Month: October 2020

Scout Post Cancelled

Scout Post Cancelled

Sadly I have to announce that the Cardiff and Vale Scout Post 2020 has been cancelled, due to concerns, amongst the 46 participating groups, about potential handling of money, stamps and cards and difficulties with sorting mail, while maintaining social distancing.

Thank you to our many local volunteers, stamp sellers, sorters, deliverers and organisers of this major operation.

We realise that many of you enjoy sending and receiving cards with the added bonus of supporting the local Scouts. In addition the sorting office in Wenvoe Community Centre was a social gathering of old friends. Hold on to any old stamps as they will be honoured in 2021, when we will be back.

The stamps sold via the Wenvoe Scout Group raised much need funds to help support our young people to enjoy Scouting by ensuring we could have up to date equipment. It was our main annual fund raising event and so we hope to organise some sponsored events to help brighten up the winter months in Wenvoe. So look out in What’s On for further news.

Scouts hope to restart activities in October with a mixture of outdoor and video meetings. If your child is on the waiting list they should be updated soon. If you wish to have your child put on the list email 1stwenvoe.join@penarthanddistrict.org.uk. If you are interested in helping as an adult, contact me at jfm@fenton-may.org or 07787510179

More information about Scouting, which is now for boys and girls, can be found at https://www.scouts.org.uk/. In Wenvoe we have a Beavers- 6-8 years, Cubs- 8- 10 ½ years and Scouts- 10 ½ to 14 years. Explorers aged 14 to 18 years join with the Penarth District groups.

Jane Fenton-May (Chair)

 

 

Historical Choir Photo

WENVOE LADIES CHOIR

This photograph was taken by Suzanne Cook in the late 1980s early 1990s at St. David’s Methodist Church, Barry. The choir gave a concert for church members of hymns and songs from the shows .

Left to right top row. Ann Armstrong, Jean Williams, Maureen Hunt, Barbara (?), Mary Cook, Sylvia Fussell, Mrs. Fry, Mal T Jones, Roma Greenwood, Francis Rush.

Middle row. Pat (?), Peggy Williams, Esme Watts, Shirley (?), Pam Williams, Betty Wright. (Choir Mistress)

Bottom row. Sisters Christine and Mavis, and Phyllis Crump.

Several ladies have passed on now, but we have happy memories of many events including the Christmas concert in the hall, the Spring concert and the Christmas parties (all held after Christmas as everyone was too busy before the big day). The choir made many visits to care homes and churches in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The choir is still in operation but due to the pandemic it is on hold until a later date. The photograph also brings back memories of Carol Moody and Thelma Nash who could not attend that evening. I hope I haven’t missed anyone else.

Mary Cook.

 

 

Sunshine and Death

SUNSHINE AND DEATH

We were having an enjoyable morning skiing in Eastern Turkey. We were training to climb Mount Ararat on skis, and we needed to hone our skills and improve our fitness in the mountains. Earlier that morning, we had enjoyed a good breakfast in our hotel in Erzurum, a historic city on the Anatolian spice route. It was a short ride to the ski resort of Palandoken and on arrival our minibus parked at the end of the road just where the snow began to cover it.

We took our skis and rucksacks and strode over to the snow and clipped into our touring skis. We were using artificial skins which stick to the base of the ski which allows you to walk uphill on snow. Once everyone was ready, we split into three groups of five or six people and set off making tracks up the nearest hill. It was warm work in the sunshine, and I undid my jacket to increase the ventilation. It was early March and spring was in the air.

As we ascended a wide snow slope our small group were close together skiing in the tracks of the leader. To our surprise, we saw a chimney sticking up out of the snow and smoke was belching out of it. Some yards below the chimney we saw a small opening, the size of a little door, with a blanket covering it. At the sound of our voices, a child of about six appeared and she was as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Soon her mother came out and greeted us, but it did not take long to realise that there was a serious language barrier. That did not deter her, and she keenly beckoned us into her home. We kicked off our skis and one or two at a time we crouched down to enter. The main space was carpeted and of a good size with chairs and a table. A cooking area was at the rear with a hot stove that was the source of the smoking chimney. We declined the kind offer of a cup of tea and, giving sweets to the daughter, we resumed our travel upwards.

At the crest of the hill, we looked down to the road below and the small parking area where our buses were waiting for us. We removed our skis and took off the skins in readiness for a quick ski back to the road-head and the appealing prospect of some lunch. The other two groups were close to us but set off first, and we followed them down. It was steep but not steep enough to be challenging. Our group were all skiing down taking their own routes but staying fairly close together. Richard and Robert were slightly below and to the right, but I had stopped with our guides, David and Alisdair, as we looked for the best route to take for the last few turns of our descent.

Then I heard the dreaded word AVALANCHE shouted out by David. I turned around and looked uphill to see the whole hillside moving down above us. Quick as a flash David had reached down and taken off his skis – the best thing to do if caught in an avalanche. I had a fleeting go at unclipping my bindings, but they did not release so I tried to ski sideways and out of the moving snow. We were now on a moving carpet of snow and Alisdair was below me and slightly to my right. In seconds I had been knocked over by the wall of snow and was now falling, cartwheeling downhill. A feeling of dread overcame me as my movement stopped. I could see nothing and the weight of a ton of snow constricted my chest. Breathing was very difficult. Then to my surprise, the snow tomb moved again, and I felt I was going over a small cliff and falling – then it finally stopped. I could not move a muscle; my hands were outstretched in the swimming position and my sunglasses were stuck in my mouth. The water bladder in my rucksack was emptying its contents down my neck as the valve had come off. I could barely breathe. All was very still and quiet. I made a determined effort to breathe slowly and shallowly, to stay calm and to stay alive. Suffocation is the first killer.

