Llangollen's sunshine festival was a huge hit

* A group from Belarus on the big opening day parade last Monday.

THIS year’s “sunshine eisteddfod” at Llangollen has been a big hit both artistically and as a crowd pleaser, says its delighted Music Director.

 

As temperatures soared throughout the week over 22,000 people from across the globe came flocking to the international musical festival to enjoy a packed programme of star-spangled evening concerts and top-class choral and dance competitions.

 

Music Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said the evening concerts, which ranged from a stunning performance of the Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd starring opera legend Bryn Terfel to a foot-stomping show by iconic rockers Status Quo, were among the best to be staged during his three years at the helm of the festival’s entertainments programme.

 

“Sweeney Todd, which was our eisteddfod opener on Monday, was quite an undertaking and meant pulling in all kinds of people to make it happen but everyone worked together fantastically well and I’m very pleased with how it went and was received by the audience,” he said.

 

“The Caro Emerald concert on Thursday evening was also something very special.

“She completely held the audience for the whole 90 minutes of her performance and then got people up on their feet singing and clapping along.

 

“As with everything during the week - concerts and competitions - the backstage crew did a remarkable job.

 

“Our volunteers make magic things happen.

 

“Noah Stewart, both during the evening concert on Wednesday and when he sang on Thursday as our day president, was magnificent.

 

“He embraced the eisteddfod and the eisteddfod embraced him because he shows so much enthusiasm and passion.”

 

Eilir said that another highlight of the evening concerts came on Friday when the eisteddfod production team worked with the Wales Millennium Centre, and the opera company Igugu Le Kapa and the Bloemfontein Male Voice Choir, both from South Africa, to present Spirit of Unity.

 

Eilir said: “The concert showed Llangollen’s spirit of international co-operation at its very best and we had South Africa side by side with Wales.

 

“It sent the audience away with smiles on their faces because they knew they had felt something at the concert.

 

“This series of concerts is the one of which I am most proud."

 

Eilir also had warm praise for the wide range of singing and dance competitions which ran throughout the week.

 

He said: “I was very impressed with the standard we saw being achieved in all the competitions and the children’s choirs in particular were just amazing.

 

“I believe that some of the younger ones were good enough to be in our Choir of the World Competition.

 

The problems faced this year by a number of overseas groups in obtaining visas to travel to the eisteddfod was highlighted a number of times during the week, first by eisteddfod president Terry Waite CBE and then by Wednesday’s day president The Rev Aneurin Owen, from Bro Aled, who said in his address that it can often be easier for soldiers of terror to travel around the world than it is for eisteddfod competitors to obtain visas.

 

Eilir added: “We’ve been lucky that the sun’s been with us all the week and it’s definitely been the sunshine eisteddfod.

 

“This year we put extra effort into bringing the field alive, offering something for everyone in terms of entertainment and stalls."

 

Eisteddfod chairman Gethin Davies said: “It’s been a tremendous week, which has been helped by the perfect weather.

 

“The quality of the competitions has been quite outstanding and the evening concerts have been amazing. When it came to their variety they had something for everybody.

 

“It is difficult to imagine that another festival anywhere would be able to offer anything similar.

 

“It is indicative of Llangollen that one of our guest performers, the American opera star Noah Stewart, was absolutely bowled over by the friendliness and fun of the whole event as well as its high standards.”

Status Quo gig raps up successful eisteddfod

* Status Quo on stage last night.

Rock icons Status Quo had the Royal International Pavilion bouncing as they blasted through an all our yesterdays set of hits.

 

The Quo have been doing what they do best for nearly 50 years but a Llangollen  International Musical Eisteddfod audience isn’t their usual habitat.

 

True professionals that they are they took it all in their stride though and their pulling power had already been demonstrated months earlier when their closing night concert was sold out within days.

 

And they showed they can still riff with the best of them as they had the Pavilion audience on their feet and boogieing along to Rockin’ all Over the World, Get Down, Whatever You Want, Caroline and all the rest.

 

The Quo, who opened Live Aid back in 1985, were inspired to play the International Eisteddfod after a meeting with Jools Holland who played the closing concert last year.

 

Singer and guitarist Francis Rossi said: “Jools Holland told me he did the Eisteddfod this year and what a brilliant place and atmosphere it was. He also explained about the occasion and the event’s history. That got my attention.

 

“When we started out in the 60’s we used to look at anyone over 30 and think how they were dead old. But like everyone else we have changed and matured with age.”

 

So have their fans and the audience knew most of their songs by heart, and sang along and clapped and chanted through a splendid and stirring set.

