Month: February 2023
Rita and Elizabeth’s Advice
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This month Rita Edwards and Elizabeth Jones give us the benefit of their gardening knowledge.
Rita
- Separate clumps of snowdrops while in the green as they will naturalise better.
- Prune hedges before the birds start nesting.
- Check fences for broken posts and loose panels.
- Prune wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds.
- Cut back perennials that were left protecting the crown of the plant.
Elizabeth
- Make sure that the mower is serviced before mowing begins in earnest.
- Do repairs to paths on dry days.
- Sow sweet peas.
- Strimmer line will keep its strength if stored in water, honestly.
- Seaweed is a brilliant fertiliser, just make sure you wash the salt off first.
Right then gardeners, you can be sure that plants are going to cost quite a bit more this Spring due to high heating and fertiliser costs which the nurseries have to pass on to the garden centres, who in turn pass this on to customers. So, start saving by sowing seeds. We have to heat our homes, and windowsills make an ideal spot to produce seedlings. Cosmos, sweet peas, kale and tomatoes will thrive on a warm sill. Just cover at night to keep the chill off. This is the one time you need to use properly prepared fresh compost with a bit of perlite added for drainage. This will help prevent damping off which is a fungal disease that can wipe out trays of seedlings. The main causes of damping off spreading are low light and poor air flow.
Outside, the garden seems to need attention everywhere you look. Now is a good time to move deciduous shrubs that this year, with fresh eyes, seem to be in the wrong place. Prune mahonia and winter flowering heathers. Cut back buddleia and elder down to the base. This will help keep them a reasonable size. Cut back the overwintered fuchsias, check on any plants that may have become dislodged in the inclement weather. There is still time to purchase bare root shrubs. This month is the latest you should be pruning apple trees. Most apple trees produce fruit on short stems that sprout on old wood, while a few fruit on long shoots produced just the year before. Check to see which type you have before pruning or you may end up with no fruit at all. The important thing is to have an open aspect by thinning out the middle to allow a good air flow and increase light. This will help to keep disease at bay.
Keep deadheading the pansies to prolong the flowering. The one thing that needs to be done every time you go into the garden besides weeding is to look in crevices and under pots for slugs and snails as everyone you deal with now is going to increase the number of buds that will develop in Spring.
Take care and happy gardening
Oxfam Shop Penarth
OXFAM SHOP PENARTH
Regular readers of What’s On will know that I have been volunteering with the Oxfam shop in Penarth for the last 13 years. My responsibility along with two other colleagues is the music section which includes vinyl records, sheet music, small musical instruments (working or broken), pre-recorded cassettes, gig posters, programmes, fanzines and tickets, CDs and old music magazines. Even shellac 78’s (that break easily) if anyone remembers those!
Vinyl records have become increasingly popular in recent years and the shop sells records of all genres-pop, rock, folk, jazz, easy listening, punk and classical. Vinyl is welcomed in all formats – LPs, singles and 12 inch.
The shop with its impressive music section has built up an excellent reputation for selling good quality second hand records and other music related items at fair prices. In the last financial year approximately £17,000 was taken in the music section which goes towards Oxfam’s work across the world.
My colleagues and I research all the donations to ensure that any donations that are received achieve the best possible price.,
Caroline Mumford the shop manager, said “Everyone at the shop has been very grateful to those Wenvoe residents who have made music donations over the last few years. We could not offer our loyal customers such a choice of records and make so much money without your help. Unfortunately at the moment our saleable donations have run really low. So we are appealing to anyone who has music related items that they no longer use to consider donating them to Oxfam here in Penarth”.
If you are a music fan please pop into the shop when you are in Penarth and have a browse around. You never know what you might find!
I live in Wenvoe so I can pick up any donations you may have from your house. Alternatively if you prefer you can contact the shop at 8 Windsor Road, Penarth to arrange a pick up. The shop number is 029 20706358. My number is 07895 157629.
Thank you
Nigel Billingham
Lucky Dip Books
Various Books
During our December meeting each member placed a book into a Lucky Dip and the individual books drawn by the Page Turners were read and summarised for our January meeting as shown below:
Leonard And Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
This is the story of two ordinary single friends, Leonard and Hungry Paul. They are quiet, gentle and kind. There is no dramatic plot, just the humorous details of their lives. Well written and a relaxing read. Score 7 out of 10.
City Mission: The Story of London’s Welsh Chapels by Huw Edwards
Broadcaster Huw Edwards tells the history of the setting up of the Welsh Chapels and Churches in London and examines the patterns of Welsh migration. Milk Couriers from Wales drove their dairy herds to the Royal Parks in London and local residents would take their jugs to buy milk. The Milk Couriers then gave monies to build the Chapels and Churches and having made their fortunes returned to the Welsh valleys. An excellent book. Score 8 out of 10.
Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres
A short novel by the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. This is an enchanting story about a dog in Western Australia which alternatively has you in stitches or floods of tears. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. Score 8 out of 10.
Becoming by Michelle Obama.
