Thursday 1 November 2018

Tenby Arts Festival is over for another year and was a great success. We had bigger audiences than ever.
My thoughts now turn to the centenary of the end of World War 1 which we will all be celebrating in ten days time. I especially think of my grandfather William Louis Reed who began work in 1912 in the fledgling oil industry as a marine engineer for Lynch Brothers who were bringing the first oil supplies out of Iran. The company was the "Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company". Grandfather sailed on their ships and mended their bridges until war began in 1914 when all the ships were commandeered by the British Navy to fight the Turks in Iraq.
William Reed spent two and a half years (1916 - 18) in a Turkish prisoner of war camp after being captured and force marched along with others from his ship, Julnar, and from the army up through Iraq and into Turkey. He was awarded the DSO for his part in the attempt to free the besieged garrison at Kut-al-Amara. The captain of the ship and the navigating officer both received a VC but were both killed in Kut.
After being freed my grandfather went home but was soon back in Iraq to work and it was here that  he married my grandmother, an Iraqi christian.
I inherited his diaries which he kept just before and during the war. It is on these that I have based my book Battle in Iraq to tell the whole story of these extraordinary events which took place 100 years ago.



Friday 21 September 2018

Hi all,
well it is that time of year again.
Tenby Arts Festival begins on Saturday 22nd September – 29th September. So here is some information to tempt you all to come. Most of all don't miss my talk on the suffragettes celebrating 100 years of voting rights for women – Tuesday 25th at 4pm.


Music at Tenby Arts Festival 2018
22nd - 29th September

The festival gets off to a flying start with a Brass Ensemble and a Samba Band on Saturday 22nd September at 10.30 & 11am outside St Mary’s Church gates and on North Harbour. There will also be a sand artist creating wonderful images on the beach.

St Mary’s Church
2pm 
Rising Stars Concert which features great musicians of the future - brilliant winners of the Gregynog Young Musician Competition. Sheku Kanneh-Mason was a previous winner.

Sunday 23rd September
12pm
Heywood Spa Hotel 
Jazz Brunch featuring Kitty’s Trio.
a mix of tailored swing and jazz – including classic jazz standards and original compositions. 


St Mary’s Church
3pm 
Cantemus which this year features Vivaldi’s Gloria and The Choral Suite from The Armed Man by Carl Jenkins sung by a scratch choir. All singers welcome - rehearsal 12 - 2.30pm

6.30pm
Trinity College Singers offer a lovely concert to include many favourite arias. Last year this event was a fantastic success. These are post graduate students of music with superb voices.



Monday 24th September 
St Mary’s Church 
7.30pm
Viv McLean in concert. 
Pianist Viv McLean makes a welcome return to the festival with an exciting programme of music including works by Bach Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin & Gershwin.





Tuesday 25th September
St Mary’s Church 
2pm
Chloë Ellen Jones & Ellis Thomas in concert.
Two talented young musicians, Chloë delighted us all when she came as part of the Rising Stars Concert. Her flute playing was sublime.  Ellis has also won many prestigious competitions and has played with the St John’s Festival Orchestra and the Welsh Chamber Orchestra.

Their programme will include works by Aaron Copeland, Paul Taffanel, Scarlatti & Chopin 


St Mary’s Church
7.30pm 
Flight of the Eagle 
Piers Adams
Piers is one of the world’s leading recorder players and the Eagle represents a new development in the evolution of the recorder. It is so much more than the instrument we all had to learn at school.  His programme will include Poulenc, Albéniz, Piazzolla and Bach among others.

Wednesday 26th September
Penally Abbey 
12pm 
One Art
An opera/cabaret based on the life of poet Elizabeth Bishop performed by soprano Laure Meloy. She collaborated with composer Paula Kimper, on this production. Laure launched Femme Lunatique Productions to celebrate and promote the work of women composers. There will also be a light lunch. Numbers are limited so book early.



