AND the Welsh Oscar goes to... a Vale of Clwyd village shop.
Henllan Post Office and Stores has won the Countryside Alliance Award, known as the rural Oscars, for the best village shop and Post Office in Wales.
The award recognises the cream of Welsh rural enterprises, skills, produce and heritage for hard-working businesses.
Vanessa Griffiths, owner of Henllan Village Shop and Post Office, and a colleague attended the award ceremony at The Senedd in Cardiff on January 30.
“I knew there were two from South Wales up for the award as well, so I never thought we would win,” said Ms Griffiths.
“For us to win for the whole of Wales is fantastic, to win over places in South Wales is just amazing.
“It was members of the community who nominated us for the award, so it was a big surprise, and now we’ve won.
“The community is like one big family, I look after them and they look after me,” she added.
Ms Griffiths set up Henllan Post Office and Stores in 2011 with her husband David, who passed away last June.
“During the ceremony they started talking about who came third and then second and then the words David and Vanessa appeared on the screen,” said Ms Griffiths.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was lovely to see David’s name, as he did a lot of the work to set up the shop,” she added.
Henllan Post Office and Stores will be representing Wales, along with other types of businesses, in the UK and Ireland finals in Parliament in Westminster on March 13.
The Countryside Alliance’s director for Wales, Rachel Evans, introduced the Henllan shop at the award ceremony by saying: “The Henllan Village Shop in Denbighshire is not just a village shop and post office, the adjoining building has been turned into a tearoom which was warmly welcomed by locals as a meeting point.
“Nothing is too much trouble for Vanessa where the satisfaction of her customers and the community is concerned.”
The tearoom in Henllan Post Office and Stores, which has been closed, will re-open in March.