Save Plas Madoc group to hold public meeting

The volunteer-run group formed to save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre will hold its latest public meeting later this week.

On Saturday at 11am, the Splash Community Trust will provide an update on its plans to reopen the popular facility as a social enterprise.

And organisers are calling on residents to show their continuing support by turning out in force at Air Products Social Club in Acrefair.

Chairman Darrell Wright said: “It’s a chance to keep members of the public and supporters up to date with what’s happening. People might think it’s gone a bit quiet recently, but there’s still a massive amount of work going on behind the scenes.”

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates, another of the trust’s founder members, added: “We have enjoyed fantastic support from the public so far, and I would ask you to stick with us while we continue with our efforts to save Plas Madoc.

“It can’t be done overnight and we still need to raise a huge amount of money, but as long as the will, the enthusiasm and the support remain then we have every chance of reopening the centre and achieving something amazing.”

The trust’s most recent fundraiser, a race night, was held at the Old Black Horse in Rhostyllen on Friday and raised almost £600.

Co-organiser and Splash Community Trust director Greg Ogden, from Trevor, said: “The race night went really well and was another success in financial terms. I would particularly like to thank the landlords Keith and Wendy and the locals in Rhostyllen who dug deep to help us raise as much as possible.”

To donate to the trust through its new PayPal account by visiting https://t.co/VlqCYUVROU. Alternatively, call Jenny Miller on 07921 659099 or email jennymiller08@hotmail.co.uk.

Campaigner's alternative health services plan

* Martin Crumpton wants to see the River Lodge site turned into a big car park. 

A LLANGOLEN campaigner has come up with his alternatives to current plans for the future of health services in the town.

Martin Crumpton says that instead of selling off the former Cottage Hospital in Abbey Road to a housing association it should be retained by the health board and used as the base for a range of health services currently fighting for space at the GP centre in Regent Street.

And he reckons the site off Mill Street where the old River Lodge is now in the final stages of demolition should be used not for a £5 million new health centre as planned but as the large car park which Llangollen needs.


Mr Crumpton’s suggestions come in the preface to a public petition which he is asking the area’s residents to sign before sending it off to health and council chiefs.

The petition form is headed “Save Our Surgery” and has a link from his Facebook page.
 

In it he says: “This is our chance in a lifetime to solve the parking problem.”
 

Mr Crumpton’s plan is to:

· Reopen the Cottage Hospital, (pictured right) complete with beds and the second floor brought back into use.    

· Relieve pressure on the Regent Street health centre by moving ancillary service such as district nurses, minor injuries unit, phlebotomy and physiotherapy back there.

 

· Make the River Lodge site into the large car park “Llangollen needs”.
 

He claims the advantages are that current GP surgery stays within walking distance for the majority of patients, “unlike the new site” and that the traffic pinch point problem where Mill Street narrows and makes for a “dangerous access” to the new health centre site, “simply disappears”.

Mr Crumpton says further benefits of his plan are that turning the River Lodge site into a big car park will “stimulate business and tourism in Llangollen, creating jobs and wealth” and that Llangollen “gets what it needs instead of what outsiders think we should have”.

The petition can be seen at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8bf6wa3xly4wa40/AAposter.pdf

Opera star Rhys stops off in Llan during his 200-mile charity trek

*   Rhys Meirion accepts a donation as he arrives on Llangollen Bridge to be greeted by town crier Austin Chemenais, right 

*   Rhys addresses the crowd in front of the Town Hall.

* TV presenter Iolo Williams, centre wearing hat, was among the walkers
accompanying Rhys Meirion.

* A guitarist plays on the steps outside the library to welcome Rhys  to the town.

Welsh opera star Rhys Meirion stopped off in Llangollen this afternoon (Sunday) during his 200-mile sponsored which aims to raise £250,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance.  

Now in its third year, the Walk On celebrity challenge is being spearheaded for 2014 by Rhys who is official ambassador for the air ambulance.

He and his band of supporters are walking from Colwyn Bay to Cardiff and are due to complete their marathon trek next Saturday.

Arriving in Llangollen after walking via Llandegla and the Horseshoe Pass, they were officially greeted by the tolling handbell of town crier Austin Chemenais.

 

A large crowd was waiting to meet the walkers and addressing them from a stage area set up outside the library Rhys said: "It's been pretty tough going but it's all worthwhile when we you receive a welcome like this."

He added: “It has been an honour and a privilege to accept the invitation to become an ambassador for the Wales Air Ambulance.

“From the moment I accepted I have been considering ways in which I would be able to contribute to their huge effort in raising the money needed to ensure that this invaluable service is available to the people of Wales.

