Month: March 2021

Teacher Adventures: School Trips

Teacher Adventures: School Trips

When adults reminisce about their school days, memories of school trips are often at the forefront of their minds. School trips for children are often their first chance to be away from family and to have extended sleepovers, to have pillow fights, to have midnight feasts, to eat lunch on the bus before it has left the car park, to sing the same songs over and over just to wind staff up!

Teachers who are tasked with organising a trip often focus on the angst and anxiety brought about from paperwork and policy procedures, managing the students at airports or train stations, hotel rooming mix ups and the lack of chips or pizzas to fill up hungry pupils! However most teachers realise that school trips are a unique and special opportunity for encouraging pupils to engage with people and places in a new way and continue to plan them! Some of my school trip experiences did make me question the reasons I kept planning them!

Teaching Geography in Mexico, 5 night field trips were organised to cover the GCSE course requirements. On one trip, 35 excited year 10 pupils and 2 teachers, including me, were waved off as we set out for Zitacuaro, a 4 hour coach ride away. Zitácuaro, officially known as Heroica Zitácuaro, is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which lies at the extreme eastern side of Michoacán and borders on the adjacent state of México.

The pupils worked hard at collecting river data (with no mishaps!), completed an urban survey by collating information on use of buildings (with no mishaps!), carried out a traffic survey on a new by-pass (with no mishaps!) and were amazed at the spectacle of millions of Monarch butterflies (with no mishaps!). Monarch Butterflies migrate annually from points east of the Rocky Mountains, travelling thousands of miles to hibernate in Mexico, in Zitacuaro, in the oyamel fir trees that are found there. On the final morning, we were extremely fortunate to view the astounding spectacle of thousands of butterflies huddled on tree branches. Then it was time to return to Mexico City, with a tired and contented group after a very successful, calamity free trip.

Teachers always make the mistake of believing that after a school trip, exhaustion, from sleepless nights and full days, will take over and pupils will sleep on the return journey. This never happens! As the bus meandered through small villages, it became apparent there was a hold up in front of us, which meant we were proceeding at a snail’s pace. At a small village when we were at a standstill, the pupils asked if they could get off the coach to buy some refreshments from a roadside shop. We were going nowhere fast and it seemed a good opportunity to stretch legs. With everybody suitably energised and enlivened by an intake of chocolate and coca cola, the coach rumbled forward. 90 minutes later, Jose (yes I remember these specific details..) came to the front of the coach and said, “Miss, where’s Marianna?” I told him to go and sit down and stop fooling around. He persisted. I got up and looked down the coach. There was no Marianna. This is the nightmare scenario of any school trip.

There were no mobile phones at this time, AA telephone boxes, local police stations or service stations. I had no option other than to ask the coach driver to turn around and drive us back to the tiny Mexican roadside village we had stopped at. Now there was complete silence in the coach! The pupils were as anxious as I was. It seemed to be a very long 90 minute return journey. As we approached the village, (cliché alert!), my heart was in my mouth……..and there, sat on the roadside was Marianna! There were wild cheers from the pupils in the coach. The coolest, calmest person was Marianna. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she had assured the concerned Mexican villagers, there was nothing to worry about! Marianna said she knew we would come back for her! “I knew you wouldn’t leave me here, Miss,” she said to me with a wry, but winning smile as she climbed aboard the coach! As she took her seat on the coach, I felt a huge sense of relief and counted everyone on the coach three times to make sure everyone was there!!

And for every school trip I organised after this I counted pupils once, twice….and never lost (or left behind) another pupil again!! That didn’t help during the cyclone on our school trip to Madagascar…but that is another story.

Lynn Frugtniet

 

 

Otters in the Middle of Cowbridge

Otters Seen in the Middle of Cowbridge

The news that Otters had been seen in the middle of Cowbridge where the River Thaw flows under the main street was a reminder that this mammal is making a bit of a come-back. We have yet to get a confirmed record of it in the parish – ideally a photo – but there is no reason why they should not be seen here. After all they have been spotted in Porthkerry Park, Fonmon Estate, Rhoose Point, Cosmeston, Lavernock and Llantwit Beach. They are well-established in the River Thaw and many of the watercourses in the Goldsland Farm area flow into the Thaw. So if you do come across one, please take a photo and contact the Wildlife Group.

