Category: Community Groups

Pontneddfechan and Penderyn

We started from Craig y Ddinas a towering stone wall which translates as ‘Fortress Rock’. The car park was busy and groups of adventurers were donning wet suits and crash helmets ready for ‘gorge walking’ activities in this area famous for its beautiful waterfalls.

We kept to the southern side of the Afon Mellte as we set off and stayed on the lower path so that we could enjoy the sights and sounds of the teeming water below us. The valley was strewn with bluebells, was sheltered from any wind and felt warm even though the day was fresh.

After a short while we came to a bridge, with an excellent view of the river which led to the Gunpowder works. The Glyn-Neath Gunpowder Works, or Powder Mills, were established in 1857 to produce blasting powder (known as black powder) for use in coal mining and limestone quarrying. The works operated until 1931. It may seem strange to place such a factory in a steep valley but the location was actually well suited to the dangerous process of manufacturing gunpowder.

The site was large and remote, stretching over a mile and a half along the north bank of the River Mellte, with room to create plenty of space between each factory building to ensure that any explosions were localized. Safety was paramount; employees at the works wore leather slippers fastened with wooden pegs over their shoes and boots. Trousers were not allowed pockets or turn-ups to prevent grit to be carried into the works in case it caused sparks.

The river provided energy to turn waterwheels etc. and the raw materials required were sourced in the vicinity and moved upriver on a tram road. This tram road is used today as a level footpath, ‘The Powder Trail’ allowing visitors to explore the remains of the works.

Moving back across the bridge we climbed out of the valley and continued upriver until we arrived above the huge waterfall which is Sgwyd yr Eira – ‘fall of snow’.

We descended the steep and uneven path and a few people walked behind the waterfall to look at the world through a wall of water, very refreshing and exciting. The space behind the waterfall has been created by water eroding the soft rock behind it and there may be loose rocks so it isn’t advisable to stay too long.

As we came to the head of the valley we heard our first cuckoo of the year and as we emerged into open countryside its call became loud and clear. Then the terrain changed and we found ourselves stepping across tussocks in the moor trying not to dip into any of the waterlogged areas or turn an ankle (boots really earn their keep at times like these) but also enjoying some gentle climbing and the sunshine.

After a while we found ourselves in a very boggy area and although most of the group successfully negotiated it someone at the back (yours truly) stepped on a tussock which promptly descended at a rate of knots leaving her with one leg up to the knee in brackish water, and falling forward onto the peaty bog. A nearby friend quickly grabbed her arm and helped her out, one leg now soaking wet from knee to toes and the other knee soaked. As the sun was hot the trousers were soon drying.

The path was easier near Penderyn, although tempted to stop, we walked past the Tavern Llew Goch and arrived at St Cynog’s church. It has a distinctive weather vane that looked like a peacock but on closer inspection is a cockerel.

#a JUNE W1 IMG_4864Lunch was in a nearby field and we could hear a peacock calling. Lunch took a little longer than usual as a certain person changed into spare socks (carried for years but never used before) and spread various items out to dry in the sun. It was a very pleasant spot and our view splendid.

We were now on the final leg of the walk going generally west. Our route took us around Penderyn resevoir and through Trebanog Isaf. Then we came across a bunkhouse with a tap for people to wash their bicycles and next to it a brilliant gate made from old bicycles.

After crossing a very steep gully, with slippery stone – a challenge for many of us, once again helped by friends- and an open area we made our way back to arrive at Craig y Ddinas once more.

A lovely day’s walking, though a bit wet underfoot at times we clocked up 8 miles and 1500ft.

Tuesday Group – Police and Crime Commissioner

There was a change in our programme for our final meeting of the session and instead of the AGM we had a talk from Mike Baker who, at the time, was a candidate for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales.

Mike was a serving police officer for nearly 30 years taking early retirement because of a spinal injury.He attended university in his spare time gaining a business degree at UWIC followed by a post graduate diploma in law and then qualified as a barrister at Cardiff University. He later qualified as a solicitor and now practices in Cardiff.

As a police officer he was involved in community groups in both Cardiff and the Rhondda and then as a lawyer dealt directly with representatives of the courts, the Probation Service, Crown Prosecution Service and the Victim Support Agency.

