The Official Wenvoe Homepage
Articles of general interest on no particular subject
WENVOE VILLAGE HALL RAFFLE 2024
The Village Hall Management Committee would like to thank everyone who kindly donated prizes to this raffle and to the people who support us by buying and selling tickets. All money raised through the raffle contributes to the ongoing 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
MEN UNITED IN SONG SUPPORTING PROSTATE CYMRU
Men United in Song has proved such a big hit nationwide that the popular pop-up singing project is being rolled out in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Launching in January 2025 and supporting Prostate Cymru, Men United in Song aims to give 40-plus local men the opportunity to get involved, try something new and give something back to the community… In a nutshell what does it offer?
Working over ten weeks towards a fantastic live charity event at Llandaff Cathedral on 11th April 2025, participants meet new people, challenge themselves, perform live on stage AND raise money for a much-loved and very important charity Prostate Cymru – what’s not to like?
No previous experience is necessary, just a willingness to step outside their comfort zone, get stuck in and give it a go… everyone’s in the same boat, and it’s all about the journey! Previous projects around the UK provided an overwhelmingly positive experience for the men who took part:
“A really great experience, at the start it was daunting, but we all came good!”
“A great bunch of men, and you got the best out of us… brilliant!”
For more information, call 07395414501 or email
menunitedinsong.vog@outlook.com
The MUIS project is grateful for the financial assistance from Ty Cerdd, Vale
of Glamorgan Council and GVS third sector small grants scheme.
UPDATE ON 6TH ANNUAL
TUCKERS REINDEER SALE
On a wet and windy day in November we set everything up for the Tucker’s Reindeer sale hoping that people would brave the weather and turn up.
As usual, our lovely community didn’t disappoint and came in droves. We had wonderful crafters and stall holders with us, and all made satisfying sales. Brenda and her friend played Christmas music on their accordions and the church hall was festooned with nostalgic Christmas decorations. Coffee, tea and cakes were consumed with lots of chat and laughter and reindeers sold like hot cakes. The total from the sale, and from kind donations since from people who could not be at the sale, now stands at over £1,500 for Wenvoe Wildlife Group.
We want to thank you all for your help and support. Whether you were manning the coffee and tea station, the cake stall, the raffle books or standing in the pouring rain selling reindeers. Whether you were one of our excellent crafters or stall holders, bought raffle tickets, donated raffle prizes or bought drinks and cake you all played a part.
We are always amazed at your kindness and once again there are just no words to adequately express the level of our gratitude. Happy New Year to you all.
Autumn Walk
If you recently planned to go for a walk in the park, you would have expected to enjoy the wonderful colours of the autumn leaves, the shiny conkers, the displays of fungus, the play area full of excited children…
what you may not have expected to see was an amazing display on aerial silks.
The silks were tied to a sturdy branch and Bethan had the opportunity to practise her skills in the sunshine in a fantastic outdoor setting.
Lynne Frugtniet
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SAINT
NICHOLAS
Should you wish to make a pilgrimage to honour the life of Saint Nicholas you would not be going to Lapland. Firstly because according to popular culture he is still alive and kicking up there in the frozen wastes. Secondly you would be going in entirely the wrong direction. You would need to head south to Bari. No, not Barry, but its almost namesake: the southern Italian port city on the Adriatic.
About the man himself. According to the available literature (ie Wikipedia) he was born in 270AD in Patara on the Mediterranean coast which is now in present day Turkey. His father was an early Christian bishop and following a series of miracles in youth it was inevitable that he would also become a priest. Eventually when a vacancy for a new Bishop of Patara arose, he was the logical shoe in for the role.
Whilst he was Bishop he was credited with various Good Works, the most memorable being the gifts, initially made anonymously, of purses containing gold coins to a father facing penury whose three daughters faced a ruinous future. Which is, children, the reason behind us all gifting presents to each other at Christmas.
But there’s more than just this to his name. A ship he was on was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm but he rebuked the waves. Thus, Nicholas became venerated as the patron saint of sailors and travellers. And in due course also of merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers (hence their Three Golden Balls), toymakers, unmarried people, and students. He died in around 343AD and was buried in Myra which is also in present day Turkey.
