Month: August 2020

Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice)

 

Off The Shelf

Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice)

 

Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice) was this month’s book written by American author Donna Leon. Leon lived in Venice for many years and has written a series of crime novels set in and around the city, featuring her fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.

Flavia Petrelli has returned to Venice and La Fenice to sing the lead in Tosca. Lately, an unknown fan has been sending copious bouquets of yellow roses to the dressing rooms of the international opera houses where Flavia has been singing. In the beginning Flavia was flattered by the thoughtfulness of the anonymous fan but now the growing number of floral tokens have become extreme and Flavia has become disturbed by the attention of what now appears to be that of a stalker.

Flavia is a family friend of detective Guido Brunetti and she tells him of her concerns. When her ex-lover is attacked, Brunetti realises that Flavia’s life could be in danger. The plot grinds on to a never-ending finale.

This was not a popular book with our members. Other than sharing the obvious love the author has for Venice and opera, the story line did not capture our hearts. It was an easy read but we thought that the plot was far-fetched and implausible. We felt obliged to finish the book rather than enjoy it. We gave the book 5/10.

Your contributions

We would love to receive a review or synopsis of a book you are reading during lockdown. Please email your contributions to wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

 

 

The Book Character I Would Most Like to Meet

Page Turners

The Book Character Page Turners Would Most Like to Meet

A survey for World Book Day asked ‘leading lights of literary luminaries’ to name the characters who gave them the greatest reading pleasure. The list included Pip (Great Expectations), Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice), Sherlock Holmes (Hound of the Baskervilles etc), Gandalf (Lord of the Rings) and Anne (Anne of Green Gables). The Page Turners were asked to select a character from a book that they would most like to meet.
Sylvia would like a whodunit solved. She would like to meet Mlle de Poitiers, the French Mistress from the book, ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ by Joan Lindsay. Sylvia would be keen to talk with her about the ‘event’ and the pupils involved. The detective Endeavour, from the Morse series by Colin Dexter was Helen’s choice. Helen believes he is a dour, irascible character who has the ability to collate a series of clues. Endeavour also has the prowess to effortlessly complete The Times crossword every day, and Helen would greatly appreciate meeting him to obtain some tips!! Tess would like a walk down memory lane and meet up with Sir Wilfred Thesiger author of ‘Arabian Sands’ and ‘The Marsh Arabs’. Tess spent many years in the Middle East and would like to chat with Sir Wilfred of their shared experiences of crossing the Empty Quarter (Rub-al-Khali) and travels in the Middle East. Babs selected the character Olive Ketteridge from the novel of the same name by Elizabeth Strout. This novel comprises of 13 short stories, highlighting characters living in Crosby, Maine. The common thread in each of the stories is Olive, a retired school teacher, who has impacted in many ways on the lives of different characters. Babs believes Olive is cranky, opinionated, complex and fascinating: and she thinks they would become friends if they ever met! Lynne chose Celie, an African-American woman living in the deep American south, from the novel ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker. Celie was born into poverty and segregation and spends most of her life being mistreated and abused by the men in her life. Celie eventually takes charge of her own destiny and becomes free of her abusive past. A strong, hopeful and combative character that Lynne believes would provoke some stimulating discussions. Sandra had just completed the ‘The Testaments’ by Margaret Attwood and would like to meet the divorced judge, Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia is imprisoned with other women in a stadium and endures weeks of squalid conditions. Aunt Lydia emerges as a woman who accepts that she must do what is necessary to stay alive. She becomes a mole. Sandra wonders why she chose to become a mole and behaved so badly, so cruelly and so stupidly. May would like to meet Miss Marple, a character from Agatha Christie books, including ‘The Murder at the Vicarage’. May imagines she would be good for a gossip and might also chat about some of the crime solutions she has been involved in (minus the gory details!)
Which character in which book would you like to meet?

 

 

Chicken with a Leek and Bacon Cream Sauce

MR GREEDY’S

Chicken with a Leek and Bacon Cream Sauce

4 chicken breasts

3 leeks, sliced and washed

200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into slices

300ml double cream

80g flour

80g butter

300ml whole milk

Good knob of butter for frying

300g strong mature cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and black pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in the butter until just done, remove from pan and set to one side. Add the leeks to the bacon juices, add more butter if required. Cook until soft. Put with the bacon; tip over any juice from the pan. Make the white sauce: Melt 80g of butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, with a whisk add the milk. Still on the heat, keep whisking until all the lumps have gone and thickened up. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cream and more milk if too thick. If too runny, mix a little flour and milk in a cup and add to the sauce until it has thickened. Add the cooked leeks and bacon; stir in. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Tip half the sauce into an oven proof dish. Place the chicken on top of the sauce. Tip the rest of the sauce over the chicken. Cover with foil, cook for about 30 – 35 mins until chicken is cooked. Serve with baby buttered new potatoes and a green veg or with cooked long grain rice.

