Month: December 2017
The Muse by Jessie Burton
The Muse
by Jessie Burton
The Muse is a follow up novel to Jessie Burton’s very successful first novel The Miniaturist, which has previously been reviewed by the Page Turners.
The story is told in two timelines and centres on two creatively gifted young women, Olive Schloss an artist in Spain in the l930’s at the time of the Civil War and Odelle Bastien, a writer and immigrant from Trinidad in London in the l960’s. The timelines are linked by, and woven around, an intriguing painting of a lion and a girl holding the severed head of another girl. It incorporates elements of a love story, a drama, a historical fiction and a mystery.
The majority of the Page Turners agreed that this was a most enjoyable read, well written with strong characters the portrayal of who brought them clearly into the imagination. The transition between the two timelines worked well and the story is gripping but has plenty of twists and turns which keep the reader guessing right to the end.
The author has researched the effects of the Spanish Civil War on the population with care and accuracy and paints a clear picture of the hardships suffered, which proved both interesting and informative.
Several of the Page Turners agreed that the book was more enjoyable when read over a short period of time rather than in small sections, which could make the story appear disjointed. Also one Page Turner who listened to the audio book found this appeared disjointed and would not recommend it.
The overall opinion was that The Muse is a definite Page Turner to be recommended with the scores ranging from 6 to 8.5 and averaging a final 7.5.
Our hostess, Lynne, treated us to festive Mulled Wine, Bucks Fizz , delicious homemade mince pies and other lovely goodies. We raised a toast to a Happy Christmas and the Page Turners wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.
Prepare for Spring
Happy new year everyone.
I hope you're enjoying all the gardening goodies you were given at Christmas as, once people know that you're interested in horticulture, it's guaranteed that future presents will include items connected to the garden.
It might be difficult to get motivated when you're still fighting your way through sweets and the extras you bought or baked just in case a bus stopped outside your house over the New Year. As we know time waits for no one and there is plenty to be getting on with. The R H S has a top ten of things to do in January:-
1. Recycle your old xmas tree by shredding it to use as mulch
2. Clean pots and greenhouse ready for spring.
3. Dig over any vacant plots.
4. Disperse worm casts on lawn.
5. Inspect stored dahlia and begonia tubers for drying out and rot.
6. prune apple and pear trees.
7. Start forcing rhubarb, covering with a large upturned pot.
8. Plan your vegetable crop rotation for the coming season.
9. Keep putting out food and water for the birds.
10. If you have a peach or nectarine plant now is is the time to cover it with polythene to protect against peach leaf curl.
Broad beans can be sown now in pots and put in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.
Sow lettuce, brassicas, spinach and salad onions indoors for extra early crops. Onion seed can be planted if you have a heated propagator.
Trees and shrubs can still be moved now as long as the ground is not frozen. Bare root plants can still be put in now. With the weather so changeable please make sure that any stakes and ties are as they should be. Wind rock can ruin shrubs and trees. If we have snow we must not let it build up on shrubs if we can help it as branches can break which will invariably spoil the shape of the plant. Wisteria can be trimmed now, cut back to 2 or 3 buds but avoid cutting any flower buds. January is the last chance to sow seeds of native trees and shrubs that need frost to germinate.
Summer bulbs and seed potatoes will be available to purchase from the middle of the month, just be careful and keep them safe from frosts. Cut some of the old leaves off hellebores to expose the flowers.
Having watched Blue Planet 2 and seen the devastation caused by plastic on marine life, I will be making it my duty to always have a bag on me when I visit a garden centre as we do when supermarket shopping. It’s just a pity that all pots and trays are plastic. It comes down to economics and unless governments pass legislation this will continue, but anything we can do will help.
Have a happy New Year. Happy gardening.
Orchard Update
We have been out and about when the weather permitted. Some more willows have been planted in the Community Orchard along with the King James 1st Mulberry donated by a resident. 4 Bullace have been planted in the Wild Orchard, St Lythans, two each of the varieties Shepherds Bullace and Langley Bullace. These are like small plums or large sloes. Our remote camera traps are showing some nice shots of foxes and pheasants but no rarities as yet.
