Category: New Items for May 2026

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Wenvoe Wheelers 10th Birthday!

WENVOE WHEELERS 10th BIRTHDAY!

Well, who would have believed that we would be celebrating 10 years as a cycling club back in 2016? I remember thinking I had better join since someone had gone to the effort of setting up a club where I live. There aren’t many of us who live in the village who are members, but we are now a club of around 200, most of whom live in Cardiff, Barry and surrounding areas. Most of our rides start at the Wenvoe Arms which is of course, our unofficial HQ and where we always have a warm welcome from Jenny and Digby. Indeed, on some Saturday afternoons you’d be forgiven for thinking it was our own clubhouse, with so many of us in the bar or the garden

We’ve been very busy over those last 10 years. We grew from a club of about 20 to 30 people, running two groups going out each Saturday morning to 4/5 groups now and around 60 plus riders. We have a social group who are the slowest and chattiest who do about 35/40 miles; our intermediate group who do about 40/50 miles; then our inbetweeners (so called because they are in-between the pace of the intermediate and steady groups) who do about 50+ miles and then the Steady group (speedsters) who will do anything over 60 miles at an average speed of 20 mph. Every group stops for coffee – otherwise there would be a mutiny, and we are always on the lookout for good coffee stops. Recent good finds are Colliers Rest just off the A472 and the Ynyswen Farm Shop just outside Treorchy where you can get a sublime ciabatta sausage sarnie. One of our favourites is Coffee Co at Ogmore which has a great cake and savoury selection, good coffee and a view! Our ride leaders are trained to lead our groups which involves a day in the classroom and on the road with British Cycling or Welsh Cycling and gives you a level 1 certificate.

Saturday morning rides can be a trip out to Llantwit Major, Ogmore, Porthcawl through the lanes or perhaps up to Llanwonno, Caerphilly via Draethen, or maybe out east starting from Newport Road to go to Usk or Monmouth. Further north, we can ride up and over the Bwlch (3 different ways) or the Rhigos which are significant climbs or something even tougher such as the Tumble just outside Abergavenny. We usually have a club weekender once a year which involves a 100ish mile ride on the Saturday an overnight stop and then a shorter ride back on Sunday. Recent destinations have been Hay-on-Wye via the Bwlch, Rhigos and Penderyn; Gloucester via the Gospel Pass; Portishead via Cheddar Gorge; Bath; Worcester; and the Mumbles. This year we are heading to the Isle of Wight for a complete circuit of the island but only the Steady group are riding there – as they are a bit mad.

We try and ride every Saturday morning but sometimes the weather defeats us and believe me there is nothing more miserable then fighting against a headwind in a downpour or hail (which is what we had for our 10th birthday ride on 11th April). What we really love of course is a nice sunny day with a gentle breeze.

We have a lot of members who ride abroad, whether just for fun or in a sportive event. A few are really intrepid: one of our members has done Paris-Brest-Paris – 1,200 km which has to be completed inside a certain time. Two of our members regularly do 400km plus events, last year’s mega ride involved starting in Italy and finishing in Finland inside the Arctic Circle.

One of the best things about the club is the friendships that have been made. It’s quite unusual I think to find ‘blokes of a certain age’ making new friends but that is definitely a thing in our club. We also have a healthy number of ladies in the club riding in all groups who have made lasting friends to the extent that many of us do stuff together outside of cycling, in actual clothes not Lycra.

 

And talking of Lycra, I guess you will have seen us in our blue and white kit. We get our club kit from Pactimo who make it to order and over the years we have had several design refreshers with subtle variations on the previous design. We are very pleased with our 10-year anniversary jersey which is a colour reversal i.e. blue on white, we think it looks great.

So, Happy Birthday to us! Here are some pictures of our recent birthday party at the Church Hall with one of our members providing the pizza – thank you very much to Backyard Dough Co. Absolutely fabulous pizzas, if you want to know

 

 

April Events

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

April Events

Due to the Church Hall being used for the Maundy Thursday Supper, we held our April meeting on March 26th and, after some initial mishaps with the paints, members showed their creative sides and, judging from the laughter and lively chatter, an enjoyable evening was had making Easter sun catchers.

Our next meeting is the AGM on May 7th when the Committee for the next year and President are elected.

Please make a note in your diaries of our June 4th meeting, at 7.30pm. This will be an open meeting with Roger Crookes, who has been working in the gardening industry for around 50 years, giving us a pictorial presentation titled ‘Enjoying the Power of Plants!’ celebrating many of the important (and sometimes surprising) benefits of plants to our lives. Watch out for further details.

Visitors and prospective members are always welcome to our meetings. Please ring 07881853032 for further details.

Carol Charlson (President)

Picking out the Positives

WENVOE FORUM

Considering Tomorrow Today

Picking out the Positives

So many stories, reports, opinion pieces and forecasts clamor for our attention and nag at our emotions. The news, it seems, is always bad and the potential consequences are always predicted to be dire either economically or environmentally and often both. It’s hard not to join in the weeping and the wailing so here is a positive story in the twists and turns of the road to electric vehicle dominance.

