Category: New Items for October 2025

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Summer Surprise

WENVOE FORUM

Considering Tomorrow Today

Summer Surprise

Well, we certainly had a really good summer in ’25 and it brought with it for many gardener’s bumper crops. We have a plum tree and a damson tree neither of which had borne any fruit at all before this year, not a single plum or a single damson. But this year we were faced with a huge crop of both and apart from giving lots away we tried to find ways of preserving them for winter and turned to old recipe books. Our problem was that most of the preservation methods use a lot of energy and thus lots of carbon is released. So, it was a challenge to decide what to do.

Top of the list in terms of low carbon was Damson Gin, and fortunately wine making was also amongst the least energy hungry so that definitely was worth a try. Inexperienced as we are, the first batch went wrong and had to be discarded; the second batch seems to be working so keep your fingers crossed for us. Others were chutney and cordial, and I suppose because we would have the freezer on anyway freezing is not so bad.

One not so climate friendly product that I had to try, and which so far looks as though it could preserve our crop through the winter was dried damsons. Basically, these are like prunes but made with damsons, dried for hours in a very low oven. They are delicious, and I have a feeling we will not find out whether they would have lasted the winter.

I am told there are good crops of fruit in our community orchards, so here is a recipe for drying fruit.

How to Dry Apples and Pears

  1. Peel and core the fruit.
  2. Apples should be cut into ¼” (5mm) rings and pears into quarters. If pieces are all a similar size they will dry evenly.
  3. Make a salt solution, about 2 oz (56 g) of salt to each 1 gallon (4.5 litres) of water and put the fruit into it for a few minutes.
  4. Carefully lift the fruit out and pat fully dry with kitchen roll.
  5. Place the pieces of fruit in single layers on a drying tray (a grill pan tray will do the job)and cover
  1. Put into the oven at the lowest temperature you can get – 50°C/120°F/Gas Mark 0 for around 8 to 10 hours.
  2. Whilst the fruit is drying, keep the oven door open a crack to allow moisture to escape (use a wooden spoon) but be mindful of children or unsteady adults
  3. Check that the fruit is dry by pressing 2 or 3 pieces together and, if they feel rubbery and spring back into shape, they are ready.
  4. Remove from the heat source and leave covered for about 12 hours to cool in a dry place with some airflow if possible.
  5. Pack into boxes lined with greaseproof paper or, alternatively, airtight jars or containers and store in a very dry place.

NB There are recipes that dry fruit in the sunshine, but you need to find somewhere clean and airy and I suspect that pollution in the air would damage the resulting confectionary.

Wenvoe Hop Growers

Along with lots of fruit and veg in this very sunny summer of ’25 some of our hop growers had a good harvest this year. The brewing schedule had to be altered and brought forward a week because the hops were ready and would have been past their best had they been left till the traditional brew date. As well as the hops growing well, the group has grown as well with three members growing hops in the allotment. We had a total of 9.7kg, the most ever, which Pipes Brewery are brewing as we speak. I will let the group know when the Taff Temptress Beer is ready to taste.

The member of the group with the most Hops – Sue Hoddell with 2.59kg, second was Eirwen and Phil with 2.56kg then third, a new member Kelly Stevenson with 1.8kg.

If you are interested in joining the group please email: sianjo@btinternet.com

Sian Jones

To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the GwenFo 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 gwen-fo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join

Castell Carreg Cennen

Castell Carreg Cennen

Castell Carreg Cennen

We parked in the castle car park, near Llandeilo, and were thrilled to spot a kite soaring directly above us as we donned our boots. The castle and farm are currently owned by the Llewelyn family, but the castle is managed by Cadw.

It is one of the most picturesque castles in Wales. Viewers of Countryfile voted it the most romantic ruin in Wales. Apparently, many people get engaged here and there is a place to tie the knot. Standing on a limestone crag, almost 300ft above the valley of the River Cennen, a tributary of the River Towy, it dominates the skyline. Our walk was a circumnavigation of the castle.

It is possible that the first stronghold here was an Iron Age hillfort and in the 12th century the fortress was a status symbol. The Welsh and English fought over it until Edward I seized it, and later the Giffards built the impressive fortress that remains today. What survives is a combination of 13th century architecture and 19th century restoration, as the castle was deliberately demolished in the 1460s.

We walked past the tea rooms, uphill towards the entrance to the castle. This would be the best point, in the walk, to visit the castle, as it is an uphill climb from the tearoom. Following the Beacons Way, we arrived at woodland, Coed y Castell. This is on the southern slopes of the limestone crag and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a local Nature Reserve, due to the habitat supporting insects and birds such as the Pied Flycatcher and Woodpecker. The castle sits on a fault known as the Carreg Cennen Disturbance which stretches from the Marches to Pembrokeshire. As well as creating the limestone outcrop on which the castle stands it also produces an unusual feature; rocks on one side of the fault are limestone and dominated by ash trees and on the other side sandstone supports oak trees.

Limestone creates sinkholes as acid rain eats away at the limestone underground until the roof falls in and a sinkhole is established. There are also grassy craters made by our predecessors looking for limestone, which was heated to make a dressing for fields. The walk descended into the valley where we found fast flowing streams which we had not seen in a long time because of the summer’s dry spell. We gained excellent views of the castle as we climbed up to Beddau’r Derwyddon. Not really Druid’s graves, as the name implies, but man-made pillow mounds, which are earthworks built as rabbit warrens, to farm rabbits for their meat and fur.

