As the Resolven Branch of the Royal British Legion recently ceased to exist and according to the Welsh Government Covid-19 restrictions and recommendations, only a fraction of the normal number of people gathered at the Resolven Cenotaph at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
A shortened service of Remembrance took place and due to the non-availability of the Vicar, Mr David Richards and Mr Roger Place, former members of the local British Legion branch lead the Remembrance and Mrs Diane Sims played pre-recorded ‘The Last Post’ followed by two minutes silence.
Talented village residents had prepared an unique display of poppies and appropriately painted stones at the gates of the Cenotaph.
Resolven found a new way to remember the fallen.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.“
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was a Soldier, a Physician and a Poet whose inspirational poem is synonymous with the First World War.
At the age of 41, John McCrae enrolled with the Canadian Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the First World War. It was his second tour of duty in the Canadian Military. He had previously fought with a volunteer force in the second Boer War.
He had the option of joining the Medical Corps because of his training but he volunteered instead to join a fighting unit as a gunner and medical officer. His father was also a military man and John McCrae had grown up believing in doing his duty and fighting for his country.
John McCrae fought in the second battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium and during this battle his close friend Alexis Helmer was killed on May 2nd.
The Lieutenant Colonel was present at the burial of Alexis Helmer and actually performed the service himself and was struck by all the poppies that were quickly growing around the graves of those who had died. This scene affected him deeply.
The next day he composed his famous poem while sitting in the back of an Ambulance outside Ypres. Today, this location is known as the John McCrae Memorial Site.
The poem and the poppy are prominent Remembrance Day symbols throughout the Commonwealth of Nations particularly in Canada where ‘In Flanders Fields’ is one of the nations best known literary works.
It also reminds us that in all acts of conflict past and present, where there is loss of life, each and everyone of them gave their tomorrow for our today.
Zoe Lake from the village is providing Christmas Day Lunch doorstep deliveries for elderly, vulnerable, disabled and families in need in Resolven Melincourt and Clyne. She is raising funds for this on a just giving page and has so far raised just shy of £500. This is a very selfless task that Zoe is undertaking and we at the Community Council applaud her for her action.
Please could I ask that if anybody knows anyone who would benefit from this to please get in touch with me on 07784735055 and I will pass the names onto Zoe.
Also below I have included the link to the just giving page if anyone is able to donate
I’m sure you can all agree that this year has been very difficult and challenging emotionally and financially for many people within our area. A lot of people are feeling lonely and isolated. Some families have lost jobs and even loved ones. We all need a little help sometimes, so this year I will be providing Christmas dinner doorstep deliveries for the elderly, vulnerable, disabled and families in need within our area. If you or anyone you know of would like a Christmas lunch delivered or have an elderly neighbour please if you can ask them and send me a message, confidentiality is an essential part of this service.
I have set up a donation page if anyone would like to make a donation to this service, no matter how small, you will be helping to provide a Christmas dinner for those who need it and any funds left will be donated to the local food bank which will go on to help even more people.
We may only be a small village, but when it comes to giving a helping hand we always comes together and help when we can.
Let’s make this Christmas the best we can in the circumstances
On a wet and windy morning last Friday members of the Community Council and volunteers arrived to begin the installation of a new garden planted specifically to attract butterflies.
The Community Council had received all the materials and tools from ‘Keep Wales Tidy‘ whose representative Kathryn Brixton also attended to give advice.
The area chosen was the surround of the bowling green adjacent to Vaughan Avenue end so that it was visible to the outside and protected on the inside.
The trellis and raised bed was planted with clematis, and honeysuckle and bulbs and plants in the raised bed are snowdrop, bluebell, wood anemone, lavender, field scabious, meadow cranesbill, wild carrot, kidney vetch, rough hawkbit.
There were shrubs of dogwood, dog rose, broom, elder and hawthorn which will hopefully grow in the Spring.
The Community Council also received 2 birdfeeders and sacks of birdfeed from ‘Keep Wales Tidy’.
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Thanks go to Cllr Kamila Kulik who was the main organiser of the project, Cllr Alun Morgan, Cllr Aylwin Jones, Roy Gillespie, Gareth Evans, Christine Twaite, and Cheryl Payne.
https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.png00HL & LLhttps://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.pngHL & LL2020-10-27 19:57:402020-10-27 19:57:41Resolven Community Council New Butterfly Garden Project
As we come into Autumn and winter you will find a lot of different species of birds coming on to your feeders, never let the feeders go empty, as they will not visit again.
