Former mayor's choir appears on TV days before their BGT final

* Choir members are interviewed on the This Morning programme.

Putting together the Hawkstone Farmers' Choir, which includes Llangollen's former mayor and won last Saturday's last Britain's Got Talent semi-final, was a bit like herding sheep.

That was how choir director Lizzie described the process when she and two of the other choir members appeared on ITV's This Morning show earlier today.

She told how the original 500 farmers recruited were eventually whittled down to just 34 following the initial auditions held at Jeremy Clarkson's Farmers Dog pub. 

"It was a bit like herding sheep but when they got together on that first day and started to sing I thought they were incredible," she said.

Another choir member told the presenters that farming could be lonely but that coming together had changed their lives.

* Aled Morris sings with the choir in their semi-final winning live performance last Saturday.

"We really hope this is just the start. One day we'd like to do Glastonbury."

After their live semi-final victory the singers are due to compete in the BGT series 19 grand final, for a £250,000 prize and an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, next Saturday on ITV1 from 7pm.

Llangollen's former town mayor, Aled Morris, told llanblogger after the semi-final: "It is unbelievable! We are all so gobsmacked by the support and love that we have been shown and we are incredibly grateful for all the support in getting us through to the final."

Railway's bonus day of steam for Charles Beyer Legacy Day

 

* Heavy Freight locomotive No. 3802 bearing its Charles Beyer nameplate.

Llangollen Railway has announced a special Bonus Day of Steam to accompany the Charles Beyer Legacy Day commemorations taking place on Tuesday June 2. 

The wider Charles Beyer Legacy Day will include commemorative services at St Collen’s Church in Llangollen and Llantysilio Church, a steam-hauled journey through the Dee Valley, the unveiling of an Institution of Civil Engineers commemorative plaque at Berwyn Station and a procession across the historic Chain Bridge to Beyer’s final resting place.

The commemorations will conclude with a reception at Llantysilio Hall, the historic country house which Charles Beyer rebuilt and where he spent the final years of his life. 

The hall remained one of Beyer’s most cherished personal connections to the Dee Valley and provides a particularly fitting setting for the closing stages of the anniversary events.

* Charles Beyer by Carl Fredrich Schmid. 

Charles Beyer was one of the most important railway engineers and industrialists of the nineteenth century. As co-founder of Beyer, Peacock & Company in Manchester, he helped create one of the world’s most influential locomotive manufacturers, exporting engines across Britain, Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. 

The company became internationally renowned for the quality and innovation of its locomotive designs, including engines for the Great Western Railway and pioneering locomotives for London’s Metropolitan Railway, the world’s first underground railway.

Although closely associated with Manchester and the industrial revolution, Beyer also developed a profound connection with Wales. In 1867 he purchased the 700-acre Llantysilio estate near Llangollen, rebuilding the beautiful Llantysilio Hall while making the Dee Valley his home in later life. 

He died at Llantysilio Hall on June 2 1876 and was buried beside the church overlooking the valley he had come to love.

The day forms part of the 150th anniversary commemorations marking the death of the pioneering railway engineer and industrialist whose work helped shape railway development across the world. As part of the occasion, visitors will be able to enjoy unlimited travel throughout the day behind the impressive GWR Heavy Freight locomotive No. 3802, with heavily discounted rover tickets available across the railway.

Built for hauling heavy freight traffic, the striking 2-8-0 locomotive represents the power and engineering ambition of the steam era. Usually associated with demanding freight work, No. 3802 will instead take on gentler duties through the Dee Valley as part of a day celebrating one of Britain’s greatest railway pioneers.

The Bonus Day of Steam has been introduced to allow both commemorative visitors and the wider public to take part in the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Beyer, the pioneering engineer and co-founder of Beyer, Peacock and Company in Manchester.

Visitors attending the church services, commemorative events and plaque unveiling will be able to travel by steam as part of the day, while railway enthusiasts, families and visitors to the Dee Valley are equally encouraged to come along simply to enjoy a day of heritage steam travel celebrating Beyer’s extraordinary legacy.

To mark the occasion, Llangollen Railway is offering significantly reduced fares:

Adult Day Rover - £20
Child Day Rover - £5
Dogs - £3

A specially commissioned Charles Beyer locomotive headboard, created in partnership between the Llangollen Railway and East Lancashire Railway, will also be carried by the train during the event.

David Hennigan, Trust Manager of the Llangollen and Corwen Railway, said: “We wanted to ensure that everybody could be part of the Charles Beyer Legacy Day, whether attending the commemorative events themselves or simply travelling by steam to celebrate the life and legacy of one of the great figures in railway engineering.

“No. 3802 is a magnificent locomotive and feels a very fitting engine to lead our services on such an important occasion. The reduced fares are designed to make the day accessible and encourage as many people as possible to join us.”

* Tickets and further information are available at: https://llan.hops.org.uk/tickets/special-events-in-2026/charles-beyer

Once-slammed Skywell EV is now better but still needs work

Skywell BE11 drive by Steve Rogers

It is ironic that it has taken a war to send electric car sales to record levels.

