Category: New Items for February 2024

Latest postings for the current month

Imagine Getting Back Onto The Garden

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Imagine Getting Back Onto The Garden

With so many wet days in December and early January it was hard to imagine getting back onto the garden. The ground soon dried up after the deluge with high pressure in charge. Any exposed soil would have had a lot of nutrients washed away which will need replacing with fertiliser and compost when the growing season starts. The mild December weather saw daffodils out on the village green and snowdrops out in the church grounds. The cold spell in January will have held the Spring bulbs back now. This difficult start to the year weather wise will have an impact on nurseries. Plants that you order may be a bit late and will definitely be more expensive. Keep costs down by sowing some seeds, sunny windowsills make an ideal spot for cosmos, salvias and sweet peas in February. Kale is a real hardy plant but will need to be germinated inside before putting outside. Look out for damping off and don’t over water.

Mrs Betty James of Walston Road will have scrubbed all her empty pots and seed trays in readiness for the sowing season, she will then sieve a new bag of compost and add some perlite for drainage. By following the way Betty does things you will have a good success rate. Don’t worry if you think you’re behind as plants will soon catch up with more daylight hours. Spend a bit of time checking on the tubers and corms that you kept over Winter and discard any showing signs of rot before it spreads to the others.

The folk at the allotments will be preparing seed beds, weather permitting, and getting cloches cleaned up to put on the soil to allow it to warm up. Some seeds like broad beans are hardy enough to sow now. Some folk will have already picked some forced rhubarb by the time you’re reading this.

The Vale was hit hard last year by the box caterpillar, which decimated box hedging and shrubs. This pest has only been in the UK for about fifteen years, starting in the southeast of England. There are some chemicals which claim to be effective but the amount of re spraying needed per season makes it not cost effective. The caterpillar is hidden beneath a web and is difficult to get at. The young hide in webs between the leaves over winter and become active as the weather warms up. Then a second infestation starts in Summer. Some National Trust properties have taken any box hedging out as the situation got too difficult to manage.

The last decade has seen record rainfall over most of the UK. We are not immune to this in Wenvoe, properties in Grange Close, Old Port Road and Nant Isaf have had flood damage. We all need to think before we cover ground with concrete etc. We need to let the ground soak up the water and release it slowly and laws are coming to make sure we use permeable products when constructing new drives or hard standings. The driveway at the Old Rectory has been constructed using permeable blocks.

Take care and happy gardening

St. Mary’s Church News February

FEBRUARY REPORT

The January Church News page ended with the words ‘We look forward to seeing you at our services’. Bishop Mary in a recent prayer for the diocese used the ‘Come and see’ taken from the Gospel according to John, when Philip told Nathaniel that he had found Jesus, the promised Messiah, much to Nathaniel’s scepticism. Philip issued the invitation ‘Come and see’. These words are an invitation to all in our community who are not used to churchgoing, to come and experience for yourselves the warm welcome that you will receive from the greeters in church, the help offered to follow the service and to make you feel at home in the love of Jesus. The church is a warm safe place, the music is uplifting, the singing will benefit from your participation and is good for your own wellbeing. If you are baptised, you can take part in the Communion or simply receive a blessing at the altar rail. Come and see and you will not be disappointed.

The congregation and many in the community were saddened to hear that Sheonagh Ormrod, the wife of Vicar Jon, had passed away after five months of declining health. Jon and Sheonagh had moved to the parish Worle near Weston Super Mare in 2021, having been here for seven years. Her funeral on 23rd January was attended by many from Wenvoe, St. Lythan’s and Sully as a mark of respect for Jon and his two daughters and was a loving caring service, a real tribute to the work Jon had done in the short time he and Sheonagh had been in the parish. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. For those who were not able to travel to Worle, Vicar Lyndon led a short service of prayers and readings being used at the service in St. Mary’s.

At the same time, we also received the news that Colin Jenkins had passed away after a long illness. Colin was well known in the community for his work in many areas including the preparation of “What’s On”. His funeral took place on Thursday 25th in St. Mary’s Church followed by cremation at the Cardiff and Vale crematorium. We offer our prayers and thoughts to Anne and her two daughters as they now face the future without him. ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant’. RIP.

