Seniors Banking

 



SENIORS BANKING



Shown below, is apparently an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman.
The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in The Times.
Dear Sir:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it..
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, — when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.
My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an OFFENSE under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.
Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete.
I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public figure, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me.
I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further.
When you call me, press buttons as follows:
IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALLING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2.. To query a missing payment.
#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
#4 To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required.
Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier.
#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 to 9
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry.
The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?
Your Humble Client
And remember:- Don’t make old people mad. We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to piss us off.
Geoff Nicholls

 

 



Welsh Traditions 7 – Traditions associated with death and funerals



WELSH TRADITIONS 7

Traditions associated with death and funerals



We’ll begin by going back to Pre-Christian and pre-Roman times to consider how the Celts buried their dead. The ancient Celtic religion – known as Celtic Paganism – was the religion of the Celtic peoples of Europe – and the priests of this religion were known as Druids – but very little is known about them.

Nicole Evelina writes -‘For a warrior people, it’s not surprising that to the Celts, the most honorable death was to die in battle. Depending on the time period and which tribe you were in, you might be buried, cremated or have your ashes buried. In pre-Christian times, many graves contained items needed for the next world, from chariots and weapons to food, wine, money and clothing. There is some evidence that the Celts practised human sacrifice, but not likely on a large scale.

The Celts believed in reincarnation. Some sources say they only believed you could come back in human form, but others argue you could be reincarnated as an animal or plant, too. Mythology seems to support this later theory as in our ancient tales, we learn that the Cauldron of Rebirth was able to revive the dead. Pre-Christian Celts believed in an after-death Otherworld (Annwn in Welsh mythology), a resting place between incarnations’.

We know that the body was washed before burial, wrapped in a thin shirt and laid out surrounded by burning candles. During this time feasts and games were held in honour of the deceased – and food and money would be left for him or her to use in the next life. This was the forerunner of the modern ‘wake’ of course. On the day of the funeral a Druid would visit to measure the corpse – to make sure that it would fit in the grave. He would also whisper instructions in his ear of how to reach the Other World’.

Bodies were cremated or buried in single cairns or graves – or in a burial chamber where multiple bodies were buried. We have two of these burial tombs – from an earlier time – near us here in Wenvoe namely the Cromlech at Tinkinswood and the smaller one at St Lythans. Both these date from the New Stone Age and are over 6,000 years old – about 1,000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids in Egypt.

Coming a little closer to our own time, a number of traditions and rituals associated with death here in Wales have survived until relatively recently.

It was customary to announce a death by tolling the church bell – and in the counties of Anglesea and Arfon, the home of the deceased was known as a ‘tŷ corff’ (house of the corpse). A local woman would attend the house to prepare the body for burial and a carpenter would come to measure him/her before making the coffin. It was important to our forefathers that the honey bees be informed formally if there was a death in the house. It was generally believed that failure to do so would result in the mass death of the bees – or they would leave the hive.

Traditionally the room where a corpse lay before burial would be draped with white curtains and linen. Curtains were kept closed and mirrors were covered. Sweet-scented herbs were used to scent the room, and wax candles kept alight. In some parts of Wales, the family would sprinkle salt on a pewter plate and place it on the chest of the deceased – to ward off all evil spirits. The belief was that salt purified the soul. It is also known that in some areas a ‘sin eater’ would be invited to the house to eat the sins of the dead person, by dipping a piece of bread in the salt and eating it above the body. Thus the dead person would be relieved of all sins and would be assured of entry into heaven.

From the time of death, the house was never empty. Family members and friends would take it in turn to hold a vigil over the body every night until the day of the funeral. In some areas a wake would be held every night – with plenty of food and alcohol – but the proceedings were always carried out in a respectful manner. In the 19th Century, the deceased was often propped up during these wakes! It was also customary for gifts of butter, cake, tea, biscuits and sugar to be gifted to the family in mourning. By the 19th Century, under the influence of the Methodist Movement, the vigil or the pre funeral wake had become much more reverential – more like a prayer meeting. And a recognised singer would be invited to sing an elegy – an echo of the elegiac poems composed by the court poet during the age of the Welsh Kings and Princes.

On the morning of the burial, the mourners would arrive at the house, where the main mourner would be seated – dressed in back of course. Before the service black gloves would be handed round to the mourners; silk or kid for near-relatives and cotton for more distant members of the family. In Aberystwyth, for example, it was customary for a man to walk around the town ringing a Corpse Bell. He would walk along and every so often, stop and ring out one solemn stroke on his bell.