Future Plans for the Church
According to our current lectionary the Sunday before Advent is now known as “Christ the King”, but Jon took us back into the old Green Book Service Book and kept the 9.30am Eucharist as “Stir Up Sunday”. The day when according to tradition the Christmas puddings were made. The wording comes from the Collect for that day “ Stir up the wills of thy faithful people; that they bringing forth the fruit of good works may be plenteously rewarded”. The congregation was given a cookery demonstration when all the ingredients were brought to Jon by our “Pebbles “ children and later every member of the congregation had an opportunity to stir the mix as they left the church. Later that week the Rectory must have been full of steam as the mini puddings were steamed and then brought back into church the following Sunday to be distributed to all the families present. This was a reminder that Christians everywhere need to be alert and active in the Season of Advent as we prepare for the coming of the Saviour as a babe in a manger. St Mary’s is stirred and alive in so many ways, from supporting the Food Bank, the Shoe Box appeal, Toy Sunday and the various fund raising event for many charities not forgetting the wonderful response to the Christian Aid House to House appeal in May of this year. Thanks to Jon we have responded so well in supporting local and national requests for funds to help others not as fortunate as we are.
A Public Meeting, hosted by The Wenvoe Community Council and St Mary’s Church will be held in the Community Centre on February 8th 2018 at 7pm. To discuss the possibility of the Community Council purchasing the Church Hall.
Reason for selling the Church Hall
The hall began life as “The Reading Rooms” provided for the villagers by Mrs Laura Jenner in 1894. The site occupies cottages which were burnt down and a hall erected as a free reading room, with desks and tables including a fine bagatelle table and other games. Popular newspapers and magazines are supplied and is well patronised. (Report from the Barry and District News of 28th September 1894).
In recent years the Hall was gifted to St Mary’s Church by the Wenvoe Estate and was in 1982/3 extended for a new kitchen and toilet facility . Again in 2003 the hall was altered with a new entrance and a disabled toilet installed with the help of a £20,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly. It is now is dire need of more money to be spent on redecoration, a new kitchen and to upgrade the toilet facilities. The rentals we receive from the various lettings do not cover the outgoing costs of Insurance, Heat and Light, Cleaning and Maintenance. When the Church Council was presented with these facts the decision was taken to place the Hall on the market, and the money raised from the sale to be applied to an extension on the North side of the church, to replicate the facilities we have enjoyed in the Church Hall.
Reason for extending the Church.
St Mary’s is a fine church listed Grade II* in 1968 being of significant historic and architectural interest. The church over many years has been altered and improved i.e.. the Tower was removed and rebuilt in its present position in 1699. A new roof in the 1880’s, the heating system renewed a number of times, electricity installed in 1935. A gallery built and then removed during the Victorian restoration, the transept and larger vestry built in 1991. A sound system was installed and recently added to. All these alterations were needful for a growing church and the church is still growing today and in many ways is simply not fit for the 21st century.
Our vision for the future is to make St Mary’s continue as the worshipping centre of the community, with facilities such as toilet and kitchen together with a suitable extension to replicate the space we have in the Church Hall. There is no space in order to do special events or to entertain after services, both the usual Sunday Services – but to also to be able to offer facility such as Baptism Tea – all under one roof.. The church is very cluttered at the present time as we do not have space to store decorations, equipment, service books, liturgical items and registers. Our Sunday School “Pebbles” do not meet under the same roof as the rest of the worshipping community on a Sunday. This means a walk to cross the road in all weathers. The concept of a Sunday school is that they are part of a congregation, part of the church, not people who go to a different building. A living church is responsible for all its members from the youngest to the eldest. Hence the need to make our successful and growing Sunday School to be a full part of the congregation where we all gather together to be the Church.
The church has always had to look forward and embrace the new. Very few of us would want to attend the cold, dark, draughty church of the 12th century, if a church does not look forward to the future it will stand still and not have anything to offer future generations. Re-developments of St. Mary’s will help us to embrace the future whilst respecting the past and traditions of the church. It will also help us to use the church building more during the week for other activities and it will provide a new facility and meeting room to the village.
We commend our plans and aspirations to the community at large and we wish all readers a Very happy New Year.
