Month: March 2025
Orchard Maintenance Courses
Wenvoe Wildlife Group
Orchard Maintenance Courses
Two successful Orchard Maintenance courses have been held; one at Goldsland and the other at the Welsh Orchard, Maes y Felin. A number of our members attended but there were also plenty of keen orchard enthusiasts from elsewhere. The courses are run by the local Nature Partnership team, and we benefit as many of our fruit trees are pruned in the process. Mike Tucker ‘laid’ the hedgerow around the Goldsland Orchard in the traditional manner and although only planted a few years ago it is already supplying the local wildlife with berries and fruit.
February included Nestbox Week. We erected, around 12 boxes, mainly thanks again to Mike Tucker. Of these, several were Owl boxes.
Sian has strimmed and brushcut the Wild Orchard and with the trees steadily maturing, are hopeful of good crops of Cherry, Crabapple, Bullace, Wild Pear, Cherry Plum and Chequers.
This Month for Early Spring Bulbs
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This Month for Early Spring Bulbs
This month early spring bulbs and ornamental quince will be in bloom. The quince would have been in flower since last October and will continue to flower for months. When we were pupils of Wenvoe school, a long time ago now, there never seemed to be any daffodils to be had for St David’s day, we made do with leeks which we all ate before going to the church. This winter we had daffs in bloom before Christmas on the village green.
Hardy annual seeds can be sown directly in the ground now, remember that these plants like poor soil, so don’t waste fertiliser on them. Please don’t buy tender plants yet, unless you have a warm place to keep them. These young plants will have been grown in perfect conditions, so a sudden change in climate will either kill them, or at best stunt their growth. It is always better to wait and let the garden centres or nurseries look after them until the weather warms up a tad. Tomatoes and chillies need a long growing season to get the best out of them and can be sown under glass or on a windowsill now. If you sow lupins this month, they will flower this year given favourable conditions. When putting young plants out in the garden, it’s a good idea to cut the bottom off a plastic pot and put over the top of the plant to protect from wind and cold, even if they are hardy. It will give them a better start. Mr Crump’s trick to protect his plants from late frosts is to put an upturned plastic pot over the plant then a bigger one on top of that so there’s an air pocket. This works brilliantly and with the cost of plants it is well worth the time.
On the allotments there is always a lot of activity at this time of year, with soil preparation and seed sowing taking place. Plants that were brought on at home will be planted out under cloches at the end of the month. Beetroot is ok to sow now as it germinates at lower temperatures, along with peas and broad beans. Also give kale a go. It’s one of those plants you can keep picking the leaves off and it regenerates. Early potatoes are sown now and there always seems to be an argument on whether they need to be chitted or not. Whichever way you prefer to plant them, just be sure that when they start showing you protect them from any late frosts by putting some soil up over them. As always, there is plenty of advice to be had on the best methods from the likes of Colin and Bernard. If you are feeling brave you could ask Lewis, as long as you’re prepared to listen to heavy metal, which he insists does his plants a power of good.
Take care and happy gardening.
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
The Paget Room 122 Years On!
122 YEARS ON!
THE PAGET ROOM REMAINS A ‘HAPPENING’ VENUE’
Many of us have visited The Paget Rooms in Penarth. This much-loved Vale venue was a dance hall in the 1920s, the Regal Cinema in the 1930s and for the last 60 years or so host to a wide range of events, from drama, concerts, talks and art exhibitions to weddings and community meetings. The Hall, now a Grade II listed building, is still named after Alberta Paget, wife of the Earl of Plymouth, who leased the land to the original developers.
The Paget Rooms has long nurtured local talent and provided a platform for artists, musicians, and performers to showcase their work. It has also had its fair share of star performers. By all accounts the 2022 performance from the legendary Welsh rocker Andy Fairweather Lowe was sensational. Andy has a lot of material to work with being well known as lead singer with Amen Corner with hits such as ‘Bend Me Shape Me’ and ‘Hello Suzy.’ Andy went on to work with many an artist considered ‘rock royalty’ including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John and Sheryl Crowe.
Perhaps the most famous though, was none other than Tom Jones whose appearance has an interesting background. In July 1965, Tom and his band the Squires responded to a request from the Penarth Round Table and appeared for free in aid of a charity to support two people knocked down and injured by a van in Cogan. In 1972, South Wales rockers ‘Man’ released their fifth album ‘Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth’ complete with a mistake in the title!
Bringing things up to date, between 2019 and 2023, the Paget Rooms were used as the location of the college hall in the Netflix hit show ‘Sex Education’ starring Gilliam Anderson and Ncuti Gatwa, the 15th and current Dr Who.
So, what’s happening now? Well, the two examples below give a good idea of the variety of events held at the modern Paget Rooms.
On March 27th (7pm – 10pm) the Paget Rooms are featuring the National Theatre Live production of Dr. Strangelove. Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece. Tickets cost £10.
April 11th sees a production called ‘3D Drama.’ Theatre Bara Caws present three light comedy/dramas on varying themes. Tickets, including booking fee are £16.50. These are Welsh language productions, although English précis will be available. Some strong language.