As has happened before, the sudden recent turbulence and the exposure of our dependence on the reliability of supply in the oil market, has raised consumer interest in electric vehicles. On previous occasions interest has subsided once the crisis was passed but this time “experts in the field”, policy makers, civil servants and academics suggest that for many consumers, the figures add up and the move to electric vehicles for the private car has passed what has been described as a tipping point in lower and middle income economies with the exception of China where government policies and interventions have been a significant factor.

This tipping point is fuelled by a number of factors with overall cost and convenience of use being high on the list. A 2025 report from BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, indicated that in much of Europe the lifetime cost of owning electric vehicles was already lower than their petrol/diesel equivalents for medium sized cars and cost savings for 1st, 2nd and third owners would very soon extend to small cars in response to market demand. Improved batteries and the development of the charging infrastructure have given the individual more confidence in their electric vehicle for greater distances travelled. It is also possible to use your EV as part of the household electricity system and smart use of its battery can reduce bills and help make best use of solar power generation if you have it.

As an individual one can feel heartened that it seems likely that now EV purchases are good economic sense for households who can also feel better about their carbon footprint and lower the air pollution not least in the vicinity of their own home. There are of course currently some other factors to address in the transition from fossil fuels to electric cars. The mining of required chemicals is often dangerous and not well regulated everywhere, the effect on local economies based on car manufacture can be badly affected if the transition is not well managed. But overall the transition to electric vehicles is seen as a positive step for the environment.

This article has been informed by a discussion paper from the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics (Elliot, Harper and Nguyen-Tien)

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

Barry Docks to Penarth Marina

Barry Docks to Penarth Marina

It was Easter weekend and we stayed local to avoid traffic. We started opposite the household waste centre in Barry, at Hayes point, on the edge of an exposed industrial area but walking through a gap in the verge we found ourselves on rocks at the top of a beach. High tide was recent, and the sea was lapping not too far away.

No-one else was near as we made our way east and looked back over the grey Bristol Channel towards Nell’s point in Barry, which with Friars point creates the sandy Whitmore Bay. Although it was cloudy the sun was peeping through small patches of blue sky and glinting on the sea. We passed the new flats at Hayes point and Ty Hafan children’s hospice, the latter being easy to spot with the colourful dog sculptures on the side of the building facing the sea.

At Sully the famous dinosaur footprints were away from the footpath. Before long the line of bungalows that skirt the beach were in sight and the day was getting brighter by the minute. A Millenium plaque presented by the W.I. to the left of the path helpfully oriented us and showed the directions of many places in the area such as Cardiff, Llancarfan, Steep Holme, Burnham on sea and Flat Holme.

We passed the open spaces around Sully sports and social club and then had to head inland to get around a caravan park. Our return to the coast was the muddiest stretch of the day but at least it was soft underfoot. As we returned to the coast Sully island came into view and we could see people on its beach who must have been out there for some hours and possibly overnight – we guessed they were fishermen. The temptations of the café and the Captain’s Wife public house were safely passed as we continued.

Lavernock point beckoned with the 20-acre nature reserve which surrounds a second world war anti-aircraft gun battery complex. A variety of plants and butterflies thrive here and Lavernock is a good place to observe migrating birds. In the autumn flocks of swallows, redwing, fieldfare and finches can be seen. A wooden bench with a leaf on its back support and a carved inscription to Colin Vyvyan ‘ a volunteer who loved this nature reserve’ was unusual.

We were planning to have lunch on the beach but decided to head for the church instead as a breeze was coming off the sea. We basked in the heat of the sun as we ate and then explored the information available. This was where Marconi and Kemp exchanged the first radio messages across water between Lavernock and Flat Holme on 11th May and Lavernock and Breadon Down on 18th May 1897.

From here Penarth is north and we stayed on the coast, meeting more people as we neared the clifftop car park. Just before the clifftop café, we headed inland to take the Penarth Railway path, which follows the route of the old Cadoxton branch line,between Cosmeston and Penarth town centre. At one point there is a row of interesting terraces either side of the footpath each terrace has a different name.

During the walk we saw a surprising number of plants including blue borage, purple honesty, and lots of blackthorn with its white flowers.

Once in the busy centre we kept away from the shops and climbed streets leading to the top of a hill where there is a small garden dedicated to seafarers. Tall Iroko posts with holes drilled form ‘Bee hotels’ for solitary bees. Large stones have images of tattoos associated with sailors and a plaque explains their significance: Swallow guarantees a safe return; Golden dragon is the international date line; chicken and pig protect from drowning; anchor signifies stability, loyalty and honour; heart and dagger signify a lost comrade.

 

A view of Penarth Marina and Cardiff Bay with the expanse of the sea opens from here. St Joseph’s park is a traffic-free route connecting Penarth, the Marina and Cardiff and we descended through it to the Marina where our leader and his wife invited us to enjoy homemade cookies and chocolate cake adorned with Easter chicks with our teas and beers. A splendid end to an interesting walk

Walk 7.3 miles 500ft. Map OS151.

