Category: News

The Breast Centre Appeal

The Breast Centre Appeal

President Madeleine welcomed everyone to the meeting with a warm welcome extended to Sue Dickson-Davies, our speaker for the evening.

Sue is a Senior Fundraiser for the Breast Centre at Llandough Hospital. The Breast Centre Appeal raised the money to build the Centre. We had a most interesting talk about this wonderful place. Sue explained about the various ways in which the donations to the Breast Appeal are used, including complementary therapies, pamper evenings, lingerie evenings and sessions to build confidence. There is an ongoing Orchard Appeal – something that can be used by the local community as well as the hospital patients. We were delighted to donate a cheque for £400 to this wonderful charity and we admire all the excellent efforts of Sue and her colleagues.

After refreshments we continued with WI business. Members were reminded about the Carol Service hosted by Culverhouse Cross WI on 12th December at 7pm at Bethel Chapel. Names were collected for our Fish and Chip Supper at our next meeting. This will be on Thursday, 7th November at 7pm at Wenvoe Church Hall and will be a social evening.

 

 

October Council News

Due to the poor service from the present banker it was agreed to change to Santander Bank in future

A meeting between the school, councillors and the Vale to discuss the proposed new parking proposals for Old Port Road during school start and finishing times is planned for the end of October.

Playgrounds. The renewal of the Twyn-yr-Odyn play equipment should be completed before Christmas. Work on the new access to the Grange Park is underway. The construction has to take account of the tree roots in the vicinity which results in the finished design.

It was reported that the construction of the cycle path near Rectory Close resulted in the banking being cut back. There are now indications of soil movement; this will be reported to the Vale.

Following discussion on the state of some of the vacated allotments it is proposed that in future a returnable deposit is charged for new owners and that the annual rental period will run from the autumn rather than the spring.

The work resulting in the road closure in the Dyffryn area last month was to install fibre optic cables; additional work was found to be required due to collapsed ducting.

The councillors were updated on the present financial position regarding the Community Centre extension.

It was reported that the local bus service had improved during the month and buses were arriving on time.

Following examination of the emergency lighting at the Community Centre the required work has been santioned. Possible solutions for improving the main hall lighting are being sought.

Cllr T. Case has tendered his resignation from the

council due to ill health. His long service to the community with the council was noted.

The new recycling collection service started on Friday 18th October. Some residents had bags rejected, a note with the reason was attached to these items. On the Vale web site there is a short video about the new scheme at www.valeofglamorgan. gov.uk/recycling or you can discuss recycling matters with an officer by e-mailing C1V@ valeofglamorgan.gov.uk or ringing 01446 700111.

 

 

 

October Planning Updates

October Planning Updates

The following applications have been granted planning permission

  • Starbucks Drive Thru, Brooklands Retail Park, Car park, building and drive thru’ signage to a new Starbucks site
  • Woodside Grange, Wenvoe Works to trees covered by TPO
  • Dyffryn Gardens, Duffryn Lane, Dyffryn
  • The reintroduction of a Mawson style green house to the lower walled garden

 

 

October Planning Applications

Planning Applications

 

Having examined the plans the council raised no objections to any of the following applications

• 3, Whitehall Close, – Single storey rear extension with raised terrace (as existing) conversion of garage to habitable room

• 23, Rectory Close, First floor extension

• Field House, 8, Old Port Road, Single storey extension to front of property, roof reconfiguration and erection of pergolas, log store to garden room/gym

• 73, Heol Collen, A side and rear single storey extension providing an enlarged kitchen area and lounge

 

 

Wenvoe’s Part In The Battle Of Trafalgar

Wenvoe’s Part In The Battle Of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October, 1805) is probably Britain’s most famous naval victory. The main facts are well known. The Royal Navy led by Admiral Lord Nelson, aboard HMS Victory, defeated a larger combined French and Spanish fleet under the command of the French Admiral Villeneuve. In what was to prove a key event in the Napoleonic Wars, victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the 18th century. Nelson was shot by a French musketeer and died of his wounds. Villeneuve was captured, along with his ship Bucentaure and later attended Nelson’s funeral while a captive on parole in Britain.

