Month: July 2023

CHRISTIAN AID

 

CHRISTIAN AID

What a great time we had this Christian Aid Week 2023.
The final total of £3048.46 (including Gift Aid) was a magnificent achievement and the best that has been achieved by Wenvoe so far!!!!. Everyone involved was enthusiastic and spread the information throughout the village, so that people knew what was happening and what the red flags around the church and balloons on the Church Hall represented.
The activities started with three intrepid walkers counting their steps throughout the month and gaining sponsorship for their efforts. Steve managed 411,272 Judith 331,416 and Cath 364,455 steps!
We explored the origins and current work of Christian Aid at a morning service prior to Christian Aid Week, including, the current situation in Malawi where new farming methods and the new crop of Pigeon peas have been introduced. Here villagers developed their skills, and working together within communities gained ownership of their achievements. This story was shared with Gwenfo School in their assembly. Here the children eagerly joined in volunteering to act out the strength of the Pigeon pea crops, and tasting a curry made with the peas.
Throughout the week volunteers delivered all houses with donation envelopes (delivery only). This gave information about Christian Aid, the current appeal, places where they could take donations, and an invitation to our “Cakes, Cakes, and, more Cakes”.
Our “Cakes, Cake, and more Cakes” event of complimentary Cakes and Coffee proved local people really like cake! They gave generous donations and also bought more cakes from our Take Away Cake stall. There was also an opportunity to taste Pigeon peas in a Dhal.
A Church collection was taken in St. John’s Church in Sully which added to the money raised.

The week concluded with the visit of Rev. Andrew Sully who is the Interim Head for Christian Aid Cymru. He told us of a recent cyclone in Malawi since we had started our appeal. However he joined with us in ‘Hope’ for what we can achieve together when we work in partnership.
Our thanks go to all of you who gave most generously and all who helped, in whatever part you played.
Jude Billingham

 

 

WILDLIFE GROUP

 

WILDLIFE GROUP

Turning out with other volunteers on the School’s Big Help Out we installed two planters, filled them with soil and planted them up with pollinator-friendly plants. A bird feeder was erected which will really come into its own in the Autumn and through Winter. Mike Tucker created a log pile which will be good for small mammals, beetles and amphibians as well as fungi and lichens. If you have a spare log or two feel free to add it to the log pile.

It was nice to see that solitary bees are using the bee hotel and small amounts of collected pollen are visible through the viewing screen. Autumn projects agreed include two more planters and a small pond. Already we have recorded the Red Tailed and Buff Tailed Bumblebees and the Common Carder Be. All species are reported to the Biodiversity recording database.
The Wenvoe Gardens Open Day provided an opportunity to see the wildlife patch but also all the other gardening and horticultural projects being carried out by the school. They are making a great effort to reconnect children with nature and deserve our full support.

 

 

FOOTSTEPS

 

FOOTSTEPS

Clydach Vale
Clydach Vale is a village adjoining Tonypandy in the
Rhondda valley. It is named after Nant Clydach, a
tributary of the river Rhondda.
It was a warm day and we were planning to walk in
the woodland surrounding the Clydach Vale Country
Park, which has been created in the old mining area.
There are low level footpaths and two lakes to
explore, on Saturday morning it was very popular.
We parked and set off along the
shore of a lake which had a good
number of waterfowl swimming
around and one chunky bodied
one with a red wattled face, but I
have no idea what it was. As we
moved along the shore, we could
see a cafe with outside seats
perched on the edge of the lake
and started planning our
refreshments after the walk.


At the end of the lake, we
moved onto a footpath leading
into the woods, leaving the bustle of the lake area
behind. And yes, as planned we had the shade of the
trees, with occasional breaks in the shrubbery
allowing us to see the village spread out below us.
Yellow gorse bushes shone across the area and even
one yellow rhododendron. It was not long before we
found that the footpaths we expected were gone and
replaced by wide gravel paths. These had been
created as wind turbines have been put at the top of
the hill and we were now walking the access roads.
Trees had been felled in the process so we no longer
had shade but one advantage was that we had
extensive views across the valley.
Arriving at a trig point we found a huge cairn, about
6ft high, next to it. At first, we thought it might have
been built as an animal shelter but there were no
obvious openings. We stood here a while and looked
at the vast number of turbines
and were very pleased to note
that they were turning even if
it was with reduced output due
to the light wind speed! We
were walking along Mynydd
William Meyrick, a hill
straddling the boundary
between Bridgend and
Rhondda Fawr. To the west
was open moorland whilst the
area we were walking was
mostly woodland but with
views.


