Category: Community Groups

Wenvoe Village Show

Have you ever been to a show and thought “mine are as good as that”? Well why not try your hand at entering our Village Show?

 

 

Submitting your entries – You must enter only home-grown/home-made produce or items. The fee per entry is 50p for as many categories as you wish to submit.
The Community Centre will be open for entries on the Friday evening before the show between 6:30 and 7:30 and between 08:30 and 10:30 on the morning of the show after which the Community Centre will be cleared for judging.
After the official opening at 12 noon, all remaining home-made goodies may be sampled by the public.
Further information in the library. See schedule page

 

 

Sunshine, Orchids And Blue Skies

 

Sunshine, orchids and blue skies were in abundance on this month’s Living with Cancer stroll in Cosmeston. A happy band of people met at the information centre at Cosmeston and welcomed Alan a new walker.

So what did the strollers think about the walk? I asked them for their thoughts on what they enjoyed about the walk:

“Sun shining. Great walk.”

“A lovely peaceful walk in sunshine and shade. How lucky are we to have Cosmeston on our doorstep?”

“I enjoy the camaraderie.”

“I loved the serenity of our gentle walk today.”

“So many wild flowers to enjoy.”

“The company.”

“Chatting while we walked.”

What a thoroughly positive group….if you want to join us, see you next month on the first Thursday at 10:30am.

 

 

 

Historic Llangorse Ridge

Llangorse Ridge

The village hall in Cwmdu has an excellent car park (£1 fee). It was a cool morning for June and we wore layers as we set off along a small lane up the valley, following the Rhiangoll River.

We passed a cottage with a lovely garden containing a good variety of plants and in the hedge along the road we spotted the poisonous Monkshood (aconite). Foxgloves were also plentiful. There were two further properties – Upper Pentrebach farm and a cottage offering wool spinning before the track became a footpath. The mountains around us created a huge bowl and a buzzard soared high in the sky. As we travelled through Cwm Sorgwm we could see the blackened slopes of Mynydd Troed and remembered walking across it last summer through the remains of a mountain fire. We glimpsed views of the Dragonsback Mountain.

A stone on the side of the track had the inscription ‘Dinas Sir J Bailey Bart 1847’. This stone marked the boundary between Dinas and the estate of Sir Joseph Bailey who lived at Glanusk Park and made his fortune as an ironmaster, owning the Nantyglo Ironworks with his brother Crawshay (they were nephews of Richard Crawshay of Cyfartha ironworks).

There are another 2 boundary stones one of which is inscribed ‘Mrs MacNamara 1821’, a resident of Llangoed castle who with her husband bought the Llangoed estate. Curiously there are 13 stones in the Black Mountains bearing Mrs MacNamara’s name. John and Mary MacNamara married at Gretna Green in 1780; Mary’s father a Barrister at Lincoln’s Inn Court had not given his consent. They always retained a fashionable London address after buying Llangoed.

It is thought that they bought in Wales because Mary had Welsh heritage, both her parents were Welsh. She and her four children were the only lineal descendants of the ancient Wogan family who were Knights Templar and owned a great manor which contained Llangoed Castle. John died in 1818 leaving the estate in trust for his heirs but Mary and her eldest son had joint responsibility for it. She redirected the public road away from the river Wye so that the banks could be enjoyed as a beauty spot and acquired other property. It is possible that the boundary stones were set in place as boundary issues were settled. After Mary’s death her son sold the entire estate to Joseph Bailey. Mary MacNamara was buried in 1836 in Wimbledon.

 

As we continued the lane narrowed and we were walking across grassland. Rounding Cockit Hill the gradient started to increase. Llangorse Lake came into view and although it was some distance away we could see waves on its surface and a few sailing boats. A lone sheep posed as we gazed across the lake to Pen y Fan in the distance. A mare and her pretty foal grazed on the hillside. Then it was a fairly steep climb to the top of the hill and we were being whipped by a north-westerly wind. Brrr! It is thought that this end of the ridge may have been defended as a Hillfort during the Iron Age (1200BC- 74AD).

We opted to have lunch as soon as we reached the summit, as we were able to crouch down behind some craggy rocks out of the brisk wind. The green valley we had climbed through was laid out below us and we faced Mynydd Troed with Waun Fach to our right. At the col between Mynydd Llangorse and Mynydd Troed there is a tiny car park where a couple of cars parked giving a shortcut to the hill.

