Month: August 2023
GARETH SING-SONG GOT LOST
VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT GROUP
A Busy Wenvoe Womble
On an overcast morning the team set about clearing the entrance to Pound Lane. Having an older workforce means we get a local history lesson from a time when everything was in black & white. Hospital, doctors and clinic appointments leave us short staffed on times so the silver foxes recruitment agency promised to send along their youngest member Alex Cooper but he is bedridden on account of getting a blister trying to remove an unfranked stamp from an envelope he’d found. The team completed the work and big John asked if the men could finish early because of the effort they’d put in.
We were due to cut the long grass on the footpath to the sports field next month but the last time we did that Gareth Sing-Song got lost and was only found when the last bit was cut. So we will regroup at the entrance to Clos Llanfair 11th September at 9.30.
We wish Jonathan a speedy recovery, we’re missing you.
WENVOE BUTTERFLIES
Wenvoe Wildlife Group
The weather has not been kind to our conservation work but thanks to some of our observant residents we continue to record species which have not previously been registered in the Parish. An example is the Mint Moth which is probably not uncommon but easily overlooked. This small day-flying moth tends to inhabit patches of mint so one to look out for. We have now recorded 40 wildlife species in the School wildlife patch but expect the numbers to increase steadily, particularly if we get some better weather. The grass, Timothy, shown in the photo is doing very well – this is the foodplant of the caterpillar of the Essex Skipper (recorded in Cardiff and Barry) and the Marbled White butterflies.
ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS – SEPT 2023
AUGUST REPORT
By the time you are reading this, schools are on the point of resuming for the Autumn Term, and following the cold, wet summer, let us hope for a brighter warmer September.
The three churches came together to celebrate the Holy Eucharist at St Bleddian’s on the fifth Sunday in July
St Bleddian’s The threat of rain in the weather forecast did not deter members from the three congregations from finding their way up to the ancient and holy hill, on which St. Bleddian’s church is sited. There has been a church here on this site from the 6th century, and the present building dates from the 12th century.
For the first time for many years the communion cup and cover of 1577 was used together with the 20th century silver cross donated to replace one that was stolen in the 1980’s. With good singing and Vicar Lyndon’s sermon on the theme of the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto many things, the service was completed with excellent hospitality and fellowship.
Thank you to the small congregation for their welcome and desire to host the occasion… Da Iawn.
The Chattery continues to be the place to meet together on the second Thursday of the month at 10.30am in the Church Hall, for a catch up and a coffee/tea and posh biscuits and a FREE raffle for a modest £2.00 per person. Why not come and join the company it is open to all, and we all need to meet up from time to time. Isolation is a terrible thing to experience, so come and make new friends on September 14th.
The phrase “A fish out of water” is quite familiar to us all. Have you seen the leaping salmon in the church grounds? Thanks to Mike we now have one, carved out of the dead cherry tree trunk to be admired by all.
Proposed Visit to Margam Abbey on October 29th 2023 to attend the 11.00am Mass.
Margam Abbey is celebrating its 875th year of foundation as a Cistercian Abbey this year and we propose a joint pilgrimage (by coach) as it is the 5th Sunday of the month, when we visit the other churches in our three church grouping of Sully, St. Lythan’s and Wenvoe.
Contact has been made with a member of the staff at the abbey, and they will be pleased to welcome us as a part of the congregation that morning. Lyndon has been invited to preach at the service, and he has accepted. We had hoped to arrange a lunch near to the abbey but the costs were higher than we anticipated.
After discussion with Lyndon we have decided to take a BYO lunch. The Abbey will accommodate us in the “Drill Hall”, adjacent to the Abbey and car parking area, and they will provide tea/coffee for which we would make a donation. Access to the Country Park can be obtained from the Abbey and within the Park itself there is also “Charlotte’s Pantry” with tea/ coffee etc and hot food until 3.30pm. After lunch we are arranging a tour of the Abbey Church which has many interesting monuments and architectural items to see.
Carol Jones in Sully has found us a 49 seater coach and the cost will be covered from church funds. Pickup in Wenvoe at 9.30am and return from Margam at 3.30pm.
A list will be available in church to book your seat on the coach or if you prefer to make your own way to Margam by car sharing.
Teddy Bear’s Picnic. To coincide with the Wenvoe Village Show in the Church Hall on the 9th September, we are arranging a BYO picnic in the church grounds from 1.00pm. We are in need of folding picnic tables as all the tables in the hall will be used to display the entries in the show. There will be lots of games and activities for the children, and for the adults a time of fellowship and a chat to catch up with others you do not see very often. A guest appearance of PEPPA PIG is promised during the afternoon to make the picnic go with a swing. The church will also be open should the weather be inclement. The afternoon will come to a close when the cakes etc in the show will be cut and shared, so cake, cake and more cake……. yum yum
Our Matronal Festival was held on August 13th at the 9.30 celebration of the Eucharist to honour Mary, Mother of Our Lord. The new notice board near the church gateway has been put in place, and now includes the dedication to which Mary, in the account of Christ’s life, our church is named. Thanks be to God.