Looking back at our Christmas celebrations, it was a very busy time with Carol Services and Midnight Eucharist followed by a service at St. Lythan’s on Christmas Day. The collection taken at the Community Carols and Nine Lessons for Ty Hafan came to £400 and a letter of thanks has been received. This can be viewed on the notice board in the church porch.

Now we are approaching the Season of Lent with Ash Wednesday on 14th February. This year the Imposition of Ashes will be at 10.00 am at St. John’s Church in Sully and in the evening at 7.00pm at St. Mary’s. Lent is a time of preparation for the great feast day of Easter, and Vicar Lyndon has arranged a series of Lenten talks on Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 7.00pm-8.00pm. Vicar Lyndon writes ‘I will offer

some insights into the structure of the liturgies of Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day beginning on Tuesday 20th February. We experience these liturgies but we don’t often have the opportunity to reflect on their structure and content and what they say to us through our Lenten journey’ To take part please email Lyndon on Lyndontssf@outlook.com and he will let you have the details to allow access Zoom.

The congregation marked the many years of service by Robert Lloyd who played the organ and now wished to stand down. We thank him for the contribution he made to our act of worship, at funerals and weddings. Gareth Williams our other organist has agreed to continue to inspire us with his expertise at the keyboard. We will try and find a replacement for Rob. Is there a fledging organist locally who Gareth could train? Please contact Vicar Lyndon for full details of what we can offer.

We also wish to thank Kenneth Mathews for his work organising the weekly newsletter. This has now been taken over by Helen Kennedy of Sully. Ken had many roles in St. Mary’s as churchwarden, Secretary to the church council, Server at the altar, in charge of the church heating and other duties. So, we thank you Ken for all your diligence in church affairs, but thankfully we will still see you in church. Da iawn.

Please see Jude Billingham’s article on the Food Bank on page 11.

To all our readers, and the friends of St. Mary’s keep warm in this very cold weather. We welcome all to join in our Sunday and Wednesday morning Service.

God Bless,

Parry Edwards

 

“A Spell of Winter” by Helen Dunmore

OFF THE SHELF

“A Spell of Winter”
by Helen Dunmore

This is an unsettling story of love and betrayal, which is dark and claustrophobic in parts, but a story we all wanted to finish. It is set in turn-of-the-century England, with a Gothic literary genre. Catherine and Rob Allen are siblings two years apart, who grow up in a world of shameful secrets. Their mother creates a public outcry by abandoning her family for a bohemian life on the Continent and their father is committed to an asylum in the country. So, the children are sealed off with their grandfather, maid, and tutor in a crumbling country estate. The main overseer of their childhood is the well-loved servant, Kate, but the predatory tutor, Miss Gallagher lurks around in the shadows. In true gothic fashion, terror, blackmail, violence, and eroticism collect beneath every dark surface. Although the characters are emotionally complicated, they remain absorbing, and it is hard not to wish for the ‘cloud’ to lift.

Against this strange and secretive life, Cathy and her brother Rob develop a closeness so fierce that it eventually threatens to smother them both. The turning point in the story comes when Rob, in Cathy’s eyes, unforgivably runs away and she feels betrayed. She is left to build her life and relationships with two significant people who live close to her, her grandfather and Mr Bullivant. When World War I eventually bursts upon them all, Kate seems to find herself and learns quickly how to become self-sufficient. It’s only after she’s experienced this hardship that she’s given a second chance to be redeemed by love.

There is a slightly Austenesque edge to the characters and the book is intensely gripping if not slightly disturbing in parts. It is understandable why it won the 1996 Orange Book Prize. Our Book Club gave it a score of 8/10.

Isobel Davies

 

 

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Despite the weather we have achieved quite a lot in January. Three new picnic tables have been constructed and installed in the orchards by Brian Rees. Sian White has strimmed and cleared vegetation at both the Goldsland Orchard and Goldsland Watercress beds, enabling improved access to both of these popular but quiet sites. Rhys McGowan has started a project of wildlife recording and all residents are encouraged to send any sightings of wildlife to the Wildlife Group from within the Parish. The Group have purchased a replacement Cherry Plum for the one in the village that was uprooted recently and Mike Tucker has arranged its planting. Mike has also cut the hedgerow that the Group planted along the Community Orchard.

Neighbourhood Watch – February 2024

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

 

I am pleased to report there was very little criminal activity reported in Wenvoe over the Christmas period, although there were some thefts in the Culverhouse Cross area.

