Category: Community Groups

Village Show

 

 

As you may know, for many years now the Scouts have made sure that the village show runs smoothly but have now decided to end their involvement. This year they are handing it over but the 'show will go on'. In order to make sure that it remains an event embedded in the community, it will be run in association with the library and other local groups.

The categories for entries are very similar to the previous years and will shortly be published so keep your eyes posted! There may also be some new events that will engage the community and fill the day. These may include story time for the children and adults, fancy dress events and wildlife walks. Many hands make light work in an event like this, so if you feel that you would like to be involved, please contact us and we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in tough with Heulwen or Sue on the following numbers:- Heulwen 07411178797, Sue 07880936301

I am sure that we can make this years event an occasion to be remembered. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there

 

 

Gertrude Jenner – Suffragist

REDRESSING THE BALANCE

 

On occasion of her death in April 1894 at the age of 69, the popular Evening News, while recognising her great charitable work, described Wenvoe’s Gertrude Jenner as a picturesque, eccentric and pathetic character. She was in fact a fearsome crusader for women’s issues and good causes. Her campaigns for political, legal and social justice brought her fame and influence far beyond the tiny hamlet she called home.

Gertrude Jenner was born in 1835 and was the unmarried daughter of Robert Francis Jenner of Wenvoe Castle. Miss Jenner’s activities were regularly reported in the columns of the Barry Dock News, Western Mail and Cardiff Times. The Evening Express described her as a ‘quaint little old lady with a keen, but not unkindly face.’ Never afraid of a struggle, she was a familiar figure at the High Court of Justice in London, where she appeared year on year, unsuccessfully fighting to prove her claim to part of the Wenvoe Castle Estate. She invariably appeared carrying her signature handbag and a good sized umbrella. On one occasion she occupied three hours of the court time of Mr Justice Grantham, who patiently listened to the ‘talkative little woman bedecked in frills and ribbons.’

 

Miss Jenner will though be remembered for much more than campaigning on her own behalf. She worked tirelessly to raise money for colliers following mining disasters, carried out voluntary work among women in colliery districts and campaigned ceaselessly for improved wages and living conditions in the mining communities. She successfully petitioned the authorities to reduce the sentences of women convicted of capital offences and was proud of having saved at least 14 women from the gallows.

Gertrude Jenner was ahead of her time in being one of the first suffragists in Wales. She was a formidable and persuasive speaker. On 25 February 1881, she presided over a meeting held in Cardiff Town Hall to ‘consider means of promoting interest in Cardiff’ towards female voting rights. This was a preliminary to a larger

meeting that was held on 9 March, attended by local dignitaries and chaired by the Mayor of Cardiff. Miss Jenner spoke passionately at these meetings, arguing that everyday life proved widows and spinsters, who contributed to the rates and taxes of the country, were too often victims of tyranny and oppression. The vote would help to redress the balance. There was loud applause when Miss Jenner exclaimed that ‘women would make as good a use of their votes as men did.’

This of course, was a small step in the long struggle by the suffragists in which many Welsh men as well as women played a part. The campaign finally came to fruition with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, enfranchising all men, as well as all women over the age of 30 who met minimum property qualifications. While this gave the vote to 8.4 million women, it was not until 1928 that the law was extended, granting the vote to all women over 21, on equal terms with men.

One final anecdote sums up Miss Jenner’s determination to fight for women and social justice. In 1896 she wrote a letter to the Home Secretary, bringing attention to the horrific exploitation of a fifteen year old Cardiff girl employed to go up in a balloon parachute at a public entertainment. The unfortunate teen was drowned when the balloon crashed into the Bristol Channel. In her letter, Miss Jenner called for an Act of Parliament to outlaw such ‘dangerous, discreditable and demoralising occupations for children of such tender years, and for the simple but glaring purpose of making money and pandering to the wishes of sensational and idle-minded sightseers.’

Gertude Jenner was buried in our local churchyard and her grave can be found barely 100 yards from her cottage across the street. The Evening News reported ‘Miss Jenner lived at Ty Pica, a cottage on the Wenvoe Estate and it was there she ended her queer, troublous little life.’ Perhaps it takes a former Spice Girl to put this description into context. ‘It’s really important to remember that most people in the public eye are human for a start and a lot of things you read in the media get slightly misconstrued and manipulated.’ (Geri Halliwell)

 

 

 

The Invention of Wings

The Invention of Wings

Sue Monk Kidd

Set in the American Deep South “The Invention of Wings” unflinchingly describes the brutality of slavery in vivid and precise detail.

The book is the fictionalised history of the Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina (Nina), who were at the forefront of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements, wound around the intriguing life story of a young slave. Most of us thoroughly enjoyed the fictionalised history, just a little dissension on the “faction” element. We felt we should thank the author for introducing us to the lives of these fascinating and ground breaking sisters, none of us had heard of their pioneering work before.

The novel is outstanding, the exceptional writing quietly yet powerfully raising our awareness of the abhorrence of slavery.

We would all recommend this book and it scored 9.

