Eisteddfod puts out call for competitors

* Singer Clara Greening competes at this year's Eisteddfod.

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is calling out to talented singers, dancers and instrumentalists from Wales to join others from across the globe and enter its competitions, which will take place from July 3-8 next year.

Successful entrants will compete for a range of prestigious titles including Dance Champions of the World, International Voice of the Future, International Voice of Musical Theatre and the jewel in the crown of the festival, Choir of the World.

There are cash prizes of up to £6,000, international medals and also the opportunity for aspiring musical singers to win the chance of a lifetime to perform at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod in Australia.

As well as the International Eisteddfod’s most renowned competitions, the 2018 syllabus also features a number of new categories.

These include two new solo competitions for performers under 19 years old. The programme also builds on the competition strands successfully launched in 2017 such as the Jayne Davies Award for most outstanding conductor in the Choir of the World competition and the International Acapella Group.

Entries for all choral, ensemble and dance competitions will close on Friday September 29, while solo performers will have until Friday 2nd March 2018 to apply.

Applications to follow in the footsteps of non-competitive acts and perform on one of the International Eisteddfod’s stages are also open, with the entries also closing on Friday November 24.

Chairman of the International Eisteddfod, Dr Rhys Davies, said: “The Llangollen Eisteddfod’s competitions offer the opportunity for performers from across the globe to compete on an international stage alongside some of the world’s most talented musicians and dancers.

“With more than 20 competitions to apply for there really is an opportunity for all types of performers, from all disciplines and of all ages to get involved.

“Every year we aim to extend our offer and both the Outstanding Conductor and International Acapella Group categories are exceptionally exciting additions to the syllabus. We’re looking forward to see this year’s applications.”

* For more information on all the competitions or to apply on the Eisteddfod competitors’ website visit: http://eisteddfodcompetitions.co.uk/

To purchase tickets for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod or for more information visit: www.Llangollen.net

County tourism thriving research shows

* Tourist attraction: Offa's Dyke Path.

Denbighshire’s tourism industry is thriving according to recent research.

Figures have been released as part of the STEAM programme – Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor, which aims to measure the impact of tourism from both staying and day visitors.

Tourism plays a vital part in Denbighshire’s economy, with a total economic impact in 2016 of over £479 million, an increase of 3.2% compared to the previous year and nearly 50% increase compared to 10 years ago.

In 2016, the total number of visits to Denbighshire – taking into account tourism day visits and staying visitors was nearly 6 million, increasing by 1.7% from 2015 and 23% compared to 10 years ago.

Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire and who is also the Cabinet Lead Member for the Economy, said: “This is great news for Denbighshire and I’m delighted that our tourism industry is growing. Staying visitors accounted for 67% of the total economic impact last year; which highlights the importance of attracting high quality accommodation to the region.

“The latest figures reveal that Denbighshire continues to be a popular choice for day trippers and over 6,000 full time jobs were supported by tourism spend in 2016, which demonstrates the contribution the sector makes to our local economy by providing services to the community and employment opportunities for our residents.

“Capitalising on Visit Wales marketing campaigns, working with partners to deliver our Destination Management Plan and the increased popularity of North Wales as a holiday destination all play an important role in increasing awareness of the wealth of attractions, facilities and services available in the county.”

Ian Lebbon, Chair of the Denbighshire Destination Partnership, said: “It’s great to see the increase in visitor numbers to the County for both day and staying visitors. We will continue to look at innovative ways to attract more visitors especially highlighting our hidden gems and hands-on experiences that many people are seeking when choosing their breaks.

"We are currently finalising our Destination Management Plan for 2017-20 in partnership with local businesses and groups to ensure long-term sustainability for the development of tourism in the county.”

North East Wales also reported further growth in 2016 with the overall volume of visits increasing by 1.1% compared to 2015, while the amount spent has increased by 3.4%. There were 11.40 million visits made to North East Wales, with an associated spend of nearly £850 million.

STEAM reports give a month by month account of the performance of the tourism industry within an area, from which, trends can be identified and acted upon. Such research is vital to ensure the future development and success of the industry.

