Month: September 2024

Welsh Traditions 6 – Medi – Harvest

WELSH TRADITIONS 6

MEDI – HARVEST

The Welsh word ‘medi’ is a verb meaning ‘to reap’ or ‘to harvest’ and as a proper noun, ‘Medi’, is the name of the ninth month of the year, namely September – the month when the crops are harvested, of course. The English word ‘harvest’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘haerfest’ – and it was used as the name of the third season until around the 16th Century when it was superseded by the name ‘Autumn’.

There are a number of customs and traditions associated with the harvest season here in Wales. It was, of course, the most important period in the agricultural year – and before the dawn of mechanisation, all the neighbouring farmers and farm hands would gather at each farm in turn to see to the harvest. In Welsh, there is a name for this practice of community aid – ‘cymhortha’ – a word based on the noun ‘cymorth’ meaning ‘help, aid, assistance’. The same thing happened at other busy times in the year – sheep shearing, lambing, crop planting and so on.

The custom known as ‘Y Gaseg Fedi’ (The Harvest Mare) was an important element at the end of harvesting. The name ‘Y Gaseg Fedi’ was given to the very last sheaf of corn to be cut. The sheaf was divided into three by the senior farmhand and plaited. The reapers would then take it in turn to throw their scythe or sickle at the sheaf to see who could cut it down. The person who succeeded would recite the following, traditional lines (translated here)

‘I tracked her,

In the late evening I followed her,

I’ve caught her, I’ve caught her!’

The other reapers would respond –

‘What did you catch?’

and the reply would be –

‘A hag! A hag! A hag’!

‘Gwrach’ (Hag) was another name given to the Harvest Mare.

At the end of the corn harvest, the farmer’s wife would organise a Harvest Supper for the neighbours who had helped with the harvesting. There was always plenty of food and locally brewed beer. In some areas, a sweet dish called ‘whipod’ was served. It consisted of a mixture of rice, white bread, dried fruit and treacle. In nearby Cardiganshire in 1760, a farmer reported that the feast following the reaping of his rye by about 50 neighbours consisted of ‘a brewing pan of beef and mutton, with a range and potatoes and pottage, and pudding of wheaten flour, about 20 gallons of light ale and over twenty gallons of beer’. After the meal, there was usually dancing to the music of the fiddle, with a plentiful supply of beer and tobacco.

It was seen as an honour in Wales to be the one to bring down the caseg fedi, and the man who succeeded in doing so was often rewarded. The winning reaper was faced with the task of carrying the Harvest Mare into the house – making certain that it was kept perfectly dry. But this gave rise to great revelry as the women present attempted to drench it with water before it reached the house. If he’d been successful in keeping the sheaf dry, he would be given an honoured seat at the Harvest Supper table with plenty of ale to drink. But if he’d failed to keep it dry, he would have to sit at the far end of the table, have no ale to drink and suffer the taunts of his fellow diners throughout the meal!

The ‘caseg fedi’ may have represented the fertility of the harvest condensed into the final sheaf and it was believed that a spirit resided in the last sheaf of grain to be harvested. In one part of Wales, it was recorded that seed from it was mixed with the seed at planting time ‘in order to teach it to grow’. In other parts of Britain, this last sheaf was buried on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany (6 January), so that it could work its magic on the growing corn.

Once the grain harvest proper and the Harvest Supper were over, the women could begin gleaning, i.e. scouring the fields for the leftover ears of corn which they could claim and keep for themselves.

The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet

People have been giving thanks for the harvest since farming first began in the Neolithic era. Today, it has become a Christian festival of Thanksgiving and is celebrated in most chapels, churches and schools – usually on the first Sunday following the Full Moon closest to the Autumn Equinox. However, the traditions outlined above are far older than Christianity and this Christian assembly only became popular in Victorian times when, in 1843, a Reverend R. S. Hawker had the idea of holding a special service on the first Sunday in October in his Cornwall parish. The idea caught on and soon it became the custom to decorate churches with fruit, vegetables and flowers and to sing the harvest hymns written for the occasion.

Harvest has now become a time when people come together to give thanks for our own good fortune, to donate food to the needy, and to raise money for worthy causes. Thus Harvest still commemorates not just the gathering of the fruits of the Earth, but also the community cooperation that exists to extend a helping hand to people less fortunate than ourselves.

