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Railway's real ale train gets under this Saturday

* Singer Charlie Jones will provide the entertainment aboard the real ale train.

Llangollen and Corwen Railway is preparing to launch its newly refreshed 'Ales of Wales' Dee Valley Real Ale Train this Saturday, offering visitors a unique evening of live music, local ales, great food and stunning scenery through the heart of North Wales. 

The event starts at 5pm, with the train leaving Llangollen at 6.30pm.

The popular event returns with a new format and significantly reduced ticket price, dropping from £30 to just £20 per person. 

The ticket also includes a complimentary first pint and a branded souvenir glass, offering exceptional value for what promises to be one of the standout events of the spring.

The opening night will feature a live performance from Charlie Jones, a well-known and much-loved performer in Llangollen and across the region. 

Renowned for her outstanding jazz and blues vocals, Charlie, nicknamed the Voice of Llangollen, will perform a fantastic selection of music inspired by legendary artists including Amy Winehouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone, creating a vibrant and memorable atmosphere with her band.

Passengers will enjoy a scenic heritage rail journey through the Dee Valley, with a wide selection of Welsh ales available to purchase, including favourites from Hafod Brewery and Purple Moose Brewery.

* James Veal and the real ale team check out the stock.

A specially prepared cut-price menu will also be available, offering hearty favourites such as beef stew, burgers, vegan options and freshly prepared pizzas, all designed to provide great value and complement the evening’s relaxed, social atmosphere.

The event begins at Llangollen Railway Station with a lively pre-departure atmosphere before the train departs, great food and drink, and one of the most picturesque railway journeys in the UK. 

Live music starts from 8pm, and those without train tickets are also invited to come down to the Station Master’s Marquees to enjoy the beer festival atmosphere before the train arrives back in Llangollen at 9.05pm.

James Veal, Events Co-ordinator for the railway, said: “We’re really excited to relaunch the Real Ale Train as ‘Ales of Wales’. We’ve listened to feedback and worked hard to make the event more accessible, while still delivering a high-quality experience. 

"Charlie Jones is a fantastic performer and brings something really special to the event. Combined with great Welsh ales, live music and the setting of the Dee Valley, it creates a brilliant night out.

“With the reduced ticket price, the free pint, souvenir glass and a great value food offering, we think this offers outstanding value and a great social experience for visitors and locals alike. It's no wonder tickets are going like HOP cakes.

"The Ales of Wales Real Ale Train is proving to be extremely popular, with limited spaces available for the first Real Ale Train of 2026."

* Tickets can be booked online at: https://llan.hops.org.uk/tickets/products/real-ale-train

Operatic's Great British Bake Off deserves a Hollywood handshake

Llangollen Operatic Society's current production of The Great British Bake Off Musical deserves no less than a Hollywood handshake for its sheer tastiness.

The long hours spent in rehearsals and the effort which went into creating some of those very edible looking "prop" cakes is amazing, with not a soggy bottom in sight anywhere on the Town Hall Stage, which this joyous show will occupy from tmorrw (Wednesday) until Saturday, April 22-24 at 7.30pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday.  

The musical version of the smash-hit TV show, created by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, follows eight amateur bakers over a season as they compete for the title of Star Baker. 

The plot focuses on contestants' personal stories, including Gemma, a hesitant carer, and Ben, a widowed police officer who fall in love.

The show follows a traditional, light-hearted, and heart-warming structure, culminating in the traditional garden party final. 

The simple yet absorbing plot highlights the friendship and competition between contestants, with judges Phil Hollinghurst (based on Paul Hollywood) and Pam Lee (based on Prue Leith) providing critiques.

Some attractive songs include "The Perfect Petit Fours" and "Rise," which highlight the emotional journeys of the characters.

The whole thing concludes with a final winner being announced at a celebratory gathering. And, of course, I'm not going to reveal who that is.

Lead parts in the 19-strong cast are taken by David Lyne and his wife Louise as Phil Hollinghurst and presenter Kim. Louisa Jones is Pam Lee, the celebrity judge. and funnyman of the presentation team is Graham Bannister-Kelly as Jim.

All four are well suited to their respective roles and entirely believable. In fact, I loved Pam's iridescent jackets and Phil's rather decent Scouse accent.