Setting off again we travelled a green path along the ridge being beaten by the wind again. A tiny bedstraw flowered extensively across the grassland and larks rose but quickly came to ground again. We hadn’t gone far when we saw off road motorcyclists crossing the lower slopes of the mountain. We quickly reached the trig point at the top of Llangorse Mountain. The spectacular 3600 views were well worth the climb, majestic hills and open countryside vying for our attention.

Completing the ridge we descended via the Beacons Way. A tree covered in creamy white blossom had rooted itself in a spring at the start of a stream. As we came off the mountain onto a country lane we passed a tumble -down farm where the greenhouse and car, although old, looked more weather proof than the tumble-down house! After half an hour or so we cut across a field and were on a final stretch of road where the hedge contained a froth of pink fumitary. We had walked 7¾ miles with an ascent of 1450ft and only 1 stile. Bliss! Map OL13.

The Saturday walking group were shocked and saddened that Ethel Kennett, one of our long term members, had died suddenly. Her involvement and support could always be relied on. We shall all miss her.

 

 

York Minster Tour Guide

 

Everyone was welcomed to our June meeting by President Madeleine.

On this occasion our speaker was Mike Stillings. Mike has been a tour guide at York Minster for eight years. York Minster dates back to the fourth century and is one of the largest cathedrals of its type in England and Northern Europe. Henry VIII’s religious revolution was to have a great impact and the people of York felt the impact more than most. Mike told us some very interesting facts and stories about the connection between York Minster and Henry VIII. The talk was accompanied by some wonderful slides – some were of some beautiful stained glass windows. Mike mentioned and told us about the Bell Founders Window and the Tree of Jesse Window. The Tree of Jesse Window is a fourteenth century window in the Nave at York Minster. We all thoroughly enjoyed the presentation that Mike had given us.

After refreshments we moved on to WI business. Final plans were made for our Charity Tea on Friday, 14th June at Wenvoe Community Centre from 3-5pm. Names were collected for various events in the near future including The Link Meeting at Dinas Powis on Monday, 24th June and the trip to Radyr Garden Centre on Monday, 22nd July at 10.30am, returning at 2.30pm from Radyr.

Next month’s meeting is to be held on Thursday, 4th July at Wenvoe Church Hall at 7pm when Viv Truran will be telling us about her “Humorous Holiday Stories”. Visitors can be assured of a warm welcome and there is no charge.

 

 

All About The Wenvoe Playgroup

Wenvoe Playgroup started back in 1969 here at the Village Hall in Wenvoe.

In 1974/5 Playgroup moved for a short time to the Cricket Pavilion (no longer standing) whilst the hall was re-built by local residents. The New Village Hall as it stands today was designed and built with Playgroup very much in mind.

Again in 1996 when the roof slid on the Village Hall (due to the lack of bracing to hold the roof trusses) the hall was immediately closed and deemed unsafe. Whilst the Management Committee of the hall were fundraising for coffers and seeking grants to fix the roof, the Playgroup moved to the Church Hall.

Over the years the Village Hall has been known for many celebrations and various classes; however its one main purpose for the last 50 years has been ‘The Home of Playgroup’

We are thrilled that over the years, many residents who care about the community we live in, have come together to support and keep the Playgroup open successfully for a remarkable 50 years, WOW!

Many Parents past and present have contributed to Playgroup’s success with their fundraising efforts and serving on the Management Committee whom we would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to. However, as Parents come and go over the years, there is a set of Parents who came and stayed behind the scenes. A BIG THANK YOU must go to Lisa and Darren who have been friends of Playgroup for many years, supporting silently in the background. Lisa supporting annual raffles, fayres and fundraising events, and Darren who volunteers to manage our website, putting up with late night emails to change documents at short notice. We (especially me) are grateful to you for all your help throughout the years and we hope that Playgroup will be around for another 50 years (however, I don’t think I will be).

My History:- The Village Hall has been a big part of my life, with 25 years to date spent on The Management Committee of the hall. In 2008 the Playgroup was under threat of closure, and without the rent for the hall, my thought was that we would lose the hall. Fearing losing our Village Hall to become a block of flats or houses, I came to run the Playgroup with a future vision of wrap around care. Although the School was unable to obtain a Nursery (as the Vale said they had no money) as soon as the new housing development was underway, a friend mentioned the S106 payments and I supported the previous Head Teacher of Gwenfo School to request that a Nursery be built. Obviously, Playgroup numbers fell dramatically, back to similar numbers that we had back in 2008. After 5 years of love of, and the generous support from everyone at Playgroup (and friends and residents), we are now thriving once more. My plan took 11 years to come to fruition and I would like to thank all those who believed in me. I have completed everything I set out to do as a Registered Leader and now it’s the feeling of what’s next.

