Category: Community Groups
25th Anniversary Reunion
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25TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION
About 20 people met at Marco’s coffee shop in Porthkerry to celebrate 25 years of Wenvoe Walkers. We enjoyed a good catch up, drinks (and cake for some) and chocolates. A photo album let us all see how much we had changed over the last 10 years! Two short walks of 1hour and ½ hour duration were done by most of us. Thank you to Jackie Custance for making it happen.
We are all very grateful that Bert Bates and John Custance founded the group, to Ian Moody who co-ordinates the walks on offer and to the many people who have offered walks in the intervening years, who are too many to mention but you know who you are. Thank you all.
Llancarfan
On a fine day we met in Llancarfan to do a figure of eight walk taking in Moulton (to the west) in the morning and Penmark (to the south) in the afternoon. The idea was that we would return to Llancarfan church at lunchtime to look at its medieval paintings.
We set off up a fairly steep hill, passing the primary school with its colourful posters – one example was ‘Slow Down don’t race’ with a picture of a car hurtling downhill. At the top of our climb, we glimpsed the channel in the distance.
Walking through Moulton we took a small country lane and found a well-preserved stone bridge at the side of the road over a stream. Soon after, we passed an imposing house, Trewallter Fawr, which is thought to date from 17thC and has windows dating from that period. It is Grade II listed and painted dark red like one of the farmhouses at St Fagan’s. It was once used as Sherlock Holmes’ house when BBC Cymru Wales filmed Sherlock.
Returning to Llancarfan a few people got down into the stream to see if they could spot any otter spraint i.e., otter faeces. This is one place in the Vale where it has been seen.
Then we went to the 13thC St Cadoc’s church. Medieval paintings were discovered when a rotten roof timber was being replaced and colour was found under it. In 2013, restoration work removed twenty layers of whitewash to reveal the paintings. Pictures on the walls allowed people who could not read to follow Christian teachings. St Cadoc’s pictures are likely to date from the late 15thC and were probably only visible for about 70 years until Henry VIII’s removal of church images from about 1536. St George and the Dragon and the Seven Deadly Sins cover one area. The Deadly sins are usually: Superbia/Pride, Invidia/envy, Ira/Anger, Avaricia/Avarice, Accidia/ Sloth, Gula/Gluttony and Luxuria/Lust but at St Cadoc’s there is no Envy. Two sins both called sloth, the first a dramatic suicide and the second a lay-a-bed called Somnolencia are present instead. Opposite the deadly sins, St Cadoc’s 15thC artist has created the Seven Works of Mercy or Virtues. Three and a half of these are now revealed but it is suspected that three more are lost to time and later inscriptions.
The pictures are impressive, all the colours shown are original and have not been enhanced by the restoration. Well worth a visit.
We lunched in the churchyard and had a look around the graveyard. One large grave has a stone inlaid in the ground beside it with the engraving ‘Entrance’! Then we continued our walk, heading towards Penmark.
Building work at one house we passed left a toilet on display in a shell of an extension! A blue plaque let us know that, at Bryn Iolo, Iolo Morgannwg (Edward Williams), the founder of the Gorsedd of the Bard was born here on 11 March 1747.
Now we came to a junction where we were to turn right down a lane only to find a notice stating that the path was closed due to an unsafe bridge (the walk had been checked out the day before and this sign appeared overnight) so we had to take a diversion on the road adding about a mile to the walk.
On arrival at Penmark we found the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. North of the church are the remains of Penmark castle. A 13thC wall overlooks a 30m deep ravine above the River Waycock. The castle is unrestored and includes a turret and two-storey tower.
Although I have focused on the buildings and things of interest we found on this walk, we spent most of our time crossing farmland and walking lanes and narrow roads. We saw plenty of animals including cows, calves, sheep, goats with large horns and at one house some very noisy dogs. Near the end of the walk, we spotted some belted Galloway cattle with their wide white belts in the middle of black coats. Returning to Llancarfan we stopped at the Fox and Hounds for (expensive) refreshment.
Walk 8.5 miles, 900ft. Map 151
Thursday Meetings Are Back
Valeways Stroller’s Autumn
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VALEWAYS STROLLERS
Autumn has arrived but the Valeways strollers have been bathed in sunshine. The Living with Cancer Strollers welcomed a new walker at Cosmeston, and she found herself immersed in conversations with other walkers, as they enjoyed the lakes, trees and fields. Leaves were on the ground, but luckily dry paths were underfoot.
The Carers group enjoyed an exhilarating walk between Friars Point and Nell’s Point, along an empty Whitmore bay: the day before all the dogs were allowed to descend on the beach for the winter season. The rain stayed away which made chatting and catching up easier.
The Stress Buster strollers certainly had any cobwebs blown away as they walked through the Parade gardens to the Old Harbour, along the Cold Knap promenade and around the harp shaped lake.
Sunshine and cloudless skies cannot be promised, but a relaxing stroll in good company can be guaranteed! Join us!
A Community Energy Scheme?
