Storytellers to launch new book this afternoon

 

As part of the Llangollen Fringe Festival, local storytellers Fiona Collins and June Peters are launching their new book at the Courtyard off Castle Street this afternoon,  Tuesday July 11, at 2pm.

Folk Tales of the Ever After is a collection of traditional tales from a range of cultures which is, by turns, funny, challenging and touching.

From a man in Baghdad who tries to outrun Death, to Sir Lancelot’s ride on the hangman’s cart and an ancient Sumerian ball game that leads to a trip to the underworld, the two storytellers invite you to "share stories from their repertoire, and insights into their working practice, as a journey through the mysteries of death, dying, bereavement, loss, grief and the ever after."

The launch is hosted by Courtyard Books and copies of the book will be signed by the authors.

New Rotary club hosts event looking at health of River Dee

 

The new Vale of Llangollen Rotary Club is hosting an event called The River Dee's Wildlife and Healthy Future tomorrow (Wednesday) at St Collen's Community Hall, from 7-8.30pm.

A club spokesperson said: "This will be a relaxed, fun and interactive social event for all ages looking at the health of our local River Dee. 

"There will be a short presentation, lively Q&A session so you can find out all about this local treasure, and learn how you can get involved in future fun events.

"The fun will continue with demonstrations and the opportunity to see some of the invertebrates and water samples yourself using microscopes, great for the young people.

"If you are interested in ecology, the local environment, wildlife, or the River Dee itself, this will be for you. Focusing on the current ecosystem and how it needs to be maintained and improved.

"We hope to see all of you there young and old, whoever you are, it’s a great chance for us all to meet each other for a chat.

"The Welsh Dee Trust is an environmental charity with the objective of restoring the brooks, streams and rivers of the Dee catchment in North Wales for wildlife and people."

A spokesperson for the Welsh River Dee Trust said: "At Welsh Dee we are turning around the fortunes of the River Dee and the wildlife that relies upon it. From the smallest Stonefly to the mighty Atlantic Salmon we believe our work can and will restore a thriving clean river benefitting both people and wildlife."

The Trust have been monitoring pollution, helping clean up rubbish, organising local nature walks and a host of other interesting and educational activities for local people.

This is a free public event open to all the community and will be the first of many new events being held by the Vale of Llangollen Rotary. For more information, go to: https://www.valeofllangollenrotary.com/ 

Find out more about your local town clerk

To mark the current Local Council Clerk Week, from July 10 – 14, Llangollen's own town clerk, Gareth Thomas, gives an insight into his job.

"The town clerk is the person who works with your councillors to make sure that Llangollen Town Council provides the services you need in your local neighbourhood.    

"He runs the council meetings to which you are invited and is skilled in a range of disciplines to make sure the council runs properly and within the law.

"Town clerks are the ones writing to your local AM, liaising with the county council about changes to speed limits, car parking charges and potholes, applying for grants for local projects, researching complex planning issues, running the council’s finances and managing community buildings and events. 

"Then they roll up their sleeves to lead volunteers to clean rivers, pick litter and fundraise for local projects.   They’re good in a crisis too as seen when they helped to coordinate community efforts during the pandemic. 

"Clerks are professionals and serve around 10,000 local councils in England and Wales. These councils emerged in 1894 to give a democratic voice to local people and they’ve changed enormously in that time, particularly during the last 20 – 30 years.  

"They are real place shapers and, today, many manage and maintain parks, sports facilities, skateparks and recreation grounds, play areas, allotments, community and youth centres, car parks, public toilets, cemeteries, street cleaning, run events and much more.  Most of all clerks and councillors are advocates, the voice for their communities.

"Whatever your local council is delivering for your community, the clerk will be at the heart of getting it done.  They provide the services that we all notice the most in our neighbourhoods but, disappointingly, they’re often not properly recognised for just how much they do. 

"Clerks are celebrated in other countries and Local Council Clerk Week aims to help raise the profile of this important profession and explain the work clerks do on behalf of town, parish and community councils."

* For more information, contact Gareth Thomas at: townclerk@llangollentowncouncil.gov.uk

Local roadworks alerts from one.network

Latest local roadworks alerts from one.network are:

Berwyn Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 11 July - 13 July   Delays likely - Diversion route   Name: Clockwise Diversion   Location: Berwyn Street   Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks   Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council   Current status: Planned   Chapel Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 11 July - 13 July   Delays likely - Road closure   Name: Chapel Street, Llangollen   Location: Chapel Street   Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks   Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council   Current status: Planned   Oak Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire 11 July - 13 July   Delays likely - Diversion route   Name: Anticlockwise Diversion   Location: Oak Street   Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks   Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council   Current status: Planned

Talking point Lexus is a good bet for company drivers

Lexus UX 250h drive by Steve Rogers

Pubs are a good place to chew the fat over cars.

