Michael Coulter took this V.E. 75 shot in Yeo St

 

Another  memory to store with all the others we’ve received.

If YOU have pics to share, keep ’em coming!

am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk

 

All of the colourful and patriotic bunting, photographs  and various memorabilia displayed around Resolven on the 75th anniversary of V.E. Day in 2020 gave a feeling of pride mixed with sadness while remembering a past generation of the village to which we owe so  much.

It also gave us some joy and hope and a reason to celebrate for a short time, in these strangest of times.

 

 

Vaughan Avenue

 

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The following photographs taken around the village were sent in to am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk  by KARA THOMAS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our grateful thanks to you, Kara Thomas for your contribution to Resolven District News.

Our e-mail address is am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk

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Not being able to hold street parties in style as in  years gone by didn’t mean Resolven couldn’t pull out the stops to do it in a new style .  to satisfy the need to commemorate the sacrifices made over 75 years ago

Along with the need to lift the spirits of friends and neighbours during this time of isolation and distancing they find themselves in due to the corona virus crisis, residents  came up with ways to have parties at a distance. Front gardens , back gardens, grass verges and live feeds over the internet were all used to create a party atmosphere but staying within the guidelines of distancing that are keeping us safe Those lucky enough to have flags and bunting put them up outside their houses and those who didn’t made their own-from painted pillowcases , recycled birthday  banners and bunting,  to the  cutting up  of carrier bags with welsh dragons on, people used their creative imagination and  there was an array of decorations abound.

Flour supplies might have been in short supply but enough was found to make cakes and pastries to feed the party goers and compete with the skills we see on the Great British Bake Off.

NEATH ROAD

 

 

WILLIAMS AVENUE

 

COMPANY STREET

 

HEOL HERBERT

 

YNYSFACH

 

V.E.Day Birthday Girl!-Roxy Clarke  celebrating in YnysFach

 

 

YNYSFAWR

Birthday boy Morgan Hopkins. 11 years old on V.E. Day Many Happy Returns!

 

 

RUGBY ROAD

 

 

 

RHEOLA AVENUE

 

 

 

WELLFIELD AVENUE MELINCOURT

 

 

NANT Y GLEISIAD

TAN Y RHIW-Pauline Morgan with a V.E.Day smile

 

GORED COTTAGES

 

LYONS PLACE GARDEN TEAPARTY

 

PASTOR FORTUNATA SANTOS EMBRACING V.E. DAY AT HOME

 

Councillor Dean Lewis commemorating VE day with his family and sends his best wishes to everyone having celebrations during lockdown . He was both pleased and amazed to see how many imaginative ideas the residents had that observed the distancing rules we are keeping at the moment and wants to remind us he is available to help with anything he can during this crisis

 

Not every street was fortunate to have a safe way to join in the festivities but some did live internet feeds to family and friends and have a virtual tea party  and others did it indoors or outdoors alone but one thing joined everyone together and that was remembering that for 75 years we have flourished as a nation due to the sacrifices made over 75 years ago and they will never be forgotten .

Report by Diane Sims— (and thanks to all those who shared their photos with us.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just another memory..

 

Ow, what’s for tea Gran

Bugger tea she’d say

There’s a ton of coal out back

And don’t take all bloody day

Well?    Gran would say

I’d go and change into my scruffs

The barrow had a puncher

The shovel was short and worn

I hated getting the coal in

But if I didn’t they’d only bloody moan..

Gran would pitch in too

As long as she had a fag

We’d both be black as midnight

And the dust would make me gag..

 

Nearly finished now

We swept up all the small

A man came round the corner

He wasn’t very tall

A man who swung a man drill

He too was black as soot

Hard as granite and had that miners look

 

He tipped he cap

And tipped his fag

And gave me a knowing wink

Then said as only miners do

“How be”

He’d probably dug that coal

In the dark and soaking hell

I tip my cap to him and the miners

All like Sel…

BY NIK SAMUEL

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello there

I trust you are well and truly enjoying the Lord’s blessings. Here at Resolven we are great. I miss seeing everyone but we are keeping in touch and it is so good to hear from everyone.