 

Rossi formed The Scorpions, which became The Spectres, with fellow schoolboy Alan Lancaster way back in 1962 and they have played in excess of 6,500 live shows to a combined audience estimated to be well in excess of 25 million.

 

After a number of line-up changes they became The Status Quo in 1967, although they dropped The becoming simply Status Quo two years later.

 

And Quo they still were last night as they wowed yet another crowd and left them chanting for more.

 

It marked the end of another sun-drenched International Musical Eisteddfod which showed it has lost none of its colour and excitement with splendid crowds, intense competition and a glittering array of stars from Bryn Terfel to Caro Emerald to Status Quo.

AM hits out over health waiting list figures

The new Chairman and Chief Executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board face the immediate challenge of turning round the board’s "deteriorating" waiting list figures, says the Liberal Democrats’ North Wales Assembly Member, Aled Roberts.

 

“After a period of improvement since March 2013,” says Aled Roberts, “there has been a marked decline month on month since March 2014.

 

"In April this year within the Betsi Cadwaladr Board area the percentage of patients waiting less than 36 weeks was the lowest of any Welsh Health Board.

 

"That means more and more people each month are having to wait more than 36 weeks for treatment – that is over 9 months. It is a totally unacceptable time for anybody to have to wait for treatment.

 

“The figures for those waiting less than 26 weeks are not much better. At the end of May this figure was 84.8%, 1.6 percentage points lower than at the end of April 2014.

 

"Again this means there are an increasing number of people waiting more than 26 weeks – 6.5 months. Not as long as 9 months but still an unacceptable period for anybody to wait for medical treatment.

“The new Betsi Cadwaladr Chief Executive, Professor Trevor Purt, took up his post last month. Along with the new Chairman, Dr Peter Higson, they need to take immediate action to reverse the increasing number of people who having to wait for long periods before getting medical treatment.”

Views about Welsh Ambulance Service sought

PEOPLE in Wales are being invited to share their experience of the Welsh Ambulance Service – Emergency Medical Services, Patient Care Services and NHS Direct Wales – and make suggestions about how it could improve.

 Chief Executive Elwyn Price-Morris said: “We are committed to ensuring that the people of Wales are actively involved in decisions about their care, and that their involvement is at the heart of service planning and delivery.

“Capturing service user experience is important in helping us find out what people think of our service. By including patients and the public in the Trust’s work, it can help to change and improve the way care and services are delivered.”

Patient stories already captured are shared routinely at Board meetings, and organisational learning is shared among colleagues – but the Trust is keen to hear from even more people.

The appeal is being made by the Partners in Healthcare team, whose role it is to engage with service users and stakeholders and educate the public about how to use the service appropriately.

Search for ‘Have Your Say’ at www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk or email Partners in Healthcare at ppi.team@wales.nhs.uk

Alternatively, phone 01792 311773 or write to the Welsh Ambulance Service/NHS Direct Wales, FREEPOST NAT6805, Swansea, SA7 9ZZ.

David pops the question before Caro Emerald concert

 

 

* David Jackson and Elise Davies.

 

A YOUNG Wrexham man perfectly captured the harmonious atmosphere of the occasion by proposing to his girlfriend before Thursday night’s Caro Emerald concert at Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

 

As an audience of thousands looked on, 28-year-old David Jackson, of Ruabon, went up on stage and down on one knee to romantically pop the question to Elise Davies, 26, who works full-time as an event co-ordinator for the festival.

 

When a shocked Elise, who had been carefully kept completely in the dark about the impending proposal, recovered enough to say “yes” the delighted crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

 

Elise, who lives in Ruabon with her future husband, said: “I had no idea David was going to ask me to marry him, especially in such a public place.

 

“I was absolutely gobsmacked when he did it and couldn’t speak for a few seconds but then I said yes because the whole thing was so romantic.”

 

The couple first met when they were both pupils at Ysgol Ruabon and eventually started dating.

 

They have been together for the past seven years and are expecting their first baby in November.

 

Elise, who has worked at the eisteddfod’s headquarters in Llangollen Pavilion for the past three years, said that although she knew David, who works as a graphic designer at a firm on Wrexham Industrial Estate, was going to the Caro Emerald concert with other members of the family, she didn’t have tickets herself until a few hours before.

 

“During the afternoon the eisteddfod’s musical director Eilir Owen Griffiths came into the office and gave some front row tickets to myself and my colleague, Sue McEvoy, which I thought was very nice of him,” she said.