St Mary’s Church
7.30pm
Songs of the Great War
Patricia Hammond & Matt Redmond
A concert to remember that it is 100 years since the ending of the First World War, “the war to end all wars”. Many old favourites will be performed such as Mademoiselle from Armentières, If You were the Only Girl in the World, Goodbye-ee and many more. A beautiful authentic and nostalgic performance to commemorate The Great War.





Thursday 27th September
St Mary’s Church 
8pm
Tenby Male Choir

Tenby's very own traditional Welsh choir, ever popular with festival goers, returns again this year with a sparkling concert to delight all music fans.


Saturday 29th September

St Mary’s Church 
3.30pm 
Siriol & Tolfan Jenkins
A talented brother and sister duo with a shared passion for music. 
They will perform a musical mix ranging from solo piano works by Rachmaninoff and Liszt to improvised jazz standards and modern crossover compositions for saxophone and piano. 
Recent performances by the pair have included a Span Arts concert at Llandissilio. Talfan has also recently performed for Tenby Male Choir and Siriol's highlights include a performance of Beethoven's Emperor piano concerto with the Orchestra of Magdalen College.



Festival Grand Finale
De Valance Pavilion
7.30pm
Swansea City Opera presents 
A Viennese Whirl. 
A concert that evokes the magic and music of Vienna transporting audiences to the banks of the dreamy Danube River. Enjoy an enchanting evening of singing and soaring violin melodies from some of the most popular Viennese composers including Kreisler, Lehar, Kalman and Johann Strauss, as well as operettas such as ‘The Merry Widow’, ‘Die Fledermaus’ and ‘The Gypsy Baron’.





Other Events at the Festival -

TALKS - 
These are a perennial favourite with festival audiences and this year we have a fascinating selection.

Monday 24th 
2pm Church House
Death in the Ice – David Saunders on the
doomed Franklin expedition to find the North West Passage.

4pm Church House 
Here be Monsters –  Lt. Cdr. John Blake explains the importance and history of
sea charts.

Tuesday 25th 
4pm Church House
The Suffragettes  – Josephine Hammond tells the story of these courageous
women fighting for equality and the right to vote. 

Wednesday 26th 
2pm Library Hall
Quilting – Jan Jones will talk about the history, and techniques of this 
traditional craft from Massachusetts to Wales. There will also be a display of quilts by Jan and the Narberth quilting
group.
4.30pm Church House
The Davies Sisters – Dr Jaqueline Jaynes will tell the story of these two women 
who left a legacy of wonderful paintings to the Welsh
nation.

Thursday 27th 
2pm Church House
Watercolour Workshop Graham Hadlow will talk about his work and give a 
demonstration of watercolour techniques. He has also
generously donated one of his pictures to be raffled to raise
money for the festival.
4pm Church House
Wine    – George Hancock will wax lyrical on his favourite subject.
He has spent years building up his knowledge of wine. There will be an opportunity to sample some too!

Friday 28th 
2pm Church House
From Pembrokeshire to Passchendaele – Tony Curtis pays tribute to the
memory of those who served and suffered in the Great War.
He tells the story of what happened to members of his own
family. 

4pm Church House
Wales to Nagasaki – Greg Lewis returns after his highly successful  talk last year.
His focus this time is the story of Les Spence, rugby player
who became President of the WRU. In the Second World
war Les witnessed the horror of the Nagasaki bomb. 

