Category: New Items for February 2024
Latest postings for the current month
Valeways Walks Really Are For Everyone!
LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS
Valeways Walks Really Are For Everyone!
For the first walk of 2024 at Cosmeston, we had Anne celebrating her 80th birthday (with left over Quality Street from Christmas!!) and two teenagers accompanying their grandmother for a stroll around the park. And we stayed mud free…almost! Join us..all ages welcome!
Annual Oxfam Music Appeal
ANNUAL OXFAM MUSIC APPEAL
As regular readers of What’s On you may remember (you may not!) that I am a volunteer in the Oxfam shop in Penarth. My role is to price up everything music related. Last year was very busy with some great donations. Vinyl records made up 75/80% of the total music sales followed by CDs as the next best sellers. Thank you to everyone in the village who contacted me with donations. It is very much appreciated.
We are always looking for donations of all music related items – that includes vinyl records (singles, and LPs), CDs, sheet music, pre-recorded cassettes/ tapes, non-electrical musical instruments (in working order or broken) and music books. We are interested in music from any genre – rock, pop, classical, folk, jazz etc. We aim to obtain the best possible prices on donations. We also stock DVDs.
If you do not have anything to donate you could consider supporting Oxfam by popping in the shop if you are in Penarth – we stock a range of second hand goods as well as new fairtrade tea, coffee and crafts. You could even consider volunteering. There is presently a good team of volunteers but a number of volunteers retired during covid and we are still not up to full strength. Volunteers price up books, bric a brac and clothing, as well as serving in the shop. Sometimes a volunteer ‘specialist’ is required and I am aware for instance a philatelist willing to price up stamps is sorely needed.
If you have anything you would like to donate feel free to contact me nigelrbillingham@yahoo.co.uk or alternatively if you would like to arrange a pick up or speak to someone about volunteering please contact Caroline/Joe at the shop. Tel 02920706358.
Thank you.
Nigel Billingham (Oxfam Music Volunteer)
The Library Hub In 2023
WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB
Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com
Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary
For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com
THE LIBRARY HUB IN 2023
Many readers will remember that in 2016 a group of Wenvoe residents took over responsibility for our village Library to save it from closure by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Thus was born our Community Library.
Subsequently Wenvoe Community Council obtained money to replace the old building with the new one we see today which opened in Autumn 2021 as the Library and Hub for the Community. An article giving more background appeared in the November 2021 What’s On.
This item is a report to the residents of Wenvoe about the activities of the Library/Hub during 2023.
2023 Activity Report
The Library has seen it’s stock of books revised so that all books in the Adult section are modern or have been recently borrowed. New books arrive regularly and by arrangement with the Vale Library Service, our Volunteers request authors and titles which are popular with our readers. In addition, any book not held in the Library can be borrowed electronically, from home, by a registered user, being delivered to the Library for collection.
A ‘recommendations’ section has been opened where readers can champion a book they enjoyed with the book displayed as a guide to borrowers. New books are displayed as well as other selected reads. All displays are changed regularly.
Themed months were introduced in Autumn 2023 starting with Halloween and then Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. Books about the theme are displayed, including children’s books, enabling borrowers to have a ready source of material and parents,suitable books to inform their children about the subject.
On alternate Thursdays classes of children from our Primary School come, with their Teachers, to borrow and return books. This has been arranged with support from all Teachers, covers the whole School and encourages the skill of reading and the value of books as a resource for life.
New individuals have registered for library services throughout the year with borrowing activity being brisk.
Hub activities are numerous and wide ranging. Some are held when the Library is open, others are closed sessions.
Monthly:
The village PCSO attends on a Wednesday afternoon when he is on duty, to report on criminal activity and answer queries from residents. The times are announced on the Wenvoe Community Facebook page and in the Library; any resident can come.
During winter months talks are given, usually by a local resident, on topics of interest, again open to
anybody. There is a small fee to cover heating costs.
A Wellbeing session has started. Individuals with mental health concerns, and their carers, can come to a private session where they can exchange information and talk with others in similar situations. Carers who have come say they have found the sessions very helpful.
Weekly:
Clwb Clonc is a Welsh language group for those who wish to use their Welsh, or learners new to the language. It has proved very popular and is open to anyone.
Smaller groups using French and Italian languages have also started. These language groups are established by like-minded individuals who welcome people to join them.
Stitches is a group who make handicraft items.
Parent and Toddler group encourages parents of young children for friendship and activity. It is musical with piano, singing and reading stories.
Silver Foxes is a private session limited to men, to provide an opportunity for friendship, comradeship and discussion.
