Month: February 2020

The Sealwomans Gift by Sally Magnusson

The Sealwomans Gift by Sally Magnusson

These are some of our comments about this book, the debut novel for Sally Magnusson.

Beautifully written, loved this book, rich in wording, descriptions superb, incredible quality of writing, lots of humour even in dire circumstances, superb language, clear storylines, based on a historical event which makes it particularly interesting, no unrealistic ending.

So what’s it all about:- In 1627 Barbary pirates rounded the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland.

Among the captives sold into slavery were the island pastor, his wife and their 3 children.

In this re-imagining Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Asta the pastors wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture Asta meets the loss of her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home, the stories in her head. Steeped in the sagas and folk tales of her northern homeland she finds herself experiencing not just the separations and agonies of captivity but the reassessments that come in any age when intelligent eyes are opened to other lives, other cultures and other kinds of longing.

This book is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. The novel is full of stories, Icelandic ones to fend off a slave owner’s advances, Arabian ones to help an old man die.

The Sealwoman was captured with Asta and lay next to her on the slave ship. Her gift was the saga she recounted which enabled Asta to find peace when she finally returned to Iceland after many years away.

As well as all our comments we further discussed how advanced the Ottoman Empire was, how hard life sounded in Iceland, the decline and fall of civilisations throughout history

Some quotes from the book: “Forgetting gets easier, thinking gets harder”: “It is important to be known”: “Men’s stories come through history, women’s don’t”.

 

 

Notice Board Shock

 

We had a bit of a shock when we found our noticeboard and bee hotel at the Community Orchard flat on the ground. This happened before storms Ciara and Dennis and it is clear that the very damp conditions on this site have rotted the posts. The structure itself is still more or less intact and our plan is to re-erect it and position the remaining posts in Metposts. The big challenge will be lifting it up as it weighs a lot.

Fallen Notice Board

When weather permits we have continued to plant the new hedgerow at Goldsland Farm and our thanks to residents who have donated saplings. The small pond has been installed and one benefit of the rain has been the speed at which the pond has filled up. We have another small pond to install at the Bee Loud Glade and then a large replacement pond at the Welsh Orchard. We shall by then have installed 5 ponds as well as keeping an eye on the Holland Pond and Watercress Beds.

We have been monitoring which plants appear to be good for pollinators so that they can be planted at the Bee Loud Glade. During January Mahonia was frequently visited by bees – mainly Queen Bumblebees which are on the wing during warmer sunnier spells. In February Hellebores tended to be the most popular as pollen and nectar sources, particularly the large, white-flowered varieties not just for bees but some of the larger hoverflies.

We are always on the look-out for help whether volunteering time or surplus benches, tools or stakes.

 

 

Bridgend POW Camp – 75 Years

BRIDGEND POW CAMP MARKS 75 YEARS
SINCE GREAT WELSH ESCAPE

 

It’s 75 years since the ‘Welsh Great Escape’ from the Island Farm prisoner of war camp near Bridgend. On the night of 10 to 11 March 1945, the largest German P.O.W. escape attempt in the UK took place and The Hut 9 Preservation Group are marking the occasion by staging a special open week-end event on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of March.

Originally built as a hostel for female workers employed at a local munitions factory, the buildings were later used to house American troops in the lead up to D Day in June 1944. The camp then proved an ideal location for the many German POWs captured by the allies during 1944-5.

 

The prefabricated concrete huts surrounded by open fields were considered ideal, although the barracks had to be converted and barbed wire fences erected. The camp eventually held more than 2,000 prison-ers. The first POWs were a mixture of Italian and German troops, but the War Office soon decided that the camp was too comfortable for enlisted men and 160 German officers, including generals, admirals and field marshals were held there. Some were among Hitler’s closest advisers. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt for example, had been commander in chief of the German armies in Western Europe in 1940. Reflecting his status, von Rundstedt received certain privileges at the camp, including his own private suite, consisting of a sitting room and bedroom. Rundstedt returned to Bridgend after appearing as a defence witness at the Nuremberg trials. Deemed unfit for prosecution due to poor health, he was released in 1948 and died in 1953 in Hanover.

 

Gerd von Rundstedt is pictured (left) being given a ‘VIP’-style greeting at Bridgend Station.

Above – one of many paintings completed by German POWs while at the camp.

