Month: April 2018

Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears

 

“THE PAGE TURNERS”

Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears

Pears has inverted the chronology of his tale so that, as the puzzle becomes more intricate, we move backwards from Edwardian London to Paris in 1890 and finally to Venice in 1867, in search of reasons for Stone's death? The use of 3 characters to tell the story was quite intriguing.

The book included interesting historical characters and varied settings. It played with ideas like spying switching from obtaining gossip from military personnel, to tracking money and industrial processes and using a clause in a will, to delay disclosure of a weak financial state.

The First part of the novel told by Matthew Braddock, a journalist, was the least satisfying. In the second part of the novel the story heats up. In Paris, Stone's tale is taken up by Henry Cort, an ex-banker and government informant with a longstanding connection to Stone's wife. The book gains pace here. The characters in this section are much more satisfactory and believable. Cort is a terrific character. His professional adventures guide us not only to the secret life of John Stone but to a fascinating period in history the arms race and spying.

In the final part of the novel Stone takes over his own story. A young man now, he has travelled alone to Venice, leaving his wife behind in England. His own account serves only to tie up a few loose ends. As a result, the pace of this section is slower.

The plot is well thought out and the incidental detail is excellent throughout. It is often a dense read, there are many characters and you have to concentrate on each one to keep up with the story. The ending was a twist too far!

A busy month so not read by all members but those who read it enjoyed it.

The book scored a 7.

 

 

Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair

WENVOE SPRING CRAFT FAIR
Sunday 20th May

The Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair on Sunday 20 May is now nearly upon us and we are very excited! Entry is free so come and join us between 10am and 4pm at Wenvoe Community Centre and see a selection of excellent hand crafted items made by talented local crafters. You can buy gifts for the special people in your life or spoil yourself with something you wouldn’t find on the High Street. We have 25 traders attending including the Vale Cider company (who will be giving taster sessions), Tricycle Treats 1940’s Style stop-me-and-buy-one ice cream Trike selling delicious, locally sourced ice cream and we’ve even got a bit of science for the children. The Village Gardener will be there with a good selection of plants for sale and will be delighted to answer questions from visitors and Gwyndaf Breese makes a welcome return with an amazing array of his hand turned/carved wood crafts. We have body products, scented candles, jewellery, basketware, needle felted artwork ( these are gorgeous!), preserves sold in aid of the homeless, amazing preserved roses, peg art, hand drawn acetate greeting cards, hand made fudge (in the most incredible flavours and home made salted caramel sauce too), textile crafts and more.

The proceeds of the charity raffle this time will go to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group who will have a representative on hand with information about their very valuable work in the village. The latest prize acquired for the raffle is a voucher for Afternoon Tea for Two at the lovely Romilly’s Coffee shop at The Knap in Barry. Other prizes include a coffee table made by Gwyndaf Breese, a picnic carrier stocked with melamine table ware, a table cloth and a bottle of prosecco, a small garden incinerator filled with gardening goodies, an iced, home made and hand decorated cake, a Waitrose Teapot bird feeder, a bottle of dissarono, costume jewellery and lots more.

There will be hot and cold drinks on offer from the kitchen along with a selection of Home Made cakes which will include chocolate brownies, Victoria Sandwich, Lemon Drizzle, Walnut and Maple syrup cake, Terry’s Chocolate Orange cake, Cappucino cake and Ferrero Rocher cake along with Cheese Scones if you prefer something savoury.

This will be a lovely, community day so come along and catch up with old friends or make some new ones! You will all be so welcome, we hope to see you there. If you miss this one you will have to wait until November for the Wenvoe Christmas Craft Fair – how can you wait that long?

For more information you can contact the organisers, Glenys and Mike Tucker on 0792210972 or contact us on Facebook through the events page which can be found under Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair.

 

 

The Children’s Story

 

When Our Children Tell Their Story, They’ll Tell the Story of Tonight

Being a teenager can sometimes be terrifying. But when we say terrifying, we mean being terrified of showing up to a party severely overdressed, or earning a bad grade at something we believe we ought to excel at, or even being terrified of stress and our own mental health. We never mean being terrified of being shot at our place of education. That is a fear which should not be reserved for anyone, especially not the youth of today.

I’m not American. I’ve never experienced gun-violence. But it doesn’t stop my compassion from throwing itself in aid of my fellow teenagers across the pond. I mean, Eliza Gonzales and the revolutionary teens storming America and conducting the ‘March For Our Lives’ seem to be handling the battle. But, they shouldn’t have to be. It’s not a fight they should have to be a part of. They shouldn’t have to continue making speeches and urging the adults in Congress who should be looking after them to stop gun violence. They should be terrified of falling on their face in heels, in the same way we fear in Britain. They shouldn’t have to be fighting for their lives.

I’ve spoken about gun violence before. The fact that I’m having to re-iterate so soon afterwards is a sign in itself that America is struggling. They shouldn’t be having an annoying Welsh girl telling them how to run their country. They should be aware of the many thousands of children who have died in mass shootings in schools across the US. They should be aware that by not doing anything, they are enforcing a death sentence on the many who only wish for an education.

Although I was not marching, my solidarity is with all those who did. To those not only in America, but all over the world. To those in London and Edinburgh and Belfast. To those in Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Israel, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Ghana, Mozambique, Puerto Rico and Canada: I stand with you.

There’s not much more I can say, except I hope they hear you and make a change. It’s too late for those who’ve lived through it, but maybe a change can protect those lucky enough to know nothing of American school shootings.

