The Official Wenvoe Homepage
Not a lot happening at this time of year but the team have done some work on the rose beds on the village green. At the time of writing, the window boxes at the Community Centre are still in full bloom but a spell of bad weather will soon put paid to that. Then they will be cleaned out and replanted with polyanthus and pansies to provide a bit of colour during the winter.
Next meeting 14th Nov. 9.30 on the Village Green
We having been running the Library since the beginning of September and so far, so good! We survived a failure in the computer network which left us disconnected from the Vale of Glamorgan's systems and operating on paper records for a few days but it was all taken in our stride. As in previous months I'd like to appeal for more volunteers to join our band, it's interesting, rewarding, and sociable come and talk to us in the Library.
As the volunteers have become more familiar with the book stock they have started to apply a White Dot sticky label to mark "dusty" books, "dusty" being a librarians' term for a book which has sat unread on the shelves for more than two years or so. In some instances it is easily evident why a book hasn't been read (unknown author, biography of very minor celebrity, etc etc etc). You can also see that the Vale's Library Service has bought in books in anticipation of an upsurge in interest in, say, the First World War, which hasn't translated into people borrowing books, but these are guesses made in advance and reflect the number of books being published in that genre. Some sections such as Teen Fiction, have a good stock of books but we have relatively few teenage readers, sadly. So, if you have a few moments in the library look out for our White Dotted Dusty Books, sometimes they are little gems.
You will have seen our new logo for the library, (or see above) which was chosen from a large number of submissions from Wenvoe Primary School; the winner was Georgia Iles. There were many interesting ideas drawn but Georgia's best encapsulated the sense of reading and community in the round, and provided the basis of an iconic image which can be used on electronic and printed material.
In October's issue we mentioned that we had been fortunate to have been selected as one of the three charities that you can vote for at Tescos with all three receiving grants. After the print deadline for Whats On we heard that Tescos had postponed the start of the scheme until the last week in October so you should find that by the time you read this newsletter the scheme should have commenced. So look out for the voting boxes in Tescos. It runs to around the 12th November and it should not be too long after that before we hear the results.
For our conservation work we have been planting Bluebells (native of course) and Primroses in the Elizabethan Orchard along the 'primrose path of dalliance'. On the Upper Orchid Field we have liberated the
wooden bench that disappeared into the undergrowth, given it a lick of timber preservative, and opened up other paths which had become blocked. You can see the 'spruced and scoured' bench in the photo. The two wild pear trees are growing steadily, the taller of the two now around 4 metres tall and, hopefully, we should be seeing some of its fruit before long. A few years back we planted an Elm as part of a UK-wide scheme to monitor how they were coping with Dutch Elm disease. Ours did little at first but this year it has taken off and gained about a metre in height. For those interested in trees ours was Ulmus minor.
Our bat walk in Grange Park indicated that a shower of rain does not stop the bats feeding. We saw (or heard) mainly Pipistrelles with one individual putting 
on a virtuoso performance up and down Pound Lane, often flying to within a few feet of us. We are gradually replacing fruit trees that have died; this year four out of the 88 we have planted. We are also beginning to see our first, albeit modest, crops. Outstanding this year has been Bardsey, originally discovered on the island of Bardsey, which is producing very tasty and very large apples. One cannot help noticing that at the time of writing it is difficult to find any British fruit in the shops. Apples from South Africa and New Zealand, pears from Italy and strawberries from the Netherlands.
If you are interested in taking part in our wildlife projects we would love to hear from you. Or if you just want to follow what we are doing take a look at Facebook – search for Wenvoe Wildlife Group.
This year; 2016, saw a number of engineering anniversaries impacting on Wales, most of which concerned bridges, the 200th anniversary of Chepstow Wye Bridge was celebrated on 24th July with a number of events including a re-enactment of the 1816 opening ceremony. Designed and built by John Urpeth Rastrick FRS (1780-1856) it was opened on the 24th July 1816. A bridge with five spans, 372ft (113m) long, it was the third longest cast-iron arch road bridge in the world when built and it is now the largest survivor from the first fifty years of iron bridge construction. A civil and mechanical engineer Rastrick is remembered today as a railway pioneer. He built the first steam engine to run in the USA, chaired the Rainhill Trials for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1829, and built numerous railways in Great Britain.