Ann M. Jones

Brecon Beacons / Bannau Brycheiniog – Craig Cerrig Gleisiad

Brecon Beacons / Bannau Brycheiniog

Brecon Beacons / Bannau Brycheiniog

Craig Cerrig Gleisiad 

We parked near Forest Lodge cottages and set off along Sarn Helen, the 2000-year-old Roman road which runs from North Wales to Neath. The route would take us around Craig Cerrig Gleisiad Nature Reserve, Fan Frynych, climbing to the trig point and descending towards Twyn Dylluan-ddu before returning to Sarn Helen and the cars.

The first section along Sarn Helen is easy walking and we passed some interesting black and white sheep, cattle and lovely views. Taking a left turn we entered the nature reserve to walk along the valley and immediately spotted wind battered trees on the top of a hill. A noticeboard declared ‘It is a wild and craggy place and home to some arctic survivors. Glaciers carved out this special landscape. The steep rocky slopes, sharp escarpments and crags are home to rare arctic-alpine plants.’ The birdlife includes peregrines, kestrels, red grouse and rare ring ouzels. Archaeological remains found on the reserve show that the area has been inhabited for many thousands of years, including Iron Age huts.

As we progressed along Cwm du the state of the trees attracted our attention. On a visit 8 years ago, they were wind battered but now many seemed to have sparse leaves, one had a heavy crown of greenery. The path alongside the stream also seemed more overgrown but we had walked it on almost the same date last time.

The path gradually became more difficult with craggy, slippery rocks and narrow ledges. To continue past a waterfall, we needed to cross the stream. Large rocks were very slippery, so we went downstream, crossing to a bank of tall plants and made our way to a vertical wall with footholds cut into it. One of us is an experienced climber and she guided each of us until we were all safely at the top.

We were above the waterfall and followed the stream a little further before crossing it again to climb up to a grass covered area which proved much easier to navigate, following paths created by animals. We came across a herd of wild horses with foals which trotted off as we approached. The views were breathtaking, and we decided to stop for lunch looking back down the valley towards the Carmarthen Fans.

Arriving at a T-junction of paths we saw the first people we had seen all day and turned left towards Fan Frynych. At the trig point, we had awesome 360o views of the Brecon Beacons from the far west, north and around to Pen y Fan.

The path downhill led us back to Sarn Helen and the cars. The Mountain Centre provided a very welcome cup of tea and ice-cream. Looking at photos from 8 years ago, one person commented ‘we’re still wearing the same walking clothes’! Walk 7m, 1200ft. Map OL12

 

 

 

The Village Hop Harvest

WENVOE FORUM

Considering Tomorrow Today

“The Village Hop Harvest ”

Some readers will know that Sian and Steve Jones coordinate the Village HOP Harvest on behalf of the Wenvoe Forum. Our hops go to join a Cardiff community hop growing scheme that results in a beer called Taff Temptress. If you would like to join the hop growers then please get in touch via gwenfo.forum@gmail.com. Existing hop growers please read a message from Sian about this year’s harvest.

Hi village hop growers,

The hops have been a bit slow but I am sure like us you can see some flowering. We hope that you will be able to pick them on Friday 13th September for Steve to take them to Pipes Brewery on Saturday 14th. The Taff Temptress beer should then be ready three weeks later.

Like last year I don’t think we will have a huge crop but every little helps! We look forward to seeing you all on 13th September.

Sian and Steve Jones

 

To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the Gwen Fo account @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1 and then jon the Wenvoe Forum @ https:// www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402

Some further information and updates, blog site https:// wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/. Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which are normally held 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwenfo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join.

 

August Report

AUGUST REPORT

 

From time to time the church Treasurer has to review the present level of church finances against the church budget set at the beginning of the year. At the present moment we are looking at a shortfall of £5,000 at the current year end and the Church Council has agreed that a Gift Day be arranged at the time of our Harvest Festival on 22nd September. There will be a warm welcome to you all at a bring your own picnic in the church grounds from 1.00pm-4.00pm with activities for the children which will include a colouring competition, a treasure hunt and other entertainments.

Here is the Treasurer’s Letter of Appeal.