Mike then clarified for us the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner, a topic of which we had very little knowledge. These duties include having responsibility to hold the police to account on behalf of the public. This means holding the Chief Constable to account for the performance of the Force Area’s Officers and staff. He would also provide a link between the police and communities, working to turn the desires and ambitions of the public in terms of policing and crime reduction into action.

The Police and Crime Commissioner receives all the funding relating to policing and reducing crime and in consultation with the Chief Constable is responsible for how it is spent, He must also set strategic direction and aims for the police through the Police and Crime Plan. He can also hire and fire the Chief Constable when necessary as long as the relevant legal requirements are met.

Wider responsibilities include responsibility for reducing crime and a duty to deliver better value for money and improve the effectiveness of the police. A lively question and answer session followed and by the end the group felt that they had a much better understanding of the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

At the election two days later, Alun Michael was chosen to be the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales.

Leisure Group

On April 20th, Mr. Philip Davies, who has had a lifelong experience in Amateur Dramatics, gave us an interesting talk on the many things that go wrong on stage, such as lights that don’t switch on, and props not where they should be, and the way the actors have coped with the situations.

Margaret called Bingo for us again on the 27th, and on May 4th, Mr. Anthony Walton, talked to us about "The Birds in our Gardens".We saw slides of many of our native birds, some of which are, sadly, in decline.

This was followed on May 11th with a Beetle Drive, which was won by Shirley. We have quite a busy June programme, commencing on the 1st with a return visit by Pam and Cled Lewis, who will recall their holiday in Namibia. This is followed on June 8th by a talk, with slides, by Mr. Alan Salisbury about "The Durango & Silverton Railroad in the Rockies.

We will celebrate the Queen's birthday on June 15th, and on June 22nd Mr. Peter Finch will give us a talk on "Edging the Estuary". Lastly on 29th June Mrs Polly Davies will talk on Calamity Jane.

As always new members and visitors are welcome.

Pure by Andrew Miller

This book is based on fact.

"A young man of humble background, Jean-Baptiste Baratte, is ordered to exhume the vast and ancient cemetery of Les Innocents in the poor Parisian quarter of Les Halles, and demolish the church. No one knows how many bodies are buried there – it is claimed that during one outbreak of the plague the graveyard received 50,000 in less than a month – but it has recently burst its banks, poisoning the city and spreading "moral disturbance".

Baratte finds that the stink of the dead dominate the quarter, fouling the air and tainting even the breath of those who live there. The vast smoke blackened church that presides over the graveyard obliterates the light. And yet as the young engineer begins the grisly excavations, he finds that the residents of this poor, labrynthine district have a powerful attachment to both.

The impending revolution hangs over the narrative like the blade of the guillotine to come."

Taken from a Guardian review

As you will have gathered not a book for the faint hearted.

A mixed reception of thoroughly enjoyed, quite enjoyed and not enjoyed at all. It did seem to us all that it was a weird, rather creepy subject.

We did agree that it was extremely well written with short, concise sentences. The descriptions were so good we felt that we could hear and smell the things he was describing, it was at once horrific and enthralling. The excavations were done by miners supervised by Jean and his friend who had both been miners. The descriptions of their work, the piles of bones, the transport of these bones to a quarry, the thought of all these men living in tents in the midst of all this- Ugh! The author had obviously done a lot of painstaking research.

There was a part where Jean was at Versailles and saw the elephant that the King had been given by the King of Siam. The writing about this was so well done and took you into the extremes of Paris and its environs at this time.

We discussed whether we would recommend this book to a friend – a difficult one due to the macabre subject. It did come out with a good score of 8.

March 2016

Everyone was welcomed to our March meeting including guests Val and Helen and members were reminded of  forthcoming events. These include Barry Highlight Link meeting – April 12th, our own Table Top Sale – May 14th,Culverhouse Cross Link meeting – June 6th and our Charity/Celebration Tea on June 9th.

