Search is on for next Pavarotti

 

* Luciano Pavarotti performing at Llangollen.

 

The search is on for the next Pavarotti as Wales’s top international music festival launches a hunt for the singing stars of tomorrow.

 

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, where the late, great Luciano Pavarotti made his worldwide debut as a teenager, is to introduce a trio of major new solo competitions next year.

 

They are aimed firmly at rising young musical stars, under the age of 28, and each has a generous first prize of £1500.

 

They are the International Voice of the Future, International Voice of Musical Theatre and International Young Musician and are part of an impressive list of major new competitions for the Eisteddfod’s midweek programme.

 

The idea for them came from Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths who said: “We’re very excited about this because it shows the Eisteddfod is investing in the future of these young artists.

 

“Pavarotti made his international debut on the stage at the International Eisteddfod and then went on to become a worldwide star and we are looking for these stars of the future, we are looking for another Pavarotti.”

 

Pavarotti was 19 and alongside his father, Fernando, was part of the Chorus Rossini, the Modena Choir which won the Male Choir competition in 1955 and the visit to Llangollen left an indelible impression on him and he famously said that if he could win the first prize with a small choir from Modena, he could do anything.

 

It’s that inspiration that Eilir Owen Griffiths is looking to kindle through the new competitions and he added: “It’s part of my ethos and probably comes from my background of working with students at Trinity St David’s University over the past eight years.

 

“This year we gave three young singers the chance to sing with Bryn Terfel in a performance of Sweeney Todd at Llangollen and that was a magnificent occasion and a wonderful opportunity which they seized.

 

* Lauren Morris.

“It’s fantastic if a festival of the stature of Llangollen can give opportunities to young people to have a stage on which to show their ability and to gain experience.

 

“I see many students who do well and also many who struggle and if we can give exposure to their talent then that could make a difference and that is so important.

 

“We are looking for strong individuals. Because the prize money is substantially higher than we have offered in the past then we are keen to ensure that the standard is of an international level.”

 

The trio who sang with Bryn Terfel were Berwyn Pearce, from Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, great-nephew of another legendary Welsh opera singer, Sir Geraint Evans, Lauren Morris, from Solihull, and Dewi Wykes, 14-year-old from Gellifor, near Ruthin.

 

 * Dewi Wykes with opera star Bryn Terfel.

They were whittled down from over 80 hopefuls who went through auditions in Cardiff and Llangollen before being hand-picked by Bryn Terfel himself.

 

Eilir Owen Griffiths said: “One of our roles at the Eisteddfod is to provide an opportunity for young talent to flourish and there can be no bigger opportunity than to sing alongside a legend like Bryn Terfel.

 

“The enthusiasm that those auditions generated and the standard of the singers was also a reason for introducing these new competitions in singing and musicianship.”

 

The Eisteddfod will also introduce two new ensemble competitions in 2015, an Open Band and a Vocal Ensemble and also a new Open Floor Dance and the Musical Diector added: “In recent years we have seen a revival in interest in brass bands and this will provide an opportunity for them to compete and also for the many folk bands who come to the Eisteddfod to accompany dance groups.

 

* Berwyn Pearce.

“The Vocal Ensemble is aimed at small groups singing unaccompanied so they could be barbershop quartets or acapella groups while the Open Floor Dance gives an opportunity for dancers of any style, whether it’s folk, modern, contemporary or urban.

 

“It’s a very exciting concept that we could have a brass band competing against a band who accompany traditional Indian dance or Scottish Highland dancers taking on hip hop poppers.”

 

The closing date for all Choral, Dance Group and Ensemble competitions is Friday, November 21, while for Solo events it is Friday, March 6. Friday, November 21 is also the closing date for non-competitive applications.

For more details on the 2015 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, including information about competitions, go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

Officers meet to find answer to off-roaders issue

Council officers have met with police and a countryside agency to hammer out a solution to the issue of off-roading in the Dee Valley, Llantysilio and Berwyn Mountains.

Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies, who was there to represent the views of people in his ward, said: “The officers’ working group meeting last Friday included officers from Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham Councils, Natural Resources Wales and North Wales Police.

