Category: Community Groups

“A Terrible Kindness” by Jo Browning Wroe

“A Terrible Kindness” by Jo Browning Wroe

This debut novel promoted an interesting and lively discussion between the Page Turners.

William Lavery is a young, recently qualified embalmer who has joined the family business. When news of the disaster at Aberfan reaches him, he immediately volunteers to attend and it becomes his first job as an embalmer. The care and compassion he shows to the mostly young victims of that terrible tragedy, was beautifully portrayed, but had a profound effect on William’s life, to the extent of leaving his wife in later years because of his fear of having children of his own. He is forced to face up to his own issues concerning family and friendship which had been left to fester over many years rather than being dealt with. The book proceeds to become William’s biography.

Following the death of his father, an undertaker in the family business, William wins a music scholarship and becomes a Chorister in a Cathedral School. However, rather than pursuing a musical career, which his mother desperately wishes him to do, family traumas redirect him into a career of embalming and results in him becoming estranged from his mother for many years.

It was mostly agreed by the Page Turners that the book was very well written, thought provoking with interesting characters, and extremely emotional at times. However, some thought that it was very inappropriate to use the tragedy of Aberfan as the opening to a fictional novel. Additionally, it was pointed out by a few of the group that the story became predictable and thus a happy ending was perhaps produced too easily. William was not always a likeable character and some of the traumas he experienced were as a result of his own actions and should not have been blamed on others.

Despite the difference of opinions, the final score of 8 confirms that this novel is recommended as a good read. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe

THE PROSECUTOR by Nazir Afzal

OFF THE SHELF

“The Prosecutor”
by Nazir Afzal

 

Nazir Afzal knows a thing or two about justice. As a Chief Prosecutor, it was his job to make sure the most complex, violent, and harrowing crimes made it to court, and that their perpetrators were convicted. From the Rochdale sex ring to the earliest prosecutions for honour killing and modern slavery, Nazir was at the forefront of the British legal system for decades.

But his story begins in Birmingham, in the sixties, as a young boy facing racist violence and the tragic death of a young family member – and it’s this that sets him on the path to his ground-breaking career, and which enables him to help communities that the conventional justice system ignores, giving a voice to the voiceless.

A memoir of struggle and survival as well as crime and punishment, The Prosecutor is both a searing insight into the justice system and a powerful story of one man’s pursuit of the truth.

One of the book club members who recommended the book was fortunate to hear Nazir Afzal speak at a conference and was inspired by him and consequently recommended the book.

The book club members found this a refreshing read compared to some other books we have read. It was not always an easy read because of the content addressed, however the members appreciated that this needed to be discussed. We all thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it was a great insight into the justice system and the author’s courage and conviction. It reminded us how important having the appropriate and correct evidence is vital in a trial. We overwhelmingly gave the book a score of 10/10 and would highly recommend it.

Chris Munroe

 

 

A SPECIAL DAY

 A Special Day

 

A Special Day

As regular readers will know I have missed the Saturday walks for quite a few weeks, but we were all together in mid-August to celebrate the wedding of Claire, the youngest member of our group. A few of us took short walks around the village before setting off. We all donned rather smarter gear than we usually wear on a Saturday and made our way (by car not Shanks’s pony) with umbrellas or raincoats, to Penarth, as it started to rain quite heavily at about 11a.m.

The wedding was at the Tabernacle Church where church members greeted every guest with a smile and a hearty welcome. There was a good congregation assembled when the groom, Stephen, arrived with the bride’s uncle a few minutes before Noon. Then the sun came out from behind the clouds and another uncle accompanied a glowing bride, in a gorgeous deep pink dress with a flowered pattern and a toning bouquet. The congregation clapped and cheered.

