This afternoon saw the launch of the spectacular and dynamic Superprix of Wales.

This event will run in 2019 over the weekend of June 7-9 and is a ‘World First’, a unique fusion of Rugby Union and the very best of British Motorsport.

(A video of today’s press conference and more photos will be uploaded later . . . )

After many months of planning, it was announced that the most varied and exciting extravaganza of motorsport will be coming to Parc y Scarlets next year.

Superprix of Wales will be running a wide collection of racing machinery, ranging from Formula 1 to Le Mans cars, from British Touring cars to World Rally cars, from the now banded Group B rally cars to the early and dangerous F1 championship cars of the past.

They will be joined by a variety of drivers, from stars of the future to British European and even previous World Champions.

Superprix of Wales are also bringing along the incredible and crazy stunt driver Terry Grant and his team.

Never before has such an incredible collection of machinery visited South Wales; never before has such an iconic collection of equipment and drivers performed in and around such an incredible Rugby Union Stadium anywhere in the World.

This unique event could not have been put together without the forward thinking team of people at the stadium and the promoter and retired international driver Tim Matthews from Superprix Promotions.

He made the following statement.

” This event is the culmination of a number of years hard work and planning. It gives the people of South Wales a unique opportunity to see, hear, smell and get up close to a collection of racing equipment never previously assembled together in this region. To be able to run these machines in and around Parc y Scarlets is fantastic and gives spectators an incredible opportunity to sit in comfort and watch the action with use of all the facilities on offer.”

“In particular I would like to take a moment to thank Dave Healey for having the initial vision to enable me to explain what I believed we could do all the people at the Scarlets for being so friendly and supportive and allowing this to happen, the huge team of people we are bringing on board to provide all the circuit equipment and all the paraphernalia to make this display spectacular and my team of professionals who have ridden the wave that’s culminated in our launch today. It will be a great event for the spectators, a fun event and something novel for the drivers and I hope the beginning of an annual event for us all.”

A brand new musical will premiere in Llanelli in August.

Age of the Geek is being staged at Llanelli’s Selwyn Samuel Centre from Thursday, August 9, to Saturday, August 11.

Age of the Geek is based on the book and lyrics by Elliot Alldridge, with music by Ryan Mellish.

The story goes like this –

Zack is an unpopular schoolboy, with braces, spots and asthma . . . but he’s also very dead!

Zack’s body was found in the park next to a suicide note, but things don’t add up.

Eli, an enthusiastic young journalist gets hold of the story and won’t let go until she finds the truth.

She goes undercover at the school where she meets Zack’s best friend Leo, a geek who lives at the bottom of the social food chain and someone who is struggling to survive without Zack.

Everyone is a suspect as Eli and Leo fight to find Zack’s murderer in Age of the Geek, a musical filled with laughter, emotion and mystery.

The tale follows the two heroes as they unravel the story of the untimely death of a teenage boy and find out which is more dangerous – hunting a killer or being a geek in school.

Tickets are £10 (£7 for students) and are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk or via the Selwyn Samuel Centre.

Meanwhile, fans of variety shows are in for a treat this weekend.

The Summer Variety Show is being staged for two performances at the Miner’s Theatre in Ammanford on Saturday and Sunday (18.30 on July 28 and 14.00 on July 29).

The show will feature singing, dancing and comedy from Ammanford Community Theatre, Starquest Children’s Theatre Group, Statik dance group and other local community groups, choirs and individuals.

It promises to be a wonderful community event and a great family show for all to enjoy.

In Llanelli this weekend you can see ‘Sing my Story, Tell my Story’ at Ffwrnes Theatre.

There are two performances – the first at 19.30 on July 28 and the other at 14.00 on July 29.

It promises to be an emotional occasion, with the audience expected to laugh and cry as they listen to the stories and songs of The Tenovus Cancer Care Sing With us choir of Llanelli and Carmarthen.

The choir members have been working with ‘PeopleSpeakUp’ on telling their life stories.

The performances will be an open-hearted, life-affirming sharing of songs and stories of bravery, challenge and survival.

In September at Ffwrnes Theatre, the famous Llanelli-based Academy Amateur Company will celebrate 35 years of performing great musicals.

