Month: September 2021

 

TRAINING FOR SETTLING IN CANADA
Ex-service men’s centre near Cardiff

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For the second year in succession a number of ex-service men and their families are undergoing training at the British Legion Emigration Training Centre at Wenvoe Grange, near Cardiff. On completion of the course, which will last several weeks, they will be sent out to definite jobs on Canadian farms. Last year 38 families were trained and sent out, and reports received by the Legion show that 80 per cent of them have proved successful. An after-care organisation keeps in touch with them in their new life, and is able to offer advice and assistance which are of the greatest benefit to the newcomers in their unwonted surroundings. Many of them have not only discovered new interests in life but have been able to save considerable sums of money, which will serve to set them up in farms of their own when they have acquired the necessary experience.

The number of families undergoing training at Wenvoe at present is 15, consisting of 30 adults and 38 children, but it is hoped to increase the number to 20 families before the end of the month. The board and sleep at the Grange, a fine old mansion conveniently situated near the main road leading from Cardiff to Barry; and while of necessity the life is largely communal, every endeavour is made to preserve the family units as much as possible. Every family, for instance, has its own bedrooms, and opportunities are provided to enable them to live a normal family life so far as practicable.

The men are taught mixed farming on the farms in the neighbourhood. They leave the centre in the morning and return home for the midday meal, if within a convenient distance: otherwise they take their luncheon with them. Work is carried on until about 6 p.m. Women receive instruction in milking at an adjacent farm and in breadmaking at the centre. In the evening there are lectures on various branches of agriculture by the Glamorgan County Council instructors, and bootmaking, haircutting, and rough carpentry are taught. In addition to board, all at the centre receive pocket money during training. Children of school age attend the local council school.

Times 10 March 1931

 

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WENVOE FORUM

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CONSIDERING TODAY AND TOMORROW
A breath of fresh air, it’s not just a walk in the park.

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During the periods of lockdown we experienced over the past eighteen months we were only too delighted to get out of the house for one of the few permitted reasons and take a stroll round the village. A breath of fresh air to blow the cobwebs away! Fortunately one effect of lockdown was to reduce vehicle use and engine emissions considerably and for a while air pollution was reduced so the air was fresher. Now, however the pollution is returning.

The air around here looks good; we don’t see the smoky clouds or thick looking air of big cities in India and according to Air Quality Wales https://airquality.gov.wales/ the whole of Wales is in the green band. However the UK adopted EU standards on air pollution which, in the case of fine air particulates, allows 4 times as much as the World Health Organisation recommendations. In truth no levels of air pollution are safe, it’s more a matter of less harm and damage done might not be evident for some years, seemingly unproblematic air may be storing up problems for the future.

According to the Air Quality Wales website the 2 types of pollutants cause the biggest public health concern:

• Particulate matter (known as PM10 and PM2.5), that easily penetrate the lungs. They are created primarily by vehicle emissions, tyre and brake wear and industry and construction. These are so small that they are drawn down into the lungs and heart and can even enter the blood stream. They are implicated in a whole host of health conditions including kidney, liver and brain damage alongside the more obvious impact on the lungs and heart. Children are more at risk than adults because of their quicker breathing rates and more active lives, though anyone with additional conditions may be affected.
• Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide and Ozone. These are primarily created by road traffic, energy generation and industry. They particularly affect those with lung conditions.

 

Links are made between air pollution and cancer, cognitive decline in later life and according to Sustainable Wales (https://www.sustainablewales. org. uk/air-pollution)

“poor air quality contributes to brain-related health problems in children, including cognitive decline. One recent study found that exposure to air pollutants in very early life was linked to a worse change in IQ between the ages of 11 and 70.”

BUT… DON’T PANIC!

There are things we can all do to improve air quality in Wenvoe. Broadly, we need less vehicle use,

shorter times with running engines, remembering that though much less polluting, electric vehicles do contribute to air pollution. Next month we’ll suggest some strategies that we can all adopt. We can make a difference.

1. This will also cut carbon emissions so we’ll be doing our bit for climate change and supporting VoG Project Zero at the same time.

The Forum is always open to fresh suggestions, creative ideas and especially to new members and contributors.

To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the Gwen Fo account @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1

You can also follow us on Twitter @ForumGwenfo. For information on our activities, link with us on social media:-

Facebook: Gwen Fo @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1/ and Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402

twitter @ForumGwenfo

For further information and updates, our new blog site is available at https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/

Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which from September will be held at 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwenfo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join.

 

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LESSONS FROM THE PAST AND A GATHERING STORM

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Extreme weather events seem to be on the increase as July brought us a mini heat wave followed by storms and heavy rain. On one recent occasion, 23 December 2020, the Vale experienced on average 33mm of rainfall over an 11 hour period and properties notably in Dinas Powys, Sully and Penarth were flooded. Of course flooding is nothing new. Well before global warming, the Bristol Channel floods of 30 January 1607 provided us with a perfect example of the impact of a severe flooding event. The coastline of South Wales and the West Country was devastated, with an estimated 2,000 people drowned and 200 square miles of farmland destroyed, along with livestock, houses and other buildings. In Wales, parishes wholly on the Gwent Levels fared the worst, and the 1607 flood is commemorated at several of their churches, although not all of the plaques are contemporary. Those at Redwick, Nash and St Brides can be seen from outside, and show the height of the floodwaters. At Goldcliff the plaque in the chancel reads: “… heare was lost 5000 and od pownds besides 22 people was in this parrish drownd ..”. £5000 is equivalent to around £650,000 today.

Cardiff was the most badly affected town and although small in those days, a huge area was affected. The flood waters came right up to the town centre and the foundations of St Mary’s Church (the corner of St Mary Street and Wood Street today) were destroyed. A farmer lost 400 sheep in Llandaff. Bodies were washed up and buried in a communal grave in Rumney Church. The Vale also suffered mercilessly. Coastal defences at Sully were easily breached as the narrowness of the Bristol Channel constricted and heightened the waves. Relatively new defences at Aberthaw were easily swept aside and a memorial garden at nearby Gileston commemorates the flooding and devastation which ensued.

So what did cause 1607 and could it happen again?

The Puritan pamphleteer William Jones, typical of writers at the time, explained such natural disasters as the result of God’s wrath and the sins of the population. The author of ‘Woeful news from Wales’ was in no doubt that the sinfulness of man and his disobedience of God’s law was to blame for the flood. Victims were ‘lewd and profane wretches’ who apparently deserved what they got. Some contemporary accounts mention stormy weather, whereas others fail to mention the weather, suggesting that the flood occurred without warning. This has led some scientists to suggest that the flood may have been caused by a tsunami, but the latest research suggests the likely cause being a storm surge. Some experts believe a combination of an extremely high tide and storm surge (the Severn Estuary has the 2nd highest tidal range in the world) mean another event of the scale of 1607, although unlikely, is possible.

In 2019, the Vale Council joined Welsh Government and other local authorities across the UK in declaring a global Climate Emergency. As a lead Local Flood Authority, the Vale has a statutory duty to investigate, log and report all instances of flooding. Public and charitable organisations often step up to help in such situations. Even so, it is a sobering thought that the first responsibility for protection of property in the event of flooding lies with the owner or occupier of the property, who is also responsible for any subsequent losses, repairs or remedial measures necessary.

As part of its response to climate change, last year the Vale launched its Project Zero Plan aimed at preparation for the impact of climate change and the ever increasing risk of flooding in many of our communities. The plan includes a commitment to reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and at a practical level taking measures aimed at preventing floods, installing district heating schemes and a wider rollout of electric Nextbikes

 

 

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