Eisteddfod on the lookout for 2019 competitors

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is looking for dancers, singers and instrumentalists from across the globe to enter its group competitions next year.

Successful entrants will compete for a range of prestigious titles including Dance Champions of the World and Choir of the World at the 2019 festival, from July 2-7.

This will also see the return of the Acapella Group, Senior Children’s Choirs, Open Choirs and Traditional Folk Dance Group.

The Eisteddfod's best-known categories include choral, ensemble, dance and non-competitive participation.

The festival is also appealing for female choirs to come forward and showcase their talent on the Royal International Pavilion stage with the chance to win an international medal and cash prizes of up to £3,000 if they progress to the Choir of the World final.

Following the departure of Vicky Yannoula, Edward-Rhys Harry will be stepping into the role of music director.

He has previously been artistic director at both the International Voces Volgograd in Russia and the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs. 

Entries for all choral, ensemble and dance competitions will close on Friday November 23, while solo applications will open in early December.

Applications to follow in the footsteps of non-competitive acts and perform on one of the International Eisteddfod’s outside stages are also open, with the entries also closing on November 23.

Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies said: “Every year, those who take part in the Eisteddfod come away with an unforgettable experience that stays with them forever.

“With the unique opportunity for performers from across the globe to compete on an international stage in a variety of 20 competitions, alongside such talented musicians and dancers, whilst making life-long friendships is something truly special." 

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

For more information about the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod visit: www.Llangollen.ne

Castle Street planter overturned

A large planter outside the front of the Town Hall in Castle Street has been overturned overnight.

Tyn Dwr Hall to host Christmas charity ball

* Victoria Jones, owner of Tyn Dwr Hall, and her children Charlie, Alastair and Arayah, with Catrin Dowdeswell, area fundraiser for Hope House Children’s Hospice.

Tyn Dwr Hall in Llangollen is to host an exclusive Christmas charity fundraising ball in aid of Hope House Children’s Hospice.
 
The idea is the long-held dream of mum-of-three Victoria Jones who, together with her husband Matt, owns the country hall wedding venue. 
 
The event, on Saturday, December 15, will also see a special guest appearance by singing sensations Belle Voci, famed for appearing on ITVs The Voice The Live Final earlier this year.  
 
The lavish venue has been open less than three years and has already made an impact on the UK wedding scene.
 
To keep both hospice doors open all year round, Hope House has to raise at least £6.3 million, with only one month's worth of income coming from the government. 

Victoria said: “I have wanted to host a charity fundraising event for some time at Tyn Dwr Hall, however the past few years have been hectic refurbishing the hall, developing the business, moving house and having our third baby.

"When Matt and I first talked about such an event Hope House Children’s Hospice was the charity that instantly sprang to my mind because of their good work across North Wales and Shropshire.

“Having children is such a blessing, and as parents we all wish for our children to be in good health and have long and happy lives.

"Unfortunately, for some this is not the case and many families face life changing situations that are devastating for the child and the parents. That’s why Hope House was my first choice, as their support and care is so important for entire families dealing with these things.
 
“We want our guests to have a great time with live music, exquisite food, and top class entertainment. For some guests it will be an opportunity to entertain friends, family, corporate clients or treat their team to an amazing Christmas party whilst raising as much money as possible for Hope House. We are delighted and grateful that Emily and Sophie from Belle Voci will be performing for us during the evening as well.”
 
Cat Dowdeswell, area fundraiser for Hope House Children’s Hospice said: "When I heard that Victoria and Matt were planning an event at Tyn Dwr and that it would be for Hope House, I was over the moon.

"I attended a wedding there last year and cannot wait to see what the finished event will look like. It's guaranteed to be a stunning evening. We are so excited to have Tyn Dwr support us. We have invited the team to visit the hospice to see just where their donations will be spent.

"Amazingly, only two percent of our catchment donate directly to Hope House, so it's wonderful to have new supporters realise how important Hope House is to the families in the local area."

