She’s currently undertaking an extensive tour of Europe and the USA showcasing her latest album “Diamonds in the dirt”, and right now she is gigging up and down Britain, bringing her brand of rock-blues to her home country.

This week finds her in Bristol, where she will play at the Tunnels (Arches 31 and 32, Lower Station Approach Road, Bristol BS1 6QF – www.thetunnelsbristol.co.uk ). If you can get a ticket, it will be the best twelve and a half quid you’ve laid out in a long time. If you can’t, sell your body to someone in the queue – this is a must-not-miss event.

At twenty-five, she has the world at her feet and this time next year, the tickets won’t be easy to come by. Trust me.

This week, JST took time out from her tour to talk to us about where she came from, what she’s doing and where’s she’s going.

RockRebels: Did you always know you’d be a blues artist?

Joanne Shaw Taylor: I didn’t always know, no. However, I did, when I got into blues when I was about 13 I was playing electric guitar quite heavily and it was something that from the very beginning I took very seriously.

RR: Influences in the early days?

JST: In the early days I was listening to a lot of rock. Coming from the Black Country area, as you can imagine, my father’s record collection was very sort of Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Slade, Purple etcetera. In terms of the blues it was really Stevie Ray Vaughan who was the predominant influence.

RR: Why a Fender Telecaster?

JST: That influence was actually from Albert Collins one of my other influences – a combination of that and I found an older Telecaster with a slightly smaller neck that I still use as my main guitar to this day. Being female, I don’t have particularly large hands. To be honest it’s more comfort than anything.

RR: Amps?

JST: Fender Bassmans – a sixty-four head and a two by twelve cab. On this tour I’ve been using the Blackstar Artisan 30 which I really, really love, but I’m predominantly a Fender girl.

RR: The tour is massive undertaking. Do you find it heavy going?

JST: Yeah. We’re close to the end of it now. We started in America at the end of January and we left the States on April 3^rd. We’ve done a fair bit of Europe on this run. We started in Germany and Switzerland and we went on to Norway, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Sweden and now the UK. It’s gone by very quickly, but looking back it’s certainly been a lot of shows and a lot of travel.

RR: What’s been your favourite venue so far?

JST: Oooo, well obviously I love playing the UK, obviously it’s home and it’s nice to be back for a little while. I think some of the festivals we did out in Norway were really great fun. We did some festivals with Imelda May and Joe Bonamassa out there… We’ve just completed a couple of gigs with Glenn (Hughes) which was fun. Being such a long tour it was nice to break up the monotony by seeing other artists.

RR: Your gigs are a lot more high energy, louder, brasher than your albums – is that a conscious choice?

JST: Yeah, I think quite a few people have noticed that. I think for me, being a blues artist, the live aspect is always going to be the main example of what you do, and it’s difficult to get that on record really. The records are a snapshot in time – one week when you record them. They’re two different formats.

RR: A live album in the pipeline?

JST: Yeah, I think so. We’re contracted to one more studio album, so we’re going to complete that next year. Then next year, I’d certainly be interested in doing a live album, possibly even a DVD as well.

RR: Do you have any favourites off the album, Diamonds?

JST: You know actually, live, “Dead and gone” – that’s coming into its own a little bit more. I think my favourites off it… they were “Diamonds in the dirt” and “Lord have mercy”, but that’s changed a little bit with playing them live. Now it’s probably “Dead and gone” and “Can’t keep living like this”. They’re a bit more a challenge to do them justice and do them live… that’s why I like them.

RR: What was it like working with Jim Gaines?

JST: Yeah, yeah – I love Jim. He’s and incredible person and he’s become close friend – him and his wife. On a professional level, he’s so humble given his CV. He’s so easy to work with.

RR: Were you taught to play, or did you teach yourself?

