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BBC 2 choose Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Pavilion stage to hold the Grand Final of Gareth Malone’s BBC 2’s The Choir - Sing While you Work
By Ceri Shaw, 2012-10-19
The Secret is out: BBC 2 choose Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Pavilion stage to hold the Grand Final of Gareth Malones BBC 2s The Choir - Sing While you Work.
DelicaTon (Germany) winners of the 2012 Choir of the World competition
BBC 2s The Choir - Sing While you Work chose the home of World renowned Choir of the World competition as its stage for Gareth Malones Grand Final, televised October 25 th BBC 2 9pm. Choral animateur, singer and presenter Gareth Malone was guest of honour at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2012, but organisers had to keep the Grand Final filming top secret.
Best known for his success with BBC Twos popular television series The Choir (produced by Twenty Twenty), Gareth Malone who was honored by the Queen in the Diamond Jubilee Birthday celebrations, addressed the audience before the Grand Finale Concert on the Sunday evening, which featured performances from John Owen Jones, Wynne Evans, Mark Llewellyn Evans, Fflur Wyn, Cr CF1 and many more.
Llangollen International Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths, says: Part of my responsibility as Musical Director of LLangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is to attract new choirs from all over the World to come and compete at the festival, continuing the 65 year old tradition. The fact that the BBC and Gareth Malone have chosen the Llangollen Pavilion stage, made famous for staging Choir Of The World competition to be the platform for the grand final is a fantastic seal of approval for Llangollen Eisteddfod. I am delighted to be able to say that THE final of THE Choir was on THE World Stage known as the LLangollen Eisteddfod Stage.
Gareth Malone says, The Llangollen International Eisteddfod has such a rich tradition of choral music and the prestigious Choir of The World Competition and the Pavarotti Trophy has elevated its status to a global recognition. Its a great privilege to be Guest of Honour at a festival which has such a rich choral tradition and is so well supported by locals and visitors from four corners of the world.
Eilir Owen Grifiths added: In light of Gareth Malones contribution in recent years to Choral Music we felt that it was a fitting tribute to invite him to be our Guest of Honour. He has elevated and popularized this choral tradition through his dedication and hard work.
Only 30 tickets remaining for 'Night of The Living Bards'. Buy now to avoid disappointment! Winners of our $50 gift cards have been drawn and will be notified by email shortly!
Out And About In Oregon (1)
OK so this is a little off topic but I thought I'd post an album of photographs taken during a visit to The Painted Hills a few years ago. It is a singular tribute to my prowess with a camera that I am able to take fairly ordinary photographs of even the most "visually stunning" subject matter 
Painted Hills, Oregon, Gallery
I want to make these photos available to friends and family back in Wales (and elsewhere) and this is the first of an occasional series of travel blogs which will appear on my Out And About In Oregon page.
Here is some more info about the area from the Wikipedia:- "Painted Hills is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in Wheeler County, Oregon. It totals 3,132 acres (1,267 ha) and is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Mitchell, Oregon. The Painted Hills are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon." More here:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Hills
Subsequent research has established that the winner of this year's Portland Lovespoon is none other than JANE BUCH of Florida who purchased her tickets at this years North American Festival of Wales in Scranton P.A.
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jane and thank everyone who contributed to the West Coast Eisteddfod. If you were not the lucky winner this year fear not, 2013 is just around the corner and we will be announcing new and exciting plans as the WCE goes into its fifth year.
We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to Dave and Laura for their continued support and for creating such a unique and beautiful work of art. Special thanks are also due this year to Jen Delyth and Chris Chandler for their invaluable contributions.
