Fab four belt it out to raise cash for church

* Shea Ferron.

Four talented young singers took us to the West End and Broadway and a few places in between when they staged a pre-Christmas concert in aid of a small community church yesterday (Saturday) evening.

The picturesque 150-year-old All Saints’ in the hamlet of Pen y Lan, near Ruabon, needs all the help it can get with the heavy cost of maintenance.

So 17-year-old Shea, who is quickly making a name for himself as an actor and singer in the area, stepped in to organise the musical evening to boost funds for the church which is also the regular place of worship for himself and his family. Half of the proceeds of the concert is going to the Tanzanian Water project which All Saints' supports.

He teamed up with three friends – all equally accomplished performers – to stage the musical event there which drew a large and appreciative audience, some of whom had travelled over from Llangollen to see them.

The previous evening Shea had been in Llangollen as a cast member of the well-received old time music hall put on by the newly-formed Collen Players in the town’s community centre.

But he still had plenty of his impressive voice left to belt out favourite numbers such as The Prayer from Les Miserables, Believe from the musical Polar Express, What I Did for Love and the seasonal O Holy Night.

Shea also gave a second airing to the very moving Christmas in the Trenches which had deeply moved the audience when he sang it during his music hall performance on Friday.

* Daniel May.

Last night’s concert was opened by Daniel May, another young man with strong performance connections in Llangollen who is jointly producing this Tuesday evening’s seasonal production by the town’s Operatic Society, A Right Royle Christmas.

He confidently performed numbers from the musicals Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, The Sound of Music and Cilla adding The Lord’s Prayer and When a Child is Born.

* Niamh Ferron.

Next up to please the audience came Shea’s sister Niamh who sang pieces as diverse as I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables and Yellow, the 2019 Children in Need Song for which she was accompanied on the keyboard by Shea.

* Brett Jones.

Final performer of the night was another of Shea’s friends, Brett Jones, possessor of an extremely versatile voice which he used to best effect to present numbers such as Waving Through a Window from the new musical Dear Evan Hansen, Only the Good Die Young made famous by Queen, Forever Autumn from War of the Worlds and You & Me (But Mostly Me) from The Book of Mormon for which he teamed up for a memorable duet with Shea. 

Nominate those who serve the community for an award

The 2020 High Sheriff of Clwyd's Awards nomination process is now underway. 

Organisers say that if you haven't nominated someone special who does great things in Denbighshire there is still time to do so.

The High Sheriff Awards, launched in 2013, recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals or voluntary/community organisations or groups (with a charitable aim) to their respective communities.

The winners will be presented with their awards at an event to be held at Theatre Clwyd in Mold on Friday March 20 next year.

The closing date for the submission of completed nominations is noon on December 13.

You can find nomination forms here and return the completed forms for the attention of Helen Wilkinson, engagement@dvsc.co.uk.

Hundreds pack the town for Christmas Festival

Hundreds came flocking to enjoy Llangollen's annual Christmas Festival which is raising funds for the Wales Air Ambulance and local good causes.

The day began with the traditional big parade from the Pavilion to town and ended with the switching on of the Christmas lights and a fireworks display from the hillside below the castle.

llanblogger was on hand to record some of the day's memorable scenes.

* Sion Corn arrives outside the Town Hall to be greeted by town crier Chem and the Town Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy.

 * A fireworks display rounded off the festival.

* All the fun of the fair in Market Street.

* A balloon man fascinates youngsters.

* The busy craft fair inside the Town Hall.

* Guitar man Chris Burton sings in Centenary Square.

* A horse rider at the head of the big parade.

* Town crier Chem and friends in the parade.

* Llangollen Silver Band sets the pace for the parade.

* The Mayor joins the parade in a classic car for Llangollen Motor Museum. 

* Santa's little helpers arrive by veteran car.

* Novelty riders in the cavalcade.

* More little helpers. 

* The Cogwarts contingent.

* The huskies trot into town.

* Sion Corn is greeted by the Mayor. 

* Llangollen Operatic's Young 'Uns sing a selection from their new show, The Wizard of Oz, in Centenary Square.

* Children from Ysgol Y Gwernant sing in the square.

* Youngsters from Ysgol Bryn Collen entertain.

* Graham Paton, managing director of Linguassist Ltd, switches on the lights with the Town Mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy (left).

 * The lights go on in Castle Street.
  

* Part of the colourful fireworks display.

Election "chat" in Llanarmon

* Glyn Davies.

* Simon Baynes. 

Glyn Davies, former MP for Montgomeryshire, and Simon Baynes, the Welsh Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Clwyd South, are holding an informal meeting over a drink at the Hand at Llanarmon tomorrow Sunday 1st December at 7pm to "chat about the election and local issues".

