The Hoosiers to join Madness in Eisteddfod show

* The Hoosiers will support Madness at the Pavilion on July 13.

Pop-rock band The Hoosiers will join pop giants Madness when they headline the Llangollen Pavilion this summer.

The Nutty Boys are bringing their legendary live show to Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Saturday July 13 and it is announced today they will be joined on the night by chart-topping duo The Hoosiers.

Over the past two decades, The Hoosiers have been compared to everyone from British rockers Supertramp to US pop-rock duo Sparks. 

Formed in 2003 when Irwin Sparkes (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Alan Sharland (drums, percussion, vocals) left the UK to study at university in Indianapolis, the band scored a number one hit with debut album The Trick To Life and are best known for their hits Worried about Ray, Goodbye Mr A, and Cops and Robbers.

The Hoosiers released their fifth studio album Confidence to critical acclaim last autumn and celebrated with a tour across the UK. 

* Madness are heading for the Pavilion stage. 

In 20 years they’ve embarked on multiple sold-out tours and graced stages at the likes of Glastonbury, Isle of Wight Festival and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, with the band now preparing for a series of summer shows including their Llangollen date.

Madness have chalked up 15 UK Top 10 singles – including the timeless Our House, It Must Be Love, One Step Beyond, My Girl, Wings Of A Dove and Baggy Trousers – together with 10 Top 10 albums.

They recently scored their first ever UK Number One album with the brilliant Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C'est La Vie.

The Madness date is presented as part of a new partnership between the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor, which will see 11 headline shows either side of and during the historic peace festival.

Global rock star Bryan Adams will kick off the stunning series of live dates before being followed by fellow rockers Simple Minds, indie heroes Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, BRIT award-winning artist Paloma Faith, chart-topper Jess Glynne and disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC, while pop giants Madness will mark the summer finale.

The core week of the festival will see a series of events celebrating the traditional Eisteddfod along with headlining shows from Welsh legends Tom Jones and Katherine Jenkins and international jazz sensation Gregory Porter.

Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford said: “Saturday 13 July marks the finale of our amazing four weeks of live music this summer, and we’re so pleased to be adding The Hoosiers to our stellar line-up. Their familiar radio-friendly hits will provide the perfect curtain-raiser to Madness, as we finish Llangollen 2024 with one big party!”

* For more information and to purchase tickets go to llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Llangollen Railway man to speak at county tourism forum

* Tom Taylor of award-winning Llangollen Railway will be a guest speaker at an online tourism forum on March 21.

A representative of Llangollen Railway will be one of the keynote speakers at one of two online forms highlighting the latest innovation and excellence in the tourism industry next month. 

The forums are to take place via Zoom on Thursday and Friday, March 21 and 22 and offer an opportunity for tourism businesses to network and share experiences, knowledge, and ideas.

Guest speakers on the Thursday forum include Tom Taylor of Llangollen Railway, winners of the Go North Wales Tourism Awards Attraction of the Year 2023, and Gwen Davies of Vale Vineyard, who will be sharing details of her journey to become the first grape farmer in the Vale of Clwyd.

 

Then on Friday the guest speakers are Rob Price from Ruthin Festival who are celebrating 30 years in 2024 and Gail Swan who will be telling the story behind Swans Farm Shop, a traditional hill farm and award-winning farm shop in Treuddyn.

 

Ian Lebbon, Chair of Denbighshire Destination Management Partnership, said: “The forums are a great platform for everyone in the sector to get together and share their knowledge, ideas and plans to ensure sustained future tourism growth. It’s not only for tourism businesses, but also a good opportunity for students and anyone with an interest in tourism to hear from local businesses.”

 

Tourism plays a vital part in Denbighshire’s economy, with a total economic impact in 2022 of £628 million. Over six million visits were made to the county with 1.64 million deciding to stay, up 56.1% in 2022, when compared with 2021 figures.

 

Book on the free Online Tourism Forums here:

 

Thursday 21 March –Innovation and Excellence (2pm-3.15pm)

https://Online-Tourism-Forum-Innovation-and-excellence.eventbrite.co.uk

 

Friday 22 March – Businesses with stories to tell (10.30am – 11.45am)

https://Online-Tourism-Forum-Businesses-with-stories-to-tell.eventbrite.co.uk

Roadworks alert for Dee Lane

Latest local roadworks alert from one.network is:

Dee Lane, Llangollen, Denbighshire

01 March - 01 March

 

Delays likely - Diversion route

 

Name: Diversion 1

 

Location: Castle Street

 

Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks

 

Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council

 

Current status: Planned

Preliminary works on Newbridge Road nearing completion, says story

* The landslip which closed Newbridge Road.

