Wales Feed

BBC Radio Wales' sports output

2017-07-21T13:47:41+00:00

As we head into another season of sport, BBC Radio Wales Editor Colin Paterson blogs about the station’s sports output.

BBC Radio Wales is a proud supporter of Welsh sport. As the national radio station for Wales, we want to ensure that we prioritise the moments involving our national teams and beyond.

We cover the whole of Wales and deliver a wide range of content – news, current affairs, politics, sport, music, entertainment, factual and drama. The challenge is to do this in a way which brings the radio station together in a cohesive way. While the future of digital technology provides huge opportunities in how we deliver our content there is a debate about the future of traditional methods of transmission, which are likely to change or even be phased out altogether. As Editor, my job is to think about the future of how we deliver our programmes.

In recent years, we’ve broadcast a weekday evening programme - Radio Wales Sport. We’re going to bring this programme to an end and put our resources into key sports programmes during the week. For Swansea and Cardiff, commentary for every game will be available on FM/digital radio in the south west and south east respectively. Some Swansea and Cardiff games will be available across Wales, rights restrictions allowing. For Wrexham, every game will be available via the BBC Sport Wales website, and on FM/digital for key games. For Newport, we will provide match updates and will broadcast key games in the south east on FM/digital radio. Due to league restrictions, the online commentary rights for Newport are not available to us, but it is a conversation we continue to pursue. We believe this move towards delivering commentary online reflects the future of sports broadcasting, and also allows us to provide a more consistent offering on BBC Radio Wales.

Janice Long will continue to present her music-driven programme, live from Wrexham, between 7pm and 10pm, Monday to Thursday. On Friday, The Friday Night Social will continue between 7pm and 10pm, providing in-depth coverage, a round-up of the week, a preview of the weekend and key football and rugby commentaries. On a Saturday afternoon, BBC Radio Wales sport continues with live sports updates and commentaries from around Wales. Furthermore, the very popular Call Rob Phillips returns for the new season.

Breaking sports news and sports journalism continues in Good Morning Wales and our sports bulletins across the day. In addition, in-depth sports news and analysis is available on the BBC Sport Wales website.

As well as the sport you can hear on the radio, we will begin the new season with three Welsh sport podcasts: Scrum V (rugby), BBC Radio Wales Football (football coverage from all leagues across Wales) and The Friday Night Social (a shortened version of the Friday night programme). We also have more ideas for future on air and podcast programmes – watch this space.

“Gyda mis i fynd, gwrandwch, galwch heibio, a rhowch wybod i ni beth yw’r farn”

2016-12-07T10:00:00+00:00

Pan ddaeth dydd y cyhoeddiad bod Radio Cymru’n bwriadu arbrofi gyda gorsaf dros dro o’r enw Radio Cymru Mwy, un gyda cherddoriaeth a sbort yn serennu, o’r Alban y ces i un o’r negeseuon cyntaf un. SUT roedd Radio Cymru yn cael bwrw iddi cyn i griw yn yr Alban lansio eu gorsaf dros dro nhwythe fis Tachwedd?

Rhag cywilydd y Cymry!

Tynnu coes ro’n nhw ac roedd y gefnogaeth yn gynnes ond tanlinellu pwynt hefyd – sef bod gorsafoedd radio ymhell tu hwnt i Gymru a Radio Cymru’n dal ar bob cyfle i arbrofi gyda thechnoleg ddigidol. Ddiwedd y mis y buon nhw wrthi yn yr Alban am wyth niwrnod yn darlledu rhaglenni cerddoriaeth bedair awr ar hugain y dydd – a’u pwrpas nhw, fel ninne, oedd dysgu, synhwyro, arbrofi a mwynhau’r cyfle i glywed llwyth o gerddoriaeth a lleisiau newydd. Fe ewn i gyd ati pan ddaw 2017 i bwyso a mesur, holi, gwrando a gneud yn fawr o’r gwersi fydd wedi’u dysgu.

Elan Evans

Beth ry’n ni wedi ddysgu’n barod te?

Wel, gwersi technegol yn sicr. Ry’n ni wedi cael cyfle i ail-osod gwifrau a chreu chysylltiadau newydd sy’n cil-agor drysau newydd i Radio Cymru. Cil-agor? Ie, achos mae Mwy hefyd wedi bod yn gyfle i ddeall ble mae’r gwendidau technegol o hyd, neu’r costau’n fwrn. Dyma’r tro cyntaf hefyd i ni gael synhwyro fel Cymry Cymraeg sut brofiad yw dewis cenedlaethol ar wahanol lwyfannau, pryd mae’n hawdd g’neud y dewis rhwng gwahanol lwyfannau a phryd mae’n chwithig ac yn broblem ac felly’n bod ni’n dueddol o beidio troi’r botwm.