JST: I taught myself. I played classical guitar from the age of eight. When I picked up and electric, I figured that if BB King could teach himself, so could I. Not that I think I play like BB King. My record collection is very vast. I often listen to a lot of stuff, whether it be some of the country guys like Danny Gatton or Vince Gill, or some of the classic rock guys. It’s funny now seeing what you actually soak up. I don’t mean actually learn anything, but just sitting down and something sticks in your head.

RR: There’s a progression from White Sugar – a sense of moving forward. Are you exploring new areas of song writing?

Yeah. There’s a couple of reasons for that. White Sugar it’s that case of, you know, it’s the first album. I had ten years to prepare it. That said, I only started writing about a year before White Sugar. So when we came to do the second album, we’d been drawing so much from the first album, we literally had a ten day gap to get the songs together. So, I’m not the most proficient song writer I guess. I don’t write that much, I just do it when I have to, but to break up the monotony I did try to push myself a bit. That’s the best way to become a better song writer, I guess. I’m glad we did that and I do think lyrically it’s a stronger album than White Sugar.

RR: I get the impression there’s a lot of life lived in your lyrics.

JST: Yes, I think the challenge for me was I wrote all the music first, as I tend to do. It’s obviously a heavier album, which I was excited about… That came from the band I’ve been paying with in the States regularly for the past two years. Being from Detroit, they come from a bit more of a rock background. So, I was quite excited that it was going in more of a rock direction and that was testing my guitar playing and vocals I guess. Then I was presented with a lot of music that was quite heavy, and the challenge was to steer away from bluesy cliché lyrics, which I think I’ve managed to do. So it was great fun to imagine situations where the lyrics went along with the darkness of the material, i.e “Can’t keep living like this”, or “Dead and gone” which is actually about being born again, so not a biographical song.

RR: What next for Joanne Shaw Taylor?

JST: We’re going to wind up this UK tour, then I fly back to the states the day after it ends and then it’s time to start writing. We’re pencilled in for the studios in September, so there should be another album coming out later this year and basically just touring a lot hopefully. That’s the plan.

Rock Rebels will be at the Bristol gig on Sunday and we reckon you ought to be there too. Joanne Shaw Taylor is too good to miss.

The announcement was made by officials from the European Capitals of Sports Association (ACES) at an event held in Valencia this week. 

The winning bid followed an inspection of the city by a team of delegates from Europe.
During the visit they took a tour of some of the city’s sporting facilities including Cardiff International White Water and Cardiff City Stadium.

It was recognised that Cardiff has firmly established itself as a leading city for sport, offering state of the art stadiums and facilities including the Millennium Stadium, SWALEC Stadium and Cardiff International Sport Stadium.

The title of European Capital of Sports recognises the city’s commitment to providing sport as a social function whilst using it to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of its citizens.

Cardiff has played host to many national and international events, including the Ashes, Rugby World Cup and FA Cup finals, helping to secure a worldwide audience of millions.

The Judges were particularly impressed with the support of grassroots sport through its Sport.Cardiff programme  helping to train and deploy hundreds of coaches into schools, sports clubs and communities and has provided over 350,00 participatory opportunities.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Rodney Berman said: "There is no denying the city already has a fantastic sporting pedigree.

"We have successfully delivered several large sporting events, established a leading grass roots sports programme and have some fantastic first class sports venues. Our approach to the development of sport through both the Private and Voluntary sectors has been heralded by the Judges as a best case example for Europe.

"Cardiff is an ambitious city and this will be a huge boost not only further heightening our status as a top sporting destination but underlining our commitment to sport as a way of promoting health and wellbeing."

Executive Member for Sport Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: "To be awarded European Capital of Sports recognises the city’s investment of time and money to establish a successful sporting infrastructure and our dedication to ensuring there is access for sport to all."

"We should be both proud of the recognition and excited by what the future holds for sporting opportunities in the capital."