Tonight at 7:15pm Keith Gardner and his family will be on the Antiques Road Show, National Botanic Gardens Wales

Take care and God bless

“Let’s do our best to reach the whole world as soon as possible for Christ’

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PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9, 13 – 03/05/20

In the beginning of this chapter we see Paul talking about two sisters in the church who had a disagreement between them and Paul asked them to put things right and not to dwell on them. It is so easy for us to dwell on bad things instead of dwelling on good things. It seems that our minds are programmed to concentrate on bad things instead of concentrating on good things.

We are living in very strange days and if we allow it, it can bring us a lot of fear and anxiety. Whenever we turn the TV on we need to be selective to avoid negative news or violent films. One of these evenings I wanted to watch a film and it took me a long time to find a film that I could just enjoy watching. I did not want to watch anything violent or negative. My mind has been saturated with negative news and I truly wanted to give it a break. This is true not only for me but for all of us.

There is a proverb that says ‘an empty mind is satan’s workshop’. We reflect what is in our minds and hearts. It is so important for us to feed our minds with good things and positive thoughts. I am not saying for us to bury our heads in the sand. What I am saying is that sometimes we expose ourselves to a bombardment of bad news and it can affect our ways of thinking and acting. It can make you insecure and afraid. The news does not aim to help you to feel good, the aim of the publishers is to grasp your attention and keep your focus on what they have to say and more or less to make you a slave of their attention. I do advise you, ‘do not allow the TV or newspapers to guide your thoughts or dictate how you should feel about a situation. The news these days is putting before us a banquet of negativity and all of us do not like it but still sitting at the table and eating more and more of what is being dished out to us. Encouragement and comfort you will find in God’s word.

We need to discipline ourselves to learn to think about different things on different levels. In verse 8 Paul says ‘Finally, brothers…’ he is exhorting to think about positive and things that will edify us. For instance when someone will do something bad to you, easily you could concentrate on the wrong the person has done and you forget all the good the person has done for you. We believers we have the Holy Spirit in us and the Spirit of God ministers into our hearts the deep things of God. At this time in history we do need an injection of faith, encouragement, tenderness etc into our souls. We are not allowed to have social gatherings but there is nothing or power in this world that can stop God from visiting you and sustaining you. It is wonderful when we meet together and we share in fellowship with each other but the God of the bible is much bigger than all these social difficulties we are facing at the moment. Moses was in the desert when he fled Egypt for 40 years, Joseph was in prison for many years, Jeremiah was thrown in to the dungeons for preaching the word of God, Paul was in prison, John was in exile and the list goes on and on and on. Because we are on ‘lockdown’ at the moment it does not mean our minds are in lockdown, however, this could well be the case. If you find you are scared, anxious, frightened, you can’t sleep, your mind cannot rest, it means your mind is on lockdown because of the situation we are living in and because of what the news is telling you. It is time for you to open your bible and be encouraged by the word of God. Tell yourself the stories of great deliverances related in the bible, if you are good at history remind yourself of the hand of God throughout the existence of mankind. You are going to find so many passages in the bible and places in history that when it looked like evil was prevailing God stepped in and something very good was birthed. Instead of being drawn to the TV all the time be drawn to God Himself and ask Him to inject you with a new line of thinking. Learn to see life through God’s eyes. The advice Paul is giving us is ‘whatever is pure, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things’. It can be a very slippery slope, your mind has become addicted to negative thoughts or bad thoughts. I am not talking just about Covid19. I am talking about you believing people are thinking negatively about you and you abide in these lines of thoughts. You are telling yourself again and again about a bad situation you faced. You are dwelling again and again on your illness etc. Hey, it is time to retrain your mind to think differently. You can say to yourself this is impossible, however ‘With Christ all things are possible’.