Un o’r elfennau brafiaf hyd yma? Cael cyfle i chwilio am dalent ac am leisiau newydd. Ydy popeth wedi llwyddo ar y cynnig cyntaf? A phob syniad wedi taro deuddeg? Naddo – mi fyse hi’n reit rhyfedd pe bae hynny wedi digwydd, fyse hi ddim? Mae arian wedi bod yn dynn a’r cyfle i greu cynnwys newydd, uchelgeisiol yn brin ond mae ‘na leisiau wedi cydio, wedi tyfu ac wedi mwynhau cyflwyno ar y radio am y tro cyntaf. Mae ‘na fwy i ddod – mis arall o ‘gawn ni jest drio plîs? ‘ I ffans ymddangosiadau’r Welsh Whisperer ar Radio Cymru Mwy, y newydd yw y bydd e i’w glywed ar nosweithiau Gwener ar Radio Cymru cyn bo hir. Un arall ry’n ni am glywed llawer mwy ohoni ar Radio Cymru yw Elan Evans ac erbyn yr Haf, ry’n ni’n bwriadu gwireddu’r awydd hwnnw.

Welsh Whisperer

A chan mai arbrawf dros dro yw Radio Cymru Mwy, a hwnnw ddim ar gael ar bob cyfrwng drwy Gymru gyfan, fydd dim ffigyrau gwrando. Dwi’n dweud cyn i chi holi! Mae ‘na griw bach yn gwrando’n gyson, yn nodi’u hymateb a’u harferion gwrando ac mae modd cael argraff o raglenni a cherddoriaeth a chyflwynwyr sy’n denu ymateb. Mae eu sylwadau nhw ac ebyst a sylwadau gwrandawyr o bob cwr o Gymru’n ddiddorol, yn werthfawr, yn onest, yn ymarferol, yn gynnes, yn amheus – yn dipyn o bopeth ond gymaint gwell na difaterwch.

Gyda mis i fynd, gwrandwch, galwch heibio, a rhowch wybod i ni beth yw’r farn drwy anfon gair at dweudmwy@bbc.co.uk

Trowch i wrando – nid am fod rhywun, rhywle yn cyfri ond am fod y dewis yno, a’r cyfle yno i roi barn.

A phan fydd Mwy yn mynd yn fud am hanner dydd ar Ionawr y 3ydd, fe fydd y cylch yn gyflawn. Pam? Am mai dyna’r union ddiwrnod y bydd Radio Cymru ei hun yn dechrau dathlu’i phenblwydd yn 40.

Gwrandewch ar Radio Cymru ar Ionawr y 3ydd a bydd blwyddyn gyfan o ddathlu – edrych nol, edrych mlaen, gwneud yn fawr o archif aruthrol yr orsaf, creu cyfuniadau bendigedig o seiniau’r gorffennol a’r dyfodol – yn dechrau o ddifri. Gwrandewch ar Radio Cymru Mwy y bore hwnnw ac fe gewch chi wrando ar yr ‘Helo Bobol’ cyntaf un ddarlledwyd ddeugain mlynedd ynghynt. Dim byd wedi newid? Och chi wiiir yn gwrando ar hwn Mamgu? Dyma sut ddyle Radio Cymru fod! Gawn ni weld.

Wrth baratoi at y dathlu, mae sawl un wedi holi’n ddiweddar beth sy’n gneud Radio Cymru’n unigryw wrth iddi droi’n ddeugain. Y ffaith mai ni yw’r unig orsaf radio Gymraeg genedlaethol, ie, wrth gwrs. Ond yr un ateb arall yw mai chi, y gwrandawyr, a’ch perthynas chi a ni yw’r hyn sy’n gwneud Radio Cymru yn wirioneddol unigryw a gwerthfawr.

Dathlu – a diolch fydd y thema felly, ac addewid na fyddwn ni fyth yn peidio edrych ymlaen, tra’n mwynhau edrych yn ôl.

There will be a party in Wales on Saturday... (or Tuesday!)

2015-10-06T11:25:00+00:00

OK I admit it - I actually thought we'd have had the bash to celebrate Wales' qualification to next summer's Euro 2016 finals, in France.

Let's be honest, many a Welsh fan who watched or listened to the home qualifier with Israel at the Cardiff City Stadium last month were ready to party.

It was understandable since Wales' last major finals appearance was at the World Cup in 1958.

Just one problem. Wales didn't get the win they needed. They drew 0-0.

Of course, that night we also had the hope Cyprus would hold Belgium to secure our qualification.

Typically, Cyprus were four minutes away from securing the result Wales wanted, before Belgium's Eden Hazard scored their winning goal to ensure the Welsh wait continued.

The only redeeming feature for me was the fact I watched the closing minutes of that Cyprus-Belgium game on a special Alan Thompson Show on Radio Wales. Mal Pope and the one and only Beverley Humphries also on hand. Quite an experience!

Imagine what the singing would have been like if we'd won!

Still, after 57 years of waiting to qualify for the finals of a major tournament - another few weeks won't matter.

And let's be fair - at the start of this campaign, who would have thought Wales would be top of Group B and just one point away from qualifying with two games to go?

That's the reality. Wales have two games left to secure the most important point in their history.

On Saturday night, Chris Coleman's men take on Bosnia Herzegovina in Zenica before returning home to play world football minnows Andorra, at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.

Of course, both games and THE best build-up will be on BBC Radio Wales, not forgetting the sports phone-in CallRob after each match when you can air your views on 03700-100-110, by texting 8-10-12 or tweeting @bbcradiowales.

