Capacity Pavilion crowd takes David Gray to its heart

 

* David Gray emphasised his Welsh  connections throughout the night. ALL PICTURES: CUFFE & TAYLOR

A capacity crowd last night (Friday) welcomed multi‑platinum singer‑songwriter David Gray to TK Maxx presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion for a powerful stop on his Past & Present World Tour. 

Pembrokeshire‑raised Gray’s return to Wales brought a patriotic spark to the evening, with the audience erupting as he performed his Welsh‑titled track Nos Da Cariad — a tribute to his years living in the country. 

And throughout the night he thanked fans with warm greetings of “Diolch Llangollen” and “Diolch yn fawr iawn”, deepening the connection inside the packed Pavilion.

 

The set spanned his remarkable career, with standout moments including The One I Love, My Oh My, Be Mine, White Ladder, You’re The World To Me and This Years Love. 

A full-throated Pavilion singalong to Babylon lifted the roof before Gray closed the night in unforgettable style with Sail Away.

 

Special guests The Divine Comedy opened the evening in style — and they brought The National Express with them charming the crowd with their trademark wit and timeless song-writing.

 

* TK Maxx presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion continues tonight (Saturday) with a formidable headline show by Billy Ocean, joined by Marti Pellow and Katie Owen.

* A capacity Pavilion crowd delights in the performance.

* Special guests The Divine Comedy opened the evening in style. 

* Above and below: fans lapping up every moment of the experience.

Heat forces railway to cancel all Saturday services

Llangollen and Corwen Railway has taken the difficult decision to cancel all train services on Saturday following a detailed inspection of the railway and continued assessment of the forecast extreme temperatures across North Wales.

The decision follows the cancellation of the railway's Heritage Railcar services on Thursday and Friday and has been made following advice from the railway's operations, engineering and safety teams.

The railway has stressed that the safety of passengers, volunteers and staff remains its overriding priority. All customers with bookings for Saturday will receive a full refund and are being contacted directly by the railway.

David Hennigan, Trust Manager at the Llangollen and Corwen Railway, said, "This has been an exceptionally difficult week for everyone connected with the railway. Earlier this week we took the decision to cancel our Heritage Railcar services on Thursday and Friday. Following a further detailed inspection of the railway and continued assessment of the forecast temperatures, we have now also taken the difficult decision to cancel Saturday's services.

"These decisions have not been taken lightly. The safety of our passengers, volunteers and staff is absolutely critical and must always come before anything else. Whilst we know many people will be disappointed, we have a responsibility to operate safely and responsibly. I would like to thank everyone for the understanding they have shown during what has been an extremely challenging period. We are particularly grateful to our volunteers, whose professionalism and commitment throughout this week has been outstanding.

"The positive news is that, following further technical advice and our continued monitoring of conditions, we are planning to resume services on Sunday behind our popular Class 26 diesel locomotive. We are also looking forward to welcoming passengers on our Afternoon Tea Trains and Fish & Chip Trains, which will operate as planned.

"Looking further ahead, next weekend's Classic Transport Weekend remains unaffected. It is one of the highlights of our calendar and we are looking forward to welcoming hundreds of exhibitors and visitors to what promises to be another fantastic event."

The railway has confirmed that Sunday's services are expected to operate behind the Class 26 diesel locomotive, with both the popular Afternoon Tea Trains and Fish & Chip Trains running as advertised.

Customers affected by Saturday's cancellation will automatically receive a full refund. 

The Llangollen and Corwen Railway has thanked passengers for their patience and understanding during the period of extreme weather and will continue to monitor conditions closely.

For the latest service information, passengers are encouraged to visit the railway's website and follow its official social media channels.

Ambulance service declares critical incident

Following a period of sustained and significant demand, the Welsh Ambulance Service declared a critical incident at 12:00 on Friday, 26 June.

At the time the incident was declared, there were a significant number of outstanding 999 calls awaiting an ambulance response, including patients with serious and life-threatening conditions.

The declaration follows one of the busiest periods of sustained pressure the service has experienced this year.

Call volume this week has increased by 31% compared to the same period two weeks ago, with yesterday more than 50% higher. In this week alone, the Service has received around 400 more emergency 999 calls per day.

The declaration is in conjunction with increased pressure being seen across the wider NHS in Wales, following the current spell of hot weather.

Judith Bryce, Assistant Director of Operations, said: “By declaring a critical incident, it allows our teams to focus our efforts and resources on patients who are experiencing the most serious and life-threatening emergencies.