God bless

Communion

Read I Corinthians 11:16-23

Ask God to forgive your sins. Say a prayer of thanks for the Lord dying for you on the cross on calvary. Then eat the bread which represents the body of Christ and drink the cup that represent the blood He shed for us.

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… AND GOD STEPPED IN – BIBLE STUDY – PSALM 105: 1 – 8 05/05/20

In the very beginning of the bible when Adam and Eve sinned against God; it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 3:15)

The story of Abraham and Lot, Lot was taken captive, it seems everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 14).

The story of Abraham and Isaac, it seems everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 22)

The story of Esau and Jacob, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 33).

The story of Joseph in prison, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 41).

The story of Moses in the wicker basket, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 2).

The story of Moses killing the Egyptian, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 2).

The story of the 10 Plagues in Egypt, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 12).

The story of the crossing of Red Sea, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 13).

The story of the lack of food in the desert, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped Ex16).

The story of the lack of water in the desert, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 17).

The story of Joshua fighting the 5 kings, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Js 10).

The story of Ruth and the young widow, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ruth 4).

The story David and Goliath, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (I Sam 17).

The story of David committing adultery, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Sam 11).

The story of Elijah, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (I Kings 17).

The story of famine in Samaria, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Kings 6).

The story of King Jehoshaphat, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Ch 20).

The story of Daniel’s friend in the furnace of fire, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Dan 3).

The story of Daniel in the lions’ den. It seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Dan 6).

The story of the Jews going into captivity in Babylon, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Isaiah 47).

The story of how Nehemiah found the city of Jerusalem destroyed, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Neh 6).

The story of Malachi and people’s unfaithfulness towards God, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in.

Between the last book of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus, it was 400 years of complete silence and no revelation or prophecy, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in.

The birth of Jesus, Herod tried to kill all the baby boys, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 2).

The story of Judas betraying Jesus, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 26).

The story of Peter denying Jesus, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 26).

The story of Jesus’ crucifixion, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 27).

The story of Jesus’ death, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 28).

The story of Jesus’ ascension, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 28 Act 2).

The story of Stephen being martyred, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Act 7).

The story of Paul persecuting the church, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Acts 9).

The story of Peter in prison, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ac 12).

The story of Paul being stoned in Lystra, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Acts 14).

The story of Paul and Silas in prison, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ac 16).

The story of John in exile, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Rev 1).

The End of Times is going to be a horrendous time. We are going to have problems of earthquake, wars, pestilence etc. The bible tells us, our redemption is near. God will step in. I am not saying we are living in the End of Times, what I am saying is the prophecies are being fulfilled and life on earth will come to the point where it will be unbearable and when everything seems to be lost, God will step in. Jesus will return for His church (I Thes 4).

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Vaccination to be found against Coronavirus

Government

People on the Frontline

Sardis Fellowship

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Neath Port Talbot residents are being advised that there will be no changes to kerbside collection arrangements this May Day bank holiday and are being asked to present their recycling and refuse on their normal collection days.

Collections in the County Borough usually take place a day later in the week following a bank holiday but there will be no changes to scheduled collections for the upcoming bank holiday on Friday 8th May.

The May Day bank holiday, which is normally held on the first Monday in May, has this year been moved to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday 8th May.

There will be no changes to recycling and refuse collections either in the week beginning Monday 4th May or the week following the bank holiday (week beginning Monday 11th May).

For more information visit: www.npt.gov.uk/recycle

Her Majesty The Queen to send a message to the nation to mark 75th anniversary of VE Day

 

 

Her Majesty The Queen will send a message to the nation on Friday 8 May.

Published 29 April 2020

From:

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Ministry of Defence, and The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP

• His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will read an extract from King George VI’s diary from 8 May 1945
• Members of The Royal Family, the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary will take part in video calls with Second World War veterans
• Churchill’s famous victory speech will be broadcast as part of BBC special programming
• A national moment of remembrance will take place with a two minute silence as Culture Secretary calls on the public to mark the occasion at home
• Second World War veterans will receive calls from NHS Volunteer Responders

The UK Government has announced revised plans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day which will include an address from Her Majesty The Queen.