It looks like a Super Saturday for Welsh sport - with Wales' rugby World Cup clash against Australia at (KO 4.45pm) ahead of the Euro 2016 encounter (KO 7.45pm).

So, for Wales to do it under their own steam, they need a point. Actually, they may not even need a point if Israel fail to win both of their remainng games - at home to Cyprus on Saturday evening and away to Belgium on the night Wales play Andorra.

But as Wales manager Chris Coleman said: ''We want to take care of our own business.''

Wales have never beaten Bosnia. The best result was a 2-2 draw 12 years ago when John Hartson and Rob Earnshaw scored.

But Bosnia, who were top seeds for this group when the original draw was made, have disappointed in this section.

And they are set to be without two of their best players Everton's Mohammed Besic - who is suspended - and former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, who is doubtful with injury.

In contrast, the Wales squad looks as healthy as its been for some time with Joe Allen and Joe Ledley fit again and, best of all, Gareth Bale looking fine..

Coleman is predicting a ''bit of a tear up'' in Zenica because Bosnia have to win to keep alive their slim hopes of securing third place in Group B - and a spot in the Euro 2016 play-offs, which could yet earn them a berth in France.

But Wales travel in confidence these days and will be desperate to remain unbeaten in the group.

Coleman admitted to being ''flat'' for a few days after the Israel game - which goes to show he feels exactly the same emotions as we supporters!!

That is part of the Coleman appeal. He's just like you and me. He wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to pride in his country. That shines through from his players, who he has moulded into a very tight group.

They have the chance to make a dream come true. And, if it does not happen in Bosnia, then Wales have the ultimate insurance against Andorra.

The tiny European mountain top Principality are ranked 205th in football's world rankings - out of 209. They are just behind Somalia and a place in front of Djibouti.

They have only won one competitive game in their history. Frankly, it looks as close to a home banker as you can get.

This time I'm sure there will be no let down.

If its not Saturday, it will be Tuesday. Prepare to party!

A Rugby Musical Spectacular

2015-09-25T17:00:00+00:00

“We can call it ‘Gareth Charles – The Musical’!”
Those were the words of Steve Austins, Editor Radio Wales in April this year. They made as much sense to me then as they’re probably making to you right now but let me try and explain.
Every year, BBC Radio Wales gets the chance to work closely with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It’s always an exciting opportunity. Previous projects have seen the radio station take over the orchestra for a day and last year we put on a special concert with Mike Peters, front man of rock group The Alarm, who performed to orchestral arrangements of some of the band’s classic hits.

This time around we decided that it would be good to do something around the time of the Rugby World Cup, particularly the England/Wales match which is always a popular fixture with our audience.
We talked about trying to recreate the atmosphere of the last time Wales beat England in a spectacular 30-3 drubbing that clinched the Six Nations Championship for Wales in 2013, snatching the Grand Slam from England in the process. The atmosphere in the Millennium Stadium that day was exciting, intense and emotional, resulting in a particularly memorable and passionate commentary from our chief rugby correspondent Gareth Charles. Steve suggested setting some of those clips to music which would be performed by the orchestra.

I was tasked with developing ‘Gareth Charles – The Musical’ further.

It soon became apparent that just playing some radio commentary whilst an orchestra performed probably wouldn’t be the most scintillating thing for an audience to sit through. I started looking into using the TV pictures from that day too.

Eddie Butler introduces the evening of Rugby and Music

The piece also needed a narrator to tell the story of that day and I decided that Eddie Butler, former captain of Wales, eminent broadcaster and journalist, would be ideal to write the script.
Calling on the distant memories of my music degree I collated a list of suitably epic (and accessible) classical music that included Wagner’s ‘Ride Of the Valkyries’ and Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I collected a few choice phrases that had been penned by Eddie for some of his newspaper articles and recorded them in a rough approximation (certainly NOT an impersonation!) of his voice to demonstrate how the finished piece might sound with a mixture of music, commentary and narration.

It sounded great. The only problem now was that Eddie knew nothing about the project – yet. It took less than 3 minutes to sell the idea to him and he seemed genuinely excited to be involved.
Next we needed a film to show the audience who would be attending the event. I wanted it to have the same glossy, high production values which are associated with our Sport department’s output and I was allocated Chris Howells, one of their producers, who also had a musical background.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales prepare to strike up

Over the next few weeks Chris worked with Eddie and put together a 20 minute film that didn’t just tell the story of that historic day, it also investigated the historic rivalry between the two teams.
Musical scores were hired by the orchestra and additional players were drafted in – apparently some of the pieces required a larger orchestra than normal!

We released tickets to the performance and they sold out almost straight away. I found my days starting to be taken up with discussions about big screens, lighting rigs, set dressing, and a host of other things you wouldn’t normally come across in an average radio production. In addition to this, Radio Wales’ digital team were filming the event for our website. They had 6 cameras set up that they were going to edit into a visual spectacular to accompany the radio programme.

