Category: Community Groups
Children’s Halloween Fancy Dress Disco
A Grumpy Looking Character ?
A grumpy looking, wooden character from the Mabinogion could not dampen the mood of the August strollers at Cosmeston.
A very cheerful group gathered at the start of the walk to join Tess in the celebrations of her 80th birthday.
Age is not a barrier on this walk as the pace is gentle, and all ages and levels of fitness are welcome.
If you fancy joining us, meet us at Cosmeston on the first Thursday of every month.
‘The Age Of Innocence’,Novel By Edith Wharton
‘The Age Of Innocence’,Novel By Edith Wharton
This month’s book was ‘The Age of Innocence’, a 1920’s novel by American author Edith Wharton. The book is set in the 1870s, in upper-class New York Society. Although we appreciated Wharton’s attention to detail, we found the book introduced too many characters in the first few pages and we discovered that we needed a family tree to catch up. When we established who was who, we found ourselves immersed in the plot.
The story is centred around Newland Archer a young gentleman lawyer who finds himself attracted to Countess Ellen Olenska, his fiancée’s cousin. The countess has a tainted background and is thus shunned by elegant society. The book demonstrates the boundaries and restrictions associated with wealth and class and one’s position in society. We couldn’t agree whether Archer’s fiancée Mary was actually an innocent in the proceedings (as suggested by the title) or manipulative in trying to save her marriage. We all agreed this was an enjoyable and insightful read and gave it an overall score of 8/10.
5.4 Million Unpaid Carers
5.4 Million Unpaid Carers
In the UK there are 5.4million unpaid carers. In Wales there are 370,000 unpaid carers who support a loved one with an illness or disability.
Looking after someone can be very demanding. There are times when carers will feel tired and alone. Taking care of your own wellbeing could help with the emotional and physical demands of caring. If you are a carer and want a short stroll, fresh air and a chance to chat and have a coffee, meet us at Barry Island at 10.30am on the last Thursday of every month.
Nutshell – By Ian Mcewan
Nutshell – By Ian Mcewan
Nutshell is the 14th novel by Ian McEwan and tells a
story of murder and deceit: told by the most unlikely
narrator, an eavesdropping foetus. It’s an unusual
and very different book which divided opinion
amongst the Page Turners. Some thought it was
bizarre, with McEwan trying too hard to be clever;
others thought it was intriguing and thoroughly
enjoyed this upside down whodunnit. A score of 7
and a recommendation for anyone wanting
something a little bit different.
September Review
September Review
At our September meeting a warm welcome was extended to everyone, especially our visitors Ann and Paula. We sincerely hope they will visit again soon.
The evening commenced with a minute’s silence in memory of Shirley Harris. Shirley was a long-standing member of our Institute and had been on the Committee for a number of years. She will be missed greatly and our thoughts and prayers are with Shirley’s family at this sad time.
Our speaker on this occasion was Abi Reader MBE. Abi has always enjoyed farming and the countryside. Since graduating from the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester Abi has completed a Farm Business Management Course and a Rural Leadership Course. She farms on the family farm – Goldsland Farm, Wenvoe – and it is evident that she thoroughly enjoys all aspects of it. She is truly passionate about farming. Abi was the first female County Chairman in Glamorgan and she was also the youngest Chair by about 20 years.
She has worked tirelessly setting up and taking around the ‘Cows on Tour Road Show’ to schools all over the country – raising a lot of money for charity at the same time. Cows are a big part of Abi’s life. The 200 cows at Goldsland Farm are Holstein Friesan and Dairy Shorthorn and they are all homebred. Farm Open Sundays are becoming popular and Abi has joined this initiative. In 2014 they were anticipating 50 visitors but 300 turned up. Within a few years this figure has risen to 3,000!
Abi is one amazing lady! Her advice to us, in order to support the wonderful work of our farmers, is ‘Buy Welsh, buy British and look for the Red Tractor logo’. The MBE she has been awarded is thoroughly deserved and we wish her well with all her plans for the future.
WI business consisted mainly of collecting names for various events, including our Fish and Chip Supper in November. Members were reminded that they will need to pay for this at our next meeting.