President of ACES, Gianfrancesco Lupattelli said: "Cardiff is a wonderful city with a genuine ambition to use sport to improve and change the lives of its citizens, there is a real connection between facility development, major events and grass roots school and community sport, the award for Cardiff is well deserved and they can now join a growing network of European Capitals and Cities"

Philip "Silver fox" Schofield and Eastenders' Heather, actress Cheryl Fergison are backing the Diabetes UK Get Serious campaign

A shocking number of children are being rushed to hospital suffering from a potentially fatal diabetic condition, says the National Director of Diabetes UK Cymru, Dai Williams.

More than 120 children in Wales were admitted to accident and emergency departments in a year with a potentially fatal diabetic complication, leading health charity Diabetes UK Cymru warns today.

One hundred and twenty one children out of the 1,419 children and young people diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in Wales were admitted to hospital with potentially life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), according to the latest available figures.

DKA happens when blood glucose levels are high (hyperglycaemia) and causes nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, rapid breathing and, if left untreated, may lead to coma and death. It requires urgent hospital treatment.

The UK has the fourth highest incidence of Type 1 diabetes in children (25 per 100,000 a year) in Europe and the lowest number of children attaining good diabetes control.

Diabetes UK Cymru is concerned that in many cases DKA occurs because Type 1 diabetes is not diagnosed early enough.

Dai Williams, National Director of Diabetes UK Cymru, said: “It’s shocking to see such high numbers of children being rushed to A&E with this life-threatening complication in Wales.

“We know from our previous research that specialist diabetes staff report an increase in emergency hospital admissions whenever there are cuts in services.

“Children and their parents desperately need better access to paediatric specialist diabetes teams.

“The number of emergency admissions could be reduced significantly with investment in appropriate care, diabetes advice and practical self-management support.

“The quality of life for children with diabetes is at stake so we must act now.”

The symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include increased thirst, extreme tiredness, weight loss, blurred vision, genital itching and passing water frequently (particularly in night).

In Type 1 diabetes, these symptoms happen faster than Type 2 diabetes, often within a matter of weeks.

A 2008 Diabetes UK Cymru poster warning about the symptoms of DKA is available free of charge from: Diabetes UK Cymru on 029 20668276 or email wales@diabetes.org.uk.

Bute Park - Best in Wales

Bute Park in Cardiff has been awarded the prestigious accolade of the best park in Wales, in Britain’s Best Park competition.

The park scooped the regional award back in 2008 and has beat off tough competition from other parks across Wales to take the 2009 title.

Parks were judged on various criteria including environment, design, usability, access, maintenance and community involvement. Judges were particularly impressed by Bute Park’s wide variety of attractions and community events, excellent horticulture and ease of accessibility to and from Cardiff city centre.

Executive member for Culture, Leisure and Parks, Councillor Nigel Howells, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Bute Park and all the staff that work so hard to make it look so fantastic all year round. Following on from the park’s Green Flag earlier in the year this is another important accolade and a strong endorsement that we are getting it right in the park.

“Judges clearly understood the considerable benefits of our new access arrangements and the great news is that Bute Park can only improve and get better as we embark on our £5.6m conservation project, supported by the £3.1m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, to restore, enhance and help people learn about the many historic features in the park including the Animal Wall, Blackfriars Friary and West Lodge.

“Visitors to Cardiff are always impressed by the park and how much green space there is in the city centre. Cardiff Council is committed to making sure we keep winning these top awards by working hard to maintain and improve Bute Park – which really is a jewel in the crown of this city and used and enjoyed widely by the community, including disability groups.”

Ian Small, business development manager for petrol lawn mower engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton UK Ltd, who sponsor the award, said: “Bute Park has a traditional feel, it is maintained to the highest standards and its community attractions make it a worthy winner of the regional prize.”

Jennifer Stewart, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Wales, which is supporting the restoration of the park with a £3.1m grant, said: “Bute Park is enormously popular with both local people and visitors, and deserves to be celebrated.

“When the work is complete the visitor experience will be enhanced even further as the park will once again be connected to the gardens and Castle, creating one fantastic space to explore and enjoy in the heart of the city.”

