Mumbles Community Council Newsletter - Autumn 2015

Autumn 2015

a great day was had by all at

A new Christmas Tree & Lights for 2015

IN S I D E

Bloom Victory

page 2

produced by

latest stories

...It’s a Knockout

A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN

WALES IN BLOOM

AS THIS ISSUE OF THE MUMBLES COMMUNITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER WILL BE THE FOURTH AND LAST FOR 2015, I CANNOT HELP BUT RECALL WHAT A BUSY YEAR IT HAS BEEN, ATTENDING VARIOUS FUNCTIONS WITHIN OUR AREA.

Mumbles Community Council Mumbles Wins 1st Place in the Class 9 - Urban Community Category

Some very happy occasions such as celebrating the 100th Birthdays of Bill Griffiths and Wendy Ewing, two very interesting and remarkable residents, the Honour of Mumbles on 21st May, the Raft Race on 28th June and

Bill Barrington and Cllr. Helen Mitchell laying wreaths to commemorate VJ Day.

not forgetting the very successful event - It's a Knockout, on 4th July. A big 'Thank you' is

number of trees, in the Mumbles Community

extended to the councillors who helped make

Council area, to three. The Christmas Motifs

it such a success.

will also be installed on the lamp posts along

Other functions attended were very poignant the Commemoration of VE Day on 8th May and recently VJ Day on 15th August, remembering all who lost their lives to give us our futures.

Mumbles Road from Oystermouth Square, dare I say, "lighting up the community".

We will be looking into the provision of a 4th tree, by next year, in Newton, thus covering the 4 Wards Mumbles Community Council is in the process

MCC also marked the occasion of our Queen's

of planning future events in the area, details of

longest reign in British history, by the lighting

which will be advertised in due course.

of the beacon on the ramparts of Oystermouth Castle, and the simultaneous pealing of the

I would, once again, thank you for your continued support

bells of All Saint's Church.

COUNCILLOR HELEN MITCHELL By the end of November, we are providing a Christmas Tree at Blackpill, bringing the total

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Chairman, Mumbles Community Council.

“Congratulations, but there is more work to do!” was the message from Wales in Bloom Judges, Michael Clark and Jim Goodwin, as they awarded Mumbles first place, but only a Bronze Certificate for the Community Council’s entry into Wales in Bloom 2015.

The judges choose a wet and windy day (13th July 2015) and were consequently driven around the four wards by the Chairman of Mumbles Community Council and the Chairman of Development Committee.

Their comments were as follows:Although some areas showed inconsistency, other areas were excellent. The public open spaces were well maintained with both the grass and permanent planting looking in good condition. The 'Community Orchard' was judged as an unusual and exciting project, with the Welsh apple variety trees, maturing and in good health.

MCC successfully implanted a small but attractive clearance and landscaping scheme at the Jubilee Garden, in partnership with a local rehabilitation centre, to create a floral and sitting area.

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MUMBLES IN BLOOM

MUMBLES IN BLOOM

Mumbles Community Council would like to thank Mr. Bob Mapp, a well known and respected judge for Swansea in Bloom, who kindly gave up his time to judge all the categories. MCC also extends a big 'Thank you' to all who made it possible to hold 'Mumbles in Bloom'

SCHOOL CATEGORY 1st Prize: Oystermouth School (Oystermouth) 2nd Prize: St David’s School (West Cross)

School category winner: Oystermouth School

COMMERCIAL PREMISES !st Prize: Mumtaz (Oystermouth) 2nd Prize: Carlton (Oystermouth) FRONT GARDENS 1st Prize: 15 Fairwood Rd (West Cross) 2nd Prize: 8 Wollacott Drive (Newton) 3rd Prize: 12 Brynau Drive (Mayals) Commended: 102 Plunch Lane (Oystermouth) 122 West Cross Lane (West Cross)

Commercial Premises category winner: Mumtaz

Container Gardens winner

Front Gardens winner

COMMUNITY AWARD 1st Prize: Mill Gardens (Mayals) 2nd Prize: Fairwood Road from No.9 upwards row of houses (West Cross) CONTAINER GARDENS 1st Prize: 112 Punch Lane (Oystermouth) 2nd Prize: 85 St. Andrews Close (Mayals) 3rd Prize: 32 St. Andrews Close (Mayals)

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Community Award winner

Community Award winner

Community Award winner

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GRANTS

GRANTS SCULPTURES BY THE SEA Thank you for Mumbles Community Council’s grant of £1,000 towards funding our Sculpture by the Sea UK Festival project.

