Historic US church backs eisteddfod choral contest

 

* The Welsh Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles.

One of America’s most historic churches - where Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins attended a memorial service for his mother - has backed a major choral competition back home in Wales.

The Welsh Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles held its final service last month after 124 years but its legacy will support the Male Voice Choir competition at the world famous Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod for the next three years.

The church was founded in Los Angeles in 1888 when the West was still wild and when the city had a population of fewer than 50,000 – these days it is the second biggest in the USA with nearly four million inhabitants.

It had a proud history too - its choir sang at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 1938 and at the San Diego World’s Fair in 1935.

They also played a part in another piece of Hollywood history, singing and taking walk-on roles in How Green Was My Valley, which won the 1941 Best Picture Oscar and Best Director award for John Ford.

So it was a sad day when the last service was held on Sunday, December 16, according to Gwyn Phillips, (pictured below with wife Mair dressed for a St David's Day event) a retired insurance broker, now 81, originally from Cwmfelinfach, near Newport, and who emigrated to Canada in 1956.

He met his wife, Mair, a Welsh-speaking nurse from Llysfaen, Colwyn Bay, there and they moved to LA in 1960 and have been there ever since, bringing up three children, David Wyn, Bryn Morgan and Glenda Elen.

Gwyn was an elder of the church and Mair a deacon and he said: “The church has been around for a long time but for the last five or ten years numbers have been declining and we weren’t really able to carry on.

“It was a synagogue and we bought it from the Jews in 1929 and now we’re selling it back to them as a heritage centre – it must be the only Welsh church with five or six Stars of David in the windows.

“We used to hold a regular Cymanfa Ganu and that was very popular and so was the three-day weekend eisteddfod we had and whenever there was a Welsh choir in southern California we’d try and invite them and we’ve had the Llanelli and Rhos Choirs here and the Three Welsh Tenors, Rhys Meirion, Aled Hall and Alun Rhys Jenkins.

“We even made the church earthquake-resistant in the 1980s and raised £250,000 ourselves to do it.

“We are at least glad that we have been able to support events like the Llangollen Eisteddfod – it was a must as far as we were concerned and we were delighted to be able to sponsor the make voice choir competition.

“Music and singing is all part of our heritage and even last year when Wales played England at rugby we went down to this bar and I counted 62 Welsh people there and we all stood to attention to sing Mae Hen Flad Fy Nhadau – even the English loved it.”

Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said:“While we’re obviously saddened to hear that this historic church has had to close we’re very grateful for their kind sponsorship and support.

“It’s a wonderful and very appropriate gesture that this church which has been attended by immigrants from Wales for well over a hundred years should support an international event back home in Wales – I’m sure the generations of Welsh Americans would approve.”

Gwyn and his wife, who was brought up at Plas Farm, Llysfaen, have visited Wales many times and Mrs Phillips still has three brothers and a sister living in Wales.

They say that the church, founded by the Rev David Hughes, from Llanwchllyn, near Bala, in 1888 when its 22 members met in the back room of a shop in Los Angeles, has been a big part of their lives and will be missed.

One of its members was Mary Griffiths, whose brother, Griffith J Griffiths, donated the 3,000 acres of Griffith Park to the city of Los Angeles – a journalist who made his money in gold mining, Griffith served two years in gaol after shooting his wife.

She survived but unsurprisingly divorced him and Griffiths, who had professed to be a teetotaler but turned out to be a secret drunk, died of liver failure but not before making further bequests to the city.

The church, in Valencia Street, has been a hub of Welsh life in southern California since then and Gwyn added: “We have been able to support a number of Welsh institutions, including the Llangollen Eisteddfod, the National Eisteddfod, the National Library and St David’s Cathedral, and they’ve been thrilled by the money we’ve sent them.

“As far as we’re concerned here, while that money is being used it’s working and doing something for Wales. That’s the important thing because it is Welsh money.”

A video of the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles is on Youtube on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJ5Pt1FVeo

For more details on this year’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/llangollen

AM calls for probe of high suicide rates

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates has called for the Welsh Government to commission specialist research into the suicide rate in Wales.

Figures released by the ONS have shown that the suicide rate in Wales has risen 30% in two years, the highest level since 2004.

The rates are now higher than in England. The rate in Wales is up from 10.7 per 100,000 people in 2009 to 13.9 in 2011. The England rate is 10.4 per 100,000.

The Chair of the Assembly’s All Party Group on Mental Health said the new figures had to be treated with caution as the factors that lead to suicide were complex and multi-layered.

However he called on the Welsh Government to examine the new figures closely and commission specialist research to shape policies that could help excluded and marginalised groups at particular risk of suicide.

