Category: News

Memories of Christmas  

Memories of Christmas  Etc

How was your Christmas of 2024? Was it spent with family and friends gathered around the table groaning with turkey and pigs in blankets, followed by lashings of Christmas Pudding. Or is it but a pleasant memory of an event which often begins with the carols on the radio heard in mid November and the stores filled with Christmas decorations from early September. The secular world starts its annual observance of the birth of Jesus months before the 25th of December, and yet by the 26th, the carols have stopped playing, the stores hope that the shelves will be empty, and what is left are subject to heavy discounting. How different is the celebration of Christmas in church,. First we have the short season of Advent to prepare for Christmas, the lighting of the Advent candles Sunday by Sunday tells us that we need patience before we get to the big day.

In the church’s calendar Christmas is followed by Epiphany, with the visit of the three magi, who having followed the star which lead them to the baby Jesus, with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Having been warned in a dream that Herod the king intended to kill all first born baby boys, the Holy Family left for sanctuary in Egypt and the magi returned to their distant lands. Lyndon in his sermon showed the congregation the empty stable wherein the Saviour of the World was born but now completely empty of man and beast.

In Tudor times it was the custom to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas after the big day, with much feasting and jollification. Now we celebrate long before the day and are only too anxious to put away decorations, make the left over turkey into sandwiches, curries and the like. But in church St. Mary’s like all churches continue to celebrate the Birth of Jesus until the feast of Candlemas on the February 2nd. By tradition it was on this day that all the candles used in church for the coming year were blessed, hence the name, and Christmas of 2024/25 was finally laid to rest.

Looking back we had a good celebration here in Wenvoe, our carol service of Nine Lessons and Carols set the scene with the true story of Christmas. The church was well attended for the services on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning at St. Bleddians. We thank everyone who helped with decorating the churches, those who arranged the services, chose the carols and hymns, read the lessons, and generally helped to make sure that all went without a hitch. Diolch Thankyou.

Now we turn our thoughts to the year 2025, and there is much to plan for but first we have the season of Lent which begins with the ASH Wednesday ceremonies on March 5th. as itemised below..

Lent 2025

Ash Wednesday, 5th March 10am – St Mary the Virgin, Wenvoe– Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes 7pm –- St John the Baptist, Sully – Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes This is the day we

begin our penitential season of Lent with the remembrance that we are mortal symbolized by receiving ashes on the forehead.

Lenten Weekday Eucharist on Wednesdays at 10am, 1st and 3rd Wednesday in Wenvoe & 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in Sully.

Lenten Meditation An opportunity to deepen our inner life – 30 minutes of silence bracketed with prayers. Please note rotating locations. Come to some or all.

Mondays 4:30-5pm at St Bleiddian’s Church, St Lythans – March 10, 17, 24, 31 April 7

Tuesdays 4:30-5pm at St Mary’s Church, Wenvoe. –March 11, 18, 25 ;April 1 8

Wednesdays 4:30-5pm at St John’s Church, Sully. – March 6, 13, 20, 27 April 3 (Not on 10 April)

The arrangements for the celebration of Easter will be in the March edition of “What’s On”.

During the year our faithful congregation have supported a number of charities with donations of money collected when need arises. Among these are Ty Hafan, in Sully at Christmas Time, the Royal British Legion at Remembrance tide and during the year our main charity we support is Christian Aid. Jude Billingham is our contact with the Christian Aid and we thank her and her team of helpers with organizing the collecting buckets and the counting and verifying monies donated. The response to Christian Aid is community wide and we are very grateful for this and for the Gift Aid declarations which swell the donation by a further 25%. We are confident that the money given does reach the intended communities who are suffering from many causes often by climate change or natural disasters.

See Jude’s account of the Christmas 2024 appeal below.

There will be much more to report in future editions of “What’s On” and we thank the team for all the hard work and hours they put in to ensure that your copy is with you towards the end of the month.

But for now, thank you for reading the church news. A welcome awaits you to join in our services.