The Pastor welcomed everyone, and his words were light, entertaining and loving throughout the service. The bride’s mother, Dianne, shared a reading from the bible about love. And then the couple made their vows and signed the Register. The Pastor invited people to take photos and suddenly it was as if the paparazzi had been unleashed with lots of us rushing to the front of the church (Until this point surreptitious photos had been taken on iPhones and cameras).

We all trooped downstairs where church members served us non-alcoholic Prosecco, which was surprisingly tasty. A buffet was laid out, with a separate vegetarian section and two wedding cakes, one of which was a present from Claire’s sister in Australia.

After eating, lots of chatting and very little walking everyone departed a little lighter of heart. Some of us bearing table decorations!

Congratulations Claire and Stephen.

Local walking

Along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast there are fabulous views but be aware that if you walk along the beach under cliffs you need to be at least 30ft from the cliff face to avoid possible rock falls.

Nash Point to Monknash: It is important to check the tide here; there is a tide timetable outside the cafe at Nash Point (parking fee£3). It is a simple walk of 2-3 miles either over the cliff top or across the pavement beach but there are lots of stones on a slope to navigate before you reach the beach. I usually walk along the beach one way and over the top to return. The tide was way out last time I did it and the wind was blowing hard on the top, so I walked both ways on the beach. I keep my shoes on until I am past the roughest of the stones and then kick them off to walk on the sand at the edge of the water and paddle in the sea as I go. Your feet glow after a mile or so of this.

A DOSE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE

WENVOE FORUM

Considering tomorrow today

A dose of your own medicine

The queue waiting within the NHS, in any part of the UK, for any kind of treatment or consultation is at the best long, and at worst it vanishes over the horizon. In a recent response to an e-consult to my GP I was e-mailed

“Unfortunately we are not able to expedite referrals without an urgent indication as this is only for suspected cancer cases etc.”

It was followed by some very general non-medical advice. So there is the message -Take responsibility for your own health. For a while I felt abandoned and neglected but deep down I know there is a great deal of wisdom in that statement. While there are doctors, nurses, consultants and specialists with a great deal of expertise in all sorts of illnesses, conditions and emergencies, the only real expert on your health, is the only person who is available on call 24/7 and that’s you! It could be that out of the “crisis of capacity” in our dearly loved NHS will be born a new possibly better way of delivering a healthy population a change from public health management to personal health management.

Let’s start at the beginning by asking the question “What do we mean by health?”. How people describe their health varies from person to person and even for the same person from day to day or hour to hour. A person with say type 2 diabetes who takes their prescribed medication, and follows the lifestyle advice given, may feel very well and declare them-selves completely healthy, whereas an adult who has no long term condition but a nasty head cold is likely to tell you they are really ill. There are many different techniques and measures used to monitor people’s health but research has shown that individuals are actually quite reliable is assessing their own health. A long term (27 years) study of over 1000 people in Finland were asked on several occasions over a number of years to rate their health (SRH) by answering the question

“…in general, how would you rate your health”

with reply alternatives: 1. good, 2. rather good, 3. poor, and 4. very poor.

The study concluded that SRH performs well in comparison with objective health status (OH), it is considered a useful tool.

So if you have rated yourself as healthy, how do you ensure you stay that way? Monitoring change is a good starting point. The doctor has many different machines and monitors to check your functions, your heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG, lung function and on and on. Of course some of these monitors you can buy for your own use or use a wrist monitor or your smart phone to assess, but there are some simple ways to keep a check on your-self. The essence is to be alert for changes and per-haps to know which changes might be important.

The changing tightness of your waistband will help you monitor your weight. Sudden weight loss often

goes unnoticed and should be investigated. Checking regularly how long it takes to walk up the local hill and taking your heart rate at the top will give you a heads up of change in your fitness level and alert you to problems with high blood pressure or heart issues. Changes in your sleep patterns, in your digestive system, in your sense of smell or taste can all indicate health problems. As you get into the later years you might want to set yourself some daily challenges like testing your balance by putting your socks and shoes on standing up.