Firstly, five art workshops were run by our team of artists in June/July term time for all five of our Mumbles primary schools to create festival flags and displays to use at our annual Sculpture by the Sea UK Festival at Bracelet Bay and Blackpill in July 2015.

ANCIENT & MODERN – ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, OYSTERMOUTH

All Saints’ has served the community of

At All Saints we have been most grateful to

place where villagers come to pray and light a

Mumbles Community Council for a grant of

candle, bring their children to baptism, tie the

£8,000 for new upholstered chairs in the

knot in marriage and pay their respects to

Church. They have replaced the

departed loved ones. At All Saints’ there is a

uncomfortable old wooden ones and have

welcome for everyone irrespective of religious

already been much appreciated by the

affiliation or none.

thousands of concert goers this last year. The

In recent years the Church has opened its

grant helped the parish to purchase 120 of the

doors to more and more community use. It is

300 chairs we needed. The next time you are

the largest public venue in Mumbles and, last

in our ancient and modern Church look out for

year alone, there were over ninety community

workshops are both environmental and sustainable as materials used are found – i.e. sand, shells, pebbles etc. and are designed to educate, inspire and delight, touching all the senses to really experience making art, as you can see from the photos enclosed.”

the plaques on many of the chairs which read,

and charitable events held in the building.

SARAH HOLDEN, SCULPTURE BY THE SEA

‘A gift from Mumbles Community Council.’

These included concerts, exhibitions, lectures,

Mumbles for well over a thousand years.

Today, as well as being the spiritual home for several hundred regular worshippers it is a

The festival, itself, was a two-day event, led by trained artists and involved people of all ages taking part in an activity on the beach to

a fashion show, lifeboat services, a night For the last few months one of the most historic and iconic buildings in Mumbles, All

We hope to complete our ambitious

Saints’ Church, has been clad with scaffolding

restoration of All Saints by the end of 2016

as the centuries old building has been re-

and we look forward to opening the Church

roofed and the Norman tower repaired. The

building to even more community use and

work is part of a major £1 million makeover of

working with Mumbles Community Council in

the Church.

the future.

CANON KEITH EVANS Vicar of Oystermouth

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create sculptures whilst engaging with the place and nature. We have been running this local festival for ten years so have built up a following of participants each year and the preliminary workshops with the schools ensures that the community is connected with the event through the children and come and take part in the festival. The festival

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IT’S A KNOCKOUT

IT’S A KNOCKOUT

QUOTES FROM CHILDREN FROM NEWTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

grab a sponge body part and take it to the

STAN: We did loads of different mini games.

favourite was Human Demolition.

other end and then go back and get them. My

One was human demolition where we had

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED IN MAKING IT'S A KNOCKOUT SUCH A SUCCESS. THE WEATHER WAS GREAT, THE TEAMS WERE AMAZING AND THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS WHO CAME ALONG TO CHEER THEIR TEAMS MADE THIS A DAY TO REMEMBER.

players from each team on a podium and had to push a ball and knock the other players off.

On Build a Burger, you ran with a burger through rubber poles. On Sponge Castle you had to catch sponges that people catapulted.

To those of you who are clamouring for a repeat performance next year, guess what !

Preparations for another event are already under way. Look out for further details early next year in our Spring Newsletter.

On Chicken Run you had to dress up as a chicken, carry an egg over big blocks. On Water Run you wear a builders hat with a

TALIA STREATER: A few weeks ago I was in a team called Yr5 Newton Girls Team which was part of Its a Knockout. It was really fun. They had loads of cool challenges my favourite was Build a Burger, when you had to go on one at a time to build a hamburger. I would do it again if I had a choice. I give it a five star rating.

hole. Put a cup of water in the hole run over

MIA PARSLEY:

an unstable bridge with holes in it and put it

On the 4th of July lots of teams around

in a tube at the end. On Build a Human you

Swansea competed against each other in a event called Its a Knockout. It was a very physical competition. The competition was fun and exciting. Y5 girls from Newton came joint 7th and the Y5 boys came last (12th). My favourite part was going through the tunnel with foam while holding a big squishy bowling pin. The worst part was wrecking ball because I cut my toe nail.

