Month: July 2025

The Sites Are In Tip-Top Condition.

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

The Sites Are In Tip-Top Condition.

Activities this month included strimming the Welsh Orchard, continuing to clear the Upper Orchid Field and working on the Community Orchard. We attended the Playing Fields Open Day but had very few visitors to the Community Orchard – not surprising as the weather was pretty miserable. The willows on the Community Orchard are due to be cut back at the end of the month but they will continue to provide a screen at the northern end of the orchard. Most of the fruit seems to be doing well and the Shepherds Bullace is already being harvested by enthusiastic jam-makers. We still get asked where the orchards are so you can pick up a leaflet showing their locations from the Tuckers’ noticeboard dispenser outside 29 Vennwood Close.

We were delighted to hear that our 7 sites had all passed the Green Flag assessment. Another independent vote of confidence in the quality and accessibility of the nature reserves. Thanks are due to the members of the group, landowners and residents who aim to keep the sites in tip-top condition.

 

Vale Foodbank Update

VALE FOODBANK UPDATE

Thank you to all those in Wenvoe who have donated to the Vale Foodbank, especially those who donate frequently. The boxes in St. Mary’s Church porch are emptied regularly and the contents taken to the Foodbank warehouse each week. There is usually a car boot full and in addition money to donate from those who find it difficult to carry food stuff. If you wish to donate money in cash or by cheque written out to the Vale Foodbank it can be posted in a sealed envelope in the Church porch letter box.

All of the local Foodbanks in the Vale continue to be accessed regularly. In June 292 referral vouchers for help included 399 adults and 201 children. Of these 73 households were referred for the first time. Regular donations ensure the Foodbank can continue to support individuals and families. Unfortunately, the number of donations has reduced; for example in June 18,265 kgs of food was distributed with only 17,216 kgs coming in. As the school holi-days now begin, we are reminded that the require-ments for the Foodbank continues at a pace.

Current items in short supply include; Tinned meat for hot meals and sandwiches, tinned vegetables, long life milk and fruit juice, tinned rice pudding, snacks and instant foods for people who do not have access to cookers.

Jude Billingham

Where To Rock This August

WHERE TO ROCK THIS AUGUST

…..and some interesting stuff about the artists hitting the capital this month.

We are fortunate to live near a city that frequently hosts the biggest names in rock and pop music. 2024 saw the likes of Taylor Swift and the mighty Bruce Springsteen. This year the city has among others, already welcomed Stevie Wonder, the Stereophonics, Sting and Oasis. However, the fun is far from over. Tom Jones can be seen twice at Cooper’s Field on 20th August and then at Cardiff Castle on 21st August. But who else is rocking the city?

Will Smith, the celebrated Hollywood star known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Men in Black, is performing in his other guise of noted rapper Live at Bute Park on Monday 25th August. The show is supported by disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC.

Will is known for being able to solve Rubik’s Cube in less than one minute, a feat he performed in one of his movies. In 2005 he achieved a Guinness World Record for attending three red carpet events in Manchester, Birmingham and London in just 12 hours. The first hip-hop star to be nominated for an Oscar, he was then famously banned from them for 10 years, after slapping comic Chris Rock at the ceremony in 2022.

 Catfish and the Bottlemen, the Welsh indie rock band from Llandudno, announced their first big stadium show for 1st August at the Principality Stadium. Hugely successful since 2016, that year they won ‘British Break Through Act’ at the Brits and their 2nd album ‘Ride’ reached Number 1 in the UK album charts.

The band’s name originates from lead vocalist Van McCann’s earliest musical memory: an Australian street busker he encountered in Sydney, known as Catfish the Bottleman. The busker earned the nickname “Catfish” due to his distinctive, spiky beard and ‘Bottleman’ because he played beer bottles strung to a wire.

 Midge Ure’s ‘Live Under the Stars’ show is at the Tiger Yard, Cardiff Bay on 16th August. Ure is known for his success in 70s and 80s bands such as Thin Lizzy, Visage, and Ultravox. Most famously, in 1984 he co-wrote and produced the Band Aid charity single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Selling 3.7 million copies, it became the second biggest selling single in UK chart history. Ure who co-organised the Band Aid and Live Aid events with Bob Geldof also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children.

Ure’s stage name, Midge, (real name James) is a phonetic reversal of Jim. When he was presented with the OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2005, Ure wore a black kilt with matching black shirt, jacket, socks and a silver tie, to pick up his honour. ‘The Queen said something about it. I can’t remember what, but I think it was a gracious comment rather than ‘What on earth are you wearing.’

