Cardiff choir at first Eisteddfod heads back to Llangollen

* Cardiff Snowflakes Choir at the Eisteddfod in 1947.

MEMBERS of a Cardiff children’s choir that won at the first ever Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod are still going strong as the 70^th event approaches.

Back in 1947, the Cardiff Snowflakes took the inaugural festival by storm, being crowned the champion children’s choir and going on to make records and tour extensively.

An appeal by the Eisteddfod in Cardiff has found several of the choir members are still meeting – and still singing – almost 70 years later.

Now aged 82, former singer Pauline Lang remembers the excitement of performing at the famous Eisteddfod that has since played host to music legends such Pavarotti, Lulu and Status Quo.

She and her friend and fellow chorister Lila Donovan still keep in touch and have fond memories of the early days of the iconic event.

Pauline said: “It was a wonderful experience. I was a bit nervous and we all had butterflies but everyone was lovely and I loved going up to Llangollen.

“We were in the big marquee and it was nice out on the fields meeting all the other performers from all over the world. We couldn’t converse with them in their language but it was great fun and there were a lot of impromptu folk dances and sing-songs.

“I think it helped that we had good weather,” added Pauline who lives in Fairwater, Cardiff, with her husband of almost 60 years, Arthur.

The Snowflakes were formed in 1926 by Gwenllian Williams and later continued under her daughters Eira Novello and Marion Williams.

Pauline joined the singers after her parents suggested it and made friends immediately with the other girls in the choir.

She said: “The first time I walked in I met up with someone I’d been in infant school with and we still keep in touch now so must have been friends for something like 78 years.

“We went back to the Eisteddfod in 1949 and we won it then as well and after that we went on to make three records with the Decca label.

“We were pretty successful and used to tour and compete all over the country as well as going over to Copenhagen for a few weeks to sing.”

While Pauline left the choir when the first of her three children was born, many members used the experience to launch their careers, with one former Snowflake heading to Hollywood.

Ira Stevens left her home in Dogo Street, Cardiff, in 1936 for Los Angeles as the body-double for Shirley Temple, appearing in several films before returning to Wales in 1939.

“I still enjoy music,” said Pauline, who worked as a typist and now has six grandchildren. “But I’m afraid my voice is too croaky to sing now.”

However, her fellow former Snowflake Lila Donovan, also from Cardiff, has never stopped singing since those early moments starring at the Eisteddfod.

“I had some wonderful years in The Snowflakes,” said Lila: “My mother and father were both musicians with the Salvation Army so they suggested that my sister and I went along.

“I can’t thank them enough for that as it led to so many adventures. We travelled all over the place, even to Denmark, and I made some wonderful friends who I have kept in touch with for years.

“I enjoyed every minute of the Eisteddfod and I think we sang Spring’s Return for that although I can’t be sure, it’s hard to remember all the details from so long ago.”

Lila went on to marry and work as a teacher, although the couple never had children of their own. Now widowed she still spends time at her local school listening to the little ones reading as well as carrying on with the hobby that has stuck with her through life – singing.

“I am a member of an operatic society now and so still sing a lot. It keeps me pretty busy and I love going up on the stage as well. It’s things like that that keep you going and I suppose I’ve been singing my whole life now,” Lila added.

Another fellow Snowflake, who joined just after the famous first Eisteddfod performance but was there to lift the crown for the second time in 1949, was Marian Hughes.

Now 77, the widow from Whitchurch, in Cardiff, remembers the group and her singing days with fondness, saying: "I have so many lovely memories of those times. After the performance in 1949 the whole world opened up for us.

"It just grew from there. One minute we were on stage with Harry Secombe or recording with the BBC Welsh radio service and of course there was the trip to Denmark that was absolutely unheard of in those days.

"We were doing concerts all over the place - it was quite amazing. I've been singing ever since and am still part of a local community choir along with five of the other Snowflakes, so we still sing together on a Saturday morning," she added.

The festival’s Musical Director, Eilir Owen Griffiths, who lives in Cardiff, said: “It’s fantastic that these ladies have such wonderful memories of Llangollen and that they can recall them so clearly.

“We’d be delighted to welcome them and any other members of the Snowflakes up there again and I’m sure they would find the welcome as warm as ever.”

