Rhiwbina Living Issue 17 Winter 2011

AAtt tthhee hheeaarrtt ooff tthhee ccoommmmuunniittyy Issue 17Winter ‘11

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FREE

GOING WORLDWIDE:National Geographic TV

Hunt Rhiwbina CelebrityDR WHO IN RHIWBINA:

The Night The TardisLanded in Y Groes

RRhhiiwwbbiinnaa LLiivviinngg && WWhhiittcchhuurrcchh aanndd LLllaannddaaffff LLiivviinnggEEddiittoorrss//AAddvveerrttiissiinngg:: Patric Morgan & Danielle DummettAAddddrreessss:: 222 Pantbach Road, Rhiwbina,

Cardiff CF14 6AGTTeell:: 07772 081775 and 07974 022920EEmmaaiill:: [email protected]:: www.livingmags.co.uk

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy ofthe contents, the publisher cannot accept any responsibility forerrors or omissions, or for any matter in any way arising fromthe publication of this material. Every effort has been made tocontact any copyright holders. Rhiwbina Living is anindependent, apolitical publication. Proof-reading by Katie

Stephenson with thanks.

Advertising booking and copy deadline for Issue 18 - Friday 17 February 2012Issue 18 publication date - March 2012Rhiwbina Living is published 4 times a year.

33--44 NNeewwss

55 LLeetttteerrssLetters to the Editors

88 JJaacckk PPeetteerrsseennA biography ofthe North Cardiff champion boxer

1111 MMeemmoorriieessGrowing up on Wenallt Road in the 1930s

1144 RRhhiiwwbbiinnaa’’ss CChhrriissttmmaassCChhuurrcchh SSeerrvviicceessCelebrate Christmaswith the churchesof the village

1166 VViiccttoorriiaann EEvveenniinnggFull listings for thepopular event

2211 BBuussiinneessss iinn FFooccuussLocal business

2222 GGaarrddeenniinngg SSeeaassoonnssRhiwbina gardensthroughout the year

2255 PPeettss’’ PPaaggeeYour questions answered

2277 PPhhoottoo AAllbbuummDr Who in Rhiwbina

3311 BBaacckkllaasshhChristmas is coming

Welcome to your Winter issue of Rhiwbina Living. Each time we sit down to write our little welcome, wealways consider the same things as topics - how busywe’ve been, the fact that we can hardly believe thatthis particular season has come around so fast and of course, the weather. Whatelse is there to write about when we’ve only just met? But boy have we been busy! No sooner than our autumn magazines are out, it’sstraight into Christmas. It’s also hard to get our heads around the fact thatChristmas is nearly upon us once again. It only seems like yesterday that we werebasking in the high twenties. Now it’s all Christmas parties and shopping. So there. That’s that out of the way.It’s hard to believe that we are now entering our fifth year of publication. It wasback in 2007, that we launched our first issue. A little green perhaps, but ourmagazine have delivered what we set out to do - help local business, while at thesame time, keep the local population entertained and up-to-date with goings-onin Rhiwbina. This issue is no exception. You won’t be able to get away from the fact that thisyear’s Victorian Festival is around the corner. As ever, our mascot SquidgySquirrel will be throwing the switch on the lights. Saturday 3rd December is theday you want to keep free on the calendar. Details on our centre page.We’ve also got all the listings for all the Christmas services across the churcheshere in the village. All the latest news is covered and we’ve got a special featureon a local boxer, who went on to become a legend when he became champion atserveral different - Jack Petersen.We’ve got a new gardening feature by local gardener Kevin Revell. He takes usthrough the seasons through the eyes of a gardener. With memories of Rhiwbina,pictures from Dr Who’s visit to Y Groes, the ever-popular Pets’ Page and LettersPage, you’re in for a right treat. So put on the kettle and open those mince pies!A Merry Christmas to you all.See you in 2012

WelcomeCroeso

Patric and Danielle

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Rhiwbina’s favourite sheep, NickyBoing, has been head-hunted tostar on a top US TV channel.A producer at NationalGeographic telephoned LivingMagazines after reading about himon the website.Colleen McGraw, who made thecall told Living Magazines:“National Geographic's new cablenetwork ‘Nat Geo Wild’ isproducing several episodes of thepopular series ‘Unlikely AnimalFriends’. “The four new episodes willpremiere on Nat Geo Wild, butultimately will broadcast on theNational Geographic Channel aswell.“We are very interested in thestory of the Palmer family's bondwith the ever-entertaining NickBoing, if there is enough videofootage to tell their story.”Nicky’s owner, Dave Palmer wasvery excited: “We’ve had a few film crewsaround here lately. We had onefrom Boston last month. TheAmericans seem to love him.Maybe he’ll become aninternational superstar!”

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Do you know who lived where inRhiwbina in 1911? Do you know whysome houses in the Garden Villagehave side-opening windows andwhy others have sash windows?And do you know that RhiwbinaGarden Village had an influence onhousing developments in Germanyand the USA? You would have known theanswers to all these questions if youwere at the Society’s Open Doorsevent, held in Canolfan Beulah lastSeptember. And you’d have beenable to canoodle in the ‘one-and-ninepennies’ in their very own cinema!The Society was delighted towelcome Andrew Wynford Davies, well-known screenwriter,who formally opened the event andlaunched the reprint of ‘RhiwbinaGarden Village: A History of Cardiff’sGarden Suburb’. Andrew had kindly allowed theSociety to reprint the book, and hadmade a generous donation towardsthe reprinting costs.Earlier, Cardiff’s Lord Mayor, CllrDelme Bowen was welcomed to theevent, and he congratulated theSociety on the quality and range of the documentary materialin the exhibition. Included in the exhibition was an extensiverange of maps and censusinformation which attracted theinterest of a great many of thosewho visited (that’s where the ‘wholived where’ bit came in!).Mr John Yewlett led two verysuccessful walks around the Garden Village, pointing out the sort of thing