 

Dear Friends,

We are always grateful for the generosity of our local community towards St Mary’s Church here in Wenvoe. We have decided to hold a Gift Day this year to invite local people, regular worshippers and non-worshippers alike, to make donations to ensure that our historic church can remain open to serve the whole community. It is thanks to your support that we have been able to continue to maintain St Mary’s as a centre for worship and a place where everyone in the community can celebrate important occasions. We are a charity and depend entirely on the direct giving of our congregation and fundraising to meet the costs of running the church.

Maintenance and day-to-day running costs for St Mary’s averages £45,000 every year and this year, with shrinking reserves, we are facing a likely deficit of £5,000. We are aware that not everyone is in a financial position to give as they would wish, but we ask for whatever support you can give. If you are already someone who gives regularly and do not feel able to do more, please accept our grateful thanks for what you are doing, and do not feel any further obligation.

 

Our Gift Day will be held on Sunday 22nd of September, which is also our Harvest Festival, when from 1.00pm to 4.00pm we will be holding a Family Picnic in the church grounds. Prior to Sunday, the church will be open from 2.00pm to 4.00pm on Saturday 21st when you are cordially invited to visit St Mary’s to view the Harvest decorations and, if you wish, bring your Gift Day gift in person. We look forward to seeing you.

Gift Day envelopes will be available from September 7th in the church, the Library, village shop and Wenvoe School. Cheques should be made payable to MADM St Mary. If you would like to contribute electronically:

 

Text STMARY to 70970 to give £5

Text STMARY to 70191 to give £10

Web easydonate.org/

 

We can provide further details about tax-efficient ways of giving, and how you might make a regular gift to the Church, perhaps to celebrate an anniversary or other special occasion. You might even want to make a smaller weekly or monthly donation. However you choose to give, we will be very grateful for your support.

 

Matronal Festival of Mary the Mother of God

On August the 18th, at our Eucharist we celebrated the feast of our patron saint Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with the church decorated in gold and white to honour her name and her role in the story of redemption. Mary has been known as far back as the 14th century as the “god bearer” when her role as mother of Jesus was fully recognised by the early church at Ephesus, and when the Normans invaded in 1066 they built many churches all dedicated to Mary, hence the dedication here in Wenvoe with our church. Wales at that time was a mix of Welsh principalities, constantly at war with each other in the north of the country, while here in the south the imposition of Norman Rule under William I, known as the Conqueror, with supporters loyal to the English crown, made way for a settled time of relative peace. St. Mary’s Church founded in the 12th century is of that time. Much has changed. The original stone church was enlarged and there followed years of deprivation and neglect. However, we have a church worthy of being dedicated to Mary, recognising her role in the life of Jesus and the early church. Jesus entrusted his mother into the care of St. John when dying on the cross and it is thought that she eventually died at Ephesus. In church there are a number of images of Mary in stained glass and statuary on the Reredos at the altar, over the South Porch and on the Rood Screen at the entry to the chancel. The service, with the booklet prepared for the congregation to follow, was well attended, allowing that many people are away in August on holiday.

During August we continued with our Open Church on Saturday afternoons, we had a wedding, and three baptisms, plus a midweek celebration of the Eucharist on Wednesday. The Chattery met on the second Thursday of the month, when friends caught up with each other with coffee etc. and great fellowship. It may be holiday time when many are away but St. Mary’s is always available for those family occasions to mark different stages in our lives, time to celebrate, time to grieve the loss of loved ones and time to welcome new members to Christ’s family. Remember the work of the church in your prayers, and we always welcome newcomers to our services.

Thank you for reading this,

Parry Edwards

“I Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many lives of Aunt Munca”

a

OFF THE SHELF

“I Kiss Myself Goodbye:
The Many lives of Aunt Munca”

 

This is a memoir written by Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount (3rd Baronet). Principally he is writing about his relationship with his aunt, an apparent millionairess who calls herself Aunt Munca after the mouse in a Beatrix Potter book (it was never explained why). According to Mount, his aunt is a bit of an enigma and a consummate liar, “Nothing about her back story seems to add up”. Mount writes about his summer holidays at her house by the sea and the comings and goings of various guests. He name-drops frequently throughout the book and paints the characters who come and go but in a very superficial or irreverent way. There is no depth to any of the characters.
Mount does get to find out about his aunt’s background – probably the most interesting part of the whole book. Despite that there was a general feeling of so what? The title, I kiss myself goodbye is a reference that Aunt Munca makes to her background – a background that she wants to disown and forget.
This book has been well reviewed elsewhere – but take a deep sigh here – none of our book club members liked the book, only one gave it a six out of 10, with the rest scoring it as low as 2, 3 or 4. Three of us failed to finish it. It was described variously as tedious, boring, pointless and self-indulgent. Overall rating 4 ½ out of 10.

