Silver Band to play at Picnic in the Park

* Llangollen Silver Band play at last year's successful Picnic in the Park.

This Saturday (June 28) Llangollen Silver Band are holding a Picnic in the Garden musical event in the grounds of Plas Newydd in aid of Llangollen Christmas lights.

 

The programme starts at 3pm when Chem the town cryer will welcome everyone to Plas Newydd.

 

Music will begin with the youth band presenting a 30-minute programme, including solo performances and ensemble playing.

 

The training band will play next before the five-piece Welsh girl band Paradwys do a 30-minute set, including solos performed on both the harp and keyboards.

 

The girls will perform two of their own compositions as a unit and a vocal duet accompanied by the harp will round off their set.

 

Special guest artist this year is local girl Karen Davies, an operatic soprano singer.

 

Her set will include Gershwin's well-loved Summertime. Karen will be accompanied by Owen Roberts on piano.

 

To round off the event the senior band will play the final set of the afternoon.

 

The weather forecast is looking good for the day and the event is due to finish around 5.30pm  to 6pm.

 

Conductor Trevor Williams said: "The band are thrilled to be able to organise this event in conjunction with Plas Newydd to assist in raising funds towards something that will be of benefit to Llangollen town residents, businesses and visitors for many years to come.

 

"We wish everyone involved with Llangollen Christmas Lights every success in reaching their target figure."

Elizabeth is railway's new chair

* New chair: Elizabeth Harland.

Llangollen Railway has a new woman at the controls.

Elizabeth Harland has been appointed chairman of the Llangollen Railway Trust and PLC, replacing Neil Evans, who stepped down at the annual meeting on June 13.

Miss Harland has been a working member of the railway team for 10 years and since 2010 has been a member of the PLC and the Trust boards.

She currently has responsibility for policies and procedures and for the railway’s safety management system but has also previously served as the railway’s operations director.

Following a career in data management in Hampshire, Miss Harland worked for one of the major UK banks in Southampton, the Isle of Man and Leeds before taking early retirement.

She now works as a fundraiser for a major national charity.

At the railway she is heavily involved in operational issues as a responsible officer, guard and trainee railcar driver and is also plays a hands-on role in restoration projects.

Speaking of the appointment Miss Harland said: “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to head the Llangollen Railway at a time when we are finally achieving the goal which the founder members set of having a heritage railway running from Llangollen to Corwen.

“In these changing times I am sure that there will be many challenges ahead but I look forward to helping the railway to become fully sustainable and adaptable during my time in office.”

Community garden events planned

Llangollen Community Garden has asked llanblogger to display the following poster for its forthcoming events, two straw bale building and self-build skills sessions in July and August:

Plea over missing poodle

UPDATE ... Yogi the poodle has been found tangled up on the Horseshoe Pass.

His owner said: "Thank you ever so much everyone."


This urgent message was posted on llanblogger's Facebook page on Sunday afternoon.

MISSING - Yogi a little orange poodle has gone missing from Pentredwr 8am yesterday morning. He is dragging his extendable lead behind so may be stuck somewhere. Please check around and in hedges if you are walking dogs or around the area. He's been out all night! He is very timid and good at hiding. Ring 01978 449646.

Please help if you can. 

Flavour of the Eisteddfod brought to Cardiff

* American singing sensation Noah Stewart.

Star American tenor Noah Stewart is to top the bill at a special Cardiff concert which aims to bring the unique flavour of Llangollen’s International Musical Eisteddfod to the nation’s capital.

The Harlem heartthrob has played the biggest opera houses in the world but says he will be at Cardiff because of what Llangollen means to him after he sang there for the first time last year.

He will be the main attraction at the Spirit of Llangollen concert at Cardiff’s iconic Tabernacle Chapel, in The Hayes, on Saturday, July 5, just two days before this year’s Llangollen spectacular kicks off.

Stewart, who will be at Llangollen again this year, will be joined at the chapel by a truly international lineup, including the Mizoram Synod Choir, from India, and Cardiff’s own Cor CF1, conducted by Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths.

He was thrilled last year to follow in the footsteps of his hero, the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti in performing at Llangollen, and he enjoyed it so much he’s back again this year and is one of the event’s Day Presidents too.

Stewart will be taking part in Adiemus Colores as part of the 70th birthday celebrations of acclaimed Welsh composer Karl Jenkins at Llangollen on Wednesday, July 9, when he will be supported by classical accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, trumpet player Pacho Flores, the Karl Jenkins Singers and the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Orchestra.

He said: “The festival was so, so special. I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of the region. It’s a kind of paradise with such a wonderful landscape but the festival itself seemed to me to be a great place of peace.