that would not be noticed by the casual passer-by. Windows andpillars were of interest to the 60 or so people who attended.Prof Simon Unwin gave anillustrated talk on the Garden Village movement, and it was through thisthat the audience of around 75people learned how the philosophyand vision of the Garden Villagemovement in Britain had an effecton the architecture of suchdevelopment, not just in Wales, butworldwide. As a prime example ofthe genre in Europe, Rhiwbina canjustly claim to have influenced theworld. And the cinema? Committeemember Harley Jones had offeredto produce a short film in whichlocal residents in the area would beinvited to give their thoughts onwhat makes Rhiwbina special tothem, and why they live where theydo. The film went down a storm and itwas calculated that it achieved apremiere audience of around 200 –not quite in blockbuster league, butgood enough! The Society was verygrateful to Harley and Viv for theirhard work on this project.The Society would also like tothank Rhiwbina Camera Club fortheir exhibition of superbphotography.All in all, it was a very successfulday, with a calculated 300 peoplethrough the door – not bad for ashowery Saturday. The Society would like to thank allthose who made the day possible,including members of the ExecutiveCommittee who, although few innumber, worked their socks off toproduce something extraordinary.

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A Rhiwbina police officer is takingto two wheels to fight crime in NorthCardiff. PCSO Stephen Westlake has hada bicycle donated to him by staff ata Cash Generator store in Canton,to help him cover more areas whileout on patrol.Stephen said: “We are extremely grateful for thesupport of Cash Generator in ourmission to keep to streets of Cardiffas safe as possible and I would liketo thank them for this kind gesture.“My new bike will allow me topatrol a bigger area compared tobeing on foot and respond quicklyto incidents, particularly inlocations, which are perhaps notaccessible by vehicles, like ourlocal parks.Councillor Jayne Cowan said: “Weare delighted that our excellentPCSO Stephen Westlake has a newbike.

Rhiwbina’s twocouncillors,Adrian Robsonand JayneCowan wererecently invitedto open thenew delicounter at the Gateway of India.Jayne told Rhiwbina Living:“It was great to see Mr Rahman atthe launch. The new counter lookswonderful- so full of colour.”The Gateway of India is alsocelebrating after winning top marksin the Council’s food awards for2011.

Camelot chief executive DianneThompson spent an afternoon withlocal children at Rhiwbina PrimarySchool, to see their new after schoolCookery Club in action. The clubwas launched following a NationalLottery grant, which enabled MissSmith and Mrs Jones to buy theequipment they needed to get theclub off the ground.She met pupils from Years 5 and 6who were trying out the newequipment and who were cooking uproasted vegetable couscous. Teacher Dawn Smith, who runs theclasses with colleague Kath Jones,said: “The National Lottery grant wereceived for the after school CookeryClub was a fantastic boost to ourplans to teach pupils more about thebasics of cooking, nutrition and howfun and enjoyable spending time in akitchen can be.The club aims to exemplify safeand hygienic working practices,demonstrate safe techniques forteaching knife skills to the childrenusing the Bridge and Claw, Safe useneeded to set up this kind of club inthe first place is expensive though,and without the National Lotterygrant, it is unlikely that it would be upand running at all. It’s made all thedifference to us.”

Dianne said: “It was fantastic to seethe Rhiwbina Cookery Club in action.Over half of all awards given out bythe BIG Lottery Fund – the biggest ofthe National Lottery distributionbodies – are for £5,000 or less. Andwhile those amounts might seemsmall, projects like this show what ahuge difference they can make andhow they form part of the fabric ofimproving wellbeing amongst localgroups everywhere – be theyprimary school pupils, local sportsclub, village community centres orinner city support groups. Even smallNational Lottery awards can make abig difference – and Rhiwbina is agreat example of that in action.”

One of Rhiwbina’s speed camerashas recently been revealed as one ofthe UK’s most useless. The camera situated on RhiwbinaHill, which cost £20,000 to install,has only pulled in £60 in fines in oneyear. By contrast, the busiestcamera, not far away on the M4,caught 6,657 drivers in the sameyear.


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LLEETTTTEERRSS

DDeeaarr EEddiittoorrssDuring the summer, I was luckyenough to revisit Rhiwbina aftermany years, and was so pleased tofind the Garden Village littlechanged, well-kept and attractive.My parents, Edward and AmyLewis, lived at no.16 Lon-y-Dial, andI was born there in 1917, thesecond of their four daughters. I liketo think that mine was one of the firstbirths in the village. I havememories of a happy, care-free andsecure childhood with the freedomto roam the fields and lanes insafety.My eldest sister, Alicia, wascrowned May Queen at the MayDay celebrations in 1928, and in1932, we moved to Heol Wen. Thatproperty was bought by Dr MaryConroy and her late husband in1965, after the deaths of myparents. Whilst in Rhiwbina, I visited DrConroy, who showed me yourRhiwbina Living magazine. I verymuch enjoyed having it read to me(I can only now read large print) andcongratulate you on the interestingpublication you produce.DDiiaannaa LLeewwiissBBaarrttoonn CCoouurrtt RRooaaddNNeeww MMiillttoonnHHaammppsshhiirree

