Category: News

St. Mary’s Parish Church News

MARY’S PARISH CHURCH NEWS

There is some ‘good news’ to bring to you since the last church report in ‘What’s On’. Churches can now be opened for private prayer. This is subject to social distancing being observed and many other regulations being put in place to keep everyone as safe as possible, with hand sanitising, and the pews in the nave clearly marked as to where you can sit.

At a recent Zoom meeting of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) Vicar Jon presented his Chairman’s report and he has kindly agreed for it to be included here for wider readership within the Wenvoe community.

“Since the last PCC meeting, places of worship have now been placed in to the Red Phase by the Welsh Government. St Mary’s Church opened for the first time for private prayer and reflection between 4.00pm and 6.00pm on Tuesday 7th July. It has been decided that in the first instance we will open just once a week and monitor the number of visitors to see if there is a demand to open it again at another point, which would probably be on Saturday morning. This would allow at least 72hours from the church building being closed and then opening again. This is to fall in line with Welsh Government Guidelines and avoid us having to do a thorough clean between sessions rather than a “tidy up” clean that we will do ensuring surfaces and pews are cleaned from where people may have sat and touched things. I would like to thank those who have helped me prepare the church to be opened and also those who have volunteered to steward during the opening hours. Four people came to St Mary’s on Tuesday 7th July for prayer, and it was wonderful to welcome them. This number coincides with the numbers that have entered Sully Church and churches of my colleagues. So it is my current intention to remain with opening once a week at present.

It is important to note that the church is open for private prayer and reflection only. The Church in Wales is now allowing weddings and funerals in church under very tight regulations. It is unlikely that there will be any weddings now in 2020. However, there may be occasions that a family would like to use the church for a limited number of people for a funeral. Before we can offer this as an option, I have to submit a Risk Assessment which needs to be agreed with the Archdeacon. I am currently in the process of doing this.

Also, at the time of writing we are still in the Red Phase, unlike places of worship in England which is a phase ahead of places of worship in Wales. As a result, you may have heard of several news items of churches now opening for limited acts of worship to restricted numbers of congregation. Below are the details as issued by the Welsh Government for the next phase – the amber phase.

I would also like to thank our Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary and Reader Emeritus and all members of the PCC for your continued service to the Church and for all you are doing to keep St Mary’s functioning and holding its presence in our community during these difficult times”

The current situation is that we are now in the “amber” phase and the possibility of holding services in church was discussed at the PCC meeting. The maximum number of people we have in St. Mary’s, to allow for 2 metre “social distancing” is eight, and places would have to be reserved in advance. The meeting decided that this is not a practical proposition and for the moment no further action will be taken.

Weddings and funerals can now be held in church, with the same stringent regulations of numbers attending, no singing allowed, the bride to walk down the aisle by herself, hand sanitising during the exchange of rings etc. It is anticipated that there will be no weddings in St. Mary’s Wenvoe this year, and any funerals will be arranged as and when the family concerned and Jon will have discussed the arrangements.

Keep safe during these trying times, continue to be kind and considerate to neighbours and those who are elderly in the community and above all KEEP WASHING THOSE HANDS. God Bless.

Parry Edwards

 

 

Neighbourhood Watch Update

Neighbourhood Watch Update

Watch Co-ordinators were due to hold a meeting in July 2020 but this had to be cancelled due to the virus pandemic. However, they have still been alert during the last 4 months and report the following incidences.

  1. Fly tipping in various lanes around the village.

Many residents will have been on walks during the lockdown and seen rubbish dumped in our lanes. This is difficult to combat; individuals must be seen in the act and evidence produced.

  1. People jumping a fence on Port Road carrying power tools.
  1. An individual ‘checking’ a private CCTV camera in Station Road.

Residents are asked to be aware of bogus callers, particularly those wishing to enter your house.

  1. Car theft at Wenvoe Golf Club between the hours of 4:00-5:00am. CCTV images of the person have been sent to the police.

