Month: September 2025

Invitation to Creative Individuals

DESIGN A FESTIVE COVER FOR OUR CHRISTMAS EDITION

Each year, readers eagerly anticipate the Christmas edition of What’s On, known for its vibrant and festive cover design.

We are inviting creative individuals to design the front and back cover for this year’s edition, which will go to print on or around November 20th.

If you’re interested in contributing your artwork and would like more details, please get in touch with any member of the WO team or email wenvoe whatson@gmail.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

What’s On Team.

 

September Letters

 

 

AVE ET VALETE TO WENVOE
I am writing this on the day before we move from Wenvoe to Dinas Powys, surrounded by boxes of all shapes and sizes. My wife Isobel has decided it is time to downsize from our five-bedroom house to a bungalow, so we are on our way.
We have very much enjoyed our 15 years in Wenvoe, and have found Clos Llanfair a pleasant and convivial community, always quick to help one another. I have enjoyed worshipping in St Mary’s, not often enough, but I have always been made welcome there.
Wenvoe is fortunate to have a shop, post office and pub which together with the church make for a perfect village. The Wenvoe Arms is a great pub, and I hope it continues to flourish. I want to thank the kind man in the Springfield stores who kindly kept a copy of the Sunday Times for me.
We have walked in all directions, and we especially enjoy the cross country walk to Dyffryn Gardens, where we stop for a coffee before heading home. The woods around Wenvoe are full of wild garlic which heralds the arrival of spring, and we have made garlic pesto with success.
It has been very useful having a great choice of supermarkets near us. To avoid the chaos and delays at Culverhouse Cross I am always happy to drive to Lidl, but my wife will happily battle with the traffic to reach M&S.
Mike Tucker is a stalwart supporter of all things in Wenvoe, and I am sure we are not alone in being grateful for his community spirited work.
Wenvoe What’s On has been eagerly awaited each month and we are grateful to the team that has produced this very useful magazine over the years.
I was brought up in St Andrew’s Major so we are going off in that direction again and leave you with all good wishes.
Alun and Isobel Davies

 

 

Dates For Your Diary

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

 

TUCKER’S VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS REINDEER SALE AND CAFE
Saturday 15th November 10.00am – 4.00pm

The 7th annual Tucker’s Christmas Reindeer sale and cafe will take place on Saturday 15 November from 10am to 4pm at Wenvoe Church Hall. This year we have a Victorian theme, and we would love to see people in Victorian costume. There will be some traditional Victorian food for you to buy on the day. There will be tables inside the church hall for you to sit and enjoy a tea or coffee and maybe a homemade slice of Glen’s usual cakes or brownies.

As well as the antlered stars of the show there will be some lovely things to buy and a festive atmosphere to get you in the Christmas mood with the church hall decorated in Victorian style. We will be joined by our good friend and talented crafter Trevor with his lovely Christmas houses and decorations. There will be other local crafters joining us too and we will give more information about this in the next issue of Wenvoe What’s On so watch this space.

We will be holding a raffle with some excellent prizes including luxury food hampers, a home baked and decorated Christmas cake, some interesting bottles and some items that would make ideal gifts for adults and children. Once again, profits from this will be donated to our charity of choice, the Wenvoe Wildlife Group. The man in red will be appearing with his sleigh which will offer an excellent, free photograph opportunity. The reindeer will be sold outside where there will be gazebos decorated in Victorian Christmas style and Victorian festive music will provide the backing track to the whole event. Why not join us and pick up a reindeer and some Christmas spirit! These have become collectors’ items so start making a list of people who deserve one as a gift. Bring a friend and have a festive catch up. We look forward to seeing you there.

Could The Airport Be Flying High At Last?

COULD THE AIRPORT BE FLYING HIGH AT LAST?

Many of us love to use Cardiff Airport, especially with the time and cost implications of flying from other airports like Bristol or Heathrow. With a ten-year plan of major developments, we will hopefully see a positive transformation in the airport’s fortunes.

Major investment

A major factor in the plans is a significant government investment of over £200 million in the next decade. The aim is to improve infrastructure, expand airline services and upgrade passenger facilities. The strategy aims to increase passenger numbers and grow the airport’s role in the regional economy. The hope is to boost passenger numbers from 0.84 million in 2023 to 2.3 million over the next decade and create 2,000 jobs. We can also look forward to the development of new routes, including to key global hubs.

There have been several improvements already. A new security checkpoint with advanced technology has been installed, which has speeded up screening. The new technology allows passengers to leave liquids under 100ml in their hand luggage, meaning the screening process should be quicker. It also means passengers can leave laptops, tablets and mobile phones in their hand luggage as they pass through security screening. On the business side, a new base for European Cargo, launched in October 2024, has utilised the airport’s 24/7 operating status and grown its freight business. Huge cargo planes have been flying in from as far away as China.

New routes

Airlines have already responded to the airport’s revitalisation by significantly expanding their services. TUI is making a major investment by basing a fourth aircraft at the airport for the Summer of 2026, creating 48,000 additional holiday slots. The idea is to increase flight frequency on popular routes to destinations like Tenerife, Turkey and Majorca. Gran Canaria will also get more flights and the new flights will align with Marella Cruises’ winter programme in Gran Canaria onboard Marella Voyager, with its cruise packages available for the first time from Cardiff. They plan to add new services to Hurghada, Egypt, and Faro, Portugal next Summer. An exclusive route to Fuerteventura will launch from December. Other airlines are following suit. From this Summer, Ryanair is operating its largest-ever programme from Cardiff, with an 18% increase in departures and extra flights to Dublin and Malaga. Vueling have taken up the challenge and expanded its service to Malaga.

Ambitious long-term plans

The plans have not been without controversy. There may be environmental objections to some of the planned developments. Bristol Airport has launched an ongoing legal challenge in the Competition Appeal Tribunal to Welsh Government subsidies. In a statement they said, ‘Bristol Airport welcomes competition, but this must be on a level playing field to avoid market distortions.’ The Welsh Government have stated their intention to defend the new subsidies. Success is likely to prove vital in the longer term. The aim is that by 2040 a new airport terminal will be built along with a multi-storey car park and new cargo terminal. A key focus is improving access for passengers and businesses. The airport is planned to be integrated with the Metro network, including bus links from the train station and a new road link from the M4 at Junction 34.