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LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS
Highlight Of The Living With Cancer Walk
What was the highlight of the living with cancer walk at Cosmeston this month?
The bright blue sky?
The sparkling lakes?
The warming sunshine?
The endless chatter?
The ice creams?
No…..it was the sight of a family of voles in the water…a real treat
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
May Meeting of Wenvoe W.I.
On Thursday 1st May Wenvoe WI met for their AGM at 7.00pm in the Church Hall. The out-going president Mrs Jan Young welcomed members and our Glamorgan Federation Advisor, Mrs. Claire Atherton. The meeting commenced with the usual business as well as the annual financial statement, the secretary’s report and a closing statement and vote of thanks to the out-going Committee by the President. Finally, Mrs Atherton presided over the election of new officers for the forthcoming year.
These will be as follows:
Mrs Carol Charlson – President
Mrs Pamela Ewington – Secretary
Mrs Dedrie Smee – Treasurer
Committee members – Mrs Lyn Hull, Miss Ros Lock, Mrs Madeleine Rees and Mrs Brenda Webster.
Our open coffee morning was held on 1st May where £200 was raised for our charity for the year – Ty Hafan. On 4th July it is intended to visit Ty Hafan and tour the gardens.
Our next WI meeting is on 3rd June at 7.00pm in the Church Hall, when Mrs Anne Lush will speak about the ‘History of Cake and Cake Making’.
All tasters, visitors and potential new members are most welcome.
Jan Young
Brecon
This was a delightful walk, we parked north of Brecon and took a footpath through the cathedral grounds. The mixed woodland (oak, beech, hazel and alder trees) of Priory Groves borders the river Honddu, and is about a mile long. Birds sang, the river tinkled, the scent of bluebells hung in the air and the sun shone through the branches as we strode along, heavenly.
We emerged into open farmland where the Pen y Fan range came into view dominating the skyline. Heifers showed interest in us and a local farmer drove towards us apparently to check that the two dogs were under control. Unsurprising, as the next field had a bull and cows with their calves. As we travelled northwest a few footpaths proved a challenge but 
the many spring lambs in varying shades were entertaining and the views fabulous. At the northernmost point of the walk a missing footbridge across the river Honddu forced us to retrace about 1 kilometre to take an alternative route. So, we stopped for lunch on the edge of a field trying to avoid nettles and thorns as we sat.
We took a road west until we were beside the iron age, Pen-y-crug fort, where we climbed a footpath to the top of the fort. We had superb 360o views of Pen y Fan and other hills of the Brecon Beacons and of Brecon lying to the south-east.
A wide grass path led us down into Brecon near Maen-du well. The dogs paddled in muddy water before a brief foray into a clear stream and the humans looked at the stone building around the well. An excellent day’s walking rounded off with a drink in the sunshine at the pub in Libanus.
Walk 7.25m 1125ft. Map OL12
Llanthony Priory
Another beautiful walk, this time in the Black mountains above Llanthony Priory. As we set off, we realised we were sharing the mountain with a few other people! Lots of cars were parked in a field, with a marquee, a police presence and a ‘Finish
Line’. Longtown Mountain Rescue were holding their annual fund raiser with 850 participants! As we climbed, we saw few people, as luckily, our route differed from the event.
Our surroundings were a pastoral idyll, with lush grass, trees in full leaf and ewes with their lambs. The climb was demanding, and we all took breaks to look at the tiny people and vehicles below and to gaze at the beautiful valleys and hills around us. The call of a cuckoo echoed up the valley and we were all reminded of days gone by when we regularly heard it. The Mountain Rescue helicopter flew up and down the Ewyas valley doing circuits until it eventually landed in a field near the priory just as we reached the ridge of the mountain and Offa’s Dyke path.
We were doing our route anticlockwise, and the event participants were going in the opposite direction. We reckoned they were walking further than us and gave way whenever necessary. There was a feeling of spaciousness along the ridge as the Black Mountains spread away from us. This area is spectacularly beautiful, and we enjoyed superb views with a light breeze and sunshine all day long.
As we turned to start our descent, we looked for a moment at the cairn where we had laid a stone in memory of a fellow walker. It was lunchtime and we took ourselves a good distance off the main path to relax. Everyone started to divert off the path towards us, obviously assuming we were part of the event, even though there was no visible path. One woman asked, ‘Is that real?’ referring to a white horse that was stood stationary behind us, staring at the people. Perhaps she was from Milton Keynes?
Hang gliders took off from the mountain opposite and rode the thermals to come over Offa’s Dyke. We joked that maybe they could give us a lift down the mountain. Now we had a steep descent, the path was clear as bracken had been cut back. Stone markers pointed us to Capel y Ffin as we descended and hawthorn trees heavy with white blossom dotted the hillside, but I had to keep my eye on the path or risk vertigo.
Arriving at the road that runs along the Vale of Ewyas we discovered that the road to Capel y Ffin was closed to all but walkers due to a landslide. We headed towards Llanthony enjoying the warm afternoon and the beauty of the valley.
Jams were inevitable as Llanthony traffic met other vehicles on the narrow road, but we had a cunning plan and headed for the Crown at Pantygelli where the refreshments were excellent.
Walk 7.3m 1300ft. Map OL13
THURSDAY WALKERS
– A FAREWELL –
In September 1995 I had the pleasure of leading the first ever Wenvoe Walkers group.