And so, back to Bari. Until Italy was unified into one nation in 1861, it was a diverse collection of city states. A rival state was that of Venice, and in the 800s AD, they had stole the body of Saint Mark from Alexandria and this became the focus for highly profitable pilgrimages to Venice. The citizens of Bari were quite jealous of the Venetians and decided that they also needed a Saint for people to come and venerate and generate some revenue.
A group of merchants stole most of his skeleton, ostensibly to prevent it from falling into the hands of an invading Muslim army. They brought them to their hometown, where they are now buried deep underground in that city’s cathedral.
Tony Hodge
TEAMWORK
It is good to read about the various Teams working on behalf of the Community in “Wenvoe What’s On”. I remember working as a member of a Shift Team at British Geon, part of the Distiller’s Plastics Group of companies, based in Sully. It was 1962. I was a student and had a summer vacation job in the Quality Control Laboratory. The adjacent PVC Plant was in continuous operation and samples were brought to the Control Lab. at regular intervals for testing.
The Control Lab. also monitored the quality of production at the Synthetic Rubber Plant, (Hycar Ltd). This plant was at the far end of the site in the Bendricks direction. Staff had the use of a “Butcher’s Boy” bike with a basket to go to the plant to collect samples.
Working relations between the Shift Teams was not the best. The Team arriving on Shift always blamed the Team departing for not leaving the Lab. in a tidy state, e.g. Solvent flasks would be nearly empty, samples waiting to be tested, or more serious no coffee, milk, or sugar left in the rest room.
Alas! A significant problem arose when the Butcher’s Boy Bike developed a puncture. No one felt it was their responsibility to mend the puncture although it meant walking to and from the Synthetic Rubber Plant to collect samples to be brought back to the Lab. A few days later when my team was on the night shift, at about 3.30 a.m. our Shift Leader turned the bike over and started to repair the puncture, “Don’t do it, Roy!” the other team members protested. “If you fix the puncture they will all get the benefit”. With a wry smile Roy replied “Don’t worry lads, I’ll let it down in the morning and no-one will know I fixed it”.
Tony Coulthard
A Parent’s Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house.
I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.
Instructions were studied and we were inspired,
In hopes we could manage “Some Assembly Required”.
The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,
While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:
A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie’s town house to boot!
And, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!
We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat….
Let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!
Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;
If we can’t get it right, it goes in the basement!
When what to my worrying eyes should appear,
But 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,
With each part numbered and every slot named,
So if we failed, only we could be blamed.
More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,
All over the carpet they were scattered about.
“Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!
Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand.”
“Honey,” said hubby, “you just glued my hand.”
And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact
That all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night
With “assembly required” till morning’s first light.
We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,
Till our eyes, they went bleary; our fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin
Before we attached the last rod and last pin.
Then laying the tools away in the chest,
We fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.
But I said to my husband just before I passed out,
“This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.
Tomorrow we’ll cheer, let the holiday ring,
And not have to run to the store for a thing!
We did it! We did it! The toys are all set
For the perfect, most perfect, Christmas, I bet!”
Then off to dreamland and sweet repose I gratefully
went,
Though I suppose there’s something to say for those
self-deluded…
I’d forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!
WELSH TRADITIONS 7
CALAN GAEAF.
In this last article in the series of Welsh Traditions we’ll look briefly at the traditions associated with Calan Gaeaf. I’m sure you’ll remember that ‘Calan’ is a Welsh word meaning ‘the first day of’’ – as in Calan Mai (May Day). Calan Gaeaf celebrates the first day of winter – All Hallows Day on 1st November.
Calan Gaeaf originates from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which celebrated the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was also the end of the ‘slaughtering season’ when animals were slaughtered and their meat prepared for winter. It was indeed the end of the agricultural year – and it was also the beginning of the Celtic Year.