There is a Co-ordinator for every street in Wenvoe. If you do not know who your Co-ordinator is contact Jackie Gauci on 07876 207843 or jackie.gauci47@gmail.com.

Alan French

 

 

Back To The Future

Back To The Future

Well at least for the time being, Covid 19 seems to be in retreat. During lockdown we have enjoyed walks around the village, often discovering paths and trails we never imagined existed. At last we can now visit our local pubs again and venture further afield. It is great to see that things are opening up around the Vale again.

The excellent Visit the Vale website provides detailed information and a range of impressive brochures and mini guides covering ‘what’s occurring.’

From the site you can order a free copy of the Coast Countryside & Culture Guide, which showcases the best places to visit and features some stunning photography of the area. There are also some free and downloadable town guides, including those for Barry Island, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major and Penarth.

The Llantwit Major Guide includes a self-guided walk based on the town’s Blue Plaques, taking in historic buildings such as St Illtud’s Church and the Town Hall. You can end your walk with refreshments at the 16th century Old Swan Inn. During the Civil War period the innkeeper, Edward Maddocks, struck brass tokens, gaining the house a reputation as a mint. Monthly manorial courts were sometimes held there. In the 1930s when it was an inn, celebrities including the famous American owner of St Donats William Randolph Hearst and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain visited. The Visitor Centre in the Town Hall (check opening times) provides information on places to visit, events and activities. Trains run hourly to and from Llantwit Major to Barry and Cardiff. Platforms at the station are accessible for anyone with mobility challenges.

The Barry Guide highlights a range of activities many of you may not be aware of. There is a self-guided Gavin and Stacey Walking Tour and the 6 mile Barry Town Trail. The latter can be started at any point and walked in sections. It links Barry Island, Barry Waterfront and Barry Town with places of interest highlighted along the trail. Copies of the trail leaflet are available from the tourism department at the Vale of Glamorgan Council in Barry. Tel: (01446) 704867 E-mail: tourism@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

The Cowbridge Guide includes details of the Iolo Morganwg Circular Walk (6.5 miles). This celebrates the famous and colourful 18th century Welsh poet and antiquarian, while taking in the heart of historic Cowbridge, surrounding villages and woodland. An A5 leaflet, with pull out OS Map and walk instructions, is available from the Bear Hotel or Costa Coffee on the High Street.

Warren Mill Farm Park near Pendoylan (open) is included, with its large variety of miniature, rare and unusual farm animals, colourful waterfowl and a new family of wallabies. The farm is situated around a natural 4-acre coarse lake, well stocked with carp, perch, roach and bream. It can be found 1 mile north of the A48 near Bonvilston. (CF71 7UJ).

We can look forward then to enjoying what is left of the Summer and to supporting our local businesses, especially those in the hospitality and leisure sectors.

 

 

Thanks for Making My Travels Easy

Thanks for Making My Travels Easy

 

As someone who has spent many happy hours walking the footpaths around Wenvoe during lockdown I would like to thank the people who make my travels easy:

The walk leaders of Wenvoe Walkers who have shown so many of us the local routes around the village and made it possible for us to explore by ourselves once the social distancing rules were introduced.

Valeways and their volunteers, who have maintained the signage and stiles, and those who join in ‘Walk and Clear’ making sure the paths remain open.

Wildlife group for creating and maintaining the Orchid field and orchards.

Our local farmers and landowners who provide access to their land and even through these difficult times have smiled and waved if we pass one another.

Wenvoe Golf Club who were happy for us to wander freely across their land while the course was shut.

Thank you all for helping me and the residents of Wenvoe to explore safely.

Annie Bennett

 

 

Virus Tracing Scams

VIRUS TRACING SCAMS

How to tell if a contact tracing text is real

NHS Test and Trace might text or call you to warn you if you’ve recently been in contact with some-one who tests positive for the virus.