Mr Skates said: “We do have to treat statistics relating to suicide very carefully indeed. The factors that cause someone to take their own life are complex and reading any concrete patterns into the figures is very difficult.

“However, it is concerning that the suicide rate in Wales has risen 30% in two years and is now higher than the rate we are seeing in England. It had been feared that the economic downturn would have a big impact on mental well-being in Wales and we need more research to examine this further.

“That is why I believe the Welsh Government and the NHS should take a leading role in helping to commission specialist research into the suicide rate in Wales. We need to look at the factors that are underpinning this increase and how policy in mental health can be shaped to help and support groups that are most likely to take their own life.

“One of the at risk groups appears to be middle aged men. A report released last year by the Samaritans - ‘Men and Suicide: Why it’s a social issue’ highlighted that males from disadvantaged backgrounds in their 30s, 40s and 50s are at higher risk of suicide than other groups.

“It said that on average, men from low socio-economic backgrounds living in deprived areas are ten times more likely to die by suicide than men from high socio-economic backgrounds living in the most affluent areas.

“These are the sorts of issues that need now to be researched further. With a legacy of heavy industrial manufacturing that has gone into sharp decline over the last thirty years, maybe there are longer term factors, particular to Wales, that need to be explored.”

Some of the increase may be down to a change in the way deaths were recorded by coroners following new guidance.

Wales had a greater number of deaths than any E nglish region. North-east England is the next highest at 12.9 per 100,000.

* The Freephone Community Advice and Listening Line (CALL) numbers are 0800 132737 or 81066.

T* The Samaritans on available on 08457 90 90 90.

Llan team are quiz champions

A team from Llangiollen were winners of a county quiz staged by Clwyd Young Farmers Club at Denbigh Rugby Club recently. 

Fifteen teams from across the region took part and the quiz master once again was Erfyl Jones who had a variety of questions to suit everyone. 

Runners-up to Llangollen were Betws yn Rhos, Cilcain and Llansannan. 

 

 

* The winning Llangollen team of Aled Jones, Iolo Francis, Dan Griffiths, quizmaster Erfyl Jones, Jess Binks and Bronwen Edwards.

AM Isherwood slams Llan hospital closure

Last week’s decision to close four community hospitals, downgrade services at others and transfer intensive care for newborn babies to the Wirral has been criticised in the Welsh Assembly Chamber.

 

During  the Welsh Conservative Debate on NHS Reconfiguration, North Wales Assembly Member, Mark Isherwood, spoke of the many concerns regarding both the changes in North Wales and the preceding consultation, described by campaigners as "a sham".

* Mark Sisherwood AM.

He said: “Twenty-six community beds are to be cut across North Wales, despite bed occupancy levels of 95% and above in the community hospitals now being closed or expected to fill the gap.

“The GP who set up the pilot Enhanced Care at Home scheme with the Health Board, has stated that: 'This will bring a service that is currently frequently gridlocked, further to its knees' and that 'a central part of the proposed shake-up of health services – providing more care in people’s homes – won’t fill the gap left by shutting community hospitals'.

 

“The Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, stated: 'There is insufficient capacity within the community to discharge patients out of hospital.'”

Mr Isherwood said that fears have also been expressed by local authorities that the health board’s plans will shift costs to councils and criticised the fact the consultation document lacked reference to what the health board could learn from the third sector about the integration of care services in the home, community, hospital and hospices.

He added: “They (Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board)tell us the changes will lead to better patient care, but reducing community hospital beds and moving services further away from often vulnerable patients will damage, rather than enhance, community based health services.

 

“A Llangollen campaigner emailed 'The fight against the closure of our hospital has taken on a deeply personal aspect. My condition is incurable and I’m now under palliative care. I’d rather receive end-of-life care in my own local hospital.'"

Mr Isherwood stressed that it is Labour Welsh Government policy and its "record breaking cuts that have driven theses closures and downgrading of services".

He added: “Health spending was cut following the budget devolved to Wales by the last Labour UK Government. Today, the Welsh NHS is facing the deepest cuts of any UK Nation.

“Let us hope that in acting as judge and jury to plans resuing from her own policies,this Minister is not now also the executioner of services.”

Police issue cash machine warning

The Daily Post is reporting today (Wednesday) that police are warning residents to be on their guard after two men were seen deliberately bumping into people after they had used a cash machine in Llangollen.

See the full story at:

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2013/01/23/police-issue-llangollen-cash-machine-warning-55578-32660995/

Warning over Llangollen health services

Llangollen will be without adequate health provision for years to come.

That is the warning from North Wales Assembly Member Llyr Gruffydd (pictured below) following the decision last Friday by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to axe the town's Cottage Hospital.

