Eisteddfod opens group applications for its 2025 festival

* Côr Glanaethwy from Bangor celebrate their Choir of the World victory at the Llangollen Eisteddfod 2024. 

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has opened group applications for its 78th festival, which takes from Tuesday 8 to Sunday July 13 2025. 

Choirs and dance groups from around the globe can now apply to compete in the world-renowned celebration of music and dance.

Dave Danford, Artistic Director of the Llangollen Eisteddfod, said: “We are delighted to be launching our syllabus for 2025, as we prepare to welcome competitors from home and abroad to North East Wales next summer. We are building on our ambitious 2024 festival, and expecting a very high standard across all of our competitions.”

In 2024, over 3,000 competitors came to Llangollen from 30 different countries. The festival is hoping to top this in 2025, as invitations land with the best amateur choirs and dance groups from around the world. 

In 2024, Côr Glanaethwy from Bangor won the coveted Pavarotti Trophy, along with the title of Choir of the World. The Young Choir of the World accolade was won by Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir from the USA, with the Llangollen Dance Off being won by Prolisok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.

The most famous winner of the competitions in Llangollen was Luciano Pavarotti in 1955, when he was a member of the Corale Rossini, a male voice choir from Modena, winning first prize at the International Eisteddfod. 

He later said that this was the most important experience of his life, and that it inspired him to become a professional singer. Since the festival was launched in 1947, tens of thousands of people from around the world have competed in the festival’s unique competitions.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is located in the idyllic town of Llangollen in North East Wales, the majority of the competitions taking place in its magnificent 4,000-seater Pavilion.

* Group applications are now open with full details of the competitions released on https://eisteddfodcompetitions.co.uk/  Applications for the solo competitions open on December 1 2024.

MS and MP want meeting with town councillors over public toilets

* Ken Skates MS and Becky Gittins MP.

Local Labour politicians will seek a meeting with town councillors in a bid to ‘explore every avenue’ to keep Llangollen’s public toilets open. 

New MP Becky Gittins and Clwyd South MS Ken Skates say they’ve been contacted by a number of local residents who are concerned about the possible closure of the facilities on Market Street.

Mrs Gittins is MP for the new constituency of Clwyd East, which includes Llangollen. She attended the recent public meeting in the town hall and said she’s aware of the strength of feeling locally.

She said: “Ken and I had a productive meeting with the Denbighshire County Council leader and lead member and I’m optimistic a solution can be found – we’ll certainly explore every avenue we can.

“We now need to get round a table with county council officers and Llangollen Town Council. We all want the same result, and we need to work together to deliver it for the town.”

Mr Skates said the meeting with county councillors Jason McLellan and Barry Mellor was ‘positive’.

He added: “I'm keen to see the local authority work with the town council on this, and Becky and I want to bring them together to find a solution.

“The meeting with Denbighshire was positive and sitting down with the town council and making sure we’re all on the same page is the clear next step. No one wants the toilets to close, so I think we’re building from a solid foundation. Becky and I will certainly do all we can.”

Denbighshire County Council said it had to find £10.4m of savings as part of its 2024/25 budget.

The county council is under no legal requirement to provide public toilets but said it wanted to review the needs of the community. 

A proposal to review public convenience provision in the county was one of the potential savings identified, so a public consultation was launched to allow residents, business owners and visitors to have their say.

Aqueduct named world's most captivating landmark

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal have beaten other global landmarks, including the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Carioca landscapes in Brazil and the Ancient City of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, to be crowned the most captivating UNESCO site in the world.

* For the full story, see: Welsh landmark named ‘most captivating in the world’ above sites in Brazil and Canada (msn.com)

Famous fishing tackle shop is relocating to Llangollen

A famous fishing shop is relocating to Llangollen following nearly 60-years of trading in St Asaph.

* For the full story in the Leader, see: Foxons to relocate from St Asaph to Llangollen next year | The Leader (leaderlive.co.uk)

Lexus SUV that drives into the future

Lexus RX 450h+ drive by Steve Rogers

Opening the door to this RX is like stepping into the future.

Lexus has packed so much technology into its sophisticated SUV it is a wonder there is any room left for seats!

A simple function like opening the door sets the tech tone. There is no squeezing the handle, just touch and the door opens electronically.

And then there is the Alexa-style voice control. No looking for the steering wheel button, just say ‘hey Lexus’, make your request and hey presto. I couldn’t find the heated rear window switch, well it is tiny, but when asked, on it came. It is the same for changing heating settings, radio stations, navigation destinations etc, etc.

There are loads more as you are about to find out. The RX is a premium SUV and has been around for 20 odd years although it took a while for it to get noticed. Now it is rubbing shoulders with heavyweights like BMW, Volvo, Genesis and Audi.

This fifth generation is the first plug-in hybrid and comes with 40 miles of electric power, not the best in the class but enough to get most people to work and back. A full recharge takes a couple of hours.