We are saving items for the tombola stall at the table top sale and would be very grateful for donations. Glamorgan Federation has several interesting events coming up including the Council meeting at the Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot on May 10th and a summer meal with entertainment at Margam Park on June 23rd

Our speaker at our March meeting was Gwerfyl Gardner who gave an interesting and informative talk about William Goscombe John, 1860-1952.We were told of his early life in South Wales and of his connection with Llantryd in the Vale of Glamorgan where today there is a row of houses called “ Goscombe Place”.

William became a famous sculptor, having been educated at the South London School of Technical Art. His work is to be seen in many war memorials, including Port Sunlight, Lampeter, Penarth and Llandaff. He played a significant role in the New Sculpture and at the age of 14 he was working on the building of Cardiff Castle, carving architectural ornaments.

Although based in London his work in Wales underpinned his career and he actually designed the medals still awarded by the National Eisteddfod today.

Raffle winner was Janet. April’s speaker is Yvonne Rees and her talk is entitled “Going, Going, Gone” Visitors are always welcome.

Visit from The Royal Mint

We use coins everyday and don’t ever think about how they evolved or where they came from. Chris Barker, from the Royal Mint museum, came to talk to us about the history of the Royal Mint and started the story with the Celtic coin that was struck by a Celtic chief. This was not used as currency but as a means of showing off. This changed around 1880 when Alfred the Great struck coins with the name London in the form of a monogram on them.

For many centuries this penny was the only coin in circulation. One coin meant that giving change was difficult and they were literally cut in half or quarters for this purpose. Coinage production remained the same for centuries – simple basic methods were used with the coins being made by hand in many parts of the country.

In 1279 coin production was centralized into the Mint in the Tower of London and the first gold coins were produced which were meant to convey wealth and power. During the reign of Henry the Eighth, in a misguided attempt to raise money, the coinage was debased by adding silver and copper but was subsequently rectified by Elizabeth the first. 

By the Seventeenth Century machinery was introduced and screw presses and horse driven rolling mills were installed at the Royal Mint and the ancient method of striking coins by hand was finally abandoned. This meant that the portraits on coins were clearly defined and edge lettering and mulling were achieved. 1699 saw the appointment of Isaac Newton as Master of the Royal Mint where he remained until his death in 1727.

In order to equip the Royal Mint with up to date steam powered machinery, a purpose built facility was constructed at Tower Hill nearby and was in production by 1810.   In the 1920’s in a development which has shaped much of its subsequent history, the Royal Mint began seeking orders from overseas countries. This followed the establishment of an independent committee to examine new designs for coins, medals and seals.

By 1964 output exceeded 1000 million coins a year. 0n the 1st March 1966 the Government announced the decision to adopt a decimal system of currency. The task of striking hundreds of millions of decimal coins in readiness for decimalization in 1971, while at the same time not neglecting overseas customers, made the construction of a new mint essential. James Callahan was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time and the decision was made to relocate the Mint to Llantrisant and in 1968 the first coins were officially struck by the Queen.

In 1975, the last coin, a gold sovereign, was struck at Tower Hill and by 1980 the Tower Hill buildings were finally relinquished. The Royal Mint at Llantrisant is about to establish a visitors centre which should be open in May of this year and we are looking forward to a visit where we will be able to see some of the early coins that Chris showed us on the screen in his excellent power point presentation.   

Bargoed

We started the Bargoed walk in the Pengam area. Soon after starting, we came across a very tall sculpture in a small public garden. The 40ft statue, which is called the Lady of the Stream, was erected in 2009. It stands on a former ash-tip, which was reclaimed as a playground and then became rundown. The statue depicts a woman watching over children in the area, supposedly in reference to Pengam folklore of youngsters drowning in a stream.

Moving away from the town we crossed Gelli-Gaer Common with the usual grazing horses. It was a grey day and the environment quite bleak. Within the Capel Gwladys area, there are regular shaped mounds, which are variously described as marching camps or Roman Practice camps. The Roman army was in the area from 47AD – 113AD and used these camps regularly to practice making temporary fortified camps by digging ditches and making ramparts.

We continued in a generally northerly direction towards Pen-y-garreg farm and then Deri where we turned southeast. In Parc Cwm Darren we came upon a memorial stone ‘In memory of those whose lives were touched by the tragic events at the Darren Colliery on October 29th 1909’, below are listed the 27 names of those who died.

