Santa Specials now departing from Llan Railway

This year's annual Santa Specials have started steaming away from Llangollen Railway.

Aboard a specially decorated steam train seasonal travellers will be transported in style from Llangollen Station to Carrog  - renamed Lapland for Santa’s visit.

The grand old man will give each good boy and girl a special gift on the journey and the adults on-board receive a mince pie plus a tipple from Santa’s Little Helpers.

Museum hosts Myths and Legends evening

* A scene from the Owain Glyndwr puppet show.

* The puppeteers who put on the show take a bow. 

* The rest of the puppetry team come out from behind the scenes. 

* The team which shot the film St Collen receive their Best Overall Peformance award.

A sophisticated puppet show opened an evening of Myths and Legends hosted by Llangollen Museum at the Town Hall last night (Friday).

Guest puppeteers received only two sessions of training before putting on the novel entertainment which told the story of the legendary rise to fame then mystery demise of Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr.

The large audience was held spellbound as the ancient tale unfolded on a specially constructed stage as members of the group – all recruited from the local community – operated a host of key characters overseen by a small number of experts.

After the break it was time for the showing of six short films also illustrating the evening’s theme.

Shot on mobile phone cameras by local people who were not professional film-makers the three-minute movies included topics ranging from the town’s patron saint of St Collen to the big bareknuckle fight between two local men which took place in Cefn Mawr in 1861 and ended in tragedy.

After their showing the films were judged both by the audience and a panel of judges.

The one entitled St Collen was crowned by the judges and Ladies of Llangollen was chosen as the audiences favourite.

The Myths and Legends project launched by the museum was made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and will also include an exhibition of children’s art based on the theme which will run at the museum.         

Eisteddfod star to hit top note in St Giles opera

* Soprano Rachel Marsh.

* Professional opera singer and tutor Anne Williams-King.

A star from last year's Llangollen Eisteddfod will be performing alongside an international cast on her home ground in Wrexham.

Soprano Rachel Marsh will be starring in two one-act operas at St Giles’ Church on Saturday, December 22, in a spectacular showcase for pupils of the North Wales Opera Studio.

She will be taking the lead role in Puccini’s Sour Angelica during an evening sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation via their Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT).

It’s particularly appropriate because earlier this year Rachel was in the top three in the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod which was also supported by PACT.

The second opera being performed on the night is another classic, Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, with soprano Zena O’May, of Queensferry, in the lead role of the peasant girl, Santuzza.

Rachel and Zena are both pupils of the North Wales Studio which is run by Anne Williams-King, from Penycae, who is a top soprano in her own right having performed at opera houses around Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States and across South America.

Anne said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity for my students; these are two amazing one act operas. However, we couldn’t put this performance together without the support and sponsorship of Pendine Arts and Community Trust.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for two of my best students. They will be performing alongside soprano Millicent Setshedi who is coming over to Wales from South Africa specifically for the production as well as tenor Adam Margulies from Berlin and Norwegian mezzo soprano Maria Ejderos Sveinungsen. It’s going to be a truly international production.

“Sour Angelica is a really tragic tale of a young woman who is forced to live in a convent by her family after having an illegitimate child.

“She spends years waiting to hear news of her child only to find out he died of a fever. She concocts a poison potion to kill herself and, after taking it, remembers suicide is a sin so she won’t go to heaven to be with her child.

“However, she has a vision of the Virgin Mary with her child and realises her sin is forgiven. It’s a truly moving story and quite sad.”

She added: “Cavalleria Rusticana is a tale of love, rejection and revenge set in Sicily and is a wonderful one act opera. It will give Zena O’May a wonderful opportunity to show just what she can do.

“I’m looking forward to what will be a wonderful evening of music featuring some of my most talented students. The idea is to give both young and more mature singers the chance to perform and prove themselves.

“We will be working non-stop for a fortnight before the performance rehearsing and polishing the performance. We will be specifically working on language as both operas are sung in Italian and vocal performance.

“It’s very exciting to be working with such amazing international talent as well as our excellent local performers. And I’m delighted to have Marco Belluzzi from Bologna, in Italy as our accompanist.”

Rachel, 26, said: “It’s been an exciting year. This will be my first lead role and I’m very excited.

