Month: December 2018

Lincoln in the Bardo

 

Lincoln in the Bardo is a 2017 experimental novel by American writer George Saunders. The bulk of the novel, which takes place over the course of one single evening, is set in the bardo: an intermediate space between life and rebirth. The book received widespread critical acclaim and won the Man Booker Prize in 2017. The widespread critical acclaim was not supplemented or supported by many members of the Wenvoe Page Turners, as the comments below show (written in a similarly “innovative” and “original” style as the novel itself!).

“Worst book I’ve ever read” Sylvia “Not a book for me” Sandra “I gave up” May “Very refreshing” Helen “Funny and amusing” Tess “Inaccessible” Lynne “Wonderfully original” Tony “I didn’t enjoy any moment of it” Jenny “I didn’t like the style of writing or the subject” Babs

A mixed review for this award winning novel which resulted in 2 scores of 9 and 4 scores of 1, with an average of 4. Everyone did agree that the cakes provided by Babs were worth a perfect 10.

 

 

The Knepp Estate Success

 

NATURE NOTES

Whilst much of the news about wildlife is often negative and depressing, one interesting item that is bucking the trend is the Knepp Estate and anyone with a genuine interest in UK wildlife needs to be aware of it. This is a 3,500 acre estate near Horsham in West Sussex which was not making a profit and where from 2001 this intensively-farmed land was ‘rewilded’ by being grazed by Longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, Tamworth pigs and red, fallow and roe deer. These animals prevent the scrub land that emerges from becoming woodland, require little or no supplementary feeding, minimal veterinary costs and generally look after themselves throughout the year. There is a lot more to the process than we can do justice to in this short article but if you want to know more, either read the book Wilding by Isabella Tree or look at the website https://knepp.co.uk/ home. You can also visit the site and go on walks or safaris around the estate.

The results in terms of wildlife alone are dramatic. 90% of the UK nightingale population has been lost since 1970. In 1999 there were 9 nightingale territories in Knepp which had risen to 43 by 2013. Since the 1960s Turtle Doves have declined by 96% and the bird is predicted by the British Trust for Ornithology to be the likeliest to be extinct in the UK by 2020. There were 3 singing males at Knepp in 1999 which by 2017 had increased to 16. Our second biggest butterfly, the rare Purple Emperor, was not recorded at Knepp before 1999 yet is now well-established there with an increasing population. 13 of the UK’s 17 species of bat can be found on the estate including two of the rarest in Europe. All five of Britain’s owls have now been recorded there along with 600 species of invertebrates. Doing particularly well are those that feed on dung as this is uncontaminated by parasiticides which may be used in conventional farming. The rare Scarce Chaser dragonfly, which has been found at only 6 sites in the UK, has now turned up at Knepp with 18 individuals counted on a single day. Raptors include Buzzards, breeding Red Kites, Ravens (which had been absent for 100 years) and Peregrine Falcons are now also here.

Whilst there were many hurdles to overcome, interestingly some of the greatest opposition came from local residents who preferred to see fields that were all green with neatly-manicured hedgerows,

however devoid of wildlife they might have been. Comments like ‘It feels like a foreign land’ and ‘he has turned a fine working estate into a wasteland – someone needs to stop him’ are not uncommon. The most obvious point that the intensively-farmed estate was just running at a substantial loss was not acknowledged.

Those behind the project would not argue that profitable and productive farmland should follow this route but for land which is losing money it is an option worth considering. Recent announcements in Wales refer to the Summit to the Sea project which will involve up to 10,000 hectares of land in mid Wales being rewilded. Whatever the future holds we can be sure that we shall hear and see more of rewilding in the months and years to come.