What is less known, but of interest to us, is that Frederick Jennings Thomas, originally of Wenvoe, played a significant part in the battle. Frederick was born 19 April 1786, the younger son of Sir John Thomas, fifth baronet of Wenvoe Castle, and his wife, Mary. He entered the navy in March 1799 and by 1803, while serving on the Prince of Wales flagship of Sir Robert Calder, was present during several important naval actions. On 19 September of the same year, he was appointed Acting-Lieutenant of HMS Spartiate, an appointment that led him to the Battle of Trafalgar. During the battle the Spartiate, with Frederick playing a key role, forced the surrender of the 80 gun Spanish ship Neptuno. The Spartiate was damaged in the fierce fighting, but there were only three killed (two seamen & one boy) and twenty wounded.

Until 1814, Frederick served on the Spartiate and other ships in the Mediterranean, finally commanding the San Juan, flagship of Rear-Admiral Linzee at Gibraltar. The San Juan had been captured by the Royal Navy at Trafalgar following a heroic fight led by its commander, Don Cosme Churruca. During the battle, Churruca had ordered the Spanish flag to be nailed to the highest mast, as a way to tell everyone involved not to expect an easy surrender. With a decimated crew, and despite being mortally wounded as a result of having a leg torn off by a cannonball, Churruca refused to submit. Even following their Commander’s death, his officers kept their word. It was the last one alive who finally yielded, to save the ship and lives of the crew. In recognition of Churruca’s courage, the commander’s cabin on the San Juan was given a brass plate in his honour. All who entered it, including Frederick, were required to remove their hats as a mark of respect for a gallant enemy.

Frederick Jennings Thomas retired from active service in 1814 settling down to family life. He stayed in the public eye, writing on naval matters and even inventing a lifeboat with three keels, so designed to prevent capsizing. It also seems that he was the first person to propose a pier at Brighton. Having accepted the retired rank of Rear-Admiral, Frederick died near Southampton, on 19 December 1855.

 

 

 

