Month: July 2017

Seasonal Advice

 

 

I hope all is well with your gardens, it's a busy time as always. Dead heading, regular feeding, weeding and watering are a must to prolong the flowering season. Cut back your herbaceous geraniums and you should get another show of flowers this summer. When watering the tomato plants, try to keep the leaves dry. Wet or damp leaves can promote fungus growth. If this is the case then spraying with fungicide is necessary. Any shrubs that have flowered can be trimmed back now, but please look up on line or in a book to see how much you can safely take off, it's very difficult to stick the bits back on if you've been over enthusiastic. Runner beans are going to get black fly at sometime and the best way of dealing with this is to rub it off with your fingers – a bit yuck but it works.

Clare Ellis and a few volunteers from the Library had a plant sale at the end of May to raise funds. The plants on sale were great value. Gordon Jones brought brilliant plants along, better than you would find in most Garden centres.

This is the time of year when roses are in their pomp, all the effort in early spring will have paid off. Just keep dead heading and feed again now, also watch out for pests and disease.

While working in Greave Close I met up with Gwyndaf Breese. He was attending a garden next to his own and showed me the work he has done and is in the process of doing. The garden is in a lot of shade but this cottage garden shows that this man knows his plants. Gwyndaf's front garden has a lot of wood sculpture in it, demonstrating his love of all things wooden. There is a lot I don't know about this man and his talents so I will be taking a note pad the next time I see him. A bit of science now . Clive Phillips of Burdens Lane has spent most of his life in horticulture. Clive told me that a lot of us are missing a trick and not checking the PH of the soil. The alkaline or acidity of a substance is measured in PH units with a scale running from 0–14. A PH of 7 is neutral, lower numbers are acidic whilst above 7 is alkaline. Most plants like a PH of 6.5. The way to achieve this is with lime and a well balanced fertiliser. Blueberry,Azalias and Rhododendrons insist on a PH of 4.5 to 5.5. The Wenvoe area sits on limestone so you would think there would be enough lime in the soil, but increasingly wet winters and improved drainage means that a lot of nutrients get washed away.

On the 11th June I went with Glen to Llysworney near Cowbridge where six gardens were open under the National Garden Scheme. It was a really good day out, great gardens and lovely people. The criteria is strict but nothing to get in the way of some of the gardens in Wenvoe. There must be some who would love to show off their gardens and raise money for good causes.

This month the allotment holders held an informal meeting at the Wenvoe Arms as a get together and to exchange views. Quite a lot was discussed and plans are afoot to put together a newsletter to keep people informed of progress. Anything that promotes gardening has to be a good thing. Happy gardening

 

 

Mint and Courgette Cake with Soft Cream Topping

 

Mint and Courgette Cake with Soft Cream Topping

155ml sunflower oil, plus a little extra
230g self-rising flower
1tsp baking powder
11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
230g light brown muscovado sugar
zest of 1 orange
100g pecan nuts coarsely chopped
3 large eggs beaten
300g coarsely grated courgettes [squeeze out excess liquid]
2 – 3tbsp coarsely chopped mint leaves


Topping

50g butter softened
200g full fat cream cheese
150 icing sugar
Preheat oven to 165C, Oil and line the base of a 18cm spring form cake tin. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl, mix to combine together. Add the sugar, zest, pecan nuts and grated courgettes, stir well to combine. Stir in the beaten eggs and oil, again mix well to combine. Pour into prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
For the topping, use a hand mixer. Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat again until well mixed. Sift the icing sugar over the cheese mix and beat until well mixed. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge until needed. Once the cake has cooled down, spread the topping over the top,

cut and enjoy.

 


 

Gruyere Biscuits

 

Gruyere Biscuits

125g plain flour
100g unsalted butter, diced
1/4 – 1/2 tsp chilli powder
100g finely grated gruyere cheese
a little milk to brush the tops
dried rosemary to decorate


Put the flour, butter and chilli in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resmbles breadcrums. Add the cheese, pulse again to bring the dough to-gether. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for about 1 hour. Heat the oven to160C, line two baking trays. On a lightly floured board roll out the mixture to a thickness of 5mm. [do this in two hits] Cut out biscuits with a 5cm plain cutter. re-roll any trimmings and cut. Place on the baking trays, brush with a little milk and sprinkle with the rosemary. Bake for about 12 -15 minutes until golden.

 

 

May Orchard Walk

 

38 walkers turned up at the end of May on a fine day to do the Orchard Walk which we had arranged as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival. The start coincided with the minute's silence held in memory of the Manchester terrorist victims so we were able to observe this in St Mary's church where we were made most welcome. The walk took in the Community Orchard, Elizabethan, Welsh and Wild Orchards but it is always good to talk about other village features such as the church, the ancient yew, the village green and the cattle pound. At least a dozen of the walkers were from Wenvoe but others had come from as far afield as Aberdare and Newport. As usual the Bee Hotel attracted a lot of interest but it was also good to find significant numbers of Early Purple Orchid and Common Twayblade in an area where they had not been recorded previously.