The judges for this year’s competition comprised of a panel of trade and consumer horticultural journalists. On the panel was; Peter Seabrook MBE and Steve Bradley (gardening editors, The Sun), Matthew Appleby (news editor, Horticulture Week), Anisa Gress (The Garden), Jean Vernon (freelance gardening journalist) Trevor Pfeiffer, (Garden Trade News), Laurence Gale (Pitchcare magazine) and Nicole Gritzmacher (Briggs & Stratton Europe).

The Britain’s Best Parks competition was started in 2003 by Briggs & Stratton as part of a global network of competitions recognising and rewarding excellence in park design and maintenance. Similar competitions run in six countries including Sweden, Germany, Poland, France and Italy.

Phytophthora ramorum – known as Sudden Oak Death – is a fungal infection and has been found on rhododendron in the small woodland area around the motte. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has been informed and under its instructions the Council now has to remove and destroy all affected vegetation to limit the chance of the disease spreading.

Phytophthora spores spread through water, including airborne droplets which can be carried on animals, and through infected water in soil. The Moundfield site is extremely waterlogged and there are no footpaths.

Motte and Bailey at Radyr from the top

The area will now need to be fenced off before any works take place to ensure that there is no public access to the infected area.

All vegetation will then need to be removed from around the mound and burnt in accordance with the destruction notice issued by FERA (the Food and Environment Research Agency), an agency of DEFRA.

Because the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, consent has been obtained from Cadw for this work to begin.

A second fenced off area in the north western corner of the field will need to be created for the burning to take place. Due to this area being close to an adult-sized football pitch, use of this pitch will be suspended while the burning operations are in progress until at least the end of the year, subject to ground conditions.

This burning is also expected to take until at least the end of 2009.

The fencing will need to be retained on the main site to exclude public access until it has been declared free of the disease, which could take between three and five years.

The infection was detected when the rhododendrons on the site were routinely tested as part of the process of preparing the Conservation Management Plan for the Moundfield Motte site in early November.

This outbreak does not appear to be linked to a similar recent infection at Parc Cefn Onn.

Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive member for Sport Leisure and Culture, said: “Outbreaks like this are beyond the Council’s control and we are acting quickly, under instruction from DEFRA, to contain and eliminate this problem. Unfortunately this area will have to remain fenced off for some while, with a football pitch out also out of commission for several months.

“However it is vitally important that we destroy all the infected plants to prevent this problem spreading and the measures we are taking are vital to ensure that this is done properly.”

A DEFRA spokesperson said: “The Food and Environment Research Agency and Cardiff Council are working to contain and eradicate Phytopthora from Moundfield Motte. All members of the public are urged to observe restrictions in the area affected, keep to public footpaths, and keep dogs on leads, in order to minimise the risk of spreading the infection any further.”

Phytophthora ramorum was first noted on oak trees in California in the 1990s, but is now affecting a wide range of plants in parts of North America and Europe.

With the exception of the large trees growing on the mound, a large proportion of the trees and shrubs will be removed so all the infected plants can be taken out. The area will be opened up allowing more light and air in, which will make conditions less favourable for the infection to spread to other plants.

The disease has been discovered as a result of the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan for the Norman motte, which is believed to have been constructed between the late 11th and mid 12th centuries.

However, the discovery of the Phytophthora infection will delay progress on some aspects of this work.

Cardiff Council in partnership with Cadw, will continue to work with the local community to develop and implement the Conservation Management Plan proposals to make the Moundfield Motte more accessible in the future and to raise awareness about the motte as an important historic feature in the local landscape. This work is being part funded by a scheduled Ancient Monument Grant from Cadw.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom. Part of its role is the protection of the countryside.

Achievement of the award is being seen as an important step in ensuring Cardiff continues to develop as one of the best places to live in the country and provides a real opportunity for a range of agencies working across the city to improve the health and well being of local people.

The Council, with NHS and partners recognised that good health is our greatest asset and together they identified the Healthy Cities approach as the way forward to create a healthier Cardiff. Applying for ‘Healthy City’ status was supported by Cardiff’s Proud Capital Vision Forum, with the Cardiff Health Alliance acting as the lead partnership.

