ARTS

STAG’S WORLD OF ROCK

I was sad to hear that the Newton Beer and Music Festival has come to the end of its run. It’s been a mainstay in music fans’ diaries every August Bank Holiday where it was always well organised and had a good selection of great local bands. My minders and myself never missed it over the last several years so we will have to make new plans! Event organiser Steve Maitland Thomas said a lot of his team that helped him stage the festival are no longer available – no doubt two years of lockdown hasn’t helped either. Having put on festivals and even road races, I know the huge amount of organisation that goes into it. Steve, as I’ve said before, does more for Porthcawl town than anybody and I wish him all the best. It’s been good to see Bridgend’s Funeral For A Friend back after a few years’ hiatus – they’ve just completed a sell-out UK Tour. They are probably the only group I don’t know personally. I’m sure I must have locked horns with them on the road when I was touring, or when I had my regular radio show. Looking forward to the nice summer weather ahead, and attending live music at the local pubs.

Stag Marks 07549 728356

Picture: Stag Marks

A FILM MAKER’S POINT OF VIEW

One fine day at the beginning of April, I boarded a small helicopter at Cardiff Heliport with my camera. The preparations were all made: the door of the Robinson R44 had been removed to give the camera lens a broad unobstructed view, I had put on a safely harness to make sure that I didn’t fall out, and sat beside Dan the pilot with a firm grip on the camera. There was no question of having a mount for it; it would have to be operated handheld. We took off, hovered briefly to make sure that all was well and that the wind was not going to cause a problem, then set off towards Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan at a height of 1,200ft to get aerial shots of the old aerodrome for my ‘Llandow Air Disaster’ production. There were clouds in the sky, but luckily every shot was bathed in glorious sunshine, as it was on the day that the Avro Tudor 5 airliner crashed in Sigingstone nearby on 12th March 1950. My hour-long flight also took in some coastal views, and by the time we landed I had shot all the film in the camera’s magazine.

Anthony Hontoir, Downwood Films 07510 934299

Picture: Anthony Hontoir with camera in helicopter (Photo: Louise Jones)

PYLE & PORTHCAWL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

We recently held our annual Club Competition 3, judged by Dave Bennett. The winner of the Print section was David Jones with ‘Clevedon’ and the winner of the Digital section was Richard Craze with ‘Bus Stop Condensation’. Congratulations both. We’re a very friendly camera club with a mix of male & female members and welcome new members of all ages and skill levels, it’s all very informal so if you have an interest in photography why not join us, we meet on Thursday evenings at 7pm at St Clare’s School, Newton CF36 5NR.

Our program is available at www.pyle-porthcawl-ps.co.uk