Special weekend when you can walk in Nain's footsteps

Walking in Nain’s footsteps is a weekend of celebrations in Llangollen marking 100 years of the Welsh Women’s Peace petition.

In 1923, the horrors of WW1 having galvanised a generation against conflict, women of Wales organised an unprecedented campaign for world peace.

A total of 390,296 women signed a memorial petition through the Welsh League of Nations Union – said to have been seven miles long – calling for America to join and lead the new League of Nations and 2023 marked the centenary of the campaign. 

Throughout 2023/ 2024, this once forgotten story has been brought back to life thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with communities across Wales and beyond celebrating the women’s achievement and starting new conversations about peace today.

As part of the celebrations, Llangollen will host a weekend of special events inspired by the petition. 

On Friday June 28 at 7.30pm, St Collen’s Community Hall will welcome one-woman show Annie Cwrt Mawr, inspired by the experiences of Annie Hughes-Griffiths, who travelled across America with the petition in 1924. Tickets cost £5 and are available here: Annie Cwrt Mawr (English performance) at St Colleens Community Hall event tickets from TicketSource

From Saturday June 29 to August 11, The Dory Gallery in Llangollen will host a community exhibition showcasing creative interpretations of the petition story. 

This will centre around a new piece of work from local artist Bethan M Hughes named Thread of Peace, a 16m long stitched piece inspired by the story of how the original petition pages would supposedly measure seven miles if placed end to end. 

Throughout 2024, Bethan has been running stitch sessions across North Wales, collecting contributions from over 150 people to this incredible piece of work. 

Thanks to additional funding from Wales Arts international, a group of Women from America have also contributed to the project, participating in lively online sessions.

The Dory Gallery is open every weekend. Free celebrations of the launch of this new exhibition will take place on Saturday June 29. For details click here: Events - Welsh Centre for International Affairs (wcia.org.uk) 

Rounding off the weekend, Llangollen Museum is hosting a heritage walk around town, visiting homes and work places of notable women who signed the petition back in 1923/24. 

People can go along to hear about their fascinating research and learn more about life of local women in the 1920’s. To book your free space or learn more visit Eventbrite at: Taith Gerdded Treftadaeth / Heritage Walk Tickets, Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

A spokesperson for the local organisers said: “We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the opportunity to bring the work of so many communities together in this exhibition to celebrate this amazing story, We have such an exciting programme of events planned – everyone is welcome!” - Ffion Fielding – Project Manager for the Women’s Peace petition."

* To learn more about the Women’s peace petition or get involved please visit: www.wcia.org.uk/academiheddwch/peacepetition/

Simple Minds say "we'll be back" after blistering Eisteddfod concert

* Simple Minds on stage at the Pavilion.

Simple Minds are another top band to be blown away by Llangollen Pavilion’s rebirth as a serious rock stadium.

Because before departing the stage at the end of last night’s concert lead singer Jim Kerr loudly declared: “We’ll be back!”  

He and the legendary Scottish outfit were presenting the second of a string of eight headline concerts jointly produced by Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and their partners the agents Cuffe & Taylor.

And this was the second time in a couple of days that a massive standing-only crowd had crammed into the famous big tent to pay homage to their heroes.

On first were Del Amitri who paraded some of their best 80s-based numbers including Always the Last to Know, Not Where It's At, Missing Person and Roll to Me, best known from a number of TV and film themes.  

Simple Minds, who notched up a multitude of hits back in the 80s and haven’t stopped partying since, hit the ground rocking with their biggie Waterfront which became the launch pad for many more numbers fondly recalled and lapped up by the crowd, the majority of whom would have remembered them the first time around.

Declaring that it was a pleasure to be back with his "Celtic brothers and sisters," Kerr presided over Once Upon a Time, the particularly rumbustious Street Fighting – he admitted it had been a few years since they last did it – Everything She Said, Shine a Light on Me, Promised You a Miracle and lots of others which came tumbling out in rapid succession, each igniting and delighting the audience.  

It was Sanctify Yourself which sparked off the first significant round of dancing in what are usually the aisles. But things calmed down considerably when Kerr, now with sweat glistening on his face,  presented us with the poignant, liltingly Irish Belfast Child, his beautiful homage to those who have suffered in that troubled city.      

The accelerator pedal was back to the floor shortly afterwards when drummer Cherisse Osei hammered out a magical rock solo so blisteringly fast that her arms seemed to be moving quicker than a hummingbird’s wings.    

The 80s were back in full swing after that and our attention was eventually drawn to the year 1985 by the band’s unforgettable Don’t You (Forget About Me), the la, la, la, la’s echoing through the swaying, dancing multitude.

That might have been a suitable point to draw things to a conclusion but, of course, it wasn’t because there were a couple more encore pieces, including the chant-worthy Alive and Kicking, before it all came to an end.

* Next of the headline concerts is Paloma Faith this Friday, Manic Street Preachers and Suede are on June 28, Kaiser Chiefs on June 29, Nile Rodgers and CHIC on July 11, Jess Glynne on July 12 and Madness on July 13.

