Don Hale Blog

  *Pictured above - Pat Finnie from NWRRC is shown winning the veteran's 60m race at the Deeside Indoor Athletics Centre. North Wales Indoor Christmas events: Special Track & Field event...Paul Brooks from the North Wales Regional Athletics Council has provided some details about the NW Christmas Open Indoor meeting at the Deeside Centre...but hurry as entries are needed asap! *Further details on the N.W.R.A.C, Face book page:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/755410871224908 donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 North Wales Indoor Christmas Open on  Saturday 13th December   ENTRIES CLOSE THURSDAY 4th DECEMBER. To enter click on:   https://welshathletics.org/.../north-wales-indoor... Closing date is Thursday 4th December. Apply to enter Deeside Indoor Athletics Centre E VENTS AVAILABLE 60m, 60m Hurdles, High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put Age groups TBC  Masters included into Senior events Max events for all age groups is 3 events ALL FIELD ...

*Pictured above - Welsh Master athlete Arwel Lewis at the awards ceremony. Arwel Lewis given special Services to Athletics award by Welsh Athletics... Special report by Kay Hatton from the NW Regional Athletics Council. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Huge congratulations to Arwel Lewis who was presented with the Services to Athletics Award at the Welsh Athletics Awards evening last weekend.   Arwel competes regularly for Eryri Harriers in all disciplines and has competed for Wales on the road, cross country, trail and mountain. He also puts in a huge amount of time as a volunteer for his club, is a race adjudicator and a race organiser.  Arwel is also the fell/trail representative on the NWRAC and WA General Council, Welsh Athletics  mountain/trail secretary and team manager as well as Welsh Ultra representative and team manager. Such a well-deserved award!

  Joe Cocker set to be honoured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles… Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Sheffield’s famous late rhythm and blues/rock star JOE COCKER is amongst a unique group of prestigious top music performers set to be honoured at the 40th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday 8th November 2025. This year’s Inductees included: Bad Company, Chubby Checker , Joe Cocker , Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye and Lenny Waronker. A brief extract from Joe singing a recording of ‘Georgia on My Mind’ will also be used by the event organisers during his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was fortunate to have been able to record some amazing facts about the early days of Joe Cocker’s stop/start career with  Terry Thornton , who was Joe’s first manager, and the person who b...

  South African puzzle book author Val Crowson publishes a fascinating new SEARCH FOR THE WORDS book...  And a special note from the author's daughter in law Mariska Crowson... Coast and Country online magazine promotion. 🧩  Can you say these WORDS really fast?     🐺  Wolf Flow   😴  Sleep Peels   🚚  Deliver Reviled   🏌️‍♂️  Flog Golf   🏆  Drawer Reward   🍰  Stressed Dessert   ⚔️  Raw War   ☕  Faced Decaf   🎨  Decal Laced   They might twist your tongue but in Val Crowson’s new wordsearch puzzle book, you can take your time to find them!  😉   Search for the Words is a fun and challenging wordsearch book created by South African author Val Crowson, designed to test your mind, improve your focus, and bring a smile while you play.     🧠  Perfect for puzzle lovers, teachers, book club readers, or anyone who enjoys a good brain workout!  ...

  South African puzzle book author Val Crowson publishes a fascinating new SEARCH FOR THE WORDS book... And a special note from the author's daughter in law Mariska Crowson... Coast and Country online magazine promotion. What do many retired teachers do when they finally have time for themselves? Some rest. Some travel. Mine? She wrote a book and not just any book.   💛 Meet Val Crowson , my mum, a lifelong teacher who turned her love for learning into something extraordinary: with her brand-new puzzle book called Search for the Words , now live on Amazon.   🧩  Inside are 200 unique wordsearch puzzles that do more than pass time, they train your mind, test your focus, and reveal a hidden answer once you have found every word.   Each puzzle has a secret waiting to be discovered... if you are curious enough to look.  😉  It’s such a beautiful reminder that creativity doesn’t retire, it evolves.  And Val has just proven it. 🌼   📚   Now a...

Val Crowson publishes a fascinating new SEARCH FOR THE WORDS book... Coast and Country - a North Wales online magazine  promotion.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 The author of this brand new  Search for the Words  puzzle book is Val Crowson , a retired teacher, who previously used word searches in the classroom to help promote the learning of topics and vocabulary extension.  Val lives in South Africa and she is married with three children and six grandchildren, and now retired, she has collated and created several new wordsearches with the idea of publishing them within this exciting new book.  NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:   https://amzn.to/4qH1IqC   ABOUT THE NEW SEARCH FOR THE WORDS BOOK by Val Crowson. A collection of 200 distinctive and individually created wordsearches just for you to enjoy! Words can be found horizontally, vertically or backwards, but not diagonally.  The letters that make up these words can be used more than once and can ...

Osian was the runaway winner at the Eirias Park NW cross-country league race. Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   It was another good turn-out with some excellent performances last Saturday by a host of experienced club runners at Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay, for the second highly competitive match of the season in the ‘David Alun Williams,’ North Wales Cross-Country League, sponsored by Grand Prix Express. Elite senior male athlete  Osian Perrin  (Menai T&F) was the runaway winner of the  Senior Men’s  race in just 26 minutes and 28 seconds, and he finished over a minute ahead of his nearest rival  Ed Slaughter  (Bangor University), who was second in 27.31, with  Dan Kashi  (Meirionnydd RC) third in 27.40.  *In the Male Over 65 race, this was won by  John Jones  (Shrewsbury AC) in 20.14, with  Andy Clarke  (Oswestry Olympians) second, and he was only four-seconds behind in 20.18, with  Dyla...

MENTAL ELF – Festive Fun Run. Sunday 30th November at 11am for Conwy Mind at Eirias Events Centre. Put on your Elf hat and join our Festive Fun Run. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   There are two choices to choose from: - A 5k Mental Elf, or a 2k Mini Elf.   Join us on Sunday 30th November 11am at Eirias Events Centre, Colwyn   Bay  for a day of fun and fundraising.  Walk, jog, skip or run while soaking up the festive spirit and supporting Conwy and Vale of Clwyd Minds. Together, we can go the extra mile for mental health! Mini Elf 2k Fun Run: A new event this year! Mini elves can join in the fun too with a 2km fun run packed full of all the jingling fun. A Free National Trust pass for every participant*   This year, Mind is partnering with the National Trust. If you take part or volunteer in a local  Mental Elf event, you’ll receive a free family access pass to National Trust sites! It’s our way of thanking   you for supporting mental health ...