Month: October 2017

DEVELOPMENT OF CARDIFF AIRPORT

 

The history of the airport extends back to the1942 when the Air Ministry requisitioned land for training Spitfire pilots. After WW2 the airfield was abandoned. The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new airport was David Rees-Williams (later Lord Ogmore). In1945 Rees-Williams became an MP; then when Minister of Aviation he identified a great need for a commercial Airport of international standards in south Wales. He told the House of Lords that a decision had to be taken whether to do nothing at all or whether Pengam Moors, the existing airport for Cardiff, should be improved or, thirdly, whether a new airport should be constructed.

Subsequently the Welsh Civil Aviation Consultative Committee proposed the Royal Air Force airfield at Rhoose. The Government accepted this proposal and the Ministry of Aviation promptly began converting the abandoned airfield into a civilian Airport.

 

Opening of new airport. In October 1952 the new airport was opened. Then civilian flights from the old Cardiff Municipal Airport at Pengam Moors were transferred to Rhoose in April 1954. In 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to Glamorgan County Council and was renamed Glamorgan (Rhoose) Airport. The council started a five-year plan to develop the airport including a new control tower, terminal building and runway extension.

1986 saw a further extension to the runway, attracting more business in the form of new-generation jet aircraft. The runway extension enabled the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets. This was instrumental in attracting the British Airways Maintenance facility to the airport. The airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and now is a major contributor to the economic development of the region.

The airport was privatised in1995 due to local authority re-organization. Later in 2013 the Welsh Government bought it for £52 million. There followed an investment of a £6 million route-development programme. In 2015 a major deal was signed with Flybe which saw the opening of a two aircraft base for their airline with a considerable number of new routes. In April 2017, Qatar Airways announced their plans to launch a service from Cardiff airport to Qatar and significant global markets via Qatar’s capital city in May 2018. This development is considered a game changer for the airport’s future.

BD

 

 

 

PROBUS (2) CLUB, BARRY

NEW TO WENVOE

PROBUS (2) CLUB, BARRY

We have recently moved our venue to Wenvoe Golf Club for our fortnightly meetings. The Club is for former professionals and businessmen to associate in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Normally at our meetings, we have a speaker followed by lunch.

During the summer months we vary our social programme by including our partners and friends at a dinner and our lunches. We also arrange skittle matches and a coach trip.

If you are interested in joining us, please contact our President, John Evans, on 02920 513976.

 

 

Future Projects

 

To those of you, particularly those moving into Wenvoe, if you have an interest in wildlife and would like to help our furry and feathered friends, not to mention flowers, trees, lichens and insects, do get in touch with the Wildlife Group. We now have 7 sites and there is always plenty to be done. Over the coming months we shall be planting an orchard (yes, another one – our fifth!), putting in 3 ponds, opening up a sunken lane, pruning our 100+ apple and pear trees, creating a lichen trail, strimming, clearing and mulching. We shall be planting Bullace and Mulberry and preparing the wildflower beds for next year. We are already beginning to see more wildlife moving in – especially small mammals such as voles and shrews and the butterflies were also enjoying the windfalls. The caterpillar in the photo is a Yellow Tail moth.

During October we hosted a visit from members of Cadoxton Conservation Group and it is great to see the progress they have been making in Barry – follow them on Facebook. And talking Facebook, don't forget to check our Facebook pages – it is often the most up-to-date and visual means of keeping in touch.

 

 

 

October Report

 

Our new children are well and truly settled now and we can’t believe that we are fast approaching half term! Before we know it, we will be well into the swing of practising for Christmas concerts!

School is looking absolutely lovely, with bright and stimulating displays all around. We feel so fortunate to work and learn in such a beautiful environment.

We have enjoyed some fun activities in the past few weeks: to mark Mental Health Day, staff and children alike dressed in yellow and £187 was raised for the charity Young Minds. A big thank you to all!

All children received sport taster sessions from the out of school club, Superstars and a wonderful time was had by all!

Our PFTA works tirelessly to raise funds for the children; they have a number of fun activities planned, including cinema nights for Infant and Junior aged children. The children benefit enormously from funds raised. We really can’t thank them enough for their hard work, dedication and commitment.

Best wishes from the Gwenfo Team!

 

 

 

Mad World – Gun Control

Mad World

I have witnessed many horrible events happen in my lifetime, and as an aware young person living in today’s society, being kept from the horrors of the world is impossible. I follow the news. I am on most social media platforms. I have watched as tragedies occur, and seen them happen time and time again.

