Month: July 2022

Let’s Not Go To The Dogs Tonight

OFF THE SHELF

Let’s not go to the dogs tonight. by Alexandra Fuller.

Alexandra Fuller writes her memoirs of her life as a child in Rhodesia with her somewhat dysfunctional family. It is an amazing childhood, and she clearly evokes that life for the reader. I think we can all agree that we liked the book and it initiated lots of discussion especially around the author’s mother and father. They seemed a strong, resilient, and tenacious couple who strived to make a life in often dire circumstances. The impact on the lives of their children, both positive and negative comes out eloquently through her well written prose throughout the book. I think we all agreed that this book was an excellent read with an overall score of 10/10.

Tina Alwyn

June 2022 News Update

June 2022 News Update

H.M. The Queen’s 70th Jubilee, called the Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in great style in Wenvoe, with the streets and houses decorated with bunting and flags; the only jarring note was the piles of green bags of garden waste littering the streets as the local authority had failed to collect the previous weekend.

The four day programme of events kicked off with the lighting of the Jubilee Beacon and the unveiling of the Toposcope at the Quarryman’s Tribute at Twyn yr Odyn on the Thursday evening. Friday saw many coming to the informal service of thanksgiving followed by a picnic in the church grounds, with fun and games for the children. Saturday the Community Centre was packed almost to capacity with a Bake a Cake and Eat party, with an exhibition of “Old Wenvoe Memorabilia” with many Oh’s and Ah’s. On Sunday many street parties took place in spite of a down turn in the weather All the arrangements were spearheaded by Glenys and Mike Tucker and a great show of thanks is due to them for doggedly making sure that all went so smoothly. So well done everybody who helped with setting up the various crowns on the post boxes and telephone box, the planting of the flower beds in red, white and blue at the War Memorial, the Wenvoe Community Council for the setting up of the beacon, toposcope and allowing use of the Community Centre. Some people were asking can we do this next year. There will never be another celebration such as this in our lifetime, but the next coronation of Charles III could be such an occasion.

At long last the work on the exterior of the church has started with the porch looking very good with the lime mortar applied to the joints between the stones. The tower is a much bigger job and the scaffolding will be in place until the Autumn while raking out of the old cement mortar. Fresh stone has been brought in to replace that which has degraded over the years, and hopefully the work will be completed before our new priest arrives.

The new interior lighting scheme was also completed and how different the church looks. We have a range of nine different scenes for use at normal and alternative services. The system is all LED and colour coded to bring out the colours of the frontals and vestments and has been provided by the generous bequest of the late Mr Ron Thomas who was a faithful worshipper at St. Mary’s when he lived in Walston Rd. Thank you Ron; your bequest has been well spent.

The earliest we can expect to see our new priest take up his position as Vicar in Wenvoe, St. Lythan’s and Sully, will be in September. The delay has been in due part to the confirmation of a sponsor and the necessary application of a visa. These things take time and we have been patiently awaiting the release of his name etc. In the meantime the Rev. Kevin Barry will be leaving us with his last joint Eucharist service for our three churches at St. John’s church in Sully on July 24th, when he will join the East Vale Ministry Area and serve his time at Llancarfan and other churches. Plans are in hand for a farewell get together at Sully following the service on that day. We wish Kevin every blessing on his work, having been with us as an Ordinand some three years ago.

PEBBLES for young children

Alyson who has run this group on Sunday mornings for many years has decided that she wants to work in other areas of the church in becoming a Reader, so is stepping down and we are looking for a replacement in September to keep this little group of young children and their parents together. This is important work in the life of the church, when stories from the Bible and craft work can do so much to bring the words to life. Also singing is a means of children working together and growing together, so please think about this and if you are able to help please talk to the churchwardens.

JOINT CHURCH COUNCIL

Mr Ken Mathews has also decided that it is time for him to relinquish the post of Secretary to the council and Mrs Jennifer Ford has agreed to be our new secretary. We wish to thank Ken for the time he has given to St. Mary’s over the years and he will continue to lay out the weekly newsletter, and keep an eye on the heating system in church. At the same time we wish to welcome Jen to our deliberations on the JCC and will be watching her grow into the job.

CHRISTIAN AID APPEAL

The grand total raised from the appeal this year came to £2,597.67 including gift aid, with contributions from the “Coffee, Cakes and Books,” Gwenfo School and St. Bleddians and St John‘s churches and the house envelope appeal in Wenvoe. We must thank Jude Billinham and her team for the work entailed in presenting this appeal, to raise funds for those in Africa who are not as fortunate as we are.

LLANDAFF UNLOCKED CHURCHES FESTIVAL.

St Mary’s church was opened for visiting on Saturdays the 18th and 25th in support of the festival and an opportunity to see our new lighting scheme.

Thank you for reading the News of St. Mary’s. The church door is open on Sunday for our morning worship at 9.30am; a warm welcome to all.

Parry Edwards

 

Another Wonderful Month

Gwenfo School News June Notes

It has been another wonderful month for us at Gwenfo. Our current value is Truthfulness, We have been talking about why we tell the truth, and what it means to be truthful to God.