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IT’S A KNOCKOUT

IT’S A KNOCKOUT

We are hoping this event is going to turn into a annual classic for Mumbles - next year’s date is already booked for 2nd July 2016

I would like to say that the event was very professionally run and thoroughly enjoyable.

The games were great and the natural amphitheatre of the castle grounds made an excellent venue, both for participants and spectators. The weather obviously helped but I think it would have been equally enjoyable even in the rain! My team must have enjoyed as they all want to take part again next year. Here's hoping it happens.

Dafydd Morris, Cheers Wine Merchant

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EVENTS TWINNING

i

LIGHTING OF THE BEACON

INFORMATION EVENT 20th October 11am - 3pm at

The Church Hall, Church of The Holy Cross, Fairwood Road, West Cross, Swansea.

Information will be available from several agencies, including: The Police Service Citizens Advice • Care & Repair Trading Standards • Recycling • Age Cymru Driving for the Elderly • I.T. Help • Red Cross Energy saving. • N.H.S. • Home Care Plus FREE 65+ driver refresher courses Come along and participate. It won't be a waste of time. This event is all about making you aware of the help and assistance that is available to you. Enjoy a chat and a cuppa whilst receiving information about, e.g. cold callers, scams, security and safety advice etc.

MCC representative Cllr David Dorsett planting the tree with The Mayor of Hennebont looking on

Also in attendance was MCC Vice Chairman, Cllr. Peter Birch, who lit the Beacon, accompanied by the West Cross ATC

Gifts from MCC to Hennebont

The lighting of the

TWINNING HENNEBONT TWINNED WITH MUMBLES The community of Mumbles has been officially twinned with Hennebont in France for 10 years.

The Mayor of Hennebont invited MCC Civic

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Photographs taken at the lighting of the Beacon at Oystermouth Castle on the 9th of September to mark Queen Elizabeth II becoming Britain's longest serving monarch.

representative Cllr David Dorsett to help plant a tree to celebrate the occasion and gifts were exchanged, forging the link between the two communities for the future.

Beacon was accompanied, simultaneously, by the pealing

attendance and read the prayer specially

of the bells at All Saints' Church.

written for the occasion. This prayer was

Reverend Canon Keith Evans was in

read in churches throughout the country.

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THE POLICE HAVE THEIR SAY I have recently joined the Neighbouring Policing Team in the Gower and have the pleasure of becoming the Neighbourhood Beat Manager for the Mumbles, Mayals, Newton and West Cross areas.

The Neighbourhood Policing Team of South Wales Police strive to make a difference to their local communities by focusing on preventing, reducing and investigating the crimes that affect local communities. There is an excellent team of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO's) who are working hard to reduce the anti-social behaviour that is affecting the local area.

I would like to take this opportunity to provide details of PACT meetings. PACT meetings are regularly held in the Oyster Lounge, Mumbles, covering issues in the Oystermouth and Newton areas, and in Mayals School, Fairwood Road, covering issues in Mayals, Blackpill and West Cross areas and is an opportunity for residents to come and speak with not only Police, but local Councillors and other agencies about any concerns you have within the local community. It is from the PACT meetings that the Neighbourhood Policing Team will identify the local policing issues. The PACT meetings are advertised in the Evening Post, but you could also contact me for future dates.

There have been a number of recent complaints regarding speeding vehicles in the area, particularly on Mumbles Road, West Cross Lane, Mayals Road and Plunch Lane. We took part in an European Wide Speed Enforcement Campaign which ran from 17th August - 23rd August 2015, and saw officers performing high visibility patrols in the area, utilising a speed gun to record the speed of passing motorists.

There has also been a number of recent bicycle thefts within Swansea, and I would like to remind everybody to be vigilant when parking or storing

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your bikes. Please always use a bike lock! If you are a bike owner, please record the chassis number of your bike, which can be found underneath the pedal crank of the bike (the lowest part of the bicycle frame). This number is unique to your bike and will enable us, should your bike ever be parted from you, to identify you as the owner and return it. You can register your details at www.bikeregister.com or www.immobilise.com You can follow the local Neighbourhood Policing Teams on a daily basis on Twitter ; @swpwest If you have any questions or queries or would like to contact any of us, our details are :PS 3381 Chris Dix 07584004409 chris.dix@south-wales.pnn.police.uk

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AS MENTIONED IN THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT the third Christmas Tree will be sited alongside the Welcome to Mumbles stone signage on Mumbles Road at Blackpill. The other two trees will be sited as per previous years, one on the Village Green in West Cross and the other in Oystermouth, opposite The White Rose. It is also hoped to extend the motifs, on the lamp posts on Mumbles Road, further towards Verdis.

