Stirring concert featuring Hans Zimmer’s work is perfect prelude to 2025 Eisteddfod

 

* Anthony Gabriele conducts the Cinematic Orchestra. Pictures: THOMAS CUSWORTH / LLANGOLLEN INTERNATIONAL EISTEDDFOD.

An enthralled Pavilion audience was treated to a glittering concert featuring some of the most unforgettable movie scores of all time by German master composer Hans Zimmer which provided the perfect prelude to the 2025 Llangollen International Eisteddfod last night (Tuesday).

A world-class orchestra under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Anthony Gabriele presented “Beyond Time: The Music of Hans Zimmer in Concert” on the first night of the festival which runs from July 8-13.

The audience delighted to a programme of music made famous by a man with over 150 movie scores to his credit, including the powerful and moving backdrops to a host of the biggest blockbusters which have brought Zimmer two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and five Grammy Awards plus a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

* The orchestra and conductor take a bow at the end of the night.

The evening’s conductor, Anthony Gabriele, who has led orchestras all over the world, wielded the baton over the 70-piece Cinematic Orchestra which stormed ahead with some powerful scores such as the Theme from Backdraft, Suite from The Dark Knight, Tennessee from Pearl Harbour, the Suite from The Last Samurai, the End Titles from Driving Miss Daisy and the Suite from Man of Steel, each one reaching new heights of emotional stimulation.

After the break the audience returned to hear more exhilarating musical masterpieces including Discombobulate from Sherlock Holmes, Chavaliers De Sangreal from The Da Vinci Code, the Suite from Wonder Woman, Hero from Kung Fu Panda and rounding off with the blood-stirring Suite from Gladiator.

The audience were on their feet as the concert finished with a rousing rendition of the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.

* Actor Mark Lewis Jones narrates.

Weaving the programme seamlessly together as he delivered the narration for the evening was acclaimed Rhosllanerchrugog-born film and TV actor Mark Lewis Jones.

Dave Danford, Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, said: “Tonight was a fantastic opening to our 2025 Eisteddfod, celebrating one of the world’s greatest film composers of all time. I was delighted that Mark Lewis Jones agreed to come and present it for us, and I’m very grateful to Anthony Gabriele for bringing his enthusiasm and first-class musicianship to the stage.

“This is just the first concert in a very exciting week, and we continue tomorrow evening with a truly international celebration of the United Nations, featuring Sir Karl Jenkins, which will follow our first day of competitions in the pavilion.”

Eisteddfod week evening concerts continue with:

* Wednesday July 9: Uniting Nations: One World featuring Sir Karl Jenkins

* Thursday July 10: KT Tunstall with the Absolute Orchestra

* Friday July 11: Il Divo with special guest Laura Wright

* Saturday July 12: Choir of the World with special guest Lucie Jones

* Sunday July 13: Bryn Terfel: Sea Songs with special guests Fisherman’s Friends and Eve Goodman 

Llantysilio Community Council has casual vacancy

 

Work to Llangollen bridge finishes on time

* The water-filled barriers in place on the corner near the bridge. 

Urgent repair works to Llangollen bridge undertaken today by the county council were finished at lunchtime today (Tuesday) well in time for tomorrow's Eisteddfod parade.

Work commenced just after 9am and was finished by 1. 20pm with traffic being managed by a three-way stop and go system.

The council said that due to the damage caused to the bell bollards they would be placing water filled barriers as a temporary measure whilst theur Traffic Team investigated a more long term solution.

Sardinian choir to sing at international mass in Holy Cross Church

As part of the Eisteddfod week, an international mass will be held at the Holy Cross Church in Oak Street, Llangollen this Thursday, July 10, at 5.30pm.

A visiting Sardinian choir will sing with the congregation and everyone is welcome to attend, say organisers. 

Two roads in Llangollen are in road maintenance programme

* A section of Abbey Road is due for attention under the programme. 

Two schemes in Llangollen feature in a list of roads to benefit from a £4.7 million road maintenance programme for Denbighshire funded by the Welsh Government.

Work at 57 locations across the county will be spread over two years paid for with money from the Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI).

The programme identified schemes for both 2025/26 and 2026/27 based on the total allocation of £4,780,699. 

Denbighshire County Council says it will be targeting this funding at improving the surface condition of carriageways.

* Oak Street is also included.

This work will see significant investment planned at A525 Nany Y Garth pass, A547 Abergele Road near Rhuddlan and Ty Newydd road in Rhyl to improve road surfaces.

The full list of road areas for work which will include resurfacing of the carriageways and associated works such as sweeping and drainage includes in Llangollen the A542 Abbey Road (Oakleigh to Llangollen bridge junction) and Oak Street.

