Month: February 2017

The Spring Fair

 

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springfair

Following the success of the Wenvoe Christmas Craft Fair last November the Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair is an event not to be missed.

Tables are rapidly being allocated to eager crafters and include a varied selection of hand crafted items. This time we also have a Potter who will be bringing a mobile potters wheel and you will be able to try your hand at throwing a pot and pot painting. It also looks as if we will be hosts to the Eccentric Gin Company who will be selling their locally distilled Gin and providing tasters and we will have a 'Stop Me and Buy One' ice cream Tricycle from Tricycle Treats with an amazing selection of flavours.

Put the date in your diary, you can't afford to miss this.

For information contact Glenys Tucker at pukkatucker@gmail.com or on 07922 109721.

 

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Fish Pie with Lemon and Herb Mash

 

 

Fish Pie with Lemon and Herb Mash

 

Approx 1kg maris piper potatoes

60g unsalted butter

350ml semi skimmed milk

1 lemon zested

2 tbsp dill, finley choppedpie

1 tbsp flat leafed parsley chopped

3 med leaks, thinley sliced

3 med carrots, quartered and chopped

60g plain flour

200ml double cream

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp chives, chopped

750g mix of fish [haddock, cod, salmon] cut into bit sized pieces

250g peeled king prawns

4 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

Preheat oven 1600C fan. Boil the potatoes, mash with an extra knob of butter and 50ml of the milk. Stir in the lemon zest, dill and parsley, season to taste, Set aside. In a separate small pan par boil the carrots, drain and set aside. In another pan, on a lower heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for about 2 mins to make a paste. Gradually stir in the remaining milk and cream to make a thick white sauce, season. Stir in the mustard and chives. Don’t let the sauce catch in the pan. In a medium pie dish, mix the fish, prawns, carrots and leeks, top with the egg quatrers, pour over the white sauce. Top with the mash. Dot with knobs of butter and bake for about 30 mins until golden

A good hearty meal on it’s own, or with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

 

 

 

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Oxfam Shop Penarth

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I am sure that every What’s On reader has heard of Oxfam and knows at least something about their work. Equally everyone knows that Oxfam has charity shops throughout the country one of the first charities to establish such shops.

Oxfam has a number of shops in south Wales some of which are specialist shops such as books and music whilst others such as the Penarth shop are ‘generic’ in that they sell a whole range of goods such as second hand clothes, bric a brac, music, books, children’s toys – in fact anything other than electrical items  and fairtrade goods. Each shop usually has a paid manager and everyone else is a volunteer. The Penarth shop has to be staffed by volunteers to open a minimum of 48 hours a week plus all those people behind the scenes sorting out donations and then valuing and pricing them.

I have always had a commitment and concern for developing countries since Jude, my wife, began promoting fair trade goods in 1977 although it has to be said I have never been given any responsibility beyond carrying boxes! When I retired I wanted to use some of my time volunteering for Oxfam and as I have an interest in music and non classical vinyl in particular I have been cleaning, valuing and pricing vinyl for the last 8-9 years firstly in the town shop and more recently in Penarth.

It’s perhaps worth putting to bed a few of the myths about volunteering certainly in the Oxfam shops and that is that volunteers do not get first pick on what comes in or a discount of any kind. Neither does the shop sell all the ‘best stuff’ on line. What volunteers do get is the satisfaction of contributing to the work of Oxfam, meeting interesting people – both customers and fellow volunteers and in my case the privilege of going through dusty old vinyl!

Here are three suggestions for you to consider. Firstly if you are beginning the New Year wanting to do something different with your time then think about volunteering for Oxfam in Penarth. You do not need to have any experience as training can be provided but equally you may have a particular expertise that you can offer. You can give the new manager Caroline a ring, without any commitment, to discuss more about what is involved.

Secondly you may feel that your time is fully committed so may I suggest you consider helping by donating unwanted items to the shop. Some of you will have noticed that there has been a massive vinylresurgence in vinyl amongst young people over the last year or so and this has fed through to a large demand for second hand vinyl. We are in urgent need of vinyl donations of any genre so please think about rescuing that vinyl you may have tucked away in your loft and bringing it along to Penarth! Large donations can be picked up. Of course donations of all kind are equally welcome. We pride ourselves on obtaining the best possible price for any donations received.