PC 5043 James Rogers 07584883365 james.rogers@south-wales.pnn.police.uk PCSO 55348 Vicky Cassidy (for West Cross, Mayals & Blackpill) 07805301620 vicky.cassidy@south-wales.pnn.police.uk PCSO 54407 Suzie Broad (for Mumbles & Newton) 07805301630 suzie.broad@south-wales.pnn.police.uk PCSO 55093 Lucy Lewis (for Mumbles & Newton) 07805301660 lucy.lewis@south-wales.pnn.police.uk Please remember, if you need to speak to Police, but don't require an emergency response, call 101 from your landline or mobile phone. This number can be used to report a non-emergency to any force in Wales and England. In an emergency, always dial 999

Mumbles Community Council would like to take this opportunity in wishing you all a Happy Christmas and prosperous 2016. and finally... ...Christmas lights switch on in Mumbles on Thursday 26 November, put it in your diary.

PC JAMES ROGERS

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YOUR COMMUNITY COUNCILLORS MAYALS WARD

OYSTERMOUTH WARD

WEST CROSS WARD

Cllr Mike Griffiths 22 Wentworth Crescent, Mayals, Swansea SA3 5HT t: 01792 405080 e: mike.griffiths68@yahoo.co.uk

Cllr Anthony Colburn 14 St Peters Road, Newton, Swansea SA3 4SB t: 01792 362457 e: tony.colburn@swansea.gov.uk

Cllr Helen Mitchell 25 St. Andrews Close, Mayals, Swansea SA3 5DX t: 01792 406080 m:07761942861 e:mitchell911@btinternet.com

Cllr John Cooper Apt 3, Highbury House, 9 Rotherslade Road,Langland, Swansea SA3 4QW t: 01792 368568 e: jscooper1@talktalk.net

Cllr Brian Arthur 31 Chestnut Ave, West Cross, Swansea SA3 5NL t: 01792 404369 m: 07721 066259 e: baarthur@ntlworld.com

Cllr Linda Tyler-Lloyd 2 Glynderwen Close Sketty, Swansea SA2 8EQ t: 01792 202005 e: linda.tyler-lloyd@swansea.gov.uk

Cllr Peggy Jones 12 Castle Square, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BJ t; 01792 362116 e: council@mumbles.gov.uk

Cllr David Dorsett 4 Brookvale Road, West Cross, Swansea SA3 5EX t: 01792 406220 e: dorsettdmcc@gmail.com

Cllr Terry Scales 53 Woodville Road,Mumbles Swansea SA3 4AE t: 01792 366811 m:07946 624502 e: terry.tw.scales@talk21.com

Cllr Pam Erasmus 4 Brookvale Road, West Cross, Swansea SA3 5EX t: 01792 406220 e:pamerasmus@hotmail.co.uk

NEWTON WARD Cllr John Beach 25 Picket Mead Road, Newton, Swansea SA3 4SA t: 01792 369320 e: beachj@btinternet.com Cllr Mary Colburn 14 St Peters Road, Newton, Swansea SA3 4SB t: 01792 362457 e: tanymaryhon@gmail.com Cllr Tracey Duffy 75 Derlwyn, Dunvant, Swansea SA2 7QA t: 01792 203675 e: dragoncrafts@hotmail.co.uk Cllr Judith Twining 38 Croftfield Crescent, Newton, Swansea SA3 4UL t: 01792 363469 e:mumblesfootcare@btinternet.com

Cllr Paul Whittaker 21 Groves Avenue Swansea SA3 4QF t: 07860 406834 e: paul@epmuk.co.uk

Keep-up-to-date go online at www.mumbles.gov.uk

Cllr Peter Birch 73 Westland Avenue, West Cross , Swansea SA3 5NR t: 01792 402315 e: peterbirch567@btinternet.com

Cllr Greg Kaminaris 91 Summerland Lane, Newton, Swansea SA3 4RS t: 367554 e: kaminaris@btopenworld.com Cllr Eira Morgan 2 Fairwood Road, West Cross, SwanseaSA3 5EA t: 01792 540534 e: happyjack@ntlworld.com

CLERK: STEVE HEYDON Council Offices, Walters Crescent Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BB

tel: 01792 363598 (office) email: council@mumbles.gov.uk