Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Issue 46

News | People | Features | Competitions | Lifestyle

Whitchurch &

Llandaff Living

At the heart of the community

Issue 46 Dec '17/Jan '18

WINTER

Inside this issue Whitchurch's Elinor Crawley talks about her acting career and her memories of the place she calls home

Competitions

Win a family ticket to see The Nutcracker at St David's Hall and a Winter Wishes Spa Day for two at the Village Hotel

Christmas Gifts

Discover our handpicked Christmas gifts from our local shops in Whitchurch and Llandaff

Christmases in Whitchurch and Llandaff

Hear from residents about the festive season and Christmas stories from the villages in years gone by

Spring deadline:

16th February 2018 Published March 2018

a: 222 Pantbach Road, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 6AG t: 07772 081775 / 07974 022920 w: www.livingmags.co.uk e: editor@livingmags.co.uk or danielle@livingmags.co.uk Distribution: 6,000 copies of Whitchurch and Llandaff Living are distributed to retail outlets and public places across Whitchurch, Llandaff and Llandaff North five times a year.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents, the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any matter in any way arising from the publication of this material.

Every effort has been made to contact any copyright holders.

Whitchurch and Llandaff Living is an independent, apolitical publication.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publishers.

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Welcome / Croeso Welcome to your winter issue of Whitchurch and Llandaff Living.

Christmas is almost upon us once again and the village is preparing for the festive season.

We were honoured to have spoken with Whitchurch's Elinor Crawley, who has appeared in several high profile TV shows.

She reflects on her upbringing in the area and how this shaped her career.

This time of year is undoubtedly about the magic of Christmas through the eyes of children, so we are delighted to publish the art work and thoughts about the festive season from some of our local kids.

Our historical feature celebrates the spirit of Christmas in Whitchurch and Llandaff over the years, as told by some of our residents. Christmas has changed over the years it seems.

Find out what people had to say about Christmases past.

We will all be doing our Christmas shopping soon. To give you a head start, we have been out and about sourcing a fabulous selection of goodies from local retailers. Supporting local business is so important for our villages to continue to thrive.

Who needs to go into town when we have everything we need right here?

To get into the festive spirit and make your home sparkle with Christmas cheer, we've found some beautiful seasonal crafts for you to try.

We know how important pets are at this time of the year in our family Christmases and so we are super excited to announce the winner of our inaugural Whitchurch and Llandaff Living

Festive Pet competition. We'd like to congratulate all of those featured in this issue as they have made it through to the final few. Their stories are heartwarming.

Talking of stories, these are always popular at this time of year and we've got two festive beauties for you to snuggle up with.

If you're feeling lucky, try your hand at our two fantastic winter competitions and you could be going to see The Nutcracker at St David's Hall or warming up with a Winter Wishes Spa Day for two at the Village Hotel.

We have a fantastic winter walk if you need to work off that Christmas dinner and finally we turn our attention to New Year's Eve with a guide on planning the perfect party.

With much more, this really is an issue to savour, so we'd like to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

See you in 2018!

Danielle and Patric

Editors

@WhitchurchandLlandaffLiving www.facebook.com/ whitchurchandllandaffliving

What’s on Rhiwbina Street Food Festival Saturday 16th December 4pm-8pm Deri Inn, Rhiwbina Food and craft stalls, all wrapped up in a Christmassy atmosphere.

Free Thank You Coffee and Welsh Cake at Insole Court Sunday 17th December Potting Shed CafĂŠ, Insole Court Just show your lottery ticket at the Potting Shed to redeem the offer.

New Year's Eve Party Sunday 31st December 7.30pm City Hall. Cardiff See in the New Year with style.

Fireside Stories at St Fagans Sunday 28th January 2018 11.30am & 1.30pm Come and snuggle up by the fire with the children for a tale or two to spark their imagination at this free event.

news

Llandaff 2nd Scouts officially open its Emma's royal lookalike win new base with a celebration

makes national news

Guests attend the cutting of the ribbon

After two years of solid fund-raising, 2nd Llandaff Scouts officially opened their new base with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October.

Rugby legend Sir Gareth Edwards was in attendance along with MP Anna McMorrin and 200 other guests at their new premises on Belle Vue Crescent in Llandaff North.

The group had been facing disbandment after the hall they had been leasing went up for sale in 2015. They decided to try and raise the money to buy the adjoining church of which the hall was a part, but were faced with raising £250,000 to achieve it. Thanks to a lot of hard work, generous offers and help from the community, the group were finally able to buy the church and the hall earlier this year.

Scout Leader Abbie Gibbins told the press: “It just goes to show the Llandaff

Scouts really is in the heart of the community. The residents and the people that supported us were incredibly generous.

"We’ve had so many knock backs but we have an amazing team.

Everyone has really pulled together – the driving force has been the kids and it makes you remember why you’re doing it. The kids feel that they have achieved something big too and their success also allows them to bring their kids here when they grow up," said Abbie.

The group transformed the church in just a matter of days after being given the keys in August. A DIY SOS was sent out and the local community rallied around to help.

Founded in 1908, the group currently has 120 members. They plan to bring some new activities to the venue, including a climbing wall and access for those with disabilities.

Local Natwest banks set to close Natwest Bank has announced that it is closing 20 banks across Wales - including its Whitchurch branch on Park Road and on Llandaff's High Street In Whitchurch, transactions have reduced by 22% since 2012, and only 48 customers visit the branch on a weekly basis, according to the bank.

A spokeswoman for Natwest said: "We provide our customers with more ways to bank than ever before – customers can choose from a range of digital, face-to-face and local options.

"The way people bank with us has changed radically over the last few years: since 2014, the number of customers using our branches across the UK has fallen by 40%.

During the same period, mobile transactions have increased by 73%;

and in the first half of 2017, there were 1.1 billion mobile and online transactions carried out by our customers: an increase of 41% since 2014."

The Whitchurch branch is set to close on May 17th 2018, while the Llandaff branch will close a few days later on May 21st 2018.

A former Whitchurch High School pupil has won a national TV competition to find the nation's best Meghan Markle lookalike.

Emma Kaler made it through to the final three on ITV's daytime show Lorraine to find the person who most looked like Prince Harry's real-life girlfriend.

She was surprised to find out that she had won the competition on live television when Prince Harry lookalike Henry Morley knocked on her front door in November.

Emma was also whisked back to the TV studios after the surprise announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were to marry a few days later.

The competition was voted for by the public and Emma will receive a 12-month contract with lookalike agency Susan Scott.

Emma later tweeted that she was honoured to have won the competition and thanked everyone who had voted.

“

My boyfriend’s grandma always thought I looked like Megan but I never considered it myself 3

news

Busy winter for Llandaff Society

Photo: Rosemary Scadden

It’s been a busy November for the Llandaff Society. In November, the annual Armistice Service was held at the War Memorial on The Green.

Several hundred residents and visitors assembled for the service led by Dean Gerwyn Capon, where they sang a hymn accompanied by the Cathedral School Brass Ensemble. 24 wreaths were then laid on behalf of local schools, organisations and the Armed Forces. Also for the first time, one was laid for the Houses of Lords and Commons.

At the end of the month, Llandaff saw the Christmas lights being lit on the High Street. Despite warnings of rain and gale force winds, it was a pleasantly balmy evening. The host was Stifyn Parri, who led the crowds in the carol singing, along with the Cathedral Choristers and accompanied by the Cathedral School Brass Ensemble.

There was a flurry of excitement as the special guest, none other than Father Christmas, appeared to press the button and switch on the lights. And then, as if by magic, two Paw Patrol characters appeared and thrilled the children in the crowd – and provided many photo opportunities.

Looking forward to December, the Llandaff Society have their annual Candlelit Carol Service on the 20th at the Pace Chapel in St. Padarn’s Theological College (formerly St. Michael’s). It starts at 7.30pm and tickets on the door are £5. Everyone’s invited back to the Parish Hall for mulled wine, stollen and a chat afterwards.

January sees the start of another full year for Llandaff Society and on Friday 26th at 7.30pm, they will host The Most Reverend June Osborne, the new Bishop of Llandaff, as guest speaker in their monthly meeting at the Memorial Hall.

Non-members of the society are welcome to attend.

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Whitchurch High School making 'good progress' Whitchurch High School has been taken out of monitoring by the education watchdog Estyn after making 'good progress'.

The school was put under an Estyn review after an inspection in early 2016. The school has now been informed that they have made good progress and that it is no longer requires monitoring.

In a message to parents, headteacher Huw Jones-Williams and Chair of Governors, Joyce Slack said that everyone in the school should be proud of the progress that the school had made. They said that it was 'testament to the achievements of our whole school community, not least the good progress our students have made'.

In their message to parents, they said: “Governors have received a

letter from Estyn assistant director Catherine Evans saying: 'The school is judged to have made sufficient progress in addressing the recommendations from the Section 28 inspection. The school has been removed from the list of schools requiring Estyn review. There will be no further monitoring.'"

Back in April 2016, Estyn inspectors said performance and prospects for improvement at the school was only adequate' – considered one of the lower ratings.

The school is currently the largest in Wales with 2,400 pupils. Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales and is funded by the Welsh Government.

Speed limit reduction causes confusion

Motorists using Whitchurch's Northern Avenue expressed their confusion over a reduction in the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph in November.

Cardiff Council got permission to reduce the speed limit, which they say is to improve road safety. But motorists took to social media to express their confusion.

One motorist said that the 40mph

Anti-social incidents in Llandaff North Llandaff North experienced a series of anti-social incidents during November, that saw fireworks let off in a local store and bins being set alight.

The Council Cleansing Team was called in to remove waste from Hailey Park after black bags of waste were

speed signs had been removed but not replaced with 30mph versions. A speed camera van was also reported present, making some motorists unhappy that they were being caught out unfairly.

The Council said: “The reduction from 40mph to 30mph is designed to improve road safety following lane-width reduction works and the opening of new buspriority lanes on this stretch of road."

One Whitchurch and Llandaff Living reader said: "It would have been nice if we'd had more warning about this. It's been two years since the Council received the permission and they decide to do it now, without any publicity or announcements."

The road has become 30mph at the junction with Caedelyn Road and continues through Ash Grove and Manor Way. dumped. The Co-op store on Station Road was also the target of some youths who threw a firework into the store while staff were present inside.

The incident caused slight damage to shop property.

Local councillors said that they were looking to work with the police and residents to help tackle the problem, and urged people to attend the local PACT meetings.

Your letters

letters WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We love to hear what you've been up to so send us your letters and photos!

We'll do our best to print them all! editor@livingmags.co.uk

Happy Days I must meow that I have enjoyed sleeping on and absorbing the articles in Autumn Issue no.45 on my stool in front of the fire.

As always, there’s lots of handy and local information about pets, children, activities, services and happenings. Also, where-to-getit, what-to-do-next and whereto-go.

The recipes are good to cut-outand-keep, then make-it-and-eat!

The pictures on pages 20 and 21, all in autumn colours, reminded me of my kittenhood pouncing and playing a game we called ‘Cornflakes’ in the dry leaves outside the house. I played with Minstrel, who was a handsome black and white cat, and Miranda, his sister who was tortoiseshell.

They lived two doors away.

There would be the occasional ‘warning’ growl from passing canines on their way to the park.

Happy days of my second favourite time of the year. All felines love Summer best.

I have enclosed a photograph of my godkitten, now quite grown up, The Honourable Cat Charlotte, Lottie to her chums, eating, yes, eating her daily morning porridge. She loves it, she says in her e-meow and recommends it to one and all.

Felinatations Princess Yasmin of Whitchurch

Ysgol Pencae Headteacher Response

I am extremely pleased with our recent excellent Estyn report as it recognises and confirms the hard work and collaboration of all members of the school’s close community.

We take pride that, as a Welsh Medium Primary School, we celebrate the Welsh language, culture and traditions as an integral part of our ethos. We work closely with all partners to ensure a wide range of enriched experiences in order to provide a broad and interesting curriculum to all our pupils.

Ysgol Pencae is a happy village school in the heart of the capital city and I am thrilled that Estyn has recognised all the strong qualities of our school.

Diolch.

Richard Thomas Ysgol Pencae Llandaff

Our wonderful villages Through your magazine, I wanted to congratulate all those who have helped make our villages look wonderfully festive during the Christmas season.

When I was young, there was very little in the way of community celebrations in the North Cardiff areas. People mostly kept themselves to themselves. But thanks to the efforts of those who organise the great events that are put on, we are all able to celebrate together and as one.

It's also lovely to walk around the villages at night when the Christmas lights are twinkling. It certainly adds a bit of magic and Christmas spirit.