“The aim was to find a way forward to deal with issues arising from off-roading that are being reported by local residents and landowners.

“The big issue facing the area remains the illegal use of off-road areas in open countryside by illegal vehicles.

“I made my views known about calls for the closures of unsurfaced public roads, which is a legally based process that can only be undertaken under set circumstances often at considerable cost, especially if challenged.

“Basically, they are highways and in these times of budget cuts I could not support the spending of possibly hundreds of thousands of pounds on the process of closures where the outcome is uncertain. There has already been a failed attempt to do this by Powys County Council.”

Cllr Davies believes there are three issues involved, which are:

Classification of the highways so that users have no uncertainty as to what is legal or not and appropriate times or means of use.

Enforcement against those who are using vehicles in the countryside in an unlawful manner, the management of which is the remit of the North Wales Police.

Engagement and management of users to promote considerate use with respect and regard for the needs of other users and local communities.

He added:  “As for classification, work is to be done by Denbighshire officers, supported by other agencies and off-road user groups, to produce a Green Road Code to identify routes legally available for vehicles and set standards for their reasonable use and management.

“North Wales Police are already doing work on enforcement, with other operations planned.

“Police officers at last Friday’s meeting, supported by the other group members, confirmed their commitment to securing a reduction and elimination of the unlawful use of motor vehicles in the area.

“As part of this process a local PCSO successfully stopped and served notices on three motorcyclists riding on the moorland at the Horseshoe Pass last weekend.

“The meeting identified specific sites where off-roading is a significant issue and over the next few months a number of specific multi-agency action days will be held to find, stop, and deal with persons using a vehicle in contravention of the various laws in these locations.

“The ultimate penalty is that not only a fine can be issued but the vehicle used for such activity can be confiscated and destroyed.

“In terms of engagement and management, DCC officers, other agencies and off-road user groups are working together to educate users to better manage the use of unsurfaced roads and for users to support and assist in their future maintenance.

“Sophisticated logging devices developed for National Parks to record vehicle activity have been acquired by DCC with grant funding from Wales Government.

“These have been installed during since the beginning of the year in all affected areas and `honeypot’ spots and have given a good understanding of the levels of usage and type of vehicles using these areas.”

Cllr Davies went on: “My view is that if we could manage all three of these points, then this would go a long way to mitigating issues arising from the increasing popularity of off-road tourism in the area and would extend the visitor season, helping local tourism-reliant businesses.

“The latest Local Development Plan, which is just about a year old, designates the Llangollen area as a tourism destination and says that considerate use of the unsurfaced road network is already a popular component of the many features of the area that weekend and short break visitors find attractive. Legal unsurfaced road use falls in to this category.”

County consults on elderly care

Last week, Denbighshire launched it's 'Cutting our Cloth' campaign, asking residents for their views on the proposed budget cuts facing the Authority.

The council needs to find £17 million over the next two years and has published a list of proposals which will be debated by councillors in December before setting the final budget in February. 

This means that the council has to consider making what it says are "some difficult choices" and one of the things being considered is to carry out a consultation on the future provision of in-house care services in the county. 

The council funds over 500 older people to live in care homes across Denbighshire, with just 54 - or 10% - of those living in the three council-owned care homes at Awelon, Ruthin, Dolwen in Denbigh and Cysgod y Gaer in Corwen.   

An authority spokesperson said: "Older people frequently tell us that they want to live in their own homes as they get older, not move into residential care, so we want to explore how we can develop alternatives to this such as Extra Care Housing Schemes.

"The provision of 'standard' residential care - not nursing care or specialist elderly mental health care - which is only what local authority owned homes can provide, is rapidly reducing in demand as alternatives such as Extra Care Housing Schemes are being developed in partnership with other housing associations and housing providers in key communities across the county.

"Part of the consultation would be about what they think about the council supporting the development of more of this type of provision as an alternative to the three council-owned residential care homes, which are a significantly more expensive to run than equivalent services provided by either independent developers or organisations such as housing Associations or charitable  organisations. 

"In relation to the 54 individuals living in Awelon, Dolwen and Cysgod y Gaer, many of them may require alternative accommodation as their needs increase for nursing or specialist elderly mental health care.