Harvest Festival will be held on Sunday 24th at 9.30am and church decorating will be on Saturday 23rd at 10.00am. Help will be needed to decorate with flowers and tinned goods etc donated for The Food Bank in Barry; any fresh fruit and vegetables will be donated to a church in Cardiff. This year we are opening a Flower Fund to purchase the flowers and of course willing hands are needed to arrange them on the Saturday morning. Wenvoe is surrounded by many active farms, whose fields are now ripe for harvesting, so let us give thanks for the produce of the land and the farmers who work 24/7 to bring in the bounty of the land which the Lord our God has given us.. All are welcome to our celebration. The celebration of the Harvest will continue in St. John’s, Sully on October 1st at 11.00 am and at St. Lythan’s on October 8th at 3.00pm,
There will be a retiring collection in aid of the Christian Aid Harvest Appeal which will remain open when our other churches hold their own celebration.
Foodbank Many thanks for continuing to support the Foodbank. Your gifts are very much appreciated, both gifts of food and money. Currently the Food Bank is providing more help than the donations coming in, and so they are reliant on stock they had received previously. Concern was also expressed during the current school holiday as the usual help has been withdrawn. Our weekly donations do fill some of the gaps. So a BIG THANK YOU to all who give week by week.
For those of you who still have a holiday planned, have a safe journey and return, we shall be here to welcome you back.
God Bless.. St. Mary’s is your church and all are welcome.
Parry Edwards
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH – Opportunistic Theft
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Opportunistic Theft
There is still a problem in the Vale with thieves prowling and trying car doors.
Things to do to protect yourselves include:
• Keep house and car doors locked. It only takes a moment for a thief to enter the house if you are in another room.
• Keep items of interest out of sight.
• At night close house curtains to prevent a thief seeing in.
• If you become aware of someone prowling around, ring 999.
WhatsApp Scam
Action Fraud has reported a scam against members of large groups relying on the goodwill of members and their desire to help others in distress. Examples of groups targeted are alumni and academic groups, work groups, and religious groups such as church or prayer groups.
Scammers infiltrate the group to try and deceive members into sending the scammers money. From January to August this year 268 people nationally have reported falling victim to this scam.
To protect yourself against scammers:
• Never share your account’s two-figure authentication (2FA) code. (That’s the 6-digit code you receive via SMS)
• Set up two-step verification.
• Think. Call. If in the slightest doubt, ring back to check identity.
• Report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp.
Alan French
THE GRANGE AVENUE GARDENERS
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
The Grange Avenue gardeners share some of their thoughts
Joyce Hoy
- Go to specialist nurseries where the owners are usually on hand to give advice about which plants will do well in your plot.
- Unusual plants will give you a different experience and create extra interest.
- A dense shrub next to the bird feeders will give protection against predators while the birds are waiting to feed.
- Putting bright tape on your hand tools will make them easier to find when left in borders.
- Take cuttings and collect seed, it is so satisfying to see the results.
Pat Davies
- Next Spring I will be heading to the supermarkets early to build up my bedding plants collection, the plants are usually healthy and reasonably priced.
- Growing bedding plants from seed hasn’t given me my greatest success but will help fill in the gaps when the shops run out.
- If you’re stuck on what would be the best way to get the most from your garden, just ask a gardener. They can’t wait to to tell you what you should be doing. You don’t have to take their advice though.
- For early Spring colour plant tête-à-tête. They have short, strong stems and don’t get bashed by strong winds.
- Each to their own but for me the garden needs to be full of colour for as long as possible, it’s a tonic.
September brings the bulb planting season upon us. The most important thing to remember when planting is to put them deep enough, especially tulips. They need to be at a depth of 3 times the height of the bulb. Daffodils and crocus will need to be put in this month. Tulips will perform better when planted in November. If you are placing bulbs in borders consider planting them up in plastic pots first and then digging them into the ground. This way you can remove them when flowering is over and put them aside for the foliage to die down, which will give you room for the summer bedding.
Speaking to a lot of gardeners this year, the consensus is that the cold start to Spring held the plants back and this was not helped by the fact that we are struggling to find good seed and cuttings compost. Since the use of peat has stopped the alternatives have not been good. There are numerous reasons for this. Firstly, when these companies produce compost it has to be heated to certain temperatures to decompose properly and to kill off pathogens that cause pest and diseases. If the temperatures are not reached this will increase the amount of damping off of seedlings and cuttings. This will also allow weed seeds to germinate amongst your plants which happened a lot this year. The R H S say that if this happens you must take it back to your supplier. If you buy seed compost it should be very fine and not have bits of debris visible, which has been the case with a lot of brands this year. Seed compost has to pass through a fine screen mesh which takes time. The composts are expensive and companies should produce a usable product. Buying sterilised soil to start your plants off especially in early spring will help but you will then need to feed them as they start to come on because the soil will have no nutrients.
Start off some sweet peas in a cold frame this month to give yourself some earlier flowers next year, once they’ve sprouted they will be quite happy outside in a sheltered spot. Take cuttings of your favourite shrubs, even if just a few take root it doesn’t cost anything to try.