Soon after their arrival at Island Farm the POWs began escape efforts and on 10 March 1945, 70 prisoners escaped through a tunnel dug from Hut Nine. The tunnel was about 30 feet (9.1 m) long and breached the perimeter fence. Some of the techniques used by the inmates were ingenious and not too dissimilar to those in the war film ‘The Great Escape’ about Allied POWs. Excavating the tunnels was not easy because of the heavy clay soil. Cans, meat tins, and even knives from the can-teen were used as digging implements. Prisoners carried the soil outside in their pockets while oth-ers kneaded clay into balls and dropped them through a hole in a false wall they had constructed. To support the tunnel roof, oak benches were stolen from the canteen and bed legs were cut down when supplies of wood were depleted. A ventilation pipeline was made from condensed milk tins; air was forced through by a hand-operated fan. The tunnel even had its own electric lights, tapped off the mains supply. Noise was concealed by chorus singing.

The escapees were divided into groups, each of which was equipped with fake identity papers, a map, homemade compass, and food. At around 10pm on March 10, the prisoners made their move; a few stole the local doctor’s car and got as far as Birmingham and another group got as far as Southampton. However it seems that all the escapees were eventually recaptured,

If you would like to visit the camp, see the Hut 9 website: http://www.hut9.org.uk/

 

 

Did Anyone Ever Escape From Alcatraz

Did Anyone Ever Escape From Alcatraz

In the movie entitled “Escape from Alcatraz” starring actor Clint Eastwood, Frank Morris was portrayed as the keen and brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escapes in history. The FBI and American authorities’ official version is that the plan failed, the prisoners drowned and no-one ever escaped from ‘The Rock’.

Frank Lee Morris had spent a lifetime in the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz, mostly for armed robbery. Morris was credited by prison officials as possessing superior intelligence, and he had a reputation for brilliant escapes. This was why he was put on The Rock in January 1960. John and Clarence Anglin were also clever escapers.

The plan was extremely complex and involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, fashioned from over fifty rain coats that had been acquired from other inmates – some donated and some stolen. They would also require a variety of crudely made tools to dig with, and to construct the accessories necessary for the escape. By May of 1962, Morris and the Anglins had already dug through the cell’s six-by-nine-inch vent holes, and had started work on the vent on top of the cellblock.

The inmates alternated shifts, with one working and one on lookout. They would start work at 5:30pm and continue till about 9:00pm, just prior to the lights-out count. Meanwhile, John and Clarence started fabricating the dummy heads, and even gave them the pet names of “Oink” and “Oscar.” The heads were crude but lifelike, and were constructed from a homemade cement-powder mixture that included such innocuous materials as soap and toilet paper. They were decorated with flesh-tone paint from prison art kits, and human hair from the barbershop.

Using glue stolen from the glove shop, the inmates also started working to cut and bond the raincoats into a makeshift raft and life preservers. Each evening, following the completion of their self-imposed work detail, they would hide the materials on top of the cellblock to minimize any chance of being caught with the contraband materials.

After months of long preparation, the inmates were ready. Immediately after lights-out at 9:30pm, the inmates made their final thirty-foot climb up the plumbing to the cell house roof, crossed 100 feet across the rooftop, and then carefully manoeuvred down fifty feet of piping to the ground near the entrance to the shower area. This would be the last

anyone ever saw of Morris and the Anglin Brothers.

In a later interview, prisoner Allen West said that their plan had been to use their raft to make their way to nearby Angel Island. After resting, they would swim to the mainland. They would steal a car, take clothes from a store, and then venture out in their own separate directions.

For decades speculation abounded as to whether this famous escape attempt had been successful. The FBI spent several years investigating, and later resolved that the inmates’ plan had failed.

The FBI said:

  • The men had neither friends nor relatives with the financial resources to come to San Francisco and assist in the escape e.g. buying a boat.
  • There would have been no way to communicate with outside contacts in order to confirm the date of the break.
  • The Bay waters were too cold and dangerous for anyone to survive.
  • Relatives were watched and the men didn’t contact them.

 

People who believe they escaped say:

  • The men planned it all on their own and didn’t need help.
  • They had made proper life rafts and equipment.
  • The FBI wanted everyone to think they were dead.

 

 

Tanzania Expedition – Jacob Morgan

Tanzania Expedition – Jacob Morgan

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone in the village who supported me in fundraising for Tanzania. I will be leaving very soon, on February 10th, for my 10 week expedition and I am very excited.