My Lexus was on the table and I was asked what the brand was all about. Put simply it is a posh Toyota, launched here by the Japanese giant in 1990 to challenge Mercedes-Benz.  Think Bond Street chic rather than High Street chain.

With that friends joined us and commented on the smart looking Lexus in the car park. They have a BMW X1, but thought the UX more stylish, which it is, lots of slashes and creases, and a huge zig-zag grille that shouts ‘look at me’.

Yet looks alone don’t sell cars and Lexus has never threatened the German premium trio and certainly not enjoyed the meteoric rise of Audi which was making its mark around the same time.

UX is the smallest of the Lexus crossover range and has the familiar hybrid set up of a 2-litre petrol engine and self charging electric motor. Parent company Toyota is the king of hybrid so this is a highly efficient unit with low emissions and strong economy. It is not a plug-in so electric only power is limited to low speed short stints around town.

UX is, however, a good bet for company drivers and business users - low emissions have their advantages when it comes to tax breaks.

So what’s on offer once past the rakish body? If anything the cabin is even better. While German rivals tend to be conservative, particularly with dashboard design, the Lexus stylists have been braver with lots of shapes and contours, and a variety of shades.

The layout is easy on the eye and a far cry from the UX I drove after its launch in 2019. The centre piece was the infotainment system, a rather ropey affair, with a touch screen that could also be operated from a keypad with a cursor that danced around, landing in all the wrong places and was a nightmare to use while driving.

Thankfully it is no more. The whole system has been ripped out, the keypad gone, replaced by a larger, more efficient 12.3in touchscreen, (8in for lower models). Voice control has also been upgraded and now does what it is asked, adjusting the heating if you don’t want to use the clear and tactile row of buttons.

Last week I got all grumpy over the lack of a digital speedo in the Toyota Yaris Cross, well no such worries with UX which has a bold digital readout in the driver’s binnacle and can be changed to a red sporty layout if in the mood for speed.

On the subject of speed UX is a bit fruity with foot flat to the floor, nothing to bother those German rivals, but a reminder that hybrid provides enough clout when needed while exceeding the mark on economy. Officially UX is good for 51mpg and you can trust that because I nailed it.

And I liked the way it handled, holding its line when pushed through the twists while the suspension did a fine job soaking up bumps and potholes.

With prices that go way past 40 grand for the top models we expect decent quality and UX does not fall short. Materials are high grade and the only noise intrusion comes from the chunky tyres and that is not much of an issue.

If UX has a small failing it is space. Rear legroom is only so-so with the front seats set for average height people, and then there is the boot. It has a double floor but is still small, smaller even than the little Yaris Cross. The underfloor hybrid battery pack has made an impact and as there is no room under the bonnet for the car’s main battery it takes up a chunk of space in the boot.

Be careful you do not forget something stored in one of seven little compartments under the boot floor which goes to show how they have tried to use every inch of available space.

UX is the best seller in the Lexus range and it is easy to see why. This is a solid all round package with top notch hybrid technology.

 I particularly like the Yaris Cross GR reviewed last week but there is a marked difference in quality, and price of course, but you can get a UX for £35k, around £5000 more than the Yaris which is worth the money.

As a footnote I asked my friends if they would be tempted to swap their BMW for the UX. The answer: No chance. Says it all, doesn’t it.

Fast facts

UX 250h Premium Plus

£40,660 (starts £34,770)

2-litre; 288bhp with electric motor

0-62mph 8.5secs; 110mph

51.3mpg combined

125g/km, 1st tax £210

Insurance group 12

Boot 320 litres

 

Final competitions round-up from the Eisteddfod

* Choir of the World: Kammerchor Manila Choir from the Philippines.

* Dance winners: Labschool Kabayoran Senior Highschool dancers from Indonesia.

* Highly commended: Soul Oasis Cultural Ambassadors from Trinidad and Tobago.

A choir from the Philippines struck gold at the Eisteddfod.

The Kammerchor Manila clinched the prestigious Pavarotti Trophy in the Choir of the World competition.

The winners saw off challenges from the “hugely impressive” runners-up, the Cantilon Chamber Choir from Edmonton in Canada, the Delaware Choral Scholars from the USA and the Le Voci choir from Hereford.