Big thanks to the staff, friends, parents and everyone around me who supported my vision and helped achieve it. I couldn’t have done it without your love and support. When people ask me if I enjoy my job, my answer is always,’ it’s not a job, it’s a way of life.’

From this year 2019, Wenvoe Playgroup is changing its structure and will be known as Wenvoe Playgroup CIO. Again, moving with the times to make the Playgroup stronger and hopefully continue for many years to come.

I am now no longer the Registered Person; I am now proud to be part of a fantastic team to a vision I once had. Onwards and Upwards.

Love and thanks to everyone who has supported me in my venture

Sandra xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The Playgroup is fully booked for the morning sessions from September this year until July 2020. However, we do have a few afternoon spaces left and pick up for lunch from Gwenfo Nursery School.

I would recommend if you are thinking of joining us from September 2020 to email us and put your Child’s name on the waiting list as we expect to go from strength to strength.

Also, if you wish to add to our waiting list, if someone changes their mind in the coming school year, again email us and we can keep you up-to-date.

At this time, we are looking to support Gwenfo School with Breakfast Club for reception age children. Breakfast club is for children aged 2 years and 4 months to age 4 years and 11 months at this time. However, hopefully from September it will be available for those up to 5 years inclusive. Breakfast club for reception will cost £5 per morning available Monday to Friday 8 am with transition onto Gwenfo Reception for 8:50am. Spaces will be limited.

Contact us on 02920597494 or email wenvoeplaygroup@btinternet.com for further information. Our website is www.wenvoeplaygroup. co.uk. For further information, please read our Statement of Purpose.

 

 

Cosmeston Stroll

 

Why does a walking report have a picture of smiling people sitting in a cafe, sipping coffee and eating cake, to accompany it?

 

The answer is straightforward: the chat and the coffee (other beverages are available!), are an important and integral part of any Cosmeston stroll. On this spring walk, Betty and Helen found themselves leading the walk. When Lynne caught them up and asked them to guide the group back to the cafe, they replied that they were too busy talking to know how to get back!

The good news is that we did get back. Two Canadian visitors joined the walk and thought Cosmeston Lake was as impressive as any lakes they have seen in Canada. I think they were being generous in their praise, but Cosmeston certainly is an attractive place at this time of the year.

If you would like to share in the beauty of a short stroll around Cosmeston and enjoy a chat during the walk and afterwards in the cafe, then we will meet you at 10:30 on the first Thursday of every month outside the information centre

Sebastian Barry -Days Without End

Sebastian Barry -Days Without End

The novel is narrated by Thomas McNulty, an Irish emigrant who flees to Canada and then America to escape the Great Famine. In America he befriends John Cole and the two form a close relationship, working first, as young boys, cross-dressing entertainers and then enlisting in the army and taking part in both the Indian Wars and the American Civil War. Having fled terrible hardships, they find these days to be vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both see and take part in. Their lives are further enriched when a young Indian girl crosses their path and becomes their family bringing the possibility of lasting happiness if only they can survive. Moving from the plains of the West to Tennessee, Barry’s book is full of atmosphere and language. An intensely moving story of two men and their path through life. A story of the most fateful years in America history. Nearly every page dotted with unique descriptions that raise ordinary things into the extraordinary eg A herd of buffaloes stampeding towards them is like “a big boil of black molasses in a skillet, surging up”; soldiers digging trenches “sweat like window glass in the winter”; and dusk is “God pulling a ragged black cloth slowly across his handiwork”. It is a commanding and unforgettable read. It is brutal and bloody but it is also beautiful.

Every member of the group felt that the book was a difficult read at first because of the way the prose was presented by the narrator but once this was overcome found it a fairly good read. There is a need to be prepared for the vivid, horrendous pictures that are presented through the graphic prose. This would probably prevent some members recommending the book. It scored an 8.

After our discussion we were treated to wonderful homemade shortbread and delicious chocolate cake from Helen our hostess for the evening.

 

 

New Quilting Group

WENVOE QUILTERS

We are a group of ladies who are passionate about Patchwork, Quilting, Crochet, Knitting and much more.

We meet on a Monday 9.30am – 3.30pm. Why not pop along and have a look at what we are making and maybe join us.

We meet at Wenvoe Community Centre. Alternatively, telephone Linda Edwards – 02920 593679

 

 

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