 

 

Strawberry Shortcake

MR GREEDY’S 

Strawberry Shortcake

11/2 cups SR flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup icing sugar

150g butter, softened

1 large egg, beaten

250g cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup strawberry jam

2 cups strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 180C Fan . Place flour, baking powder and icing sugar in a bowl. Mix to combine. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add egg and a little milk if necessary; mix to form a stiff dough. Draw a 20cm circle on a piece of baking paper and place on an oven baking tray. Press dough out to fill circle. Bake for about 20 – 25 until golden and soft to touch. COOL BEFORE ADDING THE TOPPING. Soften the cream cheese and mix in the icing sugar (1/4 cup) Spread cream cheese over the shortcake and then cover with strawberry jam. Hull the strawberries and cut in half, if large. Arrange strawberries over the shortcake. Heat water and sugar (1/2 cup) together in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Increase heat and cook sugar mixture until a light golden colour. Cool slightly then pour over strawberries. Working quickly, use a fork to pull threads up from the caramel.

 

 

Orchard Noticeboards Refurbished

Orchard Noticeboards Refurbished

Despite lockdown a number of Wildlife Group members have been working on our sites either as individuals or couples.

The main focus has been on the noticeboards of which we have 6 large ones, one small and two more due to be erected soon. After a trial we have opted to repaint them Sage-coloured which blends in more with the countryside and is distinctive to the parish. The Welsh and Elizabethan Orchards have been completed and the notices re-affixed. The Community Orchard has been repainted and notices are back up. We shall move on to the Wild Orchard next. These play an important role in communicating what we are doing and why with visitors, many of whom are from outside the village.

Other work involves clearing vegetation and strimming paths, trimming willow, planting in our raised beds and cleaning the benches and other furniture which is as popular with wildlife as humans but with the inevitable consequence in terms of ‘bird poo’. A new bench has been installed at the top of the Upper Orchid Field in memory of the Kennetts who lived in Barry but were supportive of the Wildlife Group.

We continue to receive regular photos from residents either notifying us of plants and animals spotted or asking for help in identifying them. These are added to the wildlife recording database for South East Wales (SEWBREC) which ensures the records are properly logged and retained. Species recently include Dwarf Spurge (plant), Shaggy Ink Cap (fungus) and Pied Hoverfly. These and many more can be seen on our Facebook pages.

When working in the orchards, we often meet people who say that they were not previously aware of them. So each month we shall refer to one of them.

The Community Orchard is closest to the centre of Wenvoe and on the Playing Fields. To get there take the footbridge over the by-pass and continue down Station Road. After 100 metres turn right into the Playing Fields and the orchard is at the very far end hidden behind a hedgerow. You can also take the tunnel from Vennwood Close and follow the path.

 

 

A Change In The Law

PLAY HARD, WORK HARD

A Change In The Law

Justice

At the beginning of July, the Government announced a change in the law to ban men from claiming that fatal injuries inflicted on women were at her request during intercourse.

Following the death of 26-year-old Natalie Connolly at the hands of her boyfriend in 2016, a campaign to ban the ‘rough sex defence’ began. Connolly was reported to have suffered more than 40 injuries and was left bleeding before she was found in their Staffordshire home.

John Broadhurst claimed that Connolly, a mother of one, was injured during sexual activity which was consensual but fuelled by alcohol and drugs. Although the pathologist’s report had described bruises littering Connolly’s body, Broadhurst had claimed it was what she had requested, and that she liked being beaten. She, of course, was unable to defend whether this was true or not.

The murder charge was dropped, and despite pleading guilty on accounts of manslaughter, Broadhurst managed to persuade the prosecution that the beating Connolly had received was what she had wanted and requested. Instead of a life sentence, Broadhurst got only three years and eight months.

Although the ‘rough sex defence’ was formerly a provocation defence, it quickly became one exploited and used by many. Men who had killed women in this way continuously sought to blame the victim, using the provocation defence to lessen their charge from murder to manslaughter, claiming he was always the “victim” of their partner’s behaviour.