They will be staging ‘Thank you for the Memories’ at Ffwrnes on Saturday, September 8.

This special celebratory concert will feature songs from their favourite productions over the years, promising a musical journey down memory lane that will leave you singing all the way home.

There will be songs from shows such as Singin’ In The Rain, Guys And Dolls, Anything Goes, The Full Monty and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Looking further ahead, to October, one of Carmarthenshire’s finest will be returning ‘home’ for two special concerts.

John Owen-Jones is a Burry Port boy who has gone on to be an award-winning West End and Broadway star.

He will play Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli, on Wednesday, October 3 and the Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen, on Sunday, October 7.

John has played the lead role in The Phantom Of The Opera more than any other West End actor.

He was the youngest actor to ever play Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.

He will release his brand new album, called Spotlight, in the autumn.

John trained in acting at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama and, after a varied career so far, is probably best known for his portrayals of the iconic leading characters in The Phantom of The Opera and Les Miserables.

He has a long and happy association with ‘Les Mis’ in particular, for, at the age of 26, John became the youngest actor ever to play the role of Jean Valjean in the West End production of Les Miserables.

He is one of a handful of actors to have played the role of Valjean both in the West End and on Broadway and was the first British actor to do so.

In an online poll, John was voted the “Best Ever Valjean” and “Best Ever Performer in Les Miserables” by fans of the show worldwide.

John returned to play the role of Jean Valjean in a brand new production of Les Miserables for its 25th anniversary tour and was awarded the Manchester Evening News Award for the Best Actor in a Visiting Production for his performance as Jean Valjean.

The Manchester Evening News described his performance as “a truly astonishing achievement that must be one of the greatest stage performances of all time.”

John was also part of the Valjean quartet featured in the finale of the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 Arena, London.

He has played Jean Valjean to great acclaim twice on Broadway and most recently appeared as Valjean in the show’s Middle East premiere at Dubai Opera, Dubai.

He can be heard playing Jean Valjean on the official cast recording, Les Miserables Live! (2010)

John originally played the role of The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera between 2001 and 2004 in the West End production to great acclaim.

The Daily Mail said he was “better than all the actors that preceded him in the role”.

He returned to the role of The Phantom in the West End in 2011 culminating in a performance as part of the Phantom quartet in a special finale at the Phantom 25th Anniversary Concert at The Royal Albert Hall.

He is the West End’s longest running Phantom with nearly 2000 performances in the role.

He appeared in a special finale of the show at the Majestic Theatre, New York to celebrate Phantom’s 25th year on Broadway and is the first British actor to have appeared as The Phantom in Russia – in a special excerpt from the show commissioned for the 2014 Golden Masks Awards at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

After reinterpreting the role of Valjean on the 25th Anniversary tour of Les Miserables in 2010, John was asked to reinterpret the role of The Phantom in the brand new production of The Phantom of the Opera for its 25th anniversary UK tour in 2012.

His performance on the tour earned him a nomination for Best Actor in a Visiting Production from the Manchester Theatre Awards and he is in the unique position of being the only actor to have the opportunity to reinvent Valjean and The Phantom – two of the greatest roles in musical theatre history.

John has performed extensively in other theatre productions throughout the UK and he has appeared on television and radio numerous times. He has performed as a soloist in concerts all over the world.

John has released six solo albums.

The independently released ‘Hallelujah’ (2006) and on the Sain Records label ‘John Owen-Jones’ (2009) and ‘Unmasked’ (2011) and ‘Rise’ 2015; and two compilation albums – “Bring Him Home” (2017 Sain records) and the Japan only compilation “Music of the Night” (2015 Sony Records Japan).

John’s very busy diary for 2018 also includes the following appearances –

Friday, July 27, Movies and Musicals, The Welsh Proms, St David’s Hall, Cardiff.

Saturday, July 28, Special Guest of Katherine Jenkins in Concert with The National Symphony Orchestra, Sennowe Park, Norfolk.

August 29 – September 9, The Phantom in Ken Hill’s “The Phantom of the Opera”, Theatre Orb, Tokyo, Japan.

September 22-24, Concert, Yomiuri Otemachi Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

Monday, October 8, The Best Of The West End, Royal Albert Hall, London.

