Month: July 2020

Welsh Engineering and A Guinness World Record

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

The World’s Oldest Suspension Bridge And The Welsh Link

On 26th July 2020 an event was planned to commemorate the bicentenary of the Union Chain Bridge, including the unveiling of an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark plaque by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), and Japan Society of Civil Engineers, for the 200 year-old Union Chain Bridge at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Prior to this the bridge was to undergo a major restoration, the plaque to be cast in the USA and a special anniversary booklet prepared. Whilst work on the bridge had been delayed, it was not going to upset the celebrations but of course the event was upset, like normal everyday life, by COVID – 19.


In 1820 Union Chain Bridge united England and Scotland by spanning the Tweed with Welsh iron, iron chain links made in Newbridge, Pontypridd. The works that made the chains, Brown Lenox, used to be a prominent sight along the A470 through Pontypridd up to closure in 1999 and now is Sainsburys. Founded by Captain Sir Samuel Brown, it was opened in 1818 for the manufacture of maritime iron chain cables and Brown decided to manufacture a new line here, that of iron chain suspension bridges. In this field he was the first in Britain to erect iron suspension bridges for road traffic following James Finley’s lead in erecting the first bridge of this type in America in 1801. Newburyport in Massachusetts was the last surviving Finley designed bridge. But it is akin to Trigger’s broom or Washington’s axe, in that the road deck, chains and towers have been replaced, only the abutments remain to support what is a bridge of 1910 date. Union had beaten Telford’s Menai and Conway suspension bridges to opening by six years, so with its original chain, ironwork and masonry towers it can now claim to be the world’s oldest suspension bridge still open to traffic, although it is temporarily closed for restoration work at present!
So with the disappointment of a once in two hundred year celebration being cancelled, it was suggested by Chris Baglee, the conservation architect for the bridge restoration, that we get the Union Chain Bridge accepted by the Guinness World Records as the World’s oldest suspension bridge still carrying vehicles. I’ve just contributed a list of qualifications to support this and the nomination appears to have been accepted – so some compensation. Luckily we (ICE Wales Cymru) had celebrated the establishment of the Brown Lenox Chainworks and the bicentenary of start of work on the Union Chain Bridge at Pontypridd on 26 July 2019. The Friends of the Union Chain Bridge also unveiled a plaque on the same day to commemorate the start of work at Horncliffe near Berwick-upon-Tweed, where the bridge crosses from England over the river Tweed to Scotland – England and Scotland united by Welsh iron.

Stephen K. Jones

 

 

Mr Greedy’s Tip for July

Mr Greedy’s Tip. –

 

Peeling fresh root ginger with a teaspoon. Due to its shape removing the skin can sometimes be a little awkward and wasteful if using a knife or peeler. Hold the ginger in one hand the normal way and scrape the skin off with the round nose end of a teaspoon held in the other. No more cutting off those awkward bits, less waste. Instead of trying to chop up the ginger use your potato peeler, like a mini mandolin. Slice thinly along the grain for your favourite Chinese meal.

 

 

Garden Vegetable Pie (V)

Garden Vegetable Pie (V)

2 packets Schwartz cheddar cheese sauce mix, plus milk to make

2 tsp mustard powder

200g mature cheddar, grated

2 / 3 large potatoes, sliced into rounds

1 head broccoli, cut into little florets

1 head cauliflower, cut into little florets

200g frozen peas

small bunch chives, snipped

Make the cheese sauce as per the packet, [double the quantity] add the mustard powder. Add all but a handful of the grated cheese.