“People contacting us with less serious conditions are likely to experience longer waits. In some cases, patients may be clinically assessed and advised to seek alternative care, rather than an ambulance being dispatched.

“We are asking the public to support us during this time by only calling 999 in a genuine, life‑threatening emergency.”

If you are unwell or have a minor injury, you can visit the NHS 111 Wales website or try Albot - The NHS Wales Digital assistant, which can help you find answers to most questions and can help you access the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Although temperatures are expected to fall over the coming days, demand for ambulance services is expected to remain high.

The Trust will continue to implement all available measures to restore normal service as quickly and safely as possible.

While the warm weather continues, the Welsh Ambulance Service is encouraging people to take simple steps to protect their health by staying hydrated, avoiding prolonged exposure during the hottest parts of the day, and checking in on vulnerable friends, family members and neighbours.

The Trust would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding, and our staff for their continued professionalism and dedication during this exceptionally challenging period.

Pollution in the Dee is back, confirms environment watchdog

llanblogger exclusive

Pollution in the River Dee through Llangollen is back, according to Natural Resources Wales.

In May llanblogger published a special report featuring claims that some form of pollutant was coming from upstream of the Horseshoe Falls, dirty foam was collecting in eddies of water and on rocks and about 20 kayakers had become sick with serious gastro-intestinal problems during a river festival in April.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which are jointly responsible for the Dee, both said their expert teams would work to find out what was causing the problem.

A few weeks later both organisations reported that the cause had been found to be a misconnection issue where a private wastewater pipe was connected to the incorrect surface water drainage network.

Philip Barrett, Senior Officer, Denbighshire Environment Team at NRW, said at the time: "The misconnection issue has been raised with Denbighshire County Council, and a separate operator has carried out repair works to a damaged section of a wastewater inspection chamber."

However, llanblogger has been hearing since that pollution continues to blight the river and early this morning (Friday) representatives of NRW, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Denbighshire County Council could be seen conferring near the bridge.

A spokesperson from NRW said: "Recent investigations into the odour and fungal growth at the Llangollen outfall found that the situation had been improving.

"Following further reports on this, we have identified that the issue has returned. We attended the site on 26 June with Denbighshire Council and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to try and determine the source of the issue. Samples have been collected and the investigations are continuing. 

“If anyone suspects a pollution incident, please report it to our 24-hour incident line on 03000 65 3000 or by using our online form."

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Denbighshire Council have also been asked to comment.

* llanblogger took this picture of what appears to be a patch of foam or scum floating on the water's surface near the bridge this morning. NRW has been asked to say whether it is connected to the latest pollution incident.

Woman says iphone saved her life after Horseshoe Pass car plunge

A mum who plunged 330ft off the Horseshoe Pass in her car says her iPhone saved her life - after it triggered a 999 call.

* For the full story, see the Denbighshire Free Press at: https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/26219097.survivor-thanks-iphone-330ft-horseshoe-pass-plunge/

Bike bus is back in the saddle

* The sun was back out, the sky was blue and the traffic was light. In all, it was the perfect morning earlier today (Friday) for the famous Llangollen bike bus of cycling youngsters and parents to make its latest trip to school via Abbey Road, Castle Street, Bridge Street, St Collen's car park and Regent Street, Brook Street and Pengwern.

DJ Pete Tong brings a hot taste of Ibiza to Llangollen

* Pete Tong at the turntable. ALL PICTURES CUFFE & TAYLOR. 

The sun-soaked shores of Ibiza came to North Wales as dance music pioneer Pete Tong brought his world-renowned Ibiza Classics show to TK Maxx presents Live At Llangollen Pavilion last night (Thursday) as part of his summer run of dates.  

Alongside the Essential Orchestra, the capacity crowd were treated to a full-on summer dance party - complete with the Mediterranean temperatures.

Arriving on stage Pete and the orchestra made their intentions pretty clear blasting out Right Here Right Now, before performing a string of dance music hits including Lola’s Theme, Children, Where Love Lives, Toca’s Miracle, Rhythm of the Night, Zombie Nation, Insomnia and Freed From Desire before ending on Sandstorm and Cafe Del Mar. An encore of Don’t You Worry Child and You Got The Love ended the 90-minute set. 

 

Award-winning DJ Paulette kicked off the night warming up the crowd with a set of dance party anthems. 

 

TK Maxx presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion 2026 continues tonight (Friday) with a huge headline show from David Gray.

* The Essential Orchestra in action.

* DJ Paulette opens the show.

* Above and below: fans loving it.