Long may these wonderful events continue - and a happy Christmas to all your readers too!

Keith Marshall Whitchurch

If you have anything you’d like our readers to know about, drop us a line at editor@livingmags.co.uk or by letter to 222 Pantbach Road, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 6AG. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter

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Constituency News with Julie Morgan AM

It has been a busy autumn term in the constituency and the Assembly. In October, it was an honour to meet US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (pictured) at an event at Swansea University. She was there to accept an honorary degree in recognition of her work promoting the rights of families and children around the world.

Outstanding School for Girls and Boys ages 3-18

Take your next step She visited Swansea University partly because of her family connections but also because the university is home to the the Wales Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People. After the ceremony, I was able to talk briefly to Hillary Clinton who was very encouraging and complimentary about our work here in Wales in promoting children’s rights.

In half term, it was an absolute pleasure to attend the opening of the 2nd Llandaff Scouts’ new base on Belle Vue Crescent in Llandaff North.

The group has had fantastic backing from local people as well as some celebrities and they have worked so hard to raise the money for the Scout hut – they thoroughly deserve to feel happy and settled in their new home.

I attended the opening ceremony along with rugby legend Gareth Edwards and local MP Anna McMorrin and was pleased to be able to congratulate the scouts, their leaders and supporters.

I’ve met students from both Llanishen High and Whitchurch High recently. In October, I attended Llanishen High School’s politics awards to present the Julie Morgan Prize for Academic Achievement in Politics to Toby Black, Megan Cole and Alf Reynolds.

And in the Assembly in November, I met the new ‘A’ level politics students from Whitchurch High who were attending the Senedd to watch proceedings. I met the group beforehand and we had a very interesting discussion ranging from devolution, to Brexit to votes at 16. It’s great to see young people engaged in politics and visiting the Senedd to bring the subject to life.

On Remembrance Sunday in November, I was honoured to lay a wreath in memory of our war dead at the Whitchurch War Memorial.

A large crowd turned out and the ceremony was supported by councillors, cadets, local volunteers and local MP Anna McMorrin.

How to get in touch If you have any concerns or issues please contact my office on 029 2061 4577. I can also be contacted via my website at www.juliemorgan.org. uk, by email at julie.morgan@assembly.wales or through Twitter @JulieMorganLAB Sponsored feature

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Saturday 20th January 2018 Examination results amongst the best in the UK “Excellent”- Estyn Inspection Please contact the Registrar for further details

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Cardiff Male Choir Côr Meibion Caerdydd Open Rehearsal: Wednesday 10th January 2018 7:30pm, Whitchurch Sports and Social Club, Velindre Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2TG

Time for a New Year’s resolution? Why not come along to our open rehearsal? Cardiff Male Choir perform music of all styles to suit all tastes. No experience or ability to read music is necessary.

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kids

Christmas Through Our Eyes

We asked a group of Rhiwbina youngsters to put pens to paper and to create a Christmas scene. Here are their pictures and their thoughts on what the festive season means for them

Evie aged 6 Tell us about your drawing Santa is delivering presents by the Christmas tree.

What do you like most about Christmas?

Having presents and spending time with my family as this is what Christmas is all about. I'm excited about my first Christmas with my baby brother.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

I'm hoping for a DS but I don't think I will get it as my Mum doesn't want me to have one. Also a My Little Pony Equestria Kingdom.

Zara aged 6 Tell us about your drawing This is a Christmas tree and presents. There are lots of balloons because it's a special time.

What do you like most about Christmas?

You get presents, spend time with family and get to have sleepovers.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

An iPad.

Dylan aged 4 Tell us about your drawing It is Santa’s sleigh, his presents, his reindeer.

What do you like most about Christmas?

Cos I get loads of toys.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

A sticker book.

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Bronwyn aged 6 Tell us about your drawing It is Father Christmas in a house delivering the presents.

What do you like most about Christmas?

Because we can spend time with our family.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

A surprise present.

Lily aged 6 Tell us about your drawing My picture shows my Mummy and Daddy and me on Christmas Day and it's snowing.

What do you like most about Christmas?

I get presents and I feel very grateful for them.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

I hope it snows! And I hope I get a 3D Eiffel Tower puzzle.

Ben aged 8 Tell us about your drawing It's a Christmas tree with lots of presents and Christmas stars.

What do you like most about Christmas?

I like gathering up all my presents and playing with them all at once with my family.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

The Super Mario Odyssey for Nintendo Switch.

Millie aged 6 Tell us about your drawing My picture is of a Christmas tree, presents and Father Christmas. It has lots of themes of Christmas.

What do you like most about Christmas?

When Santa comes.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Little live pets and art stuff.

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Crawley

Elinor

She's still only 26 but local actress Elinor Crawley already has an impressive showreel in the can. She talks exclusively to Living Magazines about her home villages and her career to date

S

he's appeared on our screens in prime time British dramas and she's even featured alongside Gabriel Byrne in the international TV hit Vikings. But for actress Elinor Crawley, it all started here in North Cardiff.

"I grew up in Rhiwbina with my mother, father and older sister Louise and attended Rhiwbeina Primary School," recalls Elinor.

"I have lots of lovely memories of Rhiwbina. I grew up on HeolY-Nant, right by Caedelyn Park which is where Dad would take me regularly after school when I learnt to ride a bike. I loved it and thought I was the coolest thing ever after the stabilisers came off. We were also down the road from the fire station where we went religiously for Bonfire Night each year. A free Freddo and fireworks - what more could you want?

"I have spent countless hours in Rhiwbina Memorial Hall for dance lessons with Liza and Maureen Meggitt. The confidence, technique

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and work ethic I gained preparing "I was very busy during my school for rigorous exams and professional years and Mum would often be work still serves me during shuttling me to and from dancing auditions and shoots, despite not classes, music lessons and pursuing a career in musical theatre. drama groups like a maniac in the "We later moved to Whitchurch evenings. I think she understood when I was 12 and already the importance of having attending Whitchurch High School. experiences outside of school My parents still live in and I am so grateful for Whitchurch and I return the opportunities I had The from London regularly I was young. The encouragement when to visit them." encouragement and and support Acting was in the support from both of my family blood and from from both of my parents over the years a young age, Elinor had has been absolutely parents over a good idea of what invaluable. she wanted to do when "From the age of 13 the years has she grew up. to 18, I attended The been absolutely Workshop, "My mother trained as run by Pete invaluable an actress at the Welsh Wooldridge in Cardiff College of Music and Bay. There I learnt so Drama but didn't pursue a career much about screen acting and in acting after graduating. Growing had opportunities to meet with up, she would tell me stories of casting directors and get a real productions she had been in and sense of the business. It was parts she had played, and her through the workshop that I got my accounts of fun and camaraderie first small pieces of work - a short definitely piqued my interest. film for Cardiff Castle, a children's

people TV show and eventually a movie called Submarine. However the real lesson was how to deal with the near misses! Pete was an excellent mentor throughout and I would definitely recommend The Workshop to anyone interested in acting. It is a very special place."

Submarine was a 2010 BritishAmerican coming-of-age comedydrama film, adapted from the 2008 novel Submarine by Joe Dunthorne.

The film was written and directed

by Richard Ayoade in his directorial debut.

"I was 17 when I auditioned for Submarine. I remember Pete had sent a tape of me to the casting director and the director, Richard Ayoade, who came to meet me at The Workshop a few weeks later. I spent the next half term break shooting in Swansea and I remember being on set and thinking to myself 'I'm going to have to make a real go of this or I'll regret it.' I think I'd been too scared to think of it as 'a real job' before then. Even people outside of the industry will tell you it's a difficult path to choose and it is - there have been many blows that have made me feel crazy for choosing it. But it's also the most unpredictable and exciting world filled with the some of the most interesting people you will meet."

Life for Elinor changed after Submarine, which proved a catalyst for her career.

"Getting the part in Submarine was a massive boost to my career. It was my first high profile job and as a result, I landed my first London agent and started travelling up there regularly for auditions. To this day, people still mention Submarine as one of their favourite films. I think it holds a place in many people's hearts and I am very proud to have been a small part of it."

Elinor then swapped the hills of Wales for the mountains of Scandinavia in her next role of Thyri, the daughter of Earl Haraldson, played by Gabriel Byrne in Vikings.

"I have had many favourites roles for different reasons, but I think in terms of scale you can't beat Vikings. The production was absolutely epic! We shot at some of the most beautiful locations in Wicklow Ireland - at waterfalls, lakes, forests as well as in the studio. One of our main locations was the Guinness family estate and the set designers built a whole Viking village on the shore of their lake. The detail was absolutely incredible and I’ll never forget stepping on set for the first time

A scene from Elinor's new movie, Burning Men and being totally absorbed by the can never take a break from it or world that they had created. That, ignore it - even when you go to along with the fact that Irish crew sleep! You have to think about are some of the best you’ll come every move you make and how by, made for an immense series to it could affect you and that is work on." something I struggle with from time In 2013, Elinor took on the role of to time. I was diagnosed when I was Cecily of York in BBC's The White 9 years old so I don't remember Queen and in 2014, featured in a lot of what life was like without the BBC's popular drama series diabetes. I have used an insulin Ordinary Lies. More recently, Elinor pump instead of injections since has taken on more major movie I was a child and I think that has roles: helped my management a great "This year I shot an indie film deal, particularly in an industry with playing my first proper lead. It’s a no routine. But there are still days rock and roll road trip movie with a when everything goes to pot. I think physiological twist called Burning that’s just part and parcel of the Men and the experience was condition and it’s hard not to feel fantastic. We travelled from London some kind of guilt when your blood all the way up the east coast to the sugar levels aren’t what they should Holy Island of Lindisfarne, stopping be. to shoot in various towns and cities "What many people don't realise over four weeks. It really struck me is that there are hundreds of how eerie some parts of factors that can affect England are and I think I’ll never forget your blood sugar from they will really translate to stress, stepping on set altitude well onto film. Burning illness or emotions for the first time and it's impossible to Men is in the edit at the moment but it’s one I’m and being totally keep track of every really looking forward accurately. In the absorbed by the factor to watching!" last couple of years, I world that they have started working All of this is a long way from where it all started with Diabetes UK to had created at Whitchurch High raise awareness of the School. condition and highlight "I remember my first drama lesson the incredible work that they with TP (Miss Thornton-Phillips) in do. I have felt their support and Lower School and thinking I was benefited from the research they going to like it there. Playing at have funded from the day I was the Llandaff Cathedral Christmas diagnosed. It is absolutely vital that Concert with the orchestra each their work continues." year are fond memories of mine.

Looking ahead, Elinor is taking one I loved Biology lessons with step at a time.

Miss Taylor and Mr Grieve and "I am constantly aware of how I remember buying an ostrich fickle my costume as a leaving present industry is so for Miss Heavyside who was my right now I'd English teacher at A Level. She wore just love to be the costume around the school as if able to keep it was completely normal." working, for as Elinor was diagnosed with Type long as I can.

1 diabetes while still at school but Otherwise, that hasn't stopped her achieving I love the her ambitions. unpredictability "Type 1 diabetes is a completely of my job so I manageable condition and it has am happy to go never stopped me doing anything wherever it will in life. However, it is constant. You take me!"

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The Overtones & Jay James 09.02.18

Milkshake! Live The Magic Storybook

Sister Act Live Choir

Classic Elvis with Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra 13.01.18

Bert & Cherry’s Christmas Plum Pudding 16.12.17 - 19.12.17

Jonathan Pie Back to the Studio

Puccini Madama Butterfly

Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra Classics for All

Kate Rusby at Christmas 12.12.17

18.03.18

23.02.18

16.03.18

17.02.18

31.03.18

competitions

Win tickets to the ballet and a spa day for 2 Win a Family Ticket to see The Nutcracker at St. David’s Hall This most famous of fantasy ballets for all the family begins at nightfall on Christmas Eve. As snowflakes tumble outside, the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath. When midnight strikes, we are swept away to a fairytale world where nothing is quite as it seems. Toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse King and his Mouse Army battle with the Nutcracker Prince, and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really

begins.

This ballet is performed by The Russian State Ballet & Orchestra of Siberia, with music by none other than Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta, an instrument that the composer had already employed in his much lesser known symphonic ballad The Voyevoda.

You could be in with a chance of winning a Family Ticket for 4 to The Nutcracker ballet on Friday 22nd December at 5.30pm. All you need to do is answer the following:

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DIY Autumn Garland

Christmas You'll need to preserve your autumn leaves before you do

Crafts Crafts don't just have to be for kids. Adults can enjoy creating festive decorations for the Christmas season too. Here are some unique and beautiful crafts that you can make at home Plastic Spoon Christmas Trees

If you're looking for something a little different to the average Christmas tree, this contemporary creation is created out of simple plastic spoons.