Financial matters
The Library/Hyb is self funding and costs about £5,000 per year which has to be raised. Our main sources of income are:
The coffee/refreshment area. This has been very successful and continues to give a major source of income. Anybody is welcome to come in for a drink when the building is open.
Coach trips have taken place during to London and the Christmas Market in Bath. Open to anybody, they were popular.
Raffles were held at Easter and Christmas with donated prizes.
Library/Hub Management Team
David Davies And Gwyn Griffiths
DAVID DAVIES AND GWYN GRIFFITHS
I was very interested to read Ann Jones’article on David Davies of Llandinam which reminded me of a story told to me by the late D. Gwyn Griffiths. Gwyn was a worldwide authority on reclamation who led the way in pioneering methods for the removal of coal tips who I knew from the Welsh Development Agency and the South Wales Institute of Engineers Educational Trust (SWIEET 2007), of which he was a Trustee. Barry dockland was one of the reclamation projects he was involved with and when work was being carried out around the former Barry Dock offices, he told me that the statue of David Davies had to be moved off its plinth. There was, however, a problem when it was moved with the statue hitting the ground causing damage to David Davies’ head! It was repaired but according to Gwyn the head was no longer at the same angle as it was originally and thus slightly different to the replica and counterpart at Llandinam! If this is true has anyone noticed?
According to a contemporary account the Llandinam committee in seeking a tangible memorial to commemorate David Davies, saw a number of examples of work by other sculptors, but decided that Alfred Gilbert’s work (which had been commissioned by the Barry committee) was the best and they arranged to have a replica for erection at Llandinam at a cost of a thousand guineas – half the cost of the Barry statue. (Bye Gones, 21 June 1893 pp 105-6)
Incidentally following Gwyn’s death in 2020, it was decided to sponsor two prizes of £500, both awarded by the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative (WHSI) as part of SWIEET’s educational role. WHSI hold an annual competition for schools in Wales and one prize was named in honour of Gwyn. The Gwyn Griffiths Prize for the best project has a focus on ‘green issues’ and highlights environmental and improvement issues of a locality with a former industrial background and thus reflects Gwyn as an expert in these matters. The other prize is the William Menelaus (named after the founder of the forerunner of SWIEET, the South Wales Institute of Engineers) Prize for the best project that focuses on an aspect of the industrial heritage of Wales, or historical individuals or groups involved in Welsh industrial development, see https://swieet2007.org/
Last year Gelli Primary School in Rhondda Cynon Taf was awarded the Gwyn Griffiths prize with their study of ‘Black Gold’ focussing on the coal mining heritage and an understanding of the current and future issues linked to the coal industry. They used a wide range of sources, which they examined critically, to gain valuable knowledge not just on mining in general, but the social and environmental struggles this brought. They gained sufficient knowledge to enable them to question their local MP on the issues of coal tips near their school. Ffaldau Primary School, Bridgend, won the William Menelaus Prize for best project on industrial heritage with their ‘Industry in Wales, Past, Present and Future: Power of Wales’ project. Go to https://www.whsi.org.uk/ to find out more.
An image of the information panel that was at the centre of my December 2023 Wenvoe What’s On article is attached, sadly Owen Eardley the artist, passed away just before this was unveiled at the Barry War Museum, now the Barry War Museum and Heritage Centre. This was his last work Owen made a great contribution to highlighting historical engineering and famous engineers as part of the Institution of Civil Engineers programme of commemorating engineering and raising the general public’s awareness.
Stephen K. Jones
Cod Loin with Bacon Crumble Topping: Spaghetti with Leeks, Gorgonzola and Walnuts
Cod Loin with Bacon Crumble Topping
50g butter, room temperature
1 tbsp coarsely chopped tarragon leaves
4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped small
25g fresh white breadcrumbs
4 plump cod loins
1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and fresh black pepper
1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
Fresh tender stem broccoli and green beans to suit [
Mix the butter and tarragon with a grinding of black pepper. Tip the bacon into a hot frying pan and dry fry until starting to go nice and crisp. Stir in the breadcrumbs, a little pepper and fry, stirring, until turning golden Stir in a third of the tarragon butter and, as soon as it has melted remove pan from the heat. Score the fish on the diagonal and coat each loin in the flour, pat off any excess. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan frying pan until very hot. Put in the fish skin side down. Let it cook, don’t move it for about 5-6 mins. Meanwhile cook the green vegetables until just done. Turn the fish over, turn off the heat and let the fish cook for 2-3 more minutes until cooked through. Drain veg and toss in the remainder of the tarragon butter. Divide veg between four plates Lay the fish on the veg skin side down and sprinkle over the bacon crumble topping
Spaghetti with Leeks, Gorgonzola and Walnuts
1tbsp olive oil
500g pack of leeks, trimmed, halved lengthways and finely sliced
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
20g walnuts, roughly chopped
300g wholewheat spaghetti
50g broccoli florets, small
1 vegetable stock cube
2 tbsp 50% less fat creme fraiche
120g best Gorgonzola rind removed.