"The council has given a commitment to ensure that they will not close any council-owned care home if there are individuals living there whose needs cannot be met in alternative provision.

"We recognise that any change can be upsetting for those involved and that is why we are considering starting a consultation during which, we will meet with residents and their relatives or representatives to explain how services could be provided and to gather their views on any changes. Part of any consultation will include a review of how any proposed change would potentially impact on each individual resident. 

"The local authority would like to reassure all service users and their relatives or representatives that when a consultation is agreed by members, we will work with them and support them throughout the process. 

"The consultation would include people living within the three Extra Care Housing Schemes, Gorwel Newydd, Rhyl, Nant y Mor, Prestatyn and Llys Awelon in Ruthin, where domiciliary care services are provided by the council. These housing schemes for older people are owned by housing associations, not the local authority, and so the consultation would purely be about the provision of care services within these housing schemes.

"Arrangements for housing support or any other services in the building will not be affected so will not be included as part of this consultation.

"It will also look at the day care provision at Hafan Deg in Rhyl, which currently has ten service users and ten members of staff."

A summary of the council's proposals can be found at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/consultations, together with a short online form for you to complete. You can submit your response online.

Alternatively, you can e-mail: public.relations@denbighshire.gov.uk or write to: Cutting Our Cloth, Communications Department, Denbighshire County Council, County Hall, Wynnstay Road, Ruthin, LL15 1YN or you can leave your comments at any council reception area. 

If you wish your comment to be considered by the Council at its December  meeting, it should arrive with the council no later than November 27.

Sainsbury's store opening cuts "won't stop Llan development"

llanblogger exclusive ...

A RUMOURED plan to scrap its major programme of store openings won’t affect the new Sainsbury’s supermarket earmarked for Llangollen.

That’s the assurance from a spokesman for the retail giant who says work on the development A5 is due to start shortly.
 

The store will be built on the site of the existing Dobson & Crowther  printworks whose new factory is rapidly nearing completion at nearby Cilmedw.   

A story in a national newspaper late last week claimed that J Sainsbury is set to scrap a giant programme of store openings and slash its dividend as part of a dramatic overhaul drawn up to fight falling sales.
 

Sainsbury’s will this week unveil the results of a strategic review, which is expected to reveal it is reining in costs in an effort to save cash and shore up its balance sheet.

The measures are intended to allow Sainsbury’s new chief executive, Mike Coupe, to invest in lowering prices as well as expanding the company’s online, convenience store and clothing businesses, which are performing well.
 

Sainsbury’s sales are falling for the first time in decade as Britain’s “big four” grocery retailers fight shifts in shopping habits and the rise of the discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The story said it is understood that Mr Coupe will also slash capital expenditure and Sainsbury’s new store openings.
 

Sales in large out-of-town supermarkets are falling and Sainsbury’s wants to focus on opening smaller convenience stores.

But a Sainsbury’s spokesman exclusively told llanblogger earlier today (Monday): “Our new Llangollen store is being developed in conjunction with our development partner J Ross who will be constructing the store before handing it over to us for its fit-out and opening.
 

“We understand that they will be commencing work on that initial phase of work, the construction of the shell, shortly.”

Explaining the background to the controversial development, which divided public opinion in Llangollen, the spokesman added:  “J-Ross need to complete the relocation of Dobson &Crowther, prepare the site and construct a shell.

“They then hand that shell over to Sainsbury’s, we fit it out and open the store.

“It’s a slightly different process to the majority of our new stores where we would be responsible for the construction of the new store from start to end.”

Museum hosts talk on Eliseg's Pillar

* The Eliseg's Pillar display in Llangollen Museum's central gallery.

ARCHAEOLOGIST Suzanne Evans will be giving a talk on the Pillar of Eliseg display, currently running at Llangollen Museum, on Sunday, November 16.

The pillar, also known as Elise's Pillar or Croes Elisedd in Welsh, stands near Valle Crucis Abbey just outside Llangollen and was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell, ancient king of Powys, in honour of his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog.