BBC NOW providing the soundtrack to the rugby video

By now this project, that had started as such a simple proposition, had grown into one of the most complicated projects I’d ever produced. We basically had a live orchestra trying to play along to a film that required them to hit certain points at specific times. In addition to this we had a live narrator who also had to hit certain points without crashing into excerpts of commentary that were on the film.

This made things particularly difficult for the guest conductor on the day, Kenneth Woods. If the orchestra played too fast or too slow they would be out of sync with the film. In the end, we had to give him an audio feed of the original guide track of music that we’d used to edit the film. He had this fed to his headphones and then had to keep the orchestra performing live at the same speed as the recording on the video tape – a musical equivalent of rubbing your head whilst patting your stomach!

Conductor Kenneth Woods with BBC NOW

Performance day arrived and I had a last minute crisis of confidence. Suddenly, on paper, the whole project seemed absolutely ridiculous and impossible! A further issue that came to light during rehearsals was the volume of the orchestra in relation to Eddie’s narration and Gareth’s commentary clips. Parts of Holst’s ‘Mars’ require the orchestra playing at full blast and they were in danger of drowning everything else out.

I needn’t have worried. I had a fantastic technical team with me who dealt with every issue that arose and after only two full run-throughs of the film we were ready to go.

The audience arrived, dressed in rugby regalia as we’d requested. The majority wore rugby shirts but there were also a few daffodil heads and face-painted dragons. People were treating this like a proper rugby match!

The first half of the evening was a straight forward concert. The orchestra played ‘musical representations’ of some of the countries Wales might meet on their way to the Rugby World Cup Final and then it was time for the main piece.

In the control room we had a collection of producers and engineers, each one controlling and cueing different parts of the production. The orchestra started the first bars of Vaughan Williams ‘Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis’ and we were up and running.

The recording went without a hitch. Eddie and the orchestra were faultless. The audience behaved like they were at a rugby match, singing along with the National Anthem and cheering and clapping whenever a try or kick went over even chanting ‘Wales, Wales, Wales’ at one point.

I spoke to several members of the audience afterwards but for me the show’s success was summed up by one older gent who told me that he’d never been to a rugby match before but now, having attended this, felt like he had. Job done!

Job done!

You can hear Eddie Butler’s World Cup Warm Up at 9pm on Friday 25th September, and 1pm/6.40pm on Saturday 26th September on BBC Radio Wales and for 30 days after broadcast on BBC iPlayer Radio.

The film of the event is an iPlayer Exclusive which can be viewed on BBC iPlayer until Friday 2nd October.

Say good morning to the best job in Welsh broadcasting

2015-07-31T14:35:59+00:00

Working on Good Morning Wales has got to be one of the best jobs in Welsh broadcasting. Where else would your job description read: find a host of interesting, relevant, important and intriguing stories, then tell them in the most engaging and creative way you can.

Oh and you’ve got a blank, three-hour canvas every single day with which to play around. What an opportunity.

Of course, with the opportunity come demands and responsibilities. Good Morning is a demanding programme to work on. It’s a 24 hour operation. As one programme is coming off-air, work on the next one is beginning. And of course, work on some stories will have started long before that.

Presenters Louise Elliott & Oliver Hides give us an insight into what it takes to get Good Morning Wales on air

A programme which starts at 6am means that while most of the nation is sleeping soundly, producers, researchers and presenters will be fine-tuning items, refining scripts, chasing new guests and stories or looking for fresh audio.

A couple of days later those same producers and researchers could well be burning the midnight oil until 3am on the so-called late shift. If you work on Good Morning Wales, sleeping at strange times of the day and getting up at ludicrous times of the night, becomes something of an art form!

We set ourselves high standards on Good Morning. It should set the agenda for the news in Wales. It should hold public figures to account. It should delve into the guts of stories with intelligence and rigour. But it should also be quick-witted, entertaining and mischievous. That’s a tricky balancing act to get right every morning.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working on the programme. We’ve got a talented new presenter line up in Louise Elliott and Oliver Hides, lots of ideas for covering key Welsh moments and new plans for some agenda-setting journalism.

And of course, we’re already thinking about next year’s Assembly elections. The challenge will be to cover it in a way that people find relevant, engaging and informative. It will be a challenge but I also hope it will be fun.

Comedians, Shower Singers, and a political Nerd

2015-04-27T19:31:33+00:00

If you need an antidote to politics at the moment, then we’ve got a few options for you. Firstly, a real feast of comedy to come this weekend. It’s the sixth annual Machynlleth Comedy Festival and BBC Radio Wales, as ever, is there in force.

It all starts on Thursday with the recording of The Leak – the last in this current series. Tickets are still available if you want to join Tom Price and the team. It’ll be on Radio Wales, Friday at 6.30

Rhod Gilbert is live with some special guests on Saturday morning from 11. The show 'sold out' in three minutes! Later that day, Mike Bubbins will be joined by comedians Robin Ince, Stewart Laws and Anglesey's Kiri Pritchard-McLean for our annual Machynlleth Stand-Up Showcase (transmitted 15th May).

Rhod Gilbert is live in Machynlleth on Saturday

Finally, on Sunday, Elis James and his team record the first of their follow ups to the Pantheon of Heroes series – Elis James’ Guide to... You’ll be able to hear the series later in the year.