You can tell if it’s genuine if it includes a unique ID number. This ID number should allow you to log into the official Test and Trace website.

Instead of following any links included in the text, go to the website from your web browser and enter the ID number you’ve been given.

You could also check whether the text came from the only number dedicated to the NHS tracing service, which is 0300 013 5000. However, there are concerns it could be affected by number spoofing.

No other messaging services are being used to contact people. If you get a message like this on WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook, for example, you can be sure it’s fake.

Fake NHS texts: how you can tell the difference

Be cautious and report suspicious messages

If you do receive a suspect Test and Trace message, report it to Action Fraud. The National Cyber Security Centre is also encouraging reporting phishing attempts to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Scammers are taking advantage of the pandemic in any way they can to try and steal information and money.

Be generally suspicious of any unusual or unexpected messages that ask for personal information about you or your friends and family

Source Which.

 

 

Recycling Bag Suggestions

Recycling Bag Suggestions

After a recent very windy rubbish/recycling collection day, I have been reflecting on the small changes we could all make to help improve our great village.

I am lucky that a kind neighbour will bring my recycling bins and bags to my front door, and tuck them safely away, if I am not at home. I appreciate that some people are out at work all day and cannot take their receptacles in promptly; I also appreciate that when it is very windy these things quickly blow away once they have been emptied. After this recent windy Friday I found myself in possession of an extra blue bag and an extra orange bag – 6 days later they still hadn’t been claimed (I, for one, couldn’t afford to lose these too often – they do cost money to replace!). If they’d only had a house number written on them I would happily have returned them to their rightful home. Please folks – take 5 minutes to label your bins and bags, and there’s a chance we wouldn’t end up with so many strewn around certain streets on a regular basis.

On a similar note, perhaps I could suggest that at the same time people take another 5 minutes to look up the current recycling guidelines and refresh their memory. I came outside on that same day to see my front lawn strewn with rubbish that filled half a black bag when collected. This was clearly the contents of someone’s plastic recycling bag – but amongst this waste was black plastic (not suitable for plastic recycling) and dirty food containers (which should be rinsed out and clean before being put in recycling). Cleaning up someone else’s dirty food containers, particularly in the current climate of this health pandemic, is not how I would choose to spend part of my Friday afternoon.

 

Let’s keep our lovely little village looking it’s best!

Burdons Close

 

 

The Chainworks Of Brown Lenox

THE CHAINWORKS OF BROWN LENOX
‘Not the cheapest, but the best’

Established as Samuel Brown & Co., but changing to reflect the financial support of Samuel Lenox, this is a multi-stranded business story that covers the development of iron chain cables and suspension bridges. Brown Lenox figures strongly in the industrial history of south Wales and beyond. First and foremost it was a commercial undertaking, started by Samuel Brown and his Welsh born smith and works manager Philip Thomas, to manufacture iron chains for the anchoring, mooring and even the rigging of ships. It would lead to the establishment of purpose built chainworks at Millwall on the Thames and Newbridge (Ynysangharad) at Pontypridd, the latter works supplying round eye bar suspension chain for Brown’s chainbridges. In the field Brown was the first to erect iron level deck suspension bridges in the country, and the Newbridge works produced the major part of the chainwork for his suspension bridges with maritime chain cable production beginning in 1818.

Captain Sir Samuel Brown, to give him his full title, died in 1852, outliving Samuel Lenox who died in 1836. Lenox’s nephew George William Lenox took over the management of the works in 1840 after the death of Philip Thomas; the family name still represented at the works by a Lenox into the 1950s. In 1969 Brown Lenox became a wholly owned part of the F H Lloyd Group and with the change of ownership came new products particularly quarry plant; ore and waste processing machinery under licence. The last chain cable order was for the Cunarder QE2.

Part of the site had been sold off to form a retail estate in 1987 and the site finally closed in 1999 drawing an end to one of the longest standing and consistently successful companies in Wales with a history as celebrated as any in the country

 

 

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