Month: December 2024
Autumn Walk
Autumn Walk
If you recently planned to go for a walk in the park, you would have expected to enjoy the wonderful colours of the autumn leaves, the shiny conkers, the displays of fungus, the play area full of excited children…
what you may not have expected to see was an amazing display on aerial silks.
The silks were tied to a sturdy branch and Bethan had the opportunity to practise her skills in the sunshine in a fantastic outdoor setting.
Lynne Frugtniet
Amazing Photo Of A Honeybee Nest
Amazing Photo Of A Honeybee Nest
Sent in by a resident was this amazing photo of a Honeybee nest in the wild. A local beekeeper pointed out that this will probably not survive the winter. Bee colonies in a hive and sheltered from the elements stand a fair chance of getting through. So if you come across one outside a hive, get in touch with a local beekeeper and they will try to recover the nest and bring it to safety.
The Honeybee is not a native of Britain but was introduced because of the honey it produces and most honeybees that visit your garden will have flown from a nearby hive. Several residents keep bees and one of the Wildlife Group orchards is host to a couple of hives.
Not only do they produce honey, beeswax and royal jelly but they help to pollinate our crops and flowers.
Brecon
Brecon
We started at the Canal Basin, home to Brecon theatre and car park, although you must pay there is a café and good toilets. The theatre was built near the site of the town’s racecourse in 1996. Theatre in Brecon goes back to 1699, after the restoration of Charles II Brecon was one of the first places to have a theatre. The Canal Basin was once a busy industrial area with wharfs, a saw pit and a brewery but it is now a place to escape the busyness of life and enjoy peace and wildlife. There were several barges moored.
We left the Basin via a tunnel to follow the canal, the route was east, returning via the river Usk. The canal began as the Brecon and Abergavenny canal in 1800 and in 1812 joined the Monmouthshire canal providing access to Newport and the sea. The men who constructed the canal were called Navigators, now known as ‘Navvies’,
There are 27 historical plaques around the town and one house on the canal bank at Eliot St has added their own ‘NILOC ESMAJ 1703-1784 Time Traveller Lived here 2041-2046’! Dozens of ducks gathered around a young family who were feeding them.
At Watton Wharf, one of seven on Brecon canal, coal, lime and limestone would have been loaded on trams bound for Hay-on-Wye and beyond. Deliveries of wood, farm produce and beer would also have arrived here. As quantities carried increased, compared to horse and cart, some items became cheaper. In the early 19th century, the tramway from here to Hay-on Wye connected with the Kington tramway, Hereford; their combined length was 36 miles making it the longest rail network in the world at that time. Although steam locomotives had been invented this tramway was operated by horse drawn trams. The tramway has now disappeared but an arch across the canal indicates the site of the tramroad. The last commercial traffic was carried on the canal about 1915 and the final toll collected on the canal was at Llangynidr in1933.
On the Hay tramway there is a delightful wooden sculpture of a man with a trammer or draft horse. It has a list of fines for various misdemeanours, such as moving faster than walking pace, which range from 10 -20 shillings (50p-£1). The 20 shillings fine would be worth about £500 nowadays and any informant got half the fine!
Continuing along the canal we came to a row of limekilns. The day was now sunny and reflections of the greenery along the banks of the canal were clear
We walked through several tunnels and began to get glimpses of the river Usk. An information board had fascinating pictures of people, some with amazing headwear, working on the barges and tramway. The canals are now used for leisure and pleasure we came across a restored lock in good condition. Did you know that Victorians enjoyed pleasure boat trips on the canal and coracle fisherman used it.
We reached a point where the canal passed over the river and nearby, we saw lots of barges tied up along the canal bank and a man paddling a canoe at speed. Trees had long exposed roots which looked as if they were ‘walking’ towards the water. In an open area we could see the hills outlined around us.
Now we climbed onto a bridge and walked through some fields. At Llanfrynach we briefly visited the church with its lovely wooden beams supporting an arched ceiling and metal signs with the words of the Lord’s prayer and Creed. We stopped for lunch at a small playground where we spread ourselves around (a swing proved comfortable but a bit creaky with my weight!).
After lunch we crossed a field to reach the river and found a variety of fungi – King Alfred’s cakes, parasol mushrooms and shaggy inkcaps
Brecon appeared above us and in no time at all we were back in town. We came to the Usk bridge with its seven span arch bridges, which was built in 1563 and has been enhanced to carry modern traffic. Christ College, a successful private school is nearby. A Dominican Friary was established here c1250 and a collegiate church in Abergwlli, Carmarthenshire was moved, under a charter of Henry VIII, to this site in 1541.