Our October meeting is on Thursday, 3rd October at 7pm at Wenvoe Church Hall. Our speaker will be Susan Dickson Davies. She will be giving us an insight into “The Breast Centre” at Llandough Hospital (our charity for this year). We will be presenting a cheque for £400 – the result of our recent fundraising events. Visitors can be assured of a warm welcome and there is no charge.
Hailey Park
Hailey Park
On a warm and sunny day 19 people set off from Hailey Park in North Llandaff. We walked north along the River Taff to the Melingriffith Water Pump, where a feeder and canal run parallel to the River Taff.
The pump was installed circa 1800 for Glamorgan canal and Melingriffith Tinplate Works. For over 130 years the pump provided a reliable water supply for the canal that ran from Merthyr to Cardiff docks via Pontypridd and Tongwynlais.
By 1836 over 200 barges (mostly carrying coal and iron) were working on the canal, able to travel the 25 miles from Merthyr to Cardiff in around 20 hours (negotiating some 51 locks). The growth of the railways led to the closure of the canal.
In the early part of the 19th century, disputes occurred between the owners of the Melingriffith Tin Plate works and the Glamorgan Canal Company. There were problems obtaining a continuous supply of water from the Feeder which ran from Radyr weir to the Melingriffith works, especially in the summer months, because the canal company had directed most of the water supply upstream of the Melingriffith works to their waterway. Following court action in 1806 the canal company agreed to pay £700 for the construction of a water pump.
Now we walked between the feeder and the river heading towards bird hides where it is possible to see kingfishers. A heron posed for us and an abundance of ducks, moorhens 
and coot were on the water but at the bird hide we saw a solitary dunnock on the grass just outside the window. We returned via the Glamorgan canal and retired, after 5 miles, to a favourite cafe for refreshment.
Capel-y-ffin
Capel-y-ffin
Getting to Capel-y-ffin (the Chapel at the end) is not easy. We drove to Llanthony and then along the valley following a narrow windy lane for over 2 miles; parking is restricted. A red kite swooped over us as we travelled. This and the sight of a cyclist (male) in day glow pink leggings and baby pink shoes assured us of an interesting day. Indeed we were following in the footsteps of William and Dorothy Wordsworth; this was one of their favourite areas to walk. Bruce Chatwin used to cycle here as a child, he later called it one of the emotional centres of his life.
Setting out along the road we crossed Nant Bwch to follow Afon Honddu and could see a large building, to the west, in the distance. This was the Grange, a monastery and ruined chapel built by Joseph Leycester Lyne, known as Father Ignatius, in 1870. He tried to reintroduce the monastic tradition to the Anglican Church. His builders took advantage of his unsuspecting nature and skimped on foundations, damp proofing etc. The monastic idyll disintegrated along with the buildings and the chapel is fenced off with a ‘Dangerous structure’ sign. The monastery is now a trekking centre.
Soon we were climbing a fairly steep hill to the south eastern end of the ridge. As we rested to look back at the glorious view of the valley towards Llanthony we met a group of 4 young men coming down. They had come from Birmingham and were walking to Hay-On-Wye (10miles). One of them, an Italian, was blown away by the beauty of the place – he didn’t know this country held such treasures.
The path along the ridge was easy though slightly uphill. Dark clouds gathered in the sky creating a dramatic atmosphere. The boggiest section was paved and the surrounding area covered in lines of fleeces. Apparently they help the land to recover. At the end of the ridge, Lord Hereford’s Knob, the spectacular view opened up to the northwest across relatively flat land and you could see for miles. It was lunchtime and we were ready to eat but a fierce wind had got up and we continued to an outcrop of rocks a little to the southwest. Even the rocks couldn’t protect us so we turned our backs on the view and started down the valley. In no time we were on the banks of a small stream in the sunshine – lovely.
The descent through the valley was gorgeous. A herd of ponies and their foals tossed their manes in the wind. In the protected valley, Nant Bwch shimmered in the sun and heather clad banks glowed. The sheep were the whitest I had ever seen and stones beside tributaries also glowed white in places (presumably limestone). And it was so quiet it was heavenly. We had heard no cars, aeroplanes or other manmade noise (apart from voices) all day and only met a handful of people.
Crossing Nant Bwch we walked along a lane passing Talsarn Farm and the Grange to come back into Capel-y-ffin. Walk 7miles 1500ft ascent. Map OL13
