Category: News

April Report

 

Our Easter celebrations began with a memorable Palm Sunday procession from the Church Hall, complete with music from pipe and drum and singing “Make way, make way for Christ the King”. This was our way of re-enacting Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted with palms and garments strewed on the ground. The only thing missing was the “ass the foal of an ass”..so maybe next year – who knows. (Jon take note). With our palm crosses blessed and held high we began that journey into Holy Week with special services, the Agape Supper, the Good Friday services where at the children’s service in the morning they decorated a bare wooden cross with daffodils in bud which had opened by Easter day itself. As in previous years the church was beautifully decorated with flowers and Easter lilies donated by members of the congregation in memory of loved ones, no longer with us. A special thank you to all who prepared the church for the most important service in the church’s calendar.

Another major event in the church’s year is the Annual Vestry Meeting, where the Parish Report is presented to the congregation as an account of what has taken place during the year. It is also the time when the Churchwardens and Officers of the Church and Sidespeople are appointed. This year we have had a change of wardens, Jenny Ford has stepped down and was thanked for all the work she has done in her years of office, and Carol Wyllie has been appointed as Rectors Warden, Sandra Dicks was re -elected as People’s Warden. The compilation of the Parish Report falls on many shoulders, covering all aspects of the happenings in the Church’s Year, and thanks go to Jenny for taking on this task as she prepared to hand over her work to Carol.

The main item in the report is the Incumbent’s Report, where the parish priest gives his take on the events during the past year. Thanks were given for all the willing help Jon has received during the year and he in turn thanked many people for their support and willingness in preparing the church for the wide range of services we now have week by week. Jon then read his report to the 9.30am Eucharist congregation on the 3rd Sunday of Easter when the Commissioning of Churchwardens, the PCC, Officers of the Church and Sidespeople took place.

The Building Committee recently met with our newly appointed Architect, Richard, with a site meeting to discuss the proposed drainage scheme in the churchyard along the South wall of the Nave, and East wall where there are two table tombs dating from the 18th century were considered to be in the way of adequately draining the proposed “French drains” into the “soakaways”. After much discussion and exchange of views, and an inspection of the internal wall adjacent to the Altar, it was decided not to proceed with an additional faculty as walls appear to be dry. There was a collective sigh of relief as this would have put a strain of our available building funds, and the enormous amount of permissions needed to move gravestones and even exhumations.

The churchyard is looking at its best, despite all the snow and cold winds, we experienced during March, this is due to the work Mike Tucker has put in since he started work in January. During a recent visit from our Archdeacon, she was not very happy with all the lovely daffodils planted in the graves, as in her opinion, they are not suitable according to churchyard regulations. Long may they remain there I say.

The PCC has had a response from Wenvoe Community Council to the ongoing saga of the sycamore tree, near to our churchyard boundary wall and have offered to lop some of the overhanging branches, this will be up for discussion and response at the next PCC meeting in May.

Lent Lunches and Agape Supper – An item in the in church weekly newsletter in April is worth sharing with our wider number of readers….. “Grateful thanks to everyone who contributed to making this year’s Lent Lunches and Agape Supper a success. To all who worked hard setting out the hall, making and serving delicious homemade soups, then of course washing up. Also thanks to everyone who supported the lunches and gave a total generous donation of £396.95 to Christian Aid.”

A timely reminder… the annual Christian Aid Appeal will be launched with a “Big Breakfast” on Saturday 12th May in the Community Centre. The following week will see the house to house collections. Please give generously to this appeal, so many people far worse off than we are really depend on the support they are given from your giving.

Thank you for taking time to read this.

Parry Edwards

 

 

Date Days

Date days to offer families the chance to learn languages, crafts and circus skills in exciting new pilot

Families in the Vale are being offered the chance to do something different together this summer as part of a pilot scheme being run by the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Creative Rural Communities Team.