“Sister Angelica is a wonderful and incredible role in what is a very touching and tragic story.

“I’m also looking forward to meeting and singing with some incredible international talent. I have a real burning desire to succeed in opera. This will be the perfect start to Christmas!”

Zena O’May, 55, said “I sang in the chorus of the English National Opera as a mezzo soprano. However, my voice has changed a little and I’m busy learning the soprano repertoire under Anne’s expert guidance.”

She added: “I’m so looking forward to the opera event at St Giles Church, it’s going to be amazing especially as there is a real international cast.

“I’ve just performed at St James, Piccadilly where I performed Elgar’s Sea Pictures alongside my accompanist, Marco Belluzzi who will also be playing at the St Giles concert.

“It’s an exciting opportunity, I have always dreamed of playing a lead operatic role and this is a wonderful chance for me to really shine and show what I can do.”   

Pendine Park proprietor Mario Kreft says the operatic event at St Giles is a perfect illustration of why he and his wife, Gill, set up the Pendine Arts and Community Trust.

He said: “Music and the arts in general play an important role in the care we provide for our residents and all our staff receive bespoke training in how to enrich our residents’ lives with the arts.

“I have no doubt that this will be a wonderful evening of high-quality opera and I’m sure opera lovers across North Wales will be keen to support the event. I know Gill and I are very much looking forward to what will be an amazing evening.”

Llan's new vicar gets to know his parish

* Father Lee Taylor is getting to know his new parish.

The town’s new vicar is ready to officially start work in just over a week's time.

Since moving from his previous church in Croydon two weeks ago Father Lee Taylor has been busy getting to know his new parish of Llangollen, Llantysilio and Trevor before his licensing by the Bishop of St Asaph takes place at St Collen’s on Sunday December 9.

Since his arrival most of his time has been taken up with moving into the newly-refurbished vicarage on Abbey Road but he says he’s had a very warm welcome and enjoyed meeting a wide range of local people – both parishioners and otherwise.

Keen on keeping fit he’s already joined the leisure centre and the running club and had a rapid installation as a member of one of the Eisteddfod committees.

And he’s now looking forward to getting to know as many other groups and organisations as possible.

Born and brought up in Bolton, Lancashire, he studied theology at the University of Wales, Lampeter where he was also organ scholar and choirmaster. 

After leaving university he worked at a busy call centre for the gas and electricity supplier Norweb Energi. At weekends he worked evenings at a local Working Men’s Club playing the organ before the main bingo session. 

Father Lee moved to London in 2002 to take up the post of Deputy-Head Verger at Southwark Cathedral. During his time in London he also worked as a volunteer chaplaincy assistant at Guy’s & St Thomas’ hospitals.  

In 2010 he left London to train for ordained ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, serving his curacy in Leigh-on-Sea. 

His last position was as Associate Vicar of Croydon Minster.

During his time there he worked hard at establishing partnerships with various organisations, business and charities around the town.

And he now aims to do the same sort of thing in Llangollen.

He said: “Since I arrived here a couple of weeks ago I’ve met a large number of people and had lots of invitations for coffee.

“I want to maintain the relationships the church already has with the community and also start up some new ones. It’s just a question of getting to know as many local groups as possible and working out who's who.

“I’ve had already accepted an invitation to join the music and staging committee at the Eisteddfod, which was very nice and I’m looking forward to playing a part in that.”

In his spare time Father Lee is passionate about and is a regular performer in old time music hall. He will retain his role as publicity officer for the Music Hall Society, which is based in London.

Apart from performing he also enjoys playing and composing music, ballroom dancing and the arts.

In fact, he says Llangollen’s very active arts scene was one of things that drew him to his new appointment.

“Music and performance is an intrinsic part of my priesthood,” he explained.

Father Lee also likes to keep himself fit and along with his two dogs, a Labrador and a Border Collie, he has sampled some of the country walks his new parish has to offer including those around Llantysilio and up to Dinas Bran Castle. Next, he reckons, is possibly a walking trip down the canal to the Aqueduct.

No stranger to the world of pubs since his mother ran two of them in Wigan, where he served behind the bar and played piano, he used this background to create what he reckons was one of his most exciting community ventures down in Croydon.