After what seemed like ten minutes, I heard a voice; Richard and Robert were looking for me with their electronic avalanche trackers and soon they were digging above me with their snow shovels. I yelled to encourage them and quickly they dug down to me and cleared an airway to my mouth. But once they found I was alive and breathing they went off to look for Alistair who was also buried.

They soon found him nearby, but he was buried deeper. With the help of soldiers from the nearby army post, they dug him out and tried to resuscitate him, but it turned out that he had died instantly of traumatic asphyxiation. It took ages to dig me out, but I was on my feet as they carried Alasdair down to the road.

After giving a statement to a kindly young police officer I was given a lift back to our hotel and the room I had been sharing with Alastair. His folded silk pyjamas were poignantly laid on his pillow. As I sat on my bed gathering myself together Sally appeared at the door with a bottle of schnapps. She said, “I think you need some of this!” and asked if she could be of help. I asked her to pack Alisdair’s stuff up in a bag and took a long grateful swig of the cold Swiss schnapps.

 

 

September Improvements

Wildlife Group

September Improvements

Continuing with our theme of noticeboards we have erected another donated one, this time from the Community Council for which many thanks. The old noticeboard had been in storage but has been refurbished and installed at the Bee Loud Glade. We now have a total of 8 larger noticeboards, one small one and two information notices scattered throughout the parish. Plantings have included two Amelanchiers and a donated Bay at the Bee Loud Glade and during October we shall be adding Escallonia, Eucryphia and Euonymous – all particularly good for pollinators. Three Mahonias will follow towards the end of the month. Fruit, mainly apples but also a good crop of Medlars, are coming along nicely in the orchards. There is a lot of current interest in Quince (Cydonia) and whilst we have planted 4 they do take time to mature. Our oldest one (about 5 years) in the Community Orchard produced little fruit this year but seems healthy. This could be down to a lack of pollinators which is increasingly becoming a world-wide problem. Interestingly our most productive orchard is the one which has beehives.

Regular visitors to the Upper Orchid Field may have noticed that the meadow is shrinking! Just consider that the benches were all originally on the edge of the grass but several of them are now a few metres back as the brambles advance into the field. Ian Moody organised a start on the fight back with a mix of Environment Group and Wildlife Group members and several of the benches are now accessible again. We hope that the annual cut of the field will also involve further removal of bramble. If visitors to the field could take a pair of secateurs and snip the odd bramble, every little helps. We were also delighted to receive an offer of two teak benches in response to our appeal in the last What’s On and these will be installed down in the Bee Loud Glade.

Gathering in the Gloom

Barry Island Station  First Carers Walk

A small group gathered in the gloom outside Barry Island station for the first Carers walk since lockdown in March. Before starting the walk, the new procedures, particularly with regard to maintaining a social distance of 2m, outlined in guidance from the Welsh Government were shared, and a new walker was welcomed.


The group set off towards Jackson’s Bay as storm clouds gathered and the rain started to fall heavily. Enthusiasm for the walk was not dampened, however! For one walker, it was his first social outing since the lockdown was announced. He had spent the past months shielding with his medically vulnerable wife, who had been advised, like other vulnerable people to stay indoors. Needless to say, he was unaware of the rain and welcomed the chance to chat, socialise and exercise.
Trish’s husband rang halfway through the walk to see if she wanted to be rescued from the rain! She declined the offer, and finished the walk soaked through like everyone else! As a group we decided we were too wet to sit in any cafe, who we were sure would be unlikely to welcome saturated walkers spreading water everywhere!
I can’t promise what the weather will do next month but I can promise good company, a chance to chat and a relaxing stroll…..and hopefully a coffee! Come and join us!

 

 

Blueberry Pudding

Blueberry Pudding

300ml whole milk

284ml double cream

100g plain flour

75g caster sugar

2 large eggs beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

150g blueberries

icing sugar to dust

Lightly butter a 20cm oven proof dish. Preheat oven to 180C fan. In a pan heat the milk and cream until they are hot, NOT BOILING, then set aside. In a bowl add flour and sugar, then slowly add the beaten eggs to make a smooth batter. Whisk in the cooled milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour into dish, then scatter the blueberries over the top. Cook for about 1 hour until mixture has set and is golden in colour. Remove from the oven and dust with the icing sugar.

Serve with vanilla ice cream

 

 

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.

 

 

October Programme

WENVOE COMMUNITY LIBRARY

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

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

 

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. Any contributions would be most welcome in either audio or video.

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 11.00am. The log in details is the same each week: meeting ID: 760-4305-6456; password: 5dgewT.

New Books – For those of you who like Crime/Thrillers, we have received Peter May’s new book, ‘A Silent Death’. We have also received some Family Books: Lego – Build a Town and Star Wars

– Use the Force. Both books have projects to work on, how about sharing your Lego constructions with us, email us a photo and we can display them in the Library ready for the day we open again.

The Library is looking for people who are willing to share their expertise with social media – recording e.g. uploading onto Facebook, digital software, etc. If you think you can help please email or phone us for a chat.

 

Sylvia’s Book of the Month

‘The Dutch House’ by Ann Patchett

Told in Ann Patchett’s inimitable blend of wit and heartbreak, ‘The Dutch House’ is a story of family, love, responsibility and sacrifice, of the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetise and repel us for our whole lives and the lives of those who survive us.

An absorbing read; I loved this book. The characters are well drawn, and it is beautifully written. The Dutch House of the title is fascinating, and it draws you in to thinking you would like to live there!

I thoroughly recommend it.

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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