Every Blessing on you and your families

 

Parry

 

Five Mile Lane’s Hidden Past

FIVE MILE LANE’S HIDDEN PAST

Most of us will have been familiar with the old narrow twisty, turny, downright dangerous section of the A4226 “Five Mile Lane” immediately north of Barry. The Vale of Glamorgan Council had plans to improve this section of road but before construction could commence a range of environmental studies had to be undertaken.

It has been long known that this area has a rich historical heritage spanning the preceding 6000 years. Witness the evidence provided by the neolithic burial chambers at St Lythans and Tinkingswood, the unearthing of various Bronze and Iron Age structures and artifacts locally and the well known remains of Roman villas at Barry Knap and Witton Lodge, the latter being actually on the alignment of the Five Mile Lane.

So, alongside special environment studies, the Council and the Welsh Assembly Government commissioned the archaeological investigations firm Rubicon Heritage in the period 2017 to 2019 to add to the knowledge previously gained in earlier studies.

The “dig” undertaken by Rubicon encompassed the full extent of the footprint of the envisaged new road. The revealed treasure trove of burials (some 456 in number), artifacts, foundations of buildings and the like exceeded all expectations. In fact, beyond the pre-historic and Roman attributes, it also revealed a surprising glimpse into early medieval life (5th to mid 13th centuries).Prior to this study that medieval period of Welsh history had been poorly understood. For instance it was found that during this period pre-historic burial mounds were re-purposed as witnessed by some 378 burials in that period. This image is of a Medieval Christian burial located within a re-used Bronze Age burial monument.

In summary, the dig uncovered a previously unknown multi-period landscape which has been used in many ways since humans first settled in this area.

The archaeologists were able to trace the development of this swathe of land, uncovering many surprises along the way.

One cannot help but wonder how much more of our history lies buried in the Vale of Glamorgan for future generations to discover.

The purpose of this article has been to present a brief overview of the study and the findings to date. For a comprehensive insight visit https://www.rubiconheritage.com/ publications-and-articles.html and follow the links to Volumes 1 and 2 of their Five Mile Lane articles.

Alternatively, copies of those publications have been placed in the Wenvoe Hub for reference.

Tony Hodge, who thanks Rubicon for permission to reproduce the illustrations.

Fun Fact: The Five Mile Lane as we know it is only four miles long. The missing mile is now Pontypridd Road, Barry.

Cows Bulls And Other Challenges

COWS BULLS AND OTHER CHALLENGES

As we walked into the quiet village of Rhémes Notre Dame in the Italian Aosta valley the village clock rang out the time. It was half-past three in the afternoon and still very hot. The sundial on the church spire looked down on us with the inscription “Nos jours passent comme l’ombre” or our days pass like shadows.

Footpath Along the Alta Via 2 High-Level Route

We were hiking a high-level route through the Italian alps and this was day six, so we were now fairly fit. Our route was called the Alta Via 2 which runs across the grain of the alps, it took my wife Isobel and me ten days and we walked 143 km. Much of the route passes through the Gran Paradiso National Park and the paths in many places are well made because in 1856 King Vittorio Emanuele 2 had created a Royal Game Reserve and tracks had been laid to allow his entourage to move easily between the hunting lodges. This ensured good hunting for the King but also protected the native Ibex and chamois which were in decline. The ibex, in particular, was hunted because it was regarded as a “walking pharmacy “as their blood, horns, bones and even droppings were used in a variety of remedies. The paths were now two hundred years old, but in parts, the ancient paving was still in place that was originally laid so that the baggage train of mules carrying cooks, food and cooking equipment could be set up in the hunting lodges before the arrival of the royal party. When we found these paths still in good condition, they speeded up our pace considerably.

Our hotel the Galisia, was in the centre of this small pretty village and we soon settled in and ordered cold beers to drink in the sunny garden. We chose a table and sat down to relax and stretch our legs after the hard day of hiking. But no sooner had we settled than there was a virtual eclipse as the sun disappeared. We realised that we were in a high sided valley and the whole valley was now in shade. The lack of sun also meant that the clothes we had worn and washed were now not drying as we hoped – but worse things have happened. Our stay in the Galisia was comfortable and the supper they served was tasty and substantial. With coffee we drank Genepy the “digestif” flavoured with wormwood which grows wild on the alpine pastures. It was a fitting end to my birthday.