One particularly sad custom was that of baptising a newly born baby on his or her mother’s coffin, if she had died in childbirth – a common occurrence in earlier times, of course.

The Welsh have always carried their dead relatives to the churchyard, unlike the English who in general paid strangers to do this. At the end of the service a collection was made and the money would go to the priest – who would often pass the money to the family – if it was particularly impoverished. Another collection was made at the graveside when coins would be placed on the gravedigger’s shovel or spade – ‘spade money’ (arian rhaw) – which would pay for the burial. In the 1700s it was the custom to throw a sprig of rosemary into the grave, which by the 19th Century, was substituted by the placing of flowers on top of the grave.

There were a few superstitions surrounding death and funerals in Wales one of the most common being ‘cannwyll corff’ – a corpse candle. Before a death had been reported in an area, people would report seeing a candle moving along a particular path or roadway. They believed that this foretold the death of a local person – whose funeral procession would follow the route of the candle they had witnessed. If a corpse candle was seen glowing red it was thought to be foretelling the death of a man; a white glow showed the death of a woman and a small, weak light, that of a child.
There are also numerous accounts from all parts of Wales of people witnessing a phantom funeral procession – ‘toili’ – which, like the corpse candles, foretold of an imminent death in the area.
Omens of death were widely feared and taken very seriously indeed. In Port Talbot at the Morfa Colliery in 1890, workers noticed a strong scent of flowers. They believed this to be a sign of invisible death flowers and half the miners stayed in their homes. That day there was a huge explosion leaving 87 miners dead. If certain types of birds flew over the pit head, such as pigeons, robins or doves, it was also believed to be foretelling a disaster. They were dubbed ‘corpse birds’ and are reported to have been seen just before the explosion at Senghennydd Colliery in Glamorgan in 1913, in which 400 miners were killed. So seriously were these superstitions taken by Welsh miners, that if they passed a squinting woman on their way to the mine, they would turn back and go home to avoid bad luck.
Ann M. Jones

 



Monknash Coastguard Rocket House



MONKNASH COASTGUARD ROCKET HOUSE



 

Just inland from the top of a precipitous Heritage Coast cliff near the village of Marcross in the Vale of Glamorgan there stands a small stone building with an almost semicircular stone flagged roof. One end of this building is completely open and faces the sea. It is yet another entity associated with shipping in the Bristol Channel.

As the title of this article suggests the building, which was constructed in the 1870s, was used to house the apparatus that could fire a thin rope to any ship in distress close to the shore in these hazardous waterways. If the mariners on such a vessel were to successfully receive the initial rope, then they would haul to themselves a thicker rope to which would be attached a breeches buoy to enable their rescue.

Rocket Houses became an essential part of the infrastructure of being able to effect rescues close to, or indeed on, lee shores which would have otherwise proved difficult for the life boats of the time.

The UK Coastguard Rocket Stations were strategically located along the coast to cover areas with high risk of shipwrecks and to provide timely assistance. There is some evidence that there was such a rocket station adjacent to the Watch House at the entrance to Barry Old Harbour. The equipment and techniques used evolved over time, but the primary goal remained the same: to save lives at sea

 

 



Ideas Pointing in the Right Direction



WENVOE FORUM

Considering Tomorrow Today


“Ideas Pointing in the Right Direction ”


I recently read an interesting blog about a private sector attempt to provide a route to changing the NHS from a megalithic organisation that treats people who are sick and injured into one whose primary task in to keep the population well. The entrepreneurial team have devised a package that offers appointments at which all the latest tech including a full body scan is employed to try to detect any potential problems early, allowing for treatment, lifestyle change or whatever is recommended should take place before too much damage is done. This is not part of the NHS and seems to be targeted at the reasonably well off 30+ age group. At £300 an appointment it is not hugely expensive but well out of reach for the NHS’s biggest client group for whom poverty affects many, many of the determinants of health such as poor housing, unhealthy diets, low paid jobs, etc etc. They will not be in the position to have one appointment, never mind the follow ups every 2 or 3 years that will probably be needed.

Whether these assessments are useful, even for the well off, I don’t know and the Forum is not recommending them, nevertheless; there is an underlying idea which seems to points in the right direction. Intervening much earlier in life and persuading individuals to make appropriate changes could reduce the incidence of so many conditions that are life limiting both in terms of length and quality.