* For more information on Denbighshire and North East Wales please visit www.discoverdenbighshire.wales and www.northeastwales.wales

Plas Newyd events for September

Plas Newydd’s events/news for September

Saturday 2nd September   -  Friday 29th September

Art  Exhibition  in Y Caban-   Helfa Gelf,  Wrexham Open Studios

As part of the North Wales Art Trail/Helfa Gelf a group of 8 artists from Wrexham are exhibiting at Plas Newydd for the month of September. 

These artists include Ceri Wright, Sara Jane Harper, Emma-Jayne Holmes, Rachel Harris, Rosie Davies, Rob Davies, Penny Price and Pauline Jordan.

They use a range of media and techniques including Painting, Ceramics, Mixed Media and Photography.  Every weekend there will be an artist available for you to meet.  

Sunday 24th September

Make mythical Creatures   1.00  -  3.00pm

Cost :  £4.00

Make your own mythical creature and shrink yourself for a photograph with it.


MYSTERY OF THE LITTLE GIRL IN WELSH COSTUME SOLVED

If you remember last month we printed a picture of a little girl of about 5 yrs old in welsh costume outside Plas Newydd house. 

We now think we have solved the puzzle.  One of the readers of Dee Valley News Alison Corley-Rhodes saw a copy and thought she recognised the little girl. 

Alison actually lives in Mynydd Bodafon on Anglesey having moved from Llangollen 14 yrs ago and  neighbours of her mother’s, who moved a year later, have sent her Llangollen News/ Dee Valley News  ever since. 

Alison wrote to Lisa at Dee Valley News who forwarded it on to me at Plas Newydd.  She offered to investigate further and confirmed it was the lady she had thought of.  It can now be revealed that the little girl is:

LLINOS ROBERTS NOW JENKINS

Llinos’s parents were friends of Alison’s parents and they also lived near Llinos and her husband in Northwood in the early 80’s.  We are now waiting for Llinos to be in touch to claim her free tour and meal.   

Sue Hall

Museum to host coracle and craft day

AM joins fight against criminal scammers

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has joined the Friends Against Scams campaign, an initiative that aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to ‘Take a Stand Against Scams’.

Having accepted an invitation to become a ‘SCAMbassador’, Mr Isherwood (pictured) has joined the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team (Wales), the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and others in WASP (Wales Against Scams Partnership) as part of a cross-party network to protect everyone from scams and the damage they cause, working locally and nationally to educate and support those who may be vulnerable to scams.

Each year scams cause between £5bn and £10bn worth of detriment to UK consumers. In addition to the financial impact, scams can have a severe emotional and psychological impact on victims.

Mr Isherwood said: “Scams often target the most vulnerable people in society but the reality is that anyone can become a victim of scams.

“Scams damage lives and can affect people financially and emotionally so it is with great pride that I have joined the work of the National Trading Standards Scams Team, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and others who are working together to prevent people from being victims of scams. By signing up as a ‘SCAMbassador’ I will seek to influence and drive forward changes in policy to reduce the effect of scams on people in North Wales and beyond.”

Louise Baxter, Team Manager, National Trading Standards Scams Team said: “The tactics used by scammers leave victims socially isolated and ashamed of telling their friends and families what’s really going on behind closed doors.

“It is fantastic to have such an influential figure in the community to help us tackle this problem on a local, regional and national level and I would encourage all those who are interested in showing their support to join the campaign and be part of our growing network.”

* To find out more visit https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk

Ysgol Dinas Bran students score well in GCSEs

* Jumping for joy: Sephorah Evans, Cassius Hackforth,

Olivia Eggington, Eve McSpadden, Jenna Leon, Laura McAndrew, Robyn Bourne, Sarah Gibbs, Ryan Verscheuren and Laura Gibbs.

* Twins peak: Two sets of very successful  twins - Lucy Brown, Emma Brown, Laura Gibbs and Sarah Gibbs.

Delighted Year 11 students at Ysgol Dinas Bran are celebrating their GCSE results today. 

There were particularly strong performances in Art, Biology, Chemistry and Physics where the pass-rate was 100%. 

Over 50% of grades awarded in the Separate Sciences were A* or A.

There were some fantastic individual performances including a host of students who achieved the very top grades. 

