Don Hale Blog

SYNAESTHESIA ELIZABETH HAINES October 18th - November 22nd, Oriel Q Gallery, Narberth. Special Coast and Country Arts Feature.                 Report by Don Hale.   donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Elizabeth Haines has developed a distinctive voice that balances observation, poetry, and imagination. Her work straddles the boundary between representation and abstraction: drawing from the landscapes of Wales, informed by years sketching from nature, yet transformed through memory and dreams. Elizabeth's art is rich in texture, colour, and inner space. Her studio practice is deeply connected to her surroundings: the rugged terrain, changing light of Pembrokeshire feed her work, but so too do poetry and music Her paintings invite the viewer in: at first through colour, surface, and form; then deeper, toward architecture, trees, or horizons suggested rather than stated. https://www.orielqnarberth.com/synaesthesia-elizabeth-haines   Gallery Opens...

*Some members of the NWRRC team at the Bangor City 10k - pictured left to right on the back row - Steve Roberts, Daniel  Henell and Mike Hayton, and (*front row), Not Lister, Helen Hannam, Kay Hatton, Cheryl Frost and Gwen Charlton. Bangor City 10k race saved by quick thinking to help defeat the weather. Special report by Don Hale. Photos by John Hatton. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Over five hundred determined runners completed the weather-beaten Bangor City 10k on Sunday with many elite athletes recording some excellent times despite the challenging conditions. And praise was given to quick thinking by the race organiser  Chris Yorke  from  RunWales  for overcoming many problems with debris on parts of the half-marathon route, which unfortunately forced the late postponement of this associated race but allowed the 10k to continue. In this latter event, Bangor University AC student  Andrew Moore  was the first man home in just 32 minutes and 5...

*Pictured above -Steve Bozier at the Chester Marathon. NW Road Running duo ran well in the Chester Marathon. Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Two North Wales Road Runners tackled the windswept Chester Marathon on Sunday and they both performed well, especially given the extremely challenging conditions. Steve Bozier  was a little apprehensive about running this distance at first after taking some time out from longer races, but he ran well in chip positions of 844th out of 6,698 entrants in 3 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds, and afterwards he said: A great day back racing again, my first marathon in a year, and only my second race this year.  “I really enjoyed that and only entered two weeks ago with just six weeks of training as a warm-up for the  Eryri Marathon in three weeks. I took it relatively easy and paced it well to get my second fastest marathon time. Rest now, recover, and onto the next one!"  Jon Evans  ( *Pictured rig...

*Pictured above - runners from the leading pack at the NW XC race at St Asaph. Battle for honours at the first NW Cross-Country race of the season at Llanerch Hall, St Asaph. Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Bernie Jones. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   The North Wales Cross Country League’s first fixture of the season defied the odds and beat Storm Amy last Saturday with hundreds of runners competing for honours at Llanerch Hall, near St Asaph. Bernie Jones , who was one of the main race organisers, and is the secretary of the NW XC League later confirmed: “A  Big thank you to  Prestatyn Running Club, Denbigh Harriers  and all the marshalls and volunteers for putting on today’s race. It would have been easy to cancel with Storm Amy, but I’m glad we didn’t!” Some great action shots (*above and below) from the NW Cross Country match at St Asaph last Saturday. The first finisher in the  Senior Men’s race  was talented youngster  Noa Vaughan  ...

*Pictured above left - Josie Davies with her daughter Nikki in London. Josie's prolific fundraising activities for the Happy Faces Children's Charity... Special report and introduction by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Josie Davies is a keen and very popular social runner, who is also a prolific charity fundraiser for the Happy Faces Children’s Charity which supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across North Wales. This incredible and locally based organisation first began in 2003, and they have since raised over £1M and provided twelve specially adapted school minibuses for over 5,000 children, in addition to specialist equipment for more than 700 children in North Wales. Josie has taken part in various marathons and numerous demanding events over the years for this particular organisation, and her happy and smiling face can often be seen running up and down Llandudno prom, or around the local area, whilst training hard for her next venture.  And despi...

NWCCL - St Asaph - CROSS COUNTRY RACES TO GO AHEAD. LATEST UPDATE:  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Well Storm Amy came as predicted and whilst it hasn’t totally passed through, it has calmed enough that WE WILL GO ahead with today’s races as planned. However, it remains windy and therefore would not suggest club gazebo’s being erected. There’s rain forecasted so be prepared for a ‘proper’ day of cross country. See you in a bit Bernie Jones  Secretary/Referee NWCCL St Asaph - Saturday 4 October 2025. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Report and photos courtesy of Bernie Jones. With Storm Amy predicted for Friday evening/night we will be doing a risk assessment first thing Saturday morning.  It is predicted that the storm will pass through by early Saturday morning and whilst rain is predicted it is hoped we will have avoided any storm damage.  At this stage we anticipate the races going ahead but if there is any change we will post here on the NWCCL Facebook page. First Fi...