In addition, a concert from Welsh legend Tom Jones will open the Core Week of the Eisteddfod, which runs from July 2 to July 7 and will also include shows from Gregory Porter and Katherine Jenkins. 

* For more information and to secure final tickets head to llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

MS supports Graveyard Trail at St Tysilio's Church

* St Tysilio's Church.

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has welcomed an interesting development at a church near Llangollen.

The church of St Tysilio in Llantysilio, which attracts over 10,000 visitors each year has recently announced the development of a graveyard trail.

Mr Rowlands, Chair of the Welsh Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Tourism said: “I welcome any projects which ultimately lead to attracting even more people to this lovely part of the world and to learn more about our history and rural life.

“It is a fascinating idea and I am delighted to see so many groups working together to develop the graveyard trail and the surrounding grassland.

“Old graveyards do seem to hold a fascination for visitors and it is great that some of the graves are being mapped out and information is available about them in the church.”

The grassland at the church has been managed as a haven for flowers, insects, birds and small mammals for over 30 years and following a Grassland Survey of the graveyards in May 2022, in partnership with Caring for God’s Acre CfGA an agreed management plan was developed to protect and boost the spring and summer flora.

This work was enhanced by developing a project plan for ‘Welcoming People and Nature’ funded by the AONB Sustainable Development Fund which looked at how visitors might learn more about rural life and its economic and social history as well as the wonderful natural history of the area. The outcomes so far have been the development of the Graveyard Trail.

Paths have been cut to form a route around the graveyard that ‘visits’ the graves of nine varied and different people or families from different backgrounds.

The stories were researched by local resident, David Crane and volunteers from the Llangollen Museum and are published in full-colour leaflets, available in both Welsh and English, within the church.

The historians have also digitised all the graveyard records, and produced a map of all the marked graves, that will be on display in the church. Accompanying this will be three newly published books that list, with photographs, all of the graves in the records.

There is one book for each of the three distinct areas of the graveyard. This will aid family descendants and visitors to locate the resting places of their forebears.

The last two phases of the project will see folding display boards containing explanation and interpretation boards, and a people’s history book – memories of people who live, or have lived, in Llantysilio.

The Graveyard Trail at St Tysilio Church will be officially launched on June 22 between 11am and 3pm with guided tours of the trail and the church with the wardens and some of the project partners. Refreshments will be provided and all are welcome.

Print exhibition is open at Oak Street Gallery

* Beneath Castle Dinas Bran, a print by Gwen Bramley.

Oak Street Gallery in Llangollen will be presenting a 'Printmakers Exhibition' until tomorrow, June 20. 

It will explore various print medium - woodblock prints, linocuts, etching, and collagraphs. 

Print making is very direct and expressive. The art of printmaking lies in finding a harmony between the technicality of the medium and the spontaneity of inspiration, according to the gallery's owner Karl Young.

Over the last five years the gallery has done a number of solo and group exhibitions. 

And Karl says the upcoming one was inspired by meeting Gwen Bramley a printmaker from south Wales. 

He explained: "As the owner of the gallery and one of its contributing artists I have long wanted to exhibit my woodcut prints at the gallery, but was hesitant to do it solo. 

"Meeting Gwen gave me the impetus to organise an exhibition of printmaking. The woodcut is an essential part of my oil painting, both woodcuts and painting interact and push each other to go further. 

"Gwen Bramley has made a series of multi-block linocut prints of Llangollen and the surrounding area of Wales for the exhibition. The artists Judith Wood and Ben Davis, from Corwen, will also be contributing to the exhibition exploring the various techniques of etching and monoprints."

He added: "Oak Street Gallery is not only for art collectors and gift buyers we also try to encourage people to simply browse and enjoy the work on show, whether it is in the gallery or late at night window shopping."

The gallery is located at 12 Oak Street, Llangollen, LL20 8NR and is open Thursday - Saturday, from 10:30am - 5pm.

* Rook by Ben Davis.

Scintillating Bryan Adams puts Llangollen Eisteddfod on his live concert map

 

                            * Bryan Adams takes the Pavilion stage.

                       * Harmonising with guitarist Keith Scott. Picture:  

                                  * Adams and the band in the spotlight.

Towards the end of his storming set last night Canadian rocker Bryan Adams bellowed at a capacity Pavilion audience: “I didn’t even know this town existed!”

Well, after 90 minutes of sheer vitality and talent which was fully and rowdily appreciated by this local throng he shouldn’t have too much trouble locating Llangollen in future.

Thus ended the first of the eight headline concerts which are bookending the reinvented and rejuvenated Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod between now and July 13.

And it had been a belter from start to finish.

Warming up the audience for the Groover from Vancouver was electro-pop princess Cassyette who had them waving their wine bottles in the air with numbers like the fantastical Petrichor and the nightmarish Dear Goth.