The high cost of fuel has pushed buyers into giving electric a try and we have now gone through the two million barrier yet even though April was the best month ever taking 26 per cent of the market it is still way short of the 33 per cent needed to meet the Government’s zero emissions vehicle mandate.

Not a bad time to be launching a new electric car then, or in the case of Chinese brand Skywell, relaunching its BE11 SUV. The back story does not make for kind reading. Launched in January 2025 the BE11 was hammered by the motoring press and Youtubers for everything you could think of that is bad in a car, especially the lack of driver safety aids.

I did not drive the car to give a view, but to its credit Skywell listened, went back to the drawing board and hoped to have put things right. It has also knocked five grand off the price to bring it more in line with Chinese rivals.

So the BE11 is back with its best clothes on as it sets out on the comeback trail. I counted 21 new features, 10 of which are safety aids which says a lot about the shortcomings of the original effort.

The safety suite now includes adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, lane departure warning and assist, blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert. What made the company think it could sell a car in Europe and the UK without advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)?

This is a spacious SUV and follows the Chinese formula of packing the car with kit normally found on premium models sometimes costing nearly twice as much. It has a seven year warranty and up to 10 years road side assistance. Skywell is really making an effort here!

Battery options are 72kW or 86kW powering a 150kW motor giving a range of 248 and 303 miles respectively. The long range falls short of the leaders but anything over 300 is acceptable. What’s not so good is 45 minutes to get the 86kW battery from 20-80 per cent when charging away from home.

Using a 7kW home wall charger takes all but 12 hours or 10 hours for the smaller battery. That’s pretty standard.

Take a seat in the BE11 and you will be satisfied with the overall quality - soft touch materials along the dashboard and doors, wood effect panelling and rose gold effect accents. They have rectified an early blunder by resighting the rotary gear selector to the driver’s side of the centre console.

I didn’t expect switches and didn’t get any, apart from a few quick keys for heating. Everything goes through a 12.8in touchscreen, or cough up £800 for a 15.6in version, and takes time to work out. I spent a good 15 minutes swiping through the menus and trying to remember where everything is like the radio volume control for a passenger, a fiddly job. What’s wrong with a simple knob?

The large driver’s digital display is a swanky affair but doesn’t do a heck of a lot, not even displaying navigation mapping, and I was still trying to work out the simple task of selecting a mileage trip display when the car was returned. It is probably there somewhere.

Skywell came in for heavy criticism on the handling and comfort fronts and I am sure improvements have been made. I pushed it through some twisting country roads and wasn’t troubled by excessive body roll but the steering is too light and lacking feel. I switched to the sport setting which added a little weight.

There is still work to be done on the level of comfort if it is to compete with other Chinese brands let alone the best of what Europe has to offer. The ride is hard and road imperfections are felt on all but silky smooth surfaces. Many rivals do better.

BE11 is front wheel drive and, annoyingly, will spin those wheels without hesitation. Another bugbear is throttle lag from standstill and can cause driver hesitation when pulling on to a roundabout or from a junction. Oh, and can we have an intermittent swipe for the rear window please.

Skywell has clearly made the BE11 more saleable but it is a work in progress. The ride needs to be more refined, excessive wheelspin needs addressing, and the DC charging time is way too long.

There are redeeming features like a spacious cabin and large boot, competitive price and lots of kit.

Fast facts

BE11 Long range

£34,990 (Standard £31,990)

Battery: 86kW

Motor: 200bhp

0-62mph 9.6secs; 93mph

80kW charging: 45mins 20-80%

Boot: 689-1608 litres

Insurance group 43

Warranty: 7 years

Hot air balloons drop in on Plas Newydd

* The balloon lands at Plas Newydd (Mike Edwards).

There was excitement on a warm evening yesterday (Sunday) when hot air balloonists landed at Plas Newydd.

It was arranged by the Rainbow hot air balloon team which, according to its website, was born with the idea of bringing colour to the communities around the Shropshire and north Wales area.

The site adds that since being created in 2016 it has become the main team for hot air balloon flying activity around the area, attending national events as well as international and sharing all its experiences on social media "bringing colour and positive rainbow vibes everywhere we go". 

Recording the scene for llanblogger were readers Mike Edwards and Stuart Davies. 

A number of other people recorded the scenes on social media yesterday. 

* The team's back-up crew awaits (Mike Edwards).

* A balloon drops in on Llangollen (Stuart Davies).

Former Llangollen mayor's choir wins place in BGT final

* The Hawkstone Choir on BGT. Aled Morris is on the extreme left of the group.

The farmers' choir that includes the former Mayor of Llangollen has landed a coveted place in the final of this year's Britain's Got Talent.

Their victory for Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone Choir came in the concluding fifth live semi-final of the talent show earlier this evening (Saturday) when they pipped popular magician Jake Banfield to the top spot with a stunning performance of Pompeii by Bastille.

They were one of eight acts fighting for a place in next Saturday's live grand final 

And Aled, who handed over his mayoral chain last Tuesday after two years in office, told llanblogger he was delighted with the win.  