An autobiography by Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama and details her life from a young child in Chicago to First Lady of the United States of America. She is always striving for perfection but is likeable, hard-working and very genuine. She tells her story in her own words and it is extremely well written. A very enjoyable book and highly recommended. Score 8.5 out of 10.
Dictator by Robert Harris
An historical novel which is the third part of a trilogy and covers the final 15 years of the life of the Roman lawyer and politician Cicero as seen through the eyes of his loyal Scribe Tiro. It is extremely well researched and covers the period when Julius Caesar was assassinated, and the Roman Republic collapsed. Highly recommended. Score 10 out of 10.
The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan
This book deals with the relationship between a mother and daughter and tells two stories. One is about Ruth, born in the USA. The second is about her mother, LuLing who was born in China in the early 1900’s and later emigrated to the USA where she married and was widowed when Ruth was very young. LuLing’s story is revealed in stages, as is that of her mother, father and their families and is both fascinating and complicated. A really interesting and enjoyable book. Score 8 out of 10
Wenvoe Open Gardens – June
Tuckers’ Spring Plant Sale
Bees, Beer, Boilers and Brilliant Brains
WENVOE FORUM
Considering tomorrow today
Bees, Beer, Boilers and Brilliant Brains
Bees
Did you know that there are 25 species of bumble bee, 260 species of solitary bee and 1 honey bee species in the UK. These only account for a few of the 500 species of insects that pollinate plants, which include hoverflies, wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths.
For a while there has been concern about the reduction in the numbers of bees and pollinators in the UK. Across the country organisations are developing B lines to ensure that the bees can travel between plants and thrive and encourage other pollinators. Bees and pollinators need a wide variety of flowers in all the seasons of the year to survive and places to shelter. The forum would like to develop a Wenvoe B line and we need your help. Contact us if you would like to be more involved. Look out for more information next month.
Beer
The group of Wenvoe hop growers is increasing. Currently we send our hops to those of the Cardiff hop growing community whose beer Taff Temptress is brewed at Pipes Brewery. Last September we collected over 5 kgs between us. Whilst a couple of free pints and several bottles at reduced prices are enjoyable, wouldn’t it be nice to have a Wenvoe beer? We need a few more growers. Please contact Sian Jones if you want to join us and become part of our Hop Growers Group. sianjo@btinternet.com or ring 07837291362.
February is a good month to plant the hop rhizomes and we might be able to source some free ones for you. They are easy to grow and grow profusely up a string framework or along a fence. The brewer at Pipes recommends Prima Donna, a dwarf species, as being easier to manage in a garden. If you want a bit more information, look up Essentially Hops essentiallyhops.co.uk on the internet.
Boilers
If your gas boiler is getting old and needs replacing there are some government schemes that will help you to afford greener alternatives.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme/ what-you-can-get
https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme
Brilliant Brains
We know that some What’s On readers are very clever and have lots of good ideas so we are setting you a problem. One of the challenges of generating electricity with solar panels is that often in the summer you have more electricity than you need. Often this gets sold to the national grid at a much lower price than users are charged. What we are looking for is good, simple ideas for using up that spare electricity in a better way. One seasonally inspired idea is for those who cook electric, is to cook your Christmas cakes and puddings in the summer on the free solar electricity and as it will cost you nothing you could invite your neighbours without panels to do the same. Send your ideas to us and we will share them so that everyone can benefit. Thank you.
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New Forum members are always welcome to join e-mail us e-mail gwenfo.forum@gmail.com.
Contact to us on :-Facebook: Gwen Fo@https://www.facebook.com/
gwen.fo.1/
and Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402 or twitter
@ForumGwenfo. See our Blog site https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Mrs Tiggy Winkle will be a familiar name to most of you but Beatrix Potter’s character is just one appearance of a hedgehog in literature. Shakespeare often referred to them although mostly less than flatteringly; and you can find them turning up worldwide in stories, even as far afield as Mongolia. But what if the only hedgehogs the children knew were from books and poems – the live animals having become extinct?
Hedgehogs have been around for 15 million years, far longer than modern humans and are one of the oldest species of mammal on the planet. But they are in decline and are classed as vulnerable with around 50% lost in the countryside since 2000 alone. But the news is a bit better in our towns and cities where they have ‘only’ dropped by 30%. They are regularly seen in some Wenvoe gardens and there are many things you can do to help them survive and prosper such as:
Create access holes in your fences so they can move from garden to garden. These are known as hedgehog highways.
Hedgehogs can swim but can get stuck in steep-sided ponds. Ensure your pond has a shallow side or place a log or plank in it that they can use as a ladder.
Avoid using slug pellets or other chemicals.
Many are injured by strimmers, so check the area first and move them if you find any.
Check bonfires before you light them for the same reason.
Make or buy a hedgehog house which can be used for hibernating in winter or shelter in summer.
Give supplementary food such as cat or dog food especially before or after hibernating. Also provide water but never put out bread or milk.
Create a wild section in your garden including piles of leaves which will also benefit other wildlife.
Get all the family involved and register with PTES (Peoples Trust for Endangered Species) as a Hedgehog Champion.
Help to ensure that Mrs Tiggy Winkle is not, like the Dodo, just a distant memory.