Maybe being lucky shouldn’t be the default. I know one thing for certain: I love the fact that I am part of such a strong generation. That when I look at the news I see the strong character you could only write about in films that are my age. My hope is that this has paid off. But I can only wish that those affected can finally get protection.

Protect kids. Not guns. Please.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

 

 

Village Show

 

 

As you may know, for many years now the Scouts have made sure that the village show runs smoothly but have now decided to end their involvement. This year they are handing it over but the 'show will go on'. In order to make sure that it remains an event embedded in the community, it will be run in association with the library and other local groups.

The categories for entries are very similar to the previous years and will shortly be published so keep your eyes posted! There may also be some new events that will engage the community and fill the day. These may include story time for the children and adults, fancy dress events and wildlife walks. Many hands make light work in an event like this, so if you feel that you would like to be involved, please contact us and we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in tough with Heulwen or Sue on the following numbers:- Heulwen 07411178797, Sue 07880936301

I am sure that we can make this years event an occasion to be remembered. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there

 

 

ARTHURIAN LEGENDS IN WENVOE!

 

In autumn last year Wenvoe residents Eirwen Malin and Phil Thomas held the first of a planned series of house concerts featuring some of Wales’ finest storytellers. The next concert will take place at their home in Old Port Road on 17th May 2018 at 7.00pm and will feature a unique telling of the Arthurian legend ‘The tale of Jaufre’ by Storyteller and singer Anne Lister. This project forms part of a PhD thesis she is working on at the University of South Wales.

She first came across Jaufre while studying medieval French and Occitan at Warwick University, and was immediately struck by the way it has lost nothing of its liveliness and humour over the centuries. Jaufre is a rather serious young man, frequently caught off guard by events, but determined to succeed, and do the Right Thing.

Jaufre arrives at King Arthur’s court in time to witness an insult to the king, and promises to bring the villain, the very unpleasant Taulat de Rogimon, to justice. Along the way he meets the exceedingly beautiful Brunissen and falls in love—but there are giants to deal with, and demons, and dwarves, and a mysterious damsel with an underwater kingdom.

Although written at the court of Aragon, the romance was written in the Occitan language, which was usually reserved for troubadour poetry, and there has been much critical discussion as to whether it was always the only Arthurian romance in this language or whether we have, in fact, lost others. Some of the elements of this story will be familiar, if you know the tales of King Arthur, but—and this is where it becomes intriguing—not all of them. Some are unique to Jaufre. The tale survived in two complete manuscripts and some fragments, and went on to be re-told in chapbooks in both French and Spanish, and then later in a 19th century English translation. The Spanish chapbook was, apparently, one of the books to be found in the library of Don Quixote. The tale has also turned up in the Philippines, in oral tradition.

The entire tale would take far more than one evening to tell, and so it is fortunate that the romance is divided into episodes which can be related separately. If you think that all this sounds rather dry and academic then you could not be further from the truth! Anne says that the story is “..More Monty Python than Mists of Avalon … this is a richly comic tale and was probably always intended to be so”.

Anne Lister has many years’ experience as a folk singer and storyteller ( you can find out more at www.annelister.com ) and the house concert will be a rare opportunity to hear an experienced performer in an intimate setting. There is no ticket price as such. We would ask for a donation to cover costs and the storyteller’s fee. Any surplus will be donated to The Beyond The Border International Storytelling Festival.Places will be limited to 25 so please email philipthomas664@gmail.com or call 07870 212437 by 10th May to reserve a place and receive address details – last time we sold out! Please note – this is storytelling for adults. It is not intended for under 14s, but accompanied older children will be welcome. We hope to see you.

 

 

Fish Recipes

 

White Fish with Sweet and Sour Peppers

1 tbsp olive oil

3 mixed peppers, deseeded and finely sliced

1 fennel bulb, finely sliced

2 large garlic cloves, finely sliced

50ml white wine vinegar

zest and juice of 1 large orange

handful of chopped parsley + extra to serve

400g can chopped tomatoes

4 fillets white fish, 150g each [ cod, coley, hake, or pollack ]

Preheat oven 180C. In a large pan, heat oil, peppers and fennel. Cook gently until softened, stirring now and again. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 min, then stir in vinegar, zest and the juice of the orange. Bubble for a short time until the smell of the vinegar has gone. Stir in the parsley and the tomatoes, and cook for about 5 mins. Season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt. Transfer to an oven proof dish. Sit the fish on the top and bake for about 10 – 15 mins until fish is cooked through. Serve with extra parsley. Serve with a green veg and buttered baby new potatoes.

Fish and Prawn Gratins with Oaty breadcrumbs [An evening meal for 2]

340g bag of baby spinach, roughly chopped

400g can of chopped tomatoes, with garlic and herbs

250g white fish fillets, cut into large chunks

small bunch basil, shredded

150g cooked and peeled prawns

2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan

2 tbsp. breadcrumbs

2 tbsp. oats

Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over boiling water. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess water then season. Tip the tomatoes into a frying pan, season, and simmer for about 5 mins to thicken. Add the fish and heat for about 5 mins. Stir in the basil. Heat oven to180C. Divide the spinach, fish, prawns and tomato sauce between 2 gratin dishes. Mix the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and oats together and sprinkle over the top. Bake for about 15 – 20 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve with cooked buttered broccoli and fresh crusty bread.

 

 

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