You'll need a papier mâché Christmas Tree form that you can either create yourself or buy pre-

16

made, a bag of 100 plastic spoons, spray paint and some hot glue.

Start by cutting the tops off the spoons and discarding the handles.

Spray paint the spoon tops to the colour of your choice. You may want to experiment with these before deciding on your final colour. Krylon paint works pretty well on the spoons to create a wooden effect.

From the bottom of the papier mâché structure, begin attaching the spoons by their widest parts with hot glue. Make sure that the spoons are facing upwards or your tree will look very droopy. Work your way around the entire form before adding the next layer and working your way up to the top of the tree.

Let your entire tree dry.

You can either leave your tree simple and plain, or you can add decorations to it with hot glue. Experiment with other shapes and forms - plastic forks are another alternative that you can use.

Log Santas

These cheerful Santas can be left inside or outside and are so easy to make.

Take a few small logs of similar width. Cut the bottom off so that they stand and then slice or saw the tops off diagonally.

Paint the top quarter of the upper section red and the bottom half white. Add eyes either with some black paint or you can use googly eyes.

It's then a case of sticking on a nose - a fluffy pom-pom works just fine. Then tie your logs together and leave to dry.

crafts Garland Wrapped Letters

The beauty of these home-made letters is that you can spell out any word you want.

You'll need some papier mâchÊ letters that you can pick up at any hobby store. You'll also need some wired Christmas garland, some battery-operated Christmas lights and some hot glue.

Starting on the back of the letter, begin by hot gluing the end of the garland at the base of the letter, around half an inch from the bottom.

Wrap the garland around the letter, hot gluing to secure as you go. The back of the monogram doesn’t have to be covered perfectly.

Once the entire letter is covered, trim the garland along the inside curves of the letter. By giving the letter a 'haircut,' the letter will become easier to recognise. Be sure to do all of your trimming and cutting before putting on the lights.

Glue the Christmas light battery box at the base of the rear side of the letter. Be sure to leave the side open where the batteries go in and out. Wrap the lights all around the monogram letter, hot gluing where needed.

Add batteries and turn on the lights to admire your work!

Desktop Trees

If you work mainly from a desk, here's a quick and easy way to add some festive cheer to it.

You'll need a few coloured sheets of coloured craft paper, a hole punch and some glue. Create a small paper cone to start - about the size of your fingetip will do. Glue this and let it dry.

Next, you can have great fun punching out holes of the coloured craft paper, collecting all the holes that you've punched out.

Once you feel that you have enough to cover your little cones, simply glue them on, one at a time.

If you are feeling fancy, cut out little stars and place them on the top of your trees. Then place them around your desk. Instant festive cheer!

Christmas Wreaths

These Christmas wreaths look great indoors and outdoors and can be made to any colour and style depending on what you want to create.

To start, cover a 10 to 12 inch foam ring with white cotton batting.

Hot-glue on materials you have to hand or discover at crafts stores.

You can use snowflake ornaments, ribbon, pinecones and branches, mittens, icicle garland, and silverpainted leaves and berries.

Attached a hook to the back of your wreath for hanging.

Snowy Winter Luminaries

Bring the warm glow of a winter's day into your home with these homemade Christmas luminaries.

You will need some thick glass jars, some snow texture paint, some twine, some lace, Epsom salt, hot glue and some pine cones for this project.

Begin by cutting a piece of lace that will fit around the neck of the jar and attach it with glue. Next, tie the twine around the neck of the jar. It's up to you how much you use but bear in mind that you will want to leave the jar mostly uncovered to give off light.

Attach two or three cones to the lace that you now have around the neck of your jar. You may need to glue it partly to the twine too to make it stick but whatever works best for you.

Using a palette knife, scoop out some snow texture paint and apply it to the cones to make it look as if they have been out in the snow. You can use your fingers to get in behind some of the parts and you will also need to add snow paint around the rim of the jar too.

Fill the jar with a few inches of Epsom salts and using a pair of tongs, carefully place a candle into the jar.

You could also use battery-operated candles if required.

Let the snow paint dry - this should take an hour or so.

If you want to add a few holly berries for an extra festive look, you can either glue on real ones or pick up fake ones from your local hobby store which will last longer.

The snow paint should dry hard enough to enable you to wrap the jars in bubble wrap for sending to family and friends.

17

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people

Blog Standard

Blogging has become a popular pastime for many, and here in North Cardiff, there is a thriving blogging community. Meet some of your local bloggers

What is blogging?

Blogs initially started off as personal webspaces on the internet, where people would keep a journal of their daily lives.

These were called weblogs, but the term was soon shortened to 'blogs'.

Blogs differ from traditional websites in that blogs are updated a lot more frequently and often come from a personal viewpoint. Many companies now incorporate a blog as part of their websites to allow them to speak directly to their audience on a more personal level. But blogs can comes in all shapes and sizes - as well as the traditional written word, some blogs can come in the form of videos (often called vlogs) or even just images.

There are millions of blogs across the world, most having been set up on a home computer for free. Blogging can present its own challenges such as thinking up new content and reaching an audience but some bloggers now make a living from their work and some have gone on to become celebrities in their own right.

And with social media usage at an all time high, blogging has never been bigger.

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Jess Helicopter Llandaff North www.mrshelicopter.com I blog about feminism and parenting with a big dose of silliness. My goal is to talk about feminism in an inclusive and nonalienating way. I don’t want it to be labelled as an extremist ideology. I want it to feel approachable and not all man-hating, bra-burning poefacedness. But also, I just really like to make people laugh.

My blog started in 2012 as a kind of online diet diary. I naively believed that this would be remotely interesting to strangers. I changed my blog to a parenting one when I got pregnant with my second child in 2013, but I quickly realised that the parent blogging market was rapidly becoming saturated. I then started to focus more on feminism as it’s something that’s really important to me, and actually to the future of society.

My online family name is Helicopter, which in itself is a long story. I changed the name of my blog to Mrs Helicopter Writes when I started taking the writing part of the blog more seriously.

I have had some sharp learning

curves. I had no idea what I was really doing to begin with. I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to take with it and so I just wrote very personally. Your content needs to be engaging and relatable - it therefore needs to be general unless your life/experience is very unique. Which mine definitely isn’t!

I reach my audience solely through social media. My Facebook page is my biggest traffic referral site but I’ve started doing daily Instagram stories which seems to be bringing some readership in too. I also now have a YouTube channel which helps. Blogging is a hobby for me, albeit an obsessive one. For now, I need to pay the bills, so I have a part time job.

I love it when people tell me that they find my blog funny, or even better - that they’ve spat their tea across the room laughing. I’ve found such solidarity and support with people I hardly ever see in real life.

In the future, I would like to become a very well respected social commentator and regular contributor to the comment section of The Guardian, for which I suspect my talent is more than adequate.

At the moment, I am having a little festive break and then I’ll be back to smashing the patriarchy one word at a time.

Charlotte Harding Llandaff North www.welshmummyblogs.com I initially started blogging as a way in which to record my son's growing up. I wanted to record all the great places we go and fun things we do. After a while, I noticed that people started to follow the blog over social media and that the posts that received the most likes or views were those about family days out or when I would review things.

Everyone thinks it's easy to start a blog and become successful with it and that’s not the case. I

Patric Morgan Rhiwbina www.walesoncraic.com I have been writing 'fake news' since I produced my own spoof news magazines at high school.

I set up WalesOnCraic in late August 2014, just before Cardiff hosted the NATO Summit. I began by posting spoof Welsh news stories and the first few weeks were hard and I had very little traffic. But I then wrote a story about Barack Obama being mistakenly taken by a taxi driver to Castle Bingo instead of the NATO summit at Cardiff Castle.

Kelly Allen Whitchurch www.kellyallenwriter.com I blog about our family lifestyle, arts and culture as well as product reviews. I write a large amount of theatre and day out reviews, which I absolutely love.

Initially, it started off as an outlet for my thoughts on writing my first novel, The Moss Garden. After a year or so, it grew into a family lifestyle blog and has evolved from there.

I've been blogging on and off over 3 years, but during the past

didn't realise how many bloggers were out there! Don’t be put off though. With good content and links, you can really succeed and have a lot of fun while doing it.

My blog started as a parenting and lifestyle blog. However, it's since become more entertainment and review based over the past year. I find that I have adapted it to fit in with my personal likes and hobbies, not only what the kids like (I’m not just a mum after all!)

I have fun writing reviews for theatre, cinema and events.

I’ve had many opportunities to review family friendly events within Cardiff. The highlight of my blogging career so far has to be the Bafta Cymru Awards where I

attended as press.

I reach my audience through social media - Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and am lucky to have found links with other bloggers and PR agencies. I do have a YouTube channel too which I use to upload videos to my written blog.

I am hoping to write more casting calls for TV and film and I like to move with the times - therefore as my boys get older, the content will change with them.

I love blogging. I love that I can do it in the comfort of my home at a time that suits me. I can take on as much or as little work as I wish and this works out perfect for my busy family life.

The story went 'viral', meaning it was shared a lot on social media.

My Facebook page then started getting lots of likes and things snowballed from there. Within 7 months, my site had received over 1 million visits and I had to fork out for new servers to handle the traffic.

I then decided to monetise the site by adding in some online advertising. I also ventured out into selling T shirts and mugs that have also sold very well. While I was on holiday in 2015, I wrote a book about how the blog had succeeded. I published the book myself on Amazon and it went straight to the top of the charts on Kindle. It's been the #1 blogging book on Kindle since July 2015.

The biggest challenges I've found is making time for blogging as I'm co-editor of Whitchurch and Llandaff Living in my main job.

The site has brought me some memorable moments though - winning an award for Blogger of the Year and also being interviewed on American radio.

They had picked up one of my spoof stories online and thought it was real. It wasn't until I was live on air that they realised that they had been reading a spoof news story, which made the interview even more interesting!

year I've put a lot more work into the blog and built up good relationships with brands, PR companies and other bloggers.

The hardest bit has been getting my blog seen in a world where there are so many blogs out there.

It's a challenge to stand out and I think it's also hard pitching to brands and companies for reviews because you face rejection, but it does toughen you up!

My favourite blog posts are the theatre reviews, especially for shows that really touch me. On a personal level, I also like to blog about anything I'm passionate about, such as home education or equal rights.

Social media has been my way of reaching my audience - Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are the main ones. It's sometimes a long and arduous job, but it's worth it. I love people's reactions, from the general public to the companies I work with. Receiving emails with praise and thanks is so awesome!

Looking ahead, I'd like to monetise my blog one day in the future, but for now I am focused on reviews and my own thoughts and ideas. I'd love it to be my future job, but right now I'm enjoying what I do. I'd love to work with more Cardiff based companies and small independent stores.

21

Anna Mc Morrin MP Community News

As my first column in Whitchurch & Llandaff Living, I wanted to take the opportunity to say how proud I was to be elected as your Member of Parliament for Cardiff North in June, and to tell you a little about what I’ve been doing since then. It’s been a busy first few months, prioritising casework, setting up an accessible and visible constituency office, recruiting staff and representing you in Parliament, as well as getting out and about in the community as much as possible.

I want to begin by saying what an honour it was to lay a wreath at the Remembrance Sunday Ceremony in Whitchurch along with Julie Morgan AM. It was a deeply moving service to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Earlier this month, I was pleased to be at the official opening of the newly purchased hall for the 2nd Llandaff Scout Group after a successful campaign. It was a wonderful afternoon in the heart of Llandaff North, celebrating the hard work of the group and community to give the 2nd Llandaff Scouts their Forever Home. The hall was officially opened by Welsh rugby legend Sir Gareth Edwards, who has been a big supporter of the campaign, and there was a very moving speech from Scout Leader Abbie, who has worked tirelessly to make it happen.

Congratulations to everyone who has been involved!

I’m also thrilled to have helped ensure that Llandaff North Hub and Whitchurch Library have had their budgets protected by Leader of Cardiff Council, Huw Thomas and his team in County Hall. This is great news as the hub and library offer much used and loved services in the communities.

One of the highlights so far this Winter has been the Whitchurch Christmas Lights Switch-On – a brilliant example of how our communities come together to celebrate and enjoy the festive season. I’ve also enjoyed lots of Christmas celebrations around Cardiff North over the last few weeks, including Lew’s Christmas Fair in Llandaff North on 30th November, and the Reindeer Run on 2nd December in Whitchurch Village.

