Former Dinas Bran student nominated for top music industry award

* Eluned Ashwood has worked with a wide range of celebrities and is now in the running for an industry award.

A young stage technician who went to school in Llangollen and went on to work with stars such as Ed Sheeran and Lionel Ritchie has been nominated for a prestigious industry award.

Eluned Ashwood, 28, grew up in Trevor and went to school in Garth and Ysgol Dinas Bran.

Her first live sound experience was on a week’s work experience from school with Wigwam Sound Crew during the Llangollen Eisteddfod and she continued to do this as a volunteer for the next few years.

Eluned did sound and backstage work for productions by Llangollen Operatic Society and its Young ‘Uns’ junior section and also gained more experience during the Focus Wales festival in Wrexham.

After initially considering a career in science, she switched to doing a Live Sound course in Manchester.

Since then her career has blossomed, starting with a Lionel Ritchie tour she has gone on to work with celebs as diverse as Anton du Beke and Ed Sheeran, Pete Tong, and done orchestras and festivals including Isle of Wight and the Capital FM Summertime Ball.

* The 2023 Eurovision in Liverpool is one of the events for which she has been nominated.

Eluned has also worked behind the scenes at events in venues such as Buckingham Palace and Wembley.

She has now been nominated in the stage technician category of the Women in Live Music Awards for her work on the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool and The National's UK/EU tour. The presentation evening is in London on December 12.

Eluned’s proud mum, Sally Ashwood, said: “Women working in the live music scene is still a minority, so she has done extremely well to reach the position she has in her career.

“Llangollen, considering it’s a small town, has nurtured many successful techs in the creative industries and Eluned is one of them.”

* You can still vote for Eluned in the awards by going to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VF3JRF2

Scroll to category 29, Stage Technician, look down the list for her name and then check the box.

Entertainment programmes for tomorrow's Christmas Festival

This year's Llangollen Christmas Festival takes place tomorrow (Saturday).

It features:

* Free parking

* Market from 10am

* Parade at 1pm

* Sion Corn's Grotto

* Market stalls, crafts and street food

* Balloon sculpture and face painting

* Grand raffle

* Live bands, choirs and circus performers

* Fairground rides

* Punch and Judy 

* Bouncy play

* Christmas lights switch-on

* Fireworks display sponsored by The Wild Pheasant, Llangollen 

Eisteddfod aims to bring Llangollen community together again

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will be holding another community meeting on Monday December 4 at St Collen’s Community Hall at 7pm. 

The hybrid session will be an opportunity to provide an update on the 2024 concert programme, answer questions about their plans for next summer, and to invite residents to join the growing team of volunteers.  

It will take place on the same day the Eisteddfod announces its evening concerts for the core Eisteddfod week, which takes place from Tuesday to Sunday July 2-7.  

The Eisteddfod has been one of the highlights of Wales' busy cultural calendar since it was launched in 1947 to promote peace through song and dance. This is the third community meeting since the summer providing information to the local community. 

Since the Eisteddfod announced the partnership with Cuffe & Taylor, they have announced numerous gigs before and after the core Eisteddfod week, which will see the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Suede, Paloma Faith, Nile Rodgers, Jess Glynne and Kaiser Chiefs heading to North Wales next summer. 

Organisers will announce their full concert series for 2024 on Monday December 4, before bringing the community together for the public meeting.

Vice Chair Chris Adams said: "It is vital for us to communicate at every level with Llangollen and wider community.  

"There is a real sense of excitement about next year's Eisteddfod so why not bring our community together on the day we announce our concert programme.  

"The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has promoted peace through music and dance since 1947.  

"Like any other Eisteddfod, we have had to adapt to challenges and that is why we are delighted to be working in partnership with Cuffe and Taylor.  The aims and ethos of our unique Eisteddfod remain and we can't wait for the Summer.  

"It is important to us that residents have the chance to ask us questions and take advantage of their chance to jump the queue to buy the hottest tickets in North Wales this summer."

Talk on the history of St Collen's at the museum next Wednesday

Llangollen Museum presents ‘A History of St Collen’s Church’. an illustrated talk by Suzanne Evans, at 7.30pm on Wednesday November 29.

Llangollen-based Archaeologist Suzanne will give a presentation looking at both the history and the future of St Collen’s Church. 

She will examine the fascinating history and archaeology of the church building, as well as explaining the planned research and changes that will result from the St Collen’s Genesis programme that she is managing for the church.

In legend, St Collen, after whom our town is named, established his cell or church in Llangollen. Whether that original cell was on the same site as the church that stands today is not known. 

The surviving architecture of the present building points to a stone church of 13th century date, with changes in the 15th or early 16th centuries and other major alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Entrance is £3 which includes refreshments.

Judy, 78, runs up a total of £1,105 from Great South Run

* Judy Smith in Portsmouth after completing the Great South Run at 78.

A Llangollen woman has raised over £1,100 for a cancer charity by completing a half-marathon at the age of 78.   

Judy Smith strode to success in last month's Great South Run in Portsmouth in memory of her late friend and well-known former local vet Sandra Woodhall with whom she founded and organised the famous Llangollen Round Challenge which has raised many thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK since it began in 2012. 

Judy's first estimate of the amount her run had raised for the same charity was just over £450.

But the final tally after her fundraising page closed is a magnificent £1,105.  

Judy had originally planned to compete in the Great North Run but a broken wrist put paid to that and instead she began training for the less demanding southern event of "only" ten miles rather than 13. 

Now she says: "I would like to say a very big thank you to all those who supported my efforts on the Great South Run in memory of Sandra Woodhall. 

"The total raised was £1,105, a fitting tribute to a remarkable and much-loved person, and Cancer Research UK will be very grateful for every penny of it.  Thank you!

"I had to change my plan to take part in the Great North Run but, unfortunately, I managed to break my wrist falling over at the Erddig Parkrun a few months earlier and had it in plaster, so the Great North Run would not have been a good idea. I therefore switched my entry to the Great South Run in Portsmouth.

“I manage to complete the run and, in truth, it was quite good fun and I actually enjoyed myself.

“The atmosphere was fantastic, with 25,000 runners, lots of bands playing, and cheering people lining the streets make you feel good and keep you going - even if you can't quite manage four miles an hour. I wouldn't have wanted to do it again next day though.”

British birds and wildlife exhibition at Llangollen Museum.

 

Local artist Trish Neil currently has an exhibition of her prints, cards and coasters of  British birds and wildlife at Llangollen Museum. All are for sale in the gallery.

New Dot Cinema brings down the curtain after eight years

The organisers of New Dot Cinema have announced that they will be winding down the cinema with immediate effect. 

A post on Facebook said: "This has been a difficult decision that we have spent several months pondering, but ultimately we no longer have the volunteer power for the show to go on.

 

"New Dot was set up in 2015 by Simon and Jen, and went from strength to strength over the years. At our height we were screening two films a month and regularly welcoming up to a hundred people to Llangollen Town Hall.  

"We’ve loved every moment spent watching acclaimed Oscar winners, obscure indie films, doing the Time Warp and cheering on Buster Keaton with you."