And if that wasn't enough, on Saturday night, Bennett Arron is doing a stand-up gig at Chapter in Cardiff which will form the backbone of a two part Radio Wales series broadcast later this summer. Free tickets to the recording are available.

However, if you're looking for something a little more understated, can I point you in the direction of Beverley Humphreys' interview with operatic tenor, Noah Stewart. Listen if, for no other reason, than to find out what he sings in the shower!

Noah Stewart - You might be surprised at what he sings in the shower!

While you’re on iPlayer Radio, catch up with the Radio 2 Folk Awards too. It really was an incredible night at the Millennium Centre.

Meanwhile, if you're a political nerd like me, there is also much to gorge on from the General Election front this week. The BBC Election Tour continues and is sounding great. After Connah's Quay on Monday, Good Morning Wales and Good Evening Wales are live on Llandudno promenade on Wednesday. And both programmes, along with Morning Call and Wynne Evans, are live from Cardiff's Churchill Way on Friday.

Talking of Cardiff, Jamie Owen's been following the hotly contested campaign for Cardiff Central through the eyes of those who live and work on one of the most cosmopolitan streets in the capital, City Road.
Hear Vote for Me, every morning this week at 11.40.

On Friday, it’s the BBC Wales Leaders Debate and it’s simulcast on BBC One Wales and BBC Radio Wales. Huw Edwards quizzes the politicians at 8.30pm, then Felicity Evans takes your calls between 9.30 and 10.30. Some of the key figures from each of the parties will be also be debating in a special edition of Good Morning Wales on Bank Holiday Monday morning.

Elsewhere this week The School – an eight piece band from Cardiff – are the Radio Wales Artist of the Week. You can hear their new song, All I Want From You Is Everything, across the station this week.

This external content is available at its source: The School - All I Want From You is Everything

Finally, a real legend of the folk world with Lynn Bowles on Sunday. The one and only Ralph McTell is her guest at 2pm. Join her then.

Have a great week and Bank Holiday weekend.
Steve

BBC Wales News teams take to the road for the general election campaign 2015

2015-04-23T12:40:38+00:00

As the general election campaign enters the final phase BBC Wales News teams have taken to the road… literally.

Lugging a giant inflatable tent around the country to a range of constituencies across the four corners of Wales - we have decided to do our own roadshow and we’ll be visiting six key constituencies across Wales. Why are they key? Because they’re battlegrounds; identified by the political pundits as ‘ones to watch’ and packed-full of canvassers and volunteers all vying for your vote. There are other contenders, of course and we’ll be bringing you all the latest from Ynys Môn, Cardiff North, Llanelli, Brecon and Radnorshire and others as events unfold.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at BBC Wales’s general election tour

So as well as being buttonholed by politicians desperately wanting to get your vote you may also find yourself buttonholed by a BBC Wales journalist equally desperate to get your views on the general election.

Our programmes including Wales Today, Newyddion 9, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and our online and social media services in English and Welsh are all going to be on the tour and we want to know what you think, and what you want from your politicians.

What is on your mind? Does this election feel like a sea change in UK politics or do you feel untouched by the process?

This is your chance to get involved.

We have already been to Barry and Carmarthen. The next stop is Tregaron. Week two sees the tent turn up at Connah's Quay, Llandudno and finally Cardiff in time for the BBC One Wales leaders debate on Friday, May 1, at the Sherman Theatre. And while the tent makes its slow journey from one location to another, we’ll be taking the opportunity to feature other areas across Wales.

We are doing this because in one of the most unpredictable general elections in living memory, we think it's important that you - the voters - have all the information you need to make informed decisions and are given the chance to have your views heard.

And, if you can’t join us on the tour, there’s plenty more campaign coverage to choose from, led by BBC Wales’s team of presenters and political experts, Dewi Llwyd, Bethan Rhys Roberts, Nick Servini, Aled ap Dafydd, Vaughan Roderick and David Cornock. Add in plenty of expert analysis from specialist correspondents from across Wales, including Steffan Messenger, putting younger voters at the heart of his reporting throughout the campaign.

Reporting and analysis of the campaign is underpinned by a comprehensive digital service, offering individual pages covering stories and candidate information from all of the Welsh constituencies.

A few election facts

Turnout at the 2010 general election in Wales was around 64.7%, slightly lower than the UK-wide figure of 65.1%
That was the first time in the post-war era that Wales had had a lower turnout than the UK as a whole
Turnout generally is considerably lower than the peaks of the 1950s
While the decision to vote is of course a personal one, our hope is that our election coverage will help you understand the issues

Tent facts

Our election tent is 10m x 10m and is inflated by two cold air fan blowers
It takes around an hour to lay out ready, then four minutes to fully inflate
It needs 60 x 20kg ballast bags to keep it safely anchored
We'll cover 457 miles as we take it around Wales

I hope you get the chance to visit the tent at one of the named locations and take the opportunity to get involved, I also hope you are able to listen, to watch or to read our coverage.

BBC Election Tour

2015-04-22T17:30:00+00:00

BBC Radio Wales is taking politics on the road for our 2015 election coverage with a tour of six key Welsh constituencies between Monday 20th April, and Friday 1st May.

