News

There is a current consultation on expanding Radyr Primary School to become 2-form entry. The birth-rate in Radyr and Morganstown, for the last three years, has demanded about 90 places in the reception classes of the two local schools. This is a huge increase since 2006 when I became a governor at Radyr Primary, when the catchment areas only demanded 40 to  50 of the available 75 places. For the last four years Radyr Primary has been allowed to accept an intake of 60 rather than 45; the purpose of the consultation is to make this a permanent intake. If the consultation  does not result in the proposals being carried, this will impact severely on 30 pupils and their parents in September 2017, and increased numbers will suffer disruption as the enforced lower intake runs through the school.

To access the consutation doucment, click here.  (You have to go the bottom of the page to start  the survey.)  Note that responses must be returned by 21st November.

The pdfs below (in English and in Welsh) show the full case which is supported by me as local County Councillor and by the Community Council,

Rod McKerlich.

english-radyr-prim

welsh-radyr-prim

The hay on the Morganstown Motte site was cut by Cardiff Council last week. Until it is cut again in September next year it will be managed as a wildflower site.

The growth on the mound will be cut back once the leaves have fallen, but the management strategy is to keep the growth as saplings. These saplings will not be allowed to grow into trees because the tree roots could damage the stonework from the Norman building.  The mound is steep and not really safe to climb, so it is better to have saplings there than grass. This also preserves another habitat for wildlife.

Allan Cook, on behalf of the Friends of Morganstown Motte, thanks everyone involved in this work, and especially Cardiff Council for their valued help.

PS: volunteers will be needed in September 2017 to help with the raking!

Thriller play’s first performance in Wales!

Would you have believed that the lady author of ‘The Railway Children’ would have a penchant for the darker side? Well she certainly had. The less well-known part of Edith Nesbit’s writings were rather more for adults, and often of the ghost story/lesser horror genre. This aspect of her work is the subject of  Radyr Drama Society’s next production, being performed at Morganstown Village Hall, Cardiff, on 24^th/25^th and 26^th of November.  (Tickets available from Gill Evans (2084 2432); Ener chi in Station Road, Radyr; and ticketsource at £10, £9 (concessions) and £7 (students).

Created by script-writer and playwright Philip Meeks, this relatively new piece of work for theatre was first performed at Harrogate in 2013, and subsequently at the Edinburgh Festival in 2015.

The author has invited an unknown young male admirer of her work up to her attic writing room, in order to escape her husband’s Christmas Eve party. Aided and abetted by her housekeeper and companion Biddy Thricefold , Edith embarks on a number of readings from her ghostly tales for adults. Each member of the trio takes turns in reading in the dialogue of characters in the stories. All this takes place, while an unseen young female party guest, who earlier fainted, is recovering in an adjacent bedroom.

From time to time between stories, the young male guest’s identity is briefly questioned, but with no clear answer forthcoming as to who he is. As the tension mounts, an awful truth comes to light, and the identities of the young woman in the adjacent room, and of Edith’s young male admirer, are revealed in a dramatic and unexpected ending.

As well as such recent successes as ‘The Sunshine Boys’ and ‘Barefoot in the Park’, Radyr Drama Society aims also to be innovative in presenting some newer material. ‘Edith in the Dark’ is very much in that category, and is certainly a play not to be missed.

(You can read more about Edith Nesbit’s ‘darker side’ in a recent Guardian article – see here.)

Radyr Comprehensive School has issued the following press release about this year’s A-level results:

PRESS RELEASE 

Provisional A Level Results 2016 

Congratulations to our year 13 for achieving an outstanding set of A Level results. 

28% of our students achieved at least 3 A grades. 

Our overall provisional percentage figures are as follows: 

 A*A % – 47 %

 A*B % – 67 %

 A*C % – 86 %

 A*D % – 94 % 

 A*E % – 99 % 

We wish the students all the very best as they embark on the next chapter in their lives. 

On Saturday 23^rd July, Danybryn residents, families and friends enjoyed the fine weather at their fete and raised £600 towards a replacement vehicle.

Derek Bateman, Volunteer Co-ordinator at Danybryn Leonard Cheshire Disability, expressed his thanks to all those who helped and supported the splendid event.

A £2.6m project which uses the power of the River Taff in Cardiff to generate electricity is set to open.

The Radyr Weir hydro scheme uses the current to rotate two turbines and it is estimated it will generate enough electricity to power 550 homes.

When the system starts running on Tuesday, the section of the Taff Trail which was closed to allow work to happen will reopen.

Its design still allows migratory fish to swim upriver and spawn.

Ramesh Patel, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability, said: “It gives me an enormous amount of pleasure and indeed pride to open this scheme which is a permanent reminder of the council’s commitment to generate and invest in clean, locally-generated energy.”

(BBC NEWS)

On Thursday, 14th July, the Festival Committee met to review the May 2016 Festival.  The Festival, which had had Roald Dahl as the underlying theme and was run in support of Velindre Hospital, was thought to have gone really well.  Two new events – the Vintage Afternoon Tea Party, organised by Karen Wright, and the Open Gardens Sunday, organised by Gill Evans – had been a tremendous success and it was hoped that they will be repeated in future years.