The NHS itself now delivers information on how to deal with some conditions on the internet through NHS 111 Wales. There is a great deal of information on health from all over the world. Whereas at one time people were warned off turning to the internet to answer their health queries now it is encouraged. Be cautious, use recognised sources, seek supporting information from another reliable source and if in any doubt check with your GP.

First steps

If you are working toward being healthier, improving your fitness levels seems to be the starting point for many and the simple act of setting yourself a target of a number steps taken in a day suits many. At one stage the accepted recommendation was to walk 10,000 steps a day which is about 5 miles and at an average speed takes about 1hr 40 minutes. Realistically, unless your walking is part of your travel to and from work or to do some errands, or if you have a dog that needs walking, you need to be quite motivated to keep that up day in day out walking in the same area.

Here are some suggestions to help you get started.

Count your steps for a few days before you start your new regime and set your new target at an in-crease of 20%. You can then increase by 20% each week.

Encourage a friend to walk with you, the time goes by much quicker in conversation and talking and walking is more physically demanding.

Choose a special walk, somewhere nice twice a week.

Get on or off the bus a stop away from your destination and walk the extra distance

If a journey is under half a mile don’t take the car.

Do other active exercise alongside a lower step target some days of the week.

If possible avoid fast roads where there will be small particulate pollution from tyres and brakes or use a mask,

It might be beneficial to do your steps on a tread-mill sometimes so that you can focus on walking correctly with good posture.

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“The Stranding” by Kate Sawyer

OFF THE SHELF

“The Stranding”
by Kate Sawyer

This book is about survival. The book flashes back to Ruth’s previous life and her decision to leave a toxic relationship to lead a new life in a whale sanctuary in New Zealand. On her arrival, it unfolds that some kind of seismic catastrophic event has occurred. On a deserted beach, Ruth survives along with an unknown man by climbing into the mouth of a beached whale.
Ruth and the stranger endure an amazing, new life together and through many hardships, fall in love, and produce two daughters. The story demonstrates how one can build a new and fulfilling life, even though everything is lost.
Although beautifully and emotionally written, some members were frustrated by the implausibility of events and had to supress concepts of reality to enjoy the book. The group rated the book as 7.5/10.
Anne Gill

Forest of Dean

 Forest of Dean

It was another warm day as we set off to the forest of Dean, parking at the RSPB Nagshead nature reserve car park. Our route was taking us north to the water at the edge of Stonyhill Green, then west towards The Barracks where there is a picnic spot, from there to Parkend and along the Dean Forest Railway before turning North to our start point.

We passed a family of waterfowl at Cannop ponds and were soon amongst grand trees, many of them sweet chestnuts. We crossed a busy road and passed between two large gate posts to a footpath and soon had views of open fields bathed in sunshine from the welcome gloom of the forest.


At lunchtime we approached a large house where the footpath almost disappeared as we skirted the property and came out onto a tarmacadam roadway. We looked for somewhere to settle and eat. One person decided to check where the road led and found a church a short distance away. We all followed him and found a large churchyard where we enjoyed our lunch, there was even an extension to the churchyard on the other side of the road. After eating, most of us explored St Paul’s church, which is unusual as it is octagonal and cruciform.

 

Continuing, we followed a footpath and came out on a road, several people found themselves unable to pass an ice cream shop without trying the goods! Soon we could see steam and were at the station for the Dean Forest Railway. A train had just arrived and we were lucky to see people board and the train depart in clouds of steam.


After leaving the railway we spotted a sign ‘Ladies Walk Path to Church’. No doubt a shortcut but why ‘ladies’ had their own path was beyond us. We were soon at the most southerly point of the walk and went around the Parkhill Enclosure back to the cars, passing Whitemead park on the way. Good paths throughout the walk.