 

“However, what I didn’t know was that he was actually in on the proposal thing and wanted me to have a seat from where I could easily get up on stage.

 

“Just before Caro Emerald was due to start the concert and when the place was absolutely full the presenter Sian Thomas said she had a special announcement to make.

 

“She asked David to come up on stage. I thought he was sitting in one of the rows behind me with his mum, Sue Jackson from Acrefair, and my mum Linda Davies, from Gyfelia near Bangor-on-Dee, but he appeared from behind the stage.

 

“He walked to the front and invited me to come up and join him. That was the first time I had any idea of what was going on.

 

“He gave a nice little speech about how much he loved me and then he popped the question.

 

“I said yes, of course, although it took me a few seconds to take in what was happening.

 

“The audience loved it and there was lots of clapping and cheering.”

 

Elise added: “I was absolutely gobsmacked about it all and I still can’t really believe it. In fact, it feels like it all happened to someone else.

 

“It was so romantic – but not really like David at all.

 

“But he later told me he’d actually been planning it all since last year’s eisteddfod when he was watching the Jools Holland concert.

 

“It was also so nice of him to propose at the eisteddfod because he knows Llangollen means so much to me.

 

“We haven’t named the day yet and probably won’t start planning the wedding until after our baby is born.

 

“I’d like to thank everyone at the eisteddfod who was involved in planning what was a fantastic moment for us.” 

Paraglider helped down from hills

This was tweeted by Llangollen Fire Station earlier this evening (Friday) ... 

 

7:30 tonight crews from Llangollen, Chirk and Wrexham assisted with helping a paraglider down from trees on a Llangollen mountain.

Performers' peace link-up at Eisteddfod

 

 

* Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod President Terry Waite CBE

with Ludmila Stebenkova, left, chief conductor of the Krasnoyarsk City Children’s Choir, from Russia, and Oksana Cherkas, leader of the

Barvinochok Ukrainian Dancers.

 

 

PERFORMERS from the Ukraine and Russia put aside their countries’ political differences to unite in music today.

 

The symbolic meeting between a dance group from the Ukraine and a choir from Russia came this morning (Thursday) when they performed side by side at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in which are both competing this week.

 

Eisteddfod President Terry Waite CBE, who greeted both groups of young people in their colourful national costumes, told them: “We know you have your problems at home but today you have come together in the spirit of music and dance. The future is in your hands.”

 

The historic meeting took place in the amphitheatre on the eisteddfod field and began with the 30-strong Barvinochok folk dance group from Kiev in the Ukraine going through an energetic routine.

 

Following them on stage were around the same number of young singers from the City Children’s Choir from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk who sang two powerful numbers.

 

At the end of their respective performances members of each group gave the other loud cheers and warm applause.

 

There were encores from the dancers and the singers at the request of Terry Waite and the delighted crowd who gathered to watch.

 

Oksana Cherkas, leader of Barvinochok Ukrainian dancers, said: “We are very happy to meet with the group from Russia today.

 

“Despite what is happening back home it is good that we can get together like this, enjoy each other’s performance and put politics on one side.”

 

Ludmila Stebenkova, chief conductor of the Krasnoyarsk City Children’s Choir, said: “It is good that we have been able to meet together in this way and come together as friends.

“This shows that music and dance comes before politics.”

 

Speaking through interpreters, Terry Waite told the two groups: “Today we have seen two peoples united through music.

 

“Over the years we have had many groups at Llangollen who have had their political differences but they have come together in performance, which is what the eisteddfod has always been about since it was first held in the aftermath of the Second World War.

 

“The future is in your hands and we hope that one day there will be more occasions such as the one we have seen today when you perform together in harmony and peace.”

 

Barvinochok from the Ukraine was founded in 1976 and today has over 500 children and young people aged from three to 23 in its ranks.

 

Dance styles the group specialises in include classical, traditional Ukrainian, modern and global culture.

 

Over the years, Barvinochok has received recognition and won awards at a host of international festivals and competitions in countries such as Russia, Hungary, Germany, Greece, France, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy and Cuba.

 

Barvinochok’s first appearance at Llangollen came in 2009 when they won a certificate of merit for taking second place to a group from Slovakia in the choreographed folk dance competition.

 

Krasnoyarsk City Children’s Choir from Russia are making their Llangollen debut.

Founded in 1971 in the 1970s, the choir regularly tours the Russia, the Czech Republic, Mongolia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and the Ukraine.

 

It has also visited the USA as part of a project called Friendship Ambassadors and co-operates with the Krasnoyarsk State Academic Symphony Orchestra.