Category: Community Groups
Christmas Draw
Christmas Draw Results
The Village Hall Management Committee would like to thank everyone who kindly donated prizes to this raffle and also to the people who support us by buying and selling of the tickets. All money raised through the raffle contributes to the on-going insurance, maintenance and daily running costs of the Hall which is primarily for the use of the villagers.
We thank you all and wish you Good Health and a Happy and Prosperous New Year
If you have not provided an address or telephone number to claim your prize please ring Gail Adams on 07968 865550 to arrange collection
Year End Activities
On November 16th Mr Dean Powell gave us an insight into the life of the actor Glyn Houston .Born in Tonypandy in 1925, he was the younger brother of actor Donald Houston. He really wanted to be a comedian. However, acting roles came along. He appeared in the film The Blue Lamp and comedies such as Are you being served with John Inman and Arthur English. He also featured in a holiday comedy on the " Costa Plonka".
We held a quiz on November 23rd with a series of pictures of famous people, who we recognised but "Oh dear, what is their name"?
Once again Joyce entertained us with her humorous anecdotes at our November 30th meeting and our Autumn session came to an end with a visit from the Amy Britten singers who gave us an enjoyable afternoon, which was rounded off with mince pies.
Finally ,on December 14th, 20 of our members met at the Walston Castle for our Christmas lunch, and Shirley, as usual, provided us with a large collection of prizes for our annual raffle.
We recommence on January 11th with a game of Bingo, followed by our A.G.M. on January 18th Our new programme begins on January 25th with a talk by Mr Peter Finch entitled Old Cardiff.
As always new members and visitors are always welcome, so why not come and join us. Wishing all our members a very Happy New Year.
December’s Book Choice
"Cranford"
By Elizabeth Gaskell
Page Turners were greeted with mincepies. Mulled wine and Buck’s Fizz to ensure plenty of Christmas spirit at the final meeting of 2016.
Less palatable however, was the book the group had been offered for December. To continue the foodie theme, it was not easily digested by the group and left a bitter taste in the mouth!
“Cranford “ is one of the better-known novels of the 19th century English writer, Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in eight instalments, between December 1851 and May 1853 and was a popular novel at the time. There is no plot, rather a collection of satirical sketches portraying small town customs and values in mid Victorian England.
Only one member made their way through the whole book. Readers did not like having to constantly refer to the book notes and some thought it was a punishment to have to read it! The only positive comment on the book was that people thought it made you appreciate life today, instead of having the anxiety that surrounded women in the 1850’s who had to worry about their choice of bonnets!
No scores were given and it was not a recommended read.
When the discussion was over, the more important business of the discussing the merits of the Yule log and the Malteser Christmas pudding could continue.
The group can now turn their thoughts to the next book and more happy discussions in 2017.
Christmas Party
At our December meeting we all enjoyed our Christmas party with a tempting buffet provided by the committee. Janet entertained us with the pantomime “ Cinderella” which proved very amusing with her use of mixed-up words. Madeleine read out an historical list of Christmas Day events, plus a list of famous people born on that day. This was followed by an account of the history of Boxing Day. Pam had produced two ongoing quizzes and the outright winner was Jayne. After the refreshments and the raffle we enjoyed a Christmas singsong accompanied by Janet on the keyboard.
The president would like to thank all who contributed to a very successful and enjoyable evening.
The first meeting of 2017 will be on January 5th at the Church Hall at 7pm when our speaker will be Janet Young and the subject of her talk will be Lady Jane Grey, the nine day queen. Visitors will be most welcome.
Members are reminded that subs are due in January.
CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR
All countries have their own customs and traditions for celebrating the arrival of another year and most of them involve food, wine and fun. Here are some of the more interesting events that take place in Europe and Wales.
In Estonia, people decorate villages, visit friends and prepare lavish meals. Some believe that people should eat seven, nine, or twelve times on New Year's Eve. These are lucky numbers in Estonia; it is believed that for each meal consumed, the person gains the strength of that many men the following year.
A Finnish tradition is to tell the fortunes of the New Year by melting "tin" (actually lead) in a tiny pan on the stove and throwing it quickly in a bucket of cold water. The resulting blob of metal is analysed, for example by interpreting shadows it casts by candlelight. These predictions are however never taken seriously.
In France, New Year's Eve (la Saint-Sylvestre) is usually celebrated with a feast. This feast customarily includes special dishes including; foie gras, seafood such as oysters, and champagne. The celebration can be a simple, intimate dinner with friends and family or a much fancier ball. You would expect nothing less of the French!
New Year's Eve in Greece has many traditions. During the day, children sing the New Year's carols to be given money or treat. Then, it is time to have family lunch or dinner. In the evening, people cook a pie named "King's pie” (Vasilopita), which is a cake flavoured with almonds. They put a coin wrapped in aluminium foil inside the pie. After a fireworks show, they cut the Vasilopita and serve it. The person that gets the wrapped coin is the lucky person of the day and he or she is also blessed for the rest of the year.
In Hungary, many years ago, some people believed that animals were able to speak on New Year's Eve, and that onion skins sprinkled with salt could indicate a rainy month.
In Italy an ancient tradition involves eating lentil stew when a bell tolls midnight, one spoonful per bell. This is supposed to bring good fortune; the round lentils represent coins.
