November Planning Applications

 

Planning

 Style Garden Centre / The Grange, Port Road. Work to trees covered by TPO. The proposed work on the copses of trees is supported by a full report on their present condition and the protective work necessary. The Council had no objection.

 Wenvoe Quarry, Wenvoe. Proposed recycling facility. This is to recycle stone by crushing imported stone using their present plant. The Council supported the application.

 



 

November Planning Updates

 

Planning Updates

The following applications have been granted approval by the Vale.

 11, Walston Road. Extension to existing bungalow at rear and side. Small gabled extension to front with material alterations. Demolition of existing garage d

 9, Tarrws Close. Roof terrace and access stair from within property

 Wenvoe Community Centre, Old Port Road, Wenvoe Proposed extension to existing community centre to provide new library and toilet facilities, and demolition of existing library and outbuilding.

 The Walled Garden, Wenvoe. Single storey bedroom and en-suite extension.

 Oak Tree Farm/Oak Tree House, Morfa Lane. Use of the dwelling without complying with an agricultural occupancy condition attached to the original planning permission. Refused

 

Rectory Road garages have now been dismantled and removed, the future of the site is still to be decided by the Vale.

There have been two attempted garage break-ins and an attempted car break-in in the last month. Nothing was stolen in any of the cases. The police advise fitting an additional locked bottom bolt to your garage door and to park your vehicle on your drive rather than on the road.

The construction of the affordable houses on the old Greenwood Quarry site at Twyn-yr-Odyn is expected to commence early next year and occupation of the properties from late summer 2018.

 



 

November Activities

 

Due to a last minute cancellation on October 18th,Mr Derek Donovan stepped in and gave us a lovely musical afternoon with his harmonica playing.
We had an afternoon of Bingo on 1st of November followed on the 8th with a talk by Mr John Bettles on Humour in the funeral parlour and of the strange requests some families ask for in both music and service.
On Wednesday 15th November Mr Clive Sims entertained us with the music of famous composers.Mr Sims is a talented pianist and keyboard player and records all his own music which we found relaxing on a day when members had earlier said their fond farewell to our dear member, Eileen, who will be sadly missed.
Another year almost over which will end with our Xmas lunch on 13th December at the Walston Castle. Lunch is booked for 1.00 pm so please arrive by 12.30.
We will recommence our meetings on 3rd January with a game of Bingo followed on the 10th January with our AGM. After which our spring programme will begin, details of which will be announced in January’s “What’s On”.


Wishing all our members a very Happy Christmas.

 



 

Raffles and Lego

 

We are holding a Christmas Raffle with a bumper hamper of seasonal goodies up for grabs. Tickets are £1.00 each and available in the library; thanks to Claire Ellis for organising and donating items.

We are selling Christmas Cards with a choice of local scenes and these are £4.00 for ten. These are unique to Wenvoe and not available anywhere else; ideal for sending to former residents or those who have moved away from the village?

With the holiday season approaching we will be having more Lego sessions on Saturday mornings; these will probably be on Saturday 9th and 17th but Follow us on Facebook for details.

We have had a good clear out of books which haven’t been read in the last two years and are making space for the new stock as it begins to arrive. If you’re looking for good books to read over Christmas don’t forget you can browse the catalogue over the internet and order books from almost any public library in Wales.. CDs, DVDs and audio books are also available.

Merry Christmas, and happy reading!

 



 

Christmassy Messy fun

 

The joint congregations of Vale Village and St Mary’s Churches look forward to welcoming families from Wenvoe and the surrounding areas to our third Christmas Messy Church event.

You can expect a warm welcome for the young and old with plenty of Christmassy Messy fun, mess, paints, craft, cooking and creativity- come and spot the themes beginning with “S”!

We will enjoy activities followed by a time of celebration/worship which includes songs, story and a warm meal together and don’t forget our recent addition of singing the “Messy grace” together to the tune of the “Adams family”.

So much to look forward to- see you there!Saturday 2nd December 3:30-5:30, Community Centre, Wenvoe

 



 

Autumn Cleanup

 

 

In the churchyard work was done on clearing nettles and weeds from on the reconstructed wall. By the time you read this piece, the window boxes at the Community Centre will have been cleared of the remnants of the summer bedding, to be replaced by winter pansies and bulbs.

 

Next meeting 11th December, usual time.