October 15-19, Floating Festivals: Stages, Navigator of the Seas, Amsterdam to Southampton.

In October, Carmarthen will also see another big name singer roll into town.

Russell Watson will be performing his new show, Canzoni d’Amore, at the Lyric on October 19.

Having sold more than seven million albums worldwide, Russell Watson is firmly established as the UK’s best-selling classical crossover artist of all time.

To date, his illustrious career has included performances for Her Majesty The Queen, The Pope and two US Presidents.

Russell is widely regarded as “The People’s Tenor”. Captivating to watch and enchanting to listen to, Russell Watson continues to wow audiences with his enigmatic and entertaining live performances.

The New York Times said of Russell Watson, “He sings like Pavarotti, and entertains the audience like Sinatra”.

Robert Lloyd works as a media consultant – www.rlloydpr.co.uk

If you have any news about the choral scene in Llanelli, the please contact him on 07777 683637 or email rlloydpr@btinternet.com

Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy. Website – www.philevans.co.uk

………………………….

There’s a popular train of thought (which is regularly delayed because of over-running engineering work in the Severn Tunnel) that we’re living in a selfish, uncaring society.

Well, during these past hot and sticky weeks, I’ve found the opposite to be true.

I’ve never known a summer in which I’ve come across so many people who went out of their way to share things with the rest of us.

I’ve seen shirtless young men wandering around town, eager to show off their tattoos.

I’ve encountered people generously sharing their barbecue smells, smoke and accompanying loud music.

And there’s more . . .

Recently, I was sat in a stop-start traffic jam on the M4 for around half-an-hour – although it seemed a little longer than that . . . say . . . two or three days.

Alongside me the whole time was a flash, electric blue car driven by a ‘gentleman’ who had obviously left his house so quickly that morning, he’d accidentally put his baseball cap on back to front!

I was able to see this quite clearly because as we crawled along at a snail’s pace, next to each other, all his car windows were open.

I would have called across to point out his unfortunate sartorial error, but I didn’t want to embarrass him.

Besides which, he wouldn’t have heard me because, out of the goodness of his heart, he was sharing with me – and many other motorists as far away as Gower –  the world’s longest CD of ear-splittingly loud, thumpingly-monotonous rap ‘songs’.

I may be wrong, but I’m almost sure some lyrics contained the odd ‘discouraging word’.

Although I risked offending his generous musical gesture, I eventually closed my car windows to block out the sound – after 30 seconds!

Later, as the traffic started to move and he sped off, it may sound ungrateful, but I found myself muttering a few ‘discouraging words’ of my own . . .

——————

Exercise for the mind:

On Sunday, I got up early, having had a late night in Manchester.

The aim was to get creative in readiness for today’s column (this column doesn’t write itself, you know), which can be challenging, especially if you are not in the correct frame of mind.

So, to start the creative process, I thought it best to visit the gym, as exercise is something that many say is good for the brain.

It also makes you sweaty and tired, but that’s a story for another time.

Despite having arrived early, I was surprised to see that many other people had the same idea, maybe not for the same reasons as me, but I’m sure you get my drift.

I witnessed men and women of various ages working out on a day of rest, keen to stay fit and younger looking, which I’m sure you will agree is a good thing.

However, I also couldn’t help but notice that many wore ‘make up’, including blusher, bright lipstick and brightly-coloured designer sportswear – and, yes, the ladies were just as colourful!

I never knew that going to the gym was such a social occasion for so many.

We live in interesting times . . .

For the record, I’m truly enjoining life’s rich tapestry, especially as it does help me become more creative.

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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales and www.philevans.co.uk

Please again include www.philevans.co.uk

British Lions, Wales and Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies at his first press conference since his return to the Scarlets region after injury.

Press conference at Parc y Scarlets this morning. Video by @rlloydpr

New Scarlets recruit Clayton Blommetjies at his first press conference for the Scarlets.

Recorded at Parc y Scarlets this morning by @rlloydpr

Gillian Davies, a volunteer with the Llanelli Talking Newspaper for the Blind service, tells us about her trip to Nepal.

Gillian visited the Himalayas with the Baptist Mission.

She talks to Robert Lloyd in this interview recorded for the Llanelli Talking Newspaper for the Blind.