DDeeaarr EEddiittoorrssThe letter from Joan Pattersonseeking information on a sweetshop on Wenallt Road (RhiwbinaLiving Summer ‘11) reminds me ofthe tea shops, some of which weused to visit in the 1930s and 40swhilst on Sunday afternoon walks.There were several places to visit:Smarts Garage and Tea Rooms, theDeri Cafe, the tea shops on WenalltRoad (now houses) and theTravellers Rest. Could the tea shopnorth of the reservoir be the oneJoan was referring to? What is now Rhiwbina juniorSchool playing fields was, I believe,previously a cricket field linked tothe Rhiwbina Recreation Club, andpresumably leased from the GardenVillage. I also believe that it wasonly after the war, that it becamepart of the school, though I suspectthe school had an arrangement to

use the field from its opening in1928.An imposing feature of the oldcricket ground was a pavilion on thewestern side, with a veranda andscorer’s box. The cricket squarewas to a high standard and I recallthat the Junior School played anannual match against WhitchurchGrammar School.Now I am sure that there areresidents of Rhiwbina with a betterrecollection of the cricket club, andmaybe some photographs of teamsand the pavilion. Maybe the schoolhas photographs in its old records.If you have any memories orphotographs, I’d urge readers tosend them in to Rhiwbina Living.BBrriiaann RRoowwllaannddHHeeooll--yy--BBrryynnRRhhiiwwbbiinnaa

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DDeeaarr EEddiittoorrssRecently my wife and I took a walkalong the Glamorganshire Canal inWhitchurch - a beautiful section ofwhat remains of this important pieceof Welsh history. To be precise it was beautiful.However we were disgusted to seehow this historical place is beingneglected. The canal is choked withvegetation and fallen trees. The pathis being eroded away and the wholeplace is overgrown. I wrote to BrianLee in the Cardiff Post some time

ago and he was good enough toraise the subject in his articles onCardiff’s past. I’ve taken the following photographto draw attention to this disgracefulneglect of Welsh past history. On a more positive note, wethoroughly enjoy and look forward toyour magazine.HHaarrmmeerr PPaatteerrssoonnBBiisshhooppss CClloossee WWhhiittcchhuurrcchhCCaarrddiiffff

SSwweeeett SShhooppss aannddTTeeaa RRoooommss

Rhiwbina Squash Club - Premier ChampionsRhiwbina Squash Club recently celebrated becoming the2010/2011 South Wales Premier Division SquashChampions for first time in the club’s history, following aclosely fought season resulting in Rhiwbina Squash Clubsecuring the title of Premier Division Champions in a playoff final. The 2011/2012 Premier League is well under way withRhiwbina currently holding top spot, but no doubt it willonce again be a closely fought season. The Rhiwbina Squash Premier team has a depth ofexperience which would be the envy of any squash cluband includes three Welsh Masters, a European Under 19Junior, headed up by Welsh No.1, Peter Creed. RhiwbinaSquash Club is also the home of Fiona Murphy who at only16, has recently been selected to play for the Welsh LadiesSenior Squash Team, Sophie Alderman Welsh No. 1 Under15 Girl and Lloyd Rutter the No. 2 Junior Under 15 Boy.The club welcomes players of all abilities from experts tocomplete beginners. Rhiwbina Squash Club has sevenUKCC fully insured squash coaches who will be happy toprovide coaching sessions to improve your fitness or juststart you off on the basics. Social events are an integralpart of Rhiwbina Squash Club, with regular events beinghosted throughout the year.If you are interested in joining Rhiwbina Squash Club, orwould like to come along to our free open squash weekendand receive some free coaching, please contact us on07976 315047 or visit www.rhiwbinasquashclub.co.uk Address: Lon-Y-Dail, Cardiff, CF14 6EA.


In the 1930s, a number of Welshboxers were making headlinesacross the world. None more so thanJack Petersen, who has gone downin history as one of the greatestWelsh boxers. Born John Charles Peterson inWhitchurch on 2nd September 1911,Jack took up amateur boxing at theage of 18. He took to the sport like anatural, reaching the Welsh AmateurBoxing Association finals at bothmiddleweight and light-heavyweight.At 6ft ½ in tall and was a wellproportioned athlete. “I was brought up in a boxingatmosphere. My father was veryinterested in boxing, and was anaccomplished boxer. I started in1929, in the Welsh AmateurChampionships. I lost to themiddleweight, and I lost to the light-middleweight. Then I fought theheavyweight. Of the three, I won theheavyweight title.”In 1931, Jack turned professionalunder the name of Jack Petersen.His first professional fight was inSeptember 1931 at the HolbornStadium, London, against BillPartridge. Petersen won the fight bya knockout in the fourth round.Petersen won his first sixteen fights,in one of which he knocked out DickPower to win the Welsh heavyweighttitle.Petersen's 17th fight was for theBritish light-heavyweight title. It tookplace at Holborn Stadium in May1932 and Petersen beat Harry

Crossley on points over 15 rounds totake his title. He later relinquishedthis title without defending it. Two months later, in July 1932,Petersen fought Reggie Meen for hisBritish heavyweight title, in a boutheld at Wimbledon Stadium,London. He knocked Meen out inthe second round, becoming thefirst Welshman to be Britishheavyweight champion. He hadaccomplished this in a career lastingless than ten months.He had one more fight, scoring aknockout, and then defended histitle against Jack Pettifer in January1932. The bout was at Olympia inKensington and Petersen scored aknockout in the 12th round to retainhis title.Petersen had three more fights,winning them all, before defendinghis title again against Jack Doyle, ayoung boxer from County Cork. Thebout, in July 1933, was held at theWhite City Stadium in front of acrowd of about 30,000. Doyle wasan Irish singer, actor and boxer, andwas affectionately known asGorgeous Gael.Witnesses say that Doyle did mostof his warm-up for the fight in a

nearby pub. As soon as he got inthe ring, Doyle realised that he wasin trouble against the formidableframe of Jack Petersen. Doylerepeatedly punched low, and withintwo rounds, Doyle was on his wayback to the pub, having beendisqualified.Jack faced a much sterner test inhis following fight in his third titledefence.“Having made the Lonsdale Beltmy own. I lost to Len Harvey onpoints at the Royal Albert Hall - adecision I didn’t altogether agreewith.”It was Jack’s first defeat in 25bouts. He went on to win his nextfour fights, before a rematch withHarvey loomed in 1934.“I fought Harvey at White CityStadium. The referee stopped thecontest in about the 10th roundwhen he threw the towel in. I knewthat Harvey was a very good boxer,and very good at close-quarterwork. So I kept him at long-rangeand I hammered him pretty well withmy right hand. I think I’d closed hiseye, which was very swollen. Don’tforget that Harvey was one of thelightest men I ever fought. Only two Iever fought were lighter than me,Harvey being one of them. But I hadthree hard fights with Harvey. I lostthe first on points. I won the secondand I won the third.”Jack was to fell many of theheavyweights that were put beforehim over the next few years.