After Natalie Connolly’s death made national headlines, many began an online campaign, identifying at least 60 British women who had been killed in episodes of “consensual” sexual violence since 1972, and at least 18 women dying in the last five years.

The campaign, called “We Can’t Consent to This” found that 45% of these killings saw a claim that the woman’s injuries were sustained during a sex game “gone wrong”, which either resulted in a lesser charge, a lighter sentence, an acquittal, or the death not being investigated.

Defendants are not only using the defence more often, but before the law was changed, courts were becoming increasingly likely to believe this defence.

It’s a simple defence, of course. How can it be argued when the only other person who knew what had happened in detail is no longer able to give their account?

Natalie Connolly’s case wasn’t the first time the defence has been used in a high-profile case. The murder of 22-year-old Grace Millane, a young woman who was killed on a Tinder date in New Zealand in December of 2018, has also received much attention in the media.

Thankfully, the jury in Millane’s case didn’t buy the ‘rough sex defence’ and her murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment. Her family had to listen to intimate details of her private life read to the courtroom, details she was unable to refute.

The amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill are vital. Amendments to the Bill included making it clear that consent can no longer be used as a defence – especially in cases of serious violence and murder.

Thankfully, these amendments were accepted by the Government and will soon come into effect. No longer will families have to listen to the defence ‘it’s what she wanted’ when attempting to explain serious bodily harm. No longer will parents have to watch their child’s murderer walk away free-of-charge after having their child’s intimate private life spread across the papers and used as a weapon which they were unable to refute.

It could be argued by some that these instances were a number of ‘accidents’ when things have gone wrong. This may be the case for some of these murders, but many of these killers have a long history of perpetrating violence against women. For others, it had been a culmination of years of domestic abuse.

It’s hardly surprising that this defence has been used so often. Unfortunately, cases of non-consensual intercourse are difficult to prove – especially when non-consensual acts (such as violence, like choking or slapping) occur during otherwise consensual intercourse.

Under Chapter 3, Section 74 of the CPS Rape and Sexual Offences guidance, ‘Conditional Consent’ was the closest legal clause before the ‘rough sex defence’ was abolished. Chapter 3, Section 74 includes instances where consent was revoked when agreements were broken, but there is no clear ramification in this section of non-consensual acts of violence during otherwise consensual intercourse.

Which is why amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill and revoking the ‘rough sex defence’ is so important. Without these changes, many people would lose justice to these defences, which allow for no dispute, as the victim is no longer able to give their account.

It’s surprising that there has been a defence which was so widely used, where the victim was unable to dispute the lurid details about their private lives which would have been widely read to the jury. It’s strange that it’s taken so long for this defence to be reviewed; it’s a defence which allows for people to blame their victim for their own violence.

I’m glad the defence has received review and that the law has changed. But I can’t help but feel it’s come too late, with over 60 perpetrators in the UK having benefited from the ‘rough sex defence’.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

 

Discover our 5 Community Orchards

Nature Notes

Discover our 5 Community Orchards

With more and more people discovering one or more of our 5 Community Orchards, all designed and planted by the Wenvoe Wildlife Group, the question is often raised – What has this got to do with wildlife?

Orchards are a priority habitat in Biodiversity Action Plans whether at UK Government levels, Welsh Government or Vale of Glamorgan County level. And as with wildflower meadows, what once were common are becoming rarer. Since the 1950s, Britain has lost 90% of its traditional orchards and of those that are left in Wales, 35% are in a poor condition and only 7% excellent.

Orchards, particularly traditional, established ones, attract many species of wildlife. The obvious ones like Fox, Rabbit, Badger, Blackbird and Thrush take advantage of the fruit but our cameras at the Goldsland Orchard also recorded Greater Spotted and Green Woodpecker, Tawny Owl, Jays, Chiff-chaff and Goldfinch all visiting regularly. And some much rarer species such as Noble Chafer Beetle, Shaggy Bracket Fungus and Red-belted Clearwing Moth are almost exclusively associated with orchards. There is even a European Orchard Bee which only arrived on our shores recently.

Our orchards, although still young and immature, are already attracting Field Mice and Voles, Moles, Grass Snakes (which do not bite!) and a legion of plants and insects. It is worth distinguishing between traditional orchards where the trees are allowed to live their full lives which may be 100 years or more and are not sprayed with chemicals and commercial ones where the trees are grubbed up after 8 or so years and may be sprayed 20 times a year. The commercial orchards have only minimal wildlife benefit.