The iron arches were cast at the foundry of John Hazeldine at Bridgnorth in Shropshire where Rastrick was the engineer. On the 24th July 2016 a procession was led over the bridge headed by engineers, as it was in 1816, with the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers; Sir John Armitt, leading the way. Until 1989 it carried the normal road traffic through Chepstow and across the Wye into England and still carries road traffic, subject to a 7.5T weight restriction, today.
Not quite as old, the Severn Bridge also celebrated a 50th birthday this year, on 8th September 2016. The 5,240ft (1,597m) long bridge was world’s first major suspension bridge to be built with an aerodynamic road deck it was also the lightest, and set the standard for future long span bridges, such as the Humber Bridge. Many people remember using the car ferries; Severn King and Severn Queen, to cross the Severn before the bridge opened. The Second Severn Crossing also celebrated a milestone this year, being opened on the 5th June 1996 – 20 years ago. At 5,134m long it is not a suspension bridge but a cable stayed bridge similar to the Wye (M48) Bridge – which also opened in 1966.
Another form of communications impacted on Wales 150 years ago with the successful completion of the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable in 1866. On 27 July 1866 the quite Pembrokeshire bay of Abermawr became part of a trans-Atlantic
communications network with the laying of the fifth, and ultimately successful, telegraph cable between Valentia in Ireland and Trinity Bay in Newfoundland by Brunel’s Great Eastern steamship – the only ship big enough to take all the almost 2,000 nautical miles of telegraph cable required. Messages could now be transmitted from New York to Newfoundland and through the Atlantic cable to Ireland and across to Abermawr, being taken on to London via the SWR and GWR’s telegraph wires. Copper refined in Llanelli and Swansea provided the conductive core of the cable through which messages would be transmitted.
The former telegraph hut at 
Abermawr, now a holiday cottage, actually predates the successful laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable by some four years and if we go back some fifteen years before that to 1847 we find that Isambard Kingdom Brunel had chosen Abermawr as the western terminus and port for the South Wales Railway. This was never carried out but the rural setting of the beach made it an ideal landing point for an underwater telegraph cable from Wexford, Ireland in 1862. Fear of German sabotage of the cable during the first world war saw soldiers being stationed on guard duty at Abermawr.
In 1866 the transmission speed of the transatlantic telegraph system was eight words per minute, by 1900 transmission rates of 120 words per minute were being sent reliably between continents. It was a system for business and governments, for example a ten word transatlantic message from the USA to Great Britain cost $100 or about £76 (today’s values about $2,600 or £1,980). The speed of cable borne news can be gauged with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, then the news took 12 days to reach British newspapers, When President James Garfield was shot in 1881, and it was reported within hours. Some 25 telegraph cables would be laid across the Atlantic by 1922 – the year that the Great Storm washed away the shore ends of the cable at Abermawr and the telegraph station closed.
Stephen K. Jones 6
WENVOE COMMUNITY LIBRARY
SATURDAY SWAP SHOP
When: Saturday November 19th 10am –12 midday
Where: Wenvoe Community Library
What: Bring along a jigsaw you have finished with OR a game you don’t play
Then: SWAP /BUY /BORROW
Its easy, its good fun so come and join us at our community library
If you would like more information contact Sylvia Harvey Tel:2059 2261
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WHO WAS KING OFFA AND WHAT WAS HIS DYKE FOR? |
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The dyke was constructed at the end of the eighth century and consisted of a great defensive earthwork, with a ditch on the Welsh side and a high bank on the English side. It ran for 140 miles from the banks of the River Severn in the south to the mouth of the River Dee in the north. Because it was built so long ago there is very little known about who actually did the amazing amount of work and what it really looked like. But we do know that it was customary for the English to cut off the ears of every Welshman who was found to the east of the dyke, and for the Welsh to hang every Englishman whom they found to the west of it.
If you have the time and energy you may wish to walk all of the Offa’s Dyke Path. It is a long-distance footpath following closely the Wales–England border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world. Some of the 177-mile (285 km) route either follows, or keeps close company with the visible parts of Offa's Dyke. There are many miles where the dyke was not constructed as the geographical features such as rivers and cliffs made it unnecessary. Traveling south to north, starting by the Severn Estuary at Sedbury, near Chepstow, and finishing at Prestatyn on the north coast, the walk will take an average walker roughly 12 days to complete. Following a man-made border and ancient monuments, rather than natural features, the dyke path crosses a variety of landscapes. The route crosses the Black Mountains, the Shropshire Hills, including the many ups and downs of the 'Switchback', the Eglwyseg Moors north of Llangollen and the Clwydian Range.