. Parry Edwards
Chicken, Celery and Mushroom Cobbler
Chicken, Celery and Mushroom Cobbler
500g chicken breasts, [or use any leftover turkey and ham] cubed
250ml chicken stock
25g butter and 1 tbsp. oil
5 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
3 medium leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
250g mushrooms sliced
2 lemons, juiced and zested
1 tbsp. flour
a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
200ml tub crème fraiche
Scone topping
250g SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
75g butter, room temp, cubed
2 courgettes, trimmed and grated
good pinch cayenne pepper
about 100ml milk to bind mixture
1 egg beaten to glaze
In a large pan heat butter and oil, cook leeks and celery until softened. If using chicken add to pan and cook until white all over. If using alternative meats add to pan. Add the mushrooms, cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and mix together. Add the stock, thyme, lemon juice and zest, mix well together. Add crème fraiche, season well with sea salt and black pepper, stir well together. Transfer to an oven proof dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 180C.
To make the topping. In a large bowl mix flour and baking powder with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Rub in the butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the courgettes and cayenne pepper. Add enough milk to form a soft dough. DON'T overwork the mixture. Roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1.5cm thick. Cut out rounds with a 50mm cutter, re-roll as required. Arrange over the surface of the chicken mixture, overlapping as necessary, so its covered. Brush with the egg and cook in the oven for about 30 – 35 mins until scones are risen and golden brown.
200 Club – November Draw Winners
Have A Merry Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Christmas will be different this year. It seems everything this year has challenged us with means we deserve a new future, a new year to cap off the disastrous 2017. But with it comes a desire for a better 2018, one with less tragedy and less worry, one I’m highly doubtful we’ll be graced with. As you attempt to track through the awful past year, too many tragedies appear; but thankfully, some good has come out of this year, too. Perhaps the definition of 2017 is Time magazine’s Person of the Year being the men and women who stood up against their abusers this year, an ongoing battle I wish to see more of; but with Donald Trump taking second place. A year of wins, sprinkled with losses, too.
As we review this year, we need to take note of the good things. All too often do we dwell on the bad – remember the solidarity of women standing together at the Women’s Marches, and the world banding together in light of the numerous terror attacks, to prove we will not our futures be defined by the ugliness of these attacks. When you think of this year – although it’s so hard – try not to think about the ludicrous fact that Donald Trump (practically a five year old) is running America; daydream about his impeachment and Bernie Sanders storming in with a new Congress to pass the bills for free healthcare and re-instating Planned Parenthood. When you think of the Harvey Weinstein cases, don’t waste time on him and his supporters, educate yourself on the victims who finally allowed themselves a voice.
Following 2016 murderous rampage practically of celebrity after celebrity dying, we were graced with 2017’s own tragedies of sexual abusers. As one user on Tumblr aptly put it – last year you worried if your favourite celebrity was trending in case they were dead, this year you’re worried they are an abuser. Which then is worse?
Take the time this year to think about your successes this year. This year I passed my first year of A Levels without too much hassle; have applied to Universities and gained offers; have passed my final LAMDA examination; have (finally) passed my theory test; have gained multiple opportunities to expand my future, and have further gained stronger friendships. I’m grateful that I’m sure there’s more I could say about this year, and am more than grateful that I don’t know what I want for Christmas. Maybe the one thing I want for Christmas is impossible to have – an even better 2018.
When I sit watching the Christmas specials flood my screen at Christmas, and enjoy the feeling of having my family around me, I’ll realise I’m grateful for this year.
Because despite how awful it appears to have been on the outside, it’s allowed me to expand my horizons, and realise that my future is quickly shaping to be better than I’d hoped. For Christmas this year, I just hope that everyone else feels that they can call themselves stronger for having overcome a Millennial’s Year from Hell.
By Tirion Davies
Chartist Cave & Abercarn
Chartist Cave
We started at Trefil on a cold but sunny morning, much better than the weather forecast. Walking north we followed the Brinmore tramroad which opened in 1815.
We soon arrived at a quarry and the footpath led us through it. It has been used as a set for Torchwood and Dr Who.
Emerging from the quarry we followed a good track and crossed it to look at ‘the Duke’s table’. This is a ring of stones with a raised mound of grass in the centre surrounded by a second circular mound. It is said that this was where the Duke of Beaufort had lavish lunches with water gathered from a nearby spring, on days spent hunting on the moors. The inner ring is the table and the outer the seating.
