BREAKING NEWS ***

Office Space/Small Retail Units to Let.

Prominent position on Market Street, Holyhead.

Just £10 per week!

Call Alun Roberts on 01407 765832 for details.

Plas Cybi Partnership staff are delighted to announce that our Empty Shop Initiative has lead Holyhead to be named the Overall Winner in Wales' Action for Market Towns 2012 competition.

The Action for Maket Towns awards, supported by the Big Lottery, were established in 2004 and seek to recognise and showcase initiatives that are helping Britain's small market towns to adapt to change and flourish.

In 2012, the judging panel had heard about the Empty Shop Initiative and contacted Alun Roberts, Plas Cybi's Development Officer. (You can read all about the Empty Shop Initiative by clicking the link in the Menu bar on the left-hand side of this page). The judges were obviously impressed with the scheme and, in May 2012, they named Holyhead as the Overall Winner of Wales' Action for Market Towns 2012 in general and of the Economic and Business category in particular.

But this isn't the end of the affair. In October 2012, the Plas Cybi team will be going to Kendal in the Lake District to represent Holyhead at the national level and showcase the Empty Shop Initiative against the other winners in the Economic and Business category. Dr David Starkey, the noted Historian and commentator, will be adjudicating that event.

Alun Roberts, who has been a driving force behind the E.S.I.: "This is a proud day for Holyhead Town Centre. We knew that the Empty Shop Initiative was something special and we are so pleased that it will receive national exposure with the Action for Market Towns award. The E.S.I. is increasing footfall, creating local jobs and providing an outlet for entrepreneurial spirit on Anglesey. We look forward to learning from our colleagues around the UK and to furthering the E.S.I in 2012."

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to the success of the Empty Shop Initiative - which has created five new businesses and 12 new jobs since February 2011.

On Sunday April 29th, Plas Cybi's TOMs youth group undertook the daunting task of preparing a four-course meal for over 80 invited guests at Holyhead High School.

The Tripping-Out Mini's (or TOMs, for short) are a youth group of 9-15 year olds who operate on a time-banking scheme. For every hour of voluntary work that the TOMs undertake, they earn points which accumulate and are traded in for trips.

The TOMs always enjoy their trips away, but they have a strong sense of community spirit and commit a lot of hours to get to go on trips.

The TOMs carry out all kinds of community service in order to earn these points: they garden, litter-pick, fundraise and put on events for the community. They also pick up new skills and have taken courses in Graffiti Art, Babysitting and Paediatric First Aid in the last year alone.

Over the last eight weeks, the TOMs have been working on their culinary skills. Every Thursday evening, they have been working with Rita Lyon (Plas Cybi's Coordinator) and Serena Stewart (Plas Cybi's Youth Worker) on a cookery course, mastering new recipes.

(They had done the same in 2011 and laid on a meal for 100 guests, including Ieuan Wyn Jones AM.)

This year, they also had the added benefit of cooking "buddies". In a fantastic bit of intergenerational working, some of the older Plas Cybi Volunteers teamed up with the TOMs and generously donated their time to teaching and supervising the TOMs.

The project came to be called "Mother Knows Best".

On Sunday, the TOMs arrived at the High School at 10am to start preparing their meal, more than eight hours before their guests were schedules to arrive!

By 6.30pm, the guests had arrived and the TOMs were ready to serve.

After apperitifs, the TOMs served their guests a starter of Stuffed Mushrooms.

For their Main Course, they had prepared a spicy Chicken Curry.

And for Dessert, Key Lime Pie was on the menu.

After the meal, Plas Cybi's Chair, Jim Lee, stood to congratulate the TOMs. He thanked the staff and volunteers for investing their time in the young people of Holyhead and was very proud of the effort.

As an added treat, the TOMs had prepared a small recipe book that went on sale to their guests for a small donation. Between that, and the raffle, the TOMs raised several hundred pounds that will be invested into their community activities.

Two fundraisers are taking a well-deserved rest and putting their feet up after walking over 100 miles (between Holyhead and Wrexham) for charity this last week.

Eddie Williams and James Hart (of Plas Cybi Partnership) appeared in the Holyhead & Anglesey Mail several weeks ago to announce their plans for the walk, in aid of 11 charities working in the North Wales area.

They set off from Holyhead on Saturday 21st April and arrived in Wrexham on 28th April, in time to take a lap of honour around Wrexham AFC's stadium at the last football game of the season against Braintree (a game Wrexham won 5-1).

It was an adventurous week for Eddie and James.

They were joined for the first few miles of their walk (between Holyhead and Valley) by members of the Brownies and Girlguides, and members of staff from Plas Cybi and Morlo Communities First walked as far as Menai Bridge on Day 1.

James and Eddie then continued on through Penmaenmawr, Rhos-on-Sea, St. Asaph, Ruthin, Coedpoeth to Wrexham.

Along the way, they were joined by friends and representatives of the charities for which they raised money.

James and Eddie even walked a stretch in Rhos-on-Sea blindfolded, to help raise awareness of the important work done by the Deafblind UK - one of the 11 charities they were supporting.

Eddie even rescued a lamb that had its head stuck in fence on the way between Bangor and Penmaenmawr.

Community groups and town councils were very generous in offering accommodation in community halls.

James and Eddie are still totting up the money they have raised, but they are very happy about the awareness they have raised.

James Hart said: "We told almost everyone we met along the way about the charities for which we were walking. The logos were always on display."

"I thought the stretch between Rhos-on-Sea and St. Asaph was going to break me. It was five miles of uphill walking. But we managed and were supported all the way by our friends and family."

James said: "It's been a very gruelling but a fantastic experience. We got to enjoy the beauty of North Wales whilst making a contribution to the fantastic charities that work here. They do vital work and we were happy to spread their messages."

* You can contact James Hart on 01407 765832. James and Eddie are still accepting donations and will be distributing their sponsorship to the charities very soon.*