Behind us we spotted Tylorstown tip in the distance,
a wedge of a hill which is easily identified. In
February 2020, after several other winter storms,
Storm Dennis precipitated a landslip on the
Llanwonno side of the tip. This blocked the river
valley, broke a foul sewer, covered a strategic water
main in several metres of debris, and covered a
footpath and cycle path. The area was closed to members of the public to ensure safety
immediately. The hillside has been
reinforced and new footpaths and cycle
paths created, and new receptor sites created to
reduce the impact should further storms hit
Tylorstown.
We headed into the shade of fir trees for a lunch
break and were soon surrounded by insects, so most
of us retreated to the edge of the path. When we
resumed we were walking past
tall firs with bare trunks for
most of their height. The lower
branches obviously dropped
when they were surrounded by
other trees but the creation of
the roadway for the wind
turbines had taken out the
protecting trees on the edge of
the wood.
We turned back down the valley,
losing height quite quickly and
as we dropped lower the
temperature rose. We spotted a rose and a
chaenomeles (Japanese flowering quince) but the
skies had been very quiet all day, apart from one
buzzard the only birds we had seen were at the lake.
Now approaching Clydach Vale again we could see
below us a sports field. Someone said that this was
where handball was invented. A little research has
revealed that the native games developed in Wales
share a Celtic heritage with sports in Cornwall,
Scotland and Ireland. A number of sports are
recorded, including variations of ‘village football’,
‘bat and ball’, and ‘hand ball’ games. The most
prominent native sports to survive into modern
Welsh history are Cnapan, Bando and Pel-Llaw.
Welsh handball, more commonly known as ‘Pel-
Llaw’, is related to Irish handball, Fives, Basque
pelota and later American
handball and has been
continually played since the
Middle Ages. The sport’s
popularity offered ordinary
people opportunities through
prize- money, bookkeeping
and even player
professionalism. Pel-Llaw
has been described as ‘Wales
first national sport’.
At the end of the walk we
went to the cafe on the lake
for tea/ beer/ ice cream and
enjoyed a well earned rest. There is a large display
board with a map of Rhondda showing all the
mining tunnels underground, a fascinating picture
which makes you realise that the Rhondda is like a
huge sieve and there is a tunnel below you almost
wherever you go.Walk 7m 1100ft Map OS166
[Footsteps walk routes and map are available by
contacting the editors]

 

 

MR GREEDY’S KITCHEN

MR GREEDY’S KITCHEN

Basque Fish Paella
450g white fish [cod or haddock]
140g chargrilled calamari rings [ready to eat] M&S
2 x 100g cooked mussels [M&S]
1 x 165g raw Honduran king prawns [M&S]
1 large onion
120g large tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 large cloves of garlic
1 med green and red peppers
2 sprigs of fresh parsley
Pinch of saffron or 1/2 tsp turmeric
120ml good quality olive oil
473ml water
275g paella rice
100g frozen peas
2 tsp salt
lemon wedges to serve
Cut the fish into bite sized pieces. Finely chop the
onions, core and finely chop the tomatoes. Peel and
roughly chop the garlic. De-seed the peppers and
finely chop the flesh. Pound the garlic, parsley and
saffron or turmeric together in a mortar.
Heat the oil in a Paella pan or a large deep-frying
pan and sauté the onion and sweet peppers until
lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and sauté for
about 2 minutes. Add the fish and simmer for about
5 minutes. Add the prawns, calamari rings and cockles
and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic
mix and the water and bring to the boil. Add the rice,
peas and salt, mix well to combine. Cook for 5
minutes on a higher heat. Lower the heat, cover
loosely with foil and simmer for about 10 – 15
minutes until the rice is just cooked, stirring every
now and again making sure it doesn’t catch. Remove
off the heat and set aside for about 5 minutes before
serving. Serve with lemon wedges and a glass or two
of chilled wine.