Adams was preceded onto the famous main stage by something the Eisteddfod has surely never seen before – an enormous inflatable drone in the shape of an American car, bearing his name on one side and the title of his song So Happy It Hurts on the other, hovering around above the heads of the crowd.

* The car drone hovers above the crowd. 

* Fans from Canada show off the national flag.

* Excitement builds on the field before the concert.

* Making sure of a good view of the stage.

Some nifty graphics had the man nipping out of a similar car on a big screen behind the stage and into the red glare of actuality.

Then came a procession of hits, each of which had us stamping, cheering, arm waving and hoarsely singing along.

The likes of Kick Ass (he did), Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, Somebody, 18 Till I Die, One Night Love Affair, Please Forgive Me and Take Me Back tumbled out on after another.

There was a modicum of slower stuff with Heaven but it was back up to full blast again with Go Down Rockin’ and It’s Only Love with close assistance from his close guitar associate Keith Scott, no mean rocker himself.      

Adams had been a massive fan and friend of the late, great Tina Turner since he was a youngster, he told us, and that was why he included a rousing tribute to the Queen of Rock in the shape of her famous Simply the Best and What’s Love Got To Do With It?

It was with rockabilly smash You Belong to Me that the fun really began. Adams informed us that a video cameraman would be touring the crowd seeking out the best dancer who would immediately be shown on the big screen, adding: “And if you can’t dance just twerk!”

The winner was rapidly found in the small shape of an overwhelmed 11-year-old Dylan who was invited up onto the stage to meet the band and be presented with a couple of commemorative drumsticks by man on the skins Pat Steward.

Of course, the set had to include Adams’s massive chart-topper Everything I Do (I Do For You) which provided the theme to the 1991 film Robin Hood. That went down rather well too bringing the phone torches out in force.

As did Summer of ’69, Cuts Like a Knife and When You’re Gone.

Close to the end came a tribute to his 96-year-old mum, Jane, with the song Straight from the Heart.

All too soon Adams himself was gone. But, hopefully, now he knows that Llangollen Eisteddfod exists he will be back before too long.           

Bryan Adams kicks off biggest summer of Eisteddfod live music

Canadian rock star Bryan Adams will kick off the biggest ever summer of live music in North Wales tonight (Tuesday).

The multi-million selling artist is the first of 11 headline acts to head to Llangollen Pavilion over the next four weeks as part of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

And final preparations are now underway to throw open the doors to welcome thousands of live music fans.

Bryan Adams – one of the most exciting live musicians in the world – will be supported by electro-pop singer-songwriter Cassyette.

Tonight's opening show will be followed by headlining sets from Simple Minds, Paloma Faith, Manic Street Preachers, Suede, Kaiser Chiefs, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Jess Glynne and Madness.

In addition, a concert from Welsh legend Tom Jones will open the Core Week of the Llangollen Eisteddfod, which this year runs from July 2 to July 7 and will also include headline shows from Gregory Porter and Katherine Jenkins OBE. 

Between these dates, and in keeping with the traditions of the iconic festival, audiences can also enjoy a variety of evening events featuring award-winning folk band Calan, royal harpist Alis Huws, Britain’s Got Talent favourites Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, and West End and Broadway stars Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones.

The 11 headlining shows are part of a new partnership between the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor.

Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford said: “We can’t wait to get started on the biggest summer of live music ever held in Llangollen. This year we have truly global superstars such as Bryan Adams and Nile Rodgers appearing, alongside homegrown talent including Tom Jones, Calan, Alis Huws and Katherine Jenkins.

Working with our co-promoters Cuffe and Taylor has enabled us to secure the biggest names for our festival, and we can’t wait to welcome the world to Llangollen in larger numbers than ever before.”

Cuffe and Taylor co-founder Peter Taylor added: “We are very excited to be presenting what we hope will be the first of many summers in Llangollen. Not only are we working alongside a wonderful team at the Eisteddfod, but we have the pleasure in doing so in a beautiful location.

“This summer we have 11 outstanding artists coming to this incredible part of the world and we look forward to welcoming them, local residents and visitors from far and wide to this exceptional location.”

* For more information and to secure final tickets head to llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Theatre group to present Shrek the Musical Jr at the Town Hall

* The cast of Shrek the Musical Jr line up.

A youth theatre group is taking over the Llangollen Town Hall stage later this week to present its new show based around everyone’s favourite ogre.

To The Stage Productions are a not-for-profit group offering opportunities to performers of all ages in Wrexham and the surrounding areas, with some performers travelling from as far as Anglesey to take part.

From this Thursday to Saturday, June 20-22, they are presenting Shrek the Musical Jr in Llangollen.

The hero and his noble steed lead a cast of fairy tale misfits on a royal quest to rescue a princess from a castle protected by a fiery dragon. 

The musical spectacular features dazzling costumes, songs, laughter and toe-tapping dance numbers.

* To book, go to: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/llangollen/llangollen-town-hall/shrek-the-musical-jr/e-ylqggg