The team are piloting ‘Date Days’ offering activities for school-aged children and their parents or guardians to try out together. These include French language classes, crafts, cooking, outdoor learning, relaxation, dance, circus skills and even military fitness sessions.

Cllr Jonathan Bird, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, said: “The feedback our Creative Rural Communities team received from residents made clear that children in rural communities need more opportunities to do activities. That’s why we are now piloting this new scheme.

“As well as the chance to try something new, we hope it will offer a break from the stresses of everyday life and allow families to spend some quality time together. It could even be the start of a new lifelong family hobby!”

This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the Welsh Government and the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The pilot will run from April until October. The activities will take place in four communities in the rural Vale: St Athan, Wenvoe, Rhoose and Ystradowen. There are a range of activities in Wenvoe including French language classes, Indian / Chinese cookery, circus skills, fitness and teambuilding challenges , forest school taster session and a stained glass workshop.

Families can find more information and book places at www.creativeruralcommunities.co.uk/datedays or via the ‘Creative Rural Communities’ Facebook page.

 

 

Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair

WENVOE SPRING CRAFT FAIR
Sunday 20th May

The Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair on Sunday 20 May is now nearly upon us and we are very excited! Entry is free so come and join us between 10am and 4pm at Wenvoe Community Centre and see a selection of excellent hand crafted items made by talented local crafters. You can buy gifts for the special people in your life or spoil yourself with something you wouldn’t find on the High Street. We have 25 traders attending including the Vale Cider company (who will be giving taster sessions), Tricycle Treats 1940’s Style stop-me-and-buy-one ice cream Trike selling delicious, locally sourced ice cream and we’ve even got a bit of science for the children. The Village Gardener will be there with a good selection of plants for sale and will be delighted to answer questions from visitors and Gwyndaf Breese makes a welcome return with an amazing array of his hand turned/carved wood crafts. We have body products, scented candles, jewellery, basketware, needle felted artwork ( these are gorgeous!), preserves sold in aid of the homeless, amazing preserved roses, peg art, hand drawn acetate greeting cards, hand made fudge (in the most incredible flavours and home made salted caramel sauce too), textile crafts and more.

The proceeds of the charity raffle this time will go to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group who will have a representative on hand with information about their very valuable work in the village. The latest prize acquired for the raffle is a voucher for Afternoon Tea for Two at the lovely Romilly’s Coffee shop at The Knap in Barry. Other prizes include a coffee table made by Gwyndaf Breese, a picnic carrier stocked with melamine table ware, a table cloth and a bottle of prosecco, a small garden incinerator filled with gardening goodies, an iced, home made and hand decorated cake, a Waitrose Teapot bird feeder, a bottle of dissarono, costume jewellery and lots more.

There will be hot and cold drinks on offer from the kitchen along with a selection of Home Made cakes which will include chocolate brownies, Victoria Sandwich, Lemon Drizzle, Walnut and Maple syrup cake, Terry’s Chocolate Orange cake, Cappucino cake and Ferrero Rocher cake along with Cheese Scones if you prefer something savoury.

This will be a lovely, community day so come along and catch up with old friends or make some new ones! You will all be so welcome, we hope to see you there. If you miss this one you will have to wait until November for the Wenvoe Christmas Craft Fair – how can you wait that long?

For more information you can contact the organisers, Glenys and Mike Tucker on 0792210972 or contact us on Facebook through the events page which can be found under Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair.

 

 

The Children’s Story

 

When Our Children Tell Their Story, They’ll Tell the Story of Tonight

Being a teenager can sometimes be terrifying. But when we say terrifying, we mean being terrified of showing up to a party severely overdressed, or earning a bad grade at something we believe we ought to excel at, or even being terrified of stress and our own mental health. We never mean being terrified of being shot at our place of education. That is a fear which should not be reserved for anyone, especially not the youth of today.