We have been so delighted to welcome parents in to share in our Jubilee fun, as well as for our Share Our Learning sessions where children could show their parents the amazing work they have in their books. It has been so lovely to open our school and grounds back up. Thank you to all who have come and sup-ported their children. Our Jubilee celebrations culminated in a wonderful concert and picnic. Each class performed a song from a different decade of the Queen’s reign from Nursery singing ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’ to Year 6 performing a song and dance to Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock. We are so proud of our children; they were amazing! Huge thanks to staff for organising and choreographing.

As we move into the final weeks of this year we look forward to a host of exciting events including Sports Day, our talent show, and the Year 6 leavers assembly. Everyone is working hard and practising to make these special days so fantastic. We are grateful for this wonderful weather allowing us to get outside and enjoy wonderful break times together on the field. We continue to enjoy our fortnightly visits to the library and extend our thanks to the fantastic volunteers at the Hub for making it possible.

 

Successful Fundraising Evening

SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING EVENING

As a result of the very successful fundraising evening at the Village Hall, a fantastic sum of £2400 was raised.

The money has been given to Ukraine Volunteer League (UVL) an organisation approved by Ukrainian Government. They deliver much needed supplies deep inside the War Zone. The cheque was presented to Mr Nick Dymond (UVL representative)

I would like to give special thanks to the following who either gave their time, sponsered races or provided good all free of charge.

Anwar & Reema – Village Shop, Johnny Tudor, Mark Thompson, Heather The Horse & Jockey, Digby & Jenni Wenvoe Arms,Cardiff & Vale Windows, Wheadons Travel, Phil Tanner & Team at Tanners, Ian & Wendy at Manhire, Phil Webley – WW building Services, Bernard Jenkins and finally my wife Cath

 

Make Caring Visible

MAKE CARING VISIBLE

As Carers week approached, 6 to 12 June, the walkers on the Carers stroll gathered at Barry Island. The theme of this year’s Carers week was to, “make caring visible, valued and supported.” This walk aimed to support the many unpaid Carers in Wales today who find themselves in a caring role. Before we set off, a lady enquired what we were doing. After the walk was explained she said she had just dropped off her husband at the dementia support centre and would love to be part of the next walk. Respite, relaxation and time for yourself is essential for all Carers. This is a supportive group who laugh, chat, and chat some more, whilst enjoying wonderful sea views, in rain, sun, and wind..join us!

The Village Green and Memorial

VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP

THE VILLAGE GREEN AND MEMORIAL

On an absolutely beautiful morning we tidied up around the village green and memorial, where the beds we planted up for the Jubilee are looking good. Gareth sing song had to work twice as hard today because his gang was somewhat depleted as big John had to renew his pilot’s licence to help out the shortages in the aviation industry and bright Brian has been summoned to the Home Office. We will have to grill him on his return to get the gossip.

The next meeting will be on the 11th of July to clear overgrowth on Tarrws Lane and weed the border at the Community Centre.

 

The Coronation – I Was There!

I WAS THERE!

As our village Jubilee Committee worked so hard putting together the programme of events for us, I felt I’d like to contribute towards the ‘50s exhibition by recording my memories of watching the Coronation procession in London when I was ten years of age.

We were living in Dinas Powis at that time, near the train station. I had an Aunty Connie with a good job in the offices of the GWR (Great Western Railway). She had been promoted from the Cardiff office to a higher paid job near Paddington Station, London. She was able to rent a first floor flat with a balcony in a Victorian building near the station, at a reduced rent because GWR owned many of the blocks. The back windows of her flat looked onto the main line.

She took my Welsh grandmother to live with her. My grandmother did all the cooking. She would hold up her walking stick to stop the traffic whenever she wanted to cross the road to the grocer’s shop; imagine that these days! Milk was delivered daily by a Welsh farmer who kept cows and had a dairy near Paddington; he was a Jones. My Nan would invite him in for tea and cake and they would enjoy a good chat in Welsh in the kitchen.

On the day before the Coronation, my mother, my best friend Edna, and I travelled by train to Paddington where we all squashed into the two-bedroom flat. A picnic was packed and the next day we all set off very early to walk to Hyde Park. It was still dark.

As we walked, more and more people joined us, plus many mounted police. I was fascinated by them having lights on the horses’ stirrups and on the policemen’s helmets. To me, the horses seemed enormous.

It was still just dawn when we arrived at my aunt’s chosen spot; there were already rows and rows of people in position. I think my aunt and my mother had little folding stools and we had blankets, as it was quite chilly. There were already soldiers in position lining the route. Everyone was very excited and happy. Toilet blocks had been set up and there was bunting everywhere.

As the time for the procession drew nearer, all the children were encouraged by the crowd to sit on the kerbside behind the soldiers. At one point, the soldiers were allowed to relax and eat the rations they had been issued. A couple of soldiers gave us their bars of chocolate. As time went on, we saw a few soldiers faint, as they had been standing to attention for many hours. They were whisked away very quickly on stretchers.