“This year we are doing a 200-mile coast-to-coast walk to link Colwyn Bay to Cardiff  travelling via the magnificent border counties."

The project was launched with a gala concert at Venue Cymru on Friday and the walk started at Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay on Saturday morning

The walk continued through Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Welshpool, Newtown, Llanidloes, Builth Wells, Brecon, Merthyr, Aberfan and on to Cardiff.

Along the way Rhys is being joined for sections of the route by some of Wales’s top musical acts, sports personalities and celebrities and some international stars too.

Among those accompanying him today was TV nature presenter Iolo Williams.

Idris the Dragon moves into town

* Fringe directors Graham Timms, Paul Keddie, Robert Jaques and Sara Roberts with Ken Skates AM and  sculptor Matt Baker.

Idris the Welsh Dragon was unveiled yesterday by Ken Skates, Llangollen's Assembly Member.

The big red beast was made by local sculptor Matt Baker and is on display opposite the lawn opposite Royal Hotel.

The to-metre-high dragon has been constructed as part of the Llangollen Fringe Community Arts project run by artist Jan Murray.

Two Llangollen Fringe art exhibitions are also now open and will continue until the end of August.

Y Capel on Castle Street has an exhibition of artists and photographers who live in the Dee valley,
organised alongside Denbighshire Exhibition and Arts Project Coordinator Siân Green.

The Llangollen History Museum hosts an exhibition that includes work from groups who have worked with Jan Murray in the community.

Both events will continue until the end of August.

Jan has been working with local schools to produce poetry, paintings and model dragons for display during the main Llangollen Fringe festival period from July 17-27.

Another 90 dragons have been made and will join Idris on the lawn in 10 days time.

Art has always been a large part of the festival with Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin having visited the town in the past. But now the focus is on community involvement.

There are three exhibitions this year as well as the street art that will be seen around the town.

The main festival includes a huge range of events and aims to live up to the unofficial Fringe motto of "something for everyone".

Opera star passes through Llan on his 200-mile walk

A Welsh opera star will be passing through Llangollen during his sponsored 200-mile walk down the country which aims to raise £250,000.  

Now in its third year, Walk On is a celebrity challenge in aid of the Wales Air Ambulance.

This year it is being spearheaded by international opera star Rhys Meirion, (pictured right) who is official ambassador for the air ambulance and will be trekking from Colwyn Bay to Cardiff.

Rhys and his supporters are due to walk over Llangollen bridge at around 1pm this Sunday.

He said: “It has been an honour and a privilege for me to accept the invitation to become an ambassador for the Wales Air Ambulance.

“From the moment I accepted I have been considering ways in which I would be able to contribute to their huge effort in raising the money needed to ensure that this invaluable service is available to the people of Wales.

“The plan this year is a 200-mile coast-to-coast walk to link Colwyn Bay to Cardiff  travelling via the magnificent border counties."

The project was launched with a gala concert at Venue Cymru yesterday (Friday) and the walk started at Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay at 8.30am this morning (Saturday).

Due to be completed over eight days, the route goes through rural Conwy to Llansannan, over to the Vale of Clwyd, through Ruthin, Llangollen, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Welshpool, Newtown, Llanidloes, Builth Wells, Brecon, Merthyr, Aberfan and on to Cardiff.

The walk will have eight overnight stops at some of Wales’ most iconic hotels and there will be entertainment and fundraising activities at each evening stop.

Along the way Rhys will be joined on certain sections by some of Wales’s top musical acts, sports personalities and celebrities and some international stars too.

They include former rugby player Robin McBryde, comedian and chat show host Tudor Owen, and professional soprano Sioned Terry.

Stop "penny pinching" over rail services says AM

North Wales Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts has called on the Welsh Government to reinstate the original investment to dual the Wrexham to Chester line.

 

His call was made following the announcement of additional investment by the UK Government in Merseyside which opens up Liverpool and John Lennon Airport to direct rail services from North Wales.

 

“While the Welsh Government has bought Cardiff Airport and invested in proper rail dualling schemes in South Wales they have penny pinched in North East Wales so that only two-thirds of the Wrexham to Chester line will be dualled,” says Aled Roberts AM.

 

“This partial dualling will not allow for extra train services to run across the border into England from Wrexham and Flintshire even though a major announcement by the Coalition Government will improve connectivity between Liverpool, Cheshire and North Wales.

 

“The reduced scheme on which the Welsh Government is spending £41m provides only one extra train per 2 hours. This additional train is allocated to an additional service between Holyhead and Cardiff rather than improving services between North East Wales and Liverpool.

 

“The Welsh Government has concentrated on improving the Holyhead to Cardiff service which is worthwhile, but for a few £million more they could have allowed six more trains per hour to use the Wrexham to Chester line. That would offer the possibility of direct services to Liverpool or Manchester.