Full dates and locations of the tour are as follows:

Monday 20 April - King's Square, Barry
Wednesday 22 April - Guildhall Square, Carmarthen
Friday 24 April - The Square, Tregaron
Monday 27 April - Coleg Cambria, Connah's Quay
Wednesday 29 April - Llandudno Promenade
Friday 1 May - Churchill Way, Cardiff

We'll update this page with the latest details of the tour and for the latest news on Welsh politics, visit the BBC Wales Politics site.

Llandudno

We want to hear about the issues which matter to you when deciding who you will vote for. If you or anyone you know are interested in contributing to Good Morning Wales or Good Evening Wales live from Llandudno, please email goodmorningwales@bbc.co.uk or come along on the day.

Election Tour and Radio 2 Folk Awards

2015-04-21T17:00:00+00:00

All aboard the battle bus as BBC Radio Wales heads out on an election tour for the final weeks of the campaign.

First stop, Barry where Good Morning Wales, Morning Call, and Good Evening Wales find out what the main issues for voters are in this iconic coastal town. Eleri Sion is there too, but it’s a guaranteed politics free zone between 1 and 4: she just fancies an ice cream!

The tour continues on Wednesday in Carmarthen and Tregaron on Friday where Wynne Evans’ Big Welsh Weekend joins the party.

As those on the election tour prepare to clock up the miles, Welsh rugby superstar Shane Williams is tapering down ready to run the London Marathon next Sunday. He talks to Dot Davies through his preparations on Tuesday morning at 10. Dot’s in for Jason who’s covering the World Snooker in Sheffield.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, we’re live at the Radio 2 Folk Awards. Now in their 16th year, the awards are Radio 2's annual celebration of folk music's past, present and future. And this year, the awards are live at the Millennium Centre. Hosts Mark Radcliffe and Julie Fowlis will introduce performances by, amongst others, Yusuf / Cat Stevens (below), Loudon Wainwright III and our very own 9Bach. Radio Wales will broadcast the event live from 7, with a special after-show party presented by Cerys Matthews and Frank Hennessy at 10pm.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Just because you can’t have too many musical legends on one day, Eleri’s talking to The Proclaimers on her afternoon show earlier on Wednesday too. Meanwhile on Thursday, she’ll be joined by Swansea five piece Rag Foundation, who are the Radio Wales Artist of the Week with their new song, Run.

This external content is available at its source: Rag Foundation - Run

On Saturday, it’s Judgement Day III for the Welsh rugby regions, with back to back games at the Millennium Stadium. Blues versus Ospreys is live on Radio Wales Sport’s AM service at 2.30, with Dragons versus Scarlets following on at 16.45. There’ll be a chance for listeners to Call Rob and Rick from just after 7pm.

Finally, a special programme on Sunday at 12.30 - Quarry Boys: The Welsh at Gallipoli tells the relatively unknown story of the north Walian soldiers who fought the doomed Allied campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula, one hundred years ago. It’s really well worth a listen.

Have a great week
Steve

The Race for No.10 is Hotting up

2015-04-13T17:00:00+00:00

Easter’s over which means the race for No. 10 is hotting up.

Jason Mohammad’s hour long phone-ins with the big hitters from the main parties continues this week, with Nathan Gill of UKIP taking listeners calls between 12 and 1 on Tuesday. Owen Smith of Labour follows on Wednesday, the Conservatives’ Stephen Crabb follows on Thursday, with Kirsty Williams of the Lib Dems rounding off the week on Friday. This is in addition to Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood last Thursday and Pippa Bartolotti of the Green Part last Friday. All are available to listen on Jason's programme page until after the election.

We’re expecting the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP to launch their manifestos this week. There will be full coverage across Good Morning Wales, Good Evening Wales and Morning Call.

Now, I'm not saying that politicians remind me of the Sheriff of Nottingham or indeed Severus Snape, but the one and only Alan Rickman was Eleri Sion’s special guest on Monday.

Alan Rickman

Also joining Eleri this week are Cardiff duo Zervas and Pepper, who are the Radio Wales Artist of the Week with their new song, Abstract Heart. They’re in session on Tuesday afternoon.

Fashion designer and son of Ebbw Vale, Jeff Banks is Aled Jones’ guest on Sunday. Also out to make Gwent proud this week are the Dragons, who are in the hunt for a European Challenge Cup Final slot. We’ve got live coverage of their Semi Final against Edinburgh in Friday night’s Radio Wales Sport.

Finally, a real treat on Thursday night at 6.30 with Vincent Kane interviewing Sir Harry Secombe as part of our series of Classic Meet for Lunch interviews.

Have a great week,
Steve

A week of astronomical proportions

2015-03-17T18:00:00+00:00

Let’s start with the rugby, and after that extraordinary win over Ireland, there’s a chance. It’s a small chance. But it’s a chance nonetheless. And we do like chances.

Someone else will know the maths better than me, but Wales need a thumping win away to Italy (and perhaps a snooker on the pink) in order to beat England and Ireland to the Six Nations Championship on Saturday. But that’s enough to get the nation worked into a lather before then.