Heat oil in a large, lidded frying pan over a low heat. Add the leaks, season and stir to coat in the oil. Cover and cook on a low heat for about 10 mins or until the leeks start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 4 mins until the leeks are completely soft. Toast the walnuts in another frying pan over a medium heat 5 – 6 mins, stirring occasionally. Cook the spaghetti to the pack instructions adding the broccoli for the final 2 mins. Drain and reserve 100ml of the cooking water, crumble the cube into the water then add to the leeks and stir in the creme fraiche. Cook over a low heat for about 1 min. Add the spaghetti, broccoli and Gorgonzola. Toss to coat the pasta in the sauce and melt the cheese. Scatter the walnuts and serve
Wenvoe Community Hub – Feb 2024
WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB
Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com
Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary
For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Wellbeing Group: 2nd February, 2.00-3.00pm.
Cuppa with a Copper: Wednesday 2:30pm. TBA.
Talks at the Hub: Friday 23rd February at 7.00pm., Ross Thomas is back with another engaging historical talk – ‘Oliver Cromwell-Warts and all’.
Stitches at the Hub. Mondays 1.00-3.00pm
Our stitches group has been meeting for over four years working on a diverse range of crafts to include knitting, sewing, crochet and embroidery If you would like to spend time with like-minded crafters, learn new techniques, or are having difficulty with following a pattern, completing a project, or just seeking inspiration then this is the group for you. There is no charge and no need to book a place, just turn up with your work.
Are you struggling to commit to your new year resolutions? Let the Hub help you.
If you haven’t visited the library Hub in a while, now is the time to let us help motivate you to keep to the goals that you set yourself for the new year. If
you planned to find a new hobby, read more, keep fit, eat healthily, learn new skills, or plan an exciting trip then we might be able to help you keep on track. Additionally, if your goal was to get to know your community better or make new friends, then why not join our team of friendly volunteers?
NEW BOOKS
Non-fiction: 60 Remarkable Buildings of the National Trust. Spanning 900 years, this book tells the stories behind 60 buildings including a medieval tithe barn, a Jacobean mansion, and a Victorian lighthouse.
Crime: The Island by Catherine Cooper. Influencers and journalists are at a luxury resort in the Maldives when the island is cut off by a storm and people start dying. Are the guests really who they seem to be?
Welsh Language Fiction: Coed y Brenin by Colin Jones. Aberarthur is a sleepy village in South Wales. Lots of people live here, and each person has a story.
A Good Read: Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’ Farrell. This vivid evocation of the beauty and brutality of Renaissance Italy and of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.
Young readers: The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell. On an expedition to the Icelands, Stella and the explorers see a world of danger, adventure, and snow pirates
Brynna
Brynna
Parking on the northerly edge of Brynna we took the track to the hills. It was a cold but beautiful sunny morning, and we were looking forward to some good views. Soon we came across a farm with lots of vehicles, some obviously still in use but many abandoned and one so deeply buried in brambles it was anybody’s guess how long it had been there.
Approaching another farm, I saw from a distance, a woman in full riding regalia mount a horse and ride off. Getting nearer we could see that there was ice on the surface of a pond, a sheep covered in mud from head to toe apparently stuck in a feeding trough, as it attempted to negotiate a very muddy area to access the trough.
There were ducks on the pond, hens and quail wandering around the farmyard and a couple of geese. Our ‘horse whisperer’ tried to soothe a horse in its stable who seemed to have something caught in its throat – probably just a seed from the oats but it was causing obvious irritation.
Back out on open areas we could see the tops of wind turbines sat stationary on the hill. A tree trunk facing the full sun had a hole which was alive with honeybees buzzing in and out of the trunk, a few of them even seemed to be sunbathing as they perched with their backs to the sun on the edge of the hole.
Before long we were off the track and on mountain paths, crossing a field near Mynydd Hugh to the track which passes in front of the original wind turbines on the Taff Ely Ridgeway. When we reached the noticeboards, we had brilliant views of the channel and the vast field of turbines turning slowly. It was a still day and we wondered whether they were not producing electricity but being turned by motors.
As we continued the distinct outline of Tylor’s Town tip came into view. Then a member of our group pointed to some animals in a distant field ‘look how the long shadows of those sheep make them look like human beings staring our way’. As we got closer, we realised that they were not sheep at all but people on horseback all done up in their riding best
But curiously they didn’t seem to be moving.