Our opening night, Saturday 22nd September, has two exciting events. Larks and Magic (Church House 7pm) is a play by the ever-popular Alison Neil telling the story of the writer E.Nesbit, famous for children’s books such as The Borrowers and The Railway Children
At 7.30pm the Sailing Club in Tenby Harbour plays host to a music and storytelling event Dance of the Stickfighting Warriors, a collaboration between Phil Okwedy and musician Mikey Price.
The festival also features the traditional Sandcastle Competition on Sunday 23rd  on Castle Beach between 11am and 2pm, 
Poetry Please is back by popular demand; this year it will take place in St. Teilo’s Church Hall on Sunday 23 at 4pm. 
Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th offer the opportunity to enjoy the Pint Sized Plays, another regular feature of the festival These are ten-minute plays performed in various pubs around Tenby.
Our final day, Saturday 29th September at 11am, in addition to our music events includes a workshop for children on Japanese Calligraphy with Yoriko Omae. It will give them an opportunity to hear traditional stories, dress up in Japanese costume and try their hand at traditional Japanese writing. 
Below is a chart showing in brief all our events. Further information is available in our brochure and by ringing the box office  07815 571589 after 14th September or by email tenbyartsfestival@yahoo.co.uk 
Or you can take a look at our website www.tenbyartsfest.co.uk

Tenby Arts Festival 2018
22nd – 29th September at a Glance

Date
Time
Event
Venue
Saturday 22nd September 2018
10am
Coffee Morning
Church House

11am
Samba Band
North Harbour /Tudor Square

11am
Brass Ensemble
Outside St Mary’s Church Gates

11am
Sand Art with Mark Treanor
North Beach

2pm
Rising Stars Concert
St Mary’s Church

7.00pm
Larks and Magic, play by Alison Neil
Church House

7.30pm
Dance  of the Stickfighting Warriors, storytelling with Phil Okwedy
Sailing Club
Sunday 23rd September 2018
10am
11am - 2pm
Festival church Service
Sandcastle Competition
St Mary's Church
Castle Beach

12noon
Jazz Brunch with Kitty's Trio
Heywood Spa Hotel

12 - 2.30pm
3 - 4.15pm
Cantemus
Rehearsal
Performance
St Mary’s Church

4 - 6pm
Poetry Please


6.30pm
Trinity College Singers
St Mary’s Church
Monday 24th September 2018
2pm
Death in the Ice, a talk by David Sanders on the Franklin Expedition
Church House

4pm
Here be Monsters, a talk by Lt. Cdr. John Blake on the importance of sea charts
Church House

7.30pm
Pint Sized Plays, see Monday page for details
Pubs around Tenby

7.30pm
Viv McLean in Concert
St Mary’s Church
Tuesday 25th September 2018
2.00pm

4pm
In Concert Chloë Jones (flute) & Ellis Thomas (piano) 

Suffragettes, a talk by Josephine Hammond
St Mary's Church

Church House

7.30pm
Pint Sized Plays, see Tuesday page for details
Pubs around Tenby

7.30pm
Flight of the Eagle, a recorder concert by Piers Adam
St Mary’s Church
Wednesday 26th September 2018
12 noon
One Art, an opera/cabaret presented by Laure Meloy & light lunch
Penally Abbey





2pm
Quilting, a talk and display by Jan Jones
Library Hall

4.30pm
The Davies Sisters –  A Talk by Dr. Jacqueline Jeynes
St Mary’s Church

7.30pm
Songs of the Great War presented by Patricia Hammond & Matt Redmond
St Mary’s Church
Thursday 27th September 2018
2pm
Watercolour Workshop with Graham Hadlow
Church House

4pm
Wine, a talk by George Hancock
Church House

8pm
Tenby Male Choir
St Mary’s Church
Friday 28th September 2018
2pm
From Pembrokeshire to Passchendaele and Perth, family memoirs from Tony Curtis
Church House

4pm
Wales to Nagasaki, a Welshman at war with Greg Lewis
Church House

7.30pm
Heroes without a Parachute, a play by Derek Webb with Fluellen Theatre Company
De Valance Pavilion
Saturday 29th September 2018
11am - 12pm
Japanese Calligraphy with Yoriko
Library Hall

3.30pm
Siriol & Tolfan Jenkin play piano & saxophone
St Mary’s church

7.30pm
Festival Grand Finale
Swansea City Opera presents
A Viennese Whirl
De Valance Pavilion