Finally if you are unable to do any of the above then please pay the shop a visit when you are next in Penarth  you will be surprised what we have in stock. If you are one of those people who have revived their interest in vinyl then you may just find that LP you gave away many years ago and now want to listen to again!!

For more information contact Caroline Mumford, Manager, Oxfam Shop, 8/8a Windsor Street, Penarth CF64 1JH. Tel: 02920 706358

Nigel Billingham

 

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Snails, Slugs and a Very Rare Tree

 

 

Snails and slugs

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Snails and slugs may not quite get the pulse racing like Cheetas and Gazelles but they are a lot more practically useful in and around the Parish. Without them and the other small denizens that munch their way through fallen leaves and other vegetation we would soon be disappearing under a mountain of debris. Those who have visited Molluscopolis on the Upper Orchid Field may have learned a bit about the variety of different snails you can find here but a relatively new one is the Girdled Snail. SEWBREC, who record all wildlife sightings for South East Wales, this month asked people to look out for the Girdled Snail as they had very few records for the whole of Wales. This is a Mediterranean species, first noted in Britain (Devon) in 1950 but spreading steadily up the country. It is usually found in gardens and waste ground and is very easy to identify as it has a distinctive pale -coloured girdle or keel around its middle. Within a couple of hours we found the one shown in the photo which was perched on a plastic composter, just waiting to be recorded. The chances are there will be several hundred in Wenvoe so, gardeners in particular, look out for them and, if you find them let the Wildlife Group know.

The Service Treeservice tree

The Upper Orchid Field has been host to a very rare tree, Sorbus domestica, commonly known as The Service Tree. It grows in a few locations in South Wales and ours fell off the cliffs near Fontygary and was spotted on the shoreline. It was replanted in our field but has never been very happy as the site is both damper and shadier that it would ideally want so it is heading back to a safe location near Fontygary where hopefully it can prosper and reproduce. We still hope that in the future we will be able to provide a home for a a couple of these in a suitable location so that we can help consolidate and expand the population. We have already planted in the Upper Orchid Field, the Wild Orchard and the Community Orchard a close relative Sorbus torminalis, The Chequers Tree, the fruit of which was once used in brewing and which many pubs are names after.

 

 

 

 

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Shopping Online

 

Wenvoe

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Do you shop online for you or your business? Did you know that you can support us from home if you shop online?

You can support us by just doing your normal weekly shop, booking your holidays or purchasing your insurance with easyfundraising.co.uk

Wenvoe Playgroup have registered with the site, where over 3,000 retailers and companies are registered. Every time you shop, it costs you nothing extra, however, the retailer makes a donation to our pot.

So next time you shop online, do it using this link and raise a free donation for Wenvoe Playgroup? In fact use it every time you shop!

https:// www.easyfundraising.org.uk/wenvoeplaygroup/.

A big thank you to those who are already supporting us.

Wenvoe Playgroup are operating 5 days per week from the Village Hall, working with Gwenfo Nursery in offering longer hours to support working parents.

Why not visit our website and view our Statement of Purpose and Operational Plan to see how we can help? There is also a link to our email from the site.

You can register your interest at any time. We care for children from the age of 2 years 4 months to 4 years 11 months and are registered with Care Standards and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW).

We have a number of events planned throughout the year, so please keep a watchful eye on our section in the What’s On.

We have ‘Marcia Bassey Jones’ Drag Night planned for 5th May and an evening of Mediumship with Nataly Churchill planned for June. More details nearer the date.

 

 

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Further Musings of A Political Teenager

 

PLAY HARD, WORK HARD

2016:- A Summary. Welcome to 2017!

Aexamst the beginning of January 2016, I sat my first Year 11 GCSE exams which let’s just say hadn’t exactly gone to plan. I was too worried about my failure to gain my sought after marks in January that it spooked me. For the first time in my life, I fully understood how much harder I needed to work. By April I had done my Grade 7 Acting LAMDA examination, earning myself a Merit in my penultimate grade. By my May birthday, my looming exams were finally upon me, the two years of course work finally leading up to the real things. I won’t lie – they terrified me. Honestly, at some points I’m surprised I didn’t go insane, yet quickly enough by late June I was done.