Digital security

An important area of security is that of digital security and creating a secure, strong password is not complicated. There is much advice available. The National Cyber Security Centre recommend using three non-associated words such as planegiraffecentre. Do not use words associated with you such as your pet’s name, because if you use social media hackers can readily trace them to you.

Further advice is:

  • Use 2 centre authentication when offered to you. It gives you additional security against a hacker.
  • Use a strong password for your email account, one that you do not use elsewhere.

 

Patio doors

Most forced entry burglaries are committed through the weakest point of entry at the rear of the property, usually the patio doors. Modern patio doors normally have a secure lever system operated by raising the door handles. For those that do not, you are recommended to fit a security device to prevent the handles being operated from outside. Such devices can be obtained for about £50.

Watch Annual General Meeting

The AGM of the Wenvoe Neighbourhood Watch is on Wednesday 7 February 8.00pm in the Community Centre. It is open to any Wenvoe resident, with an agenda of: reports from Officers and Co-ordinators, election of Chair and Secretary/Treasurer.

Alan French

 

WENVOE FORUM

Considering tomorrow today

Searching for GOLD

Do you know the colour of hydrogen?

Wenvoe What’s On readers may remember from school science lessons that hydrogen, in its normal state, is a colourless, tasteless, odourless and non-toxic gas. It is the third most abundant element on the surface of Earth, found in water and all organic matter. It is the simplest element and the lightest being 9 times lighter than air, which drove its use in the first part of the 20th century as the “lift” for airships until the Hindenburg disaster which reminds us that it in extremely flammable, in fact it is literally rocket fuel having been used particularly in combination with oxygen since NASA’s Apollo programme.

So hydrogen is light, abundant, non-toxic and flammable. These are all important properties that suggest Hydrogen might be part of the answer to replacing our dependence on fossil fuels in order to keep global temperatures down and avoid destructive and threatening climate driven events such as flooding and wild fires. However it seems that in this regard all Hydrogen is definitely not created equal.

Hydrogen is highly reactive, so it generally doesn’t hang around on its own but joins up with something else. It is created in the process of many chemical reactions but being so light it can quickly disperse into its surroundings. So to use it as a viable fuel it is generally created and captured and this is where the colourless gas of our science lessons becomes associated with a colour.

Black or Brown

This comes from the most environmentally damaging form of hydrogen creation. Black or brown coal is used to make liquid hydrogen but all the damaging products of coal combustion are released where the hydrogen is produced, and the low carbon emission hydrogen can be moved easily to other places that want low carbon fuel. It reminds me of times gone by when in order to supply London with smokeless coal to avoid “the smogs” much of the pollution it seemed was left behind in Mountain Ash and other places where the smokeless brickettes were made.

Grey

Grey hydrogen is made from natural gas or methane and though there are fewer pollutants than from coal, the process results in much the same sort of greenhouse gases being released as would have been the case just using the natural gas. Currently most of the supply of hydrogen is grey.

Blue

Blue hydrogen again is made from natural gas but using a process that captures the carbon and allows it to be stored. Turquoise In the blue part of the spectrum an experimental production method called Methane Pyrolysis produces Hydrogen and solid carbon. This may prove useful in the future as a low carbon fuel, if permanent storage or environmentally friendly use is made of the solid carbon Pink (or purple or red) We go back to the science lab at school again now. For many, H2O is the one chemical formula that they know, WATER. By passing a current of electricity through water it splits the water into two gases hydrogen and oxygen, which can be collected separately with no carbon resulting.

Pink, purple or red

hydrogen refers to hydrogen made by electrolysis using nuclear power. Green Using electrolysis of water with “green” renewable electricity sources, wind, solar, water turbine etc gives us the best hope for making hydrogen without adding to the greenhouse effect. NB Yellow Hydrogen is sometimes used for that produced using solar power.

GOLD

Geologists have long known that reactions between rocks containing iron and water produces hydrogen effectively the same process as rusting. However the assumption had been that the light hydrogen with its small molecule would seep out of the rocks and disperse, and no-one looked for any captured in the same way as natural gas was captured. Necessity, mother of invention has inspired new searches and big reservoirs are being found. Environmentalists fear that this search would uncover new oil and gas resources and that it will be hard to resist the pressure to exploit them and environmentalists will need to be proactive in combating that risk. To find large quantities of hydrogen that could be used in the same way as natural gas has could be a partial answer to many prayers.