 

THE MIRACLE OF THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE 1914

This photograph shows German and British soldiers standing together on the battlefield near Ploegsteert, Belgium, during the Christmas Truce. On the far right a football match between Allied and German soldiers was supposed to have taken place during the Christmas Truce. How much truth is there in all this?
On a frosty, starlit Christmas Eve in 1914 a miracle took place on the Western Front. Peeking over their trenches for what must have been the first time in weeks, British soldiers were surprised to see Christmas trees lit with candles on the parapets of the enemy’s trenches. A melody drifted over the darkness of ‘No Man’s Land.’ Men of the British Expeditionary Force heard German troops in the trenches opposite them singing carols and patriotic songs and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Carols and messages began to be exchanged between the trenches. First “Silent Night,” then “God Save the King.” This was followed by the cry of “You no shoot, we no shoot!” The Christmas Truce was a brief, spontaneous cease-fire that spread up and down the Western Front in the first year of World War I. The incident has become a symbol of peace and goodwill.
Letters home reported the wonder of the Christmas Truce. Corporal Leon Harris, 13th Battalion, London Regiment wrote, “This has been the most wonderful Christmas ever. We were in the trenches on Christmas Eve and about 8.30 p.m. the firing was almost at a standstill. Then the Germans started shouting across to us, “Happy Christmas”.
In his letter home, Rifleman C.H. Brazier commented on soldiers leaving their trenches and entering ‘No-Man’s Land.’ “Half-way (across) they were met by four Germans. They gave our fellows cigars and a bottle of wine and were given a cake and cigarettes. When they came back I went out with some more of our fellows and we were met by about 30 Germans, who seemed to be very nice fellows. I got one of them to write his name and address on a postcard as a souvenir. All through the night we sang carols to them and they sang to us.”
British and German soldiers met and exchanged gifts, took photographs and some played impromptu games of football. One British Officer even claimed his regiment actually had a football match with the Germans who beat them 3-2. The incident was famously remembered by Edmund Blackadder in the funny and poignant final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. “I was never offside! I could not believe that decision!”
Most historians think it was unlikely that there was actually a football match between the Allies and Germans and emphasise other features of the Truce. Both sides took the opportunity to bury casualties and repair trenches and dugouts. After Boxing Day, meetings dwindled. In any case, the Christmas Truce was not observed everywhere along the Western Front. Some fighting continued and casualties did occur on Christmas Day. Some officers were unhappy at the Truce and worried that it would undermine fighting spirit. After 1914, the High Commands on both sides tried to prevent any truces on a similar scale happening again. Despite this, there were some isolated incidents of soldiers

(this article is incomplete)

 

 

Introducing Thursday Walkers

The “Thursday Walkers” are an afternoon social walking group who meet monthly. The walks are organised by Bert and usually cover some 5 miles with a cut-off point for those undertaking a shorter route. They also include a visit to a coffee shop either during or at the end of each walk.


The photograph was taken during a visit to the Parc Slip Nature Reserve Tondu and shows the group sitting on the monument to the 112 men and boys who died following an underground explosion at the coal mine on 26 August 1892. In total some 112 stones have been used to create the monument.
The mine, which commenced operating during the 1860’s, was closed in 1904, but was re-opened as an opencast mine from the 1960’s to the 1980’s.
After landscape restoration work, Parc Slip became a nature reserve in 1999 and is managed by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. The reserve has a number of paths for visitors to take walks which are well sign posted. There is an excellent coffee shop in the reserve and Trust volunteers’ are usually on hand to give advice etc to visitors.
Colin

 

 

December Planning Applications

Planning applications.

• Dyffryn Spring, St Lythans Road, Dyffryn. Construction of a two storey building with a wedding venue function. Planning permission has been granted to a previously designed building, this latest proposal was not supported by the Council who considered it out of keeping with its countryside location,

 

 

Kilpeck Church

Kilpeck Church

We parked at Kilpeck church, a few miles south of Hereford, and went straight to the church. It is a 12th century building with wonderful original features. Corbels (89 of them) decorate the edge of the roof; the images cover a wide range from a bird pecking a smaller bird, Celtic knots, Sheelagh-na-gig, hound and hare, serpents and some strange creatures which are difficult to identify. Then there is the entrance door. Although there is no porch it is in an amazing state of repair. The stone prights and arch, of the doorway, are covered in carvings including dragons and the tree of life. The door itself is solid wood with huge metalwork holding the door together and bolted through the door to giant hinges. A lot of the furniture within the church is Victorian but the architecture is 12th C – 14thC. There is a minstrel’s gallery; its origin is a mystery as the staircase leading to it is Victorian but it may be Elizabethan or Jacobean. The former seems likely as that was when music in churches became more sophisticated and wooden galleries at the west end of churches became popular.

