Month: October 2020

1989 – Pre-Covid Reminiscence

Happy Photographs From The Summer Of 1989

For seventeen years I was fortunate to be a class teacher in Gwenfo Church in Wales Primary School and for many of those years I was the class teacher of Year Three , seven and eight year olds. These happy photographs were taken in the summer of 1989. For three or four years running I was able to take my class on a trip to New Wallace Farm in Wenvoe. John Thomas was the farmer and he was delighted with the idea of showing the children around his farm. It reminded him of when he was a pupil in the old village school and they would be taken on nature walks. Lesley Opie often helped out on these visits and she discovered these photos. For the first two visits we walked the class to the entrance of the Golf Club road where Colin Webb would meet us with a tractor and a large trailer with hay bales down the middle. There was great excitement as the children climbed up on the trailer. We went along past the entrance of the Golf Club and out to New Wallace Farm. John Thomas met us and climbed up on the tractor. We travelled around many of the fields while the children were told about the beef cattle and sheep. It was often a bumpy ride which made it more exciting. On our return to the farmyard the children were treated to orange squash and biscuits while they sat on hay bales in one of the barns. John Thomas’s wife Iris provided the refreshments which was very kind.

 

We were then taken back to the main road and then we walked back to school. The children wrote thank you letters to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. One year Mr. Thomas had trouble with his tractor and so that the children would not be disappointed Mr. David Phillips of Vishwell Farm came all the way to school to pick up the children with his tractor and trailer and took us out to New Wallace. Happy days! Lesley Opie and I have put our heads together and come up with the names of some of the children in the photos. Theo Davies, Helen Anning, Ben Gillespie, Jane Hardwick, Katy Fundell, Alistair Matheson, Richard Griffiths, Torsten Patel, Joseph McCann, Nicola David, Sam Hooper, Bethan Rees, Christina Evans, Michael, Naomi Davies and Susan Chaplin. Also in the photo are Lesley Opie, John Thomas and me Sandra Jones

 

 

Peregrine Falcon Recruited

Wildlife Group Activities

Our newest recruit is a Peregrine Falcon – plastic of course but don’t tell the crows! Benches and similar structures that we install in our sites can prove popular, not only with people, but also crows, rooks and starlings with all the associated deposits that come with them. Our Peregrine is intended to deter them. We shall see – but as crows are pretty intelligent it is possible that they will realise that although the Peregrine is the fastest bird, even fastest animal, on the planet, believed to achieve speeds of 200 mph when diving, ours is somewhat static, achieving just the odd wobble in high winds.

We had another good conservation day working on the Upper Orchid Field and re-opened a number of the paths which had become overgrown with brambles and Blackthorn. The challenge now is to keep the paths open so if you have occasion to walk there, consider taking a pair of secateurs and snipping away at the odd bit of undergrowth. Hopefully, the contractor will have been able to cut the field by the time you read this but access has proved a bit of a problem with the takeover of Cemex.

Waitrose have again come up with a donation to Wildlife Group funds, for which we are most grateful. Even before Covid, applying for grants was becoming harder as funding bodies increasingly favoured larger organisations and those living in deprived areas. For example the much-publicised Local Places for Nature capital grant starts at £10,000 and the Biffa landfill tax refund at £5,000. The Small Grants scheme is ‘currently closed to applicants’. Community Packages for Nature offered by the Welsh Government must be ‘located in areas of high physical environment deprivation with limited access to nature’.

We are doing particularly well for apples this year as our trees start to mature with the Welsh Orchard producing an abundance. An apple-tasting session found that Cissy came out top closely followed by Afal Wern. Equal third were Machen, St Cecilia and Pig Aderyn. Cissy dates back to the 18th century. It was raised by a Mr Tamplin from the Malpas area who called the apple after his sister. The Elizabethan Orchard has produced its first Walnuts and Figs. Work on the Bee Lod Glade is progressing with the planting of Escallonia, Eucryphia, Euonymous, Gipsywort, Evening Primrose and Purple Loosestrife. Planting containers have been constructed out of recycled timber. A 100+ tree hedgerow from the Woodland Trust is due for delivery during November.

 

 

Dancing School Still Trying to Operate

ANNETTE BRACEY SCHOOL OF DANCING

This is such a difficult and hard time for everyone and I hope you are all safe and well .
But I would just like you to know that my Dancing School is still trying to operate from the Village Hall every Saturday. Obviously we are COVID risk secure within the Government Guide lines.
We have had to shorten our classes to deep clean after each class to keep safe which is the right thing to do. Any inquiries are welcome; so please be free to enquire do not just turn up.
See our website www.annettebraceyschoolofdancing. co.uk If you are working from home or indeed would like to exercise from the comfort of your own home I have a number of classes on a private live Facebook Stream including.

Dance Exercise
Dance Toning
Tap Fit
Ballroom Fit

So if you would like to give any a go message the details above.
Stay safe and well Annette Bracey

 

 

All The Craic From The Library

WENVOE COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Second Hand Books – We would like to thank everyone who has donated their pre -loved books to us since we established our Community Library. They have been a constant source of income for us; the Horse and Jockey, the Wenvoe Arms and the Copthorne Hotel plus the people of Wenvoe have all helped us.

We have to cover our fixed costs, so we do need to generate income. As you will realise, we have been unable to sell these books since the beginning of lockdown, so we have re-donated them to Oxfam and the Cancer Research. We are confident you will agree they have gone to good homes.

