping and displays of vintage machinery. Let's hope the weather's good!
A report in today's raises the possibility of £10m of lottery money being spent to create three "huge iconic statues" in north Wales. Among the sites being considered are on the A5 in Wrexham county and near the A55 in Flintshire. What do you think of this idea? The 'Angel of the North' statue at Gateshead has proved to be a big draw to tourists, do you think this area would benefit from something similar? Or could lottery money be put to better use?
Even dogs are getting in on the blogging act now, reports . Max, the force's last German shepherd dog, is retiring and has used his blog to bid farewell to the force. The report adds that Max's tracking skills once led to three arrests in one night. Obviously a very different animal to Jake, who had to be retired from the force after failing to catch a single criminal during his three years as a police dog!
The British National Party is claiming its first success in Wales with the switch to BNP by community councillor Mike Howard, who represents Mostyn in Flintshire.
The on their website that Cllr Howard, 69, who was elected as an Independent in 2004, has sent out a letter to locals in which he says: "My conscience will no longer allow me to support government policies. Accordingly, I have decided to support the British National Party."
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A British pilot originally from Wrexhan was hauled off a transatlantic flight at the last minute because he had a “Muslim sounding name”.
Amar Ashraf, 28, who has lived in the US for 10 years and captains domestic US flights, was returning to his home in the British Virgin Islands yesterday morning when he was told to leave the plane and questioned by police. He blames American authorities for “racial profiling", reports .
That's the hope of traders and council leaders in Denbigh who have become concerned about the number of businesses pulling out of the town. According to they are now wracking their brains to come up with ideas to lure more firms back into town. Do you have any suggestions?
It seems inevitable that tipping is to begin at a new landfill site at Hafod quarry, Johnstown, near Wrexham.
The has interviewed the boss of who confirms that site operations will begin once the firm has met environmental standards. Meanwhile, the newspaper says has urged authorities in Merseyside to halt the dumping of household waste in the area.
You can understand the feelings of local people about having such a thing on their doorstep. And then there is probably some ranting in the wider community about our English border neighbours continuing to dump on us. Is that a fair assertion or am I dragging up the past?
PS. Dear Liverpool cousins, I hope the pupils from 75 of your inner city schools enjoy their trips to the countryside of Mold [see previous blog]. Remember to tell them to heed the signs to 'take home their litter' - so it can be dumped in the landfill site down the road in Wrexham!
Our favourite boffin today presented a Radio 4 science programme, Engineering Solutions about how engineers at Airbus broke new ground in aeronautical design with the double-decker A380 super jumbo. You can still listen again if you missed it.
Do memories come flooding back when you hear old pop songs? Portuguese contributor Valerie says she cannot hear Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard without the "whiff of coffee and hamburgers" returning to her nose. That's because she was working in a café in Rhyl when Cliff's song was top of the charts in 1963 and she remembers it was forever being played on the juke box.
For me, it's any track off R.E.M's 1992 album . Songs like Man On The Moon and Nightswimming remind me of life before kids and when me and my wife spent a great week driving around Scotland with it playing away endlessly on the radio cassette - before the car broke down and the cash ran out. Broke but happy days!
What memories are conjured up by music for you?
American GI Joseph Halpin was stationed in Denbigh from April-June 1944 and the welcome he received in the hillside all years ago has stayed him to this day. So much so that Joe is to make a return 62 years later, bringing his wife and grown up children to show them the places he has talked about all these years.
Then, Joe was just becoming a man when he sailed across the ocean in a troop ship, landing in Scotland before being sent by train to an US Army barracks in the Vale of Clwyd. It was there, according to his daughter, Jackie, that he was quickly made to feel welcome and taken into the homes of local people.
Now, Joe returns for a short trip on August 11 as an 82-year-old and looking for those friends he made almost a life time ago. Can you help him find Gladys Parr, Terry Moran and Alma Clark? You can read more about Joe's story and his memories in our WWII mini site.