The next morning, my diary records, that breakfast was a spartan affair with no meats or cheese, just bread and jam and coffee. So, we did not linger as the pass we had to climb was at 2840 metres and we were at 1722 metres. There was a challenging vertical kilometre to climb before midday. Our path out of the village soon led to a narrow wooded valley down which a stream tumbled. We zig-zagged steeply up through the pine trees until the path levelled off and we got our breath back. This was pleasant walking and we had made a good dent into the height we had to climb.

We soon came to pasture with a small shepherd’s hut and around it was a herd of Valdostana Castana, the native cows of the area which are noted for their “vivacious and warlike temperament”! We have met many types of cows over the years and our standard tactic is to take a long detour around them, however frustrating that can be. But on this occasion, we were constricted by the raging torrent of a stream on our left and a high cliff to the right of the path. Now some cows will continue to chew the cud as you approach, others will drift away out of timidity but this small herd of about fifteen full-grown animals were walking fast towards us. There are many records of walkers being trampled to death in these circumstances, so we decided to back off and retraced our steps. Just behind us was a large rock about the size of a delivery van. I called to Isobel to climb up fast – she replied that she could not do that with her rucksack on. Her back was to the cows as she considered the sides of the rock upon which I was now perched. When I said that the cows were now very close, she suddenly found that she could climb up and join me after all. From this safe but uncomfortable stance, we could see that the leader of the herd was a large bull with horns about four feet across. He was now pawing the brown dry soil with his forefeet and eyeballing us from about thirty feet. I felt he would have been able to get at us where we were so I suggested to Isobel that we drop over the large boulder to the streamside where there was a ledge before the long drop to the stream below. Isobel replied quite firmly that she was not able to climb over to the ledge where I was now standing. Then the bull moved forward and suddenly Isobel found the strength and courage to vault the top of the boulder and join me on the ledge while avoiding looking at the drop to the stream. Being safe we now began to see the funny side of things and so we shared some sweets and the minutes passed by. Before long the bull had been lured away by some pretty cows and we were able to climb back down to the path. We did reach the col, or high point, before midday and only stopped for a bowl of polenta at a high mountain refuge before descending to our day’s objective the attractive but modest ski resort of Valgrisenche, where we celebrated our safe arrival with two large pink Magnums.

 

Tucker’s Wartime Spring Plant Sale

TUCKER’S WARTIME SPRING PLANT SALE

Saturday 10th May

 

This year’s Spring Plant sale falls very close to the VE80 anniversary which is on 8 May. This commemorates the 80th anniversary of the cessation of fighting in Europe. Fighting would rage on in Japan until surrender came on 15 August 1945 which finally ended WW2. The usual array of plants will be on sale outside the church hall and there will be hustle and bustle inside the church hall too. The hall will be decorated inside and out with celebratory bunting, there will be music from the era playing inside and there will be refreshments with a chance for visitors to buy a sheet of ‘ration tickets’ which they can use to sample some food made from typical wartime recipes. There may be some under the table brownies and cakes available too but don’t tell anyone about that. Penalties are hard for Black Marketeers. If you wish to dress in clothes sympathetic to wartime we would be delighted.

There will be the usual raffle but running parallel to that will be another raffle which will have prizes which would have been treasured during wartime restrictions. You still only pay once but every winning ticket gets a prize from each table. There will be posters and information sheets around the walls. Glenys recorded older residents talking about their memories of WW2 in 2020 for planned celebrations for VE75 but Covid stopped that so there will be some transcripts for people to read on the day too. You may even like to have a go at ‘pin the cigar on Churchill’.

As usual the proceeds from the raffle and some proceeds from the plants and refreshments will go to our charity of choice which is the Wenvoe Wildlife Group to help enable them to carry out the much needed work they do in and around our village. We would love to see as many of you as possible on the day and hope you will join in with the spirit of the occasion. Mark your calendar!