Preliminary works in relation to the Newbridge Road landslip repair are nearing completion, according to a story in the Leader.  

Recent traffic diversions through Llangollen due to the long-term closure of the road have caused traffic chaos.

* For the full story, see: Wrexham: Councillor's update on Newbridge Road repair works | The Leader (leaderlive.co.uk)

Experts explore the ancient wonders of St Collen's

* The visiting experts included, from Liverpool University’s Faculty of Archeology, Classics and Egyptology, Dr Ruth Nugent, Dr Glenn Cahilly-Bretzin, Katherine Foster and Tom Farrow, from York University, Louise Hampson. Also in the party was Tom Livingstone of T L Stonemasons, Summerhill, Wrexham.  Showing them around is Genesis project leader Sue Evans, far left.  

A team of experts interested in the many historical aspects of  Llangollen’s famous parish church visited St Collen’s earlier this week.

The ancient place of worship dating back to the seventh century has embarked on an ambitious re-ordering project, known as Genesis, which aims to make a series of sympathetic adaptions enabling it to meet the needs of the 21^st century.

Last September Genesis was awarded almost £95,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to kick-start the first phase of the project which includes taking away some pews to make a space for a stage platform where the church can host more plays, concerts and school nativities.

There is also a desperate need for toilet facilities and better heating and lighting to generally allow the building to have more flexibility and inclusivity, creating a community hub which can be enjoyed by a variety of local organisations and also making it more accessible to the many visitors it attracts.

This week, Genesis project leader Sue Evans welcomed a team of experts led by Dr Ruth Nugent of the University of Liverpool to the church.

And she explained: “They were interested in the many historical aspects of the building and would like to help us to offer an accurate interpretation of St Collen’s and its long history for our community.

“People who were able to join us for the community presentations we have given so far know that alongside the general re-ordering of the building, which includes the addition of a new disabled toilet and access, we are also looking to create exciting opportunities for the community to help with the research and new interpretation boards. These would be made available inside the building, online and in new leaflets.

“We aim to undertake community events where you can actively contribute to the research. For example, you might like to know more about the medieval ceiling, Bardic connections or how Virginia Woolf is connected to our church.”

Sue added: “We are fortunate to have experts on medieval carvings, stone masons, art historians, pilgrim’s experts, and church archaeologists at hand and we will be working towards creating a community project worthy of our fabulous grade I Listed building.

“T. Hughes said of St Collen’s, ‘This pell-mell vision is our own Sistine ceiling, what we got in Wales while Michelangelo was working in Rome.’

“Local people should look out for future community events where they will be able to contribute to the future of the church and see how we can create a community space for all.”

Eisteddfod offers new Gold+ season ticket for core week concerts

* Sir Tom Jones kicks off the six core week evening concerts of 2024. 

* Johns’ Boys Male Chorus.

Music fans are being given a golden opportunity to experience Llangollen Eisteddfod’s six Core Concerts in style this summer.

The Core Week of the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod opens on Tuesday July 2 with a headlining set from music legend Sir Tom Jones, who kicks off six days of evening concerts, with mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins closing the week on Sunday July 7.

Between these dates, audiences can enjoy a huge variety of evening events, featuring award-winning folk band Calan, royal harpist Alis Huws, Britain’s Got Talent favourites Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, West End and Broadway stars Kerry Ellis and John-Owen Jones, and two-time GRAMMY award-winning jazz sensation, Gregory Porter.

* Gregory Porter.

* Choir of the World is a major highlight of this year's programme.

And now, fans are being encouraged to get their hands on a Gold+ Season Ticket, giving supporters of the international peace festival the opportunity to enjoy a range of perks, including:

· Exclusive seats close to the front of the stage, at a much lower price than buying tickets for the six concerts individually

· Free souvenir programme

· No ticket commission fees

· Complimentary tea and coffee

Eisteddfod Artistic Director Dave Danford said: “Our GOLD+ Season Tickets are like gold dust – they are undoubtedly the hottest tickets in town this summer!

“They provide the complete Core Eisteddfod Week experience at the prestigious Llangollen Pavilion, with an exclusive seat closer to the front of the main stage, where the late, great Luciano Pavarotti sang an unforgettable set in 1995, and where singer Alfie Boe wowed audiences last summer.

“GOLD+ gives you unspoilt views of your favourite global stars in a unique setting. This includes our opening concert with Tom Jones on Tuesday July 2, right through to our closing concert with Katherine Jenkins, on Sunday July 7.

* Katherine Jenkins.