Keep warm on a very low heat while you prepare the veg. [don’t let it catch and burn] Heat the oven to 180C. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the potato slices for about 5 mins, add the cauliflower and broccoli and cook for a further 3/4 mins. Finally add the peas and cook for a further 1 min. Drain well. Reserve enough potato slices to cover the top of the finished dish. Stir the chives into the sauce, Tip the vegetables into an oven proof dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the veg and mix to coat. Cover the top with the reserved potato slices, sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Season with fresh black pepper. Bake for about 20 mins until top is golden and crisp. Serve from the dish

 

 

Caramelised Clementine Upside Down Cake

Caramelised Clementine Upside Down Cake

225g unsalted butter softened

2 tbsp unsalted butter

75g light muscovado sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 large clementines

1 clementine, zested and juiced

225g caster sugar

3 large eggs

225g plain flour, sifted

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 /3 tbsp. Cointreau

Heat the oven to 180C fan. Butter and line the base and sides of a 20cm spring form tin with non stick baking paper [make sure the side paper overlaps the base paper]. In a small sauté pan, melt the 2 tbsp. of butter on a low heat, add the muscovado sugar and the vanilla extract. Cook over a low heat until the sugar has melted and is glossy, about 3 mins. Remove from the heat add the Coin-treau, stir to mix and pour into the cake tin. Peel 3 of the clementines and cut into 3 rounds each. Lay these on top of the caramel big sides down, Use the last clementine if needed. In a food mixer cream the remaining butter with the caster sugar, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Beat to mix well. Add the zest and juice of the clementine [the mixture may split but don’t worry] mix it well. Pour the mixture into the tin and cook for about 50 – 60 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 20 mins. Place a large plate on top and invert it. Unclip the tin and remove the paper. Drizzle with a little liquid honey if desired. Serve with a good blob of extra thick double cream.

 

 

This is America

PLAY HARD, WORK HARD

This is America

Thousands of people across the world have gathered to protest the killing of unarmed African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Floyd was killed on 25 May, as four officers detained him, with one officer – Derek Chauvin – kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, despite Floyd calling out repeatedly that he could not breathe.

It’s definitely not the first time black Americans have been killed in police custody, and it’s unfortunate that it’s unlikely George Floyd will be the last.

The protesting which has taken place across the world has made some significant changes – it’s hard to deny that. Derek Chauvin’s charges have been elevated to second-degree murder, and all officers involved in George Floyd’s death have now been charged, following pleas from protestors worldwide.

Six police officers in Atlanta have been charged, after a video went viral showing the officers using a stun gun and dragging two young Black students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, from a car following protests.

Miami police have banned officers from using a “carotid restraint”, otherwise known as a chokehold. San Francisco’s city supervisors have introduced a resolution to prevent the police department from hiring officers with records of serious misconduct.

Cities across America, including Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Texas have begun the process of redirecting part of the budget of each of their police departments to serve Black communities and communities of colour.

But there is still work which needs to be done.

Breonna Taylor was shot eight times by Louisville police after officers forced their way inside her home; the officers had a no-knock warrant. The Louisville metro council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance called “Breonna’s Law”, banning no-knock search warrants. But the officers who killed Taylor have not been arrested nor charged.

Police officers have ‘qualified immunity’ (or legal immunity as it’s called in Britain). Qualified immunity is a judicial doctrine which makes it difficult for people whose civil rights are violated by police officers (such as in cases of police brutality) to obtain money damages in lawsuits.

Essentially, it’s impossible to sue police officers unless the victim can show that the officer violated a right explicitly recognised by a prior court ruling. Even if the exact same incident that happened to George Floyd happened to another, unless it happened in exactly the same place, even if the difference is a matter of metres, it is not possible to find officers liable.

I know that many of us will be looking at what happened in America as a matter of ‘us versus them’.

I’m not saying racism in the UK is in any way the same as it is in America, but it is naïve to think racism does not exist in Britain.

As Martin Luther King Jr once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”.

Mark Duggan was shot by Metropolitan police in London in 2011; he was unarmed when facing police officers before he was shot and his death sparked riots across London. Black people account for 8% of deaths in police custody in the UK, despite the black community accounting for only 3% of the British population (as reported by the Guardian).

Jimmy Mubenga’s death on a plane on a Heathrow runway in 2010, while being restrained by three immigration officers, saw the immigration officers later acquitted of manslaughter, despite Mubenga’s death counted as unlawful.