 

It was still very warm, so we sought out a local hostelry where we parked up the road to avoid – 1. stray cricket balls from the game on the pitch opposite and 2. blocking the view of the match for customers sat out front.
Walk 8.4m 900ft Map OL14

 

Mindfulness

My ability to walk has been restricted by sciatica for the last few weeks so I have explored the area around the village, as I did during lockdown. I started around the Redrow estate, to the garden centre and up Burdons Hill, along the side of the golf course, past a House called Fairview and back to the main road via the golf club access road.
Paying attention to the natural world is relaxing and enhances my experience. Just using my senses to notice nature took my attention away from my pain. I was delighted to spot several apple trees in one garden followed by a mock orange with its heady scent. When the flowers were decimated by a heavy fall of rain I was momentarily disappointed but was very happy to be smothered by the heavy scent of Jasmine at the top of Burdons Hill. If you carry on for a while you will find a gate into the Elizabethan Orchard which is looked after by the Wenvoe Wildlife Group (they always need volunteers if you are interested). Retrace your steps and you will notice a gate which gives access to Wenvoe golf course, don’t go through it but keep it to your right as you continue down a track. The rose hedge belonging to the golf course is on your right and depending on the season there will be glorious deep pink roses or large red rose hips.
There are lots of trees on this stretch and you might like to focus on their bark, leaf shape, height or even the scent they emit. When you get to the golf club access road turn left and be aware that there are usually vehicles every few minutes. The roadway is lined with some splendid oaks and lots of other trees, plus an open area of grassland both sides, currently full of thistles. Butterflies are in abundance here in the summer.
Earth footpaths are a pleasure, the ground beneath one’s feet is softer so feet and joints don’t get sore and silence is deeper away from roads. And, for example, after a rain shower the soft pitter patter of raindrops falling from leaves at the top of trees onto lower leaves can be heard.

 

 

 

FOOTSTEPS

 

FOOTSTEPS

Clydach Vale
Clydach Vale is a village adjoining Tonypandy in the
Rhondda valley. It is named after Nant Clydach, a
tributary of the river Rhondda.
It was a warm day and we were planning to walk in
the woodland surrounding the Clydach Vale Country
Park, which has been created in the old mining area.
There are low level footpaths and two lakes to
explore, on Saturday morning it was very popular.
We parked and set off along the
shore of a lake which had a good
number of waterfowl swimming
around and one chunky bodied
one with a red wattled face, but I
have no idea what it was. As we
moved along the shore, we could
see a cafe with outside seats
perched on the edge of the lake
and started planning our
refreshments after the walk.


At the end of the lake, we
moved onto a footpath leading
into the woods, leaving the bustle of the lake area
behind. And yes, as planned we had the shade of the
trees, with occasional breaks in the shrubbery
allowing us to see the village spread out below us.
Yellow gorse bushes shone across the area and even
one yellow rhododendron. It was not long before we
found that the footpaths we expected were gone and
replaced by wide gravel paths. These had been
created as wind turbines have been put at the top of
the hill and we were now walking the access roads.
Trees had been felled in the process so we no longer
had shade but one advantage was that we had
extensive views across the valley.
Arriving at a trig point we found a huge cairn, about
6ft high, next to it. At first, we thought it might have
been built as an animal shelter but there were no
obvious openings. We stood here a while and looked
at the vast number of turbines
and were very pleased to note
that they were turning even if
it was with reduced output due
to the light wind speed! We
were walking along Mynydd
William Meyrick, a hill
straddling the boundary
between Bridgend and
Rhondda Fawr. To the west
was open moorland whilst the
area we were walking was
mostly woodland but with
views.