The Snowflakes were just one of several Welsh choirs at the first Llangollen Eisteddfod and others included Penarth Ladies Choral Society and the Mid Rhondda Ladies Musical Society who competed against choirs from across the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Hungary

This year’s Eisteddfod, which begins on Tuesday, July 5, will attract competitors from even further afield and concert ticket sales are already going well, especially for the opening night when Katherine Jenkins gets the programme off to a sensational start as she sings Bizet’s Carmen.

Wednesday will be International Children’s Day and will include choral and dance competitions and also a new Under 16s solo competition while the evening will feature the Voices of Musical Theatre,  West End star Kerry Ellis and classical boy band Collabro.

The great Bryn Terfel will headline the 70^th Classical Gala Concert on Thursday evening with acclaimed Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja while the day will see the crowning of the Children’s Choir of the World.

Friday will celebrate Rhythms of the World and will be a feast of music and dance from the best of the Eisteddfod’s international competitors with the Dance Champions of the World competition climax at the evening concert.

It will open with a Caribbean Carnival Extravaganza, followed by the International Peace message delivered by Theatr yr Ifanc, Rhosllannerchrugog.

In a change of the scheduling Friday will also see the Parade of Nations, led by Eisteddfod President Terry Waite, switched from Tuesday in anticipation of bigger crowds and more competitors being present.

Saturday is dedicated to the top choirs and concludes with the Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy while Sunday sees the Eisteddfod let its hair down for Llanfest before the climactic final concert.

* For more on Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and its competitions and concerts as well as how to get to it and where to stay go to http://international-eisteddfod.co.uk/ or check out https://www.facebook.com/llangollen

Back our last bank, says AM

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates has urged people to back the only remaining bank in his constituency after being given an assurance that it’s safe from closure for the immediate future.

The AM has spoken at length with Jonathan Brenchley, Barclays’ head of corporate relations in Wales, in the wake of HSBC closing its branches in Ruabon and Chirk.

Mr Skates said he was relieved to be assured that the Llangollen branch is safe for now, but encouraged his constituents to use it as often as they can. He also called for customers of banks which have left the area to switch to Barclays.

Welsh Labour AM Mr Skates, who is based in Llangollen, said: “I’m pleased to have been given assurances that, for the immediate future, the Llangollen Barclays branch is safe.

“Only once in the past six years has Barclays closed the last remaining bank in any town in Wales. This demonstrates a greater degree of social responsibility than other banks have shown, and I would urge customers to use the Llangollen branch as much as possible to guarantee its longer-term survival.”

 Mr Skates added: “More people are going online to do their banking, which is reducing demand for over-the-counter services. We need more people to switch their custom to Barclays and use the branch regularly in order to secure its future.

“I’d urge anyone who objected to the closure of other bank branches to switch to Barclays if they wish to see Llangollen remain open in the long term.”

Mr Skates recently secured a commitment from HSBC that it would keep a cashpoint in Ruabon, and has also fought for mobile banking services for communities where branches have closed, including Rhos and Brymbo.

Former mayor of Llangollen, Cllr Bob Lube, said the branch was of great importance to small businesses based in the town.

“I’m pleased Ken has had this discussion with Barclays, and I know he will do everything he can to keep banking facilities in Llangollen,” said Cllr Lube.

“I’m glad we’ve got someone as proactive as him fighting our corner once again.”

Spring gala steams into Llangollen

* The renovated Foxcote Manor will be a

star of this weekend's Steam Gala.

Llangollen Railway’s Spring Steam Gala will take place over three days from Friday to Sunday, April 8-10.

Headlining the event are two special guests, engine no. 7820 “Dinmore Manor” and the Small Prairie class No. 4566.

The gala should also feature the return of our resident No.7822 “Foxcote Manor” following a major overhaul, supplementing locos from the railway's home fleet: 5199, 6430 & 80072.

An intensive timetable will recall the sights and sounds of the Cambrian routes in the 1950s and 60s.

The route of the Llangollen Railway follows a 10-mile stretch of the former cross-country Ruabon to Barmouth line, which was once busy carrying holiday makers from the North West of England to the Cambrian Coast resorts of Pwllheli, Porthmadog and Barmouth.

"Dinmore Manor” will be joining sister "Foxcote Manor”, which has just returned to service after a lengthy overhaul which followed around two years of fundraising and work.

A special souvenir gala programme containing details about the loco fleet, attractions, timetable and photography locations, has been designed with a reproduction of the BR style timetable cover to make it blend in with the period.

This is available to download for free from the railway’s website and will be available for free in paper format from the station booking offices during the gala itself.