The application involved a range of partners working together to develop a portfolio for submission, outlining existing and new projects being run across Cardiff, designed to improve everyone’s health and tackle the health inequalities experienced by some members of the community. However, this is not something the Council and Health Service can do alone.Everybody and every organisation need to be involved and share the responsibility for good health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle

In achieving designation as a Healthy City and becoming part of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network, Cardiff Council has pledged that health will be a key part of the Council’s agenda.

Cardiff Council Executive Member for Health, Social Care and Well Being, Councillor John Dixon, said: “Joining the Healthy Cities Network isn’t recognition that everyone in Cardiff is now healthy – it’s a promise that physical, mental and emotional health is a priority for all of us. It brings together all of the strands of work of the Council – economic, environment, social and education – and integrates them with the work of the Health Service, the Police, the voluntary and private sectors.

We plan to start the Healthy City programme by addressing the issue of obesity through the Healthy City. Obesity is potentially the next big killer, which can leave people with chronic health problems like diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, as well as increasing risks from heart disease and strokes. Our answer can’t be to just treat people through the NHS and send them home again, but rather to design our city, educate people and provide opportunities that stop people developing these problems in the first place.

That means that whatever services we plan and deliver both individually, and together, we have to have an eye on what the effect will be on improving the health, and reducing health inequalities in the city.”

”I am delighted that Cardiff is the first city in Wales to achieve WHO Healthy Cities status. This gives us an opportunity to share what we learn with other Welsh Councils; the achievement will send out positive messages, and will enable us to share our ideas and experiences across Wales and Europe.”

David Francis, Chair of the new Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said “The UHB would be taking an active role in supporting the work that will now get underway as part of the Healthy City programme.

The University Health Board has put the health and well being agenda at the heart of the business. Our focus isn’t just on providing treatment and care when people fall ill. We need to work with partners to improve everyone’s health, encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles and prevent them becoming ill.

Achieving Healthy City status is testament to the dedication and hard work of a committed group of people who are genuinely striving towards improving the health and well being of everyone in Cardiff. This recognition is no mean feat and now provides us with an exciting platform from which to move forward, building on our successes to-date.”

Dr Stephen Monaghan, Local Public Health Director for Cardiff, NPHS, commented “Cardiff is a tale of ‘two cities’, being home to some of the least and most deprived wards in Wales. We know that it can be more difficult for communities and individuals who experience economic and social disadvantage to make healthy lifestyle choices and we hope that the Healthy Cities approach will provide us with a really exciting opportunity to work together to create healthier places for the people of Cardiff to live, work and learn.”

Dr. Tony Jewell, Chief Medical Officer Welsh Assembly Government said “I am delighted by the news and feel that local authorities across Wales will be keen to learn best practice from this initiative. It is the kind of development which supports our aspirations for “Our Healthy Future” strategic framework and Health Challenge Wales”

The Healthy Cities status will be officially launched in January; the event will bring together key organisations to develop a Healthy Cities plan for the city.

The WHO Healthy Cities programme was launched in 1986 and aims to encourage local governments, with partners and communities, to engage in health development though policies and innovative projects. The programme places special emphasis on health inequalities and encourages local government to factor health implications into economic, regeneration and urban development.

Individuals can learn more about good health and seek advice on local activities from: www.healthchallengecardiff.co.uk

Proud Capital Vision Forum

The Proud Capital Vision Forum is a strategic partnership structure, established to take forward the Proud Capital Community Strategy 2007-2017 and to deliver the city’s vision. The Forum membership includes representatives of public, private and voluntary sector organisations and is chaired by the Leader of the Council.

Cardiff Health Alliance

The Cardiff Health Alliance is the key strategic health and social care partnership in Cardiff with local authority, health services and voluntary sector membership. The Cardiff Health Alliance provides the leadership for the development of the Health Social Care and Well Being Strategy and other health, social care and well being programmes including Healthy Cities and Health Challenge Cardiff.