Wenvoe Wildlife Group Summer Birdwatch

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Wenvoe Wildlife Group Summer Birdwatch

Sunday 17th – Saturday 23rd May

Many What’s On readers have taken part in previous winter birdwatches in the parish and last year for the first time we also carried out a summer birdwatch.

Following this year’s winter birdwatch we are now planning our second summer birdwatch which will take place between Sunday 17th and Saturday 23rd May. The aim is to gather more information on the birds that are in the parish and compare our summer and winter findings.

We really do need your involvement! You only need to give up one hour of your time during the seven days. We have spread the birdwatch over a whole week to give people the best opportunity to take part. It does not get dark in mid-May until about 9.00pm, so plenty of time in the evenings to carry out your birdwatch!

All you need to do is to spend one hour recording the birds you see in your garden. So, for example, if you saw one blackbird on its own five times that counts as one. If you saw two blackbirds together at the same time, that counts as two and so on.

Then all you need to do is send your results to nigelrbillingham@yahoo.co.uk or bruce7@bt internet.com as soon as you can including your postcode and the date you carried out the birdwatch. The postcode helps us log what type of birds are in the different areas of Wenvoe. Don’t worry if your bird knowledge is limited, there are plenty of identification guides online.

If you would like to carry out a second birdwatch you could do this in one of the eight Wildlife Group’s sites which are listed below. This could be carried out on your own or in a small group on a day of your choosing within the above dates. Why not take a picnic whilst counting the birds? If you would like to do this, please let us know which site you are interested in, and we will ‘book you in’ to avoid duplication

We are delighted to say that the village school will also have one class taking part during the week.

The eight Wenvoe Wildlife Group sites are: Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard, Elizabethan Orchard, Wild Orchard, Welsh Orchard, Goldsland Orchard, Watercress Beds and the Bee Loud Glade.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

It All Kicks Off In The Garden

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

It All Kicks Off In The Garden

This is the month where it all kicks off in the garden. Warmer weather brings out all the pests we will be fighting against for the rest of the growing season. Most of the slug eggs will be baby slugs within 2 weeks and ready to forage straight away. Green fly will be attacking the soft leaves on our roses, with my neighbour telling me not to spray as the ladybirds will eat them. Unfortunately, by the time the cavalry turns up these days the damage is done. Timing seems to be out of sync in the world of nature to deal naturally with pest control. With fewer small birds around to help, green fly are having a good time.

The colder weather during the middle of April caught out those who put in their bedding plants because of some good weather over Easter. Just be patient and wait for Mr Brockway to give you the all clear. Keep hardening them off and they will come on in no time when the weather’s right. One thing you shouldn’t delay is cutting back your Spring flowering shrubs as most produce their flowers for next year on this year’s growth so if you want to keep the shrubs in shape and manageable start trimming. Because of a cooler spell after Easter my hanging baskets have been slow to fill but as any nurseryman worth his salt will tell you, do not put baskets out until the 1st of June. They will definitely flower longer and be healthier

Here we go with lazy bones homeowners advocating No Mow May. When you hear the reasons that naturalists give it makes good sense. But when June arrives and your house looks like no one has occupied it for a while you will have ticks biting your limbs when you’re rummaging around in the long grass trying to find the lawn mower you discarded at the end of April. Then you try and cut it which sends mice and other vermin scurrying for cover while the machine that was so efficient at keeping the lawn cut before chokes up and stalls under the enormity of the task. When you’ve finally cut it and look at your handiwork it bears no resemblance to the lawn you once had. Grass was meant to be cut. Cattle, horses, geese and goats all graze it while sheep munch it down to root level and it bounces back stronger. Have a small wild patch instead with a mixture of meadow grasses that will benefit insects.

This is the time of year to get the kidney bean seeds in. They’re easy to grow and with a little care will give you enough beans to freeze for use over winter. Grow these in tubs with a few sticks for support and water well. Second crops of peas along with carrots will keep the veg coming for months. Later grown carrots are better in raised beds or pots to avoid the dreaded carrot root fly.

Take care and happy gardening.

Twinning with Squeal Piggy

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Twinning with Squeal Piggy

Wenvoe’s twinning with Squeal Piggy in the state of Deliverance USA, has meant that the village cultural attaché along with a chosen few, have flown stateside to forge bonds with our American cousins.

Because of this exodus, it has fallen on those left behind determined not to let this historic event pass us by. So, to impress our American cousins, the Environment Team, with some extra help and rooting tooting cowgirl Judy, put on a line dance routine reminiscent of a Black Friday sales event in Currys. Unlike a flash mob who appear out of nowhere then disappear without trace, this lot took hours to arrive by all manner of transport and an hour after the event they were still to be seen leaning on anything that would hold them up! They might be mad to put themselves forward for this, but Wenvoe is a better place for it.

Those who had the energy left, cut the hedge around the memorial and trimmed some shrubs back.

We meet again, with no surprises, on 11th May at the Community Centre.

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