 



 

Winter Preparations

 

 

A huge thank you to everyone who gave to Children in Need through The Village Gardener at the end of October. Some of you may not have realised, but your tips and donations raised £100. Brilliant.

There is an unusual vegetable taking over the garden at Judy Holmes house. A three year old cabbage which was grown from seed. Judy accidentally mowed the top off it and thought she would use it for cooking. She put it in water to keep it fresh and roots grew from the side. This remarkable cabbage is still providing for Judy with enough left to feed any insects that need sustenance. On the subject of greens, don't forget to put your sprouts on to boil or they will never be of the right consistency for Christmas dinner. The 1st of December should give them enough time.

As I’m writing this the weather is still unseasonably warm, which means that grass is still growing and will need cutting if dry enough to get on to, but keep the cut high. Slugs are still in abundance so a recommendation from the intrepid explorer, Joyce Hoy, will help. Joyce says to spray the rims of your terracotta pots with WD40, if pots are plastic soak a piece of string in WD40 and tie around the rim.

We still have time to plant bulbs especially tulips and then look forward to lovely colour in spring. There should be some bargains to be had now as shops and garden centres try to clear stock. If you have spare space, why not try some hardwood cuttings of deciduous trees and shrubs. Willow is good to try. Using this year’s growth, cut pieces into 6'' lengths. Cut on an angle above a bud so that water runs off and then cut again straight across just below a pair of buds. Plant outside to about 2/3rds of its length. Tree cuttings can take until next autumn to root. The same techniques can be used on honeysuckle, vines and fruit bushes.

Cold weather will be with us at some point so check your outside taps are covered. The RSPB say that the need to provide water for birds is just as important at this time of year as ponds and puddles are frozen. Their tips include putting a light ball in the birdbath as the slightest breeze will move it and this will help stop water freezing. Another good tip is lining the bath with polythene, so you can lift out the ice.

The BBCs Gardeners World series ended last month and I know how much you enjoy the programme with Monty Don. It is a great programme and we always watch it. That said two items really wound me up. The first was when presenter Adam Frost was mulching a huge border, on which weed control fabric had been put down, with Grow Sure Smart Ground Cover. This mulch is £9.90 a bag and i promise you all it is not worth it, any mulch will do the job. The second was towards the end of the series. Monty Don was shown raking leaves off a lawn then spreading them on a path only to run a mower over them to break them down to use as mulch. Just run the mower over the grass on a higher setting, with the grass box on and all the leaves are picked up and mulched at the same time. Roll on the next series.

Leading up to Christmas the one plant most of us buy or are given will be poinsettias. To care for these, keep on a warm window sill, only water when top of compost feels dry then give it a good soaking and feed once a week.

 

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas, take care and happy gardening.

 



 

Christmas Celebrations

 

 

Vale Village Church would like to invite everyone to join them to celebrate Christmas. We promise you a warm welcome and an insight into the true meaning of Christmas. There will be traditional carols, the Christmas story and one or two surprises!

Sunday 17th December 11am – Vale Village Christmas – A service for the whole family with special guest items. Coffee and pastries served from 10.30am

Sunday 17th December 6.30pm – Carols by Candlelight – Mulled wine and mince pies served from 6pm

Thursday 21st December 8.30pm – Carols in the Wenvoe Arms

Sunday 24th December 11am – Christmas Celebration – A service for the whole family with special guest items. Coffee and pastries served from 10.30am

 



 

The Late Dennis Moran

 

The St Mary's 200 Club was started in 2004 by the late Dennis Moran, as a means of raising money to help with building maintenance of the church. For each £1 share bought, 50p goes to the building fund, and 50p is returned as prizes. The Club operates under the regulations of the Lotteries and Amusement Act, and is registered with the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

Dennis Moran worked tirelessly to build up the membership, until his sad death in 2015. His efforts will be remembered and appreciated for a long time. By the end of 2017, the Club will have contributed almost £20,000 to the building fund and helped to maintain our lovely church, thanks to the fantastic generosity of the people of Wenvoe.

The prize draw is carried out each month, generally on the fourth Sunday, in the church hall after the morning service.The "random number indicator machine" which selects the share numbers for prizes was built by John Custance, and the children of the congregation have fun pressing the buttons each month to see who has won. In the last few days, the 300th share has been bought, which would surely have made Dennis very proud. We shall soon have to make a decision on whether to change the name of the club to the "300 Club"!

