Month: January 2025

“White Teeth” by Zadie Smith

“White Teeth” by Zadie Smith

White Teeth is the author’s debut novel which was published in 2000 to rave reviews. Smith was only 21 years old when she started writing the book and 24 when it was published. The whole group felt that this book did show that she was a talented author but that it did contain some immature writing throughout.

The book is about the lives of two main characters, Archie and Samad, who met in the second World War. It follows them living in multi-cultural London and chronicles their lives crossing and weaving together over many years as they try to reconcile where they fit into modern Britain. It brings in their wives, children and other people that they meet along their journey and focuses on them getting through their lives as best they can. The group felt that the plot meandered along without focus and although it intertwined, it didn’t connect easily. Many of the characters were not developed and were boring. The group didn’t engage with the story and said that their attention wandered while trying to read the chapters. There were a few glimpses of humour, a lot of swearing and some unbelievable situations. For all the group, the book lacked warmth and emotion, and nobody felt that it’s a book that they would recommend to others. The average score was 4 out of 10.

 

Many thanks to Lynne for hosting and providing festive refreshments

Happy New Year Everyone

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Happy New Year everyone

This time of year, I love to look through seed catalogues, wondering if the plants will ever be as good as they look in the pamphlet. They never are.

Don’t start trampling all over the soil unless it’s dry as compacting it now will make for heavy work come the planting season. There is always something to be done, whether it’s weeding or taking some of the leaves off hellebores to expose the flowers. Dead heading the winter flowering pansies is a must or they’ll go to seed. These pansies are never as good until early spring when they flourish, and we’re loathe to take them out to make room for spring bedding. If you have managed to get another year out of the wallflowers, you will find they flower so much earlier than the new ones planted out last autumn.

The storms this winter will make us all think twice about planting trees. Trees are one of our biggest assets against flooding, by slowing down the flow of water, absorbing rainwater and reducing soil erosion. Choose a species that fits in the space you have and prune regularly or the local authority will be on your case if it encroaches on to a road or pavement. The lowest branches have to be 2.5 metres above the footpath and 5.3 metres above the road. Yet if it grows too close to your dwelling, you will need their permission to cut it back. Just a thought, after seeing all the fences that have come down lately, why not if you have the room plant a hedge. There are so many different plants that can be used, and they don’t blow over, last a lot longer, look good, great for wildlife and good for the environment. Not leylandii!

Cloches should be making an appearance on the allotments and veg gardens to warm the soil for planting peas. Take any yellowing leaves off brassicas, to stop any disease. Mr Gareth Lewis will have started potatoes off in grow bags inside his hot house, just to be the first with new season spuds.

If you’re like Big John of the Environment team whose tool is always sharp, then you won’t need the service of a free hand tool sharpening session starting on the 6th January in the Wheelwright’s shop by the Church Hall. What’s On recipients can bring them along that week. Shears, loppers, secateurs and mower blades.

 

Take care and happy gardening

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

 

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year  

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year to all our readers.

It is a tradition at this time of the year to look back into the previous year, recalling events that were good and perhaps those which were not so good. We do this in our work life and in our family and social life. For the past year at St. Mary’s it has been a bit of a mixed bag. We have been able to maintain a regular Sunday morning service at 9.30am albeit with a slightly reduced congregation, which is also live streamed for those who cannot make it to church. We have welcomed some new faces to our congregation, which is very good indeed, and there is always a warm welcome and a place for anyone who wishes to worship in our traditional way.

We have maintained a connection with the community at large with the many, many donations we have received during the year for the Food Bank at Barry. The past year has seen a greater demand from those who are unable to place food on the table due to the high cost of living, maybe for those who are unwell and cannot work, so the Food Bank for them is a lifeline for their families. To all who have donated food items or a cash donation we say thank you, and we will need your help during 2025 as the demands on the Food Bank will be greater than ever. Your donations can be left in the church porch where there are large boxes provided, and which are cleared daily and taken into Barry during the week

Our plans to create a St. Mary’s Church Centre, on the north side of the church, which would replace the present Church Hall are subject to stagnation at present. This is a great disappointment, considering the cost we have laid out to have plans drawn up for submission to the various authorities. The Diocese Advisory Committee gave an outline blessing, but the Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority said the scheme was too large, and their refusal really means it is not going to happen. The present church hall needs a major update in the kitchen and toilet facilities; the ingress of damp in places will again need some additional fund raising and grant applications. Watch this space.