100 years ago this year,Jack Petersen was born

in Whitchurch. He became the first

Welshman to win Britishand Empire HeavyweightBoxing Championships.

His name has sincebecome recognised as aambassador of the sport,someone who never gave

less than his all

Local LegendsBut i t was Germany's Walter Neusel- 'the 'Blond Tiger' - would prove tobe his downfall. Neusel was twostones heavier than Jack and thetwo would duel on three occasions.“I started my boxing career inSeptember 1931 and I finishedfighting on the 1st February 1937. Inthat time, only three people beat me- one was Ben Foord, one wasNeusel and one was Harvey. I hadthe pleasure of meeting Harveytwice afterwards and beating him,I’d beaten Foord before. WalterNeusel was the man who reallyhammered me. And unfortunately,he split my eye open on a fewoccasions and he damaged myretina and the specialists advisedme not to box any more. Havingsucceeded as far as I could, I hadto stop boxing.”At the age of just 25, Jack hadbeen forced to retire. His time as aprofessional boxer had lasted justsix years.But Jack wasn’t defeated. He tookup the role of Physical FitnessInstructor in the RAF during WorldWar II, and after the War, becameinvolved with the British BoxingBoard of Control, looking primarilywith Welsh boxers and later becamethe President of the Board. In 1978,he was awarded an OBE for hisservices to sport. “It was something very special. Theprivilege, the honour of going up toBuckingham Palace, meeting theQueen and having her pin thismedal on my chest was somethingabsolutely wonderful. She was sucha lovely lady. I tried to do my bit forsport. To be recognised - there weremany people equally as worthy I’msure - but I was one person to havethat great honour.”Jack died in November 1990, atPrincess of Wales Hospital,Bridgend, after suffering from lungcancer. His memory lives on though in acommemorative plaque that wasunveiled in this September in CardiffCity Centre. The plaque sits outside the Blacksshop at the top of The Hayes, andwas unveiled by Cardiff's Lord

Mayor, Delme Bowen.Mr Bowen told reporters:"I am delighted that we arehonouring a respected andvictorious boxing legend who wassuch a great role model for Welshmen during the dark days of thedepression of the 1930s.“This plaque will raise awarenessof the achievements and success ofJack Petersen whilst addinghistorical value to the city."The building which now holds theplaque once housed the LynnInstitute Gym, owned by the Jacks'sfather, ‘Pa’ Petersen, who becamehis mentor and manager.The gym offered boxing training,fitness, massage and hot bathsduring the 1920s and 1930s andwas used by sportsmen includingthe Cardiff City football team whowon the 1927 FA Cup.Jack Petersen's children hadcampaigned for a plaquerecognising his public life success.The plaque is one of a series beingerected in south Wales to rememberfamous people, events and places.Jack will always be rememberedfor his gentleman-like demeanouroutside of the ring. Yet for many overthe years, it was his bravery andfighting spirit in the ring that thrilledcrowds across the world. Thosememories are fading as thegenerations pass, but we arefortunate enough to have records ofthose heady nights “ On 15 May, 1933, Jack facedGermany's Heine Muller at NinianPark. It was one of the greatestboxing nights I’d ever been to, andcertainly one of the biggest staged

in Wales at the time.

“Jack was the local boy, aged just21, and was defending his titleagainst a veteran of over 200 boutswho was renowned for histoughness. There were 40,000 therethat night if you were unfortunate toarrive late, you would have missedthe fight.After two minutes of the first roundPetersen caught Muller with a left tothe body, which was followed by aperfect right to the head.”Muller just lay there over the ropesas if he’d been hit by a train. Thecrowd were left speechless.”

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“

My father built our house between1928 to 1932, on a piece of land inWenallt Road. At that time there were very fewhouses, and it was just a lane withhigh grassy banks and hedgesbordering fields. I was born in April1933, an only child of loving parents,and learned to appreciate howfortunate I was. It was, of course, a different worldin the 1930’s and I remember withnostalgia, how I used to go onexpeditions up the Wenallt with myfriends often collecting logs toeconomise on the coal for the fires.At the time we had a dog calledBruce, who was an Alsatian crossedwith a Great Dane. Now that mayseem to be an unusual combination,and when my father brought himhome for the first time. My motherrefused to have him in the house. He was however the most lovingdog you could wish for and it didn’ttake long for him to be the apple ofmy mother’s eye also. I thought theworld of him, and took himeverywhere I could, and I believe heused to enjoy coming rambling withmy pals blackberrying or gatheringnuts on our expeditions. When Bruce passed on, we hadanother dog called “Blackie”, whowas an Elkhound (a Scandinaviansledge dog). He was something likea slight Alsatian, but with a tail whichcurled up in a light circle. Blackiewas every bit a wonderful loyal palto me, and was about 16 years oldwhen he passed on.We had a very large garden inwhich there were some piles ofwood and miscellaneous items,including a few old boilers andstoves. This meant that we couldhave our own ‘kitchen’ when playing‘mothers and fathers’.