The Celtic calendar divided the year in two – the light season and the dark season and Samhain marked the first day of the dark season – when it was believed that the doors dividing the world of the living from the spirit world were wide open. Noson Calan Gaeaf – All Saints Eve was one of the three ‘Spirit Nights’, (May Day Eve and St John’s Festival Eve being the other two) – when the spirits of the dead and ghosts roamed freely – and were believed to gather in cemeteries, at crossroads and on stiles (for some reason!!). Some of these ghosts took on particular characterisations and two of the most common were said to be the headless White Lady and the Tail-less Black Sow. Tales of the White Lady are known to go back to Celtic times.
As with other celebrations which mark certain times of the year, it is an opportunity to bring some colour and revelry into the lives of the people, whose everyday lives were often hard – lacking in colour and lacking in just plain fun. Swedes were often carved and placed alongside roads and footpaths, with a burning candle inside. This is obviously the precursor of today’s practice of pumpkin carving. Bonfires were usually lit – on a hilltop if that were possible – and groups of local youths would compete to see whose bonfire burnt the longest. People would dance around the fire with apples and potatoes roasted in the embers. Ghost stories and traditional folk tales would entertain the cavorters – especially the children who enjoyed being frightened with tales of the White Lady and the Black Sow!
Much superstition was also attributed to this time of year especially in a fortune telling capacity. The main questions to be answered were who was to be married and who was to meet an untimely death – and there were various ways of finding the answer. In some areas, every person would write his or her name on a pebble and throw it into the ashes of the dying fire. In the morning everyone would turn up to search for the pebbles – and if one was missing, that person was believed to be facing death in the near future. Another means of foretelling death in some areas was to run around the church three times before midnight, and then look through the keyhole
to see whose faces would be shown. These people were the people doomed to die during the coming year. In the Llandysul area three bowls would be filled – one with soil, one with water containing sediment and one with clean water. The participant would be blindfolded and would be asked to touch one of the bowls. The first prophesied death before marriage, the second a troubled marriage and the third a successful marriage.
It was popular for young, unmarried girls to peel an apple or an orange and throw the peel over their shoulder, in the hope that it would form the initial letter of their true love. In Montgomeryshire a mash of nine ingredients would be cooked, which included potatoes, carrots, turnips, peas, parsnips, leeks, pepper and salt and mixed with milk. In the centre a wedding ring was placed and each participant would taste a spoonful of the mash. The person lucky enough to find the ring was certain of an imminent marriage! In other areas girls were instructed to grow a rose in the shape of a large hoop, go through the circle three times prior to cutting a rose, and placing it under their pillows. This allowed them to see into the future. Another means of seeing the future was for unmarried women to darken their rooms during Noson Calan Gaeaf, and then look into the mirror to see the face of the future groom. If a skull appeared in the mirror, the unmarried woman was meant to die within the year. Young lads were not forgotten either. The boys were instructed to cut 10 leaves of ivy, throw one away and put the other nine under their pillows. Apparently, this allowed the boys to see the future, and if they touched the ivy then they would see witches in their sleep.
Once the bonfire had died down, the children were encouraged to run to their homes. Traditional verses were chanted stating that the White Lady or the Black Sow would catch the last child and carry him or her away. This was one way of getting the children to go straight home!! In some areas, men would roam the local area – dressed up in the guise of one or other of the feared apparitions. Once safely back home, the children – and adults – would play games such as apple bobbing or the more dangerous version of trying to bite a dangling apple which also had a candle attached!
As at Christmas and May Day celebrations groups of youngsters would walk around the villages singing traditional songs. In Glamorgan, the boys dressed in girls’ clothing and girls dressed in boys’ clothing. In other parts of Wales, the singers would blacken their faces and wear fleeces on their shoulders.
Calan Gaeaf falls on the eve of All Souls Day on 2nd November of course – but nowadays both festivals have merged to become Halloween – with the bonfires lit a couple of days later on Guy Fawkes Day. Unfortunately, today, our traditions and customs have been overtaken by the American ‘Trick or Treat’ activities.
Ann M. Jones
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARRY TO 1939
We all go to Barry, at least now and again, but how often do we pause to consider how the town of almost 60,000 people today became developed in a relatively short space of time? This chronology has been (mostly) taken from the Souvenir to commemorate the granting of Borough Status to the then urban district of Barry by King George V1
6,000 BC to 1881AD – Not much happened, apart from some hunter gathering, Iron Age settlements, a bit of farming, a Roman dude building himself a beach side villa at the Knap and in the 6th century Saint Baruc being drowned off Flat Holme and buried on Barry Island.
1882 – Population of Barry is just 478 persons.
1883 – A Bill to promote the Barry Dock and Railway to counter the dominance of Cardiff docks for the export of coal was prepared.
1884 – The Bill was laid before Parliament, Royal Assent given and the first sod of the new Barry Dock was cut.
1886 – A Police Station is built and Gas and Water works were inaugurated.
1888 – A rudimentary form of administration (a Local Board) was established; the first trains ran on the new railways to Hafod and Cardiff.
1889 – The first Barry Dock was opened. Gas was used for the first time in Barry.
1890 – Barry Post Office opened as did the Barry Waterworks.
1891 – Bathing places established at Whitmore Bay.
1892 – First free library established.
1894 – First Urban District Council elections held.
1895 – First meeting of the new Urban District Council with Mr J C Meggitt as Chairman.
1896 – Romilly Park given to the town by Romilly Estate.
1897 – Vale of Glamorgan Railway opened to passenger traffic.
1898 – Number 2 dock opened.
1900 – Barry Accident Hospital established.
1902 – Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish American philanthropist gave £8,000 for a new library.
1905 – Bathing Houses at Whitmore Bay opened and the council took control of the beaches.
1906 – New library opened.
1907 – New public offices opened.
1910 – Plans approved for the construction of sea wall and esplanade at Whitmore Bay.
1913 – Barry is now the largest coal exporting port in the world.
1914 – War declared and Whitmore Bay ordered to be closed.
1917 – First contingent of USA troops to land in UK disembarked at Barry.
1919 – First steps taken to establish a War Memorial fund.
1920 – National Eisteddfod of Wales held in Romilly Park.
1922 – Great Western Railway took over the Barry Docks and Railway Company.
1924 – Shelters and shops at Whitmore Bay opened
1926 – Cold Knap swimming pool opened.
1928 – Barry is provided with mains electricity.
1930 – Barry is supplied with water from the new Taf Fechan reservoirs.
1932 – Barry Memorial Hall is opened.
1939 was a momentous year. It was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first dock, and despite war having just been declared, the Great and the Good gathered in a lavish celebration over four days with parades and trumpet fanfares etc to commemorate King George VI granting Borough status to the town of Barry.
Tony Hodge
TUCKERS REINDEER SALE
Saturday 23rd November
Not long now until the 6th annual Tucker’s Christmas Reindeer sale and cafe on Saturday 23 November from 10am to 4pm at the Wenvoe Church Hall.
As well as the antlered stars of the show there will be some lovely things to buy and a festive atmosphere to get you in the Christmas mood. We will, of course, be joined by Trevor on the day with his lovely Christmas houses and decorations. There will be other local crafters joining us on the day. There will be beautiful turned wood items, some lovely textile gifts, painted wooden Christmas decorations as well as Laura’s ‘Flower Bunker Wenvoe’ with Christmas floral decorations and wreaths to order.
We will be holding the usual raffle with some excellent quality prizes including luxury food hampers, a home baked and decorated Christmas cake, some very interesting bottles and some items that would make ideal gifts for adults and children.
Once again, profits from this and from the sale of some crafts will be donated to our charity of choice, the Wenvoe Wildlife Group and members of the group will be manning a table with some very interesting items. There will be a visit from a man on a sleigh in a red and white suit which may offer an excellent, free photograph opportunity.
There will be tables inside the Church Hall for you to sit and enjoy a tea or coffee and maybe a homemade slice of Glen’s cakes or brownies while you catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. The reindeer and all craft tables will be under the cover of Christmas decorated gazebos and festive music will provide the backing track to the whole event. Why not join us and pick up a reindeer and some Christmas spirit! These have become collectors’ items so start making a list of people who deserve one as a gift. Bring a friend and have a festive catch up. We are so looking forward to seeing you there.