Rashan Charles’ death in 2017 in Hackney, after being restrained by a police officer, and Edson Da Costa’s death under similar circumstances in the same year saw all officers from both cases cleared.

Of course, Britain is nowhere near as bad as America when it comes to the issue of police brutality. But it is impossible to deny there is no reason for the Black Lives Matter Movement in Britain.

For many, the conversations about race which have been sparked by recent events may be uncomfortable. But these conversations need to be had, because if it is uncomfortable for you to talk about, imagine living the uncomfortable reality. We need to have these uncomfortable discussions about race so that five-year-olds no longer need to be informed that a police officer may treat them badly because of the colour of their skin.

Black Lives Matter as a movement was founded in 2013, in response to the acquittal of the police officer who killed Trayvon Martin.

The movement is seen by many as controversial, as putting the importance of black lives above the importance of every other life. As Barack Obama once said, “‘Black Lives Matter’ simply refers to the notion that there’s a specific vulnerability for African Americans that needs to be addressed. It’s not meant to suggest that other lives don’t matter. It’s to suggest that other folks aren’t experiencing this particular vulnerability”.

All lives do matter. But currently, black lives and the lives of people of colour are the lives we need to concentrate on. Imagine if you broke your leg and went to the doctor. Whilst all your bones matter, right now, your broken leg is the priority for treatment.

“There are very few hardships out there that hit only people of colour and not white people, but there are a lot of hardships that hit people of colour a lot more than white people” – Ijeoma Olua, ‘So You Want to Talk About Race’.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

 

Red Kites Over Wenvoe

Red Kites spotted flying over the Parish

A number of residents have spotted Red Kites flying over the Parish recently which is great news. Once upon a time they were quite common and Shakespeare referred to London as a ‘city of kites and crows’. They were the street cleaners of the time and even had a degree of protection However steady persecution led to a massive decline and by the end of the nineteenth century there were just a few pairs hanging on in Wales. Gamekeepers played a major part in the persecution along with Victorian egg and skin collectors. Some farmers believed they took lambs and that view can still occasionally be heard today. However research has shown that Kites are essentially scavengers and are ill-equipped to take animals as large as lambs. They may be seen in fields when lambs are being born but they are attracted by the afterbirth and end of the tails that have fallen off. Even dead lambs will be ‘opened up’ first by ravens and crows, followed by the buzzards. At Gigrin farm near Rhayader where many people have watched Red Kites being fed, young lambs were allowed to graze in the field where the kites were feeding and at no point did they appear as a threat. But persecution continues and in April three Kites were killed at Tregynon near Newtown.

 

The most likely threat may be to your frilly knickers – if you happen to own some! Shakespeare said ‘When the kite builds, look to lesser linen’. Particularly in the days when washing was spread on bushes to dry, kites were in the habit of helping themselves to items that they felt might enhance their nests. Items found in Red Kite nests recently included flags, handbags, magazine pages, tea towels, lottery tickets and socks. One was even adorned with – yes, you’ve guessed it! – frilly knickers. In one case a Kite swooped down into a suburban garden and pinched the squeaky toy from under the nose of the shocked family pooch.

From a low point at the turn of the last century, re- introduction programmes using eggs from nests in Sweden and Wales have caused the numbers of Red Kites to increase significantly and the UK now has 48,000 breeding pairs – around 15% of the world’s population. Without any local re-introductions it has taken a while for the Kites to reach here – Rhayader is only 80 miles away – but the signs are promising. And, hopefully, we can all look forward to finding the occasional disappearance of an item from our washing lines.

 

 

Trekking in the Himalayas

After my adventures in Kenya, and particularly, on Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro, it was time to leave Africa. Before leaving I received a phone call from BBC Radio Wales: my dad had rung in to tell them I was embarking on a trip to Everest. The interviewer tried to hide his disappointment when I said I was going trekking in the Himalayas, and would more than likely see Everest, but the intention was to bypass it rather than ascend the highest mountain in the world!