 

“More cross border services have even been demanded by Labour MPs in debates in the House of Commons and all the evidence suggests that the vast majority of people in North Wales are more interested in travelling across the border for work in preference to travelling to South Wales.”

Stage is all set for 2014 Eisteddfod

*Status Quo, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi.

Thousands of people from around the world will again descend on the little town of Llangollen next week as it celebrates the 68^th annual International Musical Eisteddfod.

The event where Wales welcomes the world and which began as a festival of peace in the aftermath of the Second World War has grown into one of Europe’s premier music and dance events.

It is one of Wales’s cultural star attractions and has brought international icons like Dylan Thomas and the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to a quiet corner of the Dee Valley.

Pavarotti, in fact, began his international career as a member of a choir from Modena at Llangollen in 1955 when he and his father stayed with a family in Froncysylte.

In recent years artists of the stature of Jools Holland, Katherine Jenkins, Kiri Te Kanawa, James Galway and Montserrat Caballe have performed at the final Sunday Evening Gala Concert.

And this year the standard remains as high as ever with the curtain-raiser for the main event on Monday, July 7, seeing the great Welsh operatic bass-baritone Bryn Terfel returning to Llangollen to lead a star-studded cast in a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway smash hit Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

*
 Bryn Terfel.

It is the first time Bryn Terfel has appeared at Llangollen since 2006 and he’s excited at the prospect: “I’m absolutely thrilled I’m able to appear,” he said.

“I’m a proud Welshman and the Eisteddfod is unique, the atmosphere, the colour, the audience, even the flowers, it really is a very, very special event.

“Being offered the opportunity to return to the International Eisteddfod is an honour and I look forward to seeing everyone at Llangollen which, without a doubt, for me, will be a highlight of 2014.

“The International Eisteddfod committee and team of volunteers who work so incredibly hard really do put together something very special, year after year and they are to be applauded.”

Terfel will be joined on stage in Sweeney Todd by three unknown young singers he has hand-picked for starring roles, tenor Berwyn Pearce, soprano Lauren Morris and 14-year-old Dewi Wykes.

Berwyn, 26, from Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, is the great-nephew of another opera legend, Sir Geraint Evans, while Lauren, 21, is from Solihull and Dewi from Llangynhafal, near Ruthin, in Denbighshire.

They were chosen from over 80 young singers at auditions in Cardiff and Llangollen and Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said: “It’s one of our roles at the Eisteddfod, to provide chances for young talent to flourish and there can be no bigger opportunity than to sing alongside a legend like Bryn Terfel.

“Berwyn is a class act who will bring a special presence to the role, Lauren has a real magic about her and to find a 14-year-old with the talent Dewi has was just amazing.

 

“We’ve found three young up and coming stars of the future and we at Llangollen can give them that first stage on which to shine.”

 

He is also thrilled Bryn Terfel will appear at the 2014 festival. He said: “Bryn Terfel is Wales’ brightest musical star and the Eisteddfod is always a richer event when he is able to honour us with his presence.

 

“It has been difficult finding space in his every busy concert diary and I’m just grateful we have been able to arrange, what will be the opening event of the 2014 festival.”

The Eisteddfod continues through a vibrant six days of concerts which will feature Dutch jazz diva Caro Emerald, American tenor Noah Stewart, a new work by acclaimed Welsh composer Karl Jenkins for his 70^th birthday, an appearance by the chart-topping singing brothers, Richard and Adam Johnson, from Holywell, in Flintshire, and star artists from China, South Africa, Venezuela and Latvia.

* Caro Emerald.

What’s more the curtain will come down on this summer’s Eisteddfod with an appearance by legendary British rockers Status Quo who will perform on the Sunday night, July 13.

Most importantly the competitions have continued to attract entrants from all over the world – this year they will be here from Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal, Trinidad, the USA and Zimbabwe as well as from all over Europe and the UK.

The blue riband of those competitions is the Choir of the World for the Pavarotti Trophy which takes place on Saturday night in the Royal International Pavilion and there will also be a competition to find the dance champions of 2014 and to top the evening off Richard and Adam, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent, will appear as special guests.

This year’s event runs from Tuesday, July 8, when the colourful traditional procession through the town will be led by Eisteddfod Patron Terry Waite, through six days of competitions and concerts to Sunday’s spectacular fireworks extravaganza.

On the Tuesday night at the Eisteddfod there will be a galaxy of international talent at the Carnival of Nations concert.

Outside the Royal International Pavilion on the field colourful competitors from around the world join thousands of visitors who can enjoy live music from the S4C Stage, join in with dance workshops or just soak up the heady atmosphere and world-class competition.

For more details on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk