Category: General Interest Articles

Articles of general interest on no particular subject

1989 – Pre-Covid Reminiscence

Happy Photographs From The Summer Of 1989

For seventeen years I was fortunate to be a class teacher in Gwenfo Church in Wales Primary School and for many of those years I was the class teacher of Year Three , seven and eight year olds. These happy photographs were taken in the summer of 1989. For three or four years running I was able to take my class on a trip to New Wallace Farm in Wenvoe. John Thomas was the farmer and he was delighted with the idea of showing the children around his farm. It reminded him of when he was a pupil in the old village school and they would be taken on nature walks. Lesley Opie often helped out on these visits and she discovered these photos. For the first two visits we walked the class to the entrance of the Golf Club road where Colin Webb would meet us with a tractor and a large trailer with hay bales down the middle. There was great excitement as the children climbed up on the trailer. We went along past the entrance of the Golf Club and out to New Wallace Farm. John Thomas met us and climbed up on the tractor. We travelled around many of the fields while the children were told about the beef cattle and sheep. It was often a bumpy ride which made it more exciting. On our return to the farmyard the children were treated to orange squash and biscuits while they sat on hay bales in one of the barns. John Thomas’s wife Iris provided the refreshments which was very kind.

 

We were then taken back to the main road and then we walked back to school. The children wrote thank you letters to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. One year Mr. Thomas had trouble with his tractor and so that the children would not be disappointed Mr. David Phillips of Vishwell Farm came all the way to school to pick up the children with his tractor and trailer and took us out to New Wallace. Happy days! Lesley Opie and I have put our heads together and come up with the names of some of the children in the photos. Theo Davies, Helen Anning, Ben Gillespie, Jane Hardwick, Katy Fundell, Alistair Matheson, Richard Griffiths, Torsten Patel, Joseph McCann, Nicola David, Sam Hooper, Bethan Rees, Christina Evans, Michael, Naomi Davies and Susan Chaplin. Also in the photo are Lesley Opie, John Thomas and me Sandra Jones

 

 

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Thank you to everyone for your interest in our idea of having Wenvoe Advent Windows happening throughout December (see September edition of ‘Whats On’). We are especially grateful to have willing volunteers who have been included in the plans to light up a window this Advent. Consequently we are now delighted to let you know that the ‘Wenvoe Advent Window’ event will be going ahead.

Those who have volunteered to decorate a window are all within the parish boundary. Some want to decorate from early in December whilst others do not seem to mind when in the month they will be included. We will try to fulfil peoples wishes whilst establishing a plan within the village that encourages walking within a logical route.

A map of the route with a new window lighting up each day will be included in ‘What’s On’ in December. What we can say is that the first window to be lit up on 1st December will be at 29 Venwood Close and will conclude on Christmas Eve at St. Mary’s Church.

This is a St Mary’s initiative for the whole community. Please contact Jude Billingham if you have any queries: 07516 112897

 

 

Trevor Williams Xmas Workshop

Trevor Williams Xmas Workshop

Hello Wenvoe Readers

It all started as a hobby in December 2019 in my garage, making a few Christmas decorations to keep me busy when the weather was too bad for me to play golf. Then along came Lockdown – so, it was back to the garage making Xmas decorations again. This thankfully kept me busy throughout lockdown, creating new ideas, “learning new tricks of the trade” and improving the quality of my work as I had more time on my hands. I enjoy working with timber so much that I continued making things after lockdown and I am still making things to date. So far I have made 26 different types of Xmas models with over 260 items and still going! My garage is now full, the hardest part now is to promote and sell my products. After reading Tucker’s Christmas Reindeer Sale article in the October edition, it gave me the idea of using the Wenvoe What’s On to promote my hobby. I am happy for you to visit my Workshop/Garage (subject to Covid regulations) to see the full range of my Christmas Products. I will be supporting the Marie Curie Charity with a donation for every sale I make to help fund their fantastic nursing care in the community

You’ll find me at: 12 Goldsland Walk, Wenvoe. Please give me a call or send me a text/email to check that I will be in. Mobile: 07867 337335 email address: trevor.e.williams@btinternet.com

I have also produced my own website, which shows all my work with photographs, prices etc. https://trevorewilliams5.wixsite.com/website-4

Looking forward to seeing you.

Trevor

 

 

Graffiti – A Bridge Too Far?

A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

Many of us walked over the Port Road pedestrian bridge in the last few weeks only to be distinctly unimpressed by the graffiti which appeared on it. It would be a shame though if this experience caused us to develop a general dislike for all street art.

Art is of course about opinions and the line between art and graffiti can be blurred. Work about the coronavirus by Banksy (left) was removed from a London tube carriage by cleaners who had no idea of its worth. There does though seem to be general agreement about what constitutes acceptable street art. The term ‘street artist’ has evolved because the work of skilled illustrators is far more detailed and artistic than your average graffiti scribble.

Most street artists use their work to make social or political commentary. Communicating directly with the public allows them to present socially relevant content while at the same time beautifying the local area or improving a building in urban decay. Where it is considered an act of vandalism, this is usually because the graffiti is less skilled and the ‘artist’ does not have the authorisation or seek permission from owners of property before scrawling their work onto walls. Graffiti is often disliked when it is associated with a spray-painted tag or moniker. Genuine street art is a different thing altogether. Renowned Cardiff street artist Bryce Davies (who works under the name Peaceful Process) puts it this way, ‘There’s a big divide between graffiti and street art. A lot of what people see on the walls which puts it in a more positive light is street art – graffiti is letter-based

Authorities in Cardiff are working with artists actively commissioning their work and providing tolerated ‘free walls’ where complete freedom is allowed. Artists like Bryce Davies, Shep Fairey and others are pushing boundaries, often not just painting walls but entire building blocks over several floors. These murals are extremely complicated pieces and require planning, imagination and funding all of which often mean involving local councils. Maybe Cardiff will be able to exploit the new trend of ‘graffiti tourism’ in which artists travel and paint across the world and tourists visit notable street art sites in cities like Bristol (home of Banksy), Liverpool and Melbourne.

Bryce Davies argues that social media has helped to change attitudes to street art by helping people to understand and explain it. Dan Pearce a mixed media artist who has created work for the likes of Anthony Joshua and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, argues ‘graffiti is a ‘fantastic new form of creativity.’ But he says, there is a moral line which should not be crossed. ‘Graffiti is simply vandalism when it is a random tag on any old wall.’ The graffiti which appeared on the Port Road bridge recently has now been cleared. So, what conclusions can we draw from the incident. One Wenvoe resident seems to have summed up the general view. ‘Graffiti artists are talented, so I enjoy looking at their work when it’s in a place where people can appreciate it and it looks good rather than someone just spraying the bus stop or a bridge as they go by.’

 

 

Sunshine and Death

SUNSHINE AND DEATH

We were having an enjoyable morning skiing in Eastern Turkey. We were training to climb Mount Ararat on skis, and we needed to hone our skills and improve our fitness in the mountains. Earlier that morning, we had enjoyed a good breakfast in our hotel in Erzurum, a historic city on the Anatolian spice route. It was a short ride to the ski resort of Palandoken and on arrival our minibus parked at the end of the road just where the snow began to cover it.

We took our skis and rucksacks and strode over to the snow and clipped into our touring skis. We were using artificial skins which stick to the base of the ski which allows you to walk uphill on snow. Once everyone was ready, we split into three groups of five or six people and set off making tracks up the nearest hill. It was warm work in the sunshine, and I undid my jacket to increase the ventilation. It was early March and spring was in the air.

As we ascended a wide snow slope our small group were close together skiing in the tracks of the leader. To our surprise, we saw a chimney sticking up out of the snow and smoke was belching out of it. Some yards below the chimney we saw a small opening, the size of a little door, with a blanket covering it. At the sound of our voices, a child of about six appeared and she was as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Soon her mother came out and greeted us, but it did not take long to realise that there was a serious language barrier. That did not deter her, and she keenly beckoned us into her home. We kicked off our skis and one or two at a time we crouched down to enter. The main space was carpeted and of a good size with chairs and a table. A cooking area was at the rear with a hot stove that was the source of the smoking chimney. We declined the kind offer of a cup of tea and, giving sweets to the daughter, we resumed our travel upwards.

At the crest of the hill, we looked down to the road below and the small parking area where our buses were waiting for us. We removed our skis and took off the skins in readiness for a quick ski back to the road-head and the appealing prospect of some lunch. The other two groups were close to us but set off first, and we followed them down. It was steep but not steep enough to be challenging. Our group were all skiing down taking their own routes but staying fairly close together. Richard and Robert were slightly below and to the right, but I had stopped with our guides, David and Alisdair, as we looked for the best route to take for the last few turns of our descent.

Then I heard the dreaded word AVALANCHE shouted out by David. I turned around and looked uphill to see the whole hillside moving down above us. Quick as a flash David had reached down and taken off his skis – the best thing to do if caught in an avalanche. I had a fleeting go at unclipping my bindings, but they did not release so I tried to ski sideways and out of the moving snow. We were now on a moving carpet of snow and Alisdair was below me and slightly to my right. In seconds I had been knocked over by the wall of snow and was now falling, cartwheeling downhill. A feeling of dread overcame me as my movement stopped. I could see nothing and the weight of a ton of snow constricted my chest. Breathing was very difficult. Then to my surprise, the snow tomb moved again, and I felt I was going over a small cliff and falling – then it finally stopped. I could not move a muscle; my hands were outstretched in the swimming position and my sunglasses were stuck in my mouth. The water bladder in my rucksack was emptying its contents down my neck as the valve had come off. I could barely breathe. All was very still and quiet. I made a determined effort to breathe slowly and shallowly, to stay calm and to stay alive. Suffocation is the first killer.

After what seemed like ten minutes, I heard a voice; Richard and Robert were looking for me with their electronic avalanche trackers and soon they were digging above me with their snow shovels. I yelled to encourage them and quickly they dug down to me and cleared an airway to my mouth. But once they found I was alive and breathing they went off to look for Alistair who was also buried.

They soon found him nearby, but he was buried deeper. With the help of soldiers from the nearby army post, they dug him out and tried to resuscitate him, but it turned out that he had died instantly of traumatic asphyxiation. It took ages to dig me out, but I was on my feet as they carried Alasdair down to the road.

After giving a statement to a kindly young police officer I was given a lift back to our hotel and the room I had been sharing with Alastair. His folded silk pyjamas were poignantly laid on his pillow. As I sat on my bed gathering myself together Sally appeared at the door with a bottle of schnapps. She said, “I think you need some of this!” and asked if she could be of help. I asked her to pack Alisdair’s stuff up in a bag and took a long grateful swig of the cold Swiss schnapps.

 

 

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Wenvoe Advent Windows

To lighten Advent this year we are inviting you to take part in lighting up your windows.

Whilst it is possible that our preparations for Advent and Christmas this year may require a little more thought and planning than normal, a small group of people are hoping to plan Wenvoe Advent Windows that we can all enjoy safely.

The Wenvoe Advent Windows will encourage people who are perhaps going to be inside more than usual this December to wrap up warm and get out to view the windows. There will be a new one to see each night leading up to Christmas Eve when of course there will be 24 all on display. The event allows people to carry on social distancing and following Covid rules, whatever may be in place at the time.

This community fun event will run from the 1st-24th December, with the final window at St. Mary’s Church. We would like you to take part; there is no entry fee, it’s not a competition and adults and children can be involved.

How will it work?

We need a minimum of 24 participants to decorate their windows. Participants will be allocated a date when they will light up their window for the first time and to continue lighting up each day until 24th. Every day from 1st December a new window will be lit up to go and see so that by 24th December there will be 24 windows for residents to view.

The windows can be designed and constructed from any media- lights, mobiles, cut outs etc. They can be as simple or technical as your artistic tendencies take you. They can be internal or external displays as long as they involve decorating your window. All the displays should relate to Advent / Christmas and can be humorous, artistic or topical

The windows will be lit from 5.00pm – 9.00pm each evening.

Each house participating will be asked to

• display a number (corresponding to the date their window is ‘opened’) to differentiate from other residents who will have their own Christmas decorations.

• keep their window a surprise as far as is possible before the designated big reveal evening

 

If you want to participate and

• live in a house that has a window (upstairs or down) that can clearly be seen from the street without people coming onto your property

• are happy to keep the window illuminated each evening after it is ‘opened’ until December 24th

 

We are aware that many people give their time and money to support a host of different charities. If you would like to put a charity box outside your house you would be most welcome. Just make sure you empty the box each evening.

For more information ring:

Sandra and Brian Jones: 02920594248

Glenys and Mike Tucker: 07922 109721

Jude and Nige Billingham: on 02920594708 or 07516 112897

Please let Jude Billingham know by October 16th that you want to decorate your window by supplying your name, address, email address and any preference you have about dates; by email (judebillingham@yahoo.co.uk) by telephone, or text.

Please be aware that in agreeing to participate you are also agreeing to have your address identified on the windows map that will be made available so people can look for your window. No names or email will be shared without your permission.

 

 

Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable Fashion

Since the Sunday Times investigation in July of this year, which uncovered that workers for the clothing brand Boohoo in Leicester were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour, a discussion about sustainable fashion has begun online.

For many young people, the conversation began a long while ago. Sustainability in fashion has been a longstanding issue, with companies having been called out for their use of sweatshops for years. But for many, the Sunday Times’ exposé of Boohoo was the turning point. Everyone was forced to face the reality of cheap, fast fashion, within our everyday society.

Many of us have turned to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, with clothing brands seeing a significant rise in online orders, especially fast fashion brands such as NastyGal, Pretty Little Thing and the infamous Boohoo.

But more recently, there has been a trend of brands offering sustainable fashion as more and more people begin to fully understand the impact these brands are having on the world. Online websites such as ASOS and H&M now include a drop-down section where it is possible to select clothing that is made ethically, recycled and environmentally responsible.

The rise in climate activism is no doubt a factor as to why many young people have turned to sustainable fashion and shopping ethically. The clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet; water usage, chemical pollution from dyeing, and disposing of unsold clothing in landfill sites and incineration creates an incredibly hazardous impact on the environment.

According to a House of Commons report on the sustainability of the fashion industry, the UK WRAP estimated that around £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill every year, with items on average only being worn around 7 times.

Yet, some fashion brands still are not doing enough to ensure their products are created ethically. Although September 2015 saw a global agreement at the United Nations to implement seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, fast fashion, and unethically sourced materials continue to be a big issue amongst UK retailers.

A 2016 report found that of the seventy-one leading retailers within the UK, 77% were believed to have a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some stage within their supply chains. Many of the workers work up to six or seven days a week, serving long hours and often being so physically exhausted that they are unable to continue the work past their 30s.

For the youth of today, those kinds of figures have meant an increase in sales by charity shops, and a boost in the use of the app Depop, where many sell their pre-owned clothing. Apps such as Good on You have become popular, as a way of discovering how environmentally friendly and sustainable our favourite brands are.

Climate activism has been mostly driven by the younger generation, and for many, there has been a call for more options within sustainable fashion.

Two sisters from Cardiff even took to making their own Welsh sustainable clothing brand, Clecs, over the period of lockdown. Worried about the environmental impact fast fashion has on the world, Imogen and Bea Riley tried their hand at making a sustainable fashion brand, selling t-shirts and jumpers which are ethically sourced, and therefore ensure fair trade.

Within days of releasing their jumpers, the items sold out in numerous sizes, proving that their audience – young adults – are eager to see sustainability amongst up-and-coming brands. The pair have since gone on to continue expanding their product range and have launched accessories such as sustainably sourced phone cases.

Imogen and Bea are not the only young people starting their own companies, as hundreds of new businesses are emerging ever day to introduce sustainable alternatives to everyday items.

But why are we only looking at it now?

Coronavirus has been an opportunity to expose cracks in the system; with time to reflect, many have been more cautious about what it is they are buying into when it comes to the fashion industry. Although low prices and sales are selling points for online fashion brands, COVID-19 and the rise in climate activism have given many the opportunity to research the ethics of the brands they once favoured.

Sustainable fashion still presides on the higher end of the market in many cases, which can often lead many to stray away from ethical brands. Brands that offer lower priced items are often those that many shop with but are often the same brands which have a troubling, unethical background.

It’s unfortunate, therefore, that the brands many flock to are the same companies that employ under-paid and overworked garment workers. Yet perhaps that’s why consumers have turned to ethically sourced sustainable fashion – to buck the trend.

The tide is changing when it comes to fashion, and consumers are being more cautious when it comes to the decisions they are making when shopping.

As sustainable fashion becomes more accessible, with high street brands like H&M, Zara, Monki, and Marks & Spencer taking further steps to ensure more ethical trading, sustainable fashion could soon become the norm.

Hopefully, it will soon be an option to shop ethically without having to break the bank.

 

By Tirion Davies

Suggestions for Spending £75000

S106 FUND SUGGESTIONS

September 2020

In the September issue of What’s On, we asked for suggestions for making use of about £75,000 of Section 106 funding for a project that would be of significant benefit to the Wenvoe community. This would be capital spending, not for any kind of maintenance or refurbishment.

This is a summary of the excellent suggestions we had, most of which could be carried out within the specified budget. We would now like to ask if there are any more suggestions, or if anyone would like to comment further on the ones below.

  • small donation to school (not capital)
  • adult outdoor fitness equipment (like Dinas Powys)
  • local walks/cycling booklet(s), with benches along the routes
  • all-weather surface for older children, covered seating area
  • similar to above
  • ditto, with basketball hoops and outdoor gym
  • mini-gym for older children
  • information notice boards
  • revamp playground at Parc y Gwenfo
  • more benches at Community orchards
  • multi-use games area

 

As before, write to What’s On, but don’t delay, since the funding is available on a limited time basis. We look forward to hearing from you

 

 

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