The back-stories of the eight hopeful bakers are introduced with the help of some neat little musical numbers, which move along the action perfectly.

A real star-in-the-making is young Emmie Davis as Lily, the nine-year-old girl who promotes the love affair between two of the bakers, her widowed dad Ben and Gemma. 

A six-strong ensemble perfectly augment the main cast and generally dash around making sure everything runs smoothly as members of the Bake Off crew. They include Sean Ruane-Brown, Glenn Fletcher, Biba Baksh, Jan Bellis, Jeanette Robinson and Sue O'Neill.

The famous big tent has been skilfully squeezed into the compact dimensions of the Town Hall stage complete with work stations and a characteristic big pink fridge-freezer.

Those prop cakes are brilliantly done and have been prepared by a behind-the-scenes team over many weeks. The first half closes with an immaculate interpretation of Blackpool Tower.

The near-constant musical numbers, superbly backed by a six-strong orchestra, are nicely handled as is the choreography masterminded by Rob Stevens, Pamela Williams and Belinda Hill.

The bakers, played by Belinda Hill as Babs, Ross Burgon as Ben, Kevin Williams as Dezza, Carly Casterton as Francesca, Stephanie Williams as Gemma, Cadan Thomas as Hassan, Rory Henderson as Izzy and Neil Barratt as Russell, are all believably presented and make you really care which one of them is to become the eventual winner.

Tracey Kempster Jones and Caroline Anthonisz are joint producers, Chrissie Ashworth is director, Elen M Roberts is music director and staging and design duo are Mike Jones and Niamh Connaught, all of whom have done a marvellous job of mixing all these ingredients together.

Next time I watch the TV version I'll be expecting everyone to burst into song. And if they could do it as well as this lot they'd all deserve that famous handshake.

Tickets for the show, priced £18, are available at Llangollen Tourist Information Centre, Llangollen Office Shop and Fine Foods and Solitaire Jewellers, or online from: ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenoperaticsociety

Scenes from the show:

Latest local roadworks bulletin from the county council

Latest local roadworks bulletin from Denbighshire County Council is:

ABBEY ROAD, until 30/04/2026, Ailwynebu/ Resurfacing DCC HIGHWAYS, Confoi 10 mya/10 mph Convoy

A542, APPROXIMATLEY GWEN HEFR A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD, 06/05/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works RPO WILLIAMS CIVIL ENGINEERS, Goleuadau Traffig Dros Dro/ Temp Traffic Lights

A539, JUNCTION REGENT STREET, HILL STREET, 15/05/2026 - 22/05/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works RNR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Pengwern / Trem Yr Ysgol, Llangollen, until 30/04/2026, Gwaith Teithio Llesol / Active Travel Works PRONIN LIMITED,  Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

T JUNCTION OF BROOK STREET, PENGWERN, until 30/04/2026, Gwaith Teithio Llesol / Active Travel Works PRONIN LIMITED, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

OUTSIDE PENDYFFRYN, GRANGE ROAD, 05/05/2026, Gwaith BT/ BT Works PLATINUM (DCC), Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

OUTSIDE SOAR COTTAGE, SUN BANK, 11/05/2026 - 13/05/2026, Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

JUNCTION OF VICARAGE ROAD, BACHE MILL ROAD, 06/05/2026 - 07/05/2026, Adnewyddu Polyn / Renew Pole GT WILLIAMS, Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Carriageway, A539 LLANGOLLEN ROAD, 11/05/2026 - 15/05/2026, Clytio/ Patching DCC HIGHWAYS, Confoi 10 mya/10 mph Convoy

New partnership links top music award with Eisteddfod

 

A new partnership between a prestigious music award and the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod aims to offer emerging Welsh musicians a major new performance opportunity on an international stage.

Held annually in Swansea each June, the John Fussell Award brings together outstanding students from leading UK conservatoires, each nominated for their exceptional talent and Welsh connections.

The competition has become an important platform for identifying the next generation of performers at the start of their professional careers.

From 2026, the winner of the award will receive free entry to one of the Eisteddfod’s flagship competitions, the Pendine International Voice of the Future (for singers) or the International Instrumentalist of the Future. 

In a further enhancement, opera singers awarded this opportunity will be fast-tracked directly to the semi-final stage of the Voice of the Future competition in the Pavilion, bypassing the preliminary round.

