Category: Community Groups
Kenfig Walk
Kenfig became a National Nature Reserve in 1989 and an SSSI in 1950s. Inland from the beach is a complex landscape of dunes and wetlands covering about 1300 acres. It is home to many rare species of plants, insects, birds and animals. Kenfig is one of the wettest dune systems in the UK as the sand sits on clay.
As we set off from the main car park we aimed for Sker House, near the beach, it is a deep yellow colour and probably the oldest house, in the area, still occupied. It was built as a monastic grange linked to Neath Abbey. Passing through the edge of the golf course we kept a sharp lookout for any flying balls.
The day was overcast with poor visibility – Port Talbot steel works largely unseen except for the flames. We skirted Sker house to make our way onto the beach which is a delight as you can stride out without looking where you are planting your feet – indeed one of our group was seen to break into a jog at one point – helped by the wind at our backs. We spotted the skeleton of a wrecked boat. Turning north and inland through a break in the dunes we had lunch in the shelter of a dune to get out of the wind, but pouring rain drenched us. Still we had a good view of a ‘lake’ below us –created by the heavy rainfall this winter.
Following the river Kenfig, we arrived at Kenfig castle – the site of a medieval castle and town. The BBC’s Time Team undertook an extensive exploration of the area – you can view the programme at https://youtu.be/VJwCaCBhD4U or go to YouTube and search for season 19 episode 8 of Time Team.
For 200 years from mid-12thC Kenfig was a thriving community. Then sand began to arrive and after another 100 years nearly everyone had left. The town was an Anglo- Norman settlement, established with the objective of asserting and maintaining rule over the Welsh population. It sat on the border between English Glamorgan and Wales to the north and west. It was regularly assaulted by the Welsh highlanders and burned several times, each time it was rebuilt but what the Welsh failed to achieve the elements did. High tides and storms deposited huge amounts of sand. Further north the dunes remained stable and it is thought that the destruction was partly due to human habitation as their grazing animals destroyed the vegetation which kept the dunes stable. Research shows that winds with speeds over 20 knots will carry sand and Kenfig is exposed to these on average 80 days every year.
There is a ditch around the castle with 2 roads running north/south and east/ west converging at the castle. The town was a large settlement extending outside the castle ramparts though the outer buildings appear to have been animal shelters, forges etc. which people will have used for their work.
Making our way to Kenfig Pool we climbed to the top of a dune plotting our route through the flooded paths. We passed many trees up to their knees in ponds. At one point a boardwalk is provided across a marshy area. The only trouble being that the edge of the boardwalk was about 2ft from dry land with water deeper than the height of the tops of our boots – I was the lucky one that benefitted from lovely cold water soaking one foot with a cold sensation which soon warmed up. The soaking was forgotten until, taking off my boots, I realised that grit in the water had caused a fair bit of wear on my favourite socks! Boots had to be washed inside and out on returning home – a very rare occurrence.
On our way back to the car we came across some handsome cattle grazing; their coats warm brown colours – they were a mix of Highland Cattle and North Devon Ruby Reds.
Walk 7.25miles 250ft + a bit for ‘scaling’ sand dunes.
If you are not a confident map reader and would like to visit the area, an easy option is to park on the seafront at Porthcawl, near Nottage, and follow the footpaths west along the coast. There is a choice between hard surface, grass and beach for large sections of the walk with numerous seats. A walkway covers a long stretch to protect the land which creates an easy walk.
I did this on a sunny and very blustery day (the day before storm Ciara) and walked into Kenfig Nature reserve before turning back the way I had come (about 5 miles flat walking). Visibility was brilliant and there were dozens of kite surfers out on the water at Rest Bay.
The walk can be extended by following the coastal path further into Kenfig.
Navigating Through Ciara’s Quagmire
In Africa the Big 5 are a huge attraction for people visiting the safari parks: rhino, lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo. On the Living with Cancer stroll in February the group were treated to the Little 5 and enjoyed spotting a rabbit, squirrel, Dalmatian, blue tit and pigeon! Eyes could be occasionally lifted from the mud below our feet to enjoy the wildlife, as walkers had to be very careful to navigate themselves through the quagmire created by Storm Ciara the previous weekend.
Two new walkers were welcomed to the group and enjoyed the walking, talking and refreshments. If you want to join us, we are back to our normal schedule in March: the first Thursday of the month, 10:30, Cosmeston.
Enjoy A Sociable Chat And Stroll
Caring relatives provide an extremely valuable service and the responsibility of care giving often falls on one person’s shoulders. The strain that carers are under and their invaluable contribution to care is often not acknowledged. Most carers cope with little or no support and caring can become a socially isolating experience. If you are a carer and would like some social contact and light physical exercise, then join our Carers walk at Barry Island.
On the first walk of 2020, there seemed to be a colourful theme as the walkers wore bright coloured coats, hats, scarfs..and…shorts in one case! Bright colours are not compulsory, just a desire to take a break from caring duties and enjoy a sociable chat and stroll. If you would like to join us, it’s the last Thursday of every month, 10 30am, Barry Island station.
Spring/Summer Programme
Our Spring/Summer programme began with a social evening when everyone was able to have a chat and enjoy a quiz. This was followed by a trip to the Millenium Centre to see “The King and I” which every-one enjoyed.
Our first talk was given By Peter Cox and was entitled “My Life as a Spy”. Peter had been employed for 32 years at GCHQ and was able to give us a fascinating insight into the world of British Intelligence. Although still bound by the Official Secrets Act everything he told us is now in the public do-main so no rules were broken in the giving of this talk.
Peter began by explaining how British Intelligence is organised and what function the various bodies perform. The intelligence services are responsible for Homeland Security, Foreign policy, Military support, combating organised crime and global security and this is devolved to MI5, MI6 or GCHQ.