Known variously as the Eurasian Otter, European Otter or Common Otter, this species was driven to near-extinction by hunting, pesticides and loss of habitat. It is a large member of the weasel family weighing up to 12 kgs and measuring up to a metre in length. In contrast, the Mink (which have similarities in appearance) is only around 1.5 kgs and about the same size as a ferret. Otters are a priority species and fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is amazing to think that whilst they were on the brink of extinction in the 1950s it was not until 1978 that hunting them was banned

An otter’s home is a ‘holt’ and the collective noun for a group of them could be a ‘romp’, ‘lodge’, ‘bevy’ or ‘family’. Whilst most people would love to see an otter, not everyone welcomes their return. Owners of fish farms and managed fisheries can suffer significant losses to their stocks but in a good example of working together a consortium of interested parties have been issued with licences allowing them to trap otters in certain circumstances before returning them to the wild in a different location. Project Otter has been launched in the Vale of Glamorgan to try to establish how they are doing so if you would like to participate by doing some surveying, get in touch with the Wildlife Group who can pass on contact details. Full training will be given.

 

 

A Think Tank For Wenvoe

THE WENVOE WELL OF WISHES AND WISDOM
A THINK TANK FOR WENVOE

Dear Wenvoe Residents

Firstly my apologies for the cheesy title, I have a penchant for alliteration and I find giving something a name seems to help it take shape. I have been wondering about floating this idea for a few months and now as we turn to March, Spring and soon hopefully, to slightly less restricted life I think it is time. I’ve consulted with a few people and they’ve said “Give it a go!” so …

Is anyone interested in forming a Wenvoe Think Tank?

I think it’s clear that life has changed as a result of Covid 19. We are going to have to adapt our own behaviours and many people who have had their lives altered dramatically will need support. Climate change, a different sort of internationalism, rethinking the economy be it global, national or local all point to change. It is probably also true that we will not be able to rely on Government and its resources to put everything right, it’s too big a task. I think we need to do what we can for ourselves and over the past year especially, the Wenvoe community has responded so positively in so many ways to circumstances I suspect we can do more.

I could have added Wealth to the alliteration as it seems to me that Wenvoe has a hugely resourceful community. So many activities, just read your WWO, are already run by community members who give time, skill and energy and during the trials and tribulations of the last year many have stepped up to the plate to organise and deliver life enhancing activities. I am hoping that people with skills, experience, energy, ideas and even dreams will join me, those already active in the community, those who would like to be, anyone with a stake in Wenvoe’s future. By bringing together the right people some of those ideas might develop and some of the dreams might become a reality. It’s much easier to make something happen if it is a team effort and that team needs to include people of all ages, interests and passions.

Wenvoe could develop new projects or revive or extend old ones, ranging in size from organising a seed and plant swap, to developing a green energy supply for the whole village and varying from a tutoring scheme to help children and young people to catch up on their education to an investment and mentoring scheme supporting those who have lost jobs to set up businesses. But these are just a few of my thoughts on facing the future as examples, but think big, think small this would be about sharing everyone’s ideas.

If anyone, of any age who has ideas, dreams, experience or resources would like to be part of a first on-line meeting to see if a think tank can be useful, then please get in touch. You don’t need to have grand plans or lots to offer, sometimes just being there is enough. E-mail me at eirwenwctf@gmail.com or pop a note, giving me a contact method, through the door of 24 Old Port Rd. If you are not on-line I will try to arrange for you to join the meeting by phone or link in somehow.

I don’t have a plan beyond the first meeting, I’m seeking to provoke action not lead the charge. The future of the Think Tank and maybe of Wenvoe, will be up to those who are there.

I look forward to hearing from some of you.

Eirwen

 

 

All About Trees

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Despite wet and then freezing weather this has been a good month for planting trees. Firstly Keep Wales Tidy donated 28 fruit trees to us (4 for every Green Flag Application site). An apple has been planted in a garden close to the St Marys Church and 12 in a new orchard on the outskirts of Wenvoe. 12 have also been planted in a new orchard at Twyn yr Odyn and the last three in the Community Welsh Orchard near Maes y Felin. There are 4 different varieties – three apples, Irish Peach, Herefordshire Russet and Laxtons Superb, none of which have been planted in the Community Orchards previously. The 4th variety is Victoria Plum, featured in the photo.

We also received native broad-leaved trees which we had ordered mainly for the Upper Orchid Field including Wild Cherry, Bird Cherry, Black Poplar, Aspen, Beech, Small-leaved Lime and Purging Buckthorn which are all new to the Upper Orchid Field and some of which are new to the Parish as far as we know. These are being planted on the perimeter of the Upper Orchid Field, keeping as much of the meadow free for wildflowers as possible. They are being put in the ground as we clear the bramble which had been starting to invade the field. We have been successful in applying for a small grant from the Places for Nature scheme. This involves the purchase of a moth trap, small, pond water butt and bug hotels for the Bee Loud Glade plus a wide range of native plants including Southern Marsh Orchid, Betony and Birds Foot Trefoil.

