Helping to make Radyr and Morganstown a great place to live and work
Summary of News Items on http://radyr.org.uk
A full house enjoyed the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir at Christchurch on Saturday evening. A variety of music and humour made for a good evening and a substantial contribution to the work of the Alzheimer’s Society .
Fantastic to see over forty people turning up to Radyr Library to litter pick on 15 January. Suzanne Baskerville from Cardiff Council had done an amazing job of publicising the event and Gareth Davies from Keep Wales Tidy came along to add his experience and knowledge to the volunteers.
It was a very successful morning and lots of red rubbish bags were filled.
Suzanne will be back on 12 February and all volunteers will be most welcome! 10:00-11:30, starting at Radyr Library.
First Snowdrops of the year at Willow Tree Close. There’s more to come! These were planted by children from Brynderi and Radyr Primary schools, last year. Many thanks to all the children and the teachers and the volunteers who made this happen.
Councillor Dr Ralph Vaughan was delighted that he could continue a recently established tradition of planting a Chairman’s Oak in Radyr Woods to celebrate National Tree Week. He had a little bit of a help from Jim Goodwin, Chair of Radyr Woods Wardens.
Many people have noticed that there has been tree work in Radyr Woods this year. Trees have natural life cycles. Some in Radyr Woods had reached their sell by date according to a Tree Survey commissioned by the Community Council. It’s important that there is also a program for planting new trees in place, and this Chairman’s Oak is part of the plan
Extract from “Sunday Times – Parent Power”, 25 November 2018:
The Welsh State Secondary School of the Year is Radyr Comprehensive, in Cardiff, which saw sharp improvements at both A-level and GCSE. With 72% A*-B at A-level, its sixth formers performed better than those at any other Welsh state school. Almost 200 children are admitted into year 7 each year, largely from Radyr’s seven feeder primaries in the immediate surrounding area.
NB: This information is taken directly from the newspaper, and is subject to fact-checking by the school – but they have won the Award!
Reverend Canon Jenny Wigley, Rector of the Parish of Radyr, retired in July and since then the Parish has been going through the process of selecting a new Priest in Charge. We are delighted to report that Reverend Vicki Burrows has been appointed and will take up her post towards the end of February 2019.
Full details can be found in the announcement on the Parish Website.
Congratulations to the R&M WWI Committee and the many organisations and friends who have knitted over 7000 poppies in preparation for this year’s Centenary Remembrance Sunday. The display on the tower of Christ Church, notably when lit at night, and the spread around the War Memorial in Heol Isaf, are quite remarkable. Well worth visiting in their own right, and do come along to the Commemoration Service itself which starts about 10:25 at the War Memorial on Sunday, 11th November.
Have you ever wondered how those bits of plastic and other items get trapped in the branches high above the Taff? Here is your answer in pictures as the effect of ‘Storm Callum’ is seen from both the bridge over the Taff and around the hydroelectric scheme.
As a matter of interest, the turbines were not running as the fall in the river across the weir was insufficient to drive them.
There is much sadness at the closure of our local Spar. This has been run by the Butler family for 26 years, during which time they have provided great service for the community – keeping the shop open in all weathers and meeting local needs. We pass on our community’s thanks to them and all the staff, and offer our best wishes for the future. On a more positive note, it is good to be able to welcome the opening of the Radyr Tap, a local pub in Radyr after a gap of 15 years. We wish them well in this new endeavour.
The Launch of the Penrhys Pilgrimage began from Llandaff Cathedral on 30 September, when a walk of the first stretch of the Pilgrimage took place to launch the re-creation of the Penrhys Pilgrimage Walk.
The Penrhys Pilgrimage used to go through Radyr which is why there is a Pilgrims Close, a Stella Maris and several other streets in Clos Parc Radyr with names that link to the old route. The route is being re-created to make it an enjoyable walk for ordinary walkers and the aim is to have it way marked by 2020. It will still be going through Radyr, but not quite the same route as it used to take before it heads out to Pentyrch.
Radyr Golf club held their Finals Day competitions on Sunday, 9th September with 15 winners receiving their trophies. Many of these winners live in the village. You might spot them from the photograph.
Following last week’s outstanding A level results, Radyr Comp have now achieved a magnificent 79% 5A*-C including Maths and English in the GCSE results published this morning.
Congratulations all round.
The school’s press realeae can be see here.
Congratulations to all A-level students at Radyr Comprehensive School, and especially to those whose outstanding achievements have produced the school’s best ever results this year.
In year thirteen, 38 students achieved at least three A grades, with 20 students achieving at least four A grades and six students achieving at least five A grades.
The overall provisional percentage figures are as follows:
Congratulations are also due to year twelve students who matched last year’s record-breaking results at AS-level.
The school’s press release can be seen here.
The final review meeting of the 2018 May Festival was held on Thursday, 12th July. At the meeting, David Silver, Chair of the Radyr & Morganstown Association (and Chair of the Festival Committee) presented Cheryl George (Community Fundraiser South East Wales for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru) with a cheque for £24,500. This is the sum raised by the whole community of Radyr & Morganstown over the whole year, including the Festival. The money was raised from many sources including the local schools and events arranged by the newly formed R&M Alzheimer’s Group (Chair Mark Richards).