Continuing north, on the main path, we found a sign marking The Aneurin Bevan Heritage Trail – ‘Bevan was always welcomed on his visits to the quarrying village of Trefil, the northern tip of his constituency. He loved its lonely moor lands walking with his friends. The ashes of both Bevan (1960) and Jennie Lee (1988) were scattered on these upland slopes. “What the nation mourned was the tragedy which mixed with the brilliance and the genius, and what it did in expiation was to acknowledge his unique place in our history.” Michael Foot’
Here we turned east and shortly after northeast, enjoying glorious views in the unexpected sunshine. Large sink holes appeared regularly across this landscape.
Now we turned south east to make our way towards the Chartist Cave, which can be difficult to find. (See the cover article about the history of the Chartists). After a short walk across the moor we could see a large cairn on top of a hill. Then a heavy mist descended hiding it from view, so we walked on a bearing to it. From here the cave is to the east, we crossed peaty ground covered in heather. With the misty weather we calculated that after about 10 minutes we should have been near the cave and soon realised we were stood on top of it and found the opening.
After a brief exploration of the Chartist cave, we had lunch. The mist did not lift so we cut the walk short, following a small track southwest, back to Trefil. As we approached the village a kite swooped nearby.
The walk was relatively dry underfoot, despite the peat, with tracks left by many feet human and animal making the going easy. We covered 6.8miles and 600ft climb. Map OL13
Abercarn
We parked at the edge of the forest above Abercarn and walked downhill towards housing before starting to climb and taking a footpath in a north-easterly direction, we crossed open land keeping the forest to our right. Nearby we spotted a tree with the base of its trunk shaped like a teapot..
After a short distance we entered the forest travelling west briefly and then northeast again. The forest follows a steeply sided valley and a lot of trees had been cleared. The pattern the felled trees formed made us feel as if we were moving as we looked at them, even though we stopped. An abundance of next year’s foxgloves lined the footpath.
A short stretch of dark woodland was decorated with the remains of police tape – imaginations ran riot. Soon we emerged onto a minor road where we met a fellow local walker and his dogs. He was friendly and enthusiastic giving us tips about good places to walk in the area.
We continued along the road before turning east onto Mynydd Maen Common. As we did so, a car passed us, a door opened as it slowed and a small dog jumped out, whereupon the car 
drove off with the dog running after it. The car pulled into a lay-by about 400yds further on – a new way to walk the dog!
Crossing the common, the woodland still on our right, we noticed that thick ice covered water here. Misty, the dog, was surprised when she stepped into/ onto water and her legs splayed.
At the eastern edge of the forest we turned back south and enjoyed lunch with lovely views down the wooded valley. Then we had to walk down to the bottom of the valley – approximately a 500’ drop! This proved a bit of a challenge as it was largely covered in heather and bracken and extremely steep
Reaching the bottom, we followed a stream. A section of this had concrete sides and a dam, probably a sheep dip. We now followed good forest tracks above the stream. Glancing across the steeply sided valley, we could see our cars parked on the other side. We continued until we could drop into the valley and climb the other side back to the vehicles. The walk was 7.4miles and climb 1200ft.
What’s Coming Up
Well, what a busy and fun packed term this has been! It hardly seems any time since we came back in September to begin the new school year!
Our pupils really did themselves and us proud during their recent school concerts! Key Stage 2 pupils put on a wonderful performance of "Scrooge", with Oliver Brownhill Jenkins playing the role beautifully. The singing was glorious and the acting first class. Our Foundation Phase pupils acted out the Nativity play, "A Little Bird Told Me". Both the choir and Nursery children put in special performances, which were very well received indeed. Thanks really must go to: all the parents and carers, for providing such fantastic costumes; to the PTFA, who worked tirelessly to organise the raffles; to all the staff for working with the children to produce such super performances; to Mrs Sian Jones for her hard work and commitment to working with our school choirs; finally, to our pupils for working so hard and making us all so proud.
Next week, the entire school are visiting the Sherman Theatre to see The Wind In The Willows. We are all very excited and this is the first time we have gone to the theatre as a whole school! As it is a matinee performance, it means we come home in the dark, which makes it extra special and magical!
We also have a Christingle service for Foundation Phase children next week. This is always very special and thanks really must go to Mrs Claire James for her hard work in leading and organising the service.
Next week is also party week. Father Christmas visits our younger children and our Junior pupils are wonderfully entertained by Mr Bradley, with a disco and games.
We really would like to say a special thank you to our amazing PTFA, who work tirelessly to raise funds for school – it is so much appreciated and makes such a huge difference.
We would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and all good wishes for 2018!