We have started measuring and recording the large trees in the parish, starting with the large oaks on the road to the golf course. We shall be covering those where we can get access but if you have a large tree which is not accessible to the public but would like to have it recorded on the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Register, do get in touch. We shall let you know in a future edition of What’s On what we believe to be the largest in the parish but if you want to have a guess as to which it might be, do contact us.

 

 

A Surprise Supper

A SURPRISE SUPPER

It was a balmy evening in late summer, and I was flying home after taking part in a military exercise in Northern Germany. We had been on manoeuvres for a few weeks and I was looking forward to getting home for a good hot bath and a meal with my family. I was lucky to be given a front seat in a small army helicopter called a Gazelle belonging to the Army Air Corps.

The Gazelle is a fast sleek machine used for aerial reconnaissance but it can be lightly armed with machine guns or rockets for use in conflict. It has two front seats and behind that, there are either 3 passenger seats or a stretcher when used for casualty evacuation. On this day the pilot was sitting on the front right seat and I was on his left. We had one passenger sitting behind us.

When it was time to climb aboard, I put my rifle and rucksack on the back seat and secured them with a seat belt. As I climbed aboard the pilot carefully reminded me to keep my feet away from the dual pedals that were there on the floor in front of me. Once settled in the jet engine was started and as we waited for it to warm up the pilot went through his pre-flight checklist, which only takes a couple of minutes. The three of us had fastened our four-way seat belts and the pilot turned around and gave a thumbs up to the passenger in the rear, and to me, and we returned a thumbs up to him to confirm we were strapped in and ready to go.

It was always a thrill to fly by helicopter and especially the small ones where you really can see in all directions through the bubble of a front screen. On this day the sky was clear with just the odd wisp of cloud as we flew west towards the setting sun and the airfield which was our destination. It was going to take about forty minutes to get there. We were flying at a height of about 2500 feet and at a speed of 150 miles an hour, which is a good economical cruising speed. It was interesting to see the German plains stretching out below us; small hamlets, large farms and forests with lakes dotted about.

I was warm and comfortable and I might have dozed off if it was not for the constant chatter in my headphones from other aircraft and air traffic controllers who were monitoring our progress by radar and warning us of other aircraft in our vicinity. Suddenly there was an almighty bang, the aircraft shook and the large instrument panel in front of us lit up with many coloured lights – most of them red and amber – and the noise of a horn came abruptly over the headphones and did not stop. It was, of course, an alarming, and rather frightening experience and it seemed to me that we were likely to crash, though I had no idea what had happened.

After a few seconds, the horn was turned off and the pilot in a shaky but reassuring voice announced to his two passengers that we had suffered a birdstrike and that the jet engine had stopped as a result. We were now dropping without power and he was going to make a “controlled crash landing”. I later learnt that helicopter pilots practice this and the technical term is “landing with autorotation”. In simple terms that means the pilot leans the aircraft into a forward angle and drops the lever which controls the pitch of the rotor blades. That allows the blades to keep spinning, like the seeds of a sycamore tree, then as the helicopter is close to the ground the pilot applies maximum pitch to the blades which effectively lifts it up just before it hits the ground.

Our pilot was quick, and his immediate action resulted in our fast descent momentarily stopping just as we were feet above the field he had chosen to land in. Our landing was just a big thump, a hard landing is the technical term, but we were all uninjured and climbed out to see if the helicopter had been damaged. It seemed fine to me with an untrained eye, but of course, it was not going to fly away as the engine was badly damaged. The large bird, something like an eagle, had unusually flown, or been sucked straight, into the turbine.

The pilot had put out a quick distress call on his radio as we dropped out of the sky but once we were on the ground the VHF radio was no use and this was before the days of mobile phones so we were unable to tell our destination airfield what had happened. As we climbed out I thumped the pilot on the back in thanks for saving our lives and warmly shook the hand of my fellow passenger.

Over in the distance just a few hundred metres away there was a typical Westphalian country farm. It was very isolated in the middle of arable fields with no village or town within sight. A rough track led from the farm to a tarmac road a mile or two away. I suggested that we wander over to the house to ask if they had a telephone which we could use to inform the airfield that we were safe but in need of collecting. This seemed as good an idea as any so we walked to the house, leaving our weapons locked in the aircraft so as not to frighten anyone.

