Month: October 2020

Sweet Potato and Blue Cheese Pancakes

Sweet Potato and Blue Cheese Pancakes

1 sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into chunks

500g potatoes scrubbed and cut into chunks (Maris Piper)

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 medium red onions, diced

4 large garlic cloves crushed

1/2 lemon juiced

50g plain flour

120g blue stilton

Boil the potatoes until just tender. Drain and set aside. Heat 1/2 tbsp. of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and 3/4 of the garlic and cook for about 10 mins until soft. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Put the remaining garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. Transfer the potatoes to the mixing bowl with the onions and mash roughly. In a separate small bowl, mix the flour with 80ml water and stir to make a batter; add to the potatoes. Crumble in the stilton, season and mix together. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Spoon 3 tbsp. of the mixture per pancake into the pan, working in batches as needed. Cook for about 5 mins on each side until browned. Add a little more oil as required. Toss

together a green salad of your choice, lettuce, spinach cherry tomatoes. Mix 1 tbsp. of oil into the lemon juice and garlic mix and drizzle and mix over the salad. Serve and enjoy.

 

 

Mike’s Reindeer Herd

This year’s sale of Mike’s Reindeer herd will take place on the weekend of 28th & 29th November. It will be held in the garden of our home, 29 Vennwood Close, during the hours of 10.00am – 4.00pm. Covid regulations in place at that time will be followed.

There will be a donation made from the sale of each reindeer to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group. We will also hold a raffle to raise further funds for the Wenvoe Wildlife Group and raffle prizes will be listed in next

month’s edition of What’s On. There will also be a table of small handcrafted items for sale. Please bring plenty of change as we do not have a card reader and would like to keep money handling to a minimum.

If you would like to pre-order your reindeer, you can do so by ringing 07922109721 or by email at pukkatucker@gmail.com.

We hope we will see you that weekend!

 

 

Wenvoe Advent Windows

Wenvoe Advent Windows

To lighten Advent this year we are inviting you to take part in lighting up your windows.

Whilst it is possible that our preparations for Advent and Christmas this year may require a little more thought and planning than normal, a small group of people are hoping to plan Wenvoe Advent Windows that we can all enjoy safely.

The Wenvoe Advent Windows will encourage people who are perhaps going to be inside more than usual this December to wrap up warm and get out to view the windows. There will be a new one to see each night leading up to Christmas Eve when of course there will be 24 all on display. The event allows people to carry on social distancing and following Covid rules, whatever may be in place at the time.

This community fun event will run from the 1st-24th December, with the final window at St. Mary’s Church. We would like you to take part; there is no entry fee, it’s not a competition and adults and children can be involved.

How will it work?

We need a minimum of 24 participants to decorate their windows. Participants will be allocated a date when they will light up their window for the first time and to continue lighting up each day until 24th. Every day from 1st December a new window will be lit up to go and see so that by 24th December there will be 24 windows for residents to view.

The windows can be designed and constructed from any media- lights, mobiles, cut outs etc. They can be as simple or technical as your artistic tendencies take you. They can be internal or external displays as long as they involve decorating your window. All the displays should relate to Advent / Christmas and can be humorous, artistic or topical

The windows will be lit from 5.00pm – 9.00pm each evening.

Each house participating will be asked to

• display a number (corresponding to the date their window is ‘opened’) to differentiate from other residents who will have their own Christmas decorations.

• keep their window a surprise as far as is possible before the designated big reveal evening

 

If you want to participate and

• live in a house that has a window (upstairs or down) that can clearly be seen from the street without people coming onto your property

• are happy to keep the window illuminated each evening after it is ‘opened’ until December 24th

 

We are aware that many people give their time and money to support a host of different charities. If you would like to put a charity box outside your house you would be most welcome. Just make sure you empty the box each evening.

For more information ring:

Sandra and Brian Jones: 02920594248

Glenys and Mike Tucker: 07922 109721

Jude and Nige Billingham: on 02920594708 or 07516 112897

Please let Jude Billingham know by October 16th that you want to decorate your window by supplying your name, address, email address and any preference you have about dates; by email (judebillingham@yahoo.co.uk) by telephone, or text.

Please be aware that in agreeing to participate you are also agreeing to have your address identified on the windows map that will be made available so people can look for your window. No names or email will be shared without your permission.

 

 

Top Tips for October

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Top Tips for October

Top horticultural show judge Mr Gwyn Williams’s tips for October.

  1. Ripen green tomatoes by cutting off along with the vine, place on cardboard and put on windowsill.
  2. Sow winter lettuce and meteor peas.
  3. Use the mower on a high setting to pick up the leaves off the lawn.
  4. Dig up dahlia tubers and store frost free.
  5. Be sure to mark the ground where perennials die right back as you may not remember where they are.