They say: "This is not a formal Conservative event but an informal get-together organised by Jonathan Greatorex of the Hand and all are most welcome. Always thought-provoking and amusing, Glyn is not to be missed. And likewise the Hand at Llanarmon itself, one of the hospitality jewels of Clwyd South http://thehandhotel.co.uk/"

Labour leader visits Clwyd South

* Mark Drakeford with Labour candidate Susan Elan Jones.

Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford was in town recently to show his support for Clwyd South candidate Susan Elan Jones.

The First Minister for Wales launched the Welsh Labour manifesto in Wrexham on Monday and then hit the campaign trail in Johnstown.

Mr Drakeford said: "It was great to be in North Wales to launch the Welsh Labour manifesto for the general election and to outline how, with a UK Labour Government, people in this area can benefit from a £10 Living Wage, extra maternity and paternity rights, more investment in our NHS and new jobs through Labour’s Green Industrial Revolution.

“It was also good to go door knocking with Susan afterwards and to talk with people in Johnstown about our ideas. They know how out of touch Boris Johnson and the Tories are.

“Only a vote for Susan Elan Jones and a vote for Welsh Labour in this election can help make Clwyd South the stronger, fairer and more equal place we want it to be.”

Susan Elan Jones said: "It was fantastic to have Mark Drakeford here in Clwyd South. We spent our time going door-to-door meeting residents in Johnstown - a big contrast with the Tories’ stage-managed event.

“Overwhelmingly people spoke about the need for more investment in our communities. As one young woman put it, ‘the Tories don’t understand our local area and what we need’."

"People know I'm the only candidate who can stop the Tories sneaking in here and the only one who can stop Boris Johnson's Hard Right agenda."

Another successful music hall from Collen Players

The Collen Players presented the second in a series of regular music hall shows at the Community Hall yesterday (Friday) evening.

The Christmas special entitled Deck the Halls was enjoyed by a full-house audience.

The cast, including many of those who appeared in the last show in October plus some new additions, offered a selection of traditional songs from the golden era of music hall which had the audience  singing along enthusiastically.

The show was chaired and arranged by the Vicar of Llangollen, Father Lee Taylor, while Owen Roberts once again provided musical accompaniment.

The next music hall show is scheduled for Friday February 21.

Pictures by Jeanette Robinson

* The cast at the end of the show.

* Gethin Davies warms up the audience with a sing-along.

* Father Lee wields the gavel over the proceedings.

* Bethan Mascarenhas (left) and Sue Stokes present a Hole of My Bucket.

* Comedy with a French theme from Mike Connolly.

* Shea Ferron laments a Dear Little Dickie Bird.

* Phil Robinson is Burlington Bertie.

* Esme Sallnow and Father Lee perform a duet.

* Esme goes solo with a daring number.

* A plaintive mood is set by Sue Stokes.

* All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, 

sings Bethan Mascarenhas.

* Phil Robinson winds up with White Christmas.

* The large and appreciative audience sing along.

Programme for Llan Christmas Festival today

Thousands of seasonal revellers are expected to come flocking to Llangollen for the town’s annual Christmas Festival today, Saturday November 30.

Kicking off at 1pm with the famous parade which sees Sion Corn - the Welsh Santa – being escorted into town over the historic bridge by a colourful cavalcade of entertainers and local groups, the event features children’s fairground rides, food stalls, choirs, craft stalls, circus acts and face painting.

This year, the parade begins from the Eistedfodd field and will make its way to the town centre along Abbey Road.

There will also be a chance for youngsters to visit Sion Corn in his glorious grotto and put in their early requests from what they’d like to see him bring them on Christmas morning. 

During the afternoon visitors can look forward to an eclectic mix of musical entertainment from local groups on two outdoor stages and other on-street entertainment.

The fun-packed day rounds off at 5pm with the ceremonial switching on of Llangollen’s legendary Christmas lights and a firework extravaganza. 

Festival organisers have also arranged for free parking throughout the day at local car parks.

Llangollen Christmas Festival is organised by a group of dedicated community volunteers. It costs over £4,000 to stage each year and is self-funding.

The festival aims to provide a free family-orientated event in the safety of the town centre with surplus funds being donated to Wales Air Ambulance and local community groups.

Over the last couple of years the police have estimated that the spectacular event draws over 2,000 people into town during the course of the afternoon.

For the third year the festival has teamed up with Light Up Local Food, a project aimed at promoting Llangollen-based food and drink producers.

Chairman of the festival committee Austin ‘Chem’ Cheminais, who is also the local town crier and a member of the town council, said: “With the help of the community we manage, each year, to raise just about enough to fund the event and give a little to charity.

“Last year’s festival was particularly successful thanks to the good weather and the feedback from those attending was very positive.

“The ‘market’ feel to the event provided by Light UP Local Food was particularly commented upon and helped to attract visitors from much further afield.

“Once again we’re expecting a bumper crowd to come along and help us to give a great early start to Christmas.”