The farmer must have heard our noisy arrival for he strode out to meet us in the yard and greeted us in German. I responded in his language and explained the situation as best as I could and soon he was beckoning us into his home. Feeling a little uncomfortable in our rather muddy camouflaged uniform we entered the large rustic kitchen where the farmer’s wife was busy with pots on the large wood-fired stove. We were offered coffee and while enjoying that the two teenage daughters of the family came in and joined us. We asked to use the telephone and explained the situation to our headquarters and were told that a vehicle would be sent at once to collect us, but it would take a couple of hours to arrive.

It was clear from the kitchen activity and the plate laying in the adjacent dining room that the evening meal was about to be eaten. The table was laid for four but we noticed that a fifth-place was being prepared. I overheard the wife saying to the daughters that they would eat later as the new guests would eat first. Before we knew it we were being seated in the girls’ places and a marvellous meal was put in front of us. Such generous hospitality was remarkable and looking back it has always remained in my memory as an example of the natural goodness and kindness of humans which can be found all over the world.

It was easy chatting to the family with the girls, who were learning English at school, translating for their parents. In no time at all a Land Rover appeared, and with a soldier who was going to sleep in the helicopter overnight for security. We were soon on our way home rather later than expected, but at least we were all in one piece. The next morning a large Chinook helicopter with two rotors flew in and it lifted the small Gazelle back to base to be repaired

How that would have looked

 

 

Church News for March

The church remains closed for public worship in line with the Bench of Bishops recommendations and the latest Welsh Government guidance. The decision to re-open the church will come when it is considered safe enough, keeping in mind social distancing, the necessity to sanitise your hands and wear a face mask. These regulations do not make it easy to have a meaningful act of worship, keeping apart from each other, no touching or hugging, no close contact between priest and his people are the very opposite of what should be taking place, when we share the love of Christ with each other. It is a very sad situation that we find ourselves in, and the question arises, will our people want to come back to worshipping as once was the norm on a Sunday morning.

There are many, many followers of the online services provided by Jon and his team, the comments show that the service is well received, but all members of our congregation are not online, and are not familiar with the workings of the internet. Those who are housebound, others who are elderly are not being catered for at present, yet thank God these are the very people who are maintaining their financial contributions, which is keeping the work of the church and the work in the church going ahead, and so we remain financially sound despite all the problems of Covid 19.

The vaccination programme is being rolled out and it is to be hoped all the most elderly and vulnerable in the community have had their “jabs”, with many being asked to attend at vaccination centres in Cardiff and Barry. Some have experienced reactions while others have accepted it with no adverse problems. The latest news is that we may have to accept an annual vaccination just like the “Flu” jab and get a top up each year until the time when this virus is beaten. Then perhaps we can look forward to meeting together, to hear the Word of God read, to sing the hymns, recite the prayers and become a worshipping community once again. We look forward to the day when weddings can be celebrated, when funerals can be arranged with no limits placed on the numbers allowed to be present. That day will come, we will meet together, and we will thank God for bringing us through these most difficult of times.

The P.C.C. have accepted estimates for the redecoration of the nave in the church and also the chancel ceiling. It is many years since we last repainted the interior and the walls are not looking their best at present. The work will be carried out in April all being well. The church pews are being removed from the walls and replastering arranged, for the day when we might be allowed to replace the pews with stackable chairs, which would make St. Mary’s more “fit for purpose” for the future. The doors to the tower vestry have been reglazed, following the glass on one door cracking over a year ago. A new ladder on the tower roof has been installed to assist the willing volunteers who raise the flag on the flag pole during the year. So much work is going on despite being closed for public worship. The latest job has been to install letter boxes in the church porch and the church hall, in an attempt to get a “post code” so that mail can be correctly delivered. The Church Hall is being surveyed to get an accurate picture of the condition of the building before any decisions are taken on its refurbishment. The wheelwright shop is also being looked at to assess what needs to be done to make it watertight etc.

The Food Bank in Barry is well supported by a band of loyal members of the congregation, and they are thankful that we are able to take so many food items and sundry dry goods, that are so needed by those who are not as fortunate in these difficult times of unemployment and hardship. Thank you once again for all you contribute to help those who are in real need at this time.

So for the time being we are entering the solemn season of Lent, with online services, St. David will be remembered, Mothering Sunday will be marked with flowers outside the church to give to Mums and Grans alike. Palm Sunday will have palm crosses available, and the great festival of Easter will soon be with us.

God Bless us and keep safe, wear a face mask, and say hello to anyone you meet on your daily exercise.

Parry Edwards

 

 

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