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Is it time for a Community Energy Scheme?
The coverage of COP26 and the need to replace fossil fuel based energy generation, coupled with the potential insecurity and dramatic cost rise of our energy supply is a source of concern. We are reaching for our warm sweaters, turning down the thermostat, not leaving the TV on standby etc etc. But is it time to consider an increasingly popular option? Is it time for a Community Energy Scheme for Wenvoe?
What is a Community Energy Scheme? In essence Community Energy Schemes are about community led, and importantly community controlled, renewable energy production, energy efficiency schemes or energy purchase schemes. They can be wholly community owned or with commercial or public sector partners or can act as a trusted intermediary to ensure community interests are considered by commercial generators. The movement is growing in Wales which has more Community Energy schemes per head of population than other parts of the UK. Some of them have been around for over 20 years and have learnt some of the tricks of the trade the hard way but all are willing to share their experiences in order to advance the sector. The sector is supported by Community Energy Wales (CEW) and a look at its map of members will show you wind, solar and hydro generation schemes alongside insulation schemes, provision of charging points, a biomass project that heats a community swimming pool and plans for schemes using heat pumps.
How are they funded? Largely they are run as businesses with a variety of different models; co-operatives, community interest organisations, Ltd companies etc. Investors get a reasonable return on their money but no share of the profit which is used for community benefit and often applied to other environmentally friendly or energy efficiency projects. In common with charities, Directors are usually volunteers. Community members are able to purchase energy at a reliable and often lower price
What other benefits are there? In its State of the Sector 2021 report published earlier this year CEW cites the following benefits:-
- A major practical contribution towards achieving zero carbon emissions
- Involved, energy aware community members are ready to make the behaviour changes necessary to combat climate change
- New jobs and local investment
- Other community driven projects utilising the surpluses that would normally go to shareholders
So what might a scheme for Wenvoe look like? Council buildings and many more houses with solar panels or heat pumps; a way of capturing hydro energy from the water that pours down from the woodland when it rains; a Wind turbine up on the hill… who knows, the community decides based on practical feasibility.
One thing is certain however, the magic ingredient of any successful scheme is a handful of people who are prepared to give some time to get things going. If you are one of those people, let’s make it happen, please get in touch gwenfo.forum@gmail.com.
Recent Forum Activity
We are still pursuing the monitoring of air pollution in the village and encouraging drivers not to leave engines idling.
We submitted our response to the WG 20mph zones scheme. This is due for implementation in 2023 and there will be further consultation about local issues.
We attended a Road Safety meeting hosted by Jane Hutt SM and attended by other rural Vale communities, Vale of Glamorgan officers and Councillors, South Wales Police and Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change. Other communities shared proven examples of schemes that improve safety, reduce pollution and encouraging active travel.
We have an exploratory meeting with Community Energy Wales planned and a request from the Vale officer in charge of Project Zero to meet with us for an update..
An information pack to welcome newcomers to the village is nearly ready which includes the list of local providers which can be found on our Blog site.
We will be responding to the Vale of Glamorgan consultation on plans to improve the play area at the Grange. You can respond too. blog https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/ .
New members welcome, meetings on Zoom 2nd Thursday each month 7pm. Comment or Contact us on :-Facebook: Gwen Fo @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1/ and Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402 twitter @ForumGwenfo or e-mail us on gwenfo.forum@gmail.com.
7th October Meeting
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7th October Meeting
Our meeting on 7th Oct was in the Church Hall, our usual venue. This was a ‘Poetry Please’ evening. Two further meetings are planned for this year :
4th November – Fish and Chips evening
2nd December – Christmas Party and a Christmas Lunch on 8th Dec in the Wenvoe Arms.
There is a full programme of year’s activities planned, to include a variety of speakers, a quiz night, and a ‘Bring and Buy’ night in January.
We will be delighted to welcome any new members as our meetings are relaxed and quite informal. As discernible from snippets of the proposed programme, we meet on the first Thursday of each month in the Church Hall.
The Bell in the Lake’ by Lars Mytting
. The Bell in the Lake’ by Lars Mytting
Norway, 1880. Winter is hard in Butangen. The lake has frozen, and the ground is too hard to bury the dead. Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond marriage and children, and working to the end of her days. Then Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, with its 700-year-old stave church. The two bells in the tower are said to hold supernatural powers.
It is rare that a book receives similar praise from a diverse group of people reading it. An average score of 9.5! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the book praising the translation, the research, descriptions of the landscape and the cold, the incredible detail of the stave church, and the characters. There was an incorporation of myth and folklore but the story still remained believable with descriptions of the hardships of farming and the long dark winters. Some of the group had been fortunate enough to visit Norway and to see stave churches, of which few remain, and for them the book was evocative and brought back memories of Norway.
The ending felt slightly rushed but as this is the first of a trilogy, this was perhaps as an introduction of what is still to come.
Many thanks to our host for delicious tea and cakes!
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
OFF THE SHELF
This month’s reading was a classic novel written in 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe was the best-selling novel and the second best-selling book of the 19th century. One million copies were sold in Great Britain alone.