The build-up gets into full flow on Thursday night’s Scrum V Radio. Wynne Evans will be live in Rome for the Big Welsh Weekend on Friday and Money for Nothing on Saturday morning.

Wynne Evans' musical good luck message to Wales

Radio Wales Sport will have commentary of the game at the impossibly early time of 12.30 but with the Ireland game at 2.45 and the England game at 5, callers to Rob and Rick should have a good idea whether we’re on course to a likely victory or not.

Ahead of totally eclipsing the opposition in the Six Nations, there is the smaller astronomical matter of Friday morning’s solar eclipse. It takes places between 8.45 and 10.40 – with the moon nearest the middle of the sun at 9.30. You can follow everything on Good Morning Wales, Morning Call and Jason Mohammad, with Charlotte Dubenskij reporting live from Brecon Beacons.

Solar eclipse as seen from the Brecon Beacons

This week sees the start of BBC Wales’ Real Valleys Season, which gets to the heart of life in the South Wales Valleys. Coverage on Radio Wales kicks off on Morning Call. Jason will have a Valleys edition of Quizbreak all week, with a big High Hopes Day, ahead of the sitcom’s return to our screens, next Monday.

High Hopes returns for BBC Wales' Valleys Season

A new week, but a second Radio Wales Artist of the Week in a row hoping to impress the music industry out in Austin, Texas. Horizons 12 band The People The Poet, like Paper Aeroplanes, perform at South by South West this week. Eleri Sion catches up with them on Thursday. You can hear their new single, Molly Drove Me Away, across the output all this week.

The People The Poet at SXSW 2015 in Austin, Texas

Wednesday is Budget Day. Jason has the speech and a panel of experts live at lunchtime. The Good Evening Wales team is live on College Green, outside the Houses of Parliament, from 4pm.

Finally on Thursday, it’s School Report Day. As well as coverage on Good Morning and Good Evening Wales, seven students from Cyfarthfa High School in Merthyr Tydfil co-present Jason Mohammad’s show, while pupils from Heolddu Comprehensive School, Bargoed and Ysgol Bro Morgannwg in Barry co-present our weather bulletins throughout the daytime. Move over Derek Brockway!

Have a great week,
Steve

Red Nose Day, Rugby, and Lulu Live

2015-03-09T19:45:00+00:00

It's a busy week starting with the build up to Red Nose Day and Jason Mohammad's got comedians lined up for a special week of Comic Relief Quizbreak featuring the likes of Jenny Collier, Lloyd Langford, Mike Bubbins and Chris Corcoran among the funny faces taking part.

On Friday’s Big Welsh Weekend at 1, Wynne Evans will be doing something funny for money with his face, at your request! He'll have a top face painter who'll make up his face however you want it as long as you donate to Comic Relief. He’s already been practising with a few facial exercises.

Wynne Evans tries some face yoga to get in shape for Comic Relief

Earlier in the day, Jason will be hearing some of the inspiring stories from the winner of the 2015 "Welsh honours", the St David's Awards.

Whisper it, but Wales now have an outside chance of winning the Six Nations. To be honest, nobody thought we’d come back and win it at this stage in 2013, so I wouldn’t rule it out just yet. Mind you, it’s the mighty Irish next – and they like playing in Cardiff!

The game is live at 2.30 on Saturday’s Radio Wales Sport with a Call Rick & Rob Special at 5.30. In terms of big match build-up, Korkey’s back with his take on the tournament on both Friday night at 6.30, and then live from Cardiff city centre with Eggsy and Llinos Lee, Saturday at 11.

On Sunday, Wales’ women go for the Triple Crown at midday with updates on Radio Wales throughout the afternoon. And Cerys Matthews’ rather marvellous review of the 2005 Grand Slam Day gets a UK wide premiere on 5Live on Sunday night.

Elsewhere this week, a moment that really doesn’t need overhyping: Ahead of her forthcoming UK tour, the legend that is Lulu performs live on Eleri Sion's show on Tuesday afternoon.

Lulu performs live on Tuesday afternoon

Paper Aeroplanes return as the Radio Wales Artist of the Week. Pembrokeshire’s finest talk about their forthcoming trip to South by South West in Texas with Eleri Sion on Wednesday and perform their new song, Good Love Lives On

This external content is available at its source: Paper Aeroplanes - Good Love Lives On

Have a great week.
Steve

Kicking March off in style

2015-03-03T17:45:00+00:00

As St David’s Day weekends go, it was a belter! And has really kicked the week off in style.

As well a rousing concert with Bryn Terfel at St David’s Hall, listeners to both Roy Noble and Radio 4’s Pick of the Week were treated to what we believe is the first recording of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau from, incredibly, 1899.

First recording of the Welsh National Anthem from 1899

It is one of the gems from the archive at the National Library of Wales that we’re featuring throughout March. More Stories from the Stacks with Roy Noble on Sunday mornings at 9.30.

An excellent performance from Wales in France means the planning starts now for the visit of Grand Slam chasing Ireland to Cardiff on the 14th of March. And a thumping semi-final win for Wrexham means a second FA Trophy Final for the Dragons in three years. Time for us to reclaim our regular spot on Wembley Way!