On a more positive note our Harvest Celebration was a very happy event apart from the appalling weather which meant our Picnic in the Grounds had to be brought into the church. The Remembrance Sunday service attracted a good congregation, with the Scouts and Beavers and Cubs bringing their banners into church, Gwenfo School also took part with the Head Girl and Boy taking part in the prayers. The service continued at the Village War Memorial for the Silence and Laying of Wreaths, where a much larger number of people had been awaiting, while the Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band played suitable solemn music. The number of wreaths laid was greater than previous years from the many organisations in the village. Thank you to all who devised and printed the special order of service, the choir who attended and to all who still wish to be at the remembrance due to those who have fallen in the two World Wars and wars since.

It was good to see the response to the Light Up Your Windows in the village, bringing light to the world and our streets at this very dark time of year. The final event in the churchyard on Christmas Eve was followed by Carols and Readings of the Christmas Story in the church. A collection taken for Ty Hafan this Christmas, once again helped to support this facility for the mums and dads whose child is a patient there.

On New Year’s Day there will be the usual short mid-week Eucharist at St. Mary’s followed by refreshments and you are all welcome to bring in the New year with thanksgiving for all the previous years and looking forward to what 2025 may have in store for you.

So to all our readers, thank you for taking the trouble and time to read about what’s happened in St. Mary’s during the past year, and look forward for more exciting news items in the year to come.

Parry

 

The RSPG Big Garden Bird Watch

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

THE RSPB BIG GARDEN BIRD WATCH

The Big Garden Birdwatch is the UK’s largest garden wildlife survey and it is run by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). It has been running since 1979, and every year, over half a million people take part. It takes place over the last weekend in January each year. In 2025 the Birdwatch will take place from Friday 24th to Sunday 28th January. It is hoped it will be the biggest Birdwatch yet.

It’s easy to take part – you simply watch the birds in your garden or local park for one hour, and record what you see. It is a great activity that you can do either on your own or with family members including children. Don’t worry if you know very little about birds. The RSPB has a guide on their website to show you the different species.

Why is it important?

Big Garden Birdwatch provides a vital snapshot of how the UK’s garden birds are faring, taken over one weekend. This gives a good general impression of birds that are doing well, and the ones that are struggling. As the first Birdwatch took place more than 40 years ago, RSPB now have a wealth of data to look back on. Shockingly, the UK has lost 38 million birds from the UK’s skies in the last 50 years, so it’s crucial we do all we can to look after our bird life. Big Garden Birdwatch helps to monitor how garden birds are faring. We are asking you to share your results with the RSPB and the Wenvoe Wildlife Group so we can get a more accurate picture of the birds that live in our parish.

How do you take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch?

  1. Just count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony, front room or in the local park for one hour over the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. It doesn’t matter what time of day you do your Birdwatch, but you will see more birds if you do it first thing in the morning.
  1. Only include birds that land, not those flying over. Count the highest number of each species you see at any one time. For example, if you saw four Starlings together, then two Starlings later, your final count will be four (not six). If you see one robin 6 times you only count one robin. If you see very few birds or none at all, that’s also really useful information for RSPB and the Wenvoe Wildlife Group
  1. You may attract more birds to your garden if you regularly feed them. If you have never fed birds in your garden the RSPB website will help you get started.

What to do with your survey results

You can send in your results to the RSPB online. There is a simple form to fill in. Also please send the list of the number and type of birds you have seen to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group; Nigel Billingham (nigelrbillingham@yahoo.co.uk or post to Woodside

Cottage 5 Church Rise CF5 6DE or Bruce McDonald bruce7@btinternet.com or post to 5 Walston Close, CF5 6AS). Please include your postcode as that will enable us to log where the different species of birds are within the parish. The Wildlife Group will publish the results in Wenvoe What’s On as soon as possible.