The collaboration strengthens the Eisteddfod’s ongoing commitment to supporting young artists and creating clear pathways from training into the professional spotlight. With audiences of up to 4,000 in the Pavilion and competitors drawn from across the globe, the competitions represent a significant career milestone for emerging performers.

This year’s John Fussell Award will be adjudicated by a distinguished three-person panel, comprising percussionist, conductor and Artistic Director of the Eisteddfod, Dave Danford, and internationally acclaimed Welsh soprano Rebecca Evans, with the panel chaired by Huw Tregelles Williams, former Director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Dave Danford said: “The John Fussell Award consistently showcases some of the most exciting young musicians with Welsh connections. Creating this link with the Eisteddfod is a natural next step, offering a clear pathway onto an international platform and helping to support artists at a crucial stage in their development.”

Operatic picks up three amateur stage 'Oscars' for its last show

* The cast of the award-winning Into the Woods on the Town Hall stage last year.

Llangollen Operatic Society has picked up three amateur stage "Oscars" for its production of the fantasy musical Into the Woods last September.

At the 2026 North Wales and Ireland NODA Awards in Llandudno last night (Saturday) they picked up the gongs for Outstanding Show, Outstanding Choreography by Rob Stevens and Outstanding Youth Performer with Ethan Roberts, who is a member of the society's junior section, the Young 'Uns.

In all, the society's adult and juniors section had been nominated for a total of 11 nominations this year.  

The multiple nods included five for individuals and six for productions from their two 2025 shows, including the Young 'Uns' We Will Rock You.

A spokesperson for the Operatic said: "We are so excited and very proud to have scored a triple-victory in these prestigious awards and congratulations must go to both cast and crew who made this fantastic show possible."

Why Mark was moved to help the Ukrainian struggle

* The vehicle Mark Birkill raised the money to pay for is delivered to Ukraine. 

A Corwen man has revealed how watching the moving arrival in the UK of two refugees from the war-torn country set him off on the road to strongly supporting Ukraine's battle for survival following the Russian invasion.

Mark Birkill, whose day job is working with veterans, has since helped deliver a 4x4 vehicle paid for by Penyllan Chapel in Llangollen to the front line to aid the military and civilians and recently raised enough money to pay for his own specialist vehicle to be sent out.

Mark told llanblogger: "In February 2022 I was appalled by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the news pictures coming out of the country.

"My wife and I agreed to host an older Ukrainian couple and they stayed with us for nearly two years. I was deeply moved by the sight of them getting off a coach at 4am in Chester bus station, bewildered, far from home, their lives packed into two suitcases. 

"While I am proud and privileged to have been a host, it also felt very inadequate. I considered any other ways I could help and became aware of several charities that were involved in acquiring pick-ups and 4x4s to take to Ukraine for use in frontline areas. 

"I set up a JustGiving page. Initially I asked local businesses if they had an old vehicle they were seeking to offload which drew a blank. I later visited Anna’s Cafe in Oak Street, Llangollen to drop off some flyers but saw I had been beaten to it by posters from a charity called Mission Ukraine. 

"I discovered that a local man, Danny Fairburn, was involved in the charity and we arranged to meet. Danny is an inspirational person having dedicated himself to supporting Ukraine. He told me that a local church had bought a vehicle and I could take it out with Pastor Brian Smith from the church and Paata Samsonidze from Anna’s, who is Ukrainian. 

"In December we took the vehicle to an American who was a former Deputy Police Sherriff serving in the Ukrainian Army near Chernobyl. 

"We stayed at Paata’s home near Kyiv for a week and he very generously showed us places of interest including Bucha, a site of Russian atrocities, Russian drones and tanks in Kyiv and, very movingly, Ukrainian military cemeteries and memorials to the fallen.

"My own fundraising eventually reached £2,000, enough to buy a vehicle, and two lads from Middlesborough took the vehicle to Ukraine. 

"I had some very generous donations including from people I didn’t know. I named the vehicle ‘Rhyddid’ - ‘Freedom’ in Welsh - and it makes me emotional to think that a Welsh speaker working in the country might see it. Donations to Mission Ukraine can be made via: https://www.missionukraine.uk/"