Not that there is any fear of range anxiety, on long hauls the petrol engine does the work recharging the battery pack at the same time through regenerative braking although do not expect big numbers, the most I accumulated was three miles according to the dashboard readout.

A useful feature is the ability to store up those 40 miles of electricity until needed, otherwise the system works automatically switching seamlessly between the power modes.

Unlike most of its rivals the RX really does stand out in the crowd. The body design borders on the spectacular with its slashes and creases, snazzy grille and coupe style roofline. This is one smart looking car.

The space age theme carries on into the cabin. If the Genesis GV80 SUV featured a few weeks ago was plush then the RX is plush and ultra modern. Never mind 2024, this would not look out of place in 2034.

Most of what you see is digital, it’s what we have come to expect from Lexus. The driver display is packed with information, just select a menu and toggle using the steering wheel buttons. There are more menus in the 14in central touchscreen where everything is crystal clear and super responsive, but heating controls are separate with chunky knobs along with radio volume control. Why can’t everyone do this?

The cabin is like a comfy front room at home. Perfectly shaped seats and plenty of width, something you notice more in the back where three burly ruby forwards could sit in comfort. Quality trim and fittings are a given in a car with this price tag but unlike the more stately surroundings of the Genesis the RX is truly contemporary and all the better for it.

At first glance the boot space looks generous with a power fold for the back seats but the 461 litres falls well short of the Volvo XC90 and the warehouse 770 litres for the Audi Q7, but the package is plenty big enough for a family’s chattels, besides which the RX is far more stylish than the mundane looking Q7.

Plug in hybrid is the only new element of the 2.5 litre petrol engine now beefed up by the 18.1kWh battery pack powering two electric motors. Steering wheel paddle shifters are a welcome addition to the CVT gearbox which has improved down the years. A sprint to sixty in just over six seconds is perfectly acceptable.

The car is supremely comfortable and at its best on main roads. The slightly soft suspension set up makes for a floaty ride on winding country roads but only if pushed. Selecting sport takes away the edge and it is surprising how much fun you can have with this big all wheel drive car.

The technology fest covers safety in a big way with so many aids it is difficult to see how an RX driver could cause an accident apart from being totally stupid. Collision avoidance, rear cross traffic alert can be found on most cars but a valuable additional aid is safe exit which prevents doors being opened into the path of vehicles or pedestrians. How useful that might be.

Lexus has covered most bases with RX and the plug-in hybrid widens the field particularly for company car drivers who must be licking their lips at the initial tax advantage from such low engine emissions.

There are bigger SUVs out there but for me RX is pretty irresistible.

Fast facts

RX 450h+ F Sport Design

£69,995

2.5 litre; 304bhp

0-62mpg 6.5secs; 124mph

25-26g/km. 1st road tax £10

Insurance group 45

Boot: 461 litres

Llangollen car park tops list for parking fines, says report

A public car park in Llangollen has seen the most parking fines issued in the last two-and-a-half years, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has found.

*For the full story in Leaderlive, go to: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/24542400.denbighshire-public-car-parks-parking-fines-issued/

MS calls on businesses to enter prestigious tourism awards

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is calling on tourism businesses in Llangollen to enter this year’s prestigious Go North Wales Tourism Awards. 

Mr Rowlands, Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Tourism in Welsh Parliament and a keen supporter of the industry in North Wales, said: “Everybody knows how passionate I am about encouraging and promoting tourism in my region of North Wales and I am delighted to see the prestigious Go North Wales Tourism Awards being held once again this year. 

“Tourism was one of the hardest-hit industries during and post Covid with very little help coming from the Welsh Labour Government which continues to chip away at this sector. 

“I was lucky enough to attend the award ceremony held at Venue Cymru last year when it was really great to see so many businesses receiving the recognition they deserve after what has been an extremely tough few years. 

“Time and time again I have raised tourism issues in Welsh Parliament yet my calls always seem to fall on deaf ears. Tourism is big business in North Wales, in particular, yet the Welsh Labour Government continue to hamper its growth with its crippling 182 day holiday let regulations and the soon to be introduced tourism tax. 

“Against this adversity our tourism industry is still strong and these awards demonstrate how important this sector is to North Wales.” 

The Go North Wales Tourism Awards champions the very best of the regions tourism industry and this year the event will take place once again at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, on Thursday November 21.

After what has been a challenging few years for the industry, this is a great opportunity to celebrate and recognise excellence in the region’s hospitality and tourism sectors.

The awards showcases and celebrates the achievements, hard work and dedication of those working in the industry.

For the first time in many years, award winners from some of the regional categories will also feed into the national Visit Wales Awards, to be held in Spring 2025. 

Deadline for applications will be Monday October 7 2024. For more details on how to apply go to:

https://gonorthwalestourismawards.website/award-categories/