 

 

“Go Set A Watchman” by Harper Lee

 

“Go Set A Watchman” by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
Harper Lee wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel
To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 which became a
classic of modern American literature and went onto
become an iconic film starring Gregory Peck.
Following its publication, Harper Lee was subjected
to a whirlwind of publicity tours which she found
difficult. It remained her only published work until
2015.
Lee is reported to have said in 2011 that there were
two reasons that she never wrote again; “One, I
wouldn’t go through the pressure and publicity I
went through with To Kill a Mockingbird for any
amount of money. Second, I have said what I
wanted to say and I will not say it again.” She died
in 2016.
To Kill A Mocking Bird remained her only
published work until Go Set a Watchman was published in 2015. It is understood that
she didn’t want the book to be published.
It was therefore with interest that the Page Turners
group read Go Set a Watchman. The book contains
versions of many characters from To Kill a
Mockingbird although it is set some years in the
future when Scout is a young adult and returns to her
childhood home town. The book was completed in
1957, although it has been published as a separate
piece of work.
Nearly all members of the group were very
disappointed in the book feeling that it was very
much a first draft and was a series of disjointed
thoughts and ideas. It was difficult to read it as a
stand alone book without comparing it with To Kill
a Mockingbird.
The book received an overall score of 4.

 

 

 

 

WENVOE FORUM Considering Tomorrow, Today

WENVOE FORUM

Preserving Summer Holidays
In 1880 education was made compulsory for children up to the age of 10 and the rhythm of the seasons, already drifting away from an agricultural pattern, began to be dominated by the school year, the Christmas concert, Exams in May/June and the long summer holiday. The long summer break was set originally to accommodate agricultural need for extra labour, frequently crop picking, and were often quite different times in different parts of the country according to local agricultural practice. For example families from the East End of London went “Hopping down in Kent” right up to the 1950’s. A working holiday for the whole family in the fields away from the pollution of London was the only holiday many were likely to have. Over the years there has been greater consistency and several suggestions of changing the school year to avoid having a long summer holiday but still the echo of the agricultural rhythm persists. In the adult world many activities like clubs, reading groups, and classes that are not tied to the school holiday in any way close down for the end of July and August anyway, so there may be a little longer in your time schedule to consider some new activity.
Here then is something for you to consider doing “over the summer”, by yourself, with friends, as a family or with grand children, whatever suits. Linking to the seasonal schedule of crop picking, one of the activities for summer and into autumn is to preserve any excess crops that you may have in your garden. Or you may wish to take advantage of the cheaper prices when fruit, vegetables or herbs are in season. We will ignore freezing and focus on other preservation methods that may be considered more environmentally sound. Long before refrigeration and freezing were available to the average citizen, fruit and vegetables were preserved through drying, using sugar, salt, vinegar or oil, through fermentation, by making particular preservation products e.g. jam, chutney etc and preserving in alcohol. Below are some examples that you might try.


Drying Herbs
Herbs are best picked in fine weather and early in the morning before any of the oils have started to evaporate. Herbs have a better flavour earlier in the season, before flowering, but it is not too late in summer. Tie small bunches of herbs with cotton or thread, wash them gently in cold water and dry off with kitchen roll. Hang them to dry in the house out of sunlight, or in a shed or garage (not the greenhouse). They may take a couple of weeks. Check each bunch is sufficiently dry. Store in an airproof container.


Salting Roasted Garlic
Set oven for 200C, using 8 cloves of Garlic and 300 gms sea salt
Peel the garlic and whizz it in the food processor., add salt and whizz again until mixed.
Pour/spread the mixture on an oven tray and bake for 10 mins, whizz and store in an airproof container.
Preserving fruit in Alcohol
Use a good quality but not highly flavoured Gin or Vodka and choose either a single fruit or a mixture of fruits. Cut up any larger fruits so that all chunks are a similar size, berries work well. A large ceramic jar with a lid is ideal, a glass jar is fine but cover it to keep out the light.
Fill the jar with fruit and pour in the alcohol to cover the fruit. Replace the lid and keep in a cool dark place for a minimum of 4 weeks shaking gently every now and then. When the taste is to your satisfaction strain out the fruit, bottle the alcohol and eat the fruit or use it in a suitable recipe within a few days. The alcohol of course will keep for some time, in some households!
Look out for information on drying apples in September.
—————————————————————
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SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

 