Place-Names Derivation – LLAN
THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES
We’ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names.
LLAN
The most common element by far in Welsh place-names is the word ‘llan’. If you were to look at a book of place-names, you would see that there are over 400 places in Wales which begin with the element ‘Llan’ – an incredible number, I’m sure you’ll agree, in a country the size of Wales!
The original meaning of ‘llan’ was an enclosed piece of land on which produce was grown. It is derived from the Brythonic word ‘llann’ and the earlier Celtic form ‘landa’. By the 12th Century it had developed to mean an enclosed piece of consecrated land – often surrounding a religious building. It developed further to convey the extended land around a religious building – much like a small parish. Nowadays, the word ‘llan’ refers to the religious building itself – the church. You’ll also find many place-names containing this element in Scotland, Cumbria, Cornwall, Brittany and over Offa’s Dyke, in Herefordshire for example – evidence of the widespread existence of the Celtic language.
In most of the ‘llan’ place-names, this element precedes the name of the saint to whom the church is dedicated. It is a feminine noun and the rules of Welsh grammar dictate that words following a feminine noun will undergo a Soft Mutation – i.e. the initial consonant softens. We see this phenomenon in such place-names as Llandudno (Tudno), Llanberis (Peris), Llangadog (Cadog), Llangollen (Collen), Llandeilo (Teilo).
Only 9 consonants undergo this softening – all others are used in their original form Llanisien (Nisien), Llansadwrn (Sadwrn), Llanidloes (Idloes), Llanelli (Elli).
Not all ‘llan’ place-names include a saint’s name. As there are so many places in Wales based on this element, it can be useful to include a geographical element – as in Llandaf (on the river Taf), Llangefni (on the river Cefni), Llanfaes (in a ‘maes’ – meadow), Llangoed (in the ‘coed’ – wood), Llanuwchllyn (uwch – above, llyn – lake), Llanfynydd (on a ‘mynydd’ mountain), Llangwm (in a ‘cwm’ – valley).
Some names include a number rather than the name of one saint – Llantrisant (three saints), Llanddeusant (two saints), Llanpumpsaint (five saints).
The next time you’re travelling around Wales perhaps you can work out the meaning of the ‘llan’ villages through which you drive.
Next month: Aber, Bryn, Cwm, Pont.
Ann M. Jones
More Tornadoes Per Square Mile In Britain
THERE ARE MORE TORNADOES PER SQUARE MILE IN BRITAIN THAN IN THE USA !
While the stormy weather has been a major talking point in the village so far in 2023, we can at least be thankful that we have been spared the more devastating weather events witnessed in the past. A good example is the tornado which swept through South Wales in 1913.
In fact, although we might imagine them to be incredibly unusual weather events, tornadoes are more common in the UK than you might think. On average we can expect 33 every year. Thankfully they are usually nowhere near as destructive as those in the USA. We are also better prepared than we were in days gone by. The Vale has an official project plan aimed at preparation for the impact of climate change and the ever increasing risk of flooding in many of our communities. As a lead Local Flood Authority, the Vale has a statutory duty to investigate, log and report all instances of flooding. Fortunately for us, the Vale has also been proactive in dealing with the impact of the stormy weather, sending a team to deal with the recent flooding on the Old Port Road.
Such planning had not unfortunately taken place when one of the most devastating weather events hit South Wales on October 27th,1913. Just days after hundreds of miners were killed in Britain’s worst mining disaster at Senghenydd, a tornado struck large parts of South Wales, causing widespread devastation. The Met Office confirmed that the tornado was the same power and severity of those more regularly experienced across the Atlantic in the United States. The South Wales event was in fact a “moderately devastating tornado” (T6 on the TORRO scale) which means that the winds were, at its worse, in excess of 160 mph.
A tornado is defined as a violently-rotating column of air which spins around and upwards, similar to the action of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle. The 1913 tornado began over Devon in the mid-afternoon, as warm air from the Mediterranean struck a cold front blowing down from Iceland. As it progressed, it swept 11 miles through areas such as Trefforest, Pontypridd, Cilfynydd and Abercynon. The impact seems to have peaked at Edwardsville. There, the English Congregational Chapel was wrecked and the pews swept against the west wall. Nearby, a hayrick weighing several tons was carried for a mile and, near Pontypridd, half a ton of brick chimney was carried several hundred yards.
During the tornado six people lost their lives. One of those killed was Francis Woolford, of Edwardsville, captain of Ton Pentre football club, after being transferred from Swindon FC for £25. Woolford , and the trainer, Walter Breeze, were walking to the station on their way home and were a short distance ahead of the rest of the team. Woolford was dashed against a wall, fracturing his skull, while Breeze was lucky enough to get away with a broken rib. Another fatality, Thomas John Harries, a 52 year old miner from Cilfynydd was thrown 300 yards by the winds and was found the next morning in a nearby field. He left a wife and three children. As well as the lives lost and the scores injured there was extensive damage to property estimated to be equivalent to around £3million today. Worse still, a few days later the insurers refused to pay out, presumably because the tornado was considered an act of God.