In Parliament, much of my work has been dominated

by Brexit and the EU Withdrawal Bill - fighting to ensure we don’t crash out of the EU with no deal and ensuring the rights of EU citizens in the UK. I have also spoken up in favour of raising public sector pay, pausing and fixing the flawed Universal Credit roll out, and fighting pension inequality.

If you have any concerns, or would like to tell me your views on these issues or anything else, then please get in touch – I’d love to hear about what matters to you.

How to get in touch: Telephone: 02920 624440 Email: anna.mcmorrin.mp@parliament.uk For more information and the latest news please also see my website at www.annamcmorrin.co.uk.

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short story

THE DOLL’S HOUSE MYSTERY A short Christmas story for children by Geraldine Seymour

I

t was a week before Christmas, another one?” and everything was ready.

“No. She’ll probably turn up when All the cards had been sent, all we’ve stopped looking,” Mum the presents had been packed, the replied from the kitchen, where she Christmas cake and pudding had was busy making yet more mince been made and Megan Rose, aged pies. Dad kept eating the ones she’d four-and-a-half from Rhiwbina was already made. “The robin will do for helping her mother put the finishing now.” touches to the tree.

But the Christmas Fairy was never It was such a beautiful tree – tall found. After all the decorations were and thick with dark green foliage. put up and the boxes and bags “There,” said Mum, looking a returned to the attic, there was still little bit flushed in the face. “It’s all no sign of her. finished, just the fairy to put on the Then, a few days later, Megan top. Megan, can you noticed that a please pass her to me?" All the cards had number of items had Megan searched in the from her been sent, all disappeared white cardboard box for doll's house. the presents had At first, it was just a few the Christmas Fairy – but the box was empty! been packed, the small things. Then one “Well,” said Mum, when she got Christmas cake morning, untangling a piece of up, the doll’s bed had and pudding had gone. The next night, an tinsel from her hair, “Wherever can she be? armchair vanished - and been made I distinctly remember when she looked very wrapping her up closely, she discovered in tissue paper and putting her a set of tiny footprints in the dust. carefully in the box last year. Ask It was three days to Christmas Dad if he’s seen her.” and Megan was so excited that she But Dad hadn’t. And so instead of couldn’t sleep. She’d written her the fairy, a robin was perched high letter to Father Christmas and sent on top of the tree. It wasn’t quite it via the Post Office to Lapland. right really – in fact, it looked quite She’d been such a good girl for the odd. last few weeks that her Mum had “It’s not the same,” said Dad. "I think started worrying about her. But it looks a bit daft. Shall I go and buy this was not unusual as Megan’s

24

mum worried about everyone and everything.

So Megan decided that she didn’t want to worry her mum about the disappearing doll's furniture, especially as she was so busy with all the Christmas preparations.

That night, as soon as her mum and dad had gone to bed, Megan put on her dressing gown and slippers, tucked Rabbit firmly under one arm and crept stealthily downstairs to keep a watch over her doll's house.

The house was very dark and quiet and Megan began to feel a little bit frightened but she was a very brave little girl. She had Rabbit to protect her, so she very soon forgot about being scared.

She pulled the curtains open, just enough to allow a bright moonbeam to lighten the living room. Then she snuggled up with Rabbit on the sofa, keeping a sharp eye on the doll's house.

But soon she began to get very sleepy. No matter how hard she tried to keep awake, very soon, she was fast asleep.

She woke up with a start, to a loud clinking sound. She sat up quickly clutching Rabbit tightly to her chest.

The light shining through the gap in the curtains was now morning sunshine. Megan soon realised

that the sound that had woken her was the clinking of bottles, as the milkman delivered them to the front door.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she climbed off the sofa and opened the doll's house front.

There to her dismay, she saw that a second little chair had disappeared and that left in the dust was another trail of tiny footprints.

The second night, Megan again crept downstairs and again fell fast asleep. When she awoke, she discovered that a little table had been taken.

The third night, Megan was determined not to fall asleep and took some milk and biscuits for her and Rabbit to eat. But, after an hour, her eyelids began to get very heavy and she was just about to fall asleep again, when she suddenly heard a tiny tinkling sound coming from the pine dresser.

Tip-toeing across the room as quietly as she could, she stopped in front of the dresser and knelt down. Very, very gently, she opened the cupboard door and to her amazement, when she looked inside, she saw the Christmas Fairy moving small pieces of Megan’s doll's house furniture about.

The fairy was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t notice Megan at first. But when she did, she nearly jumped out of her little skin and started screaming and screaming in a tiny, tiny, tinkling voice.

“Don’t be frightened,” Megan whispered as quietly as she could.

“It’s only me and Rabbit, we won’t hurt you. What are you doing in here? We’ve been looking everywhere for you – won’t you come out?"

The fairy ran to the back of the cupboard and tried to hide behind a doll’s armchair, but it wasn’t big enough and her wings stuck out on both sides.

“I can still see you,” Megan said gently. "Please come out.”

The Christmas Fairy started crying.

“I don’t want to be wrapped up in tissue paper and entombed in a dark attic. It’s scary and there are spiders up there! And I don’t want to stand for weeks on top of that horrible tree either. It’s all spiky and the pine needles bring me out in a rash. I’m not going back. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!”

And with that, the fairy stamped her little feet so hard, that she lost her balance, fell backwards and got her dress all tangled up in her wings.

“Now look what’s happened!” she

shouted crossly. “Look what you’ve As carefully as she could, Megan made me do – I’ll never get them picked her up with one hand and straight again!” placed her on the table. And while With that, she threw herself onto the fairy continued to grumble and the little doll’s bed and began complain, Megan set the hairdryer sobbing uncontrollably. She cried at the lowest heat and speed and and cried, so much so, that soon very, very carefully, dried the fairy, there was a large pool of tears on wings, wand and all. the floor.

After a few minutes, the wings and After a few minutes, the fairy wand were still a little bent and her suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed. dress very crumpled, but all in all, “Where’s my wand?"

Megan was pleased she cried out in a panic. Then suddenly, a with the results.

“No!” not going back small smile began in“I’m She jumped down that box!” the Fairy to quiver on her said defiantly as she from the bed and into the pool of tears and lips. It hovered smoothed the creases began frantically diving her dress. “Or up there for a few from into the water – bobbing that tree again!” seconds before “I know,” Megan up and down in an attempt to rescue her bursting into a full patiently replied. “I have wand. idea. How would you beaming grin an After three attempts, like to come and live she surfaced in my doll's house? It’s triumphantly, holding a very very comfortable and has a fully bedraggled, limp wand above her fitted kitchen with appliances and a head. lovely bathroom. It even has a spa “It won’t work now!” she screamed bath.” at Megan. “They can’t work when The Christmas Fairy was quiet for they’re damp – I’ll never be able the very first time. Megan saw her to give children magic wishes ever deep in thought. Then suddenly, a again!” small smile began to quiver on the Megan was alarmed to see more Fairy's lips. It hovered there for a few large tears slowly falling from the seconds before bursting into a full Christmas Fairy’s cheeks. beaming grin.

“And it’s bent as well,” the little fairy Very soon, the room was full of snapped, and gathering the soaking tinkling laughter and as if by magic, skirt of her dress around her, she the sparkle suddenly returned to crouched down and sulked in the her wand. corner of the dresser cupboard.

“Yes,” the fairy said, “I’d like that – “Look,” said Megan, in her gentlest but I’m not too sure about the spa voice. “Maybe I can help. Sit there bath.” quietly and try to calm yourself.

“Give it time!” Megan said.

Things are never as bad as they first seem. I’ll be back in a minute.”

THE END The Fairy glared crossly at her.

“I never realised that fairies could N.B. In case you’re wondering about be so bad tempered,” Megan the Christmas tree - the robin loved thought as she went upstairs. it up there and when visitors saw Five minutes later, she returned him, they said “What a good idea!” with Mum’s hairdryer firmly And very soon all the houses in clutched in one hand.

Rhiwbina had robins on the top of The Fairy was just as she’d left her, their Christmas trees. looking very bedraggled and sad.

25

Pets WHITCHURCH AND LLANDAFF LIVING

WINNER

We had many entries for our Festive Pet Competition.

Here are our festive finalists - and this year's winner

Opie

Age: 1 year 8 months.

Breed: French Bulldog.

What is your pet's story? On a walk around Cosmeston lake we were surrounded by over 30 French Bulldogs. I was in my element! I got talking to a few of the owners and they told me they were part of French Bulldog Saviours, a charity run by volunteers who work tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home the brachycephalic breed. I was truly smitten. When we bought our house in Whitchurch, I researched reputable breeders and we found our boy. He was perfect and we fell in love with him instantly.

What do you love most about your pet?

Opie is a bundle of energy, mischief and fun! He makes us laugh every day, stealing socks, post from the letter box, giving high fives and doing roly polys!

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas?

Opie recently became a big brother when we welcomed our beautiful baby girl Everley into the world this summer. We are looking forward to our first Christmas as a family. He will also have a Christmas stocking with lovely treats and toys, and will enjoy shredding the wrapping paper! We won't be giving him sprouts!

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? He brings so much joy to everyone he meets. When we walk him, he gets a lot of attention which he loves. We recently met an elderly lady in the village who enjoyed giving him a cuddle and told us she loved his name 'Dopey'. We didn't have the heart to correct her! If you ever see us in the village come give Opie a high 5!

Kato

RUNNER UP

Age: 11 years Breed: Cambrian Gingiber Supereo short hair.

What is your pet’s story?

Originally from over the border, Kato was brought up as a ship's cat on a narrow boat in Cambridge but moved to the land of his fathers in his formative years. He now resides in Whitchurch. He has a cult following since establishing the 'Cats of Whitchurch and Llandaff' aka 'CWL cats' - of which all feline Whitchurch and Llandaff residents are proud members.

What do you love most about your pet?

His gentle temperament, air of superiority, freckled skin and incongruently high-pitched voice.

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas?

Kato will be removing baubles from the tree and I shall be replacing them. He's otherwise bewildered by all the fuss.

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? The prize should go either to Princess Yasmin (to whom Kato sends his fondest greetings) or to Kato, as their love-letters in the Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Magazine have inspired a generation of kittens. Kato also dedicates a significant proportion of his non-feeding, non-grooming waking hours to mentoring less fortunate and troubled 'CWL Cats'; winning this title would provide well deserved and much needed recognition of his achievements.

26

3. Princess Yasmin Age: Would not confirm and was rather put out at the sheer audacity of the question.

Breed: She is a Bengal, descended from the tree leopards of Bengal.

What is your pet’s story? Yasmin was born in Pembrokeshire. She later moved house to Edinburgh, and after six years there returned to Whitchurch.

What do you love most about your pet? Her sense of entitlement, her intuition and her high intelligence reflected in her subtle facial expressions (she wants Meryl Streep to play her when Disney come calling to film her life story).

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas? Playing with cardboard boxes, string, ribbons and decorations – 'liberated' from the tree.

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? Because so many people in Whitchurch and Llandaff North have spoken about Yasmin’s letters that have been frequently published in Whitchurch and Llandaff Living magazine.

4. Martha

Age: 3.

Breed: Golden Field Cocker Spaniel.

What is your pet’s story? Martha came into our lives just over two years ago from the indescribable conditions of a South Wales puppy farm via an animal rescue centre.

What do you love most about your pet? The way she cherishes our footwear which she never damages, but only takes back to her bed for the night.

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas? Martha will be spending Christmas at home with the family, and spending time with our son’s new and playful Springer Spaniel puppy, Monty!

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? Martha deserves the Living Festive Prize, for the enrichment she has brought to our lives.

5. Jess Age: 6 years old.

Breed: Labrador and Welsh Springer Spaniel cross.

What is your pet’s story? We got her from Swansea when she was a puppy.

What do you love most about your pet? She is very affectionate, gentle and has very soft ears.

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas? She will be opening her presents on Christmas Day. Then she will eat lots of turkey and go for a lovely walk along the Taff Trail.

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? It would be the first competition that Jess has ever won. She has only come second in the Radyr Dog Show once and that was because there were only two entries!

6. Mabel Age: 2 years old.

What is your pet’s story? Mabel was contained previously - no handling, no vets visits, no outdoors. She now has such a high life of living indoors as a family member, roaming the living room and munching carrots whilst being massaged.

What do you love most about your pet? She brings me happiness and I bring the same to her.

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas? Eating vegetables.

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? From such a humble start in life to how she lives now, she deserves some recognition for coping with all her previous stresses.

7. Whiskey Doodle Age: 3 years old.

Breed: Bengal What is your pet’s story? He was the last kitten left from his litter and we were smitten.