 

 

Spring Craft Fair

WENVOE SPRING CRAFT FAIR

Sunday 20th May 2018

Community Centre 10am – 4pm

Not long now until the Wenvoe Craft Workshop™️ second annual Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair on Sunday 20th May. Save the date and come along and see a lovely selection of hand crafted items made by talented local crafts people! As well as some old favourites we have some extraordinary new products on offer from crafters who are new to our craft fairs. Vale Cider will be offering taster sessions and selling their delicious locally made cider to thirsty customers. We see a return of Tricycle Treats with their fabulous ice cream flavours on sale from a beautiful 1940’s style stop-me-and-buy-one trike. We also have locally made artisan fudge (and locally made salted caramel sauce!) on sale in some sensational flavours as well as jewellery, woven basket ware (our lovely crafter will be doing some crafts in action on the day), textile, paper, felt, natural body products, and a variety of different medium greetings cards to name but a few. We have a couple of wood work stalls with a much welcome return of Wenvoe’s very own Gwyndaf Breese, whose craftsmanship has to be seen to be believed. Mike, the Village Gardener, will be selling plants and giving out gardening advice to those who want it ( and very possibly to those who don’t! ). We also have a local couple who make and sell safe children’s scientific experiment sets which may well be demonstrated on the day so bring along your budding scientists! Why on earth would you want to miss all that? Then when you’ve shopped you can drop – in to the refreshment area where you can indulge in a hot or cold drink and a slice of home made cake. There are some lovely prizes in the charity raffle, including an item donated by Gwyndaf, and this time the proceeds will be going to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group to help enable them to continue their sterling work around the Village. A member of the Wenvoe Wildlife Group will be in attendance on the day to give visitors information about their invaluable work and maybe ( rumour has it ) have some wild flower seeds to give to those interested. Do come along, it will a good, entertaining day where you can meet both present and past Wenvoe residents and have a chat and a catch-up.

If you have any queries you can contact the Organisers, Glenys and Mike Tucker, by email at pukkatucker@gmail.com or by phone on 079 2210 9721.

 

 

The Joys of Bee Keeping

 

Our programme continued with a talk by Alun James on the Joys of Bee Keeping. Alun began his talk with a brief history of bee keeping. The honey bee has certainly been around for a long time – fossilized remains date back some 135 million years. Some of the earliest records of bee keeping are to be found in prehistoric drawings.

The Egyptians practised a form of bee keeping using simple hives and the beeswax was used in embalming and also turned into writing tablets. Jars of honey were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Alun’s grandfather was a bee keeper and so it was that Alun decided to carry on the family tradition. A friend happened to be downsizing and so Alun was able to get the equipment needed for him to start his new hobby. Following a trip to Ammanford to a bee auction the nuclear collection of bees purchased was brought back to Cardiff and after a few incidents all were safely installed in their new homes.

Alun then went on to explain the structure of modern hives – honey bees are social insects and form a colony in the hive. This is made up of the queen, whose sole purpose is to lay eggs, female worker bees who collect the nectar to produce honey and male drones whose function is to mate with the females.

Once the honey has been deposited in a cell it is capped off with a wax coating. The moisture content of honey is very important and should be no more than 20%. Alun explained how the honey was collected and all the steps that have to be adhered to in order to gain a hygiene rating of 5 so that it can be sold.

Bees perform a waggle dance – this is a form of communication between the bees giving information about where to go for the best sources of food. By measuring the angle of the dance in relation to the sun and the length of time the bee waggled its abdomen researchers have been able to map the distances and locations where bees forage.

In winter damp can be a problem for bees and supplementary honey is provided for them as food. Alun finished his talk by telling us of the problems that can be encountered such as the varroa mite. Pesticides are also a problem and in parts of Sichuan province in China bees have been wiped out and the pear orchards have to be fertilised by hand to sustain the fruit industry.

Alun has a colony of bees at Insole Court and jars of his honey can also be purchased there. Bees are very important as some one third of human food is dependant on pollination by bees. It is good that this is a flourishing hobby and anyone interested should contact Cardiff beekeepers (www.cardiffbeekeepers.co.uk)

After all the cold weather and snow it was good to have a reminder that Spring was just round the corner. We were treated to a fashion show by M&Co organised by Lorraine, the manager of the Penarth branch assisted by Jill and Cineade.

Our models for the evening were Sandra, Jill, Irene and Christine. It was good of our members to give up time to choose their outfits for the night but they all looked very glamorous on the catwalk. I am sure we all found something we liked and will be going to the shop to see what else they have to offer.

 

 

February and March Events

 

We had a relaxing musical afternoon on the 21st February when Mr. Joel Jordan played his guitar and sang to us. He sang songs from the 40's onward which were all well known to us, from the Beatles. Patsy Kline, etc. We had a delightful afternoon.

On the 28th Mr. Allan Underhill gave a talk on sugar and the start of sweet making production. Sugar being such an expensive item in those days.

We started March with a fish and chip lunch, brought to us by a local shop and this was followed by a game of Bingo. Margaret has produced a great selection of prizes.

Mr. David Salter entertained us on the 14th with his amusing talk on how Picture Postcards became popular. They were a very cheap form of contact and also an extremely fast one with seven deliveries a day.