Actor, author, poet and politician Mr Noel Williams has some thoughts on gardening.

  1. Get most of the gardening done in the morning, then relax in the afternoon.
  2. You can never have enough green bags.
  3. Look as if you know what you’re doing.
  4. Raised beds will help you garden for longer.
  5. Use a walking stick on uneven ground, as three points of contact with terra firma are better than two.

Six months ago we struggled to get seeds and plants from online retailers and garden centres as they had not got a delivery mechanism in place. At present there are plenty of options to purchase plants. Come March who knows where we will be. Order seeds, summer bulbs and corms now as they are in stock. Quite a few gardeners used potatoes left over from grocery shopping, with some quite remarkable results. Most people will now hopefully save seed for next year. Wenvoe gardens have been great this year, with people sharing their spare plants. The term golfing gardens came about when golfers in Wenvoe turned to the soil and improved their gardens while the courses were closed. When the courses reopened some of them found their mowers wouldn’t start…..

October is, as usual, a busy time on the veg plot planning next year’s harvest. Broad beans as well as certain varieties of peas can be sown now. Salad mixes grown under cover will soon provide fresh produce. Cauliflower variety Snowball can be sown in cold frames now and will be ready to plant out in early spring.

Look after canna lilies by lifting, then drying and store in a cool dark place. Make sure you finish planting your spring flowering bulbs. If you’re planning to sow some wildflowers next year, clear a patch as a lot of these plants cannot compete with grass. Also do not add any nutrients, the poorer the soil the better they like it. Cowslips will grow in a lawn; you need to sow the seed now as they need a cold spell before they will germinate. Winter flowering pansies must be one of the best value plants. They will, with dead heading, flower from now until next May.

Trying to keep tender plants safe, by giving them shelter in the months ahead, can take up a lot of room. It is false economy to try and cram them in, they need space and should not be touching, otherwise infection will spread.

If by any chance you see a hedgehog in your garden, then look after it by feeding it with dog or cat food. You will not make it dependent on you as they will only use the food put out for them as a supplement. Provide shelter for them and you will have one of nature’s best garden pest predators

The library not working at full capacity has curtailed the gardening advice available from the staff. The horticulturists have been busy with their own plots. Joyce is redesigning her back garden. Heulwen has taken wildlife gardening to another level and Gordon is growing deadly plants – can’t say more

 

Take care and happy gardening.

 

 

Born A Crime: by Trevor Noah.

OFF THE SHELF – September

This month’s book was ‘Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood’ by Trevor Noah.

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, television host and actor. This is the story of his childhood in Apartheid South Africa. He was born of a black mother and a white father at a time when any mixed-race relationships were illegal. For much of his early days Trevor was concealed by his family – hence the title. Even though Noah suffered poverty, abuse and identity problems, he doesn’t come over as a victim. He is a great narrator and the book is hilarious in parts and also enlightening. Each chapter begins with an explanation of some illuminating aspect of Apartheid and sets the background to his chaotic life: his living conditions, upbringing, isolation, education, the police state and of course race.

Noah’s mother is central to the book. Unconventional, strong, and extremely religious, she takes him to church three times on Sunday to Black, White and Coloured services (to cover all possibilities). She also believes in demons, hands out harsh beatings and couldn’t love him more.

A chapter that stood out highlighted Trevor’s sketchy education. As well as a traditional African name, Trevor and his friends were all given a random European name. As a teenager Trevor, then a DJ, and his dancers were invited to entertain at a middle-class Jewish family party. They didn’t understand that shouting out the main dancer’s name (Hitler) was offensive to the hosts and were mystified that they were thrown out. ‘We weren’t taught how to think about how Hitler related to the world we lived in. We weren’t being taught to think, period’.

This book will make you laugh, cry and cry laughing. 9/10.

 

 

Community Orchards Resurgence

NATURE NOTES

Community Orchards Resurgence

With 5 Community Orchards in the parish we are starting to reclaim some of the ground lost through the wholesale removal of orchards over the last hundred years. In this and future articles we shall consider the origin of orchards, the history of their rise and fall and why they are important for wildlife.

To begin at the beginning – the ‘sweet’ apple that we eat originated in the Tien Shan mountains of Kirghizia on the border between western China and the former Soviet Union. A Russian plant geneticist writing in the 1920s commented that it was like a Garden of Paradise with apple groves, mountain turkeys, porcupines and a host of other wildlife. Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan, means ‘Father of Apples’. Over time these apples travelled locally in the intestine of bears and other animals or were carried along the silk roads, eventually reaching Europe and Britain. A couple of thousand years BC the remains of apples have been found in Mesopotamia. The Persian word Pairadaeza was a walled garden enclosing fruit trees and canals and this translated to the Latin word Paradisus and our word Paradise.