What do you love most about your pet? Whiskey is incredibly mischievous but very loving.

How will you and your pet be spending Christmas? At home with family who all adore him.

Why should your pet win Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Festive Pet? He should win because he is a lovable rogue - full of mischief but he makes us all laugh. He is very popular on Facebook with fellow friends and family who love his regular updates.

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gorgeous gifts

Our villages have everything we need to shop local for a memorable Christmas.

We've hand-picked some of the best Christmas gifts

1. Wine rack £24.99 2. Bamboo socks 2 3. Yankee Candle pairs £10 Tealight Gift Set A rustic style wine rack £21.99 with metal detailing and The age old tradition of the text 'Come Wine with Us' written on the side. Holding 4 bottles, it would look fab in any kitchen.

Tŷ Bach Twt Interiors, Whitchurch

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giving socks at Christmas with a twist. These festive bamboo socks have been designed to allow your feet to breathe and relax.

Calon Rhiwbeina

Capture the beautiful warming fragrances of the Christmas season with this festive tealight gift set.

Cardiff Bed Centre, Whitchurch

4. Tote Handbag £25 This stylish yellow tote bag from Red Cuckoo has an adjustable and detachable strap, and is sure to contain all your essentials. Available in a variety of colours.

Ogam Igam, Penarth

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5. Foil Stag Scarves £8 each

Add a festive feel to any plain sweater.

Comes in 3 seasonal colours with gold print stag.

Cosy Goose (within YC Schoolwear), Whitchurch

6. Steepletone 7. Travel Chess 8. Women's Record Player Set £7.50 Slippers £49 £159 Be the king of the Keep your feet Listen to music the way we used to - on a turntable!

This record player includes a radio and a CD player.

Cardiff Bed Centre, Whitchurch

castle with a travel sized Dapper Chap chess set. Ideal for those long car trips to see family.

Tŷ Bach Twt Interiors, Whitchurch

toasty with these tweed check sheepskin lined mule slippers.

Available in sizes 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8.

Ogam Igam, Penarth

9. Hip Flask £35 This beautiful leather hip flask is handmade in Wales from vegetable tanned leather that softens with age and use. 6 oz stainless steel flask included.

Bodlon, Whitchurch

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10. Gin apron £14.99 If gin's their thing then this apron is the perfect gift. It has an adjustable neck strap and a deep front pocket.

Tŷ Bach Twt Interiors,

Whitchurch

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11. Gin & Tonic Scented Candle £19.50 Luxury natural wax blended with the fragrance of gin & tonic using juniper, coriander and citrus.

12. Log Store £75 Stock up on the the Yuletide logs with this spacious and stylish log store. It will keep your seasoned logs dry and allow plenty of airflow.

Secret Shed, Bodlon, Whitchurch Rhiwbina

13. Welsh blanket throw £129 Cosy up and keep warm with this gorgeous Welsh wool blanket throw in 'Carthen Bodlon' design. 100% wool.

120cm x 180cm.

14. Vera Pelle Handbag £27 This striking cross body Italian leather bag holds all essentials. Available in 15 colours.

Cosy Goose (within YC Schoolwear), Bodlon, Whitchurch Whitchurch

gifts

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15. Festive scarves from £10 An assortment of Christmas scarves to add a touch of festive fun to any outfit. Calon also stocks a range of winter hats to finish off the Christmas look.

Calon Rhiwbeina

16. Jukebox £179 17. Girls Unicorn 18. Cotton Mix 19. Pom Pom Slippers £14.95 Socks 2 pairs for Hat £22 If it’s nostalgia you’re £7.50 looking for, look Fabulously fun This fleece-lined no further than this Steepletone Jukebox.

Fully remotecontrolled, it features a CD player, FM radio and LED lighting.

slippers featuring a glitter unicorn. The super soft fleece lining will keep her toes toasty warm this winter.

Cardiff Bed Centre, Whitchurch

Ogam Igam, Penarth

Featuring a frisky fox and a gorgeous goose, these socks will keep your feet warm this winter.

navy fur pom-pom hat comes in a variety of colours and styles with or without the fleece.

Cosy Goose (within YC Schoolwear), Whitchurch

Cosy Goose (within YC Schoolwear), Whitchurch

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history

Memories of

Christmases past

Catherine Llewellyn

My first Christmas memory is of the Salvation Army knocking on doors and singing carols with a band prior to 1972 when we lived in Foreland Road. I can also remember Father Christmas coming around on his sleigh. I recall George Lazarou and the fairy lights in the village - they were fantastic. He put his heart and soul into it and did them for years.

There was always a function in Whitchurch Rugby Club and they always had a party for the children and Father Christmas came. This was happening in the late 1960s onwards.

Christmas in particular is special because it starts with the lights coming on, the Reindeer Run then the Pendyrus Choir concert in St Mary's Church. The choir started in the late 1970s when we began raising money for Woodlands School back in the day of Canon Winton when he was the vicar here. The Pendyrus Choir marked the start of Christmas years ago

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when the other events weren’t there.

Christmases have always been spent with the family. We all get together on Christmas Eve and I would always cook a whole ham and we’d have ham and parsley sauce, but the family got bigger so now we have a takeaway and put an order in to the chipshop! We lay the table and have funny hats and crackers and wear Christmas jumpers. On Christmas Day we split into our various families but have a few of us at home, then Boxing Day it's an open house again and they all come back and we have a buffet.

Christmases have become more commercialised. We have lost a lot of the true meaning of Christmas I think. We used to go to Midnight Mass and have a babysitter, then would take the kids to Midnight Mass when they got older but these days many people roll into church when the pubs close.

The Round Table and community events weren’t there years ago.

There was nothing that pulled the village together in the same way.

It’s such a vibrant village today and Christmas with the events is really magical for children.

June Bolt

I’ve lived here 60 odd years in this same house.

There was no road or bridge going over the brook, which limited all activities.

At Christmas specifically, I recall carol singing in the Ararat Church.

It was a very quiet village and it was years later that they had the common for a fete and summer carnivals and things. But there was nothing at Christmas.

Christmases were spent at home.

On Christmas Day, the children opened their presents and if they had a pram or something you’d go for a walk, but people didn’t look to go anywhere; of course you didn’t have cars then. There also weren’t the decorations outside people's houses. Our road looks lovely and there is a nice community here.

Really, it was a religious holiday to be spent at home with family. And there was no television!

Christmases have changed because of the events. The lights started it with George Lazarou being so hands on. The events have brightened up the village and changed the feel of Christmas.

Mark James

I grew up in Whitchurch but we have been in business in Llandaff North now since 1976, and before that we had a petrol station in Llandaff.

I remember when we had the garage on Whitchurch Common, which is now the dry cleaners and my mother would get silver tinsel and decorate the window. I vividly remember that tinsel even though it was tacky!

The celebrations at Christmas were based around churches and it being a religious holiday.

Christmas for me meant Dad locking up the garage at 10pm on Christmas Eve and opening it up again on Boxing Day morning - business didn’t stop very much.

One year, my Mum complained because he was late home - he was actually in the garage washing

Rachel Mainwaring

Christmas in Llandaff for me was very much centred on family, friends and Llandaff Cathedral.

My earliest memories of Christmas are waking up and being allowed to open my pressies before church so I could take my favourite with me to the 9am service. We always used to wear our Christmas Sunday best.

I went to school at Llandaff City CIW primary and used to love the visit from Santa when he would sit at the front of the hall. There was always a Christmas carol concert and I still love songs like 'Little Donkey', 'Oh Little Town of Bethlehem' and 'Oh Come All Ye faithful'. They still remind me of my school days when we would go to church and see the beautiful nativity scene.

My memories are very much centred around the cathedral.

My brother was in the parish choir so would attend dozens of Christmas concerts.

I still spend every Christmas Eve having a meal at the Bay Leaf and will be taking lots of winter walks with the dog to Insole Court - one of my favourite places.

Christmas in Llandaff is warm, welcoming and, for me, steeped in happy memories.

the new car he had bought her for Christmas!

We always seemed to move house in December and I remember the Christmas of 1970 when I was 4 years old having Christmas out of boxes. I also remember riding into the pond on my 3 wheeler bike and being dragged out by my aunt soaking wet!

I vividly recall playing football outside on Christmas Day around 1975 when we lived in Westborne Crescent and being in T-shirts as it was 15 degrees. It didn’t make sense as it was so warm.

Christmases were generally at home and my mother hosted for about 15 of the family.

The events now in Whitchurch, Llandaff and Llandaff North are fantastic. It gets everyone out on the streets talking and being happy together. The events weren’t there all those years ago. People now expect the events to happen but perhaps don’t realise the amount of hard work that goes into them.

Pauline Grainger

I was born in Llandaff and went to the old junior school.

Most of my Christmas memories are to do with that. The school was quite small and at Christmas they would have a sliding door that moved back to make a stage to do a nativity play. I can’t remember if I ever took part but my knitting did - I was very proud of that! I remember singing a Christmas song and it was about the alphabet. 'C is for the dah dah dah, h is for the happiness'.

It was my first experience of singing and I now sing with the Oriana choir.

We would always get our Christmas tree from Bales the greengrocers in the village and I remember that one pub would be open on Christmas Day - I think they took it in turns. I recall going to The Mitre one year. My Dad had a garage on Cowbridge Road West which he would open until lunchtime on Christmas Day - he'd go off with a bottle of whisky and give his customers a tot!

Christmas in Llandaff has become more evident with the Llandaff Society and traders organising the lights and trees.

Kevin Geary

I've lived in Llandaff since I was 8 years old.

We mostly had Christmases at home when I was a kid. I do remember doing a nativity play in the cathedral and I was one of the shepherds! I was probably around 9 or 10 years old at the time.

We never celebrated as much as we do now. I don’t remember being in Llandaff for any kind of celebration - I don’t think there were any.

The Christmas lights in Llandaff have only been going for around 8 years, organised by the Llandaff Society and the traders. We organise social events to raise money with coffee mornings and dinners to fund the lights. It’s a way of pulling the community together.

Huw Llewellyn

I was born in Whitchurch.

One thing I remember is that there was always a Father Christmas on the back of a lorry.

I think he used to start at Castle Coch and then go through all the streets.

All my Christmases have been family ones. Whitchurch is a very family place. All our family live in Whitchurch and we always did big family things.

My Mum has always done big huge Christmases and the most amazing stuffing!

We used to go to Whitchurch Rugby Club as kids and I think I remember seeing Santa there.

The lights is a more recent thing, George Lazarou got that started.

I think Whitchurch now at Christmas is better than ever.

You’ve got the two events with the lights switch on and the Reindeer Run, they’re both really good events.

Whitchurch is a big community and has a community feel that is lacking in other places. This always makes for a happier Christmas! With the two events now, there is more for the kids and with everything lit up, it just feels magical.

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Offering unusual and bespoke gifts for all the family as well as amazing deli products from some of Wales’s best producers, hampers and much more.

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gardening

WINTER IS COMING

While nature quietly sleeps, winter provides the perfect season to plan new projects and prepare your garden for the year ahead

W

inter can be a frustrating time as plans for days off spent in the garden are few, and often spoilt by inclement weather; many hours are spent glaring out of rain-splattered windows, counting the weekends until the more reliable weather of spring.

Occasional clear, dry days can be used very profitably however and serve as a good form of exercise to clear out the cobwebs after a period of Christmas excess. After a hard year spent working in the garden, sometimes it is just nice to sit back, take stock and plan for the year ahead - but these are rainy day tasks or for the odd snowbound period; any opportunity to get in the garden is usually taken with relish.

Gardening in winter is more about what you don’t do rather than what you do (or want to do). The list of things not to do in frosty weather includes walking on lawns, digging soil and pruning trees or shrubs. If you didn’t complete tasks which are usually filed under ‘autumn clear up’, now is probably not the best

time to start them.

Fallen leaves are best left as an insulating cover over bare soil and dormant plants, while the dead growth of ornamental grasses and herbaceous plants protect the growing points of the plants themselves. They also act as winter quarters for a number of hibernating mammals such as hedgehogs and amphibians such as frogs and toads, along with any number of useful invertebrates such as ground beetles and ladybirds. No doubt there will be a few less desirable lodgers such as slugs and snails seeking shelter but as this is the season of goodwill, it seems harsh to come on like Herod and persecute them now.