The theatre café supplied us with drinks as we eschewed the town’s pubs of which there were 47 in 1834.
Walk 8.5m 200ft. Map OL14
Halloween Stroll at Barry Island
The Wildlife Group Thank All
Wenvoe Wildlife Group
The Wildlife Group Thank All
By the time you read this the Tuckers Reindeer Sale will have taken place and, again, we would like to thank all those who have supported the event and, not least, Mike and Glenys for arranging the occasion and giving so much support to the Wildlife Group. We get no other financial help and this is invaluable in enabling us to maintain our 7 Green Flag sites. During November we have had strimmers and brushcutters in to clear the rampant vegetation at the Goldsland Watercress beds and the St Lythans Wild Orchard. On behalf of the Wildlife Group we would like thank all of you who have supported us through the year and wish you a Very Happy Christmas.
“Midnight Blue” by Simone van der Vlugt
OFF THE SHELF
“Midnight Blue” by Simone van der Vlugt
The group were all quick to agree that this was an excellent easy read for the month and gave it a score of 8 out of 10.
The book is set in the Netherlands in the 17th Century and although lacks historical references there is an excellent plot which twists and turns throughout the story. Catrin, the main character of the book, is a strong and ambitious woman who leaves her hometown, after the death of her husband. There is a dark shadow cast over her exodus which gradually unfolds throughout the story and her dark past is forever following her. She first finds employment as a housekeeper in Amsterdam, where the city is flourishing, and it is here that her talents and skills as an artist are discovered. Catrin tries to fulfil this ambition but is thwarted until she leaves for the smaller city of Delft. As a designer of ceramics, she tries to survive life as a widow and finally marriage. The book is written in the first person, and this helps to develop Catrin’s strong emotions and feelings that have been formed by her relationships and hardships in her life.
Isobel Davies
“Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is an unlikely title, for a book about William, who has great difficulties relating to a real world.
After a childhood of neglectful love, his parents had lost a baby and were incapable of showing any feeling. William’s one interest in life is baseball and he achieves a scholarship to a college. He meets Julia and her loving family of sisters who almost adopt William. So, the story continues with Julia, a great world organiser falling for William and they get married, later in life, they divorce, and he marries her sister, who through her love of books, understands William and his isolating life.
The group gave the book a score of 8 out of 10
Anne Gill
Advent In St. Mary’s Church
CONSIDERING OTHERS DURING ADVENT
This year during Advent we are considering others in need both locally and farther afield
Each Sunday throughout Advent we will remember those locally who are struggling financially and those farther afield who may have lost everything they own and are displaced away from their homes.
Locally we already donate goods each week to the Vale Foodbank. The goods are taken to the warehouse in Barry, which services 8 contact centres around the Vale. The Foodbank is affiliated to the Trussel Trust, whose philosophy is: “We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry”.
To access help individuals or families need a referral from someone in the caring services for 3 days emergency food. Two examples of those who have needed help include:
Holly who is a single parent with a daughter. She lived in a poor area with drug taking and trading all around, sometimes outside her door. She moved to a better area to be near her parents, however her rent doubled. She had never claimed benefits and remained independent setting up a small business selling second hand clothes. She did this from her home until she gained a space in a local shop to increase her sales. All was going well until her daughter became ill culminating in her needing a stay in hospital for 3 weeks. When she came home soon their cupboards were bare, bills were rising, and debts seemed inevitable. After seeking help at a Citizen Advice Bureau she was referred to her local Foodbank
Richard had been in the police force for 6 years followed by 12 years in the military. He was fit and did not foresee any problems. However, he then had a chest infection followed by two major strokes, 19 mini strokes, and was deemed unfit to work. He needs constant medication and found the cost of transport to get his prescription expensive, and so he found he had to choose between his prescription and buying food. He like Holly was referred to the Foodbank by Citizens Advice.
Both Holly and Richard saw the Foodbank as a lifeline, where they were made to feel welcome and cared for. Indeed, it was the way help was given that gave them encouragement and took away fears about seeking help
Current information of the Vale: During October there were 680 referrals, of which 438 were adults and 242 Children (of those 88 were new referrals). Stock was low during the summer months due to increased referrals, however many donations from Harvest celebrations have made improvements. These should help until January, however this prediction is causing concern as in previous years these Harvest collections should last through to the spring.