The second reason for planting an orchard is to help conserve the old varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry along with less common fruit like Medlar, Quince and Mulberry. Names like Catshead (photo) and Tom Putt apples, Jargonelle Pear and Morello Cherry go back hundreds of years.

The orchards are also there for you to enjoy thanks to the generosity of farming families like the Readers and the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Orchards have played an important role in our history and literature from the Garden of Eden, through the Romans, Normans, mediaeval monasteries and the fruit-growing bonanza of the 18th and 19th centuries. And when the fruit is getting riper from August onwards why not try sampling the odd apple and let us know your favourite.

 

 

Vale For Africa Eyecare Trip 2018

VALE FOR AFRICA EYECARE TRIP 2018

It was through my work that I first heard of local charity Vale for Africa and of their annual trip to Uganda. Vale for Africa works with a local African charity/NGO called ACET, to improve healthcare and education in the Tororo district of eastern Uganda.

They say it is good to push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and so it was that I signed up to be part of the 2018 team. The trip takes place at the end of August. By February our team members had all been confirmed and 6 months of planning began. Our team consisted of 5 working optometrists, alongside local retired optometrist Ted Arbuthnot and his wife, retired GP Dr Hilary Bugler. A week before the trip we gathered at Ted and Hilary’s home to distribute the kit/equipment, paperwork, and gifts/t-shirts to distribute in Tororo. I did return home that day with a full suitcase and wondered where I was putting my ‘personal’ gear – packing lightly is not one of my strengths!

We gathered at Cardiff airport on Friday 24th August, brimming with excitement and also a few nerves. The journey went smoothly; two flights and a few films later, we touched down in Entebbe airport. It would not be possible to reach Tororo that same day and so we spent one night in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. An early start the next morning allowed us to break our journey at Jinja ‘the source of the Nile’, to take in some amazing African wildlife. By late afternoon on Sunday 26th August we reached Tororo town and had our first glimpse of the distinctive Tororo Rock.

Our accommodation for the week was at the Benedictine Nunnery Although basic, it was comfortable and a welcome peaceful haven at the end of each day. An impressive thunderstorm and the resulting power cut on that first night did make me wonder what the next few days would bring!

The work started in earnest the next morning. The project relies on working with a team of local volunteers who are invaluable; some carrying out some ‘pre-screening’ checking of vision and some helping us with translation and giving patient instructions. These volunteers are known as the Visual Acuity Testers (VATs).

Most have been involved with the project for several years. They now know well what needs to be done to help the clinics run smoothly. The first morning was run as a refresher training session for the VATs, before our first clinics in the afternoon.

In our clinics we had anyone and everyone from babes in arms to a lady whose age on her paperwork simply read ‘80+’. The vast majority of these patients would never have seen a doctor, dentist or optometrist before in their lives.

It is difficult to explain just how different the clinics are from those at home, where we are all very lucky to have the latest technology to help us in our work.

At home I might see an average of 10-12 patients a day; we averaged 40 a day in Tororo.

Each morning the team of VATs had often been there an hour or two ahead of us, setting up what they could in advance – each day my buddy Joseph would already have hung some makeshift curtains in whatever room we were to be based in, as too much light makes it difficult to examine inside the eyes.

The other thing I initially found somewhat disconcerting but soon got used to was ‘performing’ in front of an audience. At one of the schools we were based at, Joseph ushered me into ‘our’ room to be greeted by at least 20 pairs of eyes watching my every move as I unpacked for the day. There were school benches that had all been pushed to the side of the room, so of course they would sit there to wait their turn.

As expected, we saw a wide range of eye conditions. For many this meant their first pair of glasses – and for several hundred people a simple pair of reading glasses would be life changing. We saw plenty of other ‘interesting’ things but, unexpectedly, it was these people whose lives could be changed by a £3 pair of reading glasses that touched me most of all. We helped a seamstress and a local government worker who had given up work because of their ‘poor vision’ and would now be able to carry on working for perhaps another 10 years.

In Tororo town is the Benedictine Eye Hospital, to which we could refer patients who needed treatment including cataract surgery (and Vale for Africa covers the cost of the surgery for these patients) and eyedrops for the treatment of Glaucoma.

In total between our team of 5 we saw just over 700 patients, almost 100 of whom needed cataract surgery. This may seem a drop in the ocean compared to Uganda’s population of 42 million, but you couldn’t help but feel we really were making a difference to those people we saw.