David Cargill, Chair of the Festival Committee, thanked everyone for their hard work and noted that next year would mark the 30^th anniversary of the May festival.  A challenge indeed!

During the proceedings, David Cargill and David Silver (Chair of the Radyr & Morganstown Association) presented Professor Rosemary Kennedy (Chair of the Velindre NHS Trust) with a cheque for £11,000.  This represented the total amount raised by the R&M Community for Velindre over the past year.  Professor Kennedy thanked the Association and the Community of Radyr & Morganstown for supporting the work of Velindre and ensured the money would be put to very good use.

At the end of the proceedings, Aled Treharne, local leader for St John’s Cymru, introduced himself and his organisation and said how delighted and honoured he was that St John’s Cymru had been selected as the Association’s Charity for the coming year.   He looked forward to working with the team.

This year’s Festival with a number of events already completed, including a very successful parade and Fete and a sold out concert given by Male Voice Choir Côr Meibion Taf.  You can read about the Festival, the link with Roald Dahl and details of some of the events in this Wales On-line report.

Full details of the events and a report on progress are available on the Festival Website.

This is a picture of the crowning of the Festval Queen, Erin Desmond and her two attendants, Gracie Rodriguez and Katie Houstan.

On Saturday 19th March 2016 Peter Esswood and the Radyr and Morganstown Choral Society welcomed the Welsh Chamber Players and four fine soloists to Christ Church Radyr for a performance of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah.

The fledgling choir had not aspired to such a large work so far in its three year existence but an enthusiastic audience seemed to suggest that such an undertaking was not now beyond the scope of the Society and gave the performance a most warm reception.

Having excellent links with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Peter Esswood’s small orchestra and the smaller ranks of choristers meant a leaner sound that was appropriate to the church setting.  The players produced a fine balance of tone to which the four soloists, again chosen by Peter, were able to reach splendidly high standards of projection. Soprano Anastasiia Golovina, contralto Olivia Gomez, tenor Andrew Henley and Bass Bertie Watson are all making names for themselves on the national stage and Radyr was fortunate to have been able to secure their presence at what was a memorable occasion for the village.

If you would like to know more about future performances of the R&M Choral Society or how to become a member, contact the Secretary.

Burglaries at Pugh’s Garden Centre.  The police are involved and additional security is being organised.   A house burglary took place on Thursday 4th March with loss of valuables and a car, later recovered.

16/00106/MJR

Application for the development of 300 houses on Goitre Fach Farm, Llantrisant Road.  This is the farm situated halfway between Rhydlafar railway bridge and Maes y Llech farm.   This is in addition to the 630 houses at the Radyr roundabout.

Special rates for Social Membership at Radyr Golf Club – £20 + £10 for your partner.  Discounted bar available and use of the restaurant facilites.  See http://tinyurl.com/j3bwprw  for more details.

Alex Smith from Tenovus writes “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our Radyr and Morganstown Friends of Tenovus Cancer Care who work tirelessly within the Radyr Community to raise funds and awareness for the charity“.

Tenovus Cancer Care helps cancer patients and their loved ones by offering practical advice and emotional support. Our volunteers and friends groups continue to make this possible for us through their hard work and dedication, raising vital funds and helping us to reach those who need us most.

We’re really very grateful to our all of our volunteers, and Radyr Friends of Tenovus Cancer Care group, who make this possible.

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer for Tenovus Cancer Care, please get in touch on 02920 768861 or by emailing alexandra.smith@tenovuscancercare.org.uk to hear about our opportunities.

A number of residents attended the County Council site meeting at Parc Radur on 3rd February which had been arranged to look at the location of the proposed development of 630 houses.  Cllr McKerlich questioned the officers regarding the risk of sink holes, flooding from local streams and nearby land, and also the effects of the new development on traffic.       No meaningful answers were given.  Plaid Cymru have organised a meeting at the OCR on Monday 8th February at 7:30pm to discuss the application and the Local Development Plan in general.  The Planning application comes before Planning Committee at County Hall on Wednesday 10^th February at 2.30pm. The public are welcome to attend this meeting.

On Wednesday 10 February Cardiff Council Planners approved the planning application by Redrow Homes for the building of 630 homes north and south of the Llantrisant Road. Despite valiant efforts by Cllr Rod McKerlich and Nick Hawkins, Secretary of the R&M Association, to get the Council to understand the plans were flawed, the application was passed on a majority vote. You can read the positive bulletin on BBC News here. which is described by Redrow, the developer, as a “flagship garden city development”

South Wales Echo – Thursday 11th Februrary 2016

‘Plasdwr’   Nick Hawkins from the R&M Association handed a petitition of 686 signatures in.  He said Radyr suffered from a lack of facilites.   Like many parts of Cardiff facilities in Radyr and Morganstown are already overloaded for many services.  The local Welsh School was in Leckwith and health services were overstretched.   