 

 

Strolling in The Arctic

The Beast from the East did not deter the who battled through the snow on St David's Day. The walks always take place on the first Thursday of every month at Cosmeston Park at 10:30am. This was the strollers first experience of strolling in the snow, as up to this date, the group have basked in the sun as they walked around the lakes and through the woods. Hopefully, next month's walk will see a return to warmer weather. Join us if you want some gentle exercise, a chat in good company and refreshments in the café afterwards!

 

 

25th Anniversary Celebration

 

In Madeleine’s absence, vice president Margaret welcomed members and guests to our 25th anniversary celebration party on March 15th, postponed from March 1st. Members from Dinas Powys, Culverhouse Cross and Penarth institutes joined us, together with Carol Atkinson, June Humphrey and Helen, who has made our lovely banner. There was a silver and Welsh theme, with silver tableware, music, daffodils and a Welsh quiz. Everyone had fun trying to link up childhood photos of our committee with the right member. The banner was launched during this important occasion and we had a wonderful buffet with a delicious cake, made and decorated by Natalie, Lyn’s daughter in law

WI business included plans for the literary lunch in Porthcawl on March 22nd and the holiday to Norwich at the end of the year.

Next month’s speaker is Mansel Thomas on the Rotary Doctor Bank – a good follow up to last years talk by Keith Moger on the history of Cardiff hospitals. Guests are most welcome. Madeleine’s letter to all members is printed in this month’s magazine.

 

 

Clytha

Clytha – It was the middle of March and snow flurries persisted as we drove east, the hills to the north of the M4 soon had a dusting of white. We started at the National Trust car park at Clytha Park. Clytha is an18thC landscaped estate consisting of the park, house and castle near Abergavenny.

It was bitterly cold in a brisk easterly wind. Taking the footpath to the river Usk we walked south along the river, which was high and flowing very fast. Immediately we spotted mistletoe high up in the tops of many trees, outlined against the winter sky. South of Clytha castle we turned west taking footpaths across farmland and began our main ascent of the day.

Clytha Castle folly is a castellated and romantic Gothic retreat overlooking the Usk valley. William Jones, of Clytha Park, moved back to Wales in 1787 from London with the intention of creating his own personal memorial to his recently deceased wife, Elizabeth (last surviving child of Sir William Morgan of Tredegar house). The folly was designed by John Davenport. A tablet set into the wall bears the inscription ‘it was undertaken with the purpose of relieving a mind afflicted by the loss of a most excellent wife’. The impressive gateway was designed by John Nash. The castle was connected to the Park by a carriage drive that crossed the Clytha Gorge via a suspension bridge. For a time it was used by a gamekeeper. Empty since 1948, the Landmark Trust rescued it in the 1970s; it stands on the slopes of Clytha hill, at the edge of a grove of chestnut trees.

Turning north towards Twyn farm and then Whitehouse farm where we joined a road which would take us across the A40 via a bridge. The ground was very wet and heavy clods of earth decorated our boots, something we would enjoy many times on this walk. Even the lanes were flooded in places but keeping to the centre of the road we navigated them without anyone getting wet feet. We spotted a huge flock of seagulls on the edge of a pond which had formed in one field.

Soon the Skirrid, then Sugarloaf and finally the Blorenge came into view, all of them covered in snow and glowing against the dark sky. These hills were to form a backdrop to much of our walk, glowing whenever the sun touched them.

We walked through Clytha village, spring flowers and even a cherry tree bloomed lifting our spirits. It has a Roman Catholic village school, Ysgol Clytha, built in1858 and now a private house. Behind the school we were surprised to see a Roman Catholic cemetery which is still in use. The church, St Bridget’s, is at the other end of the village. Clytha village was home to the Monmouthshire polo club, the first polo club in Wales, founded 1872.

At a T junction we crossed the road to head northeast, glancing to the right we could see an impressive gateway to Llanarth Court. Hats were drawn down to eyebrow level and hoods raised as the icy wind came straight at us. Now it was lunchtime so we hunkered down behind a hedge for shelter and a short rest.

A farm had long-horned cattle, a bull and cows in the muddy farm yard looked bedraggled. Continuing we turned right at a road, walking along it for a short way and then heading across country towards Llansantffraed Court hotel, a splendid house with a fountain and picnic table in the grounds. From here a tunnel took us under the dual carriageway and back to the banks of the river Usk. Walking south we caught a glimpse of Clytha castle on the wooded hill and were soon back at the car park.

We had spotted lots of spring flowers in different locations – the last of the snowdrops, primroses, daffodils and the first swathes of anemones.

Despite the bleak and bitterly cold day it had been a lovely walk and we agreed that we felt thoroughly refreshed, if a little tired at the end. It was 8 miles with 650ft climb.

We stopped at the Secret Garden centre, Pontypool on the way home. The greenhouses were a riot of colour, as they were full to overflowing with primulas brought inside to protect them from the weather. Chickens wander freely and they were hiding under the shelving, crowing loudly as we passed. Tea and the warmth of the café were very welcome.

 

 

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