That’s when he organised and officiated at a beer blessing ceremony at the local Dog & Bull pub which hit the national headlines.

He recalled: “The event not only brought together a wide section of the community but it also signalled the open and welcoming face of the church in the heart of the community.”

And he promised: “Something similar is certainly on the cards for Llangollen – it’s just a question of which pub or hotel we do it in and at what time of the year. Eisteddfod week might be a good time because that’s when the town is full of people from around the world.

“I think we can look forward to lots of quirky things, ideas and initiatives, so watch this space.”

Before he starts on the beer blessing trail Father Lee has his own licensing by Bishop Gregory of St Asaph as part of the morning worship at St Collen’s on December 9.

“It will be a time when all the church family and those from the other churches in the area can gather together. Everyone is welcome and I’m told there will be a bit of a do in the parish rooms afterwards,” he said. 

Theresa sets new gold standard for end of life care

* Theresa Richards with her gold award.

A Llangollen woman who has helped scores of people fulfill their dying wishes has been honoured for her pioneering work.

Theresa Richards, who completes 40 years in the NHS this year, picked up one of the main awards at the Wales Care Awards.

The awards are organized by Care Forum Wales to recognize exceptional work in the care sector and the ceremony, sponsored by Onyx Healthcare, was held at City Hall, Cardiff.

Theresa won the gold award in the category for Excellence in Palliative and End of Life Care, sponsored by Hallmark Care Homes.

Having started out as a cadet nurse before qualifying as an RGN, she has for 17 years specialized in the field of palliative and end-of-life care, and her current role within the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is as End-of-Life Care Nurse Facilitator, a position supported by Macmillan.

Since 2013 she has been responsible for introducing the Six Steps to End of Life Care programme in the independent care sector in North Wales.

Formerly only available in England, it entails working in partnership with local authorities to ensure that patients reach the end of their lives in the care home of their choice instead of going into hospital.

“I have adapted it and given it a Welsh slant,” she said.

Initially working only within Wrexham and Flintshire, she has since overseen the expansion of the scheme across North Wales and into Powys, and it is hoped that the whole of Wales will soon be involved.

Tracey Evans, the programme’s assessor and facilitator, who nominated Theresa for the award, said the work entailed developing a close partnership with the local authorities, supporting doctors and district nurses with practice development and ensuring that facilitators are trained to deliver the programme to the highest standards.

“Through the programme she ensures that the individual has a voice and is supported to stay in his or her preferred place of care, and that these wishes are documented in advance care planning,” said Tracey.

 “Theresa is passionate about ensuring that people have the best quality of palliative and end-of-life care, and the number of people who are able to remain in their preferred place of care is testimony to the quality of her work.”     

Theresa, who recently won the Bevan Foundation award for innovation for her work on the scheme, said she was proud to see how the programme was being implemented and that residents’ wishes were being respected.

She was accompanied at the ceremony by Tracey, with whom she works closely, and her husband Peter.

“It was a wonderful evening and it was very gracious of them to give the award to someone not directly employed in the care sector, even though I work in very close partnership with the sector,” she said.

Mario Kreft, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, said: “There are only winners here tonight so it is only fitting that the finalists have received a gold, silver or bronze Wales Care Award.

“I trust that they will continue to inspire those around them as role models and encourage others to aspire to even greater heights in the months and years to come.

“This awards ceremony is our opportunity to pay tribute and to celebrate the talent and commitment that is improving the quality of life for thousands and thousands of people throughout Wales.

“We take our hats off to them.”

Eisteddfod launches its 2019 concert line-up

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has announces its star-studded evening concert line-up for 2019.

Returning festival favourite and Vice President of the Eisteddfod, Jools Holland will entertain the Royal Pavilion audience with his legendary Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on Monday 1^st July.

The jazz, blues and swing showstopper will launch the 2019 concert series with an unforgettable toe-tapping extravaganza of live music, sponsored by Kronospan.

The week-long festival line-up features some of the world’s most internationally renowned musicians, including French-Mexican star tenor, Rolando Villazón, salsa, pop and flamenco outfit, Gipsy Kings, and award-winning Celtic music band, Jamie Smith’s MABON.