The Leaves Are Putting On Their Autumn Hue

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

 

The Leaves Are Putting On Their Autumn Hue

 

It’s that time of year again, the leaves are putting on their Autumn hue, the children are going back to school and the garden centres are full of Christmas decorations. The garden puts on an autumn colour with late flowering perennials to the fore. New crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths should be planted now to get the best displays in Spring. Hold back on planting tulips until late October, or they may rot. Keep up with deadheading so we have colour until the first frosts. Divide herbaceous perennials to provide free plants; by doing this it will freshen up the older plants. Take cuttings of fuchsias and pelargoniums, they will take a bit of care over Winter, but they are free.

September is the time when most people will be repairing their lawn. To repair patches, mix some seed with compost and spread over areas that are bare. You will need to keep these patches damp and protected from birds. Annie Bennett will be reseeding her front lawn this month and will be on hand if you need any advice. Do not put a Spring or Summer lawn feed on the grass at this time of year as it’s nitrogen rich and will promote speedy growth which will weaken the grass before winter. We need to use a fertiliser high in potassium to help the root system.

On the allotments and veg gardens harvesting is still going on. Mike Marsh has cut all the tops off his main crop potatoes three weeks before digging them up to prevent any chance of blight affecting his crop. Clear any straw beneath your strawberries to stop pests overwintering in it. Don’t leave any rotting fruit on trees as this will spread disease. Cut back the fruited canes on the summer raspberries and leave the green new ones that will bear fruit next year.

The more ground you can keep covered the easier it will be for you and will stop soil erosion. Hardy peas and broad beans can be planted now along with shallots and onion sets. Any soil not covered can be planted up with a green manure crop or covered in weed fabric. This will save a lot of time come the Spring.

Please enter the Village Show with some of your produce (page 4&5). Take care and happy gardening.

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

 

The Arnolfini Wedding and Wenvoe

The Arnolfini Wedding and Wenvoe

What connects this famous painting – the Arnolfini Wedding by Jan van Eyck – with Wenvoe?

The garment the bride is wearing is edged with white fur but more on that later. Whilst we prefer our wildlife to be alive and flourishing these days, history confirms how animal fur from earliest times kept us warm and, later, fashionable. Peers of the realm often wore and can still be seen wearing at big state events a white fur with black spots. This is the fur of the Stoat recorded not so long ago near Burdons Farm. The white fur is its winter coat and is called Ermine. The stoat has a black tip to the tail, hence the black spots on ceremonial gowns. Sable is another fur from a weasel-like animal.

Less well-known is Miniver although you may have come across Mrs Miniver, a wartime film of 1942. Miniver is the white fur from the Red Squirrel, and it is this that provides the edging to the bride’s dress in the painting featured. The Grey Squirrel was only introduced to the UK in the nineteenth century, some say from 1876. Whilst there are no Red Squirrels anywhere near Wenvoe these days we do seem to have reasonable numbers of weasels as they have been appearing on our wildlife cameras.

 

“Akin ” by Emma Donohue

“Akin ” by Emma Donohue

A retired New York professor’s life is thrown into chaos, when he takes his great-nephew to the French Riviera, in hopes of uncovering his own mother’s wartime secrets.

Akin is a tender tale of love, loss and family, from Emma Donahue, the international best selling author of Room. It is a funny, heart-wrenching story of an old man and a boy who unpick their painful story and start to write a new one together.

In the main, the group thoroughly enjoyed the book with two even scoring it 9 and found it a definite page turner! Most felt that it was nice to read a straight forward book without numerous characters and eras that involved going back time and again to remind oneself of characters and events. The description of the developing relationship between the two was well written without being over emotional. Nice was brought alive both present and the WWII history.

Two members of the group found the book less well written in comparison to Room which they had both found extremely good.

Overall the score was 7.5 and made all the more enjoyable by sitting in beautiful sunshine, in a most delightful garden with good company and of course the obligatory moreish lemon drizzle cake!