 Basement Jaxx are Live at Cardiff Castle on Sunday, 24 August. The English electronic music duo, consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, emerged in the underground house scene of the mid-1990s. They have had international chart success and won Best Dance Act at both the 2002 and 2004 BRIT Awards.

In the past, Buxton’s father did not let him watch Top of the Pops and played his children Austrian and Japanese music instead. ‘He was always very proud that we didn’t watch Top of the Pops. He thought that made me hungry and want it more’ he said.

 

July Letters

 

 

Dear Editor,

Gary, Carl and Leanne Davies and family would
like to thank all friends and family for their
magnificent support, messages and cards since the
passing of our beautiful, loving, caring and
thoughtful wife and mother, Nichola Davies. Nichola
was our world and meant everything to us and was
loved by so many people, especially for her
wonderful smile.
Thank you also to all who helped with the
‘celebration of her life’ on May the 22nd and to the
many, many friends and family who attended on the
day and made it a very special day. RIP my
wonderful wife.

 

ELY CORRIES SKITTLE TEAM

I really enjoyed Nigel’s article in the June
edition – Talkin’ about 1960s Vinyl Records. I’ve
never been knowledgeable about music myself but
do recall spending my allowance or early earnings
on singles and even an LP or two. The line that
brought back memories for me was this: “You didn’t
like every track, but you knew sooner or later
something would come up you liked.”
In this age of digital playlists and “skip”
capabilities (much easier than lifting the needle and
looking for the next groove), I sometimes forget the
value of listening to something that is not to my taste
and practising the patience, and hope, for something
I will like. Thank you, Nigel, for the memories and
the reminder.


Chris Hutchison-Hounsell

Wenvoe’s Favourite Tree

Wenvoe’s Favourite Tree

Regular sightings of one or more Polecats on the wildlife cameras near the village has now confirmed that we have an established population of this rare and elusive mammal. It was once heavily persecuted and was on the verge of extinction. They were declared as vermin during Elizabeth I’s reign and the word was used to describe a vagabond.

By 1915 it was just hanging on in mid Wales and some border counties. However, it is now protected by law and making a comeback but there were only 896 confirmed sightings for the whole of the UK during 2024. Interestingly, there are no records in the last 5 years for Cardiff and Wenvoe – until now!! Most will be familiar with ferrets, but these are the domesticated version of the Polecat.

Polecats have a long history in mythology and folklore. Associated with the God Dionysus of wine, fertility and revelry fame but also the Norse Goddess Freya representing love, fertility and beauty and often depicted alongside her. They were valued by farmers and villagers for their pest control abilities, keeping down populations of rats and mice but also for their fur which was particularly warm and durable. Great to know that not only do we have a species coming back from the brink, but they can be really useful to us in helping to control our rodent population.

Operating For Over 50 Years

WENVOE PLAYGROUP NEWS AND EVENTS

Registered Charity, right in the heart of the Village.

www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk

The Playgroup has been operating from the Village Hall for over 50 Years. We are registered both as a Charity and with Care Inspectorate Wales to care for 30 Children at any one-time from the age of 2 years. We open from 9am until 1pm Monday to Friday and on Wednesday and Thursday we offer care until 3:15pm. Wrap around care for those attending Gwenfo Nursery School

We collect nursery age children from the Early Risers breakfast club at 08:50am and bring them across to Playgroup. We then take children across to afternoon nursery class for 1pm where they attend until 3:30pm. This allows care from 07:50am until 3:30pm Monday to Friday. Great for working families.

We collect children daily at 11:20am from Gwenfo Nursery and on into our lunch club until 1pm. On Wednesday and Thursday children may stay until 3:15pm. Ideal for those working part-time!

30 Hour Funded Childcare Offer Children from Cardiff and The Vale are benefitting from this offer. 12.5 hours are used for LEA Nursery and 17.5 hours per week can be allocated to time with us here at Playgroup. This offer is for children the term after their 3rd Birthday. To find out more, please visit our website:

www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk

Tax Free Childcare: We accept payment via the Government’s Tax Free Childcare. Currently, many families use this method to pay fees for all ages, or use alongside the 30 Hour Childcare Offer to top up extra hours and/or transition fees. Families set up a Tax-Free Childcare account and for example; every £8 the family pay in; Welsh Government pay in £2. For further information go to www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare.

Further information can be found on our website www.wenvoeplaygroup.co.uk along with photos of our group in the gallery.

Our Statement of purpose and Admissions Policy & Procedure can be found in ‘DOCUMENTS’ on our website, which may be useful for times and prices. However; if you want to know more, please email or phone. All contacts are on our website.