“I was enthralled by the canal that runs alongside the Eisteddfod site but what really struck me was the sheer number of choirs there are in the area and, of course, in Wales as a whole.

“This is a nation that knows and understands music. People really do find time for music and it plays an important role in their lives. It’s unusual to feel quite so much love for the art of music, you could really feel it.

“The Llangollen audience allowed me to be myself and express my emotions through my music. And, even though I have performed around the world, you don’t always experience that feeling of freedom.

“I was received so well and I was blessed to have the opportunity to perform for such a knowledgeable audience. It reminded me why I chose classical music, so I could forge a partnership between myself and my audience.”

The 2013 Eisteddfod audience awarded Stewart a standing ovation after he sang Calon Lan, in Welsh, accompanied by harpist Claire Jones.

He said: “There only is one real language, the language of music. That’s the beauty of the art, it’s a language of peace and there are no boundaries. 

“Singing in Welsh was a challenge, of course it was. It’s so important to get the pronunciation absolutely right otherwise the audience becomes aware and that makes it false and simply wrong.”

The first black musician to top the British classical charts, Noah, who has appeared on Desert Island Discs, is looking forward to returning to Wales.

He said: “Llangollen was special to Pavarotti; I know he had such an affinity with the Eisteddfod. Like Pavarotti I was in a choir and fell in love with classical music. And now, like him, I have fallen in love with Llangollen.”

Eilir Owen Griffiths is thrilled that Stewart is back to perform not just at Llangollen but also in Cardiff and he said: “Noah is a stellar talent and a worthy successor to the great Pavarotti.

“We wanted to bring the flavour of the Eisteddfod to Cardiff as well and it’s wonderful that we have been able to put together such a fantastic lineup for the concert at Tabernacle Chapel, right in the heart of the city.

“To have Noah Stewart there is wonderful and when I was over in India I heard the Mizoram Synod Choir and they’re terrific and I know that Wales with its tradition of choral music will really appreciate them.

“They will be at Llangollen too and this year’s lineup is truly amazing and we're absolutely thrilled that Noah has also agreed to be a Day President as well as performing.”

Noah, who was born to a single mum, Patricia, in Harlem, New York, says he is considering treating her to a trip to the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod so she can experience the festival for herself.

He said: “I am hoping to be able to bring her to Llangollen. She’s now 70 and we will have to see what her health is like but I know she’d love the festival, its music, flowers and message of peace.

“I was thrilled when I was asked whether I’d consider being a Day President for the Eisteddfod and of course I didn’t have to think before accepting the invitation.

“I really hope I have a long and enduring association with Llangollen and, rest assured, I tell everyone who’s prepared to listen all about the festival and the incredible rich culture that is so evident everywhere you look.”   

The curtain raiser for this year's Eisteddfod will mark the return of opera superstar Bryn Terfel to Llangollen.

 

The acclaimed bass baritone will be playing the lead in a production of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway smash hit Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Monday evening, July 7.

 

This year's Eisteddfod will also feature concerts by Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo who will close the festival with a Sunday night concert.

 

Tickets for the concert at Tabernacle Chapel are £16 for adults and £5 for children and are available from the Eisteddfod box office and from members of COR CF1. For more information about the Eisteddfod go to www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

Work begins on roof of River Lodge

These pictures taken yesterday (Thursday) by a local resident on behalf of llanblogger appear to show contractors removing tiles from the roof of the former River Lodge on the A539 in Llangollen as a prelude to demolition.

The former hotel, which has been derelict for some years, is being taken down to make way for the town's £5 million new health centre.

New scheme aims for co-ordinated health care

Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are joining forces to provide co-ordinated access to community health and social care services for the residents of Denbighshire.

The Single Point of Access -  'Working Together With You' aims to ensure efficient access to information, advice and assistance to promote health, well-being and independence.

The new service will focus on identifying the needs of the caller from the initial enquiry, making sure they are signposted to other services in the local community or directed to the correct service.

It will also enable people to access the wide variety of support available in their own communities.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Denbighshire's Cabinet Lead Member for Social Care, Adults and Children's Services,  said: "We are delighted to get this project off the ground.  

"In the past, users of our services would speak to a number of organisations and this caused confusion at times.

"We want people to receive a seamless service and this new way of working means that health and social care teams will work together to make sure that people get the right information from the right service and at the right time.''

Margaret Hanson, Vice Chair of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “This will certainly develop even closer working across health and social care in Denbighshire, improving services for our patients, their families and carers.”

“We are very much looking forward to this being replicated across all the counties in North Wales, providing a more joined up approach to services for the whole population we serve.”

The new service begins on June 30.  To contact the service, please phone 0300 456   1000

People can also access the service via e-mail: spoa@denbighshire.gov.uk