The picture below is of me at the top of Pen Y Fan, after completing it 5 times in one day back in November.

This fundraiser along with the quiz and raffle night held at the pub received huge support from so many of you, and I am very grateful. I am extremely proud to be able to say that the fundraising target of £3,450 for Raleigh International was reached, which is truly amazing. A total of £1,265 of that was raised by you, the generous people of Wenvoe.

So once again I would like to thank all of you for the lovely messages and support I received. It really means a lot to me. I look forward to telling you all about my trip when I am back in the summer.

 

 

Cowbridge to Ystradowen.

Cowbridge to Ystradowen.

In contrast to most other Saturdays this winter the day dawned frosty and clear. What a relief after Storm Brendan and all the rain. We walked from Aberthin towards Prisk and Ystradowen in glorious sunshine. The views in all directions were brilliantly clear and we admired the beautiful country in which we live – a bit of sunshine makes all the difference. We saw several rams separated from ewes, donkeys, a llama and the first sighting of lambs this winter.

At Ystradowen we saw St Owain’s church and headed west passing a motte before turning south for our return journey. We found a relatively dry field where we basked in the sunshine while eating lunch . A caterpillar chose to crawl across one of our boots; it was carefully removed.

After lunch the ground was waterlogged in places even though numerous ditches have been dug to drain the land. On a lane we found one ditch clogged with leaves which two people valiantly cleared with their walking poles and the water gushed away. Fortunately we walked along the road, past Newton towards Newton moor; the fields had reeds growing in them and signs of recent flooding.

Skirting Cowbridge we crossed the Aberthin road to climb a hill, following a footpath. A blocked footpath forced us down a quiet road for the final stretch. (Walk 7.75 miles 650ft Map 151)

 

 

Barry

Barry

The forecast was that Storm Brian was going to blow hard with intermittent heavy showers. Still 13 brave souls set out from Cold Knap and quickly moved down to the lake to seek shelter from the wind. Many seabirds had the same idea and we even saw a black swan on the lake.

We walked over to Barry’s Whitmore Bay via Jackson’s Bay, Clements Colley Walk and Nell’s Point. Returning after a well -earned drink to Cold Knap we agreed that all cobwebs were blown away and we felt refreshed and very glad we had ventured forth. (Walk 5 miles)

 

 

Cowbridge and Sigingstone.

Cowbridge and Sigingstone.

The weather forecast was sunshine and showers but we only saw sunshine in the distance and had more than our fair share of showers. We set out from Llanblethian Church near Cowbridge, along the Valeways Millennium Heritage trail crossing a very full Factory brook.

We crossed a field where the remains of a World War II runway are visible and as we approached Siginstone, found an Air crash memorial slate which marks the 40th anniversary of a tragedy. ‘On Sunday 12th March 1950 a Tudor V Aeroplane returning from Dublin crashed 200 yards from this spot as it approached Llandow Aerodrome. 75 Welsh rugby supporters and 5 crew died. There were just 3 survivors. In Belfast the day before Wales had won the Triple Crown.’ The plane had done many relief trips to Berlin before crashing on its return from Dublin. Fans had a lot of luggage (souvenirs?) and it is thought this caused the crash. As a result airlines introduced baggage weight limits.

 

Next to the air crash memorial stone is Sigingstone Pond. We chatted to a man who lived in the house next to it and he told us that his father had the farm above the pond and cattle used to come down to the pond to drink. His grandfather would fill buckets at a tap in the wall above a spring and carry it up to the farm.

At the Victoria Inn, Sigingstone we turned onto a stretch that was particularly muddy with muck coming over boots; most of us carefully skirted the edge but one person ventured into the worst of it! We were relieved to emerge onto a long path between two hedges glowing golden in their winter coats.

We took the road to Crossways House passing what appeared to be its own sewage processing plant. The boundary wall at the front of the house proved an excellent place to sit and eat our lunch.

Between Penllyn (north of A48) and St Brynach’s Church are a series of coffin stiles, which consist of two stiles side by side with a wall between them on which a coffin could be rested as the stile is climbed. St Brynach’s Church was for centuries the parish church of Penllyn and remains its burial ground even though it is a mile away. It is thought that the stone traces of settlement close to the church are of Romano British origin and the ‘village’ was wiped out by the Black Death (14thC). The church boasts ‘no electricity, lighting or heating’.