The spoon this year has been the result of artistic collaboration across state and national boundaries and the result is little short of breathtaking. For pictures and a full account of the process please see David Western's Portland Lovespoon Blog
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TUESDAY 22ND NOVEMBER |
 Atheist Xmas is an EP of alternative Christmas songs by Gruff Rhys an unholy trinity of three turkey-free new tracks for the festive season. Motown-tinged opener Post Apocalypse Christmas sees Gruff re-imagining the Winterval through the semi-melted eyes of a nuclear holocaust survivor. Humanist hymn At The End Of The Line deploys lush vocal harmonies, saxophone and also features in the soundtrack for Jesus And Mary Chain bassist Douglas Harts semi-autobiographical short film, Long Distance Information. Mournful piano ballad and curtain closer Slashed Wrists This Christmas addresses the seasonally taboo subjects of manic depression and suicide. Atheist Xmas is due out on 19th December and Gruff Rhys will celebrate the EPs birth with three instore performances on the day of release the pilgrimage starts at Spillers Records in Cardiff at 12noon, then heads to Rise in Bristol for 3pm and finishes off at Londons Rough Trade East - at 8pm. Gruff will also be playing a solo show at Xoyo, London, Artrocker Awards Live on December 2nd. Atheist Xmas wraps up a cracker of a year for Gruff Rhys releasing his heartwarming and highly praised third solo album, Hotel Shampoo , in February lead to extensive touring and headline performances on the stages of several summer festivals. More recently, Gruff has unveiled a collaboration with Turner Prize nominated visual artists Phil Collins, and released the Whale Trail single which was inspired by and created for an accompanying videogame involving a flying whale. Slashed Wrists This Christmas is streaming now at SoundCloud . The 12 vinyl version of Atheist Xmas can be preordered now via www.gruffrhys.com
www.gruffrhys.com | @gruffingtonpost www.turnstilemusic.net | @turnstilemusic |
An evening of debauched intellectualism in the Welsh traditionwith live poetry and storytelling competitions, live harping, Penderyn whiskey, druids, visiting authors and the first North American showing of "Otherworld." Part of the second annual Left Coast Eisteddfod. Come get your Cymru on.
Anyone wishing to register as a competitior ineither the Poetry or Story Telling Competitions please email americymru@gmail.com to arrange. First prize is $250 and second is $100. There will be ten competitors in each contest.
Please reserve your tickets early to avoid disappointment:- http://www.eventbee.com/view/americymru/event?eid=736303212
p.s.If you dont want to purchase online email us at americymru@gmail.com and we will reserve tickets for you. Your tickets will be emailed to you . You can print them off and pay on the night. Reserved tickets qualify
for our $50 gift card promotion.
Diolch/Thanks
Ceri Shaw/Gaabriel Becket
Left Coast Eisteddfod Organizing Committee
Howl Griff Fragile Diamond (album)
Release date: 15 October, 2012
Label: Dockrad Records
Catalogue No. Dockrad CD028
Distribution: Online iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp etc
Anglo-Welsh-American psychedelic rockers Howl Griff celebrate the Mon 15 Oct release of their album Fragile Diamond with an MPfree Fortnight.
Starting on that Monday, the band will allow one track per day to be downloaded free of charge for 10 minutes only. The time of free availability will be announced simultaneously on their Twitter feed http://twitter.com/HowlGriff and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/HowlGriff .
The MPfree Fortnight will showcase the band's dynamic versatility, as noticed by the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the Fragile Diamond album, which has been made BBC Radio Cymru C2's Album Of The Week (following BBC Radio Wales making the first single, also called Fragile Diamond, Single Of The Week.
Rating the album 8.5 out of 10, The Line Of Best Fit said "HG sprinkle cuteness where it fits into the compositions but leave them alone when it doesnt... effortlessly marrying indie rock and endearing songwriting. In other words, you can be adorable without descending into hipster irony." Louder Than War said "Trust me on this, you should hear this band. Its an album you should have your life will be a tiny bit shinier for hearing it" while Stuff magazine called it "The perfect antidote to autumn's inexorable onset, warm, fuzzy and saturated with summery charm".