The Plaid Cyrmu member said: “The decision to close Llangollen hospital and downgrade health services in Ruthin will put additional pressures on Wrexham and Glan Clwyd hospitals.

"It will reduce the number of hospital beds in North Wales by more than 10% - that will also mean more bedblocknig in the general hospitals.

“The very real problem of getting to these hospitals, whether you’re a patient or relative, has also been ignored. This is no trivial matter in an area where running a car is a very expensive matter and where public transport is patchy at best.

 

"There is no funding in place for a replacement health centre and I fear Llangollen will be without adequate health provision for years to come."

 

He added: “The decision to move neonatal intensive care services across the border now means there is no Level 3 Special Care Baby Unit north of Carmarthen. I fear this decision is putting lives at risk and it is inexplicable that it should be made in the face of clinical advice and opposition from respected professional bodies such as the RCN and BMA.

 

“The very real experiences of parents with babies that have gone through intensive care at our existing excellent SCBUs has also been ignored. I do not believe we were given the full facts regarding Arrowe Park and therefore the entire consultation process and final decision was skewed.

 

“The same criticism applies to the closure, downgrading and centralisation of community hospitals. GPs and patients alike are rightly sceptical of the promised replacements – where is the money coming from to build new health centres and ensure enhanced home care?

 

“My party, Plaid Cymru, wants to see an improved health service in the North but this decision will lead to a poorer health service for many communities and takes no regard of the very real transport problems many households have.

 

“This decision has been made without key questions being answered about finance and the impact on NHS staff. That’s why I call on the Community Health Council to now stand up for the people of North Wales – they must make a formal objection so that the Health Minister can intervene.

 

"If Lesley Griffiths wants to impose this model on North Wales, she shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind health boards who are not ultimately answerable to the people.”

... and a local campaigner's view:

Mabon ap Gwynfor, spokesman for Keep Llangollen Health Services, said: “The conclusion of this rubber stamping exercise comes as no surprise to us. It’s just another step in our on-going fight to save our health services in Llangollen.

 

"The First Minister, Carwyn Jones, said last week that he will defend the need for safe and sustainable services. These changes are neither safe nor sustainable as they will take basic healthcare such as Minor Injury care further from the patients; block beds at Wrexham Maelor; and force elderly patients to pay for private beds in nursing homes which do not meet the same clinical standards as NHS hospitals. On top of that they are uncosted and are likely to put added pressure on an already stretched Council social services.

“The fight continues. The final decision is likely to rest with the Health Minister, but we need our Community Health Council to support those that they represent and insist that the Minister calls these plans in. The CHC continue to be concerned about the proposals and are asking the same questions as we’ve been asking, which the Health Board have been unable to answer. Ultimately we could have a Judicial Review, which would lay bare the flaws of this whole process.”

Wales leads way in food hygiene legislation

Wales is set to be the first country in the UK to introduce a mandatory scheme requiring food businesses to openly display their hygiene rating.

 

The Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Bill was passed by the National Assembly for Wales today (January 22), and is now nearing the end of the legislative process.

 

The next stage is for the Bill to go before Her Majesty the Queen for Royal Assent to become an Act.
The Bill will result in consumers being provided with more information about where they eat or buy food. This will help to drive up businesses’ food hygiene standards.

Introduction of a mandatory food hygiene rating scheme is a commitment in the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government and would be the UK’s first compulsory scheme.

Under the scheme, businesses will be rated with a score between 0 and 5 – with 0 meaning urgent improvement is necessary and a 5 rating meaning hygiene standards are very good.

The rating will be based on criteria which will include food handling standards – such as how the food is prepared, cooked, cooled and stored, the condition of the premises and the procedures in place to ensure the production of safe food.

Businesses will be required to display their rating in a prominent position, such as at the entrance to their premises, or face a fine.

Following consultation on the proposals last year, the Bill includes provisions enabling the scheme to be applied to businesses that do not deal directly with consumers but supply food to other businesses.

There is also a new duty on food businesses to verbally inform customers of the food hygiene rating for their establishment if requested and an associated offence if they refuse to do so.

This will allow people with impaired vision or enquiring by telephone to establish the hygiene rating of an establishment before deciding whether to buy from there. .

Health Minister Lesley Griffiths said: "Today, the Food Hygiene Rating Bill cleared one of the final hurdles on its way to becoming an Act.

“Food hygiene is essential for the protection of public health. The rating scheme will help drive up standards and benefit both consumers and businesses.

“The scheme will enable consumers to make a more informed choice about where they choose to eat or shop for food, while good food hygiene means a higher rating which is good for business.”

If the Bill becomes law, it is expected the earliest a mandatory scheme will come into operation will be late 2013 to allow businesses to prepare.