My mother and aunt were way back in the crowd; they passed us sandwiches and fruit across the happy people. We had to wait a very long time as we were positioned to see the procession once it was on its way back from the coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey. There were loudspeakers playing the whole time and relaying the service from the Abbey. Everyone was excited and expectant. It started to rain quite heavily but people had prepared, and we must have had waterproofs as I don’t remember being wet. We weren’t bored as there was so much to see and we had sweets and teddy bears. The crowd was very noisy.

It was raining very heavily by the time the actual procession began to arrive. We loved the colours of the uniforms and all the horses. I vividly remember the gold coach with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh passing us. The Queen was sitting up very straight, smiling and waving. They passed quite slowly, followed by a coach carrying the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. Of the many carriages that followed, most with hoods up because it was raining heavily, the highlight for us was Queen Sālote of Tonga. She was standing up, waving and smiling at everyone. She was an enormous and very colourful lady. She just stood in the rain. The procession took a long time to pass. We then had to walk back to Paddington, weary and, probably, grumpy.

My grandmother watched the whole day on a little television set in the grocer’s shop. My father couldn’t be with us as there wasn’t enough room for him to stay in my aunt’s flat. I can only find one photo taken of the day; it’s taken on my aunt’s balcony, of me and my best friend Edna. My aunt and mother had been too far back in the crowd to take any photos of the procession. I had a mug from school and a miniature gold coach.

Sandra Jones

 

Bluebells at Wentwood and Brecon Beacons

 Bluebells

The appearance of the first spring flowers always has Wenvoe walkers thinking about the arrival of bluebells. Spring this year was cool and we enjoyed wood anemones, daffodils, primula etc. for longer than usual. Then the blue bells arrived. You can spot them in lots of places in Wenvoe but many of them are the Spanish variety which overrun the English variety and spread rapidly (in your garden keep them under control or they will take over). English bluebells are daintier than their Spanish relatives (which stand straighter) with arching stems and hanging bells. You can find English bluebells (which I will refer to simply as bluebells from here on) near Wenvoe, including Wenvoe woods and Coed Nant Bran. The woods between Castell Coch and Pentyrch were a glorious carpet of bluebells mixed with wild garlic. We have enjoyed them on several walks:

Wentwood

Wentwood is northeast of Newport and is the largest area of ancient woodland in Wales covering 1000 hectares. In its 1000-year history it has been a hunting preserve for Chepstow castle and there is evidence of charcoal hearths and the remains of a mill. The woodland is a haven for wildlife and a peaceful place to visit with many ancient trees. There are paths for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, which are well – marked and graded. It is also a great place to see bluebells.

The wood is gradually being restored to native broad -leaved trees which were replaced by fast growing conifers for timber in the 20th C. Nature has a way though and as the conifers are removed seedlings of the original woodland are taking advantage of the light and growing.

We were a larger group than usual and were soon catching up with each other. The air was clear and the sun shining so that the newly opened leaves on trees were bright green. The trees sheltered us from the heat of the sun and walking was fairly easy

Occasionally we reached a clearing in the wood where we could see the hills – Sugarloaf and Skirrid.

But the stars of the day were the trees and flowers. The purply-blue of bluebells highlighted by stitchwort and the trunks of silver birches but mostly contrasting with the lime green of newly emerged tree leaves. And as if this wasn’t enough the air was full of the sweet scent which is unmistakably bluebell. (Some people find it difficult to smell bluebells – I recently learnt that it is easier to smell them if you draw air in lightly through your nostrils; if you take great gulps the scent can elude you.).

Passing through an area where a large swathe of trees had been cleared, we were able to see the Severn estuary and the Prince of Wales bridge. Soon we were back in the woodland and came to the ‘Curley Oak’. The oldest tree in Wales’s largest and oldest forest. There is something truly primeval about this hollow ancient tree, said to be over 900 years old. Yet, until the Woodland Trust launched an ambitious campaign to purchase over 350 ha of Wentwood Forest in 2005, few people even knew of its existence. The Woodland Trust has thinned the trees which tightly surrounded the Curley Oak to allow in more light and give it a better chance of survival. [Walk 7m 900ft Map 152]

Brecon Beacons

A couple of weeks later we went to the Brecon Beacons, parking above Pontiscill reservoir to walk in the Taf Fechan forest and above Pentwyn reservoir. Another fine day and a smashing walk. As soon as we stepped over a stile into open countryside a sea of bluebells was laid out before us. We travelled up the east side of the Taf Fechan to Torpantau station, stopping for long periods to watch the Brecon Railway steam train. Then we crossed the river at the bottom of the Taf Fechan reservoir which is being returned to nature with some excellent footpaths but no proper link to the east. We stopped for lunch alongside the reservoir and chatted to some people who had started at 8 a.m. and walked a long distance but were still springing down the path. As we descended on the western side of river, the ground was boggy for a while. Then we found more bluebells in the open, in an area where trees had been cleared. There were new buds on the various conifers and a huge area of trees which had tumbled down, partly felled and partly due to wind damage.

We were close to the Barn tea rooms and most of us went to get refreshments whilst our hero drivers walked another mile to retrieve the cars and came back to join us. [Walk 6.5m 850ft Map OL12]

In June I spotted a single bluebell on a walk from Merthyr Mawr – the last one for another year.

 

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