As we came down the valley, we followed a fast flowing stream; a bridge we crossed had a sign nearby ‘Caradoc’s bridge’. Caradoc was a Silurian leader who fought against the Roman occupation in Wales, but was eventually captured and taken to Rome. It is believed that this bridge near Deri has been called Caradoc’s bridge in his memory. The valley was steep sided and had layers of stone beside the watercourse. One area had some lovely Gorse bushes in full bloom.

1459597376[1]Approaching the built up area of Bargoed, a large viaduct towered over us with many arches, some people scrambled down a steep slope to reach its base while most of us detoured through the local streets to come down more gradually.

Our route now took us through a recently created woodland park – The Bargoed Woodland Park, which covers Bargoed, Britannia and Gilfach collieries. The country park has been created from barren waste ground left after the closure of the last mine in 1985. 90,000 new trees, 6500 bulbs and 8000 wild flowers have been planted.  This was once part of the largest colliery tip in Europe. LS Lowry immortalised it in his 1965 painting ‘Bargoed’. The Rhymney River flows through the park and after the winter rains it was in full flow, there were rapids in places and a dipper was spotted flitting across the rocks midstream. 

Coming closer to the town again a pretty stream ran next to the path and we passed under a modern road bridge with a stylish profile. Our final stretch took us alongside the river Rhymney through a quiet wooded valley to return to the cars.

Total distance covered was 8.75miles and the climb was 950ft.

Penperlleni

this walk was our first since meteorological spring began and it was certainly a lovely day, lots of sunshine with some cloud and not too cold. Basically it was a lovely gentle country walk with swathes of wild primroses in places.

The route took us south from Penperlleni towards Little Mill and almost immediately we saw our first lambs of the season.  Next we approached Cwm Hir, we wondered what awaited us (given its English pronunciation) but we walked through it without spotting anything of note.

Later there was an old metal, elaborate structure which carried a water course over a railway. From here we made our way to Glascoed and then towards Monkswood. We were now approaching the River Usk and as we passed through a field with a large flock of sheep an oldfashioned windmill could be seen in the distance. Lunch on the banks of the Usk was delightful in the sunshine with the fast flowing river very close.

Unfortunately we had to climb uphill straight after eating (always a challenge) but definitely worth it. Towards the end we passed a lane with a sign ‘No Parking  Entrance in use DAY and NIGHT’ – pretty impressive since the lane was blocked by a fallen tree.

We reached the cars and as we took off boots, the weather changed and we had a short flurry of sleet/hail, we had covered 7.25 miles and 900ft.

Wenvoe Weight Watchers

As you know we opened a class in the village hall in November 2015, started with just a few loyal members and now have more than 20 fantastic ladies in our group and growing. The class has been wonderfully successful, with a whopping 26 stone 8.5lb lost in the first 10 weeks of 2016!

Our group has become close knit, full of support and ideas to help everyone else and generally a chance to have a chat, cuppa and a giggle. I certainly go home after class full of inspiration and lifted in spirits.

The class is at 7.30pm on Thursdays, and a warm welcome is always given – if you feel like now is the right time to lose those extra pounds then why not come & see me. If you are looking for something to do with the children this Easter break, why not try our recipe for Iced Easter Biscuits:

Ingredients
225g Butter
125g Caster Sugar
275g Plain White Flour, plain
50g Semolina, Dried, or ground rice
50g Icing Sugar

Instructions
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F.
Beat the butter until softened and gradually beat in the caster sugar.
Add the flour and semolina, working it in with a wooden spoon
Gather the dough together with your hands, then knead for a few moments until smooth.
Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface. Stamp out shapes using biscuit cutters.
Arrange on baking sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Cool on wire racks.
Mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a smooth glace icing, then use this to decorate the biscuits.

Caroline
http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk

Woodland block decision

In July 2015 Redrow put forward proposals to remove a woodland block consisting of 27 mature trees from their Grange housing development in order to accommodate an additional 3 properties. This was contrary to Redrow’s original application which promised to retain and improve the woodland block as a wildlife corridor which provided an important visual buffer for Clos Llanfair residents.

