This is an advertisement for a post in the Gwent Welsh for Adults Centre and the ability to speak Welsh is essential

One of the UK’s leading choirs, Only Men Aloud, Will headline the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod on Friday evening, 30 July.
Led by Tim Rhys-Evans, with renowned West End director, Ken Caswell – originally from Blaenau Gwent and still living in the area – producing, you can expect a slick show with plenty of entertainment, as part of the choir’s tenth anniversary celebrations.

Only Men Aloud’s Musical Director, Tim Rhys-Evans, says:

“This is an important year for Only Men Aloud, as we celebrate our tenth birthday. It’s an opportunity for us to look forward to the future, but is also a chance for us to look back at our roots, and for many of us, these are deep in the valleys of South Wales. The opportunity to headline the opening concert at the National Eisteddfod – a festival which celebrates everything dear to us – back home is a great honour.

“Our aim that night is to ensure that the audience enjoy the show, and we’ll have a number of guests joining us on the stage during the evening. We’ll be celebrating the Eisteddfod’s visit to the Valleys, and we’ll also be celebrating the Valleys themselves, an area which is so pivotal to the music and entertainemt world here in Wales, and I’m sure we’ll also be joined by one or two familiar faces during the show.

Hywel Wyn Edwards, National Eisteddfod Organiser, added:

“Only Men Aloud were the natural choice to open this year’s Eisteddfod. They’re a group of young men who have worked hard over the past few year and have succeeded in attracting and growing their audience across the UK and beyond. Their links with the Valleys are very important to them, and we were particularly keen to celebrate the Eisteddfod’ s visit to the area in as many ways as possible.

“We can guarantee that this will be an evening of pure entertainment, whilst pushing the boundaries of choral performance in Wales. Tickets are likely to sell quickly, so remember to book your seats on 1 March to make sure that you’re in the Pavilion for a night to remember.”

Only Men Aloud have been nominated in the NS&I Album of the Year category in the 2010 Classical Brits Awards. For more information go to www.classicfm.co.uk..

Tickets for the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod evening concerts go on sale on 1 March. Tickets can be ordered online – www.eisteddfod.org.uk – or by ringing the ticket office - 0845 122 1176. Order forms are also available in the information booklet, published at the end of the month and available across Wales. Details of all concerts will be published at the end of February.

All details will also appear in our regular newsletter, online and on our facebook page - www.facebook.com/eisteddfod. Register to receive the latest information, either online or by emailing gwyb@eisteddfod.org.uk.

The Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod is held in The Works, Ebbw Vale from 31 July – 7 August. The Maes is convenient for visitors from all parts of Wales, with easy transport links from all main routes and regular public transport access. Forty minutes from the centre of Cardiff, Ebbw Vale is an hour from Swansea and two and a quarter hours from the Dolgellau area.

The festival attracts around 160,000 visitors every year, and is a travelling festival which alternates between north and south Wales. Entry to all daytime activities is free of charge for the price of a daily Maes ticket.

The Eisteddfod receives a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government through the Welsh Language Board. The Eisteddfod also receives funding from unitary authorities in Wales through its partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association. This year’s festival has received £300,000 from the Heads of the Valleys Regeneration Programme, to enable the Eisteddfod to visit the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys area.

Salary: £15,656 to £16,740 per annum

This post is to act as administrative support to Coleg Gwent’s Welsh for Adults Centre. You will be required to carry out the necessary administration for the Centre offering secretarial support to the Welsh for Adults provision based at Coleg Gwent’s, Pontypool Campus. This will include using Microsoft Office, Word, Outlook, Access and Excel and the successful candidate should be well organised and have excellent communication skills.

The successful candidate should either be a fluent Welsh speaker or a proficient learner, and supportive to developing Welsh for Adults in the area. On occasions, you will be required to work evenings and weekends.

For further information or to download an application form please visit www.coleggwent.ac.uk, or telephone 01495 333333.

Dear friend,

I write to you with a personal appeal to attend the first meeting of the Pontypool and Cwmbran Appeal Committee for the Blaenau Gwent & Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod of Wales 2010.

You may be aware that the National Eisteddfod is returning to Ebbw Vale in August 2010 for the first time in over 50 years. An ambitious Appeal Fund of £300,000 has been set locally, and appeal committees are being set up all accross the area to think of and arrange fundraising events.


To this end, a meeting has been arranged to be held at
YSGOL GYMRAEG CWMBRAN (The old 3 Bears Primary School), Henllys Way, St Dials, Cwmbran, at 6.30pm on WEDNESDAY 03 MARCH 2010
The purpose of the meeting will be to establish the local appeal committee and discuss ideas how to fundraise.

I sincerely hope that I can count on your support so that we can play our part in ensuring a successful National Eisteddfod here in the valleys.

May I thank you in advance and hope to see you at the meeting.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Greenwood
(01495 350155)