A reunion for workers at the Jones Balers company in Rhosesmor has been organised. The company grew from humble beginnings to be a worldwide exporter of machinery which could count the Queen among its customers!
Two brothers, Glynn and David Jones, first set up the business in their home village of Rhosesmor in 1926. Initially the business was set up to operate and repair farm machinery but it went on to design and manufacture farming equipment.
The company employed many local people including former lead mine workers from Rhosesmor. Its success meant that it outgrew its site in Rhosesmor and moved to a factory in Mold.
At one point the Jones Baler factory made the widest range in the world, winning many awards, including the Royal Gold Medal for the best baler in Britain in 1950. Their machinery was so well built some are still in use today.
In 1961 the company was sold to a US company, Allis Chalmers.
Most of the company's former employees, many of whom are now in their eighties and nineties, have moved away from the area. Noel Jones, the founders' grandson, is keen to see as many as possible attend the reunion which will be held at the Blue Bell pub in Halkyn on 6 September, at 7.30pm.
The Slow Food group want your recipes! They plan to produce a set of recipe cards of seasonal dishes featuring local produce and if your recipe is chosen you'll be credited by name on the card.
The group were inspired by food co-ops, farmers' markets and box schemes which often have recipe cards giving ideas for meals based around the food they supply.
Supported by rural regeneration agency they decided to take the idea forward and are now seeking original recipes with the main ingredients sourced from local producers.
Recipes can be for a starter, main course or pudding and some simple recipes that beginners or children can cook will be included.
For further information contact Cittaslow Mold: enquiries@cittaslowmold.co.uk
It's amazing what turns up when you go rummaging through old things, like this £5 banknote from 1844 carrying the name , originally set up as Lloyds (Wrexham) Bank, no less, in 1785 by local merchant Richard Lloyd.
Go digging in a new online archive launched yesterday called , and there's no telling what you'll find.
Or, as ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ history broadcaster and blogger Phil Carradice puts it, the site "promises new ways to explore, share and engage with Welsh history and culture".
So, I went looking and turned up the of a young Daniel Owen in a tailor shop in Mold in 1851, before he became a famous Welsh novelist; there was ; from 1847-1856.
And there's a fascinating , to the Bishop of St Asaph and others, urging them to build a 'new' town hall in Denbigh.
Today, it's .
The letter starts:
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![Purple Gallinule and chick [generic]](/staticarchive/b8cea1920436fa5b60bc3a42b401077dc3a024bb.jpg)
There's a lot of excitement among bird fanciers online following the sighting of a stunning on a building site in Saltney.
One website gives a "rarity status: Mega" in Britain, according to , although it is more common in other parts of the world as well as being seen in Spain.
The issue here in the UK is whether it's a wild bird or a captive bird that has escaped.
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| 13:33 UK time, Friday, 20 August 2010
Two brothers, Glynn and David Jones, first set up the business in their home village of Rhosesmor in 1926. Initially the business was set up to operate and repair farm machinery but it went on to design and manufacture farming equipment. 