This is by far the largest amount raised so far on behalf of the Association’s nominated charity. Cheryl George expressed her heartfelt thanks to the Association for choosing Alzheimer’s Society Cymru for 2017/18 and to the R&M Community for both raising such a fantastic sum and for raising the awareness of people suffering from all form of dementia. She was delighted to note that the R&M Alzheimer’s Group will continue to raise funds in coming years.
Alzheimer’s Group join in the acceptance of the cheque.
On 24 June, around 40 people took part in the 2018 charity walk from Cardiff Castle to Christ Church, Radyr to raise funds for Tenovus. Many other Tenovus supporters were also welcomed and all enjoyed a perfect Sunday afternoon.
A delicious strawberry tea was provided in the New School Rooms by members of the R&M Tenovus group – many thanks to all concerned!
The sad passing of Colin Pugh on 8th April gives us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the Garden Centre in our village. Colin’s father, Sydney Pugh started Wenallt Nurseries in Rhwbina in the late 1940s; Colin joined the business after leaving agricultural college in the early 1950s. He decided to expand the business, which had been a wholesale fruit and vegetable garden gate business, to a shop. In the 1960s he sold the shop and moved the business to Morganstown for a fresh start.
The new one acre site operated a market garden and pottery. By the 1970s it had further grown adding bedding plants, hanging baskets and garden fertilizers. It was at a time when householders were taking more interest in their gardens and were looking for a source for decorative garden plants.
The business became known as the Ty Nant Nurseries and was a very popular meeting point for local people. Colin’s wife, Winnie, gave up her nursing job to join him in the business to administer and help with the buying. It was at this time that Colin started to import shrubs and plants from Holland.
In the 1980s his two sons, Graham and Ian, joined the business bringing in new ideas and setting up links with local schools and the community. The centre began its expansion with the purchase of additional land to create a patio business and show site. The car park was expanded helping to increase the number of visitors and sales. By 1995 a number of concessionary operators were encouraged to set up businesses and today there are a number suppliers of clothing, aquatics, pet services, farm shop, window blinds, café, and a heating company alongside an enlarged garden centre.
Today the centre is a hive of activity with a unique shopping experience supporting the enlarged community, as well as local and national charities. Pugh’s has been a major supporter of the Radyr and Morganstown Festival from its inception in 1988. Many of these qualities were first established by Colin with his ability to communicate and understand the needs of his customers. We look forward to working with the present and next generation of the family, wishing them every success in their business, which so many of our community value.
Cllr Rod McKerlich
Congratulations and best wishes to County Councillor Rod McKerlich, who has been elected Deputy Lord Mayor for the municipal year 2018/19. His formal installation takes place in May.
Cllr. McKerlich explains:
The role of The Deputy Lord Mayor is to assist the Lord Mayor in carrying out civic duties which are extensive. The Lord Mayor receives a large number of invitations which could not be fulfilled by a single person and also takes the chair in monthly Council meetings, which can go on for several hours; if the Lord Mayor is unavailable or wants to divide the chairing of a long meeting, the deputy takes over.
The 8 March 2018 issue of Dysg, the Welsh Government’s Education Newsletter, has used the Bryn Deri video to publicise the introduction of its new curriculum. This is what it says:
The report was made by Year 5 pupils from Bryn Deri Primary School in Cardiff who won a ‘Pupil Parliament’ competition with LitFilmFest and A Tale Unfolds.
Pupils researched, scripted and filmed a news report about the proposed curriculum changes in Wales, using various technologies. Kirsty Williams A.M., Cabinet Secretary for Education in Wales, helped their research by visiting the school to answer questions.
The pupils’ prize was a day’s professional filming of their winning news report, an experience they thoroughly enjoyed, as you can tell.
With thanks to the pupils of Bryn Deri Primary School and Mark Eldridge, the Y5 class teacher who supported them with their project.
Here’s a link to the outstanding Bryn Deri video.
The Met Office issued a ‘red warning of wind and snow’ affecting the R&M area from 15:00 on 1 March until 02:00 on the following day. This is the first time that a weather warning of this level of severity has been issued for the area.
The full text reads:
“A spell of heavy snow and blizzard conditions is expected. The snow will be accompanied by very strong easterly winds leading to severe drifting. Some places could also see significant ice build up due to freezing rain from later on Thursday evening, most likely in the south of the area.
A red warning means you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely. You must avoid dangerous areas and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.”
Click here for the full picture, sourced from the Met Office app. This is what happened when Storm Emma met the Beast from the East and R&M had 25cm of snow, the largest snowfall since January 1982.
This Wednesday (21st), Radyr Parish Music Group’s latest show, Me and My Girl, opens at the Bishop of Llandaff High School. It’s a wonderfully funny show featuring familiar songs including ‘The Lambeth Walk’, ‘The Sun has got his hat on’, and ‘Leaning on a Lamppost’.