If anyone would like to join the Club, please contact Dickon Oliver on 02920 679108. Who knows, one day we may have a 400 Club!

 



 

Winter / Spring Activities

 

 

The Winter/Spring session of Tuesday Group began with the AGM where the officers and committee were voted on again to serve another year. This was followed by a social evening where everyone was able to catch up after the summer break. Joyce produced a very interesting quiz based on several decades since the fifties. It produced much discussion if not the right answers ! Thank you Joyce for a thought provoking quiz.

Our first speaker was Ann Callem who spoke about her lifetime career as a nurse. Her father was in the Admiralty and they lived abroad a lot when she was a child. As a consequence she went to five different schools before spending a settled period in a prestigious school in Kent. At first the uniform was a culture shock. After living in lightweight clothing in the tropics she had to get used to thick grey knickers and coarse stockings.

She decided to be a nurse by default. When asked at her posh school what she wanted to do in the future she said she wanted to be an air hostess. This went down like a lead balloon and she was told she’d better be a nurse, so this was the career she pursued.

She began her training at a teaching hospital in London where a Hattie Jacques type character was matron and ruled with a rod of iron !! She was a larger than life figure that petrified her. The uniform in those days was in complete contrast to the modern day where dresses and aprons were starched to within an inch of their lives and an elaborate hat was worn. She came across many celebrities during her time there as the hospital was situated in Paddington and remembers actors and other well known people such as Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice Davies.

Ann spent over 57 years as a nurse so had many funny stories to tell. She even retired once but went back on request. A high point in her career was when she was nominated for an award by her peers for ‘going above and beyond the call of duty’. She has continued nursing, though these days she is a practice nurse in a doctor’s surgery. She still enjoys the contact with patients albeit in a different setting. To have continued for this length of time as a nurse must have been a fulfilling one even though it began in an unorthodox manner.

Our programme continued with a trip to the New Theatre to see Cabaret. It was a well acted show and I am sure that everyone who went had a good time. Thank you Betty for getting such good seats.

Our indoor meetings continued with a talk by Gwerfil Gardener who became a house volunteer at Duffryn over three years ago. Gwerfil spoke to us about the fascinating history of the ownership of Duffryn.

The story of Duffryn dates back to the 7th century when the house was then called the Manor of Worlton. In the 16th century the Button family acquired the Manor and a house of some note was built. Sir Thomas Button was an admiral to Elizabeth1 and his family occupied the estate for a

number of generations.

In the 18th century the estate was bought by Thomas Pryce, who rebuilt the property and called it Duffryn House. He was only 23 at the time, an industrialist who made munitions for the government. When he died the estate passed to his daughter but as she had no children it was inherited by a distant relative, John Knigt.

In 1891 the estate was sold to John Cory, a coal merchant and he built the present house in 1893. John Cory was very wealthy and the original house was not considered grand enough so he appointed an architect, Lansdown to design the new property. The old property was not demolished but remained inside the new structure.

You can still see evidence of the family’s vast wealth today- from the 16th century fireplaces to the commissioned stained glass windows.

One of John Cory’s sons Reginald was a passionate horticulturalist and collaborated on the garden design with Thomas Manson. Sir Cenydd Traherne bought the estate in the late 1930’s and later leased it to Glamorgan County Council who used it as an educational conference facility.

The house and gardens are still owned by the Vale of Glamorgan Council but the National Trust took over the maintenance and running in January 2013 on a 50 year lease. The trust have built on the work already done to the house and gardens and hopefully this will secure the future of Duffryn house for us all to enjoy in years to come.

Our speaker on the 7th November was Mandy Morgan from Garth Mountain Silver. Mandy grew up in Pentyrch and named her company after the Garth mountain where she played as a child. Sadly, you won’t find silver there, it has to be sourced from places like Peru and Mexico these days. Mandy gave us an amusing and inspirational talk about her background. She did not do well at Radyr Comprehensive School and was even told that she would never become a metal worker. After doing a variety of jobs, she actually went on to do her degree and worked with people with drug and alcohol problems. Lack of funding meant that she became redundant and that was when she took a class in silver smithing, ironically at Radyr Comprehensive. Her hobby became her passion and her business grew. She demonstrated how she makes rings from silver spoons that she gets at car boot sales. Mandy now sells her jewellery at craft fairs and to private customers.

 



 

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