Green Flag judging took place the day before and we await the results with interest. The second bee hotel, shown in the photo, is now in place down at Goldsland Farm and the first occupants were moving in as the small units were being fixed in place. We have taken the opportunity to add some sparrow communal nest-boxes on the top shelf. Conservation work has concentrated on strimming, weeding and clearing. Two new gooseberries have been added to the heritage gooseberry collection at the Elizabethan Orchard and several new herbs (all donated) have been planted in the Physicians of Myddfai garden including Vervain, Betony and Valerian. This year looks promising for apples and plums and there should be plenty to share round if you fancy tasting some real old-fashioned apples fresh off the trees. Pears do not seem to have done so well.

We have been using the money raised by the Craft fair raffle to help out Wenvoe Primary School with plants, raised beds and compost. There are always jobs to be done so if you can spare an hour or two, do get in touch.

 

 

 

 

June News Update

 

The fine spell of weather in June, has enabled our stone mason, Mike, to carry out the remedial work on the capping of the boundary walls along the southern edge of the churchyard. This means that all the work required to be carried out from the last quinquenial inspection is now complete.

An application for a faculty from the diocesan authorities for the removal of the concrete channelling along the base of the south wall of the nave and the chancel, and a French drain to be dug to take water and moisture out of the walls is being prepared and a notice to that effect has been displayed on the south door of the church. Part of this work will mean that the “soak away” will be sited under the main path to the church, where there should be no disturbance to any burials, and will mean that access to the church will be affected, but only for a short time.

The main event of last month was the organising of the annual Christian Aid Appeal with house to house collections in the three parishes, and other fund raising events such as the Lenten Lunches and the Agape Supper in the church Hall during the season of Lent. Thanks must go all who were involved in making this year such a success and to those who have so generously given donations. The final sum came to £2,960.85, which is a fantastic amount to raise. Well done to all.

There is news to report from our village school… they are preparing for their School Inspection commencing on June 26th.. and also they have asked for help in a project they have started with the Gwenfo Primary School Peace Garden. A new peace garden is under development in the school grounds. This will be a place where pupils can sit quietly to reflect, pray or talk quietly with their friends. The hard landscaping is complete and has been paid for by PTA funds. Now the borders need planting. If you are able to donate a cutting, or divide a perennial and donate part to the school they would be very grateful. This has already been announced in church and donations of plant material from interested parties would be most welcome. The school will be happy to receive plants etc.

The next United Service for the Three Parishes will be at St Bleiddian’s Church, St Lythan’s on Sunday July 30th at 10.30am. this will be followed by a Pilgrimage Walk to Llandaff Cathedral with co-ordinated and timed stops along the way for people to join the walk where they wish to and there will also be a place where we will stop for a picnic lunch in Trelai Park. The walk will end with Cathedral evensong and there will be lifts back to St.Lythans/ Wenvoe. Full details are in the “Connections” three parishes magazine or on St. Mary’s church notice board in the south porch.

The next Film Night at the Rectory will be at 7.30pm on Friday 7th July when the film “Moana” will be screened. Names please on the list in church if you wish to attend.

The next “Messy Church” event will be on Saturday 15th July at 3.30 – 5.30 pm in the school grounds, where a programme celebrating the Great Outdoors with games and activities, worship and food outside. All people of all ages are most welcome and the event is FREE.

Celebrating a 3rd anniversary… Yes Jon has been here three years. How quickly the time seems to have gone by. In these three years there have been a number of changes, both in services, times of services, a combined parish magazine, and an awareness that each of our parishes are not on their own but part of a larger group, now called a Ministry Area. This is the policy of Llandaff diocese and the Church in Wales, to group parishes together, in sharing the work God has called us to do with one another. During this month we shall be welcoming our new Bishop in Llandaff, the Very Rev, June Osbourne, now Dean of Salisbury in the Church of England. Following the confirmation of her appointment, Dean June will be consecrated as Bishop at Brecon on July 15th and enthroned at Llandaff Cathedral on 22 July.

Greetings to all our readers

Parry Edwards

 

 

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay.

 

No Time for Goodbye is a "thriller" novel written by Canadian author Linwood Barclay.

Married and with a daughter of her own, it has been twenty five years since her family vanished without a trace but Cynthia Archer has never given up hope that they might one day all return and, as a result, has not been able to bring herself to move out of the town that she grew up in. Just in case. When a reality television show offers to go over the events of that fateful night, taking Cynthia back to her childhood home, she jumps at the chance. What if a television special jogs somebody's memory? What if her parents and brother are still alive and see it?

When the show airs and nothing more than a few cranks and side-show freaks come out of the woodwork, Cynthia begins to give in to despair. Then the 'messages' begin to appear, followed by strange phone calls and the feeling that she is very definitely being followed. Is this just a strange coincidence or could someone know something about that night? Is there someone shadowing Cynthia and her family or is she just so desperate to discover the truth, that her mind is playing tricks on her?

Points made by the group were:-

 This book does have some page turning quality, but any hint of excitement at the mystery unfolding was completely overshadowed by the terribly poorly executed and unbelievable narrative.

 There was no connection to the characters or their stories.