The emotive story features Uncle Tom, as a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories of other characters revolve.
Reading the novel more than a century and a half after it was written gave us mixed feelings. On the one hand, the brutal reality experienced by many slaves at that time was hard to digest. The racist language which represented the attitudes expressed by slave-owners of the period was difficult to read. On the other hand, we felt that the novel was over-sentimental in its depiction of slaves as being able to endure any form of hardship and mistreatment if only they had the Christian belief in a heavenly reward for their suffering.
Beecher Stowe was herself a fervent Christian and an anti-slavery activist. Her powerful novel was influential in aiding the abolitionist cause. It was also instrumental in stereotyping black people of the time as simple child-like, faithful creatures, eager to serve a good master.
Nevertheless, we considered the book a good if uncomfortable read, giving us a brutal insight to our shameful past. It was a particularly pertinent read in October’s Black History Month. We gave the book a score of 7.5/10
Walking for 25 Years
NEXT WALK
Thursday October 7th. A circular walk based on Barry waterfront and Barry Island. About 5.5 miles. Meet 1pm by the Village Hall.
25 YEARS OF THE WENVOE
WALKING GROUP
In 1996 a chance remark to Bert Bates from two village ladies at a coffee morning, who asked the question ‘Wouldn’t it be good to have a walking group as we don’t like walking by ourselves?’ The seed of a local rambling group was sown.
Bert asked John Custance, who was a Ramblers Leader, what he thought of the idea and together they decided to hold an open evening to gauge the amount of interest in the proposal. 15 people attended and discussed ideas. It was decided that it would be an informal group of people who shared a common interest of walking together.
In the past 25 years the group has probably walked every ridge and a vast majority of countryside footpaths within a 50 miles radius of Wenvoe with various leaders. They have walked local long-distance trails, had weekends away and walked abroad. One year a group of over 30 villagers and friends spent a splendid week walking in Corsica.
Within a few years of its formation the group settled into two sets of walks on offer. Bert offered a monthly Thursday afternoon walk, mainly locally of around 5 miles, and different leaders have led Saturday walkers ranging over hills and dales with a variety of distances and difficulty.
Over the years many friendships have been formed amongst the walkers. Regrettably some of our friends have passed on and others now find their health curtailing their enthusiasm for walking.
After sounding out some of the original participants of the group it was thought it would be nice to have Walking Groups’ Silver Jubilee Reunion with a chat over coffee and a short stroll, for those who can manage it. We will meet at Marco’s Coffee Shop in Porthkerry Park, Barry on Thursday 14th October at 2.15pm.
If anybody would like a lift please contact Jacky Custance on 07858 555302
September Meeting Notes
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WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Our meeting on 2nd September was a “Welcome Back” occasion after 18 months with no monthly meetings. Retiring President Madeleine welcomed everyone. A special welcome was given to our Advisor, Barbara Bowring (who is also the President of Barry Highlight WI), our new member Alexandra Griffiths and our visitor, Debbie Tanner.
Our member, Paula Johnson, recently received 2 highly commended certificates for her photos of Summer Holidays. Well done Paula!!
The meeting commenced with a minute’s silence during which our thoughts turned to Margaret and Gloria who sadly passed away in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Margaret was our Vice President, a former President, a former Treasurer and our only founder member. Although Gloria was unable to rejoin us this year we shall remember them both with great fondness.
Members were delighted to see Avril present and now well on the road to recovery. We were pleased to learn that Pam Cockerill has now had her second cataract operation and we are looking forward to welcoming her back soon.
The Officers for 2021-2022 were elected and are:-
President – Mrs Janet Young, Vice-President – Mrs Madeleine Rees, Secretary – Mrs Pam Ewington , Treasurer – Mrs Debbie David. Committee Members are Mrs June Davis and Mrs Jean Woodman and also Mrs Pam Weavers who was welcomed “aboard” as a new committee member.
At this meeting Madeleine was stepping down after being our President for many years. On behalf of all members our Secretary, Pam, presented Madeleine with a lovely shoulder bag, a generous Marks and Spencer voucher and a poem, created by Pam herself, along with a Thank You card. She was delighted but totally shocked and overwhelmed by the kindness shown to her. Members were thanked for all the support they had given Madeleine over the years and for their continuous hard work, which was all greatly appreciated.
It was time to hand over to our new President, Janet Young. Janet was thanked for kindly agreeing to be our President and was welcomed into her new role.
The programme for 2021-2022 was discussed and members welcomed the opportunity to add their names to the “Poetry Please” list for the next meeting on Thursday, 7th October at 7pm. Members will be informed of the location of our next meeting but hopefully we will be back in the Church Hall. We are looking forward to hearing members favourite poems and we will also be taking orders for our Fish and Chip Supper in November.
We are extremely grateful to Jenny and Digby, of the Wenvoe Arms, for allowing us to use “The Barn” for our September meeting and would like to express our thanks for their kindness.