We crossed Nant Llygad Llwchwr via a sturdy bridge, built by the Army, who do a lot of work on the footpaths, as they use the Black Mountain for training exercises. The many caves in the area make the Llygad Llwchwr popular with cavers.

Now we spread out to find comfortable spots to relax over lunch. Refreshed we climbed a long flight of steps up a hill. Outcrops of the black, burnt-looking fungus which is King Alfred’s cake and a red bracket fungus were spotted on trees.

It was a hot day and, when we came to a road, a splinter group decided to take a shortcut back to the castle, as we had been told that the tea rooms closed at 3 pm and they wanted a drink before going home.

The rest of us continued through the village of Trapp and passed Carreg Cennen farm. We followed footpaths across fields and noted that the countryside seemed lush and unspoilt even though it was farmed; it is difficult to put a finger on what was different, but it felt more natural than the carefully managed farmland we see in most places. The castle loomed over us, and the Beacons Way provided the route back to the beginning of the walk.

We had heard plenty of birdsong and seen several birds of prey and dainty harebells, as well as a sign warning that adders might be basking! Apparently 100,000 people visit the farm each year but only 40,000 people visit the castle.

The day had been hot and humid, and we were glad to discover that the tea rooms were in fact open until 4.45 pm (lunch served until 3pm). We were so happy some of us had both beer and ice-cream!

Walk 6.2m 1000ft Map OL14

 

2025 Wenvoe Village Show Results

2025 WENVOE VILLAGE SHOW RESULTS

Well, what a show that was! The sun was shining, and the entries came pouring in! We had a fab team of volunteers helping to put up the gazebos etc and register early entries on Friday evening and they were all back early Saturday morning to do it all again.

This was the best attended of the three shows we have organised, and it was lovely to get so many entries. The money raised for Wenvoe Wildlife Group from Anthony’s cafe, Mila’s lavender bags, the raffle and entry fees plus some donations came to a wonderful total of £1,217.30.

Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who volunteered, judged, sold and bought raffle tickets, donated raffle prizes, submitted entries and to those who came for a coffee and a chat outside in the sunshine.

We are so lucky to live in a supportive community which embraces these events and we are more grateful for that support than we could ever express. Time to start thinking about next year’s entries!

All in all, perfectly summed up by Brenig Davies – the winner of the limerick competition:

 

I walked around Wenvoe one day

Where the cakes and the veggies held sway

The tables were glowing

With cakes that were flowing

Glen’s brownies stole me away.

 

 


 

‘The Gentleman In Velvet’

‘The Gentleman In Velvet’

He was toasted as the ‘gentleman in velvet’ by the Jacobites. A recent classic book was called ‘The Boy, the ?, the Fox and the Horse. In Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas wrote:

‘The houses are blind as ? though ? see fine tonight in the snouting velvet dingles’

He was a leading character in the Wind in the Willows. The answer and missing word is, of course, Mole.

The Jacobites, who supported the deposed King James II, were delighted when in 1702 the then King William, died after his horse stumbled on a molehill. He suffered a broken collar bone when he fell and died a few weeks later. The Jacobites then traditionally raised a toast to ‘the wee gentleman in the velvet jacket;’ who had brought about his downfall.

These days moles tend to be seen as a nuisance when they create molehills on pristine lawns, cricket pitches and bowling greens. But for many centuries moles, once called ‘mouldywarps’, were valued for their fur which has a short, velvety texture. Particularly in Victorian times it was used for garments and accessories. So they were trapped in large numbers. The Molecatcher of Wenvoe is recorded as having killed 3,000 moles in 1932 and 3,400 the year before. (Nigel Billingham research).

The mole has a cylindrical body and very powerful forelimbs with claws like shovels making them strong diggers capable of tunnelling 20 metres a day. The tunnels help to aerate the soil and mix up the soil levels which is beneficial to other animals and plants. Their main diet is worms which they consume in large numbers but they also paralyse some with their saliva and stash them alive in ‘larders’ for later consumption.

So whether you are a Jacobite, nature or literature lover, why not drink a toast to our velvet friend?

“Managing Expectations” by Minnie Driver

OFF THE SHELF

“Managing Expectations” by Minnie Driver

We all really enjoyed this book. It is not an autobiography but rather accounts of episodes in Minnie Driver’s extraordinary life. It is hilarious, happy, poignant and sad. She writes so well about trying to understand the relationships and events that have formed her; her family and friends from England, New York, California and back again. Indeed, how she manages her life in good times and bad. From the very first sentence it is a page turner and hard to put down. We scored it 8/10 and highly recommend this book as a good read.

Tricia Coulthard

Blue Skies At Cosmeston

LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS

Blue Skies At Cosmeston

Waterproofs were not needed as the strollers gathered under blue skies at Cosmeston. Signs of Autumn were everywhere…fallen, golden leaves, red berries and bushes bulging with blackberries. Sweets were also in abundance as two birthdays were being celebrated!

 

 

“Perfect” by Rachel Joyce

 

“Perfect” by Rachel Joyce

Rachel Joyce wrote the bestselling novel of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, so the Page Turners had high expectations for another of her novels, “Perfect”. Perfect tells the story of two 11-year-old boys who plot to save their mother after she has a car accident; an accident she is not aware of. Class divisions, mental health, emotional abuse are some issues running through the book, culminating in a terrific twist at the end. Some Page Turners thought the book was a slow, unhappy, dreadful story with characters they couldn’t warm to or like. Others thought Perfect was a tragic, moving , well written novel with many characters who found themselves to be victims of their circumstances. It was scored a 6…so far from Perfect. What are your thoughts?

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