Talking of Wrexham, club legend Joey Jones turns 60 this week. BBC Radio Wales Sport pays tribute to the first Welshman to win the European Cup on Wednesday night. Also on the programme, Swansea – who almost certainly achieved Premier League safety on the weekend – take on Spurs on FM and DAB in the Swansea area. For the rest of Wales, a profile of the women in the boardroom of Wales’ sporting organisations. That will form part of our coverage of International Women’s Day which starts on Good Morning Wales.

The amazing Kizzy Crawford is the Radio Wales Artist of the Week and one of our Horizons 12. Kizzy was in session for Eleri Sion on Monday including a performance of her new song, Shout Out.

This external content is available at its source: 'Shout Out' by Kizzy Crawford

Finally, Newport’s Grant Nicholas has been in conversation with Alan Thompson about Feeder and the sad death of his friend and former drummer Jon Lee at the height of their fame, 13 years ago.

Extract of Grant Nicholas talking to Alan Thompson

Have a great week.
Steve

St David's Day

2015-02-24T12:30:00+00:00

St David's Day approaches and top of the bill, is Bryn Terfel. Bryn is the star guest in our St David’s Day Gala Concert this Sunday. The baritone joins the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales and conductor, Gareth Jones, for an afternoon of Welsh favourites. Beverley Humphreys is your host, Sunday at 4pm. And hear Wynne Evans speak to the man that only he can lovingly refer to as "Brian Trifle" on Friday afternoon’s Big Welsh Weekend.

Bryn Terfel stars in our St David's Day Gala Concert

Earlier on St David’s Day, Simon Weston salutes the Welsh Guards as they celebrate their centenary (12.30); Catrin Finch is in with Lynn Bowles (2pm); meanwhile Mali Harries talks about the much awaited return of Hinterland with Roy Noble at 9.30.

Hinterland's Mali Harries joins Roy Noble on Sunday morning

One win, one defeat for Warren Gatland’s men in the Six Nations which mean’s Saturday night’s encounter in Paris against France is must win for Wales. The game is live at 5pm, and there’s a chance to Call Rick O’Shea afterwards.

Two wins out of two for Wales’ women so far, including victory over world champions, England. We’ve got live commentary of their match with France on Friday night’s Radio Wales Sport.

As the BBC’s Big Painting Challenge gets underway, Eleri Sion’s been getting in on the action. But after a 45 minute lesson, will she have what it takes to be an artist? See for yourself:

Can Eleri Sion learn to paint a scene in 45 minutes?

Finally, the Radio Wales Artist of the Week is Bangor’s Sam Parsons. You can hear All Night across the output this week and hear Sam in conversation with Eleri on Thursday.

This external content is available at its source: 'All Night' by Sam Parsons

Have a great week
Steve

The Big Welsh Idea

2015-02-17T18:00:00+00:00

I love working in a creative industry. Every day this job is about coming up with ideas and bringing ideas to life. But I often envy those who can go for a coffee with a pen and pencil and come up with an idea that can change our lives forever. And, all told, we Welsh are pretty good at that. We can claim the origins of mathematical signage (see Pembrokeshire’s Robert Recorde’s plus and equal signs below), the modern microphone and even beating the Wright Brothers to the first powered flight. On Thursday, we’re spending a day saluting these very people.

Robert Recorde's plus and equal sings

It’s called The Big Welsh Idea and it’s a day celebrating the best Welsh innovations and understanding the creative state of the nation today. This is what’s planned:

9am - On Morning Call, Oliver Hides asks what you would like to see invented.
11.30 - As part of Jason Mohammad, author and broadcaster Dan Anthony presents The Creative Mine; a documentary about The Patent Office (now the UK Intellectual Property Office), 25 years after its move to Newport.
12.00 - Jason poses The Big Welsh Idea Challenge - a Dragons Den style contest for teams of students from four Welsh universities, all pitching ideas to an expert panel.
1pm - Tom Price (sitting in for Eleri Sion) finds some of the weird and wonderful patents issued over the years
6.30 - Wales at Work debates the creative state of the nation and its future.
Throughout the day, Dan Anthony presents a countdown of the Top 10 Big Welsh Ideas and there’ll be lots more online and on our social media.

Elsewhere this week, some big interviews on Jason Mohammad. The Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Owen Smith, took your calls on Monday. On Tuesday, it was the turn of UKIP’s MEP for Wales, Nathan Gill. And on Wednesday, the lines are open to the Director of BT in Wales, Ann Beynon.

As Eastenders turns 30, Pam St Clement – better known to millions as Pat Butcher – was Eleri Sion’s special guest on Monday along with Michela Chiappa who cooked up a feast on the show. The third part of her brilliant Welsh Italian Way is on Saturday at 1.30.

Pam St Clement & Michela Chiappa

Cardiff indie five-piece, Fjords, are the Radio Wales Artist of the Week with their new song Cusco:

This external content is available at its source: Cusco by Fjords

Fjords are live with Eleri on Wednesday afternoon.

Have a great week.
Steve