He said: "It is unbelievable! We are all so gobsmacked by the support and love that we have been shown and we are incredibly grateful for all the support in getting us through to the final.

"Our message is one of solidarity, with everyone that suffers in silence, to show them that they have a voice and not to suffer in silence. We all have our own stories and if we can get someoms to speak out and save one life,then that is bigger than any prize "

Last March he and the choir ploughed to victory in the audition for the show after a dazzling Golden Button success, which also won them a free pass around the boot camp stage.

Top prize in the competition is £250,000 and an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance.

The judges were all full of praise for the choir's performance tonight, Simon Cowell telling them: "You are one of the favourites to win."

Amanda Holden told them: "You create the most amazing music," and Alesha Dixon said: "There is love and passion pouting out of every one of you."

KSI said simply: "You are one of the best choirs I have ever heard."

Aled, 33, swaps the council chamber for the stage to sing with the choir which is part of Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone brand and brings together people from across the UK farming community who share a connection to agriculture and a love of singing.

The aim is to use their national platform to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention within the agricultural community.

When Aled isn't tending to his 50-acre family sheep farm at Pen-y-Rhagfryn he is teaching the next generation of farmers as a lecturer in agriculture and land-based engineering at Llysfasi College. 

He has sat on the town council for four years, helps organise the annual Llangollen illuminated tractor run, and serves as the steam section steward for the Malpas Yesteryear Rally. 

For Aled, being part of the 34-strong choir has been a transformative personal experience. 

"The choir means everything to me," he explains. "It’s like having a large family. We might only meet every few months, but we fall back into conversation as if we’ve never been apart."

Speaking about the mental health benefits of the choir, he said: "Only farmers really understand other farmers. When you’re feeling down or lonely, it can be difficult to talk to someone who doesn't get it. Being surrounded by people who know exactly what you’ve been through offers such a comforting time in what can be an unforgiving industry."

* Aled's long-term partner Sarah Griffiths was one of the Big Brother housemates back in 2024. 

Hundreds join hunt for free Eisteddfod concert tickets

* And they're off - the ticket seekers charge into the gate at the start of the Treasure Hunt.

Hundreds of people turned up in the sun this morning (Saturday) in a bid to find the concert tickets carefully hidden on the field as part of this year's big Eisteddfod Treasure Hunt. 

A total of 79 of the golden envelopes had been secreted in a variety of hiding places which their lucky finders could then exchange for the free summer show tickets.

After their initial charge through the gates at either end of the field, the seekers - including many families - were soon queueing up outside the Pavilion building to collect their winnings. And within an hour the vast bulk of envelopes had been handed in by delighted finders. 

This year’s blockbuster line-up includes Rick Astley, Pete Tong Ibiza Classics, David Gray, Billy Ocean, Super Furry Animals, Bowling for Soup, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Deacon Blue and Tom Grennan, alongside a packed Eisteddfod programme featuring Emeli Sandé and the Absolute Orchestra, Michael Ball, Uniting Nations: One World, Global Rhythms: Made In Wales, Orchestral Qawwali Project, and the prestigious Choir of the World competition. The festival also offers a full daily programme of competitions and field entertainment.

* The big hunt begins ...

* Queueing up outside the Pavilion to exchange envelopes for tickets.

* Swapping the golden envelopes for tickets and, below, groups of happy ticket finders ...

Details given for funeral of Humphrey Gibson

* Humphrey Gibson.

The funeral of Humphrey Gibson, who died on April 24, will be held on Thursday May 28 at 1.30pm in the Main Hall of the International Eisteddfod building in Abbey Road, Llangollen. 

 All are welcome to this Quaker meeting, based on quiet reflection and focussing on Humphrey, who he was and what he meant to everyone who knew him. 

This will be followed by refreshments. 

There will be free parking in the upper (overflow) Pavilion car park. Dress code is comfortable and colourful, as you like. 

No flowers but donations, sent directly or given on the day, to your choice of Amnesty International Medecins sans Frontieres or  Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

A display photos of Humphrey is planned for the funeral and people are invited to contribute one or two pictures. These can be sent to: eleigibson@gmail.com 

There will also be a memories book to write in. If you want to contribute but cannot attend, feel free to send messages to: eleigibson@gmail.com 

The funeral meeting can be joined remotely online by using the following link: https://zoom.us/j/91032164763

Humphrey passed away peacefully following a short stay in hospital.

Born in 1938, was a teacher by profession and, after working at a school in Liverpool, came to Llangollen over 50 years ago to take up a post at Ysgol Dinas Bran.

Taking early retirement on health grounds some years ago he went on to volunteer with a number of local organisations.

Not long ago he was honoured for 60 years' of voluntary service with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and he was one of the original and of Llangollen Tidy Town Team.

Over the years Humphrey had helped out with the local Boys' Brigade and assisted young people to attain their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. He was also an enthusiastic member of the North Wales Caving Club.     

An active member of the Quaker community, he was a keen supporter of Christian Aid Week and was thought to be busily preparing for this year's event at the time of his recent illness.

He served at Town Mayor from 1996 to 1998.