The plan was for myself and Jayne, a school friend from Wenvoe, to travel to India and Nepal and trek independently for 4-5 weeks through the Himalayas. Since the first ascent of Mt Everest, over 60 years ago, the Himalayas have become far more accessible to walkers. Hindu scriptures say that in “a hundred ages of the gods”, you could not do justice to the Himalayas. Choosing where to trek in this vast area (10 times the size of France) was difficult. We wanted to experience some of the highest mountains, gorges, forests, flowers, orchards, wild rivers, snow and sunshine that this region offers, as well as gain an insight into the different religions and cultures of the people who live in this area. We decided to start from Pokhara.

We flew into the bustling city of Delhi, where ear muffs to drown out the constant noise of horns, would have been a useful accessory. We arranged our bus transfer from Delhi to Kathmandu, then Pokhara. A crowded bus, with no air conditioning, but numerous live chickens, was our first challenge; the second was constantly saying “NO” to the insistent hands and pleading eyes of  villagers trying to sell us snacks through the bus windows at every stop.

Travel Route

Pokhara is a city on Phewa Lake and a gateway to many treks. The start of our trek was delayed by the onslaught of “Delhi belly”, something that my usual walkers at Cosmeston or Barry Island do not need to worry about!

Pokhara

Fully recovered and with rucksacks packed, we loaded ourselves onto the back of an open truck and were transported through the hills to start our trek. We knew there was a network of basic lodges to stay in, which provided local food so carried clothes and essential toiletries to get us through the next weeks. Lunch provisions had been brought from Wales: packets of crackers and jars of peanut butter! I am not sure Edmund Hillary had similar nutritional ideas when he made his final ascent but we thought instant energy would be important! The Nepalese children were intrigued by the peanut butter and were delighted to be offered a jar.

Trek Locations

We had deliberately chosen to do our trekking in April as there is no monsoon, the skies tend to be clearer and the hillsides are full of the most spectacular displays of bright red rhododendrons. Our trek was to take us through many small settlements and as we passed the villages of Landruk and Ghandruk we had stunning views of the Annapurna range. Ghandruk is a typical village of Gurungs with idyllic rural scenes, forests and a diversity of birds in the oak forests. At Tatopani, we had the luxury of immersing ourselves in hot springs. Tatopani means hot water in Nepali and the village gets its name from the hot springs that emanate from the rocks below the Kali Gandaki  river. The majority of people here are of ethnic Sherpa and Tamang. In Ghorepani( 3210m),  we got up early to climb Poon Hill and watch the sun rise over the colossal peak of Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest peak in the world. It was not a huge effort to get ourselves up as we had spent the night on straw beds in the kitchen in our lodging! The walking itself was not too difficult: there were trails to follow, friendly locals to point us in the right direction(always greeting us with a “Namaste”), rope bridges across gorges to navigate, the Kali Kandaki river to follow and narrow wooden beds in home stays or a mattress in a lodge, to rest up in between the walking.

Muktinath Vishnu Temple

Muktinath was the highest point on the trail (3710m).Muktinath is a Vishnu Temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. It is located at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass and is one of the world’s highest temples.  It is an impressive sight and is visited by thousands of Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims every year. We were fortunate to have the place almost to ourselves. The peace and tranquillity of the temple, the awe inspiring snow covered mountains that surrounded us and the bright blue skies above us combined together to ensure this was the highlight of the trip.

AT Jomson there is a local airport, where many trekkers return by small planes to Pokhara.  Not us, we were walking back. The highlight on the return journey was Birethanti (1100m), a small village set at the foot of the Modi Khola valley. Mule trains set off from here to deliver goods to less well connected villages. Final stop was Nayapul, where a friendly truck driver picked us up and returned us to the relative comfort of a Pokhara hotel. After 30 days walking we could remove our walking boots!

In Nepal, the scenery, people and walking on our trek was special. But Cosmeston and Barry Island are special too:  you will be offered great scenery, a warm welcome, fresh air and time to reflect…… looking forward to meeting up again soon.

 

Namaste!

 

 

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