WELSH TENOR STAR GETS ON THE SLOPES FOR CHARITY

Pembrey Country Park’s attractions have played a starring role in the Lap of Wales Challenge fronted by international tenor star Rhys Meirion.

The Welsh opera singer and his team, including comedian Tudur Owen, rode the Segway, slid down the 300m dry ski slope on a ringo, jumped on the toboggan and pedalled bicycles to raise awareness on organ donation.

Rhys and the team spent the afternoon at the park as part of a week-long event touring the country using as many modes of transport as possible. The singer is also spreading the word about a charity launched in his late sister’s memory which aims to support people who need an organ donation in Wales and the bereaved families of those donating their organs in Wales.

The afternoon ended with them being transported in 4X4 vehicle along the Millennium Coastal Path before heading to Porthcawl. They’ll eventually end up in Llangollen National Eisteddfod on July 11.

The council’s executive board member for leisure, Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “The group had a great time at the park and utilised some of our unique forms of transport. It was the first time for them to use Segway and the Ringo’s and they had good fun whilst raising awareness for an important cause. We were thrilled to be able to play a small part in helping them achieve that.”

So far the team have taken to the skies, water, mountains and roads.

Welsh Tenor, Rhys Meirion said: “We’ve had a fantastic response from everyone so far and it’s been quite overwhelming and very positive.”

From December 1 the way we choose to become organ donors in Wales will change. The Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 will introduce a soft opt-out system for consent to deceased organ and tissue donation. This is also called “deemed consent”.

The law will mean that if you support organ donation but, for whatever reason you haven’t joined the organ donation register, your consent to being an organ donor will be deemed to have been given. If you do not want to be a donor, for the first time you will be able to register a decision to make that clear.