GCHQ is known as the 5-eyes community as information is gathered and shared by the UK, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Peter was recruited in 1980 primarily because he had studied Russian and joined the Technical Language Service but later worked in other departments.
To help us understand how the security services work we were played a tape concerning the shooting down of Flight MH17 and the various conversations taking place were explained so that the West knew from these recordings that the plane had been shot down by a Russian missile.
Peter then went on to describe some missions to explain how the various agencies cooperate in for example the disruption of drug shipments.
Finally Peter explained the vital importance of Global Communication networks and how GCHQ is able to watch every move as it has the power to intercept internet traffic on fibre optic systems.
This talk was fascinating and it is obviously true that Big Brother is watching you and that we are all being protected by our Secret Services who are working tirelessly to combat all manner of crimes.
In many ways our next talk led on from our previous speaker as this was about scams and how information can be gathered about us without us suspect-ing. The talk entitled “Friends Against Scams” was given by Greg Couch a Nat West Community Banker.
Greg introduced his talk by showing a video when we were introduced to the various scam techniques. The National Trading Standards Initiative has been set up to protect and prevent people from becoming the victim of scams.
After the video Greg showed us some facts and figures relating to scams. It was interesting to note that the 16 – 25 age group are currently being targeted more and that there are different scams for different age groups.
£5 to £10 billion is lost to the British economy through scams and only 5% are reported. Action Fraud is a new initiative set up by the police and this is a dedicated task force to clamp down on scammers.
Telephone scams are the most prolific and a system called Call Guardian which serves to block callers by dialling 1572 was explained.
The importance of having secure passwords to make on-line scams more difficult and a site called “howsecureismypassword.net “ can be used to see how long it would take someone to crack your existing passwords.
The important message that we were able to take home was that any suspected fraud activity should be reported and that any scam e-mails should be deleted after being reported.
From Cosmeston to Penarth
The Thursday Wenvoe Walkers’ Group undertook a walk on New Year’s Day from Cosmeston to Penarth and return. The walk is usually held monthly on a Thursday afternoon and generally covers some 5 miles with a cut-off for those people requiring a shorter route. On this occasion the weather did not deter any-one and 23 people turned up.
February Meeting News
President Madeleine welcomed everyone to the meeting on 6th February and gave a special welcome to several new members, especially Ann Daniel, who was celebrating her 80th birthday that day.
Our speaker for the evening was our very own Maria Williams. Maria is a professional musician and teacher. She has sung in various parts of the world during an extremely successful career. Music is beneficial to physical and mental wellbeing – this was stressed as we travelled through various breathing exercises. With her amazing voice Maria sang a popular love song, a spiritual song and a third song about peace, war and freedom. We all enjoyed joining in with Maria’s singing and then we all sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ann.
Maria concluded her talk with a story about her recent visit to a church in the centre of London. She has visited this church regularly and has sung there. This church has been involved in the founding of many charitable organisations, such as Shelter and Amnesty International. It has a reputation for compassion gained through many years of engaging with poverty and deprivation. Hence the story we heard was very moving.
During refreshments we all thoroughly enjoyed the delicious cake kindly donated by Ann to celebrate her 80th.
WI business began with the announcement of the Glamorgan Federation events. Members were informed of a quiz to be held on 6th April at Culverhouse Cross and a board will be available next month for signing up.
A letter has been received from the charity “Dogs For Good” confirming that a local speaker will attend our September meeting, when we shall present a cheque – the result of our fundraising efforts this year.
Next month’s meeting will be on Thursday, 5th March at 7pm at Wenvoe Church Hall. Our speaker on this occasion will be Pam Cockerill. She will be talking about “Telling Tales”. Any visitors can always be assured of a warm welcome and there is no charge.
Join the Craft Club
CRAFT CLUB
Wenvoe Community Centre
9:30-3:30 Mondays & Wednesdays
Bring your project and craft along with a friendly group of crafters who are interested in all kinds of textile work.
Learn new skills in patchwork, quilting, embroidery, feltying, crochet etc. Beginners and more experi-enced crafters welcome.
Just £72 for 12 weeks for either day, or you could sign up to both days.
For futher information, phone Linda: 02920 593679
The Sealwomans Gift by Sally Magnusson
The Sealwomans Gift by Sally Magnusson
These are some of our comments about this book, the debut novel for Sally Magnusson.
Beautifully written, loved this book, rich in wording, descriptions superb, incredible quality of writing, lots of humour even in dire circumstances, superb language, clear storylines, based on a historical event which makes it particularly interesting, no unrealistic ending.
So what’s it all about:- In 1627 Barbary pirates rounded the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland.
Among the captives sold into slavery were the island pastor, his wife and their 3 children.
In this re-imagining Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Asta the pastors wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture Asta meets the loss of her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home, the stories in her head. Steeped in the sagas and folk tales of her northern homeland she finds herself experiencing not just the separations and agonies of captivity but the reassessments that come in any age when intelligent eyes are opened to other lives, other cultures and other kinds of longing.
This book is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. The novel is full of stories, Icelandic ones to fend off a slave owner’s advances, Arabian ones to help an old man die.
The Sealwoman was captured with Asta and lay next to her on the slave ship. Her gift was the saga she recounted which enabled Asta to find peace when she finally returned to Iceland after many years away.
As well as all our comments we further discussed how advanced the Ottoman Empire was, how hard life sounded in Iceland, the decline and fall of civilisations throughout history
Some quotes from the book: “Forgetting gets easier, thinking gets harder”: “It is important to be known”: “Men’s stories come through history, women’s don’t”.