The airline said 54 pilot and 82 cabin crew positions are at risk of redundancy at Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports. A further 22 management and support positions at head office and those airport bases could also go.

It said it has started talks with staff and union representatives and hopes to minimise job losses where possible.

As part of its restructuring program, it intends to reduce its fleet size by five aircraft in 2010. It currently has 17 planes.

Crawford Rix, managing director at bmibaby, said the aviation industry “is facing its toughest time ever ??? it is experiencing record losses and remedial action has to be taken. bmibaby is no exception to this.”

It will focus its activities and efforts on routes where there are clear indications and prospects for future growth and development and “ensure that bmibaby continues to provide its customers with the best possible competitive fares as well as an attractive range of business and leisure products.”

The company plans to expand its East Midlands Airport and this would result in the creation of 10 pilot and 15 cabin crew jobs there.

Since German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG bought bmi earlier this year, it has been focused on restructuring bmi’s assets and stemming losses.

Commenting on today’s announcement that up to 158 staff, including some in Cardiff, face losing their jobs under restructuring plans by low fare airline bmibaby, Shadow Minister for the Economy David Melding AM said:

“This is worrying and disappointing news and of particular concern given bmibaby’s significant presence at Cardiff Airport.

“Cardiff Airport is the gateway to Wales for thousands of foreign visitors and provides vital direct links to destinations across Europe and the United Kingdom.

“Securing new routes and attracting new passengers to Cardiff is important if the airport is able to compete with local rivals such as Bristol.

“News such as that today will hardly help.”

Dr Who isn't the only time traveller in Cardiff...

The building of the new Glamorgan Archives in Leckwith is complete and on November 2nd the team started the task of moving all their documents into their new home.

A staggering 45,000 volumes, 60,000 plans and hundreds of items have been transferred from fragile boxes into new robust ones. Mike Hodgson, Conservator, was given the task of overseeing the packaging.

It has taken over three years for staff to prepare and package the documents ready for the move, with over 30,000 made-to-measure boxes being made using the Kasemake machine. The machine has become a valuable member of the team over the past few months.

As Mike explains:“At first we began making the boxes by hand, but as you can imagine making 30,000 was quite a daunting task! Thankfully we were successful in securing a CYMAL grant to purchase the Kasemake machine and since then we haven’t looked back.”

The Glamorgan team has also started the mammoth task of numbering the 18,000 shelves in the new building. Laid end to end they would stretch from Pontypridd to Merthyr Tydfil.

One of the items in the archive - a Pedigree roll

The new record office will open in the spring of 2010 and will see for the first time all of Glamorgan’s records being stored in the one location.

The building has been designed to ensure historical documents are kept in the best conditions and has been constructed to create stability in temperature and humidity.

Documents stored include records of local Councils, schools, families and individuals, landed estates, industries, shipping companies, Police, chapels and churches and many others as well as maps, plans and photographs.

Among some of the more intriguing papers is a bill for cloth purchased for the funeral of Oliver Cromwell in 1658 by Col Phillip Jones of Fonmon, who organised the funeral.

As well as being the home to 8km of historical documents the new record office will provide better facilities for people to use the documents as individuals or in groups with space for workshops and lectures in addition to the public search room. Students and school groups will be especially welcomed.

The building also houses a modern paper conservation studio where visitors will be able to watch specialists working to repair and conserve irreplaceable documents. A major feature of the studio is a giant wall board, which large maps can be repaired on. At 3 by 4 metres it is believed to be the largest of its type in Europe and was partly funded by a CYMAL grant.

Executive Member for Finance and Service Delivery, Cllr Mark Stephens, said:” The new Glamorgan Archives will provide a modern space for people to learn more about the past and their family history. There is some fascinating information available and having all documents stored in the one building will particularly benefit people with their searches.

“I know the team at the Glamorgan Archives are looking forward to moving to their new home and I would like to personally thank them for all the hard work they have put into the project.”