According to the judging panel, which included Robert Guy, the co-founder and conductor of the Wrexham based NEW Sinfonia orchestra which headlined at the eisteddfod earlier in the week, the victorious choir put in a superb performance.

In Robert Guy’s view. the  Kammerchor, under the baton of Conductor Anthony Villanueve, were the "stand-out" performers in a tough competition for the global choral crown, named in honour of the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Pavarotti, who passed away in 2006, was a member of the Chorus Rossini from Modena in Italy who won the  Male Voice Choir competition at Llangollen Eisteddfod in 1955.

Exactly four decades later he returned to Llangollen in 1995 to perform once again on the famous pavilion stage, but this time as an international superstar.

According to Llangollen Eisteddfod’s Executive Producer, Camilla King, Kammerchor,  from Quezon City, were worthy winners of the blue riband prize in memory of the great man.

Kammerchor is one of the premier church choirs in the Philippines and was founded in 1992 as a non-profit organisation.

The choir has a track record of success at international choral competitions.

In 2021 they were the Grand Prix winner at the Queen of the Adriatic Sea International Choral Festival in Rimini in Italy where they also won the category for sacred music.

Meanwhile, the International Conductor’s Prize went to Heather Johnson of the Cantilon Chamber Choir  from Canada.

Serial winners the Loughgiel Folk Dancers from Northern Ireland were pipped to the first prize in the Dance Champions competition by Labschool Kebayoran Senior Highschool from Indonesia. 

The Soul Oasis Cultural Ambassadors  troupe from Trinidad and  Tobago were also highly commended in the dance competition. 

All the evening’s competitions took place against a background of thundery rain lashing down on the pavilion’s canvas roof but it was the music and dancing which prevailed

Camilla King said: “The judges declared that it was the most exciting Choir of the World that Llangollen has seen for many years. All competitions were very tightly fought and it was a challenge to choose the eventual winners.

“Overall, we’ve had a brilliant week and it was great to be able to stage the first full length Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod since before the Covid pandemic.

“We introduced a host of entertaining new features on the Maes which proved very popular with the tens of thousands of visitors who came to the festival.

“Among the many highlights was the reading of the famous Dylan Thomas radio broadcast about Llangollen Eisteddfod, which was brilliantly delivered by the acclaimed actor, Celyn Jones, to mark the 70^th anniversary of the landmark masterpiece.

“It was also an absolute delight to see the return of the Parade of Nations which saw competitors from 19 nations on five continents around the world transform the streets of Llangollen into a sea of colour and joy.”

Double Eisteddfod delight for young entertainer Shea

 

* Eisteddfod executive producer Camilla King, left, presented Shea Ferron and Makenna Malkin with their prizes for being respectively runner-up and winner of the Voice of Musical Theatre.

* Shea Ferron during his performance.

* Winner Makenna Malkin from the USA. 

* Finalist Fflur Davies from Wales.

* Finalist Sophie Kaloustian from the USA.

* Finalist Seth Velez from the USA.

* Labschool Indonesian folk dancers open the show.

* Soul Oasis from Trinidad and Tobago closed the show. 

* Loughgiel Irish folk dancers.

There was double delight for the young local entertainer who sang on the main Eisteddfod stage with Alfie Boe last week.

At the festival’s closing concert last night (Sunday) 20-year-old Shea Ferron from Ruabon won himself a £1,000 prize when he was runner-up for the coveted title of Voice of Musical Theatre after beating off a bevy of stiff international competition.

The contest, the preliminary round of which had been held earlier in the day, is an audience favourite and is aimed at the future stars of contemporary popular music.

After having the once-in-a-lifetime chance of sharing a song with his hero Alfie Boe during last week’s opening Eisteddfod concert, Shea sailed through the prelim with a heady score from adjudicators of 87 marks.

He faced four other finalists – three from the USA and one from Wales – in the big decider on the Pavilion stage last night.

After a nail-biting contest, which adjudicators said was one of the closest they’d seen, an overwhelmed Shea, a Manchester performing arts student who is  already a star of the singing and acting circuit locally and regionally, took a highly creditable second spot to young American performer Makenna Malkin to the delight of his many supporters in the audience.

His winning repertoire was Hard to Speak My Heart from the musical Parade, Who I’d Be from Skrek the Musical and You’ll Be Back from the West End hit Hamilton.

The concert opened with a dazzling display by Indonesian folk dance group Labschool who had landed the Eisteddfod’s dancing championship earlier in the day.

There was also an appearance by the Loughgiel folk dancers from Northern Ireland and Soul Oasis of Trinidad and Tobago closed the show. Compere for the evening was Sian Thomas.