Although the stiles on the Millennium Way were well maintained most of the others were pretty poor, sometimes surrounded by mud and there were plenty of double stiles! We stopped at the Bonvilston cafe for tea and they served us even though they had shut the dining room. (Walk 7 miles 650ft Map 151).

 

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year everyone!

Since getting back into the flow of uni work, I’ve come to realise recently that just maybe some of my work-life balances aren’t as healthy as they probably should be.

These days, I wouldn’t dare submit an essay the day it’s due – I’m too worried something will go wrong and it won’t make it in. For some reason, I need for my essays to be submitted the night before it’s due (at the latest). For me, it’s a comfort to see it’s actually gone through and I still have a little time to change anything if need be.

You’d think submitting an essay two days before it’s due would be a relief – it is, but I still worry the link’s been lost or I’ve forgotten to add something and time after time I’ve resubmitted an essay three or four times because there’s just one more thing I think it needs.

I bet my parents are rejoicing (to an extent) when I tell them sometimes – my first year of GCSE saw me doing the bare minimum. I think part of it is me realising that the bare minimum for me is disappointing; it makes me guilty, because I know I’m better than that.

If I haven’t learnt my flashcards to the dot the day of the exam, I’m scared I’ll fail. My best isn’t always phenomenal, but I feel worse if I do badly and I hadn’t tried my hardest. Maybe it’s because I know that if my results are less than stellar, there’s no way anyone can tell me it’s because I didn’t try hard enough. It’s still gutting but at least I have the peace of mind that maybe I just can’t necessarily do that particular subject.

I think I have quite low standards for myself, too. It’s laughable how excited I get when I get good feedback on some work. I wrote the beginning of a script for this year’s module at the start of the year, and I still can’t stop fixating on the positive feedback. I’ve always been the kind of person who feels boosted by positive feedback. I’m petty enough that part of me wants to do better than the teacher thinks I can do sometimes (ahem, see History A Level Vietnam War coursework) but generally speaking, I can feel deflated if my feedback has no positives.

I guess part of me thinks I have something to prove. I’m studying for a degree in subjects I should excel at; I get worried when I don’t do as well as I’d like to.

It’s hard I suppose to fall out of old habits sometimes, even if they’re not as healthy as they should be. I don’t think I’ll ever be the kind of person who doesn’t need to check everything twice before submitting, which to some extent is a good thing – just maybe not when it’s quite so neurotic.

But maybe this next decade needs to be different. I’d like to learn to be (a little) more carefree with my attitudes to work. I don’t think submitting my essays a few days in advance is a problem, but I should definitely learn to be more conscious that as long as I’ve checked it to the best of my ability before submitting it, that it doesn’t need any more work.

I’d like to learn to be calmer when it comes to exams. There’s nothing I can do to change the outcome the second I leave the exam hall – whatever happens, happens. Funnily enough, the exams last year actually went pretty well (doesn’t mean I didn’t think about them throughout the summer). I’d like to learn to leave my worries on the exam hall floor.

I’d like to learn to see the positives of my work. To be able to say ‘Okay, this bit wasn’t perfect, but that’s fine’. I’d like to learn that perfect shouldn’t have to be the operative word every time. I’d like to incorporate more positive attitudes to my work. Perfect isn’t always necessary; I think for me, it’s probably too much to have to think of everything as perfect every time. I’d like to learn to look at my work and not be consumed by the negatives.

I feel like a hypocrite sometimes when I’ve said to others that they should be careful to balance their work-life time effectively, when I know I’m not necessarily doing the same. The title of this column could be considered an example of said hypocrisy.

Should probably start taking my own advice, soon.

Despite what I’d like to learn, one thing I have learned the past few months is that it’s okay for me to leave university with a 2:1 if it means I’m okay. A First Class, and that craved perfection isn’t worth risking my mental health.

As we head into 2020 and this next decade, I need to remember that my mental health is more important than being perfect.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

‘A Winter Book’ by Tove Jansson

‘A Winter Book’ by Tove Jansson

‘A Winter Book’ by Tove Jansson. This is a quirky collection of short stories by an author more renowned for her children’s books about the Moomins.

On one level they are an easy read but also have depth and gravitas. They are written from the point of view of a naive child and are simple and non- pretentious. The descriptions of scenery are vivid, and it is easy to picture the situations and even smell the smells from the text. A sense of humour pervades the stories which reflect the bohemian upbringing of Tove. We all enjoyed the stories and recommend giving the book a score of 8/10.

 

 

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