The use of one of the stoves waspermitted providing we only usedlogs for fuel, which we had to getourselves from the Wenallt. Manyhours of fun were had cookingvarious things in old pots and pansacquired for the purpose; eating alot of stuff burnt to a cinder (and afair bit of dirt besides I expect), butit never seemed to do us muchharm. I remember helping (probablyhindering) my Dad knock down oneof the old chicken sheds when sometidying up was underway, andfinding right underneath, one of thechickens sitting on a nest of eggsshe had made. We had to leave theknocking down for a bit longer whileMother Hen hatched out abouttwelve young chicks.On another occasion, we weregiven some Aylesbury Duckingeggs to hatch out, and we didn’thave a broody ducking at thatmoment. Dad put them under abroody chicken instead, and shehatched out all ten of the babyducklings. The trouble started however whenthe babies discovered the big pondin the front garden, and immediatelylaunched themselves in for a swim.Their ‘mother’ chicken wentcrackers, because she couldn’tunderstand their enthusiasm for thewater, and clucked herself hoarsetry to get them out!Our garage was another place offascination for a small boy. Dad hada motorbike, on which he did hisown maintenance. I rememberwatching him working on hisbeloved B.S.A., and plaguing his lifewith questions on what he was doing. But, Why Dad?, was myperpetual question, and I supposethat was the beginnings of all the

many practical things which I learntfrom my dear Dad over the comingyears (that last sentence is anunder-statement of course),because Dad was a MasterCraftsman in so many things, andover many years patiently taught meto make and mend most householditems and to carry out routinemaintenance.In those early days of learning, Iwas very anxious to be of help, sowhen Dad was out one day, Ithought I would assist him in themaintenance on the motorbike as hehad been showing me so manythings. I didn’t realise however thatin my effort to help, I had droppedsomething down inside the hollowcore of the steering column. Thenext morning when on his way downWenallt Road going to work, hefound he was unable to turn thehandlebars at the curve to right nearthe bridge, and went straight overthe handlebars into the hedge. Fortunately he was not seriouslyhurt, but from then on I wasdiscouraged from carrying out anyrunning repairs until I was a bitolder!There was no such thing astelevision in Wales at that time, butthe ‘wireless’ (as the radio wasreferred to) was our source ofinformation and news. My earliestrecollection is hearing Edwardannounce his abdication – althoughI did not fully understand thesignificance of those words. It wouldnot be much longer before thesolemn announcement of World WarII would be relayed over the‘wireless’. Before that however I had tocommence my school days atRhiwbina Junior School – but that’s astory for another day.

Memories of Growingup in Wenallt Road

in the 1930’sBy Alan Gray


Christmas is coming andonce again, it’s time forRhiwbina to celebrate.This year’s famed VictorianEvening has now moved to aSaturday evening to enableall the family to come along.The date for your diary isSaturday 3rd December.Rhiwbina Living’s SquidgySquirrel will once again dothe honours of turning on

the lights on the VillageChristmas Tree. This year,he is helped by IndigoJones, who won theSummer Festival’s colouringcompetition.The event is being co-ordinated by the RhiwbinaEvents Committee. Thecommittee has hosted somevery successful events inthe village over the years.This year’s VictorianEvening promises to be thebest yet - with the newaddition of Festive Donkeyrides guaranteed to bringsmiles to the faces of theyoung ones. There will also be musicalentertainment, children’srides, mulled wine and hotsoup, craft stalls and streettraders, colouringcompetitions andperformances from localschools and youth groups.

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Saturday3rd

December

Don’t forget Squidgy the Squirrel

will be helping Indigo Jones, the winner of the Summer Festival’s

colouring competition, to switch on the Christmas Tree lights at

The Rhiwbina Village Events Scheme has been set up to

engage local businesses in supporting community events.

Without their help, many of the entertainments, attractions

and activities just wouldn’t be possible

Please take the time to look around the Village to see the

RVE signs displayed in the windows of the local businesses

indicating Friend, Supporter and Partner of the RVE scheme.

All the businesses displaying this logo are helping to make

sure you have a great time so please show your appreciation

in recognising their support.

A big festive cheer for all the RVE scheme Members!

Victorian Evening 2011Saturday 3rd December 2011

3.30pm to 7.00pm

Victorian Evening 2011

Rhiwbina Village Events Committee, The Wendy House, 1 Lon Fach, Rhiwbina, Cardiff, CF14 6JP

Tel: 07970 165 084, Web: www.rhiwbina.co.uk

Rhiwbina Village

Events Committee

The last Summer Festival is being

hailed as the best ever!

Record numbers turned out in the warm

summer sun to enjoy the delights of

the day and we are now hoping to

build on this fantastic community spirit

with the next Victorian Evening.

Please come and join in the festive action

on Saturday 3rd December from 3.30pm

when a wide range of exciting delights

will be on offer to all including:-

We thank you for your support and we

look forward to seeing you on the

night - don’t miss it!

* Musical entertainment

* Children’s rides

* Mulled wine and hot soup

* Craft stalls and street traders

* Colouring competition

* Festive performances in the Arena

from local schools and youth groups

4.30pm

From Thursday 1st of December

you can drop off a present to Morgan Lloyd Williams estate agents

on Heol y Deri. This present will be donated to a child in

Cardiff Women’s Aid refuge.

Can you please wrap your present and clearly label with

‘Boy’ or ‘Girl’and the appropriate age range.

Many thanks for your support.

Christmas Appeal

Village Christmas Tree

Local Support

Don’t forget to comeand see me in my grotto in

New Roots Garden Centre

Gateway of India

J A Hughes Solicitors

Juboraj Restaurant

Pinnacle Internet Marketing

Rhiwbina Baptist Church

Rhiwbina Dental Surgery

Rhiwbina Farmer’s Market

Serenade

Spar

The Butchers Arms

Airpro Systems

Edwards & Co

G. Raybould Butcher

Kingman and Davies

Opticians

Beulah Dress Agency

Cleaver Flooring

Emyr Pierce Solicitors

Haus Interiors

Houghton Wine Co.

