News

The Radyr & Morganstown Association has nominated the Teenage Cancer Trust for Wales as the sponsored charity for the May Festival in 2006. TCT(W) is a charity that has been formed specifically to raised funds for a dedicated cancer ward for teenagers in the University Hospital of Wales.

The new ward will be TCT’s flagship unit as, at University Hospital, the unit will be placed between the Children’s Hospital (funded by the Noah’s Ark Appeal, which the Association sponsored in 2004) and the Adult Oncology Dept. TCT does not have a unit in England that can boast this. The unit will, however, cost £2.2M, of which £900K is still to be found.

The Association is proud to be associated with this endeavour. Each day in the UK, six teenagers will find out they have cancer – that is over 2,200 new diagnoses each year. Where there is no TCT unit, teenagers have to be treated in a children’s ward alongside toddlers and babies, or with adults and often elderly people. However, teenagers have unique problems with respect to cancer. In many cases, the cancer is not picked up early enough and symptoms are dismissed as growing pains or sports injuries. Because teenagers are undergoing growth spurts, their cancers grow faster than other age groups and they can be at greater risk. There are also important issues such as age of consent and the impact on fertility. These issues are often not addressed on a children’s ward or on a ward with the elderly. There is a desperate need for them to be treated in a specialist unit such as provided by TCT, and where oncologists say that they have up to 15% greater chance of recovery.

We are already working with TCT(W) to plan a great Festival for 2006. We will release details as they are agreed. You may, however, like to put in your diary a fantastic Gala Concert in aid of TCT(W) at the Wales Millennium Centre on Sunday, 9th October. Details have been put in the Radyr on-line diary, and tickets are available on line via www.wmc.org.uk.

If you would like to read more about the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust, please visit their main website on www.teenagecancertrust.org. If you want any more information, or would like to help in any way, please contact the Association’s Secretary, on Association@Radyr.org.uk.

As part of our policy to plan ahead as much as we can, you may also like to know that the Charity for 2007 will be the NSPCC.

The Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) at Cwm Farm was officially opened on 14th July 2005 by Neal Ardley of Cardiff City FC, and is designed to provide young people of all ages living in Radyr and Morganstown with an all-weather area to play football, basketball and cricket. Seating and a shelter have also been provided for those wishing to participate or watch.

Detached Youth Workers (funded jointly by Radyr & Morganstown Community Council and Cardiff Council) and the Local Youth Centre undertook a consultation with young people involving the use of questionnaires. Following its findings it was unanimously agreed to tackle issues it identified collectively, involving all sections of the community. In March 2004 the Radyr and Morganstown Young People’s Action Forum was established. It involved local people and became a focus for local residents to discuss issues of concern, particular those relating to anti-social behaviour. Led by Councillor Marion Drake, the Forum also comprised of Community Council, Radyr & Morganstown Association, police, local residents and youth workers and other council staff.

Through regular meetings and consultation, a design for a multi use games area was produced by local young people and presented to officers working for Parks Services. Young people were involved in every aspect of planning and design, right down to choosing colour schemes. Their hard work securing £52,000 for the MUGA and a further £6000 was provided by the Community Council and Community Association for a seating area. The project’s construction was then carried out under supervision of the Council’s Parks Services.

The name ARENA was chosen by the young people themselves.

by Web Team Reporter – 14/07/2005

Congratulations to Radyr and Morganstown Association on a very successful Festival Fortnight from the Radyr and Morganstown Friends of Tenovus Group.

The Group, delighted that Tenovus was the adopted Charity for Festival Fortnight 2005, sends many grateful thanks for the magnificent sum of £2,800, raised as a result of the events organised and promoted by the Association Festival Committee.

The total represents funds and donations from many different organizations and individuals who participated in the festivities. The Group appreciates the generosity of all who were involved in and supported the following:

The Association Festival Committee members dedicated many hours to ensure the success of the Radyr and Morganstown Festival 2005 and the Tenovus Group was very grateful to be invited to participate in and benefit from what, many will agree, was the highest standard, most event – filled and enjoyable Festival to date.

Many sincere thanks are, once again, extended to the Festival Committee and to our caring and generous community for the very happy and pleasant way in which the Charity has been helped to fund vital programmes, which are important to all of us.

Don`t miss the opportunity to enjoy some wonderful events within your community and the chance to help another worthwhile cause during the Association Festival in May 2006.

For further information about the Tenovus Group please ring 20842096.

Charity no.1054015

by Betty Fitzgerald – 09/07/2005

by Maggie Roberts – 17/04/2005

The Twinning Fellowship held it’s Bi-Annual Quiz Night in the Old Church Rooms at the beginning of April. It was a full house as 9 teams competed for the prestigious gold medals.

Mr Alan Doe, from Radyr Golf Club was our Quiz Master once again and as usual was assisted by Mr. Dale Edwards. A variety of general knowledge questions keep us all busy. Several questions about France had us scratching our heads, this included a French man, school teachers and members of the Twinning Committee. The winners by just one point were the Bar Stewards and they were delighted to receive their golden (chocolate) medals and the genuine bottle of Champagne.