The outing was suggested and planned by Iain Pate. It
was a highly successful trip and early indications are
that Iain will organise another day-out. There were 10
foxes and one vixen, all proudly waving a Senior Rail
Card. The fare for the Day Ranger was £9.20. A
‘Ranger’ ticket, this got us off to a good start!
It was a lovely sunny day. Shorts were to be seen,
white legs were to be seen, old fashion slacks were to
be seen.
Itinerary
Cardiff Bus, No.96, Depart Wenvoe, Station Road (bus
was late). Arrive Barry station 9.25.
Depart, Barry station, 10,00 for Bridgend.
Arrive, Bridgend station, 10.38.
Depart, Bridgend station, 10.42.
Arrive, Maesteg station, 11,04
Depart, Maesteg station, 11.15.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 12.06
45 minutes lunch break in Cardiff. (A few said they had
had a salad in the upmarket Pret A Manger fast food
shop, but they were seen in Greggs
with a sausage roll!)
Depart, Cardiff Central, 13.16.
Arrive, Rhymney station, 14.16.
Depart, Rhymney station, 14.27.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 15.31
Depart, Cardiff Central, 15.41
Arrive, Barry station, 16.05.
Depart, Barry on 96 bus.
Arrive, Wenvoe, later than planned.


Preparation – Iain was meticulous
in planning the outing and created
a WhatsApp group to keep all
informed. However, three of the
group didn’t know how to use WhatsApp. One of the
three asked what’s WhatsApp? Iain explained it was
a modern way of communicating with all in the group
through iPhone. He went on to recommended taking
bottled water, a snack and Tena. Iain kindly agreed to
bulk buy a pack of 10 Tena pads from Amazon.
Everyone turned up at Barry station in good time for
the train. Three of the group took the lift from
Platform 1 to Platform 3, all with walking sticks. An
old ‘Sprinter’ train was the journey to Bridgend
station. The Bridgend ‘Turbostar’ train to Maesteg
went well and the return journey to Cardiff, in time
for lunch.
Prior to lunch at Cardiff, a decision had to be made
on choice of journey for the third leg. The choice was
between Rhymney or Ebbw Vale. Rhymney was
considered the best choice, as it was a two-hour
return journey, whereas Ebbw Vale was almost four
hours; and by this time several in the group were
flagging, mainly those with walking sticks.
So, Rhymney it was to be. To the delight of the group
the Rhymney train arriving at Platform 6 was a
Transport for Wales brand new train, named the
‘Flirt’. Gareth Williams was tickled by this name.
Half an hour into the Rhymney journey, one in the
group started mincing along the carriage; we all knew
why. Tena saved the day until the location of the
onboard toilet in the new train was found. Iain
pointed out that the Rhymney train terminated at
Penarth. Mike Harvey provided a fact of interest, that
Rhymney is one of the poorest towns in Europe,
while Penarth is one of the wealthiest towns in
Europe. Mike is always correct with his facts.
On the one-hour return to Cardiff, we became rather
noisy, with whimsical observations. It took the
group’s Barrister to warn that we speak quietly. No
sooner had he spoken, that he uttered the most risqué
remark of the outing on a passing young passenger.
The group’s vixen came into her own and told him to
shut up.
Arriving at Cardiff Central from Rhymney on
Platform 8 required a change of platform to the Barry
train. The same three who took a lift in Barry station
at the start of our outing, took a lift to change
platforms in Cardiff. Easy. Not so! Exiting the lift at
ground level, they became completely disoriented,
almost missing the Barry train. This was the only
mishap of the outing.
The final train journey was to
Barry, leaving from Platform 6
for the 96 bus to Wenvoe. It
was a great day-out, made
better by all trains being on
time.
Observations – It was a journey
that showed a wedge of the
diversity of south Wales. This
even included the weather. It
was warm when we departed
Wenvoe and remained so along
the coastal belt to Bridgend and Cardiff. The mean
annual temperature in Cardiff is 14 ©, and higher up
the South Wales valleys it is 11 ©. Therefore, more
than a coincidence it became cloudier and cooler the
closer we got to the towns of Maesteg and Rhymney.
Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi
Valley, and Rhymney towards the northernmost end
of the Rhymney Valley.
The railway-line of each valley snugs the western
side of the mountain. Reduced speed as the train
progressed up the valleys, due to stations being just
several miles apart, allowed views of farms, villages
and towns. Being late Spring came the beautiful
greenery of the valleys. Of interest was how close the
trains were, in many places, to rail-side trees brushing
the carriages. Further from the coastal belt, in both
valleys, there were increasing signs of bygone
industries.
Thank you, Iain…By next morning Iain had received
seven plaudits on WhatsApp. The other three who
still couldn’t use WhatsApp thanked him in person at
our Friday, Silver Fox meeting.