We've been running this blog for some time now, and we'd like your feedback to see what you think. We are also asking for feedback across all of our blogs on bbc.co.uk/blogs. The feedback will be used to help us understand if there are any things we need to change, so do let us know. We've listed a few questions for you to think about. You don't need to answer them all - they're a guide to what we are looking for.
- What 5 words would you use to describe this blog and what it means to you?
- What are the best bits about this blog?
- Anything you're not so keen on? If yes, then tell us your suggestions for improvements.
- What do you think about the frequency of our posts and the length. Do we have a right balance?
Thanks in advance.
Nick
That's the claim made in the today by Karen Jennings, head of health at the union Unison. Her comments come as hospitals in Flint, Abergele, St Asaph and Prestatyn, face closure along with others in the UK. She says cottage hospitals are at the heart of the community and the closures are "extremely unpopular" among locals and "potentially a vote loser". What's your view? Did you consider these local closures a Government policy or a local decision by bureaucrats?
Children's television show The Crunch, from digitial channel , will be broadcasting live from the Central Promenade, Rhyl, next Monday (August 14) from 10am. More info from .
Work on Rhyl's impressive Promenade project, the £3.8m , is now due for completion in September, according to a press release just issued by Denbighshire Council.
Although the completion date is over schedule, apparently due to unforeseen ground work, the council is confident the Drift Park - turning seven acres of the West promenade into a leisure area - will prove to be a major boost for the town.
We've just received this photo from the ruins of Castell Dinas Brân, courtesy of Jason Holmes, which confirms the recent story from that the blue sky above Llangollen is officially the best in the UK, and the ninth loveliest in the world.
Among other latest submissions is the photo of a polecat submitted by security guards at Talacre's oil terminal and a view of spectacular Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall by Jason.
Pensioner Jim Buchanan, of Henllan, who is waiting for an operation, has collected 600 names for a petition against the proposed closures of HM Stanley, Abergele and Llandudno hospitals, reports .
History fans and walkers have the chance of learning more about the region's historic landscape by taking part in free training days on archeological surveying on Moel Fenlli and Caer Drewyn in late August and early September. Go to for more info.
So the of North Wales was right in his ascertion two years ago that drugs should be reclassified. His controversial opinions - in which he stated heroin users can continue to function in normal society - seems to have been endorsed this week with the publication of House of Commons Committee on Science and Technology report, , which rubbishes the current classification system. Read his to find out more.
Is it still OK for a man to call a woman 'love'? German contributor Katja lists it as one of the many things she misses from her time here in NE Wales when she worked as a photographer for the local newspaper, the .
My family are from Staffordshire where you still hear the term 'duck'. 'Hello, duck.' 'Thanks, duck', etc, etc - except a fella can be called 'duck' as much as a woman. What terms do you still use?
By the way, an interesting comment has been posted to the Dialects section from Nia from Wrexham who remembers the terms 'saw your bum' or 'spied your bum'. She explains: "From what I remember it is used when someone has made a foolish mistake or embarrassed him or herself. ‘Ah, ha! You well spied your bum’!"
That's the term being used in the to the dust Castle Cement wants to dump in landfill sites on its land at Padeswood, near Buckley. The dust is a by-product of the burning process. The Leader says the company's appeal against Flintshire Council's refusal to grant it permission takes place on August 30 at the Penyffordd Youth and Community Centre, Hawarden Road, Penyffordd.
Anyone wanting to submit views in writing or wants to speak at the inquiry should write to Crown Buildings, Cathays Park Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.
There is growing opposition to the planned siting of a 50ft phone mast on Pen y Maes Road, Holywell, near primary schools and the town's community hospital, according to .
Bryn Richards, who lives near site, said he was concerned for the health of his wife, Lorna, 65, suffering with cancer. But phone companies say there is no evidence to show phone masts have any adverse effect on health. Flintshire Council has yet to decide on the phone mast's go ahead.
| 07:01 UK time, Thursday, 31 August 2006