Recently, there was yet another mass shooting in America. And yet, the gun control laws held in the US has not wavered. American gun control laws have caused the death of millions upon millions of people in the US – perhaps a quarter of these statistics have been relevant to my lifetime. Think of that. In almost eighteen years, the news headlines have continuously had to revaluate situations as ‘The worst mass shooting in modern American history’. As the number of shootings increase, the many who have died grow with it.

Gun controls need to be tighter – I cannot stress this enough. By owning a gun, you have the potential to take a life. If you have a gun you need to stop simply saying ‘they wouldn’t give a gun to someone dangerous’ because everyone who owns a gun in America has the potential to be dangerous. You just don’t act on the potential. But someone does. Someone always does.

My point is that nothing changes. Americans still have guns. People’s reactions don’t change. A woman whose family member had been murdered in the Las Vegas shooting had said she did not want to change gun laws. How? How could you witness first hand a mass shooting and have a family member die and still see no problem with the war on gun control? More and more people buy guns in America every day. You can buy guns in supermarkets there.

Yes, I understand that these might be America’s problems, but you can’t deny that universal tragedies cause pain and suffering to more and more people every single day. Everyone is a part of that. Universally, we are more and more connected with America through our media and our global alliance. Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents and even sons and daughters are lost because someone decides they have the right to take a life. Telling us to not think too much about it is the same as telling us we’re heartless if we follow your instructions. Because these people could be us. Although they are across the Atlantic, they should still be important to Britain.

Why must children – the future of our world – die and yet nothing changes. The Sandy Hook shooting happened and dozens of children were killed. But even that didn’t stop the Americans from continuing to sell guns. If anything, the number of people with guns increased. It’s remarkable to me how a ‘travel ban’ on 6 Muslim-majority nations can pass through the US Congress but even after so many have died at the hands of Americans, the Congress cannot remove the laws that are in place in regards to guns.

This isn’t Britain’s battle to face. But equally, it feels like some Americans don’t see it as their own battle. But it is. Because if there isn’t a change soon, there won’t be any Americans left to fight gun law. There won’t be any Americans left. It should be a Universal problem because maybe someone from Britain can describe to an American just how dangerous and ignorant they are if they do not fight gun control.

We shouldn’t be afraid to live our lives – American or British. Speaking as a British citizen, if you are American and you don’t understand why there needs to be tighter gun controls, or even none, please educate yourselves on the stories of those who have died at the hands of guns. Read about those involved in the Pulse Orlando shootings, or the Virginia Tech shootings, or the Binghamton shootings or both of the Fort Hood shootings or even the Texas and Columbine shootings. Look at their photos and read their stories. Read about Claire Wilson James, or Noah Pozner or Isaiah Shoels or Stanley Almodovar III and Lisa Romero-Muiz.

Then try and tell me why civilians ought to have guns.

By Tirion Davies

 

 

Conkers vs Spiders

 

I must admit that since I was a child, I’ve not been able to tolerate spiders, so I dread the reported invasion of giant spiders in the house this autumn . There are many gadgets and products on the market to remove spiders from the home and according to old wives tales, there are also natural methods Leaving conkers on window ledges is said to stop spiders entering the house, but scientists haven’t proved whether the saponin compound found in conkers is effective. Some swear by peppermint oil which has a high concentration of pulegone and methone which are natural pesticides. Drop 15-20 drops of the pure oil into water and add to a spray. Similarly eucalyptus oil or white wine vinegar mixed with water and then sprayed around the home are said to be good repellents. So I am going to have a go with the conker method- no problem with collecting conkers in this village is there?

 

 

FROM DUNKIRK TO WENVOE

FROM DUNKIRK TO WENVOE

The film Dunkirk, currently on release in cinemas, tells the story of the Dunkirk evacuation between 26 May and 4 June 1940. This is the story of the miracle of Dunkirk – the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk in northern France, an evacuation code-named Operation Dynamo. In the film a group of soldiers manage to cross the English Channel to Weymouth and are placed on a train. The trains were known as ‘Dynamo Specials’ taking troops to temporary camps. It reminded me that Wenvoe played a part in Operation Dynamo, well in the receiving of Dunkirk evacuees at any rate, with the Wenvoe Camp that had been set up that year. A camp later used by the US Army between 1943-4 in the run-up to the D-Day campaign and later used for German and Italian prisoners of war (see ‘Wenvoe at War’). Wenvoe Camp occupied the site that would be occupied by the golf driving range and now the crematoria.