There are some jobs to be done now though. It is worth looking around the garden for any foliage that can be taken into the house and used as decoration. The virtues of holly and ivy are well known but many berried shrubs can look attractive at this time along with evergreen shrubs such

Sprigs of conifer can look suitably festive and can be fashioned into wreaths

36

as Pittosporum. Sprigs of conifer such as Lawson’s Cypress or Yew can look suitably festive and can be fashioned into wreaths or sprigs tucked behind pictures. It is always worth getting ahead with maintenance tasks such as the sharpening of tools and servicing of lawnmowers and garden machinery. Service centres will be annoyingly busy if you leave it until the first dry weekend of spring.

Similarly, it is a good idea to empty out the compost from old pots under trees and shrubs or into the compost heap and give the pots a good wash. Old terracotta pots will harbour a fine collection of spiders, slime and algae and will last much longer if kept clean and dry, ready for their first outing in spring or summer. It is also good practice to wash and stack plastic pots too before they end up blowing around

yours and the neighbour’s garden in one of the winter storms.

Greenhouses too should not be left full of dry, mouldy tomato vines and chilli plants but should be cleared of dead material and windows cleaned and replaced if necessary.

If they are to be used for overwintering tender plants such as fuchsias, dahlias and geraniums, it is worth putting them in before the first frosts and remembering to check up on them at intervals throughout winter in case pests and diseases take hold while you are distracted by too much Christmas cheer. They may even need watering on odd occasions as even the weak winter sunshine can raise the greenhouse temperature on a few bright days.

If the weather is not too frosty, it is worth getting on with some winter pruning. Fruit trees can be thinned out or brought back to a reasonable size if they have been left for a few years. Fruit bushes such as red currants, black currants and gooseberries should be thinned out to keep the plants productive and ensure easy access to the fruit. Deciduous hedges can be cut back but it is probably best to leave evergreens until spring or summer to avoid disturbing roosting birds.

Chopping wood is a good warming winter job – in fact it warms you twice; once in the sawing and splitting and again in the burning.

If you have wood burning facilities,

a good waterproof wood store is a good investment and another good winter task is its construction. In inner city smokeless zones, we can but dream of a weekend spent in a country pub sat around a roaring fire but a stack of wood in the fireplace at least has a homely feel and provides a refuge for spiders.

Another good warming task is the turning of the compost bin which will speed up the process of decomposition and make sweet smelling compost sooner. Material from one bin is turned into another adjacent one where it can be left to mature while the newly cleared bin can be filled with festive vegetable peelings, any available reindeer dung and some of the mountain of cardboard left over from the opening of presents and seasonal

Chopping wood is a good warming winter job and a stack of wood in the fireplace has a homely feel

fare. If you don’t have a compost bin, now could be a good time to build one as the council annoyingly reduce their collections of green waste to once a month at a time of year when most pruning waste is being produced. Gardening is not all about lawn clippings!

If space allows, you could build a leaf mould bin which can be as simple as four posts surrounded by chicken wire. The resulting peaty leaf mould produced after a year or two is a precious commodity not available in shops or garden centres. Even a few bags full can be put behind a shed and will be usable after a year or two, or can be added to the compost heap in layers like lasagne at warmer times of year when soft green waste is more plentiful.

Kevin Revell is the Plant Area Manager at Caerphilly Garden Centre

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Winter Walk

outdoors

Fill up your flask, jump in the car and head out for a bracing winter walk

At this time of year, you should find plenty of parking on Penarth seafront so park you car there and begin your walk at Penarth Pier.

Head along the seafront walkway, along the beach and past the cafĂŠs and shops, and up into the park on the cliff-top. At the end of the park, the path becomes slightly rougher and you pass through some trees.

Your view of the sea on your lefthand side will become obscured by the hedges but it will offer up some glimpses. Continue on this path.

It soon drops to beach level and rises once again. This is where Guglielmo Marconi, assisted by George Kemp (who was a Cardiff based Post Office engineer) transmitted and received the world's first wireless signals over open sea. They transmitted between Lavernock Point and Flat Holm island - about 3 miles out to sea. The very first message transmitted in Morse Code was "ARE YOU READY".

Soon, the path takes a right hand turn onto a minor asphalt road and passes St Lawrence's Church.

Attached to the church's perimeter wall is a bronze plaque erected by the Cardiff Rotary Club in 1948 to mark the 50th anniversary of Marconi's transmission.

The path then heads inland around the large holiday park of static caravans. It's called the Marconi Holiday Village and behind this is a nature reserve. Shortly after passing the reserve, you come across the abandoned ruins of the Lavernock

Fort. The fort was completed in 1870, with three 7" muzzle loading cannons to protect the channel approaches to Cardiff and Bristol shipyards. Sometime before 1895, the gun battery was reinforced with a fourth cannon, only for all four guns then to be replaced eight years later by two rapid fire six inch (152 mm) former naval guns in 1903.

A two unit searchlight battery was added during the Second World War. The World War II gun emplacements formed part of the Fixed Defences and protected the Atlantic shipping convoys degrouping zone between Cardiff, Barry and Flat Holm.

Today the remaining main section of the gun battery has been listed as an Ancient Monument, which includes the gun emplacements, director-rangefinder observation position, and the crew and officers quarters. The structure is still commemorated through Lavernock Point's main access road being named Fort Road. A little further on, a Royal Observation Corps observation post which was later converted into a nuclear bunker sits on the top of the cliff above St Mary’s Well Bay. Half a mile further on, you arrive in the seaside hamlet of Swanbridge and the welcoming Captain's Wife pub, where you can take a break with some food and drink.

After leaving the pub, the path hugs the coastline, taking you past Sully Sailing Club and a cricket ground. The path can be quite pebbly here so take care. Before long, you will reach the site of the former Sully Hospital. The path will swing inland once again and take you past some of Barry's industrial sites. You will find yourself on the A4055 that takes you into Barry.

You will eventually reach a small Please take care while out walking and dress appropriately. Living Magazines Ltd cannot accept responsibility for your safety on this walk.

roundabout at Cadoxton. Take the first exit and this will take you in the direction of Barry Docks. Head past the Barry Docks Offices on your right and continue down past the retail park also on your right and on towards the Asda superstore. This is where Dai Woodham's famous Engine's Graveyard used to be.

Here sat 200 former British Railways steam locomotives, saved from the scrapheap in the 1960s and 1970s.

Many of these were later purchased by preserved railways and locomotive preservation groups and are now in active operation, including some permitted to haul passenger trains on the main line system.

The road will bring you out at Barry Island's former Cosy Corner, near the fairground. The Barry Island peninsula was an island until the 1880s when it was linked to the mainland as the town of Barry expanded. This was partly due to the opening of Barry Dock by the Barry Railway Company.

Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to form Barry Island.

You can now either take a walk along the promenades, grab a warming drink and a bag of chips, or jump on a train back to Penarth, changing at Grangetown.

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pets

Your pet questions answered

Chris Troughton is clinical director of Heath Vets. He’s here to answer all your pet questions. If you’d like to ask Chris a pet-related question, drop us a line I have a dog who constantly licks his paw. I have checked all around his paw and can’t find anything untoward. I’ve considered putting a sock over it but I’m not sure if that would help. Any suggestions?

Your dog could be licking his paw for all sorts of reasons, and it’s difficult to say the exact cause without examining him. If it’s only ever one particular paw, there could be something like a thorn stuck in it, or he could have some interdigital dermatitis (sore areas on the skin between the pads) caused by contact with an irritant or getting a bit of grit caught in the hair there. The latter is most common in longcoated dogs with lots of hair on their feet. If he’s licking at a particular toe, have a very close look at the nail and see if it’s damaged. Try wiggling the nail about (gently!) – an injured nail will cause a lot of discomfort, and will often need to be removed. (If so, don’t worry as it will grow back fine!). Sometimes arthritis in the foot will make dogs lick to relieve the ache. If more than one foot is affected, this could be a symptom of allergy.

Sometimes dogs will lick and chew their feet so much that they cause quite a lot of trauma.

In this situation, covering the foot with a sock might be useful to prevent too much damage until you can get him to the vet, but preventing him from licking the area will not remove the cause of the problem or make it feel any better, so I would not generally recommend it.

Several months ago, my 5 year old collie went floppy, fell over and after a few seconds, got back up again as if nothing had happened. She hasn’t had one since but I’m worried that it could happen again. What do you think it could be?

This sounds as though it could be an attack of ‘syncope’, or fainting. Syncope is often related to an abnormal heart rhythm causing sudden loss of blood pressure and therefore reduction in oxygen to the brain.

Your vet might be able to detect changes in her heart rhythm that help to identify this as the cause, either by listening or with an ECG (heart trace).

However the heart rhythm might be completely normal in between episodes, making it very hard to identify. If there are repeated attacks, it is possible to fit a holter monitor to your dog which records her heart rhythm constantly over an extended period. However, if attacks are very infrequent, it’s unlikely that wearing a

holter monitor for a week will capture the event. It’s worth getting your dog’s heart checked now, but if there’s nothing found, I wouldn’t worry too much unless she has repeated episodes.

I’ve had a cat for the last three months. My previous pet was a dog, who I bathed at least once every few weeks. Do I need to bathe my cat as he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it himself but I feel as if I need to help!)

Cats are inherently very clean animals and spend a great deal of time grooming themselves, as you have noticed. They rarely need to be bathed except in exceptional situations – for example if they have got oil on them from sitting under your car.

Occasionally cats need bathing for medical reasons, but they don’t enjoy it, and we never look forward to it! However, brushing and combing your cat may be helpful, especially if he has a long coat, and grooming like this can be a very pleasurable experience for the cat, reinforcing his bond with you.

s ' t e L y t r a P New Year's Eve doesn't have to be a night out. A New Year's Party in the house puts you in control in the comfort of your own home

Why have a party?

Like Christmas, a New Year's Party is based around a strong theme, even if the central highlight lasts no more than a minute.

But a New Year's Party can be much more than that. It can be a time to reflect, a time to look forward to new hopes and dreams.

It can also be a time to relax and catch up with old friends and family.

The thought of putting on a party at this time of year can be daunting but with a little bit of planning and a touch of imagination, you can create a party that your family and friends will talk about for years to come.

If you are thinking of hosting a New Year's Party this year, here are a few ideas to give you some inspiration.

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Preparing Food

To make things easier for you and your guests, it's always a good idea for them to bring their own appetisers.

If someone doesn’t know how to cook or what to bring, suggest raw veggies and houmous, a fruit and nut platter, or a cheese and crackers plate. If someone claims that even those are too difficult, ask them to bring a packet or two of mixed nuts – you can provide the bowl!

Create a music playlist

It's now easier than ever to create your own playlist with online streaming services like Spotify and Deezer. If most of your guests are of a similar age, it's always a great idea to drop in some nostalgic songs from your younger days. If your guests are more varied in age, you can always rely on the trusty Christmas compilation CD that's been sitting in the cupboard all year waiting to be played!

'Hire' a photographer

If you don't want to do it yourself, find a friend who will take care of the photo duties for the evening.

Party photos always look more fun when you introduce some props so dig out some old clothes, hats and glasses from your wardrobe. You can also create a themed frame that people can pop their heads into when they are having their photos taken.

No doubt, these will all be shared on social media in the cold sober hours of New Year's Day.

Highlights of the Year One thing that's guaranteed to keep the conversation

flowing over a New Year's Eve supper is to look back over the last 12 months.

It might be worth printing out some ice-breaker cards with particular topics featured on each one.

Topics could range from 'Day from the last year that you'd love to do again' through to 'Most embarrassing moment of the year'.

You can also take the conversation a bit deeper by offering the 'Best advice you've heard all year' or 'Biggest lesson learned this year.' If you want to add more fun to the game, you can throw in some sayings that cannot be uttered during the night - phrases like 'I can't believe where time has gone' or 'Doesn't time fly?' Forfeits can be dished out to those who slip up.

Fancy Dress In some parts of the UK like Cornwall,

putting on fancy dress on New Year's Eve is a tradition that goes back years. It gives people a chance to let their hair down and have fun. It not only breaks the ice but provides ample opportunities for laughs, great photo opportunities and memorable moments.

Giving your party a theme such as Superheroes or Game of Thrones will make for a great evening but be sure to give your guests ample warning ahead of the party to give them time to prepare!

Celebrate New Year every hour on the hour If you are looking to make the most of your New Year's Party, why not celebrate New Year every hour, on the hour, to coincide with a place in the world where they are celebrating midnight? This not only makes the evening more fun but also adds a bit of variety to proceedings With many countries hours ahead of us, you can plan to celebrate all evening long. Join Greece at 10pm by serving up a platter of traditional Greek food and ouzo (be careful not to go crazy on this as you do want to get to midnight!).

At 11pm, join the French by serving up baked Camembert and red Bordeaux.