It was lunchtime so we made our way to some rocks near the remains of St Peter’s Church. The church had a head stone for someone buried in the 18th C. We draped ourselves across the stones above and watched the ‘action’ as we ate. There were two Masters of the hunt dressed in red jackets, everyone else being in black. After a while we realised that there seemed to be a problem with the hounds: apart from a brief glimpse of a group of about six hounds descending the hill, we saw three individual hounds which one of the masters was calling from the valley just in front of us. But curiously most riders were just hanging around in the distant field.
As we resumed our walk, we realised that the riders were coming towards us along the path we were about to take, so we kept out of their way. We waited on the edge of a field as a long line of riders passed us. Later we met a few people who were leaving, and they said that they had indeed been watching the hunt rather than participating which meant that children could join.
Walking east a short way we spied the green Daffodil sculpture at Caerphilly and explored some tracks, then it was time to swing round to get back to Mynydd Coedbychan for the descent to the cars. Unfortunately, this bit of the walk was very wet and involved crossing a fast-flowing stream to an island before crossing a second stream to terra firma – it was clearly marked with footpath signs but once again rainfall had altered the terrain. Lots of encouragement was needed for some of us (me in particular) but as usual we found a way through.
At this point I spied my first buttercup of the season, just a tiny spark of yellow in the grass. Soon we gained the main track. Small groups from the hunt shared the track with us as they made their way downhill. After a sunny day the sky was darkening with clouds at dusk and the temperature was dropping as we arrived back at the cars.
A lovely walk on good paths, highlighted by the entertainment provided by the local hunt. Refreshment at a local hostelry rounded the day off nicely.
Walk 7.2m 1000ft Map OS151.
Something Different – About Pigs
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
– ABOUT PIGS
Personally, I like pigs as an animal. Being a vegetarian, I don’t like pork or the ubiquitous bacon sandwich that so many love – particularly the smell of cooking bacon. While out walking recently, for no apparent reason, quotes in relation to pigs started being shared amongst the group. Here are a few.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” – Winston Churchill
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty and besides, the pig likes it. ” – George Bernard Shaw
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “What’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said. – A.A. Milne.
“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” – George Orwell, Animal Farm
“I am very proud to be called a pig. It stands for pride, integrity and guts.” – Ronald Reagan
“These are bagpipes. I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equalled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig.” – Alfred Hitchcock
“Thou frothy tickle-brained hedge-pig!” – William Shakespeare.
A 1933 song by Benjamin Hapgood Burt.
One evening in October, when I was one-third sober,
An’ taking home a ‘load’ with manly pride;
My poor feet began to stutter,
So I lay down in the gutter,
And a pig came up an’ lay by my side;
Then we sang ‘It’s all fair weather
When good fellows get together,’
Till a lady passing by was heard to say:
‘You can tell a man whose “boozes”
By the company he chooses’
And the pig got up and slowly walked away.
Nicola
Dragons In Your Garden?
Dragons In Your Garden?
Do you have Dragons in your garden? It might surprise you to know that the answer is probably ‘yes’. Chinese New Year falls on February 10th and this time it is the Year of the Dragon. However, the dragons in your garden are not the traditional fire-breathing monsters of old but a group of animals called Herpetofauna which includes Amphibians and Reptiles. The Connecting the Dragons project across South Wales aims to restore and raise awareness of these threatened species, 50% of which are in danger.
So, what might you come across in Wenvoe? If you have a pond, you are likely to have Newts, certainly the Common Newt. But we suspect there are also populations of the Great Crested Newt but have yet to confirm a record. Frogs and Toads turn up regularly, but the Toad is now classified as a Priority Species because of declines in their numbers. The Grass Snake is the UK’s largest native snake but is not venomous and is quite harmless to humans. These have been recorded in the Elizabethan Orchard and the Goldsland Watercress Beds but are likely to be in many other locations in the Parish. Adders have not been recorded in the Parish although some people claim to have seen them. They have been recorded in Leckwith Woods and are likely to be here so definitely one to look out for. If you see one, treat it with respect as they have a venomous bite.
As far as Lizards are concerned, we are likely to have the Common Lizard as there are several records from Cardiff but, again, none in the Parish. And then there is the Slow Worm – neither slow nor a worm nor even a snake but a legless lizard. We come across these regularly in our wildlife sites and also in gardens, although you are less likely to see them if you have cats as they are predators.
So, in the year of the Dragon we are going to make more effort to record, protect and encourage these creatures. We hope you will do the same and in future issues of What’s On we will describe some of the ways in which you can help.