Morgan Lloyd Williams

Signor Barber Shop

Snails

The Deri Inn

The Flower Lodge

The Olive Branch

Victoria Fearn Gallery

Our deepestappreciation to all

of the followingbusinesses:-

Partners:

Supporters:

Friends:

Santaxxx

Come and see the fantastic

craft stalls in the scout hall

on Heol y Bont

(behind the Gateway of India!)

And our ongoing

thanks to all our other

commercial and personal

sources that help to make

these events a success

Come and enjoy a ride on one of

our Festive Donkeys!

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Vie at Home (you may know them as VirginCosmetics) are really excited to be launchingtwo unique ranges this winter.Get set to sparkle with Pierre Lang designerjewellery, launching exclusively in the UK withVie at Home. Created in Vienna quality is at the heart ofevery piece and you are assured it will standthe test of time.

Why wear a fragrance with someone else’sname on it? Blue Box Perfume is a uniqueconcept that allows you to create your ownfragrance. Once you have created yourperfect scent you can chose your own bottle,packaging, and the name of the fragrance thatwill be printed on the bottle!Deborah Auton has been looking aftercustomers in North Cardiff for over 10 yearsand would be delighted to show you the newproduct ranges or the award winning Cosmetics & Skincare. You can have a personal consultation or anevening with friends. The choice is yours.What an easy way to get your Christmasshopping wrapped up!Would you like to party for a living? Deborahis recruiting consultants for the Christmasperiod. No experience necessary. Tel: 02920 317921 or 07776 176644E: [email protected]

BBuussiinneessss iinn FFooccuuss

Local Care from aLocal CompanyHome Instead Senior Care in Cardiffspecialises in the provision of at-home care forolder people living across the area. The service we provide is extremely flexibleand ranges from help a few hours a day to 24hour care. Services can include personal care such asassistance with bathing, dressing andmedications; home help covering housework,shopping, meal preparation and householdduties; and companionship services.Home Instead owner Phil Batchelor comments: “Our ethos is simple – treat others as wewould wish to be treated ourselves. This canonly be achieved by delivering the highestquality of care to meet the individual needs ofour clients and we would never compromiseon this”.We also provide a range of specialistservices, which include Alzheimer’s anddementia care, convalescence care andrespite care plus we can support adults with

learningdifficulties.Our caregiversare carefullyselected, areCRB checkedand have toprovide sixreferences. We prideourselves onmatching therequirements ofour clients totheexperiences,interests andpersonality of their caregiver. For more information on Home Instead SeniorCare please call the team on: 02920 624429 orvisit www.homeinstead.co.uk/cardiff A: 9a Heol-y-Deri, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 6HA

T: 02920 624429 W: www.homeinstead.co.uk/cardiffE: [email protected]

PPhhiilliipp BBaattcchheelloorr hheeaaddssuupp HHoommee IInnsstteeaadd iinn CCaarrddiiffff


WinterA time for looking and thinking, notdoing a great deal but staying in bythe fire, planning the year ahead.Crisp, bright winter days can berewarding for those who venture out.Autumn leaves have dropped toreveal the structural architecture ofthe plants. The colourful winter stemsof dogwoods and snake barkmaples; the flaking, fissured bark ofpear trees and the torturedsculptural forms of the winter prunedapple trees are revealed by the fallenrusset canopy. The colour has drained from thegarden making everything look sepiaand grey but contrasts can bediscerned between the various treesand shrubs, both in colour andtexture - differences which wouldscarcely be noted when in leaf.Occasional punctuation marks oftough evergreen shrubs such aseuonymus, fatsia and photiniaillustrate the benefit of permanencein a rapidly changing view. Longweeks of short days leave the lawnlooking distinctly dull and trampleddown. Like me, it is in need of someexposure to the sun which on theodd day it does show itself. Itprovides precious little strength in itswatery rays which struggle to getabove the height of the house. The sight of the black winter budsof the rowan, sorbus commixta

‘Ravensbill’ set against anoccasional azure clear winter sky area rare winter treat along with thebright red winter stems of dogwood,cornus alba ‘Sibirica’. Every day I scan the ground for thefirst sign of emerging snowdropsand wonder at the bumbling beessearching out the first flowers on asunny winter’s day, often rewardedby an occasional early floweringnative primrose growing in asheltered position by the house.Winter flowering shrubs areinvaluable in this respect and oftenreward with a heady scent. Mahonia and viburnum can alwaysbe relied upon and those who arebrave enough to plant the brutish,unfeasibly large garrya in theirgarden will be rewarded with aunique display of pendant, tasselledsilver catkins. Heathers seem commonplace atother times of year but now seemprecious along with winter floweringhoneysuckle and jasmine.Cyclamen coum invaluable in itsability to flower at the merestsuggestion of a sunny day, a signthat spring is on the way with itsshocking fuchsia and marshmallowcoloured flowers which have laincoiled in wait, buried under theblanket of winter snow, arrivingweeks before the shy, retiringsnowdrops which prefer to maketheir entry bathed in sunshine, rarely

in snow ’round these parts.Frosty weather and snowfall aretimes to appreciate the value ofevergreen shrubs and hedges whichmaintain the local temperature adegree or two above the surroundingto keep paths clear and providewinter shelter for wildlife. Privet isparticularly good even if it doespartially defoliate in a cold year.Likewise the deciduous beech andhornbeam hedges which retain theirdead leaves until the buds burstanew in spring, providing shelterfrom the storm. The detritus which accumulatesunder an old established hedge isinvaluable to hibernating creaturesand forms a habitat in its own rightas decomposing leaves blow inamongst dried fallen twigs and deadwood to provide sustenance to amyriad of invertebrates. Similarconditions exist around the dormantshrubs, collapsed herbaceous plantsand teetering clumps of ornamentalgrass which should be left as long aspossible before being tidied away inspring.