As the Covid pandemic demonstrated so clearly public health is the responsibility of government at all levels using all the tools available from legislation through to advertising and the work of the “Nudge unit” now known as the Behavioural Insights Team. Their combined force would not have succeeded without the willing cooperation of the public. Vaccination programmes that have hopefully defeated smallpox and certainly turned Covid into something we could live with have been worldwide efforts. In the UK the campaign to reduce sickness and death related to tobacco smoking is succeeding but has taken decades so far and if we are to make the changes needed to turn the NHS oil tanker, we the public will have to contribute to our own health not only with our taxes but with actions and fairly swift action too. But what can we, here in Wenvoe actually do?

Some things we can do for ourselves like improving our diet. Let’s use this as an example. It sounds simple and it sounds personal but to achieve it some people need some help. Working families are time poor and it is so easy to fill the supermarket trolley with quick to prepare, highly processed food which is less healthy. If healthy food were to be available on their doorstep it might just make the difference and change their behaviour especially if it were at a reasonable price. For some it’s a case of not knowing what is healthy and what is not and often the information is not clear and as time goes by further research changes the message, so a regular set of health lectures might be useful.

 

But I write as someone in their 70s making a suggestion from my perspective and I acknowledge that what would work for me might not be right for others. If we, as a community, are to see change that will benefit us all then we must all put on our thinking caps and our action shoes.

There is an opportunity to shape an imminent Community Planning Exercise which will undertake its main survey in the New Year. From the beginning of October to the end of the year your thoughts and ideas about what important topics are to be included in the new community plan should be sent tocpe@wenvoecouncil.org.uk. This is a real opportunity to express how you would like life in Wenvoe to be in 5, 10, 15 years time. All aspects of community life can be considered, planning, services, resources, green spaces, ecology, wildlife, environment… Working together it is possible to achieve so much, and it can be fun too, so if you have ambitious plans lets hear them. The results of the last planning exercise can be seen on thewww.wenvoecouncil.org.uk website.

On November 23rd, the Community Council will be bringing together some other organisations for an open day to get the ball rolling on collecting ideas. See the next edition of WWO for more details

IT’S YOUR COMMUNITY!

LET’S HEAR YOUR VOICE!

HAPPY HOP GROWERS – In mid-September,5.55Kg of Wenvoe grown hops were delivered by Sian and Steve Jones to PIPES brewery in Cardiff, where they are already in the brew that will be this year’s community brew of Taff Temptress. The harvest was much better than 2023 so we have great hopes for our hops.

 


 

To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the Gwen Fo account @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1 and then jon the Wenvoe Forum @ https:// www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402

Some further information and updates, blog site https:// wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/. Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which are normally held 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwenfo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join.

 



Defynnog  and Swansea Valley

Defynnog  and Swansea Valley



Brecon Beacons / Bannau Brycheiniog

We have explored the Brecon Beacons this summer, a big thank you to everyone who has suggested or plotted walks. We have had a veritable feast of wild food finding hazelnuts, bilberries, blackberries, wild strawberries and raspberries, and in one field left fallow, fresh peas (amongst wheat, barley and other old crops) which were so delicious. Here are another two walks in this awesome place.


Defynnog

We set off from Defynnog, to make our way around Cwm Treweryn. A road led to Pantymaes where ponies grazed near the footpath, and we approached a quarry. Peregrines have been nesting here and successfully raising young. We saw some adult birds flying above the ridge and heard their screaming cries.

As we continued a flock of sheep walked in front of us until they ran to their mates in an open area. Shortly after we spotted an ewe which had got itself stuck in the roots of a tree. Its head was under a root, and it couldn’t back up as there was another root behind it. One of us lifted it out and it ran off bleating but not before giving its rescuer a kick.

To the east we could see the entrance to the valley we had walked last week. We spotted delicate blue harebells, explored the graveyard of a chapel with a hexagonal end and spotted a white chapel on the opposite hillside. We passed Glwydcaenewydd farm and walked through Crai before walking along a flower strewn lane. Needing lunch, we trudged uphill beside a wood to reach a height where we sat on a bank and ate while gazing at the landscape spread in front of us.

Walking along a road for a while we turned homeward on a good path to another chapel, and we peered through dusty windows to see a small austere space crammed with pews and tiny porches in two corners. One of the stones in the graveyard had a picture of a tractor on it which led to a discussion about what type of tractor it was.