New Waste Collection

NEW WASTE COLLECTION

The new waste collection arrangements start the week commencing 14th October for the Wenvoe area. You should have received your grey bin containing an additional orange and white bag for recycling. The Vale will be using a new vehicle to collect all the recycling in one journey and a separate vehicle for collecting the black bags and green waste. Following the last collection of the old scheme on Tuesday 8th October, householders will need to separate recyclable items into the new containers ready for our new Friday collection day on 18th October.
The collection team are being trained to place your emptied recycling bags back in the grey bin to prevent them being scattered around the street. In the near future there should be a new bag available for those who have very little recycling ie single homeowners, etc. This will be a four-quadrant bag with internal divisions for the separate sorted recycling material.
White bag (PAPER) – newspapers, magazines, envelopes. NOT wallpaper, wrapping paper, tissues, paper towels, kitchen roll, shredded paper, brown paper; these items should be placed in your black bag.
Orange bag (CARDBOARD) – cardboard boxes, egg boxes, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes and other similar empty boxes. NOT Tetra Paks these are placed in the blue bag
Blue bag (PLASTICS & CANS) – shampoo/conditioner bottles, milk bottles, drinks cans, drinks bottles, Tetra Paks, food tins e.g. soup tins, empty aerosols, foil, foil cartons, cleaning product bottles. NOT crisp packets, food pouches e.g. for pet food, biscuit packets, carrier bags, , black or , brown plastic, film e.g. cling film or ready meal lids, hard plastics e.g. toys, gas cannisters, lighters, these are placed in your black bag.
Grey caddy (GLASS) – glass jars, glass bottles. NOT ceramics or china, drinking glasses, glass panes, light bulbs, Pyrex, broken glass.
Green bag and food caddie material is unchanged.
Black bags – all non recyclable material. Limit still 2 bags per household.
If you are in doubt about whether an item is recyclable or not, the Vale web site has an A to Z list of items which is regularly updated. For anybody without access to the internet computer facilities are available at the Wenvoe Community Library.
Why did the Vale ban the use of single use bags for recycling material a few months ago and insist only blue bags were acceptable? Usually less than 10% of waste lorry loads were rejected by the company dealing with the commingled waste material due to contamination by inappropriate material. This rose to 34% rejection earlier in the year and 56% in July due to persons including food
waste, nappies, etc hidden within plastic bags, hence the swift action.
Dropping litter is a criminal offence and offenders can be issued with an immediate fine. It is now an offence to dispose of household waste in or around a litter bin and subject to a £300 fine.
What happens to the waste material?
The black bags are now incinerated at a new energy recovery facility near Rover Way which is capable of supplying energy for nearly 40,000 homes. The food waste goes to an anaerobic digester plant where the methane produced is sufficient to supply energy for 4,000 homes. The green waste still goes to the plant at Cowbridge for composting. The Vale will be reopening the depot near Jenner Park to allow householders to collect the composted material for their gardens and allotments. Dry recycling (cans, plastics, paper, card and glass) is sent to UK reprocessing facilities, where available, rather than having to send the material to markets abroad for recycling.
The EU and Welsh Government regulations require all local authorities to meet new recycling targets of 64% by 2919/20 and 70% by 2024/25. The Vale at present time is recycling 67%. Failure to meet targets can involve the local authority being subject to huge fines.
There will be a local road show on the new waste disposal scheme on Thursday 3rd October in the Wenvoe Arms car park between 10.00am and 12 noon. There are other location and times for the show around the Vale if you are unable to attend the Wenvoe show—see Vale web site.

 

 

Wenvoe Village Show

Wenvoe Village Show

Wenvoe Village Show – The show this year was well supported by the village. We received nearly 300 adult entries and we raised £354.55 for the Library.

The dulcet tones of the village choir commenced the proceedings and Johnny Tudor and Olwen Rees opened the event. As well as the produce and culinary categories, we had a record number of artworks submitted, all to a high standard which made judging reallydifficult. We also received beautiful crafts and needlework and a host of entries from the children in the village. The show ended with the public tucking into the beautiful cakes and produce entered into the show. Congratulations to the overall winner Gail Griffiths, and to the second Isobel Davies and to the joint third winners: Gordon Jones and V’Iain Fenton-May.

This was the second show organised by Wenvoe Community Library and we would like to extend our thanks to everyone in our community who supported the show. Thanks also to the judges, entrants, volunteers, Johnny and Olwen, the choir, who all gave freely of their time and to all who made the event possible and extra special thanks must go to the Show’s organisers Janet Williams, Heulwen Davies and Sue Hoddell who did a fantastic job

We hope you are planning for next year. The Show will be on 5th September. Look out for next year’s schedule which will be available in the Spring. We shall have even more categories including a fun dog show.

 

 

It is by taking part in community events that makes our village a great place in which to live.

Summer Reading Challenge

About 30 children registered for this summer’s challenge, the theme of which was Space Exploration linking it with the first moon landing 50 years ago. The Challenge had its launch on Thursday July 18 with Alina Trigger attending a school assembly with all relevant information. Dave Breen, of Techniquest in Cardiff contributed with a talk on space and held a walk-in workshop in the library on 21st August. Alina will present the certificates to the participants of the Challenge.

 

 

Men and Mental Health

The Man by Tirion Davies

40% of men won’t talk to anyone about their mental health.

In a 2018 study by Priory, 40% of men polled stated it would take thoughts of suicide or self-harm to compel them to seek professional help. Almost a quarter of respondents stated they would feel uncomfortable speaking to their GP or a psychiatrist as they believed their concerns would be a waste of time. 77% of respondents in the study stated they have suffered with anxiety, depression and stress.