 

 

ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS

ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS

 

The Penrhys Pilrimage was for those who took part a very humbling and rewarding experience. Over three days the pilgrims set out from Llandaff Cathedral and walked the Pilgrimage Way in searing heat with some of the hottest temperatures we have seen so far this year. The final stretch of the way was on the last day with steep climbs, when finally reaching the site of the shrine to The Blessed Virgin Mary, they were greeted by others who had made their way to the hill top in Rhondda Cynon Taff. After visiting the Holy Well a short form of the Eucharist was celebrated and the pilgrims duly returned to their homes, tired but blessed by the experience of the fellowship enjoyed with each other. Thank you David and Helen and Lyndon and Chris for organising the arrangements. Well done.
Lyndon and Chris have been on holiday during the month, when they returned to Canada for family reunions and many catch ups with their children and others. We look forward to seeing them refreshed and full of “ where do we go from here”. In Lyndon’s absence Services have been held by our long time friend John Oeppen who also celebrated his birthday in church on “Father’s Day” being given a lighted candle and we all sang Happy Birthday.
WENVOE OPEN GARDENS
On a sultry Saturday afternoon, 12 gardens were opened for visiting in aid of the Church Building fund from 12.00 noon to 5 .00 pm. All the gardens were different, some large some small and others in between. The one thing they all had in common was how the gardens are an extension of how we live our lives and that the garden is an extension of the home itself. There was a tremendous response and many of the gardens were visited by 80 or more during the opening time and many made use of the refreshments provided in the church grounds. Following many weeks of hot dry weather most gardens welcomed the rain in the early hours of the day, and there were many fevered checks on the weather forecasts, but the day was humid and hot but at least we did not suffer any health problems by our most welcome visitors.
The problem most gardeners have in their gardens is the presence of weeds, and how to keep them in check. We are told that a weed is simply a plant growing in the wrong place and are good for the natural world, and it so happened the next day, that we sang a hymn that contained the following words. “ but oh what tares (weeds) the evil one hath in his garden sown” which made me think that the morning rain had caused the many weeds to grow during the day. Oh well a gardener’s lot is not a happy one.
The financial result stands at a whopping £1000.00 including the amount raised by the surplus cake sales in the church porch after the morning service. A splendid result and thanks go to all who opened their gardens, made the cakes, sold the cakes and made the Tea/Coffee in the church grounds, but above all a big THANK YOU to all our visitors who
bought the tickets, gave donations for the refreshments and the sale of greeting cards, without you there would be no report to share in the success of the day. So thank you Glenys and Mike for all your work in pulling all the arrangements together and we look forward to 2025 for the next OPEN GARDENS.
During the month we were saddened to hear of the passing of two residents who had in different ways helped the church in the recent past. Trevor Case who had lived in Walston Road and worked with the Environment Group and church grounds, and Mike Flynn of Springfield Close who audited the church accounts for a number of years. We hold their families in our prayers at their loss. Well done thou good and faithful servants.
Thank you for reading the church news, We may be a small church but we have a large heart for all in the community. Contact Lyndon on Tel 029 2280 6018 (confidential phone) in times of need or fjust advice or even just to say hello.
See you in church, its FREE and you will get a good welcome

 

OFF THE SHELF

OFF THE SHELF

 

Hadji Murat by Leo Tolstoy
This is the last book that Tolstoy wrote before his death, and it was posthumously printed. It is well regarded as a truly classic read but for our reading group it proved to be a ‘Marmite book’. A few found it not to their reading taste.
Those loving the book felt it a sad, intense, and beautifully written account of man’s struggle to come to terms with the psychological feelings during a war. Tolstoy was himself enlisted into the Russian army in 1851 and left for Caucasus to fight the Chechens. He witnessed many events leading to the death of this charismatic leader Hadji Murat, so the book is a partially fictionalized story. Tolstoy wrote with painstaking accuracy so future generations can come to understand the horror, nobility and destruction which inherently comes with war.
Hadji Murat was a great chieftain who broke with the Chechen leader Shamil and fled to Russia for safety. The book shows his struggle of this uneasy alliance with the Russian leaders and the difficulty Hadji Murat faced in trying to rescue his family from Shamil’s prison. His continual pursuit by those he betrayed was nuanced through the work and the shadows of danger was subtlety woven through the book. Unfortunately, we were never clear why Hadji Murat had fallen out with the Chechen leader, but he commanded respect from those in Russia who tried to support his cause and use him to deliver peace.
For those of us who loved the book it was considered an unforgettable and artfully written story. For those who struggled on, they were pleased it was a slim read.
We gave it 8 out of 10.
Isobel Davies

 

 

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