Many of my recent pieces have focused on the town where I live. In seeking to highlight the good points and identify any areas where the town can improve, I have sought the opinions and input of the local community through a social media group. I have really enjoyed observing discussions unfold as people chew the fat over what is already good and what they feel is lacking. A recurrent theme which came up repeatedly was the need for the town centre to have a regular street market as indeed it used to when I was a child.
Sometimes people get together and work hard to make something happen only to be thwarted by circumstances beyond their control such as adverse weather. Today was St. David's Day and a huge amount of planning and preparation had been undertaken by Rhodd Dinbych. It was St. David's Day and it was the last Saturday of half term with our children returning to school on Monday. When I woke up this morning I was thrilled to see that the sun was shining with barely a cloud in the sky.
At 10.00 I took my son to see all the stalls and the entertainment. The variety and quality of the stalls was truly amazing and the efforts to which a great many people had gone were self evident. Crown Square has become notable of late for the Crown Hotel standing empty. Today, it didn't matter because there was too much going on for anyone to even notice. In front of the Crown Hotel was a falconer with a marvellous array of owls, hawks and buzzards. He more than made up for the Crown Hotel being empty and we had to wait about 10 minutes just to get near him due to the large numbers in front of us.
Live music was being played outside the town hall and I was particularly impressed by the playing of the Celtic harp. We sat with many others just taking in the atmosphere. Atmosphere is a strange commodity. You can't buy atmosphere and it was on tap in Denbigh today. Next stop was the market hall. I'm glad I only had one shopping bag with me or I would have been bankrupt. There was so much fantastic produce and crafts on show. Young or old, there really was something for everyone. Every time I looked around me, the crowd seemed to have doubled again. The mixture of local exhibitors and those who had come from far further afield was enticing. As ever, I succumbed to the olives which had come from Cyprus - literally. To be able to speak to the Cypriot man who had grown them was a privilege. At every stall, we were met with waves of friendly goodwill. This was Denbigh at it's very best.
Whatever your views of this great town, today proved one thing beyond debate. If the people get behind it, anything is possible. To the people who made today happen, all credit to you. I've read people recently pointing out that the supermarkets are convenient because you can get everything under one roof. Well, I beg to differ because I saw so many things on the street in Denbigh today which you would never find in a million years in a supermarket. I also experienced a warmth of atmosphere which the supermarkets can only dream of. But above all I saw what happens when a local community gets together and pools it's resources and I saw what happens when the town en masse comes out to support it's own. As an avowed proponent of localism, I only hope to see more days like this one in Denbigh. Well done to all concerned and please keep up the excellent work. Well done too to the people of Denbigh for getting behind the event and coming out in such large numbers to support it.
This was the impression it left on me. The impression it left on my six year old son is priceless because his is the generation with whom we need to engage. Today, Denbigh did that in spades. Llongyfarchiadau i bawb!
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