There will be recreations of a number of BR named trains from the 1950s and early 60s, with the most notable being the daily Cambrian Coast Express.

Gala visitors are encouraged to download and create their very own CCE luggage label from the railway’s website, which can then be attached to their rucksack, bag or other items for their journey.

On board the recreated ‘Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society AGM Special Train’, which ran annually over the Ruabon – Barmouth line on its way to Towyn until 1964, passengers will be given a complimentary copy of the 1962 souvenir eight-page booklet, reproduced from an original held in the Talyllyn Railway’s archive.

The Festiniog Railway Society railtour headboard will also be in use, as well as a recreation of the North Wales Radio Land Cruise, which once did a circular land cruise around North Wales via Bala, Barmouth, Porthmadog, Bangor and Denbigh.

Over the winter a dedicated group of volunteers have cleared the shrubs, trees and overhanging branches from both ends of Berwyn Tunnel, making the approaches to it much lighter and drier.

Footage taken during 7822 Foxcote Manor's comeback special on this stretch can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqZXeGgefJM

During the gala, the first departure from Llangollen will be the 9.20am double-headed express service, which will run non-stop through to Corwen.

Whilst the majority of the line will be representing the 1950s & early 1960s, Berwyn station will be remaining in its GWR 1930s guise.

The gala will be the first opportunity for the newly restored ticket office to be seen in use.

After Berwyn was downgraded to Halt status in the 1950s, the building was leased to the proprietors of the nearby Chain Bridge Hotel, who removed amongst other things all the ticket office furniture and fittings.

The partition wall was reinstated when the station reopened in 1985, but the counter unit remained absent.

A replica counter has been constructed by a specialist cabinet maker in Wallasey on the Wirral, based on the surviving counter at Carrog.

The ticket office will be fitted out for the gala as it would have been 80 years ago, complete with original GWR paperwork and furniture. 

The station's waiting room has also been fitted out with period GWR posters, including to Criccieth, a popular Cambrian Coast holiday resort.

Music event planned at St Collen's

MP campaigns over pre-pay meters

* Susan Elan Jones MP

campaigning with

Shadow Energy Minister

Dawn Butler MP.

Clwyd South Labour MP Susan Elan Jones is calling on the Government and energy companies to use the spring and summer as a time to clamp down on "the scandalous cost" of pre-payment meters.

Ms Jones has joined Shadow Energy Minister Dawn Butler MP in welcoming the tariff cap recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority, but the pair also want tougher action.

They want to see:
- costs of pre-payment meters cut so they're the same as direct debit fuel tariffs
- homes with pensioners, disabled people and children not having pre-payment meters in the first place.
- no instalment of pre-payment meters during the winter
- no debt collection by energy companies during the winter
- monitoring and action on self-disconnection by those on smart meters and the prioritisation of pre-payment customers in the UK roll-out.

Ms Jones said: "This is a real scandal that affects many of the poorest people in our communities.

"Estimates show around 8,000 households in this constituency alone have pre-payment meters. Energy costs have fallen, but this isn't being passed onto people on pre-payment meter. They are paying up to £330 a year more than if they were paying by direct debit.

"One leading charity even found that 57% of pre-payment meter users were limiting how much energy they used in the winter. That shows the scale of the scandal. We need serious action to end the pre-pay rip off."

Collabro heading for Eisteddfod

* Musical theatre boy band Collabro are heading for Llangollen.

A musical theatre boy band who won TV’s Britain’s Got Talent and reduced star judge Amanda Holden to tears are headed to North Wales.

Collabro will be starring with Kerry Ellis, the First Lady of the West End, in the Voices of Musical Theatre concert at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Wednesday, July 6.

And for one of the band members, Thomas Redgrave, it's going to mean a happy return to Llangollen where he competed as part of a choir from London some years ago.

Collabro are the latest top name to be announced for the landmark 70th festival since it was established in 1947 to promote peace and harmony in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Katherine Jenkins will be bringing the curtain up on opening night, Tuesday, July 5, when the popular mezzo soprano will be treating the audience to a concert version of Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen, opposite American tenor Noah Stewart.

Opera superstar Bryn Terfel will be sharing the stage on Thursday, July 7, with a good friend who's also a world class tenor, the supremely talented Maltese opera colleague, Joseph Calleja, in a concert that's also being supported by Pendine Park

Meanwhile, Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra are returning to Llangollen to bring the curtain down on the festival with a foot stomping party on Sunday, July 10.