Suzanne Evans, who is an archaeology lecturer at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru and also chairman of Llangollen Museum, will be talking to members of Corwen and Dee Valley Archaeological Society (CADVAS) about the excavations which led to the museum display, entitled Treasures of Valle Crucis Abbey, and those of the Bronze Age burial cairn on which Eliseg’s Pillar stands.

In the talk, which starts at 12.30pm, she will also speak about the future development of the project.

 

* The site of the pillar near Valle Crucis Abbey.

Museum spokeswoman Gillian Smith said: “Everyone, society member or not, are very welcome to attend the talk.

“Following the talk there will be town walk led by Janet Wakefield.

“Please come along and support the Museum and CADVAS who will be working hard in the future to support the museum.

“We encourage and welcome local groups, societies and schools. Please contact us to arrange a talk, tour or speaker.”

Llangollen remembers the fallen

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Hundreds of people packed the centre of Llangollen for the annual Service of Remembrance this morning Sunday.

 

The moving ceremony was this year given special poignance as it is the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War in 1914. 

 

The Rev Andrew Sully, Vicar of St Collen's Church, led the service assisted by other local clergy.

 

The traditional Ode of Remembrance was read out by John Lawton, of the Lllangollen branch of the Royal British Legion, followed by the laying of wreaths by representatives of numerous local organisations and groups, including the Mayor, Cllr Bob Lube, on behalf of the Town Council.

 

As the wreath-laying was taking place the names of local servicemen who fell fighting for their country were read out.

 

Following prayers and hymns, the parade, led by Royal British Legion standard bearers and Llangollen Silver Band, proceeded through the town centre. In its ranks were various groups such as local military cadets, Scouts, Guides and Brownies.

 
 
 
 

 

* The Rev Andrew Sully leads the ceremony.

 

 

* Llangollen Silver Band heads the parade.

 

 

* The Town Council contingent in the parade.

 

 

* Ex-servicemen march down Castle Street.

 

 

 

* Guides, Scouts and Brownies in the parade. 

AM raises North Wales health concerns with Minister

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood  has called on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to address the high patient/GP ratio in North Wales and the subsequent impact on out-of-hours services.   

 

At a British Medical Association Cymru Wales briefing session in the Assembly in June, which was attended by a Mold GP, the chair of the North Wales Local Medical Committee stated that “general practice in North Wales is ‘in crisis’, that several practices have been unable to fill vacancies and many GPs are seriously considering retirement because of the current expanding workload”.

 

Raising the matter in this week’s Questions to the Health Minister, Mr Isherwood said: “While the UK Government has launched a pilot scheme for GP Surgeries in nine areas to bid for money to open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, Members who attended the  June 3rd briefing event in the Assembly by British Medical Association Cymru Wales and the North Wales Local Medical Committee will have heard that patient/GP ratios in north Wales have risen to 3,800:1 - double the safety rate normally recognised by the Welsh Government and health providers. How will this impact on out-of-hours services in Anglesey and more widely across the region? What urgent action is being taken to prioritise remedies to address this?”

 

The Deputy Minister for Health, Vaughan Gething AM, replied: “It is, of course, entirely appropriate that that nurse-practitioner service has the support of other medical practitioners as appropriate, and that may be for the GP service that should be available to them at all points in the out-of-hours service. So, I would not accept that the figures that he has quoted show that this is a service that is not being run in an appropriate way that puts the needs of the patient, and the needs of a patient in an out-of-hours-context service, first, and I am quite satisfied that this is an appropriate use of resource.”

 

Mr Isherwood added: “The Royal College of General Practitioners Wales ‘Put Patients First: Back General Practice’ campaign reports that real terms spending on GP practices in Wales has dropped by more than £27 million over three years and highlighted a major concern in primary care, with the average age of GPs in North Wales now over 50, described as “a ticking time bomb”.

 

The British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru Wales’ document  ‘GP Practice—A Prescription for a Healthy Future’, launched in the Assembly last month, included ‘Successive (Welsh Government) Ministers have made commitments to involve GPs in the running of NHS Wales, to expand primary care, to invest in the development of extended primary care teams and to locate those teams in modern, purpose-built centres.

 

"However, despite the good intentions, none of this happened in the way that was intended."