I’m not American. I’ve never experienced gun-violence. But it doesn’t stop my compassion from throwing itself in aid of my fellow teenagers across the pond. I mean, Eliza Gonzales and the revolutionary teens storming America and conducting the ‘March For Our Lives’ seem to be handling the battle. But, they shouldn’t have to be. It’s not a fight they should have to be a part of. They shouldn’t have to continue making speeches and urging the adults in Congress who should be looking after them to stop gun violence. They should be terrified of falling on their face in heels, in the same way we fear in Britain. They shouldn’t have to be fighting for their lives.

I’ve spoken about gun violence before. The fact that I’m having to re-iterate so soon afterwards is a sign in itself that America is struggling. They shouldn’t be having an annoying Welsh girl telling them how to run their country. They should be aware of the many thousands of children who have died in mass shootings in schools across the US. They should be aware that by not doing anything, they are enforcing a death sentence on the many who only wish for an education.

Although I was not marching, my solidarity is with all those who did. To those not only in America, but all over the world. To those in London and Edinburgh and Belfast. To those in Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Israel, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Ghana, Mozambique, Puerto Rico and Canada: I stand with you.

There’s not much more I can say, except I hope they hear you and make a change. It’s too late for those who’ve lived through it, but maybe a change can protect those lucky enough to know nothing of American school shootings.

Maybe being lucky shouldn’t be the default. I know one thing for certain: I love the fact that I am part of such a strong generation. That when I look at the news I see the strong character you could only write about in films that are my age. My hope is that this has paid off. But I can only wish that those affected can finally get protection.

Protect kids. Not guns. Please.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

 

 

Village Show

 

 

As you may know, for many years now the Scouts have made sure that the village show runs smoothly but have now decided to end their involvement. This year they are handing it over but the 'show will go on'. In order to make sure that it remains an event embedded in the community, it will be run in association with the library and other local groups.

The categories for entries are very similar to the previous years and will shortly be published so keep your eyes posted! There may also be some new events that will engage the community and fill the day. These may include story time for the children and adults, fancy dress events and wildlife walks. Many hands make light work in an event like this, so if you feel that you would like to be involved, please contact us and we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in tough with Heulwen or Sue on the following numbers:- Heulwen 07411178797, Sue 07880936301

I am sure that we can make this years event an occasion to be remembered. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there

 

 

ARTHURIAN LEGENDS IN WENVOE!

 

In autumn last year Wenvoe residents Eirwen Malin and Phil Thomas held the first of a planned series of house concerts featuring some of Wales’ finest storytellers. The next concert will take place at their home in Old Port Road on 17th May 2018 at 7.00pm and will feature a unique telling of the Arthurian legend ‘The tale of Jaufre’ by Storyteller and singer Anne Lister. This project forms part of a PhD thesis she is working on at the University of South Wales.

She first came across Jaufre while studying medieval French and Occitan at Warwick University, and was immediately struck by the way it has lost nothing of its liveliness and humour over the centuries. Jaufre is a rather serious young man, frequently caught off guard by events, but determined to succeed, and do the Right Thing.

Jaufre arrives at King Arthur’s court in time to witness an insult to the king, and promises to bring the villain, the very unpleasant Taulat de Rogimon, to justice. Along the way he meets the exceedingly beautiful Brunissen and falls in love—but there are giants to deal with, and demons, and dwarves, and a mysterious damsel with an underwater kingdom.

Although written at the court of Aragon, the romance was written in the Occitan language, which was usually reserved for troubadour poetry, and there has been much critical discussion as to whether it was always the only Arthurian romance in this language or whether we have, in fact, lost others. Some of the elements of this story will be familiar, if you know the tales of King Arthur, but—and this is where it becomes intriguing—not all of them. Some are unique to Jaufre. The tale survived in two complete manuscripts and some fragments, and went on to be re-told in chapbooks in both French and Spanish, and then later in a 19th century English translation. The Spanish chapbook was, apparently, one of the books to be found in the library of Don Quixote. The tale has also turned up in the Philippines, in oral tradition.