A tasty supper was served during the evening and everyone enjoyed themselves in true Twinning Fellowship style.

This is written from Firefox

On Monday 14th September, at 2.30pm, a Blue Plaque will be unveiled on the site of the Sweetshop frequented by the young Roald Dahl.

The Sweetshop was immortalised as the home of the hideous Mrs Pratchett and scene of the Great Mouse Plot, in his autobiography, Boy. Here the young Dahl and his accomplices hid a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers, to scare the creepy confectioner – with terrifying consequences.

The Llandaff Society, Roald’s wife, Liccy and members of the Dahl family will be at 11 High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff, where Roald’s son, Theo Dahl, will unveil the plaque commemorating the life, work and birth in Llandaff, of ‘The World’s Number One Storyteller’. Then, excerpts from The Great Mouse Plot will be re-enacted to set the scene, and provide entertainment for the many Roald Dahl fans invited from local schools.

Events will begin at 2.30pm, at 11 High Street, Llandaff, with a news conference, followed by the unveiling ceremony.

For further details, please contact Geoffrey Barton-Greenwood on 029 20 563181

Test2

This statement has been issued at the request of the Council Parks Department.

Cardiff Council has discovered an outbreak of Phytophthora Ramorum at the Mound Field Motte site in Morganstown and will now be working to destroy the infected vegetation. Phytophthora Ramorum – known as Sudden Oak Death – is a fungal infection and has been found on rhododendron in the small woodland area around the motte. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has been informed and under its instructions the Council now has to remove and destroy all affected vegetation to limit the chance of the disease spreading.

Phytophthora spores spread through water, including airborne droplets which can be carried on animals, and through infected water in soil. The Mound Field site is extremely waterlogged and there are no footpaths. The area will now need to be fenced off before any works take place to ensure that there is no public access to the infected area. All vegetation will then need to be removed from around the mound and burnt in accordance with the destruction notice issued by FERA (the Food and Environment Research Agency), an agency of DEFRA. As the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, consent has been obtained from CADW for this work to begin.

A second fenced off area in the north western corner of the field will need to be created for the burning to take place. Due to this area being close to an adult-sized football pitch, use of this pitch will be suspended while the burning operations are in progress until at least the end of the year, subject to ground conditions. This burning is also expected to take until at least the end of 2009. The fencing will need to be retained on the main site to exclude public access until it has been declared free of the disease, which could take between three and five years.

The infection was detected when the rhododendrons on the site were routinely tested as part of the process of preparing the Conservation Management Plan for the Mound field Motte site in early November. This outbreak does not appear to be linked to a similar recent infection at Parc Cefn Onn.

For the first time, the Parish of Radyr will take part in National Open Churches Day in Wales on 19 September, by inviting the people of Cardiff and beyond to come inside and explore its hidden treasures.

And the Parish has some surprising little gems to discover!! One of its churches, St John’s in Danescourt, lies almost hidden in the middle of a modern housing estate and shopping centre, but within its walls are clues to Cardiff’s past. Not many people know that St John’s is built on the site of an ancient wayside shrine that is believed to have given Radyr its name. Its churchyard has a 1000 year old yew tree, one of the oldest in Wales, and is also the place where the parents of Roald Dahl, born in Radyr, were buried..

This historic country church has survived the march of time, civil war soldiers and modern urban planning, and today provides a spiritual respite from the madness of modern life, and is home to a thriving community.

Its sister church, Christ Church, in Radyr is also hosting a number of events throughout the day but the message is the same- “come and enjoy the buildings, the atmosphere, and what an asset we have” .

“We have never done this before” says the Parish Rector, Jenny Wigley, “but we would love people to come and see what a church is all about. The buildings are precious and important, with lots of features to interest everyone. But they are also fascinating because they follow an ancient design, every feature is significant. And of course, we want to have fun – so, between the two churches of St John’s and Christ Church, Radyr, we have organised a series of events to help everyone enjoy and be part of the community on their doorstep. We have something for everyone – music, children’s activities and Welsh cakes!”

The BBC will be interviewing Jim Cowan, one of the Parish organisers, live on BBC ‘Good Morning Wales’ on Saturday morning at 7.50am to find out more about what the Parish is doing. So have a listen at that time.

The events will run at both churches from 10am-5pm. Entry is free. Further information about the Parish and the activities on Open Churches Day can be found on its website www.parish.radyr.org.uk

At Radyr Golf Club, and around Wales, 6,000 golfers teed off at 10 am on Saturday 10 October to the accompaniment of guns being fired from castles around the Principality. The Tenovus Challenge Day was a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest number of golfers to tee off together. The Friends of Tenovus extend many thanks to the Rev. Christine Colton and Colin Evans, former Assistant Chief Constable of Wales, who kindly agreed to be the independent witnesses of the event. Grateful thanks also go to David Cargill for recording the necessary photographic evidence. The event will raise a very large sum for the Charity programmes and many thanks go to all who participated.

Betty Fitzgerald (Radyr Friends of Tenovus)