Farmers and market gardeners have struggled to get good yields this year mainly because of the absence of rain in June. The Wenvoe allotment holders have the benefit of a constant water supply, albeit with buckets and cans, to have good crops. This takes quite a lot of effort to reap a good harvest but nothing tastes as good as growing your own. Even without an allotment, growing some veg in pots is so worthwhile. I’m sure we will see some of the fruits of our villagers labours at the village show on the 9th Sept.
Take care and happy gardening
WENVOE VILLAGE SHOW
WENVOE VILLAGE SHOW,
SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2023, ST. MARY’S CHURCH HALL
This is Wenvoe’s own local show and offers an excellent opportunity for some friendly, fun competition. Will your fruit and veg be the talk of the village? Is your baking a triumph? You don’t have to be an expert, you just need to enter.
The show is limited to entries from people who live in the Wenvoe community (Wenvoe, Twyn-yr-Odyn, St Lythans and Dyffryn) and children who attend the village school.
Entries to be registered at St Mary’s Church Hall between 8.30 and 11 am on Saturday morning ( for those who have other commitments on Saturday morning there will be a limited time slot to register entries between 6 – 7.30pm on Friday evening 8th September but this will NOT include culinary entries). The hall will then be closed between 11 am and 1.00pm for the judging to take place. The public will be welcome to come and view the exhibits between 1 and 4pm. From 3pm – 4pm there will be a chance to sample the culinary entries for yourself. There will be a good quality raffle, and this will be drawn at 3.30pm. We already have some really good prizes but if you have a prize that you could give we should be very grateful.
If you wish to reclaim your entries they should be collected between 4 and 4.30pm but please note that Items entered in the culinary categories will be offered for public tasting and will not be eligible for collection unless there is any left at 4pm.
Entry fee – £1 for the first entry and 50p for all subsequent entries per person. You may enter as many sections as you wish but the maximum number of entries per person in any one section of a category is two. Items entered in previous Wenvoe Village Shows are acceptable but only if they have previously failed to win a prize. If you would like to help on the day or have any queries, please speak to Mike or Glenys Tucker.
Money raised from this event will be donated to the St Mary’s Church building fund. Please support this local event in any way you can.
In conjunction with the Wenvoe Village Show there will be a Teddy Bears Picnic in the St Mary’s Church grounds opposite, between 1 and 4pm.
Bring your own refreshments and teddy bears. There will be games for children and fellowship for all, in between popping over to the church hall to admire the exhibits.
St Mary’s church will also be open. Come, relax and enjoy the beautiful area in the centre of the village.
Exhibit Categories
FUTURE OF ST BLEDDIAN’S CHURCH
MEETING ABOUT THE FUTURE of St Bleddian’s Church in St Lythans
Thursday, October 12th, 2023 at 7pm
at St Bleddian’s Church in St Lythans
St Bleddian’s is a special place on a site that has been a sacred gathering place for millennia. The church has a faithful, but small, congregation.
Sadly, expenses are more than income and there is likely more than £50,000 of repairs required in order to maintain the building for use.
Therefore, we are inviting all who are interested in the future of St Bleddian’s to gather to hear an update on the financial picture and to explore ideas and possibilities for ensuring the future use of this sacred place.
AUTUMN TERM REOPENING
WENVOE PLAYGROUP NEWS AND EVENTS
Registered Charity, right in the heart of the Village.
The Playgroup re-opens for the Autumn Term on Monday 11th September at 9am. We offer wrap around care with Gwenfo Nursery 5 days per week.
Monday Tuesday and Friday until 1pm
Wednesday & Thursday until 3:15pm
Prior to this we have the open mornings, stay and play on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th September from 9am until 11:45am. Should you be interested in viewing or joining the group, please feel free to drop in.
We do have a couple of places available from September, due to families moving away from the area. Please contact us should you wish further information.
Fees may also be paid via the Welsh Government’s Tax Free Childcare and the 30 Hour Free Childcare Offer. Please enquire and secure a place with us, prior to applying for the funding. Links are available on our website.
Wenvoe Playgroup is a registered charity and owned by the community. For further information on who we are, please view our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk and view our Statement of Purpose, Admissions and Operational Plan.
Other policies and procedures are available to view, along with our Gallery, where you can view the children in their Playgroup setting.
You can call us on 02920597494 or 07859 907976 during opening hours or email us anytime wen-voeplaygroup@btinternet.com
MORE SPIDERY CREATURES
More Spidery Creatures
It is that time of year when we start to see more spidery creatures around, both in the
house and garden. The insect in the photo is the Harvestman – commonly called a Daddy Long Legs but not to be confused with a winged insect also called a Daddy Long Legs! It is not a spider but is closely related. They cannot spin webs or are venomous but usually catch their prey with hooks at the end of their legs. They are quite common and may gather in groups, the largest of which numbered 300,000. But don’t panic as they are harmless to humans. They are called Harvestmen because they tend to be around in the late summer when the traditional harvest was gathered in. The Latin name for them is Opiliones – Opilio meaning shepherd after the early European shepherds who walked around on stilts so that they had a better view of their flock.