The Vale council received a number of local objections including a petition from Clos Llanfair residents, and a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) was placed on the woodland block by the Council’s Tree Officer. Redrow made an objection but following letters of support from WRAG and local residents, planning committee then voted to confirm this order.

In October 2015 Redrow amended their plans and proposed to retain the woodland but to incorporate the trees as part of the rear gardens of the new properties. This was also deemed unacceptable by local residents and council ecology officers so our objections continued.

Finally, this month Redrow gave in and reverted back to a plan similar to their original proposals with only one additional dwelling. This reserved matters application was approved unanimously by planning committee and work can now continue on the next phase of housing at the development with the woodland retained and protected. Additional S106 payments will be granted to Wenvoe to compensate for the additional dwelling.

We would like to thank Tree officer Margaret Krzemieniewski, Ecology officer Erica Dixon, Councillor Jonathan Bird, and local residents who all played a part in the successful outcome of this case.

Full plans can be viewed via the Vale of Glamorgan Planning Register

Footsteps – Bedwas

Parking in Bedwas outside a church, we set off up hill walking towards Trethomas. Bedwas’s origins in the coal industry were clear as looking to our left huge spoil heaps crowned the hills; for the first time this year (on one of our walks) topped by a lovely blue sky.

As we progressed up the hill we came upon a ruin and this was to prove to be a feature of the day. It was a route dotted with ruins and even small slag heaps, one looking like a pyramid. From Trethomas our route took us northeast, west towards Ty canol, then in a generally northerly direction above the Sirhowy valley.

As we headed across a waterlogged field we found an old green lane with trees arching overhead, casting dappled shadows in the sunlight and dry underfoot – lovely. We came upon a farm and a sheep dog decided to join us. I’ll refer to it as ‘he’ but in truth he had such a thick coat that we couldn’t tell whether it was a male or female and one of our party named him/her ‘Fluff’.

On came Fluff through the farm gates (which he could have got under), across a series of fast flowing streams and through an area overgrown with bracken and brambles, all this uphill. At this point he got fed up with the rough going and went through a hole in the fence and ran across an open field – as if to say ‘what on earth are you doing scrambling there when there’s this lovely field to run across’.

We assumed that he’d got a bit bored with us as we watched him run off to herd some sheep in the distance. We continued upwards and, as we looked back, could see Fluff looking at us from the other side of a fence around the field below us. Now we thought 'he’s on the wrong side of that fence so that’s the last we’ll see of him'.

Still climbing, we were confident we’d lost him until 5-10 minutes later there he was again walking alongside us. We decided that if he stuck with us for the whole walk we’d bring him back home by car. Then we arrived at a boggy bit of moorland where a farmer and his wife were putting out feed for their cattle.

Being farmers they were well equipped and produced a dog lead, put it on the dog and lifted him into their tractor cab. They were amazed at how far he’d followed us and promised to take him back home. We carried on over the top of the ridge at the head of the valley and headed south. We were exposed to a very cold wind and even though the sun was shining brightly, we kept moving to stay warm.

Dark clouds appeared in the distance and cleared off quickly. There were superb views out to the channel and we could see England clearly. As we started to descend we came through some very wet lanes, some flooded. One was so deep that we walked tentatively through it, trying not to create any waves which would have allowed water into our boots.

Soon we found a high sided lane, which became our refuge for lunch. Towards the end of our break we heard the sound of a hunting horn, moving away and then coming closer and closer. A shadow passing across us let us know they were in the field behind us. A lone hound went bounding up the lane in front of us.

footsteps02Some time later the master in his red coat came out of the field and passed us, followed closely by a pack of hounds, none of them paying us any attention so intent on their task were they. Four black jacketed riders and another red jacket joined them from the opposite direction and they disappeared back down the lane. One of them said they were out training and we hadn’t seen a fox. Some distance away we could see sheep on the hill flocking together and rushing across the hill side, we hoped none of them were pregnant ewes.

We packed up and continued, mostly down hill and crossing very full streams. Arriving in Bedwas we had walked 8 miles and climbed 1400ft. All day we’d been saying isn’t this marvellous – no rain and sunshine from start to finish magic!

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