Christmas Appeal

CHRISTMAS APPEAL

“Considering others during Advent”  

Many thanks to all who donated to this appeal for the Sudan via Christian Aid and for the Vale Foodbank.

Many kindly gave for the Sudan including some donations from Sully. We are very pleased to let you know that we collected £473.24 including gift aid.  This has been banked and gratefully received. Many thanks for all your kind donations.

We were also pleased with the appeal for the Vale Foodbank. Your donations of food and Christmas goodies were very generous. Each week in December there was a car boot full of gifts which delighted those sorting and delivering parcels from the warehouse. In addition, we collected £310 (including gift aid) which will be used to purchase specific foods when items are in short supply.

The warehouse was closed for one week during the Christmas period, and we were pleased we had ongoing donations to deliver during January. Staple items requested throughout the year include:

Tinned meat, and vegetables including potatoes, dried instant snacks, tinned fish, tinned spaghetti and soups, milk and sponge puddings and custard, long  life fruit juice and milk, cereals, peanut butter and  sandwich spreads, toiletries, and treats.

We will continue to deliver goods weekly to the warehouse and would be grateful for any donations placed in the boxes in the church porch (they are  emptied on a regular basis)

.

Jude Billingham

 

Criminals Beware!

CRIMINALS BEWARE!

Wenvoe Online regularly includes reports from our local Neighbourhood Watch. Many of us display Neighbourhood Watch stickers on our doors and windows and read the regular Wenvoe Online reports, which not only cover recent crime incidents, but also contain a lot of valuable help and advice on avoiding being a victim of crime. So how much do you know about Neighbourhood Watch?

Like Crimestoppers it did not originate in the UK but the United States. In 1964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was stabbed in New York outside her apartment. Two weeks after the murder it was rumoured that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, but none of them called the police or came to her aid. This motivated a community response and the very first Neighbourhood Watch scheme was set up in New York. It was not until 1982 that the first UK scheme, known as Homewatch, was set up in Mollington, Cheshire by the local Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt Grahame John Andrews.

The idea grew in strength and in 2007, with the support of the police and the Home Office, the umbrella organisation for the movement, now known as Neighbourhood Watch Network, was established. The focus was on community groups liaising with the police to help reduce burglary and other home and personal crimes. It is now the largest voluntary crime prevention movement covering England and Wales with upwards of 2.3 million household members. The local schemes vary in size and are co-ordinated and supervised by a volunteer resident who liaises with the police and other partners on information, messages and initiatives. The Home Office does not fund individual Neighbourhood Watch schemes, although it does provide funding for the national organisation. The Government also funds public liability insurance for those involved in local schemes with responsibility for this devolved to the national Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network.

It is difficult to measure how effective Neighbourhood Watch schemes are in reducing crime, but it is believed that they help in several ways. The general raising of awareness of crime in the community is important. Increasing the flow of information and intelligence between the police and local community is a positive. The scheme also fosters good community spirit. Burglars and other criminals are deterred if they think residents are looking out for suspicious activity. Neighbours often help by moving bins or newspapers, cutting lawns and generally supporting the impression that homes are occupied.

Wenvoe Neighbourhood Watch Annual General Meeting

As a voluntary organisation, the success or otherwise of the scheme depends on what the local community make of it. The AGM of the Wenvoe Neighbourhood Watch is on Wednesday 5th February 8pm 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. Reports will be received and officers elected for the coming year

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year  

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year to all our readers.

It is a tradition at this time of the year to look back into the previous year, recalling events that were good and perhaps those which were not so good. We do this in our work life and in our family and social life. For the past year at St. Mary’s it has been a bit of a mixed bag. We have been able to maintain a regular Sunday morning service at 9.30am albeit with a slightly reduced congregation, which is also live streamed for those who cannot make it to church. We have welcomed some new faces to our congregation, which is very good indeed, and there is always a warm welcome and a place for anyone who wishes to worship in our traditional way.