Should you wish to be added to our list for 2025 or 2026 please email wenvoeplaygroup@btinternet.com.

We are holding an open morning on Wednesday 3rd September, from 09:15am to 11:15am. Please come along and view our group. We look forward to meeting you

We would like to thank all those who volunteer to keep the Playgroup operating successfully and wish you all a lovely summer break. We close on Friday 18th July, until our open morning on Wednesday 3rd September

 

Successful Junior Wildlife Workshop

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Successful Junior Wildlife Workshop

A successful second Junior Wildlife workshop took place at the Elizabethan Orchard in June. Fully booked again and all who had booked turned up. The children made floral headbands, hunted for mini-beasts and enjoyed a picnic on a fine day. They found the Common Green Capsid bug and a Goatsbeard plant, both interesting discoveries. Our thanks to course organisers and leaders Angela Peterken and Claire Newland helped by Zak on the day, to the Reader family for providing facilities and Mike and Glynys Tucker for raising funds through their events. The final workshop for this year will take place in August – date to be advised.

A number of Swift nesting boxes have been installed on the farm buildings at Goldsland farm by Rhys, Lee, Lydia and Lee Burrows. Rhys will next be setting up the sound system which emits Swift calls to encourage them to investigate the boxes and to be installing some Swallow boxes.

Zak has been working with the group as part of his Duke of Edinburgh assessment. He has been doing jobs in the Community Orchard, making up wildflower seed packs and joining the Junior Wildlife workshop. Last year we helped a student doing the Baccalaureate to register her volunteering hours.

Two Months’ Worth of Reports!

Two Months’ Worth of Reports!

“Less ” by Andrew Sean Greer

This Pulitzer Prize winner was boring, uninteresting and not at all funny. So said all ten of us Page Turners. Our score was the lowest yet of one out of ten. Less was clearly not more.

However, it was lovely as always to meet up together for a welcome cuppa and exceptional bara brith and brownies. Thank you, Nicola. You spoilt us

“Frank and Red” by Matt Coyne

Frank is a widowed older man who likes to keep himself to himself. Red is a six-year-old boy who is chatty and excitable.
Frank is a gruff, ill-humoured loner since the death of his wife, Marcie, whose “ghost” does her best to cheer him along or put him straight on a few things. His house and garden are now neglected, and he’s turned his back on the world. Then Red and his mum Sarah move in next door after Sarah’s divorce
Red hates the new house, it’s tiny compared to his old house, he hates his new school, none of the kids speak to him, excluding him at playtime, and one boy in particular is a real bully. It’s no better at home, no one to play with, and then there’s Frank, the grumpy old man next door who’s really mean.
The most unlikely of friendships, but somehow, two people who are decades apart in age, are thrown together by circumstance. What follows warms the heart to see just how the relationship develops. Frank and Red are new neighbours and complete opposites.
The group felt that it was an easy read with some laugh out loud moments and was sad and emotional. There were some issues that some members found difficult to accept. Firstly, why didn’t the teacher do more about the bullying of Red which was quite obvious as the story developed. The whole group questioned whether a six-year-old would have taken this difficult journey on the underground as he was trying to reach Frank’s son or would Frank have got away with driving on the pavement (which he did) trying to reach his son.
The story was heartwarming and uplifting but had varying scores between 5-9. The final score was 7.1

Many thanks to Jill our hostess for the afternoon who provided us with delicious chocolate cake.

Full English Rice! & Microwave Cake

You don’t need an all-day breakfast menu to enjoy a full English! Rustle up this tasty rice dish, trust me sounds odd but delicious…….Follow it with a microwave pudding!

Full English Rice!

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1 onion

100g bacon lardons

250g mushrooms

2 tsp dried rosemary

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

200g white rice

800ml vegetable stock (made with 2 stock cubes)

100g kale

4 medium eggs

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Chop the onion and add to the pan with the bacon lardons. Fry for 4-5 minutes, until the onion has softened. Slice the mushrooms and add to the pan along with the dried rosemary. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the rice to the pan and stir well until the rice is well coated with the tomatoes. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, and the stock has all been absorbed. Add the kale and continue to cook for 2 minutes, or until wilted. Season well.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and crack the four eggs into the pan. Fry for around 3 minutes, until the whites have cooked, and the yolks are still runny. Spoon the rice into four shallow bowls and top each with a fried egg.

Raspberry and Lemon Microwave Cake

This microwave cake makes a super speedy dessert using mainly store cupboard ingredients!