Successful Orchard Pruning Course

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Successful Orchard Pruning Course

A successful Orchard Pruning course was organised by the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Nature Partnership group and held at the Community Orchard. Enabling this to happen was a great team effort. The Church Hall was hired for discussions and refreshments and Mike Tucker and members of the Environment Team turned out at the weekend to clear the footpath from Vennwood Close to the Playing Fields. The Council arranged for the Orchard to be cut and the Wildlife Group had the noticeboard repainted. Three members of the Wildlife Group attended the course which covered summer pruning techniques, tool usage and safety. We hope further courses will be organised in the future.

We were delighted to receive a donation of £200 from the new Care Home – Glenburnie Lodge. This followed a nomination by Mike and Glenys Tucker as their chosen local charity. We continue to receive occasional donations from local residents, and we would like to extend our thanks to them for their continued support.

The wildlife cameras are recording some fascinating wildlife including Tawny Owls, Weasels and Badgers

 

When September And The Humble Split Pea Saved Britain

WHEN SEPTEMBER AND THE HUMBLE SPLIT PEA SAVED BRITAIN

 

September 1940 is arguably the most significant month in British history; when the tide turned in the Battle of Britain and Hitler’s plans to invade Britain during the Second World War were thwarted. The RAF victory over the Luftwaffe was famously ensured by our Spitfire planes and brave fighter pilots. A closer look leads to some surprising and fascinating insights.

The Spitfire was designed by R. J. Mitchell, who developed his expertise designing seaplanes to race in the Schneider Trophy competition. Mitchell never got to see how important his contribution was because he died of cancer in 1937 at the age of 42. Fast and manoeuvrable, the Mark V had a top speed of 369mph and could climb 20,000 feet in seven-and-a-half minutes, with a flight ceiling of 36,500 feet. All this was a tribute to the genius and ingenuity of the plane’s developers.

Amazingly, the humble split pea played a key role in the development of such an effective fighter. Flush riveting was used on the prototype Spitfire to ensure the smoothest possible surfaces and aerodynamic performance. However this proved difficult, expensive and time consuming in production. Thinking outside the box, engineers went to a local grocery and bought several bags of dried split peas and glued them on every flush rivet head to test the likely impact of using round head rivets. Unfortunately this reduced the Spitfire’s speed by around 22mph. Not giving up, they progressively scraped off the split peas to determine which flush rivets were most effective and where on the plane was it best to deploy them. The results were applied to production planes and with the various flush and round head rivets strategically placed, the speed and manoeuvrability of the planes was maximised.

Pilots were in many ways more important than the Spitfire planes. With the average life expectancy of a pilot at only four weeks and an urgent demand for new recruits, the RAF was forced to cut the training time from six months to just two weeks. Some recruits saw action with as little as nine hours experience. They included pilots of other nationalities, including Polish and Canadians. There were even a handful of American pilots, most notably Billy Fiske, a 29-year-old sportsman who had previously won a gold medal for bob sledding at the Winter Olympics.

The bravery of these pilots is legendary. Having lost both his legs early on in his RAF career, Douglas Bader re-trained, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes at RAF Duxford and re-entered the fray. One advantage that Bader had over his fellow fighter pilots in training was courtesy of his amputations. The high g-force experienced by pilots throughout combat often caused them to pass out as the blood was forced to drain from their brains and into their legs. Bader’s dual amputation meant that he didn’t lose as much blood to his lower extremities, allowing him to maintain blood pressure and stay conscious for longer. Promoted to wing commander he was credited with 22 aerial victories, over 10 shared and another 11 confirmed damaged enemy planes. Shot down over the French coast, he was captured and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at Colditz until it was liberated in April 1945. He had been treated as something of a celebrity by his captors.

The Battle of Britain lasted from I July to 31 October. Other planes and factors, of course, played important roles in the battle. The development of radar for example, enabled the RAF to know when to scramble their pilots and get the Spitfires into the sky to defend London and the south east. However the contribution of the Spitfires and their pilots to our liberty cannot be overstated. Winston Churchill famously encapsulated this when he said ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

By the time it ended, 544 Fighter Command pilots had been killed in the Battle, many flying Spitfires. 808 Spitfires took part with 326 lost and 589 damaged. The official Luftwaffe losses for the Battle totalled 2071. Spitfires saw action all over the world and continued in service after the Second World War.