Now, take an apple and plant a dozen or so pips from it and you will get 12 different apple trees of which 11 may be useless and just one palatable. Because apples from seeds do not grow true to the original, grafting is necessary where a bit of branch/twig from the original is attached to a rootstock. So if you find a particularly tasty apple you can produce more of those trees by grafting. The Romans understood the principles of grafting as specialist tools have been found in excavations. Pliny referred to over 20 varieties of apple in his Natural History and he was writing in the first century AD. Subsequently fruit growing was maintained by the monasteries but really took off in Tudor times with Henry Vlll’s fruiterer, Richard Harris, establishing what was England’s first large fruit collection. The 18th and 19th centuries was a high point in the development of apple varieties with thousands of varieties being grown, many of which have now been lost.

There have, of course, been apples in Britain for thousands of years but these were Crab Apples, small, sour and often sporting spines on the branches. There are many still growing in the hedgerows around Wenvoe. References to apples in old Celtic traditions and myths would have been about Crabs which were cooked or fermented. But most commentators suggest that Crab Apples had little or no impact on the origins of the sweet apple and that they do not generally hybridise.

The image in the painting shown may be a little idealised but it is one that it would be nice to replicate and we are getting there slowly. Next month we shall discuss the decline of orchards and apple-growing in Britain and why it is important to bring them back.

 

 

Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable Fashion

Since the Sunday Times investigation in July of this year, which uncovered that workers for the clothing brand Boohoo in Leicester were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour, a discussion about sustainable fashion has begun online.

For many young people, the conversation began a long while ago. Sustainability in fashion has been a longstanding issue, with companies having been called out for their use of sweatshops for years. But for many, the Sunday Times’ exposé of Boohoo was the turning point. Everyone was forced to face the reality of cheap, fast fashion, within our everyday society.

Many of us have turned to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, with clothing brands seeing a significant rise in online orders, especially fast fashion brands such as NastyGal, Pretty Little Thing and the infamous Boohoo.

But more recently, there has been a trend of brands offering sustainable fashion as more and more people begin to fully understand the impact these brands are having on the world. Online websites such as ASOS and H&M now include a drop-down section where it is possible to select clothing that is made ethically, recycled and environmentally responsible.

The rise in climate activism is no doubt a factor as to why many young people have turned to sustainable fashion and shopping ethically. The clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet; water usage, chemical pollution from dyeing, and disposing of unsold clothing in landfill sites and incineration creates an incredibly hazardous impact on the environment.

According to a House of Commons report on the sustainability of the fashion industry, the UK WRAP estimated that around £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill every year, with items on average only being worn around 7 times.

Yet, some fashion brands still are not doing enough to ensure their products are created ethically. Although September 2015 saw a global agreement at the United Nations to implement seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, fast fashion, and unethically sourced materials continue to be a big issue amongst UK retailers.

A 2016 report found that of the seventy-one leading retailers within the UK, 77% were believed to have a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some stage within their supply chains. Many of the workers work up to six or seven days a week, serving long hours and often being so physically exhausted that they are unable to continue the work past their 30s.

For the youth of today, those kinds of figures have meant an increase in sales by charity shops, and a boost in the use of the app Depop, where many sell their pre-owned clothing. Apps such as Good on You have become popular, as a way of discovering how environmentally friendly and sustainable our favourite brands are.

Climate activism has been mostly driven by the younger generation, and for many, there has been a call for more options within sustainable fashion.

Two sisters from Cardiff even took to making their own Welsh sustainable clothing brand, Clecs, over the period of lockdown. Worried about the environmental impact fast fashion has on the world, Imogen and Bea Riley tried their hand at making a sustainable fashion brand, selling t-shirts and jumpers which are ethically sourced, and therefore ensure fair trade.

Within days of releasing their jumpers, the items sold out in numerous sizes, proving that their audience – young adults – are eager to see sustainability amongst up-and-coming brands. The pair have since gone on to continue expanding their product range and have launched accessories such as sustainably sourced phone cases.

Imogen and Bea are not the only young people starting their own companies, as hundreds of new businesses are emerging ever day to introduce sustainable alternatives to everyday items.

But why are we only looking at it now?

Coronavirus has been an opportunity to expose cracks in the system; with time to reflect, many have been more cautious about what it is they are buying into when it comes to the fashion industry. Although low prices and sales are selling points for online fashion brands, COVID-19 and the rise in climate activism have given many the opportunity to research the ethics of the brands they once favoured.

Sustainable fashion still presides on the higher end of the market in many cases, which can often lead many to stray away from ethical brands. Brands that offer lower priced items are often those that many shop with but are often the same brands which have a troubling, unethical background.

It’s unfortunate, therefore, that the brands many flock to are the same companies that employ under-paid and overworked garment workers. Yet perhaps that’s why consumers have turned to ethically sourced sustainable fashion – to buck the trend.