“Between those dates, we have a week packed full of first-class entertainment, including performances from Welsh folk superstars Calan, Britain’s Got Talent favourites Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, the Royal Harpist Alis Huws, and jazz sensation Gregory Porter. We’re also bringing two of musical theatre’s biggest stars to Llangollen with an evening featuring Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones.

“Alongside these big names, we’ve made it a priority to remain true to our Eisteddfod heritage, with our popular daytime competitions, featuring an array of international competitors, all travelling to Llangollen to celebrate peace, music and our rich and diverse cultures.

“The finals of some of these competitions are being included in the Wednesday and Thursday evening concerts for the first time, and our Choir of the World competition on the Saturday evening marks the culmination of our competitive schedule.

“We’ve increased the range of Season Tickets this year, to give our loyal audiences more choice, and to ensure that affordable options are available to all, too. We’re looking forward to welcoming music-lovers back to Llangollen in large numbers this summer.”

* To book GOLD+ Season Tickets, or any of our other Season Tickets and for more information about the Core Eisteddfod Week concerts and best-ever full summer line-up, call the Box Office on 01978 862001.

* Award-winning folk band Calan.

Spanish firecracker is a wolf in sheep's clothing

Cupra Ateca drive by Steve Rogers

Come the day when the only new cars are electric there will still be plenty of used firecracker motors to satisfy the petrol heads.

And here is one of them, the hotshot Cupra Ateca. It might look ordinary but under that modest exterior lies a mean machine with a more than solid pedigree.

But isn't this family SUV a Seat? Well, yes and no. Seat set up a stand-alone sports brand in 2018 and Ateca was the first to wear the Cupra badge.

Cupra is growing into a serious sports brand and shares the company's high-tech racing division factory next to Seat's Barcelona HQ. Convincing stuff.

Yes, it is an Ateca, the SUV we have come to love, but this one growls. As part of the Volkswagen group Cupra was able to raid the engine store and come away with the well proven, 300bhp 2-litre turbo, the same as you will find in a Golf R and Audi SQ3, and mated with the razor sharp seven speed double clutch automatic gearbox. And it has steering wheel paddle shifters. Oh joy!

The car is very much a wolf in sheep's clothing and is certainly not dressed to impress. It has quad tailpipes but there is little else to distinguish it from a bog standard Ateca, apart from the zany Cupra badge and copper alloys, a £1,135 extra.

Less obvious but a significant part of Cupra's fun factor is the slightly lowered stance and beefed up suspension. Thrown in with the all wheel drive and you have a boxy SUV that will give a hot hatch more than a run for its money.

For a more racier body you could look at the Formentor which is pure Cupra, sitting lower to the ground than Ateca, and with more style.

The Cupra Ateca range has been expanded to take in less powerful engines, all of which are available in the cheaper Seat Ateca, but look to Cupra for the big horsepower.

With a sprint to sixty taking less than five seconds and a virtually unusable 155mph top speed, this is one quick motor with solid handling to harness the power. It is also surprisingly comfortable given it sports pedigree and is good at stifling the effects of our awful road surfaces.

This should be fairly obvious but I will mention it anyway. If low running costs and economy are on the wish list then this is not the car for you. About 30mpg is the going rate with may be 35/36mpg tops in slow moving traffic. Exploit that performance and you are quickly into the twenties.

Ateca has always been an excellent family choice and the same applies to Cupra for those wanting adrenalin rush performance. There is ample room for five adults, although the transmission tunnel is a hindrance for the middle seat passenger, while the big boot will cope with all the holiday luggage.

By today's standards the Cupra interior, which virtually mirrors the Seat model, shares the same bland look and looks outdated compared with the wow, wow Peugeot 3008 rival.

Yet it is one of the most user friendly fuss free layouts I have come across, an easy to master central touch screen and clear, physical switches for the heating. The digital driver's binnacle has a choice of three layouts and is faultless.

As for the price, well it can't be sugar coated, it is jaw dropping. My teenage great niece posed the question and gave a critical critique from her front seat ending with 'this car doesn't shout £50,000 to me'.

With the flash copper alloys and a sun roof at £1,210, my VZ2 model was within touching reach of the half century at £49,675. It is well equipped and with a raft of safety features, and of course it is all wheel drive.

You can make an argument that this car is decent value for money. This sort of performance in a similar sized Porsche Macan would be upwards of 60 grand. Okay, it has that magical name, but the Cupra is nevertheless something to ponder and emphasises my point that this will be a hell of a second hand buy in years to come.

Fast facts

Cupra Ateca VZ2 4 Drive

£46,700 (starts £36,045)

2-litre TSI 296bhp

7sp DSG automatic

0-62mph 4.9secs; 155mph

31.7mpg combined

202g/km. 1st tax £1,565

Insurance group 31

Boot 485 litres