The reality could be 1000 extra cars during the peak.  Saying that buses will ‘slip’ unhindered through Llandaff into the city is naive.     The group had hoped the granting of the LDP would help their pleas but say it is ‘little more than a poor wishlist’, much of which house builders will wriggle out of providing.  We have been here before, we have had lots of new houses built, lots of promises of a new primary school and community centre, have they materialised?  NO they have not!

He ended his three minute slot by saying, ‘in truth, this application is for development in the wrong place at the wrong time and will bring discredit to both Cardiff and the planners’.

Opposition was raised by three Council members – Cllr Rod McKerlich, Cllr Paul Mitchell and Cllr Neil McEvoy.

Further development

An application has been submitted to build 300 houses on land west of Llantrisant Road at Goitre Fach Farm, Capel Llanilltern alongside the old railway line.  This is addition to the development at the BBC site in Llandaff for 400 houses.

Total to date:  1330 houses

In December 2014, Saverio Florimonte (who established Cicchetti in Radyr) suggested he would like to start a wine appreciation club to allow people to learn about wine – what to look for, how to appreciate it, how to enjoy it, etc. Some like-minded people got together in January 2015 and we have been tasting wine regularly ever since. The group has grown to 12 members and we thought it was time to have a proper meal to celebrate a year’s activities. Partners were invited and we all sat down in Cicchetti on 11 January for an excellent lunch with a menu and specially selected accompanying wines all chosen by Saverio.

It was a lovely occasion and congratulations were passed to Saverio for setting up such a successful group and arranging a superb meal. Saverio said he had enjoyed establishing the club and looked forward to another year of wine appreciation. He had lots of ideas for new tastings and he hoped it would be possible to grow the membership. At the end of the meal everyone thanked the three chefs who had been labouring away in the kitchen.

Currently the Wine Club meets in Cicchetti at 11:00 on the second Monday and the Fourth Wednesday in the month – subject to sufficient people being available. It is a very flexible and congenial arrangement. If you would like to join the group, get in touch with Nick Hawkins.

Wine club members ready to eat

Saverio serves the desert

Three happy cooks

Our recent production of “Bonaventure” was well received and adds to the list of successful productions staged by the society. However, as in many spheres, there is a constant turnover of members and the group is constantly on the lookout for both for new acting talent and people interested in theatre ready to play a backstage role in a variety of ways such as dress making, costume design, set design, building and decoration, stage management, publicity, lighting and sound.  On performance nights we also need front of house staff.  Actors of all ages and sex are welcome.  Recently, we have found that students following a course of study in the performing arts find it useful to get experience ‘on the ground’ via Am-Dram

The Society’s Spring production (April 21^st to 23^rd) will be ‘Barefoot in the Park’ by Neil Simon. Auditions have been held, the play is cast and rehearsals are in full swing.  In fact, ideas are already being discussed for the autumn production. If you’d like to get involved, get in touch without delay.  You can do this via the web site (www.radyr.org.uk/drama) where you can see information about the society and the various plays it has staged over the years.

Children from the village and members of Radyr Golf Club met Santa at the annual Christmas Party held on Tuesday 22nd December.  Santa arrived in a buggy with his two elves and distributed presents to all the children.  This was followed by a tea party and entertainment.   A good time was had by all!

As usual trees were lit in Morganstown Granny Park, Lychgate Gardens and in Windsor Gardens by the Festival Queen and her attendants. Children from Bryn Deri went to Morganstown and from Radyr Primary to Lychgate Gardens where they sang carols. They joined together in Windsor Gardens where choirs from both schools sang together. Everyone then moved to Station Road where the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr David Walker addressed the crowd and then switched on the lights. Santa then arrived and was immediately surrounded by young children. Everyone enjoyed wandering around the shops and visiting the many craft and gift stalls. As usual the BBQ and Mulled Wine Bar were busy from the start of the event until it finished. A big thank you to everyone who helped make the event so successful.

Tree Lighting 2015

View this gallery on Flickr

After a break of two years, St John Cymru Wales is proud to be able to announce that the Radyr Division is open once again and looking for volunteers.

Radyr Division has a long history of supporting the community and it’s especially exciting to see the division reopening exactly 95 years since the division was founded.

There are 4,000 St John Cymru Wales volunteers across Wales who provide first aid cover to a huge range of events every year and without them, many events like church fetes, fireworks displays, carnivals, rugby and football matches, athletics meets and even events as big as the Six Nations and Cardiff Half Marathon wouldn’t be able to take place. Last year, St John volunteers spent around 215,000 hours attending 4,500 events and treated almost 10,000 people for everything from cuts and bruises to delivering a baby.

St John will be holding an open day in Radyr Golf club on Saturday, 28^th November from 10am until 4pm where volunteers from the division and the area will be on hand to talk to members of the community over a cup of tea and a biscuit about the work that St John volunteers do, what is involved in becoming a member and how you can help.

From January, St John will be running a regular training night on Tuesdays from 7pm until 9pm at the Old Church Rooms where new members are always welcome.

To find out more about St John, the work the volunteers do, or to register your interest in becoming a member, see the website at https://sjaw.org.uk/register, or you can contact Aled Treharne at aled.treharne@radyr.sjaw.org.uk or on 01633 533103.