I have a regular bird who visits in early/late spring – the woodpecker and on occasions he will bring his offspring to show him the ropes,
It’s a wonderful bird, but to get a photograph of them is not so easy as they are very shy birds and are always on the lookout, for intruders such as the Sparrow Hawk.
https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.png00HL & LLhttps://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.pngHL & LL2020-10-16 11:06:322020-10-16 11:06:33Looking forward to Spring with Mike Davies
A cold but sunny Sunday on the 11th October 2020 gave the residents of Resolven an afternoon of two unexpected and unusual sightings
The first, at 2.45 p.m. seen clearly due to the very good visibility of the day, and against a background of vivid blue skies and the occasional fluffy white cloud was a colourful hot air balloon drifting slowly and silently high up in the sky, down the valley.
This lovely view of this giant balloon produced feelings of envy because the occupants had chosen the perfect autumn day for their ride in a hot air balloon and the views of the village and the valley must have been really spectacular and special.
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A short while later, when the balloon had long disappeared behind a cloud, the silence of the afternoon was broken by a whirring sound which got louder and louder and suddenly overhead, an impressive red Wales Air Ambulance helicopter landed in the middle of the Vaughan field to the amazement and excited delight of the many children in the playground and the skate park. The noise also brought all the residents out of their homes to see this sudden appearance.
Apparently this was brought about by an incident that had occurred nearby on the A465 dual carriageway.
The Wales Air Ambulance helicopter seen closely is a wonderful sight and reminds us of the amazing work that they do and how fortunate we are to have such a facility available to us.
The main reason, of course, for the presence of the Wales Air Ambulance is a serious matter attending incidents and accidents that require specialist and immediate attention. They can arrive quickly, anywhere in Wales within 20 minutes, to provide expert care and transport for patients in need.
It is hoped that the incident they attended on 11th October was resolved without serious consequences.
The Wales Air Ambulance is entirely funded by donations to keep them flying and to help the NHS.
The helicopter then remained stationery until a person returned and after a short while, after safety measures were observed, it took off again leaving the park and the people returning to their ‘normal’ quiet Sunday afternoon.
Every year The Wales Air Ambulance need to raise £6.5 million in donations to keep the four helicopters flying over Wales.
As a key worker and working throughout lockdown, it was lovely to be able to come home from work and go out walking and enjoy the scenery around us on our door step. I was able to walk along the canal, the river and also discover new paths to walk while exploring the wonderful mountains surrounding our village. One of my many hobbies is taking photos, so this was an added bonus, to be able to combine two of my hobbies in one.-walking and taking photos.
I thought I would share some of my photos with you, as I am aware that some people have been shielding during the lockdown and may not have been able to be out and about.
Along the canal from Resolven Basin to Rheola
Walking the Mountains
Along the River
I took this picture of a branch that had snapped off a tree, because it looked just like an angel’s wing.
Lockdown has made me appreciate the beauty of the valley I live in and all the places we have on our doorstep where we can go walking. It has made me look closer and value the beauty of nature around us.
https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.png00Ed1https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.pngEd12020-10-11 15:36:002020-10-11 15:37:16Natasha's “Walkabout” pictures of our valley during lockdown
Local restrictions will come into force from 6pm (Monday 28 September).
The restrictions, which will apply to everyone living in Neath Port Talbot, Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen are:
People will not be allowed to enter or leave these areas without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education;
People will only be able to meet people they don’t live with outdoors for the time being. They will not be able to form, or be in, extended households (sometimes known as ‘bubbles’). This means meeting indoors (in people’s houses, in a pub or elsewhere) with anyone you don’t live with is not allowed at the moment unless you have a good reason, such as providing care to a vulnerable person.
All licensed premises have to stop serving alcohol at 10pm.
Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in indoor places, which are open to the public, such as shops, as well as on public transport – as is the case in the rest of Wales. (There are some limited exemptions for people with disabilities and medical conditions – these are the same as for public transport).
“All the cake you can eat” was on mouth-watering display outside Resolven Church Hall on Saturday, when Resolven W.I held their cake sale for Macmillan Cancer Support. So tempting were the goodies on sale, that by the time our team from R.D.N arrived on the Square, there wasn’t even a crumb in sight.
Here’s Resolven W.I. President Jen Colley’s report.
“Our cake sale was a great success and we raised £412 for Macmillan Cancer Support – the response from our community was amazing.
As you can imagine there is not much news from WI at the moment as we can’t meet and we can’t go on our trips, but at least we can make cake!
https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.png00Ed1https://resolvendistrictnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-1-300x41.pngEd12020-09-25 16:31:002020-09-25 16:32:50All the Cake You Can Eat