The entire tale would take far more than one evening to tell, and so it is fortunate that the romance is divided into episodes which can be related separately. If you think that all this sounds rather dry and academic then you could not be further from the truth! Anne says that the story is “..More Monty Python than Mists of Avalon … this is a richly comic tale and was probably always intended to be so”.

Anne Lister has many years’ experience as a folk singer and storyteller ( you can find out more at www.annelister.com ) and the house concert will be a rare opportunity to hear an experienced performer in an intimate setting. There is no ticket price as such. We would ask for a donation to cover costs and the storyteller’s fee. Any surplus will be donated to The Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival.Places will be limited to 25 so please email philipthomas664@gmail.com or call 07870 212437 by 10th May to reserve a place and receive address details – last time we sold out! Please note – this is storytelling for adults. It is not intended for under 14s, but accompanied older children will be welcome. We hope to see you.

 

 

AGM Report

The Neighbourhood Watch AGM was held on 21 February with 18 members present and items from the discussion included:

There was a review of the Open Evening held in October 2017 for new Residents to the village and hosted by the Watch and the Community Council. It was felt that the evening had been successful and residents had been recruited to be co-ordinators for the new and growing areas of the village. With the increasing size of the village it was noted that the Community Council were proposing to erect notice boards in the new estates. The Watch was encouraged to use them to seek additional co-ordinators and provide information to residents.

The process of erecting Neighbourhood Watch signs in both The Grange and St Lythans Park estates had commenced. It involves completing documentation to obtain approval from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

We received reports on the following issues which were followed up where possible:

• Flooding at the entrance to St Lythans Park.

• Use of footpaths by horse riders and a particular incident when the Glamorgan Hunt was the perpetrator.

• All day parking in Brooklands Terrace by non-residents and subsequent litter problems.

• Vandalism of a new wall at Cambrian Park.

 

Warning of a scam

The Safer Vale Partnership has made us aware of a group of scams in the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff. A typical example is:

The victim was telephoned at 9.00am on a Monday morning at the end of February by a male who said he was Detective Inspector Collins, force number BE1263, from the Metropolitan Police and that her Lloyds bank account had been compromised. She was told that if she wished to confirm his identity she should ring 161, which she did. Another male answered giving his ID as Detective Inspector Martins.

They told her that they needed her to withdraw £8300 from her account which they would then arrange to be collected from her address. The victim went to her bank at lunchtime and withdrew the money telling the cashier it was for house alterations.

A courier attended and collected the money at 2.00pm. He did not give a receipt and the victim has not heard from Police Officers since.

In other cases victims were told their cards had been cloned, they had been subject to fraud or a family member had been arrested. In all cases the caller claimed to be a detective and was very convincing. South Wales Police say that these scammers are extremely persuasive, use elaborate stories and can target anyone not just the elderly.

The Police ask everyone to be on their guard and to warn family members, especially those more

vulnerable.

Residents should be aware of such an approach and contact the Police via 101, or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, if it occurs.

Alan French

 

 

SNOW HIGHLIGHTS

I am sure for many the recent snow brought inconvenience, worry and hassle. Despite that here are my snow highlights:-

 Sledging (on a plastic lid!) with my three year old granddaughter Delyth down Church Rise – the first time she had seen proper snow. She loved it.

 The snow bringing in less common bird visitors to our garden such as redwing, fieldfare and brambling.

 The atmosphere in the Wenvoe Arms on the Friday and Saturday when lots of families called in for drinks and food after time on the Wenvoe piste.

 My daughter’s garden snowball igloo that with a lighted candle inside looked magical after dusk.

 The lovely scenes on a walk in the snow to the Horse and Jockey on the Sunday.

 

Did any other readers see less common wildlife in their gardens during the snow?

Nigel Billingham

 

 

1 … 100 101 102 103 104 … 117