Looking further afield Christian Aid helps us to identify communities and individuals who also need our actions. Not all places in crisis reach our TVs or newspapers, or the media soon loses their interest.
“No Room for Comfort and Joy”
The Republic of Sudan has been at war between factions within the military since 2023. 15 thousand have lost their lives and 9 million have been displaced. There is evidence of killings, looting and sexual violence. Many of those fleeing for their lives have made their way to South Sudan, where the UN has declared the situation as the world’s worst hunger crisis. It is there we find Christian Aid taking action.
Here in South Sudan we meet Sheda who is married with 3 children. The youngest is 6 and the eldest also has a 6 year old. Previously she lived in the Republic of Sudan, where she farmed her food organically and though poor the family were able to care for themselves. Looking back to March 2023 Sheda describes: “Fighting broke out and homes were bombed, food was no longer available. The situation was dire. Conditions were very bad for us”.
Sheda’s brothers were killed and she decided to travel with her daughters and granddaughter to South Sudan, her husband stayed and she has not heard from him since. They had no belongings, just the clothes on them.
At the settlement Sheda who previously grew her own food now relies on food and cash supplied from Christian Aid and their partners.
Our role this Advent:
Vale Foodbank: We will be concentrating on collecting food, both festive foods and staple items, to replenish food stocks. Suggested foods for Christmas parcels include, Tinned ham and salmon, Christmas or sponge puddings, Christmas biscuits, Selection boxes, Custard, Savoury snacks, Christmas cake or mince pies.
If you would like to contribute there are collection boxes in the church porch which are emptied regularly.
Sudan Crisis: A Retiring collection for the settlements in South Sudan, will be taken each Sunday in Advent. envelopes will be made available for gift aid.
For further information please contact Jude Billingham on 01756112897
Energy Security
WENVOE FORUM
Considering Tomorrow Today
Why not build into the Community plan , – Energy Security
One of the potentially biggest problems facing us, here in the UK in the next couple of decades is the failure of our power generation and distribution network. The world around us has changed and will continue to change. Our National Grid, which was so efficient when created was designed to carry electricity from large generators to much smaller consumers and cabling, switches, controls etc reflect this structure with safety switches that blow if certain components are over stretched. The future is more likely to see small distributed generators feeding into the central system so the grid is upside down, back to front certainly, in some way, the wrong way round. Now the temptation is to give up and leave such matters to the Government, it is the long term strategic player, or is it? Governments have very short term 4/5 years of secure power to act, whereas the community may be here for generations. Setting Energy Security as a long term aim of the Community Plan informs the direction of travel, opens the way for perhaps a shared bulk purchase of solar panels, it’s a starting point and one which might be achieved.
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To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the Gwen Fo ac-count @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1 and then jon the Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402
Some further information and updates, blog site https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/. Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which are normally held 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwen-fo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join
Quick and Easy Macaroni Cheese & Easy Christmas Cake
Pacific Pie
A childhood favourite, loved by kids and almost impossible not to have all the ingredients making it a good standby supper……..
Ingredients for 4
3 large floury potatoes
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter
450g tinned tuna (keep the oil)
2 medium onions
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1tsp sugar
1tsp red or white wine vinegar
300g frozen peas (thawed)
1 pkt ready salted crips, smashed up
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain.
- Mash with milk and butter.
- Preheat oven to 200c or mark 6.
- Heat oil from tuna and fry with onions until tender, don’t let them brown.
- Add tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and season to make the tuna sauce.
- Transfer tuna sauce to bottom of baking tray and cover with mashed potato like a shepherds pie.
- Cook for 30 mins and sprinkle crisps on top just before serving.
- Serve with mayo or tomato ketchup!!
Nutty Carrot Cake Traybake
Using a combination of granulated sweetener and muscovado sugar helps to reduce the sugar in this yummy tray bake!
Ingredients:
150g plain flour
3tsp baking powder
40g light brown muscovado sugar
10 tsp table top sweetener
60g walnuts, chopped roughly
120g carrots, grated
2 medium eggs,
50g low fat spread, melted
2 tsp ground cinammon
30g sultanas
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
- Line a tin approx 20cm by 20cm with baking paper.
- Sift together dry ingredients into a bowl, flour, baking powder, sugar, sweetener and cinnamon.
- In another bowl beat 2 eggs and add the melted low fat spread.
- Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then add the carrots, walnuts and sultanas, fold and don’t over work mixture.
- Pour into lined tin and bake for 30-35 mins, using skewer to check centre which should come out clean when cooked