Dozens more press reviews at http://www.howlgriff.com/press.html
Fragile Diamond follows Howl Griff's critically-acclaimed eponymous Welsh-language debut (which Clash magazine called the work of a Welsh Brian Wilson) and English-language LP The Hum which yielded much coverage on BBC 6Music including an MPFree of the Day, a BBC Radio Wales Single of the Week and being hailed as bloody lush by Lauren Laverne.
Lead single Fragile Diamond sees the band swinging melodically through a song that examines the fragility of life against a backdrop drenched in lush three-part harmonies. Elsewhere, theres the epic Meet My Maker (based on singer Griffs experiences of going blind while driving down the fast lane of the M4), the blistering riff-based 70s rock of She Walks On By The Flame, thumping disco beats of Sharkfins In The Sky (with more real-life lyrics, this time about a murder at an ice rink underneath the bands studio) and "maritime cowboy" anthem Rose of Emily (must be the influence of the Texan bass player). More track info and lyrics can be found at www.howlgriff.com
Recorded at The Fold in South-East London, Fragile Diamond was produced by Howl Griff and engineered/ mixed by Ollie Couling & Gareth Cobb. It is available on Howl Griffs Bandcamp site and most digital outlets including iTunes.
Howl Griff are:
Hywel Griffiths, lead vocals and guitar
Gary Parkinson, guitar and backing vocals
Steve Kennedy, bass and backing vocals
Nick Moore, drums and percussion
Catch them live:
Sat 27 Oct, Wrexham Lager Club, Wrexham
Sun 28 Oct, Odd Bar, Manchester
More dates (including London) to follow
It may seem that shes steady as a rock, but her heart is a fragile diamond.
Band: howl.griff@gmail.com
Website: http://www.HowlGriff.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/HowlGriff
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HowlGriff
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HowlGriffBand
Shop: http://howlgriff.bandcamp.com/
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We are: Hywel Griffiths, Nick Moore,
Gary Parkinson, Steve Kennedy and you
The Olympic Leek will be run, cycled and swam the length of Wales to open the first ever alternative food festival - FEASTIVAL, taking place in Bridgend town centre on 1st and 2nd October. Three top athletes from Bridgend will be starting the epic three day relay in a field in Flintshire, North Wales.
The leek will be plucked from the ground on a farm by leading Welsh producer Really Welsh - and then transported 230 miles on a route through some of Wales spectacular countryside.
As well as the grand arrival in Bridgend to open the food festival, the journey of the leek will be highlighting the issue of food miles whilst raising money for Children in Need.
Steve Brace, double Olympian, Alan Kerr, former world triathlon Gold medallist, and Jon Embling with 47 Marathons under his belt have agreed to take on the challenge and carry the leek by hand and bike across land and water.
Were expecting to take three days to complete this challenge before we arrive home in Bridgend but were all really looking forward to it said former Olympian and British champion Steve Brace Its a bit of a unique event for us and hopefully others will join us en route or turn out to cheer us on
Richard Arnold from Really Welsh Trading Company said For decades Welsh shops were full of leeks grown anywhere but Wales. In 2005 we started to put that right, developing a farm in North Wales that now produces up to 85 tons of Really Welsh leeks a week from July to May, and we think that by running some of our National Vegetables the length of the land, while raising some money for a great cause like 4 year old Finlay Brunt from Bridgend who is in desperate need of a life changing operation is a great way to celebrate Welsh Nation Leek week which runs from 1st to 7th October each year.
Feastival, Wales alternative food festival will open on the 1st October with the arrival of the leek. This will mark the start of a new two day event in the Welsh food calendar that promises to be a little bit different to the norm. some of the most unique features include egg dropping, leek lobbing, melon sculpting and an unusual food art centrepiece in the from of a giant 10ft cauliflower sheep. As well as the traditional food hall and market stalls, there will be cookery demos, an urban allotment, food cinema and the grub-hub tent designed just for little foodies.
To follow the route of the leek relay visit our blog via www.walesalternativefoodfestival.com and follow us on twitter @ www.twitter.com/followtheleek