Also in the programme are:

• Betws Gwerfil Goch – Minfordd junction to Tyddyn Bach
• Betws Gwerfil Goch – Tyddyn Bach to village
• Bodfari – A541 junction to Glascoed Junction
• Bontuchel – Bontuchel to Ysgeibion junction
• Bryneglwys - A5104 (A494 junction to Tan y Bidwal)
• Carrog - B5437 Railway Line to A5t junction
• Clawddnewydd - B5105 Pool Park to Bryn Moel
• Denbigh - Townsend lights to Love Lane junction
• Denbigh – A543 Ruthin Road (Clwyd Avenue junction to Myddleton Park roundabout)
• Denbigh – Lon Llewelyn (A543 junction to B5382 junction)
• Derwen - Park Lodge junction to Sarnat Gwyn junction
• Dyserth - Dincolyn junction to Mia Hall County Boundary
• Dyserth – Thomas Avenue
• Eryrys - B5430 junction to Pant y Gwylanod
• Hendrerwydd – Plas Coch Bach junction to Plas Isaf
• Henllan – Dolben Hall to county boundary
• Henllan - Gypsy Lane, Henllan Road
• Llandegla - A542 junction to Crown crossroads
• Llandegla - A542 Dafarn Dywyrch to Ponderosa
• Llandrillo - B4401 Llandrillo Road
• Llandyrnog - B5429 roundabout to Groes Efa crossroads
• Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd - A525 Wrexham Road (village to The Nook)
• Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd – Lane from Pentre Coch to Cae Gwyn
• Llanrhaeadr – Talyrnau Cottage to A525 junction
• Melin y Wig - Haffotty Newydd to Pen y Bryniau
• Nantglyn - School Road from Frongoed to County Boundary
• Peniel - Tan Y Garth to Rhewl Valley
• Pentrecelyn – A525 Nant y Garth
• Pentrecelyn - Derwen Llanerch junction to Llidiart Fawr junction
• Pentredwr - Pentredwr from A542 to The White Hart
• Prestatyn – Bishopswood Road
• Prestatyn – Ffordd Isa (Junction with Ffordd Penrhwylfa)
• Prestatyn – Ffordd Las
• Prestatyn – Gronant Road (Rural section to housing development)
• Prestatyn – Gronant Road (Urban)
• Prion – B4501 junction to Tan y Garth
• Prion – Pen y Groes to Llewesog Lodge
• Prion – Prion Isaf to village
• Prion – Ty Cerrig to Rhewl Valley junction
• Rhuallt – Llys y Delyn to Bryn Mawr
• Rhuddlan – Abergele Straights (KFC roundabout to Borth roundabout)
• Rhyl – Derwen Drive
• Rhyl – Gamlin Street
• Rhyl – H bridge
• Rhyl – Tynewydd Road (Coast Road including Railway bridge)
• Ruthin – Church Walks
• Ruthin – Mwrog Street (A494 roundabout to the Church)
• Ruthin – Wynnstay Road
• St Asaph - Ashley Court
• St Asaph – Sarn Lane
• St Asaph – The Roe (opposite the Talardy)
• St Asaph – Upper Denbigh Road (HM Stanley to Bryn Asaph Cottages)
• St Asaph – Wigfair Road
• Tremeirchion - Glyn Ganol to Cefn Du

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice

Latest column from Denbighshire Citizens Advice is:

Q: I got a text asking me to click on a link to reschedule a parcel delivery I’d missed. I was waiting for a parcel from Royal Mail at the time, so I clicked on the link and was asked to make a payment. Luckily, my daughter told me the text is a scam and to ignore it, but I almost gave away my personal details. How can I spot the signs of this type of scam myself in the future?

A: Parcel delivery scams are becoming increasingly common. Ones involving texts and emails are known as phishing scams, and aim to trick you into giving away your personal information and financial details, so your bank account and money can be accessed.

One way scammers do this is by enticing people to click on links, which can lead to fake websites, in the hope that this information will be entered.

While scammers can pretend to be from any parcel delivery company, many of them choose Royal Mail because it’s the largest delivery company in the UK. This means the chances of scammers contacting someone who receives parcels from Royal Mail, is higher.

These scams can be in the form of a text, like yours was, or an email or phone call. There are also reports of fake ‘Something for You’ cards, which Royal Mail leave when a delivery is attempted, but no-one is home.

Here are some tips on how you can stay vigilant and spot the signs of a parcel delivery scam, and other scam messages:

• If you’re waiting for a parcel, and get a message that asks you to pay to get it, or reschedule the delivery, it’s usually a scam.
  

• Don’t click any links or attachments in the text or email. Delivery companies won’t ask you to pay them through a link in an email or text.
  

• Parcel delivery scammers often pretend to be from an organisation like Royal Mail, and can try to make you click on a fake version of the company’s genuine website, which asks for personal information or login details - these can appear real.
  