The rest of June and July came and went; a holiday and quality time with my family a staple for the summer. Late July and early August meant another holiday with cousins – which luckily went off without too many hitches (no one ended up in the hospital, so I’m counting it as a win!). Then came the day – Results Day. Even the name sounds intimidating, and I still have a few years left of suffering…

Yet I was okay. My exam results weren’t all what I was hoping for – yet there’s no way I could have complained. Passing all of my exams, with 2 A*s and 5 As to show for as just a few of my results was a highlight for sure. The worry was over and the delight at my GCSEs was able to fully sink in

September meant a new start – Sixth Form. As hard as it seems even now (I was unfortunately too overwhelmed for 4 subjects, deciding now that 3 A Levels would be more sensible for me) I’m glad I’ve embarked on the journey – you can see my English Literature and Language clearly come into play! ;P – it means the chance to study subjects I enjoy, and gain hopefully a place in a University studying subjects I also enjoy. You’ll hear me complaining non-stop about being tired and overworked (I just looked and it seems I may have 7 exams in the Summer…) but I feel I needed this experience to gain further insight into what I’d like to do – and where I’d like to do it.pubspeak

November meant a new role as part of a Public Speaking team through the medium of Welsh. Despite our surprise, we managed to make it to the South Wales final and were lucky to receive the chance to speak in a Cardiff Government building.

December came with its own challenges: being sole Editor of the School’s newspaper meant more overworked hours with the excitement of people not doing their work on time! *hint the sarcasm, people. Yet it came with its rewards; it meant a newfound respect, not necessarily from those in the school – I feel like the older students didn’t want to impair their ‘cool kid’ demeanour – but further for myself. I complained to hell and back, yet I surprised myself yet again with the amount of work I was willing to do – almost three months of no work over the summer makes you forget how hard you really did work – and also how much I cared. The first issue was finally released and I could go back to being the overworked student again rather than an extremely stressed editor for the rest of December. I received my certificates for my GCSEs and did my Grade 6 PAA Musical Theatre examination, filled with fear – and me having to sing a song all alone; ‘When You’re Good To Mama’ from Chicago nonetheless! Musical Theatre gained me a Distinction and Christmas and the New Year made me reflect on 2016.

Despite its universal issues, personally 2016 has been an eye-opener. It’s shown me that working hard really does get you further in the world. It’s also unfortunately taught me that I write far too much in essays… perhaps that will be my New Year’s resolution? But no, I don’t think it is.

I believe that maybe my New Year’s resolution is to take less for granted and to give myself more credit. I’m too easy to reconsider my achievements as flukes. I highly doubt I will turn into a narcissist within 2017, but perhaps a little more acknowledgement of what I can achieve may be the key to a happier Tirion this year.

Happy New Year to you all – whether you stick to your New Year’s resolutions or not, I hope you make the most of the year ahead.

Tirion Davies

 

 

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January’s Books

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There was no set book this month so members had free rein, some more successful than others. The diverse choices ranged from:-

* The power of the dog by Thomas Savage ( a Vintage Classic ) – powerful.

* A Dictionary of Misunderstanding by Jackie Copleton. – Excellent

* Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford – Fascinating Autobiography

* Anna Karenina by Tolstoy – a Masterpiece

* Death of a Busybody by George Bellaris. (set in a small village!!!) – Typical goings on !!

 

All the above came highly recommended by the individual Page Turners.

There were however two books which were not favourably reviewed :

* The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton – why was this a Booker Prize Winner?

* The Fat chance Diet Book- A very light read

A stimulating evening was had discussing the merits and otherwise of all these books. So we are off to a good start for 2017.

 

 

 

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Tai Chi Beginners Class

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Tai Chi is excellent for stress relief and teaches us to move from our centre, with slow flowing movements which encourage us to use a wide range of muscles in a relaxed way.

In Wenvoe we practise Tai Chi Yang style, a form with 3 parts – which I correlate to childhood, adulthood and mature adulthood. When tai-chi-01you start you learn the 1st part and build up confidence before moving on to the later stages.

I plan to start a Tai Chi beginners’ class this month on a Wednesday evening at about 5.30pm. I keep beginners in their own class so that we can progress as a group. This is likely to be the last beginner’s course I take in Wenvoe as I plan to retire once it is complete after more than 20 years of teaching.

If you would like to join us please contact me – Annie on 02920 593570.

 

 

 

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