When we eventually return to normality and our library doors are open again, we will happily receive your books; meantime can we ask you to store them for us. When you donate books can we ask you to ensure they are ready to be put on display and very “sellable”. Once again, a big thank you

Sylvia’s Book of the Month.

10 minutes 38 seconds in This Strange World

by Elif Shafak

This book has a different starting point. The central character Tequila Leila, is dead in a metal rubbish bin with rusty handles and flaking paint. BUT don’t let this put you off. The story is set in Istanbul; the vivid descriptions are so good, and the book ends on a note of redemption and hope.

The 10 minutes 38 seconds of the title are Leila’s consciousness ebbing away. For each minute after her death she recalls a sensuous memory from her bittersweet life. Each fading memory brings back the 5 friends who were so dear to her throughout her life in Istanbul.

There are some bleak times described, but it is well worth reading and I would definitely recommend it

Click and Collect – We have had a successful launch. If you wish to order a book and don’t know how to order, call us between 10 am and 12 noon on Tuesdays or Thursdays and we will do our best to help you. When your book has arrived, we will call you to make an appointment to collect the book. The return of books can be anytime between 10 am and 12 noon on Thursdays without an appointment. There will be a box in the foyer for you to drop your books into.

Storytime on Facebook – This has been very successful with stories and songs being put on our Facebook page. We have had over 250 views and likes from as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore with very favourable comments. Stories are in both Welsh and English. In order to keep the momentum, we need more participants. An introduction to a favourite book or a story of your own would be wonderful. Please bear in mind that we need to work within the copyright parameters. For further details email us at the library address

(above) and we’ll get back to you. If you would like us to video your story outdoors, we’ll happily come and do that on location.

Clwb Clonc – This Welsh conversation group is still going strong on Zoom. If you wish to join and keep up your Welsh language skills, then sign in on Mondays at 11 am. Please note that the login details have changed but they will be the same each week. Meeting ID: 343 147 0372. Pass code: Heulwen

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

 

 

 

Help Us With the Clean-up

Help Us With the Clean-up

The team met to clean up at the front of the community centre in October. We feel a civic duty to try and keep the village tidy. The one thing going for us at the present is the fact there are so few of us, that social distancing is never a problem. The team will meet again on the 9th Nov. in the phone box or on the village green if we have a good turn out

 

 

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Thank you to everyone for your interest in our idea of having Wenvoe Advent Windows happening throughout December (see September edition of ‘Whats On’). We are especially grateful to have willing volunteers who have been included in the plans to light up a window this Advent. Consequently we are now delighted to let you know that the ‘Wenvoe Advent Window’ event will be going ahead.

Those who have volunteered to decorate a window are all within the parish boundary. Some want to decorate from early in December whilst others do not seem to mind when in the month they will be included. We will try to fulfil peoples wishes whilst establishing a plan within the village that encourages walking within a logical route.

A map of the route with a new window lighting up each day will be included in ‘What’s On’ in December. What we can say is that the first window to be lit up on 1st December will be at 29 Venwood Close and will conclude on Christmas Eve at St. Mary’s Church.

This is a St Mary’s initiative for the whole community. Please contact Jude Billingham if you have any queries: 07516 112897

 

 

Trevor Williams Xmas Workshop

Trevor Williams Xmas Workshop

Hello Wenvoe Readers

It all started as a hobby in December 2019 in my garage, making a few Christmas decorations to keep me busy when the weather was too bad for me to play golf. Then along came Lockdown – so, it was back to the garage making Xmas decorations again. This thankfully kept me busy throughout lockdown, creating new ideas, “learning new tricks of the trade” and improving the quality of my work as I had more time on my hands. I enjoy working with timber so much that I continued making things after lockdown and I am still making things to date. So far I have made 26 different types of Xmas models with over 260 items and still going! My garage is now full, the hardest part now is to promote and sell my products. After reading Tucker’s Christmas Reindeer Sale article in the October edition, it gave me the idea of using the Wenvoe What’s On to promote my hobby. I am happy for you to visit my Workshop/Garage (subject to Covid regulations) to see the full range of my Christmas Products. I will be supporting the Marie Curie Charity with a donation for every sale I make to help fund their fantastic nursing care in the community

You’ll find me at: 12 Goldsland Walk, Wenvoe. Please give me a call or send me a text/email to check that I will be in. Mobile: 07867 337335 email address: trevor.e.williams@btinternet.com

I have also produced my own website, which shows all my work with photographs, prices etc. https://trevorewilliams5.wixsite.com/website-4

Looking forward to seeing you.

Trevor

 

 

New Rules To Follow

New Rules To Follow

Since our return to school in September we have enjoyed being back together, learning and growing with our friends. We have lots of new rules to follow to keep each other safe but School is very happy and settled. Please take a look at our Twitter feed @GwenfoCWPrimary for pictures of some of our school activities. Thank you to our whole community for your smiles, kind words and letters of support. It really does mean so much in these uncertain times.

Both Cardiff and the Vale remain areas of local lockdown and we are so thankful for all that our families are doing to keep each other and us safe. In school we remain in our year group bubbles and follow strict guidelines to ensure this. Please help us by replicating this in the community. We are aware of a number of incidences of anti-social behaviour within the village which have been reported to local Headteachers. We urge anyone to phone 101 to log incidences of bad behaviour and have requested that our local PCSO can patrol past the park. We have also reported our concerns to the Community Council. The park is currently one of the few places that families can meet outdoors and it saddens me to see a small number of children spoiling it for everyone.

 

 

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