Remember it only takes one hour to undertake the survey during the weekend 24-26 January. Please put the date in your diary. Thanks for your time

Since the last issue we have had the results of the Tuckers’ Reindeer Sale and were so pleased to receive a substantial sum from Mike and Glenys. Our thanks to all who attended the event, donated raffle prizes, manned stalls, dispensed beverages, baked cakes – you name it! Chiefly, of course, thanks to Mike and Glenys who do so much for the village and without whom these events would not happen.

Following on from our recording project we have been running over the past year, we are currently looking into a funding application to improve nesting habitat for birds within the village. From the data we collect through the project and the garden birdwatch we have been able to identify species that are struggling within the village, and we would like to help them through putting up nest boxes in gardens and the orchards managed by us. In addition, we will be looking to improve our information displays to improve the experience for visitors from the community. An important part of success in this is you – the community. We encourage you to get involved with the Big Garden Birdwatch to help us further understand bird populations within the village which will help increase our chances of success with this project. We would love to get as many people involved as possible, so if you are interested in getting involved with the wildlife group, then please get in touch with us.

Using skills learned earlier in the year on a fruit tree pruning course members have been working on the trees in the Community Orchard. We have heard that two more pruning courses are to be run in the village on Wednesday 29th January and Wednesday 5th February at the Goldsland Orchard and Welsh Orchard (Maes y Felin). To be confirmed which orchard on which day. Check Facebook for booking details. These are free but you must register.

And finally, do you have any Mistletoe berries left from your Christmas decorations? Don’t throw them away but try pressing them against a suitable tree (underside of branch) to see if you can get your own Mistletoe to grow. Suitable trees include Apple, Hawthorn, Acer (Japanese Maple), Poplar. You can try any other tree, but they may not stand much of a chance. The little seed is inside the sticky, pulpy bit. Patience is required as they can take years to get established. Plenty more information online.

Wyndcliff to Tintern

Wyndcliff to Tintern

Wyndcliff to Tintern

The Lower Wye valley, Blackcliff and Wyndcliff, form a Site of Special Scientific interest containing rare plants and an ancient semi-natural woodland (dating back to at least 1600). Unusually small leaved lime trees grow over yews and rare plants include Twayblade orchid, toothwort, Tintern spurge and herb paris. Rare species include greater and lesser horseshoe bats, common dormice and high brown and silver-washed fritillary butterflies. Deer are a pest, as they have no predators.

A notice stated ‘Rich in natural beauty and natural resources the Wye valley has attracted both artists and industrialists. Abundant charcoal, limestone, timber, iron and water meant the lower Wye valley once teemed with forges, quarries, kilns and mills. As the birthplace of British tourism, a tour of the Wye valley also drew painters and poets from Turner to Wordsworth.’

We made our way to Upper Wyndcliff, part of the Wye Valley Woodlands. This was designated an area of outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1971 and straddles the border between Wales and England for a stretch of fifty-eight miles. A notice declares ‘Every season offers something special: bluebells in spring, lush summer leaves, fantastic autumn colour, and the beauty of winter tree silhouettes. Discover stately oak and beech trees as well as ash and cherry. We maintain the historic viewpoints by cutting back the trees. These offer spectacular views across the Wye gorge and river, across to the Bristol Channel and the old Severn bridge. You can enjoy these views all year round but especially in winter, when the leaves have fallen.’

And did we strike gold on our autumn walk. The ground and the trees were carpeted in golden beech and sweet chestnut leaves; it was a dull day, but the woodland glowed.

We passed a sign advertising ‘The Eagles Nest Trail’ a difficult walk of 1 hour and 1.25miles long. Now the walk started in earnest taking us up 365 steps to the top of the gorge. There is something about climbing steps which appears easier than walking up a slope, especially in this case as the steps vary in size from shallow steps to those which are a struggle for people with shorter legs. One section of the climb has a slanting metal bridge with a deep drop below it, scary if you suffer with vertigo and difficult for the person who had to carry their dog! As we climbed, we saw fungi, moss covering surfaces and amazing intricate tree roots clinging to steep faces.