It will be several more hours before you can start joining those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in their celebrations but by then, you'll either be safely tucked up in bed or passed out on the sofa.

Post midnight munchies Make sure that your guests go

home with full bellies and smiles on their faces by preparing some post midnight-food.

New Year's parties run the risk of falling flat after the climax of midnight. It doesn't have to be anything fancy but a warming bowl of soup or some bacon butties will always be appreciated.

If your party isn't going to be overly boozy, a warming mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows will finish the evening off beautifully.

New Year Predictions During the early part of the evening, get your guests to write down predictions for the year ahead. Get them to sign their predictions and to put them into a box or a bowl.

During supper or after midnight, everyone can take turns to read the predictions out loud and the other guests can guess whose prediction it is.

There will always be a few surprises and it's a great way to wrap up the night!

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Recliner Chair Centre

An award-winning, family firm, established for over 40 years

We all have a favourite place to sit in our homes, whether it’s our seat at the dinner table, our spot on the sofa, or the plush chair in the living room.

Unfortunately, for many of us, there comes a time in our life when our favourite chair no longer gives us the support we need. That's where the Recliner Chair Centre in The Heath can help

look for a showroom.

"We finally found our spot here in Heath after I visited someone in UHW and saw a For Sale sign on the building. It was exactly what we were looking for and gave us a presence in the local community."

The floor area showcases over 100 products and more lift and recline chairs than anywhere else.

"We used the opportunity to move to major brands. We embraced

For more than 40 years, the Recliner Chair Centre has been providing the UK with the highest quality electric and leather recliner chairs. The story behind the business reveals the true extent of its first-class customer service.

“We’ve been in these premises for 35 years and been in business for 40,” says owner Alun Williams proudly.

"I was one of the first to bring rise and recliners into the UK and helped develop this product for a number of manufacturers in Wales and England. Our experience and knowledge has resulted in us claiming to be the UK's leading showroom retailer of the vast differences and ranges of actions used on this type of chair."

At first, the chairs were made in Talbot Green but as it wasn’t deemed a safe place for their customers to visit, Alun decided to

Parker Knoll, Sherborne, Celebrity and Cintique, but stock all major brands for optimum choice."

Every chair on display has to 'earn its place' by showing a different variation of size and mechanisms.

"Lift and recline chairs now account for over 80% of our business and over the last six years, we have also sold the wonderful Sherborne motorised bed in all its variables. The bed essentially uses the same generic type of linear motors on which our expertise is founded - crossing the disciplines

31 St Anthony Road, Heath Cardiff, CF14 4DF

of engineering and upholstered furniture. I think this is why any new customers usually give us a pyramid of recommendations and therefore further sales," says Alun.

Their genuine commitment to customer service is backed up with the fact that members of staff don't receive commission on sales.

"We have heard terrible stories about people buying chairs at obscene prices or with a free offer of a bed, but if something goes wrong, there's often no ongoing support. Our team can offer their extensive knowledge about the products we display including the variety of rise and recline chairs available. Sue has been here for 20 years and Chris for well over a decade.

"It’s in our nature to look after our customers. We've been here for such a length of time that we see people again and again over the years. It's lovely to deal with people and have that ongoing relationship with them."

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feature

(

grumpy christmas

Christmas can be an overwhelming experience. It can push some to the edge. Here are some of the aspects of Christmas that some people enjoy but others don't embrace too quickly daylight robbery with the quality of that can be done from the comfort Preparation singing on offer. They always call of your own armchair. Haha. Yeah, They say 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail', whoever 'they' are. But of course, they are right. Christmas involves huge amounts of preparation - things like taking your frozen turkey out of the freezer in late November; ordering in two more tubs of Quality Street to replace the ones you ate in early December; and preparing to talk to relatives that you try and avoid for the rest of the year. Prepare some ready-made questions such as 'Awful weather we've been having isn't it?' and 'You had a good year?'.

They'll go down a treat. Promise.

Carol Singers

When you were a kid, carol singing was your chance to embrace the Christmas spirit and to bring cheer to the old people who lived next door. As you get older, you suddenly realise that these cheery cherubs could actually be charged with

46

during the middle of dinner and they always look disappointed with whatever you give them to go away from your door.

The School Nativity

As autumn turns into winter, all eyes turn to the school nativity play to usher in the Christmas season. On paper, this all sounds very exciting.

That's until the costumes need to be made. And the big debate about who's going to play Mary spills out into the playground. And when the big day comes around, there's always an angel who forgets her one line and needs prompting from a teacher sat simmering at the bottom of the stage.

Shopping

Christmas shopping, has of course, changed immensely over the years.

Gone are the traffic jams, the long queues at the tills and the audio assault of Christmas music on the ears. The internet has transformed Christmas shopping into a wonderful, stress-free experience

right.

Christmas Parties

Planning in advance for the works Christmas party is a fine art. Hide ÂŁ20 somewhere on your person so that you've always got money for a taxi home. Write your address down on a piece of paper to show the taxi driver, should you become incapable of speaking.

At the party itself, always carry two drinks because if you bump into someone you like, you can stay

tHESE CHEERY

cHERUBS

COULD BE CHARGED WITH DAYLIGHT

ROBBERY

feature and drink them both. If they're not someone you like, you can always make the excuse that you can't stop and talk as you have a drink to give to someone. Up there for thinking eh?

Sherry

As a kid, sherry was the reserve of the older people - those people who'd come to your house in their Sunday best. But as the years go by, sherry starts to work its merry magic on you. First, a tipple as a teenager. A tumbler in your twenties. By the time you get to your forties, you're downing flagons of the stuff.

Telly

Circling the things in the TV guide as to what you were going to watch on telly over Christmas is now a long-forgotten pastime that kids these days just wouldn't understand. You see, back in the day, the Christmas Day film was THE big event of the entire holiday season. No Netflix, YouTube or even the hundreds of channels that we have now. Oh no. We had just four channels to pick from and if you were going to stay up late, the Closedown would remind you that you should really be in bed.

the first place to deal with. The first one you look at is just about right. But you’ll need to look at 20 more just to be sure. And sure enough, the first one was good enough.

Turkey

If turkey was tasty, you’d eat it any other time of the year wouldn’t you? We try and dress it up any way we can to make it more palatable.

Cranberry sauce, honey dip – even mustard. It gets that bad that you even have to chuck it into a curry to disguise it.

Things are obviously worse for the turkey herself who has her innards taken out and put in a plastic bag that’s popped back up her bum.

Christmas Pudding

Not many people know this but Christmas pudding was invented by a bricklayer. One Christmas Eve, this bricklayer was trying to finish off an outside toilet that he was building.

Just before he finished his creation, he realised that he was several bricks short. As all the builders' yards were closed, the bricklayer had to think fast as he wanted to get home. In a nearby bin, he found some old fruit peelings and a load of flour. He mixed them all in together with some water and created what he thought would pass as a brick. Sadly, the lady who he was building the toilet for took it in as a gift and wanted to serve it the following day. The bricklayer attempted to burn the abomination that he'd created - a tradition that's continued to this day.

Pantomimes

The Christmas tree

Think of it logically. What drives us to go and stick a 7 ft tree in our house? Would you do it any other time of year? Ask yourself and answer it honestly. If you’re the sort who demands a REAL tree in your front room (those plastic ones just aren’t the same darling), there is the ritual of going to pick your tree in

Another British tradition that leaves foreigners scratching their heads: "Yes, that's right. The lead actor is a woman but she's playing the part of a young boy. And yes, the big buxom dame isn't really a woman.

No. That's a man. And I don't know why the Prince is always such a boring drip. He just is. I'm sure he's nice in real life."

Christmas Jumpers

There was a time when wearing Christmas jumpers was a fashionable thing to do. Then they bombed out of fashion. They went out of fashion so much that they came back into fashion a few decades later as so-bad-they'regood fashion. People are now making money off selling retrolooking Christmas jumpers and people are snapping them up like hotcakes. See? Christmas was that much better in days gone by that we're having to even recreate the fashion of the times.

Unexpected Guests

Christmas is all about catching up with friends and family but sometimes, they turn up when you least expect it. Here's a little trick you can use to get yourself out of this pickle: When your doorbell rings, put on your coat before you open the front door. If it's someone you want to see, tell them that you've just got back from shopping and welcome them in. If it's someone you'd rather not see, tell them that you were just heading out for the day.

Works a treat every time.

Christmas Music

As many Christmas compilations will confirm, the word 'aglow' never existed until the early 1950s, when American Christmas song writers wanted a word to rhyme with 'snow'.

47

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Here at James & Jenkins, we have been looking after our people for almost 40 years.

We still provide the same great aftersales care to our customers, with MOTs and services for all makes and models of car.

With equipment to repair air conditioning and full wheel alignment, we can look after your complete motoring needs.

We have 75 used vehicles for sale, and as well as having a long history of specialising in Vauxhall vehicles, we are now Cardiff’s main dealer for Subaru.

Located just across the road from the new Lidl store in Llandaff North, we’re your one stop garage and car dealer this winter.

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We wish all our customers a Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in 2018!

Our sister company Charter Vehicle Hire is able to supply you with small cars, vans and MPVs. Call us for our daily rates on 029 2055 3111

party treats

Christmas is time for friends and family. A chance to come together, to eat, drink and be merry. Here are a few recipes that will be the talk of the dinner party

Steamed scallops with whisky and ginger 200g glass noodles 80ml Scottish whisky 2 tablespoons brown sugar 250ml light soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 teaspoons chilli oil 16 large scallops, in the half shell, roe left on 8 garlic cloves, finely grated 5cm piece ginger, peeled and cut into julienne 500g rock salt 6 shallots, finely shredded on the diagonal, soaked in iced water

50

4 long fresh red chillies, halved, seeded and cut into fine julienne 125ml (½ cup) peanut oil ☐ Soak the glass noodles in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain well, then using kitchen scissors, cut the noodles into 3cm lengths and set aside. ☐ Place the whisky, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and chilli oil in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. ☐ Fill a wok one-third full of water and bring to a rapid boil. Place a small handful of chopped glass noodles under each scallop, then top the scallops with a little garlic and ginger. Place as many scallops as will fit comfortably in a single layer in the top of a large bamboo steamer basket. Pour 1 tablespoon of the whisky mixture over the top.

Place on the wok, cover with the

lid and steam for 4 minutes or until just warmed through (or 2 minutes if your scallops are much smaller). ☐ Meanwhile, make small mounds of rock salt on a serving platter – this will keep the scallops steady and level in their shells. Remove the scallops from the steamer and place the next batch on to steam.

Place the steamed scallops on the rock salt mounds and top with a little spring onion and sliced chilli. ☐ When all the scallops are steamed and topped with spring onion and chilli, place the peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until smoking hot. Carefully spoon a little hot oil over the spring onion and chilli- this will quickly scold the spring onion, releasing more flavour into the scallops and giving a nice shine to the dish. ☐ Serve immediately.

food

Puff Pastry Olive Bites 250g grated Parmesan zest of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley 1 large egg flour, for dusting 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed Around 40 pimento-stuffed green olives, drained ☐ Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. ☐ In a mixing bowl, toss together the Parmesan, lemon zest and parsley until it's all combined. ☐ In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg with 2 teaspoons of water to make an egg wash. ☐ On a floured work surface, gently roll out the puff pastry sheet, removing any fold marks but keeping the same general size and shape. Using a sharp knife or a pizza wheel, cut forty 1-by-2-inch rectangles. Place an olive in the middle of a rectangle and gently wrap the pastry around the olive, pinching the seam and ends to seal to make a small ball. ☐ Coat the wrapped olive first in egg wash and then in cheese mixture. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining pastry and olives. ☐ Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. ☐ Remove the olives from the baking sheet and cool completely on a wire rack.

Bacon & Rosemary Mushrooms 100g bacon, chopped 30g butter 250g mushrooms 2 sprigs rosemary, minced 1 onion, chopped 150g grated Edam cheese ☐ Separate the mushroom stems from the caps. Chop the stems and set aside. ☐ Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion until it's soft.

Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until they are golden. ☐ In another frying pan, cook the chopped bacon until it's crisp.

Drain the fat from the pan. Add the bacon to the mushroom mixture along with the cheese and rosemary and stir well. ☐ Fill the mushroom caps with the cheese mixture and place in a baking tin. ☐ Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6. Bake the mushrooms for 15 to 20 minutes. ☐ Serve immediately.

Southern Fried Cauliflower 1 1/2 large cauliflowers 225g self-raising flour 1 tablespoon ground paprika 2 teaspoons ground white pepper 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons dried oregano 250ml buttermilk 3 eggs vegetable oil, to deep fry 125g whole-egg mayonnaise 2 teaspoons sriracha chilli sauce micro herbs, to serve lemon wedges, to serve

well, draining any excess before returning them to the flour mixture.