In Portugal the New Year celebration is taken very seriously. The tradition is to drink champagne and eat twelve raisins – one for each month of the year, making a wish for each.
Here in Wales we have the ancient tradition of Calennig which originally meant giving gifts of money on New Year’s Day, though nowadays it is customary to give bread and cheese. In Cardiff crowds enjoy live music, ice-skating, funfairs and fireworks. Many of the celebrations take place at Cardiff Castle and Cardiff City Hall. If you are going there from Wenvoe make sure you have a lift home as taxis and buses may be scarce.
In the valleys New Year's Eve is marked with the Nos Galan road race over 3 miles, which is held in Mountain Ash. The race celebrates the life and achievements of the runner Guto Nyth Bran who was born in 1700. It is run over the route of Guto's first competitive race. Guto was born in Llwyncelyn near Porth. It was said that his sprinting first came to be noticed as he was helping his father herd sheep, when he managed to chase and catch a wild hare. One legend has him running from his home to Pontypridd and back, a total distance of 7 miles before his mother's kettle had boiled. Another tale is that he could blow out a candle and be in bed before the light faded.
We all have ways of celebrating the New Year whether with family or friends, but at this time of year let us remember those who are alone and perhaps call on a lonely neighbour to wish them well. Finally for anyone in Wenvoe without a plan there is always the recently refurbished Wenvoe Arms where the landlord – Digby – will be pleased to welcome you.
November’s Book Choice
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie’s first novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” was published in 1920 and introduced a new literary character in the form of Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who became the central figure in more than 30 of her novels.
The unfolding story line is narrated by Captain Hastings, a guest of Emily Inglethorp, the owner of Styles. Hastings has pretentions of becoming a detective and solicits the help of his friend Poirot to resolve the mystery of the subsequent death of the owner. The book is thoroughly enjoyable with the introduction of several intriguing characters, a page turning plot with numerous clues and red herrings which kept the reading group guessing as to the murderer until the final denouement.
The prose is relatively naive with one or two unexplained clues emerging and all agreed that in our imaginations we continually saw Poirot as portrayed by the television actor David Suchet However this did not deter from our enjoyment of an easy and relaxing novel which was awarded an overall mark of 7.5 out of 10.
Dance and Exercise in Our Village
After teaching in this village for 20 years it still gives me pleasure to see that young-to more mature people are still kind enough to support me.
However, the children in the Dance School have achieved tremendous feats over the past 18months from being part of the "Mr Tumble" TV Programme ,
performing in Her Majesty's Theatre London West end and of course locally.
It is nice to think, see and know that some of the students have achieved professionally and can be seen in major productions and TV.
We specialize in nurturing and preparing the children socially ,physically and mentally for their future. All our exams are credited by "CDET" which means they gain points towards UCAS if they go to University or in fact to go on to teach dance or just use it for fitness and enjoyment. We pride ourselves on our standard and smaller personal classes in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Freestyle, Line Dancing . Age is not a barrier neither is ability . However adults are included too from Zumba on land
to in water and now my new exercise formula that has had tremendous results.
Age and ability does not come in to it. Floor work is not necessary so bad knees or back problems are not an issue. All exercises are done from standing or indeed can be assisted by a chair or support. It teaches you through breathing control and correct Skeletal line how to use those all important "Core Muscles" everyone keeps mentioning these days.
By using the essence of Yoga and Tai Chi and Balance Exercises and Ballet stretches for core it sculpts and tones the body through slow movements . It uses all the muscle groups and helps your general posture and body alignment. Giving an overall amazing Well Being experience.
This new regime has been taken on by some major health clubs and proving very popular. People with mobility and some health issues really benefit too. You will burn calories and change shape in certain areas so come and try it for yourself and see what I mean. Call me on 07739535726 for details.
Or see my advert in the "Whats On"
Annette Bracey
NATD qualified and Zumba licensed
Thanks to Hirers
The Village Hall would like to wish all the hirers and villagers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you to everyone who supports village events and help to keep the hall running for all villagers. We are currently selling our Raffle tickets £1 each if anyone would like to support us to raise funds to keep the hall running Please see any member of the committee.
The hall is available to hire for more detail please email wenvoevillagehall@yahoo.co.uk
November News and Coming Up
Everyone was welcomed by our president, especially our visitors, Roz, Ann and Gwyneth .We hope they will join us again. Then we thoroughly enjoyed an evening of “Call My Bluff” superbly prepared by our member Betty with teams joining us from Culverhouse Cross, Dinas Powys and Penarth. From some very good teams congratulations must go to the winners, Pam, June, Mo and Roz. We are very grateful to Betty for all the time and thought she put in for a very successful evening.
Members were reminded of forthcoming events within our Link.
Dec. 6th Four members to attend Dinas Powys Christmas party.
Dec 14th Culverhouse Cross Christmas coffee morning at Wenvoe Garden Centre
Dec. 15th Penarth WI is hosting the Link Carol Service, 2pm at Elfed Ave Church.
Transport will be arranged at our Dec meeting for those who wish to attend any events.
We were sorry to hear that Sue Webley has recently suffered a fall and we wish her well as she recovers. Marlene continues to make steady progress following her hip operation.
Our next meeting will be on December 1st at 7.00pm at the Church Hall when we will be holding our Christmas party.
In the meantime, the President and Committee would like to wish everyone
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A Happy Christmas and good health in 2017. |
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