Views of the surrounding hills diminished as we descended and entered a sunlight dappled path through trees, whose roots reached like long fingers down the bank.

Returning to Defynnog we were disappointed to find the highly recommended International Rarebit Café shut so had to be satisfied with a visit to the pub.

Four of us went to the church to visit the famous Defynnog yew and were mightily impressed. There are several yews all obviously ancient but one is so large we were all able to climb into its centre. Wow! It is thought that the Defynnog tree is between 2000 and 3000 years old. Although we thought we saw several trees it is probable that they were one tree. It may have been used for large gatherings (Cantrefi or hundreds). Between the 12th and 13th centuries Cantref Mawr was the Defynnog Hundred which would have made Defynnog an important centre in Wales rather than the small village it is today. [Walk 8m, 1200ft. Map OL12]


Swansea Valley

This was a glorious walk. Starting at Tafarn y Garreg on the A4067, we walked up a rugged valley broadly following a stream, and steadily climbing. Waterfalls, rocks, grassland, wind beaten trees, leaps across streams and a climb across moorland all featured in the morning.

And then we arrived at the source of the stream, Llyn y Fan Fawr, which is in fact the source of the River Tawe. We were surprised to see several groups of people around the lake, as we had seen hardly anyone all morning – there is a shorter route from Sennybridge. It was wonderful to see its clear waters and a few of us immediately bared our feet to paddle; so refreshing.

We lunched on its shores and were visited by a red kite swooping down low over us. There were discussions about what we all felt capable of as there was a steep 400ft climb straight after lunch (which we try to avoid). Most of us were up for it, once we realised that it would be flat on the top of the escarpment that towered over us. We were surprised to achieve the climb easily; it is a good path reinforced with large stones. Meanwhile a couple of us walked around the lake and back down the valley.

The views from the top were fantastic but humidity meant they faded in the distance, producing impressions of mountains. At the end of the escarpment, we seemed to descend forever, quite steeply at times. Until suddenly, we were back near the beginning of the walk with a gentle stroll along a wooded river back to the cars.

A stunning day, it had been ideal for walking, dry and cool with occasional sunshine, and we rounded it off with a drink in the local inn. [Walk 7m, 2050ft. Map OL12]

 

 



September Report




SEPTEMBER REPORT



At a recent meeting of the joint church council, it was decided to press ahead with the removal of a dead limb on the large yew tree, adjacent to the entrance into the churchyard extension, together with the removal of minor growth of self-seeded vegetation near to the Jenner graves. The dead limb needs to be removed on health and safety concerns and the tidying up of the other work will it is hoped satisfy the concerns of the representative of the Jenner family that the family graves are being overgrown with decolourisation of the white marble stonework. The cost will be covered from church funds once the necessary permissions are granted by the Vale of Glamorgan council.

We are entering a very busy period during the coming months running up to Christmas. By the time you read this we will have already celebrated the celebration of Harvest at St. Mary’s, together with the picnic and Gift Day on Sunday the 22nd September.

Harvest Celebrations continue at St. John’s Church in Sully on October 6th and at St Bleddian’s church on October 13th. The service at St Lythan’s begins at 3.00pm followed by a Cheese and Wine arranged by the Friends of St. Lythan’s at a small charge.

Remembrance Sunday service on November 10thwill be at St. Mary’s at 10.00 am, led by Mr. Parry Edwards and following the service at the village War Memorial for the silence and the laying of wreaths. We must thank the Wenvoe Community council for arranging to have the War Memorial cleaned, though the provision of a hand rail on the steps is needed on Health and Safety grounds

During December at St. Bleddian’s, on Tuesday evenings the 3rd, 10th, and 17th we will have a short time of quiet meditation, together with a Harpist playing. This was very popular last year and it is good to set aside a time of contemplation in the hectic days before Christmas.

The Community Carol Service will be held on Wednesday the 18th December at St. Mary’s at 7.00 pm followed by seasonal refreshments. The collection will be given to local charities. All are welcome for this is the community coming together to hear the story of the Birth of our Lord and to sing the well-known carols.

