Month: February 2026
The Birch Bark Cross
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
THE BIRCH BARK CROSS
I am not sure if this story really happened to me.
A few years back I lived in a small village called Wenvoe between Cardiff and Barry. Wenvoe itself used to be a big farming estate back at the turn of the 19th to early 20th century. I used to take my dogs for a walk through Wenvoe Woods on a regular basis up to the Horse and Jockey Pub and have a cheeky pint without the Mrs knowing about it (am sure she knew).
I was walking in the woods one sunny day with my two dogs (a Pomeranian and a King Charles). My route took me through the “Orchid field” (It is managed as a traditional meadow with an annual mowing to encourage the sort of wildflowers that are fast disappearing from our landscape).
At the top of the field, there is an old bench which I headed to for to sit down with the dogs. I was half dozing off with the sun shining on my face, when I felt a shadow standing before me. I looked up from the bench to see the shadow of a man wearing a brimmed hat. The light was shining behind him, giving him a glow like form. “Hello” the figure said. I put my hand to cover my eyes, “Hello” I said back.
There was no sound of traffic and all I could hear was Crow cawing about five times. The man said, “Nice dogs you have got there”. The dogs where around the man’s feet rolling around. The man said, “My name is Thomas Jones”. I said, “Like the singer”. “Who?” said the man.
The man had what looked like a felt suit and hat and looked quite old fashioned in appearance. He turned to me and said, “I am the local Woodsman for Wenvoe Woods. I live at the back of Ravenswood Farm”.
“Oh” I said, “I moved to the village about three months ago”. The man put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a long strip of bark of a tree. As I watched his hands move with subtle dexterity, The man produced something out of the bark. “This is for you” said the man and handed me the bark he had being working on.
The man said goodbye to me and gave the dogs a rub on their heads. He headed towards the shrubs to the right of me, but the sun shone straight into my eyes. When I adjusted to the light, the man had disappeared as quickly as he appeared. I looked down at my hands and saw that the man had left me a freshly made cross out of the bark. I stuck the cross into my pocket and carried on to the pub.
I was talking to some of the old locals about what had just happened to me and they all started laughing. One local said, “You’re very blessed, you have just met old Tom.” The local man went on to tell me that Tom was the woodsman for the Wenvoe estate over a hundred years ago.
The old local said “Did he give you a Birch Bark Cross.” He then took me over to plaque on the wall with a dark cross inside of it. The local said ” There’s only two in the village; one in here and one in St Marys Church in the village.” He said, ” They are both around one hundred years old.”
When I got home, I put my hand in my pocket and took out the cross, it had turned a dark colour and looked very old and brittle. I still have it in a box on the wall in the house.
This is a fictitious story, so don’t go looking for any crosses.
March Church News
March Church News
Greetings from the Congregation at St. Mary’s church to the wider community of Wenvoe. If you cannot make it to church, follow our Sunday service online at www.ipcamlive.com/stmarywenvoe.
We thank all who regularly continue to support the Food Bank in Barry with their weekly gifts of dry goods, tinned meats and vegetables and much more. Your gifts can be left in the church porch ready to be taken to warehouse in Barry by Jude and Nigel. Please keep them coming as the need is greater than ever. Diolch.
We have a new curate appointed to the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg with responsibilities for Sully, Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s. Mr David Harrision was ordained Deacon and licenced by Bishop Mary Stallard at Wenvoe during February and has now taken up his duties with Vicar Lyndon as his mentor for the next year. Rev. David is part time and a Non Stipendiary Minister as his day job is teaching. We welcome him as we walk with him on this stage of his journey in ministry in the church. It was a pleasure to meet his wife Kate, who holds the position of Canon Chancellor at the cathedral.
Shrove Tuesday, also known as “Pancake Day” Pancake Day was well marked on Shrove Tuesday with a De Morgannwg Ministry Area event at the Old School in Sully. 50 or more participants from the nine churches within the ministry area, including St Mary’s Wenvoe, gathered for fresh pancakes hot off the grill under the skilful hand of the Revd Denise Maud.
After enjoying their pancakes with either sweet or savoury toppings and lots of conversation, there was a time of competitive dice throwing and mad drawing for the Beetle Drive. In four rounds of play, we saw completed beetles from Sue M, Bodhi J, Mavis H, and a very tall Mahoney grandson! However, when the final numbers were tallied and verified it was the young Tallulah J who had the highest score. The extra prize for the prettiest beetle went to Linda from Rhoose.
In the pancake toss, we had widespread participation from clergy and lay people from Sully, Dinas Powys, Rhoose, and Wenvoe. The clergy contenders (David Harrison, Denise Maud, Andrew Maud, and Lyndon H-H) gave a good show with the Revd Denise coming out on top with a remarkable 27 flips in 20 seconds.
However, it was our young “front-of-house” volunteer, E.M. from Rhoose who took the cup with 28 flips. The evening ended with the draw for a pleasant array of prizes in the raffle raising £100 for Marie Curie. Proceeds from the door were split between The Amelia Trust Farm and De Morgannwg Ministry Area.
Acknowledgement to Chris H.H. for kindly writing the “Pancake” report.
LENT 2026 at St. Mary’s
Lent is a significant season in the year for Christians – a time of solemnity and self-reflection where they confess their failings and resolve to live a more godly life based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. It lasts for just over six weeks leading up to Easter.