The tide is changing when it comes to fashion, and consumers are being more cautious when it comes to the decisions they are making when shopping.

As sustainable fashion becomes more accessible, with high street brands like H&M, Zara, Monki, and Marks & Spencer taking further steps to ensure more ethical trading, sustainable fashion could soon become the norm.

Hopefully, it will soon be an option to shop ethically without having to break the bank.

 

By Tirion Davies

St. Mary’s Parish Church News – October

ST. MARY’S PARISH CHURCH NEWS

It is good to be able to report that St. Mary’s was opened for public worship at the beginning of September, in accordance with the Welsh Government and the Church in Wales COVID regulations. To comply with “social distancing” the church can only allow 15 people to be present at any one time, so parishioners are asked to book their place and they are then allocated a numbered pew for the service. This situation is likely to be in force for some time and is now known as the ‘new normal’ for church worship. Hand sanitising is available and masks can be worn during the service. As an extra precaution Vicar Jon also wears a visor during the communion, when the bread is distributed to those present in the pews. Music is allowed but NO singing, so every service is Said. The church is open on Sunday and Wednesday mornings. The opening regulations require that the church is cleaned before and after each time the building is used and that 72 hours must elapse between services. The churchwardens are overseeing that this is done and a big ‘thank you’ to them and the other volunteers who help to keep the building safe to use during these worrying days.

During the month we welcomed Kevin Barry who has joined the parishes as an Ordinand. This means that Kevin has been selected to train for the Priesthood. His first year with us will be as a student whilst his second year will be as an Ordinand Deacon. Kevin admitted in the Parish Magazine that he is a young 66 year old, and full of life and vigour which at times drives his family mad. He is now living in Llancarfan after a lifetime spent in the Navy, which included a posting with NATO in Portugal. In civvy street he worked with regional newspapers in England and Wales, and in recent years has been involved in a charity called Boathouse. It is a performing arts charity for children and young adults who have learning disabilities. He is a Cardiff boy and we wish him well in this latest change of career. We know that the parish will make Kevin’s two years with us as happy and blessed as we can.

It is with great regret and much disappointment that we have found it necessary to revise our arrangements to celebrate Harvest Festival 2020 outdoors in the church grounds. We have decided that the weekend of the 10/11th October will be an opportunity to bring gifts of dry goods and tinned foods (no fresh vegetables or fruit, thankyou) to the Churchyard Cross. This will be decorated with a harvest theme. Please bring your harvest gifts on Saturday 10th October between 11.00am and 3.00pm and these will be then be taken to the Food Bank in Barry. The Sunday 9.30am service will continue the Harvest celebrations and the online 10.30am service from St. Mary’s will include children and others with readings and prayers. Come ye thankful people come, bring the song of harvest home. The farming community tell us the yield will be much lower this year due to weather conditions earlier in the year. Christian people the world over are

thankful for whatever the harvest yield is. So we look forward to your support in receiving your gifts on the Churchyard Cross on Saturday between 11.00am – 3.00pm.

This will be a Harvest Celebration like no other, please remember to maintain ‘Social Distancing’ at all times when in the church grounds.

2021 Church Maintenance Programme

The Church Architect has been to inspect the church tower for signs of rot and damage as a result of the last church inspection and to formulate a programme of work for 2021. Maintenance of the building takes a high priority and we need to keep on top of any signs of work that needs attention. We are also awaiting his suggestion and idea for the replacement of the glazed doors to the tower vestry that were damaged earlier this year. The 200 Club contributions provide the funds that enable us to carry out the work of keeping the building ‘fit for purpose’ for the years ahead

Wenvoe Building Fund 200 Club

The Wenvoe 200 Club is now in its 17th year, with almost 300 shares issued. We have again given out 84 prizes to a total value of £1800 and given the same amount to the building fund. Once again your contributions have helped pay for essential maintenance, including the restoration of the churchyard lantern arch and pillars, and the refurbishment of the of all the external doors to the church. Inside the church the damage to parts of the plaster has been replaced which involved applying five layers of lime plaster one at a time and then the chancel was redecorated. The biggest project in the year has been the painstaking restoration of the historic Victorian tiled floors in the church to its original glory.

We are always looking for new shareholders and now is the time when existing faithful shareholders are asked to renew their shareholding. Please contact Dickon Oliver on Tel.0292076910.

Plans to convert The Old Rectory into 10 apartments have been given approval. This grade 2 building is now under conversion to multiply accommodation and we are pleased to report that the Sundial has been safeguarded for the future. The sundial which was provided for the house by Rev. Thomas Davies, Rector of Wenvoe in 1793 has suffered over the years from theft and other mishaps. We look forward to seeing the house and sundial restored and await to welcome the new residents to the community.

Thank you for reading this God Bless us in these worrying times

Parry Edwards

 

 

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