Gardening Seasonsby Kevin Revell


The fabled autumn clear up is nowvery much a thing of the past andthe benefits for the untidy gardenerare all around. Blackbirds rummageamongst the leaves scattered overthe lawn and under the protectiveeiderdown of leaves the shoots ofbulbs begin to emerge awaitingencouragement from the first rays ofwarming sunshine. Collapsed clumps of grass rustlewith the movement of unseencreatures, perhaps mice or volesprotected from the worst of the winterweather. Many a disgruntledhedgehog has had its hibernationdisturbed by my attempts at wintertidying the garden, so now I wait untilspring. Suffice it to say bonfires are bannedin my garden, but how can Iconvince my neighbours? Any seedheads left by the likes ofagapanthus, echinacea andhemerocallis will be highly

ornamental when rimed with frostand will provide a welcome break forhungry visiting birds tired of theubiquitous peanuts and sunflowerseeds. Ladybirds seem to favourthem as places to hibernate andeven juvenile snails get in on the actand look photogenic and cute, whilehoverfly larvae hide in stacks of potspreventing my early attempts atplanting. Am I alone in feeling guiltyabout disturbing hibernatinginvertebrates? I suspect thatcreatures low down in the food chainserve some higher purpose andterrible damage will be wrought bytheir demise, but I could be wrong!The winter blues affect many whospend much of their time outdoorswith persistent heavy rain or frost-bound ground making gardeningvirtually impossible. It takes morethan the occasional sunny day to liftmy torpor and encourage me out toready the garden for spring but my

idleness probably benefits theslumbering fauna and flora, while it isnever advisable to walk on frostylawns or dig in icy weather. It is tempting to get out and prunethe fruit trees but frosty weather candamage newly cut surfaces and actas a source of infection for canker orwoolly aphid so perhaps it is best towait for longer days in good lightmaking the swelling buds visible.Several days must be put aside tosort the wisteria from the ramblingroses. And although the Boston ivylooked fine in autumn covering theside of the house it must now beremoved from the upper reaches ofthe wall before it reaches the guttersand disappears under the roof tiles. Spring invariably arrives before Iam ready with many tasks leftundone but there is always anotheryear to worry about that!

Kevin


Gardening

MMyy DDoogg LLoovveess SSttoonneessII hhaavvee aa yyeeaarr--oolldd rreettrriieevveerr wwhhoo lliikkeessttoo eeaatt ssttoonneess,, ddiirrtt aanndd ssmmaallll rroocckksswwhheenn wwee aarree oouutt wwaallkkiinngg.. II wwaanntteedd ttookknnooww iiff tthhiiss wwaass nnoorrmmaall bbeehhaavviioouurr..II’’mm nnoott oonnllyy wwoorrrriieedd aabboouutt hhiiss tteeeetthh,,bbuutt tthhee iimmppaacctt iitt mmaayy hhaavvee oonn hhiissiinnssiiddeess!!This is quite a common behaviour,though I wouldn’t say it is normal!Puppies chew and mouth things allthe time – they are exploring theirenvironment, finding out what isgood to eat, or relieving thediscomfort of teething. Thisbehaviour usually stops as they growup, but some aspects can remain ashabits in older dogs, particularly ifthey have had some sort of rewardfor the behaviour in the past (such asyou shouting at them!). Occasionally,a desire to eat soil and other strangestuff can be a symptom of nutritionaldeficiencies or or diseases, so it isprobably worth getting him checkedout by your vet. You are right to be concernedabout the detrimental effects thishabit may have. Your dog is likely tochip his teeth and wear them down,especially the big canine teeth. If heis unlucky, he may even fracture atooth. If he is silly enough to actuallyswallow stones, smaller ones willpass through his gut withoutproblems, but larger stones couldcause an obstruction, so anysymptoms of sickness or abdominaldiscomfort must be taken seriously. In addition, eating soil will increasethe risk of your dog picking upworms, so it is very important thatyou de-worm him regularly. Makesure you use a wormer that dealswith lungworm as well asroundworm, as he may inadvertentlyeat small snails & slugs with the soil.Ask your vet which is the best one touse, as pet-shop wormers are noteffective.

WWhheerree aarree mmyy ffiisshh??UUpp uunnttiill aa ffeeww mmoonntthhss aaggoo,, mmyy ssoonnhhaadd tthhrreeee ggoollddffiisshh,, wwhhiicchh II bboouugghhtthhiimm ttoo hheellpp hhiimm lleeaarrnn aabboouutt ttaakkiinnggrreessppoonnssiibbiilliittyy ooff tthhiinnggss.. UUnnffoorrttuunnaatteellyy,, ttwwoo ooff tthhee ffiisshh hhaavveeddiissaappppeeaarreedd oovveerr tthhee llaasstt ffeeww wweeeekkssaanndd wwee ccaann’’tt ffiigguurree oouutt wwhheerree tthheeyyhhaavvee ggoonnee.. WWoouulldd aa ggoollddffiisshh eeaattaannootthheerr ggoollddffiisshh?? II’’mm aatt aa lloossss ttooeexxppllaaiinn iitt ttoo mmyy ssoonn..You don’t mention where you arekeeping the fish. If they are in apond, predation from a heron or catis possibly the explanation.However, I’m afraid it is entirelypossible that the one fish has eatenthe others. They are notoriouslygreedy and will eat anything theycan get in their mouths, even thoughthey are not natural predators. Youdon’t say how big the fish were. It’seasy for a big one to eat smallertank-mates, but even smaller fish willattack larger ones sometimes,usually starting by nibbling at the tailand fins.