 The story is told by the husband, Terry and he is quite possibly the most uninteresting character. Dry, drab and monotone in his dialogue where any hint of feeling is executed in a cliche and considered fashion. There were points where it was exasperating because of the terrible writing, considering he was an English language teacher.

 What lies at the heart of the mystery is totally ridiculous and unbelievable.

 The tone slips. When Vince comes on stage, we move from creepiness to slapstick

 The reason the ending is surprising is because it's improbable not because it's surprising.

 

The storyline did, I suppose, have some merit as the book was finished by all members of the group despite the painful narrative. However nothing about it was actually believable. I understand thrillers often are not of the truthful nature, but I feel that no character was developed enough for the reader to understand motive or action. We only gave the book a 3 out of a possible10.

As usual we spent the remainder of the evening enjoying tea, coffee and cake provided by Helen.

 

 

 

Garway Hill

Garway Hill

The walk started in Kentchurch near a lodge gate and we were going to be following part of the Herefordshire trail, which meanders the Wales/England border. Nearby Kentchurch Court is a stately home which has been in the Scudamore family for over 1000 years. There is a deer park plus extensive gardens and which are open to the public during summer months. Ralph Scudamore (recorded in the area in 1042) is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, a Norman stonemason he was employed by Edward the Confessor to build the castle in Ewyas Harold.

Travelling north we passed through farm land. Two quite isolated glamping huts were on our route, each had a main hut containing sleeping and dining spaces, with a separate bathroom across a stretch of wooden decking. Surrounded by woodland they looked cosy and even had a BBQ area.

We spotted a vineyard, walked through a huge field of oil seed rape (gone to seed), a crop of peas and then the distinctive heaped up rows of a potato field.

Next we found an outdoor gym and one person volunteered to demonstrate his skills – particularly impressive when walking across narrow branches.

We arrived at a road and travelled along it towards Cross Llyde and Bagwyllydiart in an easterly direction cutting off a corner of the Herefordshire trail. Rejoining the trail we passed under Garway hill crossing Garway hill Common in a southerly direction towards White Rock.

At White Rock we turned northwest in the general direction of Kentchurch. We took in a view of the River Monnow where we passed a footbridge – a plaque in the centre of the bridge remembers Marius Gray, a chartered accountant, who served on the boards of the Daily Mail and a number of health charities he was made CVO in 2011.

An avenue of limes lined the road to a pet crematorium at Barton hill with a delightful stream nearby.

This was a relaxing late spring walk through lovely countryside. Views in this area are excellent the Skirrid, Sugar loaf and the Black Mountains are all visible from Garway hill and, even though we didn’t climb to the top, we enjoyed the panorama.

We had achieved 7¾ miles and 1100ft.

 

 

 

Llanbradach and Ystrad Mynach

Llanbradach and Ystrad Mynach

We started in Llanbradach on a cloudy morning, after a night of thunderstorms, but the forecast was for a dry day. We crossed the railway and climbed through the woods to the west of Llanbradach. On the side of the path were large benches made from stone, placed there by the Llanbradach Community Council some of them having dedications to late council members.

As we climbed further a mist started to surround us and then we entered the clouds. Fir trees, soaked from heavy rain last night, edged the path and brushed against us as we walked. Even though we wore gaiters, trouser legs were soon wet and to some extent our arms. Still it was pleasant to walk in the mist in warm weather.

Emerging onto the open common we found rubbish dumped in many places spoiling the area. A field of cows was invisible until we were very close to them but plants were clear – a lovely rowan in full bloom, and gorgeous yellow gorse and irises.

A wide track was packed with stones and after we’d walked a while we heard a lorry coming – it was bringing hardcore up the track and dumping it to lengthen the reinforced section.

Until now we had resisted putting on our waterproofs as we were sure the weather was improving and we’d soon dry out but suddenly the rain fell heavily so we put jackets on. Our route headed northwest across Nant Cwm Sarn. To the east there were slag heaps appearing and disappearing in the gloom, and then the clouds parted a little and we could see a pair of pyramid shaped hills.

The rain hadn’t eased off as we continued across the moor following a wall in the hope it would protect us a little. Water had begun to trickle inside gaiters and down into our boots as the wind blew harder. It was time to accept that the weather was set for the day and don our waterproof trousers.

Our path continued through a high sided green lane so we decided to stop and eat lunch while we had some shelter from the elements. We had passed our highest point of the day and looked forward to less climbing in the second half of the walk as we continued east towards Ystrad Mynach and then down the Rhymney valley back towards Llanbradach.

Unfortunately, the footpath down the valley was severely overgrown with brambles and bracken and after making slow progress we decided to try and climb above the blockage. This took a while but proved to be a good decision. We approached another green lane, access was again difficult but we climbed down onto it, now our way was clear and we made good time back to Llanbradach. At last we were below the cloud and could see the river in the valley and lakes which looked like fishing ponds.

We had walked 9 miles and climbed 1200ft. Apart from the overgrown stretch it was a good walk but the views, which would have been good, were totally hidden by the clouds an unlucky day but still very enjoyable.

 

 

 

1 … 3 4 5 6