Traditionally it was a time of fasting from certain foods such as eggs, meat, fish and fats. Nowadays people might give up a luxury food – such as chocolate. They may also give up an activity such as using social media or drinking alcohol. It is called Lent in English because it is the time of the year when days are lengthening in the northern hemisphere. Like Easter, Lent falls on different dates each year. Christians in different church traditions around the world celebrate slightly different periods of Lent. Some church buildings are made to look plainer during Lent with flowers and other decorations removed.
In most churches, the first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. Many Christians go to church that day to seek forgiveness from God for what they have done wrong. In some churches, the priest will take some ash and use it to mark a cross sign on the forehead of each person. It is a symbol of their remorse. The ash is traditionally made from burning palm crosses which were distributed on Palm Sunday the year before). During Lent, many Christians use special studies to guide their times of personal prayer and reflection.
Acknowledgment to Google… thank you.
Our Programme for all the Lent services and observances were printed in last months “What’s On” but here is a reminder.
Monday evenings at St Mary’s 4.30 – 5.00pm Meditation and prayer. Usual Eucharist on March 1st (St. David’s Day) and the 18th at 10.00am. Mothering Sunday March 15th Eucharist, PALM Sunday March 29th procession and Eucharist at 9.30am. MONDAY in Holy Week, March 30th Eucharist at 6.00pm in St Bleddian’s. Wednesday in Holy Week Eucharist at St. Mary’s at 10.00am.
MAUNDY THURSDAY 2nd April AGAPE SUPPER incorporating the Eucharist 7.00pm. (Please book your place on the list in church)
The services on GOOD FRIDAY AND EASTER DAY will be in next month’s “What’s On” and also on the church notice board in the porch.
There will an opportunity to contribute to the Easter flowers in church. See notices in Newsletter. Thank you.
Church decorating will be at 10.00am on Saturday April 4th.
Thank you for reading the Church News and every blessing in your Lenten journey.
Parry
Competing In the Crufts Obedience Championships
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
COMPETING IN THE CRUFTS OBEDIENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two local canine residents Eva and Asher Heath have made their dog mum very proud as they both won championship dog obedience classes last year which meant they were invited to compete in the annual Crufts Obedience Championships in 2026. They can often be seen training for competition at Station Road playing fields. Eva is Asher’s mother and qualified for last year’s Crufts, but she now returns there after becoming an Obedience Champion. Eva and dog mum, Carolyn (of Greave Close), are the only team from Wales competing. Asher is competing for the first time and is the youngest dog to do so.
March 2026 Diary of Events
The Vernal Equinox And The Porthkerry Witch
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
THE VERNAL EQUINOX AND THE
PORTHKERRY WITCH
Along with St David’s Day, St Patrick’s Day and Mothering Sunday, March brings the vernal equinox, celebrated in both Christian and pagan traditions. In 2026 it occurs on March 20 at 10:46 a.m. marking the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and bringing nearly equal lengths of day and night worldwide. In Christianity, Easter is linked to the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. In pagan traditions Ostara (named after a German goddess) is celebrated honouring fertility, rebirth, and new beginnings.
Through the ages, Ostara has been celebrated by witches holding rituals and performing spells that focus on growth, abundance, and new beginnings. For most of the Middle Ages the term ‘witch’ meant the local healer, someone who made poultices and medicines and perhaps had charms or spells for healing farm animals. From the middle of the 15th century, things changed with supposed ‘witches’ being used as scapegoats and blamed for everything from bad harvests to untimely deaths. Surprisingly this darker period began with the publication of Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches). Written by a Catholic clergyman, it set out legal and theological theories to endorse the extermination of witches. Based on it, in 1484 Pope Innocent III gave the existence of witchcraft ‘official’ status by issuing a papal bull sanctioning inquisitors and starting a witch hunting hysteria, not fully lessened in Britain until laws against witchcraft were abolished in 1736.
From 1450 to 1700 in Europe alone, about 35,000 people, mainly women, were hanged or burned at the stake as suspected witches. While over a thousand people were sent to their deaths in England, curiously only 5 in Wales appear to have suffered the same fate. In 1579, Gwen ferch Ellis from Bettws in North Wales, was executed for witchcraft. She was a healer but for some reason she was persuaded by another woman, called Jane Conway, to leave an evil charm at Gloddaeth, the home of aristocrat Sir Thomas Mostyn, who died soon afterwards. Gwen was brought before a packed court in Denbigh. Seven witnesses stood against her, claiming her charms had broken bones, bewitched ale, and even stilled a young man’s heart. Gwen was convicted of murder by witchcraft and hanged.
Apart from punishing them, people looked for ways to defend themselves from witches. The National Museum at St Fagans houses a collection of 17th-century witch-related artefacts, featuring “witch bottles” designed to counteract suspected bewitchment. These bottles, often containing pins, nails, and human urine, acted as counter-magic, with the sharp objects meant to break the witch’s spell and cause them pain.
One local story concerns a lady who used to live in a cottage at Porthkerry Park. A rich young man was persuaded to pay her for a love potion, to win over the girl of his dreams. Seeing how old and frail the witch was, his servant pocketed the money and refused to pay her. Angered by the deception she cast a spell over the two of them uttering ‘May these men never leave these woods.’ The two men only got as far as the edge of the woods before turning into two trees. Research has revealed there was a woman called Ann Jenkins known as a provider of potions and remedies, inspected for witch marks by the Cowbridge magistrates. There is no record of the outcome. Official records register Ann Jenkins as being buried in the yard at the church of St Nicholas in Barry, unlikely if she had been proven to be in league with the devil.