Keep an eye out for news of a new gold mine.

 

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Flying High At Barry Island

CARERS WALK

The Carers strollers were flying high at Barry Island on the post-Christmas ‘let’s walk the mince pies and Christmas puddings off’ walk. High winds and grey skies did not put off these hardy walkers from enjoying the cliffs and beaches…some even had a Christmas pudding ice cream at the end!!

 

 

Worrying Times For Our Group

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Worrying Times For Our Group

Worrying times for our group at the start of 2024. Everyone had received a Pure Cremation funeral plan through the post. While discussing the cheek of it, one of the elders slipped. We discovered he has PTSD (post traumatic slip disorder). As his ears are further from the ground than the rest of us and the fact he hit his head, we decided against an ambulance and phoned the funeral people, because you get 10% off the first one.

After moving the patient to one side and putting him on light duties, the team got on with widening the bend on Tarrws Lane, by cutting back the vegetation.

This group are determined that nothing will stop them carrying out their civic duties – unless there is too much rain, wind, ice, sun or the cappuccino is only like warm.

Our next meeting will be on 12th February at the village green.

 

Recent Holiday Book List

Various Books Read over the Holidays

During the December meeting of The Page Turners each member contributed a book to a lucky dip. Whichever book was drawn, was to be read by that member and then discussed during the January meeting. The results are briefly summarised below and each book scored out of 10:

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles. This novel tells the story of Count Alexander Ros-tov, who in 1922 is sentenced to house arrest and is imprisoned in an attic room in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow for many years. A book with humour and interesting characters, a very good read which is recommended and scored 8.

MRS VAN GOGH by Caroline Cauchi. The artist Vincent Van Gogh died in 1890, penniless and un-known. Joanne, married to Theo Van Gogh, Vin-cent’s brother, is determined to bring Vincent’s talent to public attention and works tirelessly for many years to achieve that goal. Our reader thought the novel, although slow at first, became very interesting and gave a score of 7.

THE BULLET THAT MISSED by Richard Osman. The third in The Thursday Murder Club series, it is recommended by our reader that the previous books in this series be read first. A really enjoyable novel with lots of humour scored 9.

CHRISTMAS IS MURDER by Val McDermid. This collection of twelve short stories is perfect for reading before going to sleep at night. Well written and atmospheric with various interesting characters. Al-so the perfect book to put on the bedside table in a guest room. Score 8.

THE OLIVE READERS by Christine Aziz. Our reader describes this book as a cross between the novels “1984”, “Harry Potter”, “Lord of the Rings” and “Animal Farm”. A dystopia novel set in a future with no past and is not recommended. Score 2.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE by Maggie O’Farrell. An ex film star goes to live in the wilds of Ireland. This is a book about family and love, full of interest-ing characters, beautiful words and descriptions. Thoroughly enjoyed by our reader scored 9.

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell. Historical fiction inspired by the true story of the young Italian Duchess, Lucrezia de Medici, daughter of the Grand Duke Cosimo de Medici of Florence. At the age of 15, Lucrezia was married to 27 year old Alfonso, Duke of Ferrera, and becomes convinced that he is planning her death. Beautifully written, descriptive and interesting. Score 9.

 

January Meeting of Wenvoe W.I.

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

January Meeting of Wenvoe W.I.

After three very successful meetings in December prior to Christmas, Wenvoe WI met on 4th January in the Church Hall. It was lovely to see everyone arriving looking well, despite the wet weather and the annual round of coughs and colds.

We held our usual January ‘Bring and Buy’ sale of unwanted Christmas presents and discarded household bits and pieces. This year I was astonished at the sheer variety of wares on sale – from new slippers, kitchen utensils, calendars, room diffusers to a new warm, cosy blanket. Altogether, we raised over £80, some of which will eventually be donated to our charity for 2024, Ty Hafan.

After the usual business, we had our cuppa and chocolate biscuits. This was followed by a Dingbats quiz.

Our next meeting will be held in the Church Hall at 7.00pm on 1st February, when we have a guest speaker – Mr Peter Cox (formerly of GCHQ at Cheltenham). Mr Cox will speak on ‘British Intelligence and the Ukraine War’.

New lady members and tasters are always most welcome.

Wenvoe WI wishes all readers a happy and prosperous New Year.

Jan Young (President)

 

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