We have maintained a connection with the community at large with the many, many donations we have received during the year for the Food Bank at Barry. The past year has seen a greater demand from those who are unable to place food on the table due to the high cost of living, maybe for those who are unwell and cannot work, so the Food Bank for them is a lifeline for their families. To all who have donated food items or a cash donation we say thank you, and we will need your help during 2025 as the demands on the Food Bank will be greater than ever. Your donations can be left in the church porch where there are large boxes provided, and which are cleared daily and taken into Barry during the week

Our plans to create a St. Mary’s Church Centre, on the north side of the church, which would replace the present Church Hall are subject to stagnation at present. This is a great disappointment, considering the cost we have laid out to have plans drawn up for submission to the various authorities. The Diocese Advisory Committee gave an outline blessing, but the Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority said the scheme was too large, and their refusal really means it is not going to happen. The present church hall needs a major update in the kitchen and toilet facilities; the ingress of damp in places will again need some additional fund raising and grant applications. Watch this space.

On a more positive note our Harvest Celebration was a very happy event apart from the appalling weather which meant our Picnic in the Grounds had to be brought into the church. The Remembrance Sunday service attracted a good congregation, with the Scouts and Beavers and Cubs bringing their banners into church, Gwenfo School also took part with the Head Girl and Boy taking part in the prayers. The service continued at the Village War Memorial for the Silence and Laying of Wreaths, where a much larger number of people had been awaiting, while the Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band played suitable solemn music. The number of wreaths laid was greater than previous years from the many organisations in the village. Thank you to all who devised and printed the special order of service, the choir who attended and to all who still wish to be at the remembrance due to those who have fallen in the two World Wars and wars since.

It was good to see the response to the Light Up Your Windows in the village, bringing light to the world and our streets at this very dark time of year. The final event in the churchyard on Christmas Eve was followed by Carols and Readings of the Christmas Story in the church. A collection taken for Ty Hafan this Christmas, once again helped to support this facility for the mums and dads whose child is a patient there.

On New Year’s Day there will be the usual short mid-week Eucharist at St. Mary’s followed by refreshments and you are all welcome to bring in the New year with thanksgiving for all the previous years and looking forward to what 2025 may have in store for you.

So to all our readers, thank you for taking the trouble and time to read about what’s happened in St. Mary’s during the past year, and look forward for more exciting news items in the year to come.

Parry

 

Wenvoe Village Hall Raffle 2024

WENVOE VILLAGE HALL RAFFLE 2024

The Village Hall Management Committee would like to thank everyone who kindly donated prizes to this raffle and to the people who support us by buying and selling tickets. All money raised through the raffle contributes to the ongoing insurance, maintenance and daily running costs of the Hall which is primarily for the use of the villagers. We thank you all and wish you good health and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Men United In Song Supporting Prostate Cymru

MEN UNITED IN SONG SUPPORTING PROSTATE CYMRU

Men United in Song has proved such a big hit nationwide that the popular pop-up singing project is being rolled out in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Launching in January 2025 and supporting Prostate Cymru, Men United in Song aims to give 40-plus local men the opportunity to get involved, try something new and give something back to the community… In a nutshell what does it offer?

  • A ten week project starting on 28th January.
  • A chance to learn to sing.
  • No previous experience needed.
  • Professional direction and support.
  • Great social opportunities.
  • A chance to sing in Llandaff Cathedral on 11th April.

Working over ten weeks towards a fantastic live charity event at Llandaff Cathedral on 11th April 2025, participants meet new people, challenge themselves, perform live on stage AND raise money for a much-loved and very important charity Prostate Cymru – what’s not to like?

No previous experience is necessary, just a willingness to step outside their comfort zone, get stuck in and give it a go… everyone’s in the same boat, and it’s all about the journey! Previous projects around the UK provided an overwhelmingly positive experience for the men who took part:

“A really great experience, at the start it was daunting, but we all came good!”

“A great bunch of men, and you got the best out of us… brilliant!”

For more information, call 07395414501 or email

menunitedinsong.vog@outlook.com

The MUIS project is grateful for the financial assistance from Ty Cerdd, Vale

of Glamorgan Council and GVS third sector small grants scheme.

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