At first my walks were demanding and wide ranging. As the years have gone by they have become a Thursday Walk centred around enjoyment of the company of like-minded people AND a coffee at some point. The walk has always been advertised as about 5 miles though often it has been more. That was psychological as some of the group always felt “I can walk 5 miles “but might not have wanted to tackle 7 or 8 miles which they did!
There has also been a comment that Bert’s Thursday Walk always has good weather. Not true. It has rained on 3 occasions! Anyway, I have always said that I only choose the day, it is the Good Lord that decides on the weather.
I had intended to complete 30 years of leading before retiring so my last walk would have been this September. However, I have some commitments over the next months which makes it difficult to fix dates. Therefore, my May Walk, which covered some of the first walk I led, was my last walk as leader. I have thoroughly enjoyed my years of leading and the company of the many people that have accompanied me over the many years.
Best wishes,
Bert
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
February Meeting of Wenvoe W.I.
Wenvoe WI met on the first Thursday of the month, and our speaker on that occasion was Mr Stephen Jones, a local Historian who specialises in the ‘History and work of Brunell.’ Mr Jones provided us with an excellent review of Brunell’s early life. It was quite staggering to hear about Brunell’s ability to create so many outstanding features and icons of civil engineering of his day, given that this was achieved through hard graft and genius via a drawing board – minus all the benefits of our computer age. We look forward next year to another visit from Mr Jones when he will complete the ‘Brunell Story’ (Part 2).
Our meeting concluded with the usual business and a cuppa. Again, we welcomed yet another new member, Jackie.
A week later the Wenvoe WI met to celebrate a ‘late’ Christmas lunch in the Wenvoe Arms, with excellent fayre and good company.
Our next meeting is on Thursday 6th March, at 7.00pm in the Church Hall, when we shall be welcoming Joyce Hoy, one of our members. Joyce will regale us with her recent trip to Alaska.
New members and tasters are assured of a warm welcome.
Jan Young (President)
WENVOE FORUM
Considering Tomorrow Today
HAPPY MAYDAY
This time of year does seem to be a time for looking forward. Spring, in this part of the world, is definitely here; the trees are well greened up , plants poking their heads up and I am pleased to say the hops in my garden have started their vigorous growth and are looking good and worth a photo even if you can’t see the bright green leaves and dramatic red stalks. It’s a time of year when most days I go out and “persuade” them to wind themselves around the hop twine so that they grow where I want them to, not where they want to go. Fortunately, once they’ve got the idea it’s not a daily task. Sian tells me we now have 17 hop growers in the village signed up to giving their hops to make the beer known as Taff Temptress; the 2024 brew was exceptionally fine. So here we are again looking forward.
In the Islands of Britain, Mayday or Calan Mai or Beltane was the marking of life becoming a little easier for a while. The cows for example were turned out to graze with less work for the farmer. It is a time of traditional celebrations, many of which are now sadly disappearing. You may still come across a Morris Side, who dance in the dawn of Mayday, beer in hand, if you happen to be up and about at 5am! More seldom still do you come across a May Queen or children dancing round the maypole on a sunny afternoon. However as old traditions fade new ones arise and we look forward to the Tuckers Plant Sale. This year it’s a special VE day celebration marking 80 years since Victory in Europe and the thankful celebrations and hope for a peaceful future.
It has always been the Wenvoe Forum’s ambition to get the community to think about the future and the impact that each of our actions has on the future. We have been involved in a few initiatives that have tried to get people thinking and we have supported others to take positive action and run a few small projects and activities ourselves. What we have been less successful in is drawing new members and new voices into the forum. We hope to address that now with a new little project “Wenvoe Wonderings” (or maybe we’ll find a better name). This is to be a podcast of Wenvoe voices. The idea is to hear from people of all sorts chatting about matters of interest or importance to them. One of the farmers might talk about the changes they have seen over the last 30 years and the plans for future change. A recently arrived family might talk about the difficulties of starting a new school. Longstanding residents who no longer live in the village might let us know what they feel they have lost and gained from moving elsewhere. Each podcast would be 20-25 minutes.
If you would like to help with creating the PodCast, learn about informal interviewing, recording and editing sound files, and especially if you already have those skills, please let us know e.mail gwenfo.forum@gmail.com. OR if you have something you would like to say to everyone else in the village then similarly, please e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you
To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the GwenFo account @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1 and then jon the Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402
Some further information and updates, blog site https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/. Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which are normally held 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwen-fo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join
OFF THE SHELF
“Frank and Red ” by Matt Coyne
Our book club absolutely loved ‘Frank and Red’! It quickly became a favourite for many of us – with one member even saying it’s now one of their all-time top reads. We were all swept up by the imagination and humour that runs through the story and touched by its emotional depth.
The book is a heart-warming, often laugh-out-loud tale of an unlikely friendship between grumpy, reclusive Frank and kind-hearted young Red. Red is such a beautifully drawn character—curious, caring, and completely unforgettable. His warmth shines through and helps draw out empathy and change in everyone around him. Watching the characters slowly develop and open up was one of the most rewarding parts of the read.
We loved how the story made us both laugh and cry. It’s rare to find a book that delivers such humour while also tugging at the heartstrings. One member said: “It was one of the best books I’ve ever read – I’m recommending it to everyone!”
While a few of us found the ending a little far-fetched, it didn’t take away from the overall magic and joy of the book. It left us feeling uplifted, hopeful, and grateful for the small connections that can make a big difference.
A touching, funny, and imaginative story about empathy, friendship, and finding light in unexpected places. A solid 9/10 from our group – and one we’ll be recommending for a long time!