The church probably survived so well because of the village’s unfortunate history. The population was devastated by famine and the Black Death in the 14thC. Hence the church remained small and unknown for many centuries. When it was renovated in the 19thC the architect, Lewis Nockalls Cottingham, was sensitive to the Romanesque original design. There are windows designed by Pugin.

The area around Kilpeck had been known as Ergyng when it was a small Welsh kingdom. Later it became part of the Welsh marches and was renamed Archenfield. In 1086 a timber castle was built to establish Norman rule in the area. Although a stone castle replaced the original, little remains of Kilpeck castle sat on a mound to the west of the church.

Now we set off on our walk travelling in a generally southerly direction towards Marlas and then Bagwyllydiart. It was a lovely late autumn day and the countryside soft and rolling made a very pleasant stroll. The views were extensive but now and again mists rolled across the hills creating fascinating scenes.

At Bagwyllydiart we turned northeast, going towards Orcop Hill. This stretch of the walk was mainly on a quiet road and we could see the hill ahead of us. Two of us stopped to buy tomatoes from

a roadside stall and then waited to watch a shrew cross the road in front of us (attempts at a photo were thwarted by the speed with which it darted for cover). Suddenly we were way behind everyone else and it wasn’t until they stopped at Orcop Hill that we caught up.

At lunch we arranged ourselves over huge pieces of a tree which were beside the road and wondered whether it had come down in a storm blocking the road.

Walking through Mynde wood we found large holes which must have been made by badgers, we carefully skirted these. Emerging from the wood we could see The Mynde ahead of us.

 

The Mynde was a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War. It was home to the Pye family from the 1350s until about 1709. Walter Pye was attorney general for Charles I. His second son, Robert Pye, had different religious affiliations which decided his fate. He was beaten by a Roman Catholic neighbour with a billhook and died a few days later. The house is mediaeval with a grand Georgian facade. Apparently it has always been a private residence and is promoted as a film location. According to the Herefordshire Times ‘It has a 1,180 acre estate and parkland passing through a seven-acre lake’.

Now we turned northwest and were heading back towards Kilpeck. We passed through more beautiful rolling countryside. In a field we came across a large flock of sheep that ran from us and covered the horizon. We passed a few pretty cottages and arrived back at Kilpeck church.

Distance walked 8 miles and 750ft climb. OS Map 189

 

 

Italian Christmas Cookies

Italian Christmas Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 carton [ 15 ounces ] ricotta cheese

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

4 cups of plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 to 4 cups icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 4 tbsp. milk

coloured sugar [optional golden caster sugar]

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the ricotta and vanilla. Combine flour with the salt and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Heat oven to 180C. Drop rounded tea-spoons of mixture onto prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 – 12 mins until lightly brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Topping. In a large bowl, cream butter, icing sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach spreading con-sistency. Frost cooled cookies and sprinkle with sugar. Store in a cool place. Makes quite a few cookies.

 

 

Christmas Cookies

 

Christmas Cookies

Italian Lemon Cookies

1cup butter, softened

½ cup sugar

3 eggs separated

2 tsp grated lemon peel

2½ cups of plain flour

coloured sugar [optional golden caster sugar]

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and lemon peel. Gradually beat in the flour. Refrigerate, cov-ered, for 1 hour or until firm enough to shape. Pre-heat oven 180C. Shape [roll] level tablespoons of dough into 6 inch ropes. Shape each rope into as ‘S’, an then coil each end until it touches the centre. [this will make an ‘8’ shape]. Place 2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets [non stick]. Whisk egg whites, brush over cookies. Sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 12-14 mins until bottoms are brown. Cool on wire racks. Should make about 36 cookies

 

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