BBuunnnnyy’’ss CClloouuddyy EEyyeeMMyy rraabbbbiitt hhaass aa cclloouuddyy ppaattcchh iinn iittssrriigghhtt eeyyee.. HHee ddooeessnn’’tt sseeeemm ttoo bbee iinnaannyy ddiissccoommffoorrtt bbuutt wwoonnddeerreedd wwhhaatt iittccoouulldd bbee.. A cloudy eye definitely means thereis somethingwrong, and isprobably quiteserious so youshould get himto the vet assoon as youcan. The mostlikely reason isan injury to thecornea (the frontof the eye) – ascratch from a

piece of hay for example. These canquickly become infected and a largewhite patch is seen with a slightlyrough surface. The cloudiness couldbe caused by a problem deeper inthe eye. Occasionally, pus forms inthe space behind the cornea. Cataracts also make the eye lookcloudy. It’s very important toremember that rabbits do not showmany signs of pain, but that doesn’tmean they are not hurting. Get himtreated without delay.

Pets’ Page is sponsored by the Heath Veterinary Group

(029) 2062 1511

Pets’ PageRReessiiddeenntt vveett,, CChhrriiss TTrroouugghhttoonn iiss hhaappppyyttoo aannsswweerr aannyy ooff yyoouurr ppeett--rreellaatteeddqquueessttiioonnss.. DDrroopp hhiimm aa lliinnee aatteeddiittoorr@@lliivviinnggmmaaggss..ccoo..uukk

PPeettss


Seasonal TipDogs with a lot of hair on theirfeet often suffer quite badly in

snowy conditions when ice-ballsbuild up between their toes.

When you go out for a walk, put asmall bucket of warm water bythe door ready to rinse the feetand melt the ice quickly when

you return.


in RhiwbinaBack in

September,Rhiwbina wasvisited by boththe Tardis andDr Who. Theywere filming for

the 2011Christmas

Special, due tobe broadcast onChristmas Day.If you’re settlingdown to watchthe show, keepan eye out forsome local

landmarks, oreven somewoolly

characters!

If, like me, you were lucky enoughto have had a great childhood,Christmas will always be special.

Even if the years have added atouch of cynicism to it, Christmas isa time for remembrance of timesgone by, and creating nicememories for the future .For me, I often float back toChristmas as a child. This wouldhave been back in the 1980s. Themere melody of In Dulci Jubilo takesme back to the smell of thecatalogue that I’d spend hours withmy nose in looking at the latest Legosets.Perhaps the most vivid memory Ihave of Christmas was afterMidnight Mass on Christmas Eveone night back the 80s. We lived inBarry and our grandparents lived upthe hill, which we could see from ourhouse. My mum would often ask meto look out the window to see if theywere in. But this particular ChristmasEve, they’d just dropped us home. I was stood in our front room and Iwatched them make their slow wayup the hill in their Triumph Toledo.From the living room, my parentsand a few aunties and uncles weregathering around a bottle of sherry. Icould hear the glug-glugging of thesherry and the clinking of theglasses. But the front room was peaceful.The coloured lights on the tree wereas silent as stars. I leant down thestereo player that was on the bottomshelf and pressed play on the tapedeck. I think it was the CoventryCarol that came on. The volume waslow but the choristers’ hauntingeuphony drifted out from thespeakers that had been placed onthe top shelves. I moved over thebay window and looked out. It was acold hard night. The concrete

lampposts stood guarding the steelstreets but across the way came thewarm glow of light from mygrandparent’s living room window. Icould see them, taking off theircoats, and then embracing and akiss under the mistletoe that washanging from the light fixture. Evenfrom the distance I was away, anddespite the silence of the nightoutside the window, I could sensetheir love for each other.And it was at that moment, while Ifelt like that town was settling downfor the night, that I felt that for once,all was well with the world. I eventually went to bed. I woke upseveral times but by 6am, Santa hadbeen. All I had to do was wriggle mytoes. The soft crackling of thewrapping paper was all I needed tohear.Christmas Day in our house wasalways a mellow affair. We’d go tochurch, but in the cold light ofmorning, it felt like we werepretending it was Christmas. It wasonly when we got back home, withthe waft of warm food to greet us atthe door, did it really feel likeChristmas Day. We’d usually have aparty in the evening and BoxingDay, we’d all head to the ‘club’ after.That was always boring as we allhad to drink the warm squash thatwas given to us. But Christmas Daytelly in the evening was usually

pretty good. After that, it was all downhill. The‘watery’ days that followed were onlyenhanced by the possibility ofspotting a good film to watch in theRadio Times. We always got theRadio Times. I like to think it’sbecause we were snobs, and thatthe TV Times was for the commoner.But the fact was that we got oursfree. New Year’s Eve came round soonenough but it never had the magicthat Christmas had. My motherwould talk about the wild New Year’sEve parties that took place ‘downthe club’:“You wouldn’t want to be downthere - everyone snogs everyoneelse’s face off” she once told me. Asa young teenager, I couldn’t wait forthe day to turn 18 so I could getmyself in. Instead, I had to stayhome and sip Bailey’s with my dad.It was no bad thing. We’d wrap upwarm and head up the hill. We’d siton the bench that overlooked Barryand watch the last of the year’sfireworks fade into last year. Thedock’s ships would still be droningtheir horns in celebration as wemade our way home.We’ve all got our favouritememories of Christmas. Some of usmight still be lucky enough to havethose whom we love around us toshare the festivities with. Perfect formaking new memories for the future.


CCoolluummnn

BacklashThe musings of an editor

Rhiwbina Living Issue 17 Winter 2011

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Transcript of Rhiwbina Living Issue 17 Winter 2011