• To check if a link is genuine, hover your mouse over the link without clicking on it, or press and hold on the link on a mobile device. You should be able to see the address the link goes to, and check it’s the same as the company’s official website address.
  

• Make sure you check the address carefully - fake link addresses can look similar to the genuine address.
  

• Other signs of a message that is a scam include bad spelling and grammar, and when it starts with a general greeting instead of your name. But, scam messages can sometimes be sophisticated - so don’t rely on obvious mistakes only.
  

• If you get an email, check if the email address matches the sender’s name or organisation - you might have to click on their name to see the email address.
  

• If there’s something you’re unsure about, don’t feel pressured to act. You can find the official details for the company the person who has contacted you says they’re from, and ask the company if they’ve contacted you.
  

Royal Mail has a helpful page on its website of examples of delivery scams, including text messages and emails people have received.

You can check if you think something you’ve seen online, or in a text or email you’ve received, might be a scam, using an online tool on the Citizens Advice website. If you have been scammed, you can report it on the Citizens Advice website, and check what else you need to do - including protecting yourself from further risks.

Being targeted by a scammer or falling victim to a scam can make people feel anxious or embarrassed, but it’s important to remember scammers are clever and scams can happen to anyone. Reporting them helps track down and stop scammers, and prevent other people from ending up in the same situation.

Impressive petrol Audi that thinks it's electric

Audi A3 Sportback TFSIe drive by Steve Rogers

If ever there was a car that’s confused this Audi A3 fits the bill.

It is definitely a petrol - there is a 1.5 litre under the bonnet - but it thinks it’s electric because it has a whopping 88 mile range.

There are plenty of plug-in hybrids around but no one outside the Audi group can match this range. They have simply blown the opposition out of the water, the perfect car for those uncertain about going down the all electric road.

Think about it. One extra charge midweek will yield nearly 180 miles on purely electric power and that covers a lot of families weekly needs.

How has Audi done it? Simple really. They have doubled the size of the battery to 25.7kWh, it can even take a 50kW rapid charge so if you are on a longish trip the A3 can be charged to 80 per cent in 30 minutes, about the time it takes for coffee and a pastry at a motorway service station.

Any downsides? The only one I could come up with is a bit less boot space. There is no underfloor storage for the bulky cable bags although you only need to carry one for the majority of trips, if at all. There is a perfectly good engine to do the job without counting on electric drive.

And here is another big plus. For decades I have lauded Audi diesel engines for their economy, well the emphasis has switched to petrol and the combination of this 1.5 litre turbo and electric motor is stunning. There is a 200bhp on tap, not so long ago you would not think it possible for such a small engine, and the 350Nm of torque matches the punchy pick up of a diesel but without the clatter.

Performance is in the realms of the best hot hatchbacks of old but the economy is even more impressive averaging 54.5mpg at the end of a week covering just over 400 miles. On short trips I regularly topped 60mpg.

A3 has always had a reputation for top notch handling but surely it must fall off given the extra weight of the battery pack? Fear not, the difference is so negligible to bear thinking about. Mated to the 6-speed S Tronic paddle shifting gearbox the A3 is still a real fun car, nicely balanced through twisting roads and tight turns.

As a fully paid up member of the premium set A3, along with every other Audi, is beautifully trimmed. Just tracing a finger around the air vents gives a hint to the quality along with the attention to detail running through the car even down to the thick pile footwell mats.

The dashboard layout is crisp and clear with an integrated central touchscreen, quite unusual with so many using a standalone TV style display, but as expected it has sharp graphics and fast response. And here is another company hanging on to physical switches for the heating controls, neatly laid out with a satisfying tactile touch. Long may it continue.

A3 has never been a car to win high praise for cabin space so it is still only average, even a little tight in the back seats for tall passengers, and the same can be said for the boot although I found the 40-20-40 split for the seat back sensible.

Audi does not pile spec into models, preferring to offer option packs which can be expensive, but there is no skimping on driver safety aids.

The model tested is the Black edition which comes with flashy black alloys, colour matched Audi bonnet rings, LED lights, heated front seats, and a few other niceties.

I rated the car on 10 points and put crosses against only three: No hold button for the parking brake, very poorly sited cruise control and speed limiter switches, and no keyless entry which was a pain in the neck and a penny pinching omission for a car of this price.

But having got over my mini tantrum there is one word that comes to mind.

Electrifying!

Fast Facts

A3 Sportback 40 Black edition

£42,880 (starts £39,150)

1.5 turbo; 200bhp

0-62mph 7.4secs; 140mph

712.2mpg with electric drive

9g/km. 1st road tax £110

Boot: 280-1100 litres

Insurance group 25