Try swapping the raspberry jam for your favourite flavour or try lemon curd for a zesty kick…

Ingredients

2 eggs

110g sugar

110g flour

110g softened butter

½ tsp baking powder

½ lemon zest and juice

4 tbsp raspberry jam

Crème fraiche and raspberries to serve

Method

Grease a microwavable bowl with a little butter. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add the softened butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and juice. Beat until smooth, then pour into the microwavable bowl.

Cook in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, until the cake has risen and is cooked through. Set aside and leave to stand for 2 minutes. Spoon the jam into a small dish and microwave for 30 seconds. Loosen the cake around the edges with a knife and turn out onto a serving plate. Pour over the raspberry sauce and sprinkle with the lemon zest.

Serve warm with fresh raspberries and crème fraiche

July Church News

July Church News

Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.

A decade ago under the guidance of our then Rector, Revd. Jon Ormrod we set out a bold plan to extend the church building with an extension on the north side of the nave, to include toilet facilities, a kitchen, storage spaces, a meeting room and a large hall to replace the ageing Church Hall, all to be accessed by an opening from the church in the north wall. At that time many churches were encouraged to make their buildings more “fit for purpose” in providing on site toilets and to offer hospitality. Little did we realise the number of hoops we would have to jump through to get the necessary planning permissions.

Our vision then was to rehouse the flourishing “Pebbles” children’s group away from the church hall to avoid crossing the road in all weathers, to the new and exciting prospect of having them all on one site and we decided to call the project THE ST. MARY’S CHURCH CENTRE.

From the outset we had to convince the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) that the need was there. Then we wanted to breech the wall of the church to allow access to the new building. Site meetings were held with the DAC, Cadw The Victorian Society and Local Authority. Our church architect produced plans, visual drawings of how the new work would look, the bills were mounting, and progress was slow. We held a public meeting in the Community Centre to test the response of the village to our plans, which was positive, if that was what he church wanted then it was their business, although there was some reservation of disposing of the church hall, formerly known as The Reading Room” gifted to the church and community by an earlier generation of the Jenner family.

The first application for planning was turned down by the DAC, Cadw and Local authority as too large and too bulky. The years pass bye, another meeting with the DAC finally allowed us to breech the wall, so a fresh outline application was made to the local authority, another site meeting was arranged and the decision many months later was “NO” our plans were still too large and would affect the historical nature of the site situated in the Wenvoe Conservation Area.

A recent meeting of the Church Council considered this rejection and great saddened to see our plans and hopes for the future use of the church so greatly diminished. However, the church council decided to proceed with a much-reduced extension. again, on the north side to provide toilet facilities and a small kitchen on the site of the present boiler house. The church hall to be retained and refurbished to make it more fit for purpose. We need your help, tell us what you would like to see to improve what we have at present. Any ideas and help to give the hall a new look will be welcome. We invite you to write down your suggestions and ideas, place them in the secure post boxes in the church porch and church hall and make our church hall more welcoming and friendly

CHRISTIAN AID APPEAL OF 2015 The final result of this year’s appeal came to £3775.26 (including Gift Aid) which is an astounding amount raised in these difficult financial times, so THANK YOU to all who contributed, THANK YOU to those who organised the various money raising events, to those who collated the figures together and did the banking. A truly wonderful response to the needs of those who are not as well off as we are. Well done.

We are now in the season of TRINITY, a turning point in the church calendar. The liturgical colour is Green for the altar frontal and priest’s vestments. Our morning services are well attended and being streamed live on Facebook are watched by many including the residents of the Glenburnie Care Home. Join in at http://www.ipcamlive.com/stmarys church

A recent afternoon concert by SIAN’S singers with a singalong of WW11 songs was greatly enjoyed and will be returning in the autumn for an encore afternoon concert. More details later.

The Church Clock has been having a rest in recent weeks, and time has stood still while we decide what action is needed to get it going. Will it TICK will it TOCK will the hours be struck. The clock was donated in memory of Capt. R.F.L. Jenner in 1880 and has kept time in the village since that time so long ago. Those living near have you missed the chimes? Would you like to see them restored? We need to investigate whether the clock mechanism can be converted to an electric winding system,like us all our volunteer clock winder is getting older and climbing the ladder might not be an option. So we thank Martin Williams and Co for their sterling efforts week by week in winding the clock up.

It’s almost holiday time, school will break for the Summer holiday soon, why not send us a postcard from somewhere you have visited. Address it to St. Mary’s Church, Old Port Road, Wenvoe CF56AL Have a safe journey and return home refreshed

God Bless and see you in church or watch on line.

Parry

 

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