Trees stood majestic a around us, dominating beeches gradually giving way to sweet chestnuts and then suddenly there were yews – more than any of us had ever seen growing in one place. We began to descend and moved into open fields where we could look back across the gorge to the autumnal colour of the woodland on the other side. On a side path we found the Tintern Limekiln, with two arched openings, it was used from 1700s onwards, for making lime by heating limestone to 1,000 degrees C. The lime was used in building for mortar, plaster and limewash and industry.

Descending a short stretch of road past houses, we found ourselves looking at the skeleton of Tintern Abbey so beautiful in its architecture. It was close to lunchtime, but we knew we had another climb so ploughed onwards and upwards, along a paved pilgrimage route, to St Mary’s church. The crumbling church is surrounded by fencing and warnings to keep away. It has been associated with Tintern Abbey since the 12thC, and the monks probably came here on retreat. Wine cooler, obelisk and pyramid graves are in the graveyard. Many commemorate the ironmasters who ran the wireworks along the Angidy, reflecting their wealth and power. A bright yellow glow came from a small gingko tree in the graveyard.

Church Grove Cottages had a lovely surprise, etched astrological clocks of various kinds were hanging on the walls, beautiful and fascinating. At the top of the walk, we stopped in the woods for an extremely late lunch. Someone joked that we had taken a wrong turn, and I was so hungry I said ’I have no sense of humour at this point’.

We passed a lake with glamping pods, named after woodland animals (fox, hare etc.), as we descended. Colourful trees reflected in the mirror of the water. We walked across farmland with sheep and cattle and the view opened again so we could see the Severn estuary.

We continued through Upper Wyndcliff once more to return to the cars at Lower Wyndcliff.

A superb day in beautiful woodland, rounded off with refreshment in the local inn in St Arvan.

 

Walk 7m 1700ft. Map OL14

 

Men United In Song Supporting Prostate Cymru

MEN UNITED IN SONG SUPPORTING PROSTATE CYMRU

Men United in Song has proved such a big hit nationwide that the popular pop-up singing project is being rolled out in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Launching in January 2025 and supporting Prostate Cymru, Men United in Song aims to give 40-plus local men the opportunity to get involved, try something new and give something back to the community… In a nutshell what does it offer?

  • A ten week project starting on 28th January.
  • A chance to learn to sing.
  • No previous experience needed.
  • Professional direction and support.
  • Great social opportunities.
  • A chance to sing in Llandaff Cathedral on 11th April.

Working over ten weeks towards a fantastic live charity event at Llandaff Cathedral on 11th April 2025, participants meet new people, challenge themselves, perform live on stage AND raise money for a much-loved and very important charity Prostate Cymru – what’s not to like?

No previous experience is necessary, just a willingness to step outside their comfort zone, get stuck in and give it a go… everyone’s in the same boat, and it’s all about the journey! Previous projects around the UK provided an overwhelmingly positive experience for the men who took part:

“A really great experience, at the start it was daunting, but we all came good!”

“A great bunch of men, and you got the best out of us… brilliant!”

For more information, call 07395414501 or email

menunitedinsong.vog@outlook.com

The MUIS project is grateful for the financial assistance from Ty Cerdd, Vale

of Glamorgan Council and GVS third sector small grants scheme.

Update On 6th Annual Tuckers Reindeer Sale

UPDATE ON 6TH ANNUAL
TUCKERS REINDEER SALE

On a wet and windy day in November we set everything up for the Tucker’s Reindeer sale hoping that people would brave the weather and turn up.

As usual, our lovely community didn’t disappoint and came in droves. We had wonderful crafters and stall holders with us, and all made satisfying sales. Brenda and her friend played Christmas music on their accordions and the church hall was festooned with nostalgic Christmas decorations. Coffee, tea and cakes were consumed with lots of chat and laughter and reindeers sold like hot cakes. The total from the sale, and from kind donations since from people who could not be at the sale, now stands at over £1,500 for Wenvoe Wildlife Group.

We want to thank you all for your help and support. Whether you were manning the coffee and tea station, the cake stall, the raffle books or standing in the pouring rain selling reindeers. Whether you were one of our excellent crafters or stall holders, bought raffle tickets, donated raffle prizes or bought drinks and cake you all played a part.

We are always amazed at your kindness and once again there are just no words to adequately express the level of our gratitude. Happy New Year to you all.