It is of course not necessary to walk it in one long hike, but rather one can break it into bite sized chunks by walking three Walking through mid-Wales is particularly pleasant and quiet and it is possible to travel for a whole day without seeing anyone at all. If you do think about doing this walk it is best to go in a dry period so that the ground is not so muddy as to make it hard work. With good waterproof clothing you will not get wet but very muddy boots are heavy and that make it less fun. So make a plan for a long summer hike and remember that walking is very good for body and soul |
Planning Applications for November
44 Walston Road. To install a raised platform/concrete base with wooden fence on top of a boundary wall. No objections.
51, Gwenfo Drive. Proposed two storey side extension and single storey front extension. The council had no objections to the two storey extension but considered the front extension was not in keeping with the surrounding properties.
Grange Avenue. Fell four pine trees. An arboricultural consultant report recommends the felling of all four trees and replanting rather than severe limb reduction. No objections.
Land off Port Road by Bellway Homes. Removal of 5 Silver Birch Trees. With no additional supporting information available the Council considered they enhance the location and objected to their removal.
November Planning Updates
Telecoms are proposing to remove the telephone box at Twyn-yr-Odyn. This is a modern type box has been used only once in the last 12 months. Local consultations are underway, the council does not object to the proposal.
The report on the community mapping survey, carried out during September has been published. Approx 10% of the population responded to the survey. Respondents found Wenvoe a safe and friendly place
to live with a good community spirit. The surveys highlighted the need for new play equipment, a replacement library and the provision of a coffee shop. There was also strong support for a multi-use games area for the school and community use. There were numerous other suggestions and varied support for the listed projects. The Community Council will make use of this feedback in determining future projects and seeking grants. Copies of the survey will be available in the library and on the Wenvoe web site.
The defibulator is about to be installed on the front of the Community Centre. Welsh Hearts, who will maintain the machine will be providing free demonstration courses (approx. 1½hrs duration) to members of the public on how to use the machine. If you are interested in learning about using this vital piece of equipment please contact the Clerk to the Council (see page 2) who will arrange a course date.
Following the discovery of cracks in the brickwork to the front of the Community Centre a professional survey was conducted. The report recommended that the Tulip tree, planted to mark the millennium, be removed to prevent damage to the building. By modern standards, it is built on extremely shallow foundations and for stability relies on a high soil moisture level.
The Council received a presentation on the situation regarding the local affordable housing stock. Most of the rented accommodation at the two sites is let, there are a few more properties to become available at the Bellway site. There are still low cost home ownership houses available. Top priority on all homes are granted to local residents and there relations before they are offered to the wider Vale. The Council were requested to allow Cardiff residents with a connection to the area to be considered for purchasers of affordable houses if there are insufficient interest from Vale residents. The Council agreed in principle, an agreement will be formulated.
Any person or family member in the Wenvoe area needs to register with the housing association to be considered for affordable properties. Forms are available at the clerks office.
Green bags – Over past years the Community Council has purchased a 500 bale of Green Bags from the Vale, stored them locally and supplied the Village Store as required. Regrettably, at present the Vale has ended this arrangement. If you require green bags you can purchase them at the Alps or the Barry Council Office. The Council are still attempting to resolve the issue
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Tree Planting in Wales
And how are we faring in Wales? With over 8% of the UK's land mass Wales managed 900 hectares in the first year, around 7% of what was planted. By the second year Wales had dropped to 100 hectares, less than 1% of the total and last year it remained at 100 hectares which was actually 1.8% of the total because everywhere else was well down. Put another way Wales's total of 100 hectares last year compares with Scotland's 4,600 hectares of tree planting. Scotland is just under 4 times bigger than Wales but managed 50 times more tree planting. Northern Ireland is two thirds the size of Wales but managed the same level of planting. It can come as little consolation that England proportionately was even worse than Wales and was described as 'appalling' by the conservation director of the Woodland Trust.
Of course virtually anyone can do something about it. You can lobby your elected |