Behind us we spotted Tylorstown tip in the distance,
a wedge of a hill which is easily identified. In
February 2020, after several other winter storms,
Storm Dennis precipitated a landslip on the
Llanwonno side of the tip. This blocked the river
valley, broke a foul sewer, covered a strategic water
main in several metres of debris, and covered a
footpath and cycle path. The area was closed to members of the public to ensure safety
immediately. The hillside has been
reinforced and new footpaths and cycle
paths created, and new receptor sites created to
reduce the impact should further storms hit
Tylorstown.
We headed into the shade of fir trees for a lunch
break and were soon surrounded by insects, so most
of us retreated to the edge of the path. When we
resumed we were walking past
tall firs with bare trunks for
most of their height. The lower
branches obviously dropped
when they were surrounded by
other trees but the creation of
the roadway for the wind
turbines had taken out the
protecting trees on the edge of
the wood.
We turned back down the valley,
losing height quite quickly and
as we dropped lower the
temperature rose. We spotted a rose and a
chaenomeles (Japanese flowering quince) but the
skies had been very quiet all day, apart from one
buzzard the only birds we had seen were at the lake.
Now approaching Clydach Vale again we could see
below us a sports field. Someone said that this was
where handball was invented. A little research has
revealed that the native games developed in Wales
share a Celtic heritage with sports in Cornwall,
Scotland and Ireland. A number of sports are
recorded, including variations of ‘village football’,
‘bat and ball’, and ‘hand ball’ games. The most
prominent native sports to survive into modern
Welsh history are Cnapan, Bando and Pel-Llaw.
Welsh handball, more commonly known as ‘Pel-
Llaw’, is related to Irish handball, Fives, Basque
pelota and later American
handball and has been
continually played since the
Middle Ages. The sport’s
popularity offered ordinary
people opportunities through
prize- money, bookkeeping
and even player
professionalism. Pel-Llaw
has been described as ‘Wales
first national sport’.
At the end of the walk we
went to the cafe on the lake
for tea/ beer/ ice cream and
enjoyed a well earned rest. There is a large display
board with a map of Rhondda showing all the
mining tunnels underground, a fascinating picture
which makes you realise that the Rhondda is like a
huge sieve and there is a tunnel below you almost
wherever you go.Walk 7m 1100ft Map OS166
[Footsteps walk routes and map are available by
contacting the editors]

 

 

“Go Set A Watchman” by Harper Lee

 

“Go Set A Watchman” by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
Harper Lee wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel
To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 which became a
classic of modern American literature and went onto
become an iconic film starring Gregory Peck.
Following its publication, Harper Lee was subjected
to a whirlwind of publicity tours which she found
difficult. It remained her only published work until
2015.
Lee is reported to have said in 2011 that there were
two reasons that she never wrote again; “One, I
wouldn’t go through the pressure and publicity I
went through with To Kill a Mockingbird for any
amount of money. Second, I have said what I
wanted to say and I will not say it again.” She died
in 2016.
To Kill A Mocking Bird remained her only
published work until Go Set a Watchman was published in 2015. It is understood that
she didn’t want the book to be published.
It was therefore with interest that the Page Turners
group read Go Set a Watchman. The book contains
versions of many characters from To Kill a
Mockingbird although it is set some years in the
future when Scout is a young adult and returns to her
childhood home town. The book was completed in
1957, although it has been published as a separate
piece of work.
Nearly all members of the group were very
disappointed in the book feeling that it was very
much a first draft and was a series of disjointed
thoughts and ideas. It was difficult to read it as a
stand alone book without comparing it with To Kill
a Mockingbird.
The book received an overall score of 4.

 

 

 

 