Interim Music Director of the festival, Edward-Rhys Harry, said: “It's been an exhilarating first few months in my role as Music Director at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and a real joy to curate my very first concert series, which we feel reflects the musical excellence and diversity of this fantastic event.

“We are proud that this year’s festival line-up spans genres and generations, crossing the boundaries of age, culture and creed. There really is something for everyone and we’ll be adding even more early in the New Year, with the announcement of our Llanfest headliners for 2019.”

Evening concert line-up also includes:

Tuesday 2^nd July - Classical Gala with Rolando Villazón and guests

Sponsored by Pendine Park

One of the music world’s most critically acclaimed tenors, Rolando Villazón will debut his phenomenal voice on the Llangollen stage. Villazón, who is known for his uniquely compelling performances with leading opera houses around the world, will be joined by the magnificent Welsh lyric soprano Rhian Lois for a spectacular evening of operatic greats.

Wednesday 3^rd July - Saints and Singers: The Music of Wales

Wales has a world-wide reputation for its choral music, and Wednesday’s evening performance will showcase the Land of Song at its very best, with supreme Welsh vocalists Shân Cothi and Rhodri Prys Jones, accompanied by the British Sinfonietta Orchestra. Audiences will be treated to two rare opportunities: the premiere of a brand new piece for tenor, chorus and orchestra by Dr Edward-Rhys Harry, and the sheer majesty of the incredible cantata ‘Saint Teilo’ by William Mathias CBE. The evening promises to be a tremendously dramatic celebration of traditional music from Wales, bursting with glorious melodies and powerful operatic choruses.

Thursday 4^th July - International Celebration with Jamie Smith’s MABON

Sponsored by Denbighshire County Council and Westminster Stone

International competitors from all over the world will come together in a vibrant carnival of cultures to showcase the very best from across the globe, as they weave through the audience with their giant flags in a vivacious display of international unity and friendship.

The evening will commemorate the International Eisteddfod’s unique founding values of sharing music, dance, peace and friendship, with the poignant Peace Message and the annual Rotary Peace Award.

Special guests for the evening, multi-award winning band, Jamie Smith’s MABON, will bring their distinctive self-styled sound to get feet tapping with their interpretation of Celtic traditions, refreshingly combining heritage with their contemporary sound.

Friday 5^th July - Gipsy Kings featuring Andre Reyes

Sponsored by Linguassist

Hailing from the south of France, the group will bring their energetic set with infectious Latin rhythms to Llangollen for the very first time. Their music is warm, exuberant and hugely popular with trademark hits such as Bamboleo and Volare.

Audiences will be wowed by a heady concoction of rumba, flamenco and salsa combined with contemporary pop music, perfect for anybody who loves to dance.

Saturday 6^th July - Choir of the World

Sponsored by Aldi

In a live televised concert, the festival's competitions will reach their exciting climax on Saturday, with the finest choirs from across the globe battling for the highly sought after Choir of the World 2019 title and the prestigious Pavarotti Trophy. Those taking part in the dance categories will participate in the breath-taking Dance Champions of the World 2019 finals, competing for the coveted Lucille Armstrong Dance Award. The evening, will include a very special guest to be announced soon.

Llanfest 2019

The festival will draw to a close on Sunday 7^th July at Llanfest 2019, with exciting headliners and support acts to be announced shortly.

* Tickets will be available to Festival Pass holders and Friends of the Eisteddfod from 9am today [WEDNESDAY 28^TH NOVEMBER). Tickets will be on sale to the general public from 9am on Wednesday 12^th December online at www.llangollen.net or via the box office.

Anyone purchasing a membership to the Friends of the Eisteddfod during this two-week priority-booking period will also gain access to these advance tickets, contact the box office to become a member, please telephone 01978 862001.

Late night Christmas shopping starts tomorrow

Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism is spearheading the annual campaign to bring late-night shopping to the town in the run-up to Christmas.

The shops will be open until 7pm each Thursday until the big day, starting from tomorrow.

Chamber chair David Davies: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas now in Llangollen.

"Why not support our local businesses by enjoying a festive stroll around town during our late night shopping evenings?

"Or maybe join friends for food and drink combined with some Christmas shopping, while experiencing the festive beauty of our town?

"Thank you to everyone of you who continually support our local businesses. It’s so important to keep our local high street alive.”