The theme of the Christian Aid Christmas appeal this year is “No room for Comfort and Joy” and it has been decided that due to the enormous increase in demand to help families in need, that we forgo the usual collection of toys etc and concentrate on increasing the donations of food items during the four weeks of the season of Advent, that begins on December 1st. An alternative way to support the Food Bank is to give a donation in cash or cheque to enable the organisers in Barry to purchase items that are in short supply. This has been used in recent months as an alternative to carrying heavy items to the collecting point in the church porch. Please support this appeal as best you can to enable as many families to enjoy the Christmas festivities, your donations can be placed in the secure post boxes in the church porch and the church hall. Thank you.

This year we are being encouraged to light up our windows at any time in the run up to Christmas, culminating with the Family Carol Service in the churchyard and church at 5.00 pm on Christmas Eve, followed by the First Eucharist of Christmas at St. Mary’s at 11.00pm. On Christmas Day the Eucharist will be celebrated at St. Bleddian’s at 9.30am. Sunday the 29th is the 5th Sunday of the month; the only service will be a celebration of the Eucharist at St. John’s in Sully at 11.00 a.m.

We have moved the announcements of the week, and any forthcoming event from the time when the priest is carrying out the ablutions at the altar to the short time before the service begins. It is thought that the present timing is too disruptive to the flow of the service, so there will be a welcome to those present and to those who are watching from home, also highlighting any forthcoming event which needs to be brought to the attention of the congregation

More dates for your diaries on forthcoming services at St. Mary’s… 2 nd Nov at 7pm – All Souls Service 10th Nov at 10am – Remembrance service 3rd, 10th & 17th Dec at 7pm at St Lythans – Advent Meditations with harp.

Thank you for reading the news from St. Mary’s. You are all welcome to call in and see for yourselves the heritage we have from the past, to inspire today’s generation and for the generations yet to come.

Parry Edwards




October Thursday Walks

 



THURSDAY WALKERS


Next Walk

 

Thursday October 3rd, a five mile walk
based around Ogmore if weather permits.
An alternative walk is available if
conditions are not suitable . Meet 1pm
Wenvoe Village Hall. Bert

All are welcome but you participate at your own risk

 

 



 

The Veg Gardeners Of Wenvoe Are Still Busy


THE VILLAGE GARDENER

 


The Veg Gardeners Of Wenvoe Are Still Busy


The RHS have made it quite clear that the use of water butts must be a priority for anyone with a garden. We are asked to be prepared and start storing ready for next year by fitting them to down pipes and add others to them as funds allow. It is said that up to 24,000 litres of rain falls on a roof throughout the year, with most over the Winter period.

Strulch, organic garden mulch, seems to be the next gimmick that advertisers say we can’t do without. It makes fantastic claims, which must be true, or they wouldn’t be allowed to say so. It is expensive and like any mulch will be absorbed into the soil over time. Options to this are plentiful, one could just spread old compost over the ground and even grass cuttings now and again and this time of year fallen leaves will do the same job. This I promise you will do more for your soil and less damage to the bank balance. Leave it on the shelf and buy more plants to cover any bare soil. If you really need to put straw on your beds, buy a bale from a farmer at a fraction of the price.

 

While working in Dyffryn the other week we were cutting back a big shrubbery where each year we leave all the clippings on the ground. This keeps the undergrowth manageable and by the Spring it has all disappeared. All the plants do well, without any other nutrients being added.

 

The gardens look a bit scruffy now. In this part of the country, we are still cutting the grass and weeds are growing as well as ever. Cutting back perennials, pulling out annuals and raking the leaves off lawns are must-do jobs. Take out the trays from under pots and lift them off the floor to stop water logging. You don’t need to buy those pot feet; a few stones will suffice. Cut roses back by half to stop the wind loosening the roots. The main pruning will be done in March when you need to take a little more care.

 

The veg gardeners of Wenvoe are still busy. Nicola will be dividing the rhubarb and adding well-rotted manure. Barry Harper takes hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries to replenish the older stock and Bernard cuts back the asparagus stems once they’ve yellowed. Don’t dig up the roots of peas and beans, they are a good source of nitrogen and will rot down in the soil. It’s the perfect time to plant garlic, an inch deep and be sure to label. You can tell it’s October as Northerner Mike Johnson can be seen in the churchyards collecting leaves to make leaf mould for next year. The allotmenteers have not had their best year. They say that the coolest summer for 9 years with only short spells of good weather were the main reasons.

 

There are some vacant plots at the allotments. There is nothing like growing your own fresh produce along with all the free advice you will ever need.

 

Thanks to all who entered the village show, without your participation it wouldn’t happen.

 

Take care and happy gardening

 

 

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

 



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