WENVOE FORUM Considering Tomorrow, Today

WENVOE FORUM

Preserving Summer Holidays
In 1880 education was made compulsory for children up to the age of 10 and the rhythm of the seasons, already drifting away from an agricultural pattern, began to be dominated by the school year, the Christmas concert, Exams in May/June and the long summer holiday. The long summer break was set originally to accommodate agricultural need for extra labour, frequently crop picking, and were often quite different times in different parts of the country according to local agricultural practice. For example families from the East End of London went “Hopping down in Kent” right up to the 1950’s. A working holiday for the whole family in the fields away from the pollution of London was the only holiday many were likely to have. Over the years there has been greater consistency and several suggestions of changing the school year to avoid having a long summer holiday but still the echo of the agricultural rhythm persists. In the adult world many activities like clubs, reading groups, and classes that are not tied to the school holiday in any way close down for the end of July and August anyway, so there may be a little longer in your time schedule to consider some new activity.
Here then is something for you to consider doing “over the summer”, by yourself, with friends, as a family or with grand children, whatever suits. Linking to the seasonal schedule of crop picking, one of the activities for summer and into autumn is to preserve any excess crops that you may have in your garden. Or you may wish to take advantage of the cheaper prices when fruit, vegetables or herbs are in season. We will ignore freezing and focus on other preservation methods that may be considered more environmentally sound. Long before refrigeration and freezing were available to the average citizen, fruit and vegetables were preserved through drying, using sugar, salt, vinegar or oil, through fermentation, by making particular preservation products e.g. jam, chutney etc and preserving in alcohol. Below are some examples that you might try.


Drying Herbs
Herbs are best picked in fine weather and early in the morning before any of the oils have started to evaporate. Herbs have a better flavour earlier in the season, before flowering, but it is not too late in summer. Tie small bunches of herbs with cotton or thread, wash them gently in cold water and dry off with kitchen roll. Hang them to dry in the house out of sunlight, or in a shed or garage (not the greenhouse). They may take a couple of weeks. Check each bunch is sufficiently dry. Store in an airproof container.


Salting Roasted Garlic
Set oven for 200C, using 8 cloves of Garlic and 300 gms sea salt
Peel the garlic and whizz it in the food processor., add salt and whizz again until mixed.
Pour/spread the mixture on an oven tray and bake for 10 mins, whizz and store in an airproof container.
Preserving fruit in Alcohol
Use a good quality but not highly flavoured Gin or Vodka and choose either a single fruit or a mixture of fruits. Cut up any larger fruits so that all chunks are a similar size, berries work well. A large ceramic jar with a lid is ideal, a glass jar is fine but cover it to keep out the light.
Fill the jar with fruit and pour in the alcohol to cover the fruit. Replace the lid and keep in a cool dark place for a minimum of 4 weeks shaking gently every now and then. When the taste is to your satisfaction strain out the fruit, bottle the alcohol and eat the fruit or use it in a suitable recipe within a few days. The alcohol of course will keep for some time, in some households!
Look out for information on drying apples in September.
—————————————————————
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OFF THE SHELF

OFF THE SHELF

 

Hadji Murat by Leo Tolstoy
This is the last book that Tolstoy wrote before his death, and it was posthumously printed. It is well regarded as a truly classic read but for our reading group it proved to be a ‘Marmite book’. A few found it not to their reading taste.
Those loving the book felt it a sad, intense, and beautifully written account of man’s struggle to come to terms with the psychological feelings during a war. Tolstoy was himself enlisted into the Russian army in 1851 and left for Caucasus to fight the Chechens. He witnessed many events leading to the death of this charismatic leader Hadji Murat, so the book is a partially fictionalized story. Tolstoy wrote with painstaking accuracy so future generations can come to understand the horror, nobility and destruction which inherently comes with war.
Hadji Murat was a great chieftain who broke with the Chechen leader Shamil and fled to Russia for safety. The book shows his struggle of this uneasy alliance with the Russian leaders and the difficulty Hadji Murat faced in trying to rescue his family from Shamil’s prison. His continual pursuit by those he betrayed was nuanced through the work and the shadows of danger was subtlety woven through the book. Unfortunately, we were never clear why Hadji Murat had fallen out with the Chechen leader, but he commanded respect from those in Russia who tried to support his cause and use him to deliver peace.
For those of us who loved the book it was considered an unforgettable and artfully written story. For those who struggled on, they were pleased it was a slim read.
We gave it 8 out of 10.
Isobel Davies

 

 

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