* If you would like to know more about the Tyn Dwr Hall Charity Fundraiser, or would like to offer a prize for inclusion in the charity auction, email to: charity@tyndwrhall.co.uk.

Museum to host new exhibition

Skates: Why I'm backing Drakeford for leader

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates sets out the reasons why he will be supporting Mark Drakeford in the forthcoming election for a new Welsh Labour leader and First Minister

* Ken Skates AM, left with Mark Drakeford AM outside Chirk Health Centre.

The same concern about politics has been expressed to me repeatedly these past two years: that the world has gone crazy and nowhere appears stable.

With the proliferation of fake news, the rise of dangerously populist politicians and with divisive issues such as Brexit constantly looming over us, it's no wonder so many people feel insecure. That people feel dismayed and dejected, that the world feels unsafe and even unfamiliar.

That, allied to the way social media allows the most vocal – and often the most extreme views – to be heard over the less hysterical majority and you could easily believe we now occupy a space in which calm, considered reflection and conviction politics have been abandoned.

This makes it so important for us to elect leaders that can remain steady in a storm, who have inbuilt moral compasses rather than populist calculators, who have a proven track record of applying principles rather than a history of riding bandwagons.

In a world that Trump, Farage and Boris Johnson are turning angrily against itself, we need principled, internationalist and intelligent leaders to come to the fore and offer the shining light of hope. And we can start right here in Wales by electing Mark Drakeford as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister.

I’m backing Mark because I know what he stands for. A politician who is steered by principles. Mark is the person who can best help us navigate through the mess of Brexit and he is the person who can unite, reach out and enthuse people to work together, rather than against each other.

Mark also gets the North Wales issue. Whether real or perceived, there is a feeling across North Wales that the region has fared less well than other parts of the country in recent times, that the North feels detached from centres of power in Cardiff and London. 

In my discussions with Mark, he is fully aware of the need to address regional inequalities and disengagement. And he is also acutely aware to the threat of ongoing austerity to the wellbeing and welfare of people in the communities I serve. Welfare reform, insecure employment and the financial pressures faced by families and councils will not go away until austerity ends. Which means we need a leader who is determined to protect the most vulnerable, someone who wants wealth and good health for all.

I'm backing Mark Drakeford because of his principles, his character and his priorities. And I'm hoping many more Labour members will join the campaign to elect Mark this autumn.

Council promotes voice for young people

Denbighshire Youth and Education services are urging young people to make sure their voices are heard by registering as an election candidate or to vote in the first ever Welsh Youth Parliament Election.

Young people in Wales aged from 11 up to 18 years are eligible to stand for election or to vote

Sixty members will make up Welsh Youth Parliament and it will empower young people to identify and raise awareness of the issues that matter to them.

Denbighshire is urging young people to sign up to vote or as a candidate for the inaugural Welsh Youth Parliament election.

In the week beginning the September 17 Denbighshire Youth Services are holding a registration to vote week, at all youth centres across the county.

Staff will be on hand to support you through the process.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Welsh Youth Parliament then go along on September 24 to the Hwb in Denbigh where the council will support you to complete your candidate application. For more information, email: youth.service@denbighshire.gov.uk.

The Welsh Youth Parliament will provide a voice for young people to raise awareness and debate the issues that matter to them. Working with the National Assembly for Wales, these issues can then be brought before the people with the power to make changes happen.

There will be 60 Welsh Youth Parliament Members. Forty of these will be elected via First Past the Post through an electronic voting system in each of the 40 electoral constituencies in Wales. Twenty will be returned by partner organisations to ensure the representation of diverse groups of young people.

All young people in Wales, between the ages of 11 and up to 18, can take part by registering to vote in the online election which will be in November 2018.

Register to vote: 28/05/2018 – 16/11/2018

Apply to be part of the Welsh Youth Parliament: 03/09/2018 – 30/09/2018

Elections: 05/11/2018 – 25/11/2018

Welsh Youth Parliament announced: December 2018

The first meeting of the Welsh Youth Parliament will be held in February 2019.