Collabro won the hit talent show two years ago, earning rave reviews from the likes of Simon Cowell and Holden along the way and are no strangers to tearful audience members.

In fact the five-strong group say they know they have done a good job when they see their fans in tears – and it happens a great deal.

According to Thomas Redgrave, he often sees people in the audience dabbing their eyes as they perform hits from shows like Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Chess and West Side Story.

Redgrave, who hails from Saltfleet, Lincolnshire, said: “Musical theatre is such a special genre which people seem to connect with.

“It’s a dream come true for Collabro to be performing at Llangollen alongside Kerry Ellis who is the first lady of musical theatre, particularly when it comes to West End productions.

“Working with Kerry Ellis will be something else we can tick off our bucket list. We seem to be very quickly achieving all our ambitions, it’s incredible.”

Redgrave is looking forward to going back to Llangollen and has already told fellow members, Michael Auger, Richard Hadfield, Jamie Lambert and Matt Pagan, all about the festival

He said: “I couldn’t believe how incredible the festival was as a competitor even though I was just one member of a large choir.

“I remember we finished in third place and our conductor was at the bar when he should have been on stage receiving our award!

“The passion for music at Llangollen was so obvious and incredible. I can’t wait to return and have told the boys all about it.

“The fact we will be performing at the 70^th Eisteddfod is amazing and we are so honoured."

The group, currently touring the UK and playing to sold-out audiences, have been enjoying life since winning Britain’s Got Talent and releasing their first album, Stars, which went straight to the top of the UK charts.

Redgrave said: “We are living our dream, everything has gone amazingly well. We’ve toured America and Japan and even managed to sing ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, from Les Misérables, to a Japanese audience in their own language - that took some doing.

“Our tour has gone amazingly well and we are all so looking forward to appearing at Llangollen. It’s going to be an amazing and an unforgettable evening.”

Collabro, who performed for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the 2014 Royal Variety Performance and at the 2015 VE Day 70 Party to Remember on Horse Guards Parade, won the 2014 Britain’s Got Talent by a big margin after wowing the huge TV audience with a rendition of Stars from Les Misérables.

Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said: “Collabro are a group with a distinct style and will grace the Llangollen stage.

“The Voices of Musical Theatre Wednesday evening concert promises to be a real highlight this year.

Joining Kerry Ellis and Collabro will be the Glasgow Academy of Musical Theatre, the CBC Voices from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the Welsh National Opera Orchestra under the direction of John Quirk.

He added: “It’s going to be an unforgettable evening including songs from all the world’s major musical theatre productions. It’s not to be missed.”

Wednesday will be International Children’s Day and will include choral and dance competitions and also a new Under 16s solo competition, along with the crowning of the Children’s Choir of the World.

Friday will celebrate Rhythms of the World and will be a feast of music and dance from the best of the Eisteddfod’s international competitors with the Dance Champions of the World competition climax at the evening concert.

It will open with a Caribbean Carnival Extravaganza, followed by the International Peace message delivered by Theatr yr Ifanc, Rhosllannerchrugog.

In a change of the scheduling Friday will also see the Parade of Nations, led by Eisteddfod President Terry Waite, switched from Tuesday in anticipation of bigger crowds and more competitors being present.

Saturday is dedicated to the top choirs and concludes with the Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy while Sunday sees the Eisteddfod let its hair down for Llanfest before the climactic final concert.

To book tickets and for more details on the 2016 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob5UJS2WwQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_SNGyYQ7pk

Cruise ships could dock in Llangollen

* Cruise ships like this one could soon be docking at Llangollen Wharf.

In recent years Llangollen has benefitted from visitors from a number of cruise ships docking in Liverpool.   

Passengers are offered a day trip to North Wales that includes a visit to Llangollen but that unfortunately limits their time here and what they can see and experience. 

Under current investigation is a proposal that would bring the cruise ships over night from Liverpool around the Wirral and up the Dee, arriving around dawn for mooring at Dee Mill Wharf.

Spokesperson, David Davies, said: "This will enable passengers to spend a whole day in town with the opportunity to take a train ride, a trip on the horse drawn boat, partake of some lunch in one of our many cafes, restaurants or hotels and enjoy a local shopping experience.

"Passengers would return to their ship in time for a night time return sailing such that the cruise can then resume their programme on schedule.

"This would be a tremendous boost to tourism and trade in the town and a memorable  additional experience for all the cruise passengers, truly putting Llangollen on the world map."