According to a 2017 article by Mind, suicide rates are higher in Wales than in the rest of the United Kingdom. In 2017, 5,821 suicides were recorded in Great Britain, of these 75% were males. Suicide represents the largest cause of death for men under the age of 50. Higher rates of suicide are also found in minority communities including gay men, war veterans, and those with low incomes. A particularly vulnerable group to death by suicide are middle-aged men from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

We live in a world filled with toxic masculinity. A world where stereotypes are still forced upon men and women. Stereotypes which can be incredibly damaging.

Earlier this year, I responded to an advert by the razor brand Gilette. The advertisement included men stopping other men from inappropriate behaviours and keeping men accountable for questionable actions. The advertisement garnered such a response online and highlighted the issue toxic masculinity faces on men within our society.

And yet, countless men took to online social media platforms to argue their disgust in the ad, claiming it tarnished all men and masculinity as bad.

But that’s part of the problem. The advertisement was made in an attempt to discuss the toxicity the ‘masculine’ stereotype can have; the fact that in order to be a ‘man’, you must not cry or be seen as ‘weak’. The advert was in an attempt to hold men accountable for sexual harassment and bullying, and to attempt to redefine ‘masculinity’. Damon Jones, Vice President for Global Communications and Advocacy at Procter & Gamble, stated in a January 2019 Forbes interview,

‘In many ways men are finding themselves at a crossroads – caught between old definitions of what masculinity means and this new era of masculinity. It’s about allowing men space to define masculinity for themselves. We don’t set the standard for what masculinity is, but we do believe we have an opportunity to promote positive, attainable, inclusive, and healthy versions of what it means to be a man’.

Toxic masculinity is an issue which many are still arguing doesn’t exist. But by forcing these outdated stereotypes on men, it causes men to follow

unhealthy habits and makes it harder for them to admit when they need help.

Mind Cymru’s Lee Cambule stated ‘I am still faced with some outdated stereotypes as a man suffering from depression; men as a source of strength, dominating positions of power, the hunter-gatherer, the idea that strong and silent is alluring/attractive, the “show no weakness” bravado of heroes in our media’. He also states that the men who are most revered in our society, like celebrities, are not always ready to admit their struggles to the public because of this ‘toxic masculinity’. Which, as a result, leaves the everyday man even more uncertain about speaking out.

The expression ‘manning up’ is often used to belittle men who show they are struggling with their mental health. Young boys are told to ‘man up’ if they cry about being hurt or when they show signs of struggle at school. Lee Cambule says, ‘that expression is still often used for the wrong reasons, unfortunately. The concept that mental health can be conquered by simple acting more “like a man” is misguided. Depression, anxiety, personality disorders and schizophrenia are no more or less difficult based on whether you have a Y chromosome in your DNA’.

It’s 2019, and yet too many men are struggling with speaking up about their mental health because of this ridiculous idea that they would be deemed less of a man if they admit they are suffering. It’s 2019, and yet too many men are killing themselves because of this refusal to admit that toxic masculinity exists and that it alienates many. It is 2019, and yet the statistics on male suicides seem unlikely to change.

I’m aware that just me telling you that you’re not weak won’t miraculously change the world’s outlook on men’s mental health. But hopefully, if enough people start to say it, more and more men will realise the truth behind those words. Because you are not weak. Admitting you are struggling is incredibly hard to do. If anything, it makes you braver than anyone else to admit that you need some help in feeling yourself again.

It’s time to admit that the masculine stereotype placed on men is outdated. It’s time to admit that seeking help can make you stronger. It’s time to admit your mental health is just as important as everyone else’s.

Being a ‘man’ doesn’t mean you have to suffer in silence. You deserve the right to be happy.

If you need any help, please don’t hesitate to use any of the following links:

https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/we-need-to-talk

Priory: 0800 086 1441

Mind:https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

0300 123 3393

Samaritans: 116 123

 

 

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