I’m not sure how long the camp was occupied by Dunkirk veterans, it appears to be occupied mainly by Royal Army Service Corps men as one letter dated 31 July 1940 to a Pte A J Hopkinson, gives the address as; ‘No. 2 Base Petrol Filling Centre, R.A.S.C., Wenvoe Camp’. A later letter to Pte Hopkinson is dated 9 October 1940. Another soldier; John Edwards, was also with the RASC, he recalled; ‘At St Malo docks, we drove the lorries into the sea and some threw in their weapons too …The ship set off for Weymouth (the journey took all day!) and we arrived there to be met by the Salvation Army who gave every man a tin of Bully beef, a tin of Mackerel, hard tack biscuits and a tin mug full of tea. …My wife (whose neighbour had helpfully told her that "we would never see any of them again") eventually got news that I was in a camp at Wenvoe in South Wales and my brother in Law (who lived in Newport) managed to find me and confirm that I had survived.’ Another RASC man was Pte Edward Anthony Clarke, whose story; ‘Tony Clarke's World War II’; ‘Jul-Sep 1940 – Tony's unit in a big camp under canvas at Wenvoe, 7 miles west of Cardiff, manning road-blocks and checking everybody's identity (why??), with Boer War Ross rifles and a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle …’ The story notes that in Oct 1940 Tony's unit was to move to winter quarters in Caerphilly.

The brother of the famous author C.S. Lewis; Major Warren Hamilton, would also spend time at Wenvoe. Before the war the two brothers had been inseparable, sharing their thoughts and observations on the countryside, literature, and the changing world. He was a noted scholar in his own right and had served in the First World War, being recalled to active service on 4 September 1939 and posted on 25 October 1939 to Le Havre. In May 1940 he was evacuated from Dunkirk and transferred to the Reserves on 16 August 1940. He then left Wenvoe Camp and headed for Oxford where he promptly joined the Sixth Oxford City Home Guard Battalion.

It would be interesting to know how much interaction was there between the camp and Wenvoe and if any readers can add anything please let us know. Parry Edwards has noted that in 1940 there were two weddings from the RASC Wenvoe Camp; one couple being Beryl Fairchild who married William Shakespeare of the RASC at St. Marys Church. No doubt these were engaged couples who had decided that with one of them having survived Dunkirk they should get married!

Stephen K. Jones

 

BBC WW2 People's War Lost in France, May/June 1940: With the RASC by John Edwards http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/45/a2598645.shtml

Tony Clarke's World War II, http://www.rogerclarke.com/Family/AW4/06/2/WWII.html

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GLAMORGAN/ 2004-08/1091645916

 

 

Autumn Tasks

 

On a lovely autumn morning we did some work on the village green, shortening back the roses and trimming along the shrub border. Before the end of October the boxes and tubs will have been cleared of the remnants of summer bedding, ready to plant the bulbs. One meeting is planned for November, on the 13th at the usual time, 9.30am..

 

 

Afternoon Pear Cake

Afternoon Pear Cake

3 large eggs

150g granulated sugar

150g plain flour

30g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

90g butter, melted

4 – 5 ripe medium pears, peeled, cored, cut into chunks

icing sugar to dust

Preheat oven 180C. Line the base of a 23cm spring form tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light in colour and fluffy. In a seperate bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Whisk into the egg mixture, followed by the vinilla and melted butter. Fold in the pears with their juices. Pour the mixture into the tin. Bake for about 45 mins, until golden and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, remove the parch-ment and dust the top with icing sugar. Serve on it's own or with double cream.

 

 

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cake with Cream |Cheese Frosting

250g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

400g caster sugar

250ml vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

500g tinned pumpkin puree [see Mr Greedys tip]

4 large eggs

125g chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare and line the base of a 20 x 30cm cake tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bi-carb of soda salt and cinnamon, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin puree, then beat eggs in one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared tin.Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 35 mins or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a

wire rack, remove parchment and cover with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

50g butter, room temperature,

225g cream cheese,

450g icing sugar,

2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Sift icing sugar into a bowl. In another bowl beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Add the sifted icing suger and vanilla ex-tract and beat until smooth. Cover cake and enjoy.

 

 

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