The National Assembly Commission agreed to establish a youth parliament in September 2017 following an extensive consultation with more than 5,000 young people around Wales. 

The National Assembly has also worked closely with a steering group of youth organisations providing expert guidance and, critically, views from the point of view of young people which contributed to the shaping of the new Welsh Youth Parliament.

* More information is available on the Welsh Youth Parliament website:  www.youthparliament.wales.

Invites go out to hydro-electric power scheme

* South Denbighshire Community Partnership launch of Energy Local Corwen at Canolfan Ni, Corwen, (front, L/R) Sally Lloyd Davies and Margaret Sutherland, of SDCP; Silas Jones, Cadwyn Clwyd; and Tom Taylor, Director, Speed of Thought Ltd.

Home owners in the Corwen area are being invited to sign up to a community project to take advantage of the energy generated by the town’s very own hydro-electric power plant which started generating last year.

It could be worth over £300 a year to some households in savings and provide the community with up to £2,000 a year to spend on local good causes.

Energy Local Corwen is being run by the South Denbighshire Community Partnership who are keen to sign up 37 households in the first step to making the Edeyrnion area one of the ‘greenest’ in Wales.

SDCP Chief Officer Margaret Sutherland said: “We want to make people aware of what an innovative and exciting project this is and how it could put Corwen at the forefront of the green revolution in Wales.

“We are expecting a lot of interest because people could make really substantial savings from our very own hydro-power scheme and that money can be spent locally while at the same time surplus cash from the power generation will be channeled into community projects and we are saving the planet as well.

“We would expect to be over-subscribed and it will be on a first come, first served basis but those who miss out this time will go onto a waiting list and with another, bigger hydro-power scheme in the pipeline at Bonwm. Near Corwen, they shouldn’t have to wait too long.”

Residents of Corwen and the surrounding villages of Glyndyfrdwy, Llidiart y Parc, Carrog, Cynwyd, Gwyddelwern, Bryn SM and Bryneglwys should be eligible to sign up with Energy Local Corwen.

The scheme is being run by Tom Taylor, of Speed of Thought Ltd, and he said: “A similar scheme in Bethesda has had studies done showing that people who sign up can expect savings of between ten and 30 per cent.

“That could amount to up to £300 a year for a household which is a significant amount of money and because renewable energy is ‘green’ there is a social responsibility element to the project as well.

“Our role is to create a template for how this can work for future schemes and developing the co-operative that will be made up of the households which sign up and they will play a part in its running alongside the directors of the Corwen Hydro Project.”

The electricity generated at the turbine house in the town centre is driven by the Nant y Pigyn and Nant Cawrddu streams which plunge 500 feet from a reservoir high above Corwen to generate 55 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to supply up to 40 homes a year.

Over its 40-year lifespan of receiving government feed-in tariffs it is estimated that the project will generate £1.2 million with £120,000 going directly to community benefit for local organisations and good causes.

The scheme is publicly owned and it is also payback time for them after an issue of £1 shares raised £318,000, over half of them bought locally, to fund the project which was developed by rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd.

The agency provided a £12,000 feasibility study through its LEADER fund as part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, which is financed by the Welsh Government and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

LEADER is a fund for rural areas in Wales to explore innovative new approaches and experimental technologies to tackle poverty, create jobs and drive sustainable economic development.

Silas Jones, Project Officer with rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd who piloted the Corwen Hydro Project, said: “This is a really exciting and groundbreaking project which will become a model for others to follow and which we can also follow ourselves as Corwen develops into a hub of renewable energy.

“It is ideally placed for water power with the Bonwm project to go ahead and to provide even more energy and major wind power developments also taking place in the Clocaenog Forest as well as smaller schemes nearby.”

* For more information on the Energy Local Corwen project and South Denbighshire Community Partnership go to http://www.canolfan-ni.org/ and to https://www.facebook.com/SouthDenbighshireCommunityPartnership/ and for more on Cadwyn Clwyd go to http://cadwynclwyd.co.uk/