On the final night we were treated to a wonderful evening with those we had worked with during the week, with a very fine meal and some amazing African dancing – a memorable way to round off the trip. We set off early the next morning to begin our long journey home from Tororo to Entebbe airport and on to Wales. I was coming home tired, but with wonderful memories, new friendships, and a little piece of Tororo and its wonderful people in my heart.

The 2020 trip has, like so many other events, sadly been cancelled, but I very much hope to be on that plane to Entebbe again in 2021. If anyone would like to know more about Vale for Africa and the work they do take a look at www.valeforafrica.org.uk where you can find a donation link and more information on how to get involved.

Dawn Saville

 

 

Peterston Super Ely

Footsteps

Peterston Super Ely

We parked in St Nicholas, within our 5-mile limit, to do a walk based on Valeways walk no. 37 Peterston super Ely (A ridge and valley walk). The main walk is 2 loops of 3 miles and 4 miles centred on Peterston Super Ely.

From St Nicholas head north past the school where attempts have been made to keep rabbits off the play area with wiring under the fence, but they were running across the grass.

A profusion of brambles edged the path to Cottrell Park golf course, where there are views towards the south. We crossed the 7th tee and headed into the woodland opposite.

We met some people, with colourful bicycles, foraging in the lanes. They were collecting ramson seeds which were to be pickled and then scattered over salads etc. I tasted one, they have a strong garlic taste, much stronger than the leaves in spring. Later we spotted water hemlock growing alongside the road – very poisonous.

Outside Peterston Super Ely is chapel Croes y Parc (1777). We spent some time exploring the churchyard which has some fascinating tombstones; one so high it towered over us, another crenelated like a castle wall. Care was needed as there was evidence of subsidence.

Arriving at Peterston Super Ely we had a quick look at the river from Llanbedr bridge and then walked generally north along the western side of the river Ely.

A large house The Mill was for sale but cannot be seen from the gates; the front garden is large. It is behind the National Trust Lanlay meadows – an SSSI with rich wildlife. This is an area of hay meadow virtually untouched by modern farming methods. There is a Community Orchard which was very tidy with many clumps of comfrey growing and a living willow shelter.

Continuing north a succession of stiles leads over the flat open fields of the river’s flood plain. Understandably the ground can be very wet here, but it was a beautiful summer’s day, and, after all the dry, spring weather, footpaths were firm underfoot. We had an especially early lunch (before noon) so that we could sit beside the river.

At the road running east-west near Dyffryn Mawr farm, we were disappointed to find that we were still in Peterston Super Ely after all our walking. We crossed the river and later the railway where you must phone before crossing as it is so busy.

This section had some interesting wildlife including monkshood (another poisonous plant) and innumerable butterflies, we spotted speckled woods, gatekeepers, tortoiseshell and burnet moths.

Arriving back in Peterston we enjoyed a coffee by the river. Then we crossed the pedestrian bridge to Wyndham Park, a Garden Village development begun in 1909. The Main Avenue is lined with both horse and sweet chestnut trees. It is interesting to walk around this area, we spotted several Polish emergency vehicles parked up. Some of the earliest built houses are the so-called Moroccan houses with tiled frontages and flat roofs.

At the top of Main Avenue, the footpath is to the right, a narrow path leads to open fields and there are soon expansive views to the north from the wind farm in Llanharran to the Garth mountain. At Homri farm you join a track and after a short walk the valley opens to the east. Now the panorama behind includes Castell Coch (which looks tiny from this distance) and Cardiff.

Another day we took a short but enjoyable diversion, east along this valley. It was a delightful and peaceful place no doubt enhanced by the glorious summer’s day. We crossed farmland dotted with sheep and ponds, witnessing idylls such as horses grazing beside a pond. At one point we had to cross a very narrow road (an access road for St Georges and St Bride’s Super Ely) – careful and speedy walking required here. Arriving at the Natural Burial ground, we explored their footpaths admiring the wildflower meadow, with lots of chicory. The arboretum has many interesting trees and once again when we emerged into open space, we had superb views. We ate lunch in a large field with a herd of cows in the distance who edged towards us all the time we were there. Three small aircraft flew above us in formation as we sat. We had great views almost the whole time we were walking, extensive to the north as described above and from the Natural Burial Ground we could even see parts of Cardiff Bay.

Continuing we arrived back in St Nicholas, took a brief diversion to the churchyard to see a grave marked by an anvil and then walked past the war memorial and pump to the cars (in line with Government advice just 2 households participated in this walk).

Walk 7.5 miles( plus extra for the diversion).

 

 

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