Turn to coat well again and transfer them to a plate. ☐ Pour enough oil into a large saucepan to come halfway up the side and heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches of about 4-5 pieces (don't put too many in the pan), deep fry the cauliflower for 2 minutes or until they are golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a tray lined with paper towels to drain. Transfer the cauliflower to a serving dish and season with salt. ☐ Combine the mayonnaise and chilli sauce in a small bowl.

Sprinkle micro herbs over the fried cauliflower. Serve with the mayonnaise mixture and lemon.

☐ Trim the cauliflower of its greenery and cut it into large florets (this should equate to about 400g of cauliflower florets). Sift the flour, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and a large pinch of salt onto a large plate and stir in the oregano. Pour the buttermilk into a shallow dish and whisk the eggs in a separate shallow dish. ☐ Working in batches, place the cauliflower florets in the buttermilk and turn to coat them well. Add to the flour mixture and toss them to coat. Shake off any excess. Then add to the egg and turn to coat

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Calling all Over 60s Keep Fit and Flexible with Rubicon Dance

Photograph taken by Sian Trenberth

After a recent successful taster session initiated by Julie Morgan, Rubicon will be running weekly dance sessions for over 60s.

Where? Whitchurch Community Centre (Old Church Road) When? Every Monday from 1.30-2.30pm (term time) Gentle exercise to music for £3.50 per session.

All over 60s Welcome! Contact Sharon Teear:

Tel: 07868 258605 / 02920 491477

info@rubicondance.co.uk / www.rubiconcdance.co.uk

A Child's Christmas in 1980s Wales A homage to Mr D Thomas

Christmas Eve Those Christmas days, those always endless days, started way back when the leaves were still clinging to the trees; the seeds of Christmas 1984 were sown when the Great Universal Autumn/Winter catalogue thumped through the front door, loaded with Lego and train sets and Casio watches, waterproof to 5 metres.

Through the autumn and darkening months, those well-thumbed pages were taken to bed and worshipped.

I looked out through my criss-cross bedroom window on that Christmas Eve morning; that boringly dull morning that never really felt like Christmas Eve. The houses behind ours stood staid and solemn, smoke slowly and silently rising from their chimneys. And the old steel streetlight that would light up my bedroom at night stood cold and hard; waiting. The great autumn storms had long rolled through, leaving the still churned soil kissed with frost and our trees naked as bones. From the pigeon hut in the garden opposite ours, the grey and blue doves took to the skies as if it was any other day, swooping and cutting through the ice clouds, oblivious to Christmas; ignorant of festivities.

Christmas Eve day, in my memory was long, stretched and grey, waiting for dark. And lots of cleaning.

‘Have you done the Shake and Vac? They’ll be here for dinner tomorrow.’

Dad rumbled through the house with the pregnant hoover.

‘I’ve only got two pair of hands.’

‘Did you remember to buy Kia-Ora for the kids?’

‘We’ve got loads of pop. The Corona lorry came round yesterday.’

The dark sacred night slipped quietly over the town as we took it in turns to bathe and don our towelling pyjamas and dressing gowns that

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had been warmed on the radiators.

Clean-cheeked and cross-legged, we watched The Snowman with twinkling eyes as Mam baked sausage rolls in the oven.

‘You can go to bed for a few hours before Midnight Mass.’ We never slept. My two brothers and I lay in our bunks and spoke about what the man in red might bring overnight. Mari, my sister, lay in her box bedroom alone at the front of the house, overlooking an empty Y Groes as the night stirred on.

Midnight Mass The blesséd and holy were ushered into the church by Ted Thomas, shiny-shoed and handing out order of services. Cherry-nosed and sheet faced, the congregation quietly took their seats as I set about my acolyting duties, lighting each candle in the church. Up near the altar, sat at the entrance to a cavern of pipes and stops sat Mr Evans, the organist, his great swirl of hair washed for the first time that year. On windy days, his grey swirl would unfurl and stretch out like a wispy Wednesday afternoon rain cloud. But tonight, on the holiest of nights, it sat perfectly festooned on his head.

The service started at half eleven prompt. The choir stalls where we sat smelt of sweet oak and hardened chewing gums. And our cassocks, fusty and musty as grandfathers, and tight under the armpits, had seen many a Midnight Mass.

Down the front were Laurel and Hardy. Mrs Morgan, in her hat and coat, ancient as Methuselah, stood next to Mrs Llewellyn, never smiling and scented with lavender and warm chicken soup. Behind them, a giggling cwtching couple, young and in love, and in the seats that no one ever sat in; never seen before and never to be seen again.

Mam was sat a few rows back, all shoulder pads and perm. Sunday best on a Monday night. A few other of my aunties and uncles filled out the row,

all Christians, all still awake, saluting the happy morn. And when we’d done all our singing and praising, we headed out into the dark chill and on to home. The rector snuck off to his rectory in his holy Mini Metro for a late night glass of sherry and a warm mince pie.

Our grandparents lived up Rhiwbina Hill, which we could see from our house. Mam would often ask me to look out the window to see if they were in. So I stood in our front room and watched them make their slow way up the hill in their Triumph Toledo after they’d dropped us home. I could hear the glug-glugging of the Baileys and the clinking of the glasses from the living room next door but the front room where I stood was peaceful.

The coloured lights on the tree bloomed silent as stars. I leant down to the Waltham stereo player that was on the bottom shelf and pressed play on the tape deck. I think it was the Coventry Carol that came on. The volume was low but the choristers’ haunting euphony drifted out from the speakers. I moved over the bay window and looked out. It was a cold hard night. The concrete lampposts stood guarding the steel streets but across the way came the warm glow of light from my grandparents’ living room window. I could see them, taking off their coats, and then share an embrace and a kiss under the mistletoe that was hanging from the light fixture. Across the distance, and despite the silence of the night outside the window, I could sense their love for each other. And it was at that moment, while that village was settling down for the night, that I felt that for once, the world was safe and at peace.

Christmas Day Crinkle toes and gravid stocking that bulged with corners. Waking up on Christmas morning was an endless riot of toys, wrapping paper and pitchless windows. As the milky sun

story came up, and as the trail of bacon drifted up the stairs, boxes were spilled open and instructions were laid out on carpet.

For Mari: a bike called Melody with a plastic cream white basket; a Cabbage Patch doll called Isabel Julia; a Big Yellow Teapot that Dad said looked like an angry man sticking his tongue out; a Little Professor calculator; a Cadbury’s selection pack (the Topic bar was given to Mam).

Dan: A Raleigh Boxer; a red bucket of Stickle Bricks; a Slinky spring that came down the stairs; a Connect 4 game; Buckaroo; a Cadbury’s selection pack (the Topic bar was given to Mam).

Dylan: Mostly Duplo. Baby Lego.

Me: A raven black Strika bike with pretend suspension bars and a thick foam seat; a metal torch that changed its light from white to green to red; a keyring Rubik’s cube; a Superman Annual; a Lego set; a Cadbury’s selection pack (the Topic bar was given to Mam); a packet of glow in the dark stars - seventy five stick on stars and nine planets.

‘They’re for your bedroom ceiling.’ said Dad. So while Mam peeled the sprouts in the steam window kitchen, Dad was up a paint-splattered step ladder, sticking seventy five stars and nine planets to our bedroom ceiling.

After Christmas dinner, we were allowed to open presents from old aunties we never knew. The long dull thrill of opening a pack of white socks from Aunty Muriel, wrapped with gossamer-skin fingers and a whole roll of sellotape. From the kitchen, and with his turkey-smeared apron on, Dad made the dreaded long distance call to Aunt Vi who lived in Tenby.

There were always grandparents at Christmas. And on Christmas afternoon, soon after the bird carcass had gone cold and tough, they’d arrive. Dada, bow-tied and waistcoat wrapped, would ho-ho-ho his way in through the doors. Nana would follow.

‘A Babycham will be fine, love’.

Christmas meant cherryade from the Corona pop man. And once that had gone, it was American Soda. Peanuts in Tupperware bowls and Twiglets in saucers lounged around the tables and dressers.

‘Chaplin’s on telly.’

‘Can’t stand him. Turn it over.’

‘You do it. I can’t be bothered to get up.’

The afternoon was turning into a dry biscuit day so one of the grown-ups said ‘Let’s go up the pub.’

‘But the Wind in the Willows is on in half an hour.’

‘Ah, I’ll get it for you on VHS. Uncle Colin can get it on pirate. He can do tape-from-tape.’

‘Wow. Can he get the kids E.T? I wonder if he can get us American Werewolf.’

‘He can get us any film we want. He gets them all from his mate down the pub.’

‘What about Scanners?’

‘Who?’ So we wrapped up in scarves and hats and climbed our way to the top of the world. The Deri Inn was throbbing like a sore thumb at the top of the hill. And inside sat the old men who never celebrated Christmas like we did.

The lounge was full of grey smoke, loud chatter and the smell of thick yeast carpet.

‘Whose Stella is that?’

‘Mine or maybe…’ Bampy’s bold words were cut short by the swell of a song. More beer arrived and so did Bobby, a cousin we didn’t know much about. He had tinsel ginger hair and a pub-warmed face.

‘I remember you coming to our house once,’ he said sitting ‘and I locked you in the cupboard under the stairs for three hours so it would look like I turned on the moon when you came out.’ He sipped his thin beer, his lips cracked and unkissed. I dipped my tongue in my warm squash that had been diluted to the top and watched as huff-cheeked ladies came in from the cold.

The man at the piano ground out a tune that no one knew, apart from the shrill woman in the corner whose face kept sinking wine. In the corner slumped sleeping was Harry Halfhead, his one eye shut and his glass eye looking out to make sure no one disturbed his slumber.

And as quick as a flash, the heavy bell tolled at the bar. The doors belched and we were out in the cold and the black.

So down the raw road we all made our way home, merry and warm and full of wobbly-legged song.

Bobby came back, the cousin we didn’t know much about and he was full of beer but he was a cousin nevertheless. Ahead of us, down the hill to the shops, the village sighed and it rested, full of mince pies and Ferrero Rocher. And we laughed and remembered the Christmasses past – the one with Major Morgan and the one with the Etch-a-Sketch.

Home was waiting like a big warm smile. And when it was later than we thought tea usually felt like, the patio doors would open and uncles and aunties would step in to the coal fire room. In would float the brisk air behind aunties with their Cinzano glee. Yellow flashes of Hoffmiester in uncles’ Spar plastic bags would spill and froth and hiss.

‘Bring out that Dare game’ was called as we sat by the fire. ‘Boys

versus girls and move that clothes dryer.’

The crosslegged family sat down round the new-smelling game board that was too grown up for us. Or so they thought.

‘Who goes first?’

‘Ladies first.’

Brian went first with his tight paper Christmas crown that stuck to his head and he sweated and got his question wrong.

‘Your first dare is to do 50 press-ups’ we said as we sniggered. The card said ten but we wanted to see Brian sweat more. But he did all fifty as his pasty shoes quivered.

And after that, we took Bobby out in the cold to be sick and to get a taxi that never came.

Always on Christmas night there was music. From under his sheepskin coat, a newly-arrived uncle brought out a 45 single in its skin-and-bone sleeve.

On its front, happy scissor-cut people stood round a Victorian tree with two sad Ethiopian children looking for flies to eat. After thirteen plays of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ a cousin sang ‘Last Christmas’ and another uncle sang ‘Only You’ (all parts). And Auntie Liz, who had brought reindeer brown bottles of cider, sang a skipping song fandango on her own as the room hummed harder. It was very warm in the house. Economy 7 warmed wonders since John Morgan and his band of white van friends had brasspiped it in.

Arfon Haines Davies and his hair said goodnight to the world from his warm studio at Culverhouse Cross and he bid us all a Merry Christmas.

And then I went to my bedroom. I looked out through my criss-cross bedroom window, the blue moonlight resting hushed on the rooftops. The old street lamp stood sentry, silent and still. Its light, its lustre, warmed my room. The pigeons now, restful as snow, slept tight in their hut. I could see the lights in the bedrooms of all the other houses in the street behind ours. And if I listened hard enough, I could hear the rustling laughter and warm music drifting out from the open doors into the winter.

I turned out my lamp and pulled the duvet tight up to my chin. I looked up to my ceiling and counted seventy five stars and nine planets.

I closed my eyes to the world and thanked Christmas and then I slept.

The End Adapted from A Child's Christmas in 1980s Wales by Patric Morgan

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