Twins Lucy and Emma Brown from Llangollen each gained an incredible ten A* grades, four grades and distinctions in Additional Maths. 

Laura and Sarah Gibbs, from Llangollen and who are also twins, performed well, Laura achieving eight A* grades, four A grades, two B grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths, while Sarah achieved four A* grades, eight A grades, two B grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths. 

There were tremendous results, too, for Zoe Nicholas (Llangollen), Laura McAndrew (Glyndyfrdwy) and  Sephorah Evans (Corwen) who all achieved nine A* grades and three A grades, together with Distinctions in Additional Maths. 

Megan Jones (Corwen) achieved six A* grades, four A grades, and a Distinction in Additional Maths and Eve Barrett (Llangollen) was awarded six A* grades, two A grades and a Distinction in Additional Maths. 

Headteacher Martyn Froggett said: "We are really pleased for all our students. 

"They have worked really hard and deserve their success.

We are looking forward to seeing many of the students back in our Sixth Form in September. 

"Great praise and thanks to the staff who have supported them and helped them achieve so well."

In a statement, the county council said: "Pupils across Denbighshire are celebrating excellent examination results this year. Early indications show that approximately 62.8% of students have achieved A* - C grades which is in line with the national average for Wales.

"Results in Welsh and English are particularly pleasing and are above the Welsh average.

"The pass rate grades A*-G was 97.1% is above the Welsh average of 96.9%.  There have been some outstanding individual results."

Police boss tackles BBC over language issue

A police boss urged the BBC's Newsnight programme not to insult the Welsh language again - and to seek the opinions of real experts if they discuss the subject in future.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones (pictured) hit out after the late night programme provoked outrage when it asked whether the Welsh language was a "help or hindrance to the nation".

The BBC has since expressed its regret and conceded the programme would have "benefited from more thorough analysis and debate".

Mr Jones has written in Welsh to the programme's editor, Ian Katz, seeking an assurance the same mistake will not be repeated.

The discussion on August 9 did not have anybody who could speak the language involved, with contributions from author Julian Ruck and Ruth Dawson, Wales Editor for the independent news and analysis website The Conversation.

At the start of the programme presenter Evan Davis asked of the language: “Is it the government’s job to promote it and is it a help or a hindrance to the nation.”

He later went on to say: “We will see how people will choose to speak it and how many will have it as a hobby, and how many speak it as their main language.”

In his letter Mr Jones accused Newsnight of discussing the language in "a childish, derogatory and irresponsible way" adding they had managed to raise the hackles of a whole nation.

He went on: "There was a weak, unconvincing apology the following night that did not persuade anybody that there was any real regret on your part.

"Asking whether the language is a hindrance is totally unacceptable, and it's irrelevant in any context. The Welsh language exists. People speak it as their first language every day.

"Should we make those who speak the language feel irrelevant and a hindrance or should we do our best to safeguard the language as an integral part of the tapestry of life in our little corner of the world?

"The BBC would not dare question whether a person's religion or ethnicity was a hindrance. Think of the justifiable outrage there would be to such an insult! How therefore can a public body that we pay dearly for justify questioning whether a language, especially one that is native to these islands and has existed well before English, is a hindrance?

"You could argue that slighting someone's language is more of an insult than questioning their religion because language is an inextricable part of who each one of us is as an individual.

"I would like to convince you that the Welsh language is integral in my work and a bit more important than the "hobby" Evan Davies referred to on the programme.

“As a fluent Welsh speaker in an elected position with responsibility for £143 million in spending, I believe passionately that I need to uphold my responsibilities to those who want to receive services in Welsh or English; neither language is treated less favourably than the other.

"Every other public body in Wales has a statutory duty to ensure that the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than English. Even though the majority of people in North Wales are able to speak English, dealing with a public body in your second language is different to communicating in your first language.

"In future I therefore call on you, as somebody who works for a public body, to carry out your moral responsibilities in relation to equality and to do your homework before any such programme is broadcast.

"If you deal with Welsh again it would be good if you could show some respect to the language, and the people who speak it, by making sure it is discussed by experts and not by contributors who can't speak the language and have very little knowledge about the subject."