In line with government guidance, the original plans for VE Day 75, which included a veteran procession, had to be adjusted due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced a new programme that will allow members of the public to remember and give thanks to the Second World War generation from the safety of their own homes.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the greatest generation that served in combat and on the home front during the Second World War.

Whilst we now need to celebrate VE 75 in our homes and on our doorsteps, rather than in parades and street parties, I know the nation will come together to mark this historic occasion.

In these difficult times, acts of remembrance are even more poignant and I am sure that millions will want to join me to remember and give thanks to those who gave so much to secure peace, freedom and prosperity in Europe.

To mark this historic occasion, Her Majesty The Queen will send a message to the nation at 9pm on BBC One, the exact moment her father, King George VI, gave a radio address in 1945.

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will read an extract from King George VI’s diary from 8 May 1945 which describes the day including The Royal Family’s iconic Buckingham Palace balcony appearances.

Members of The Royal Family, the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary will take part in a series of video calls with Second World War veterans and those who served on the Home Front. First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford will also host calls with veterans in Wales.   The official commemorations will begin at 11am with a national moment of remembrance and a two minute silence.

Other plans for the day include:

• As part of special BBC programming, extracts from Sir Winston Churchill’s victory speech will recreate the moment peace in Europe was announced 75 years ago at 3pm and the Prime Minister will speak about the importance of VE Day.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury will record a special reflection and moment of prayer for VE Day.
• Her Majesty The Queen’s 9pm address to the nation will be followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’. The public will be encouraged to open their doors and join in with this national moment of celebration.
• The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has produced a template packso that the public can hold a 1940s style afternoon tea party at home complete with homemade VE Day bunting, original recipes, games, and educational and creative activities for children.
• NHS Volunteer Responders will be deployed to give a number of Second World War veterans a call and provide an opportunity to share their stories.
• Historian and broadcaster Dan Snow will host history lessons for children from Monday 4 May. At 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Dan will host a History Hit live on YouTube’s Timeline channel that will focus on a different aspect of the Second World War and aim to teach the public about the importance of VE Day.
• The Government and Ancestry are working together to encourage the public to join together in commemorating VE Day by discovering their own connection to the Second World War. As part of this, all UK historical records available on co.ukwill be free for the public from Monday 4 May until Sunday 10 May, giving people the opportunity to uncover the personal stories of the Second World War and the roles their families played.
• Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland will broadcast a virtual Service of Remembrance followed by online tributes from a range of performers.
• The First Minister of Wales will host a video call to veterans.
• A number of commemorative events will also take place across Northern Ireland.

The Royal British Legion’s Assistant Director of Commemorative Events, Bob Gamble OBE, said:

As we face some of the most challenging times since the Second World War, now more than ever it is important to unite in recognition of people’s service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago.

With members of the public unable to attend VE Day 75 events, we are calling on people across the UK to mark the anniversary from home and take part in these national moments of remembrance and thanksgiving. There is no right or wrong way to take part in the Silence at 11am, some people may wish to stand at their windows or step outside their front door, but we hope that individuals and families across the UK will embrace the opportunity to share in a national moment of reflection.

Russell James, Family History expert at Ancestry®, said:

> VE Day is one of the most significant moments in British history and Ancestry is proud to be working with the UK government to help the nation commemorate its 75th anniversary from their homes. Stories of WWII are something we share not only within our families, but as a nation, so using this time to learn about those experiences through historical records and speaking to our relatives gives us all an opportunity to feel connected – to our family and to people all over the country.

Graeme Dey, Scottish Government Minister for Veterans said:

The upcoming 75th anniversary of VE Day is a fantastic opportunity to remember and thank our Second World War generation for the many personnel sacrifices they made – both at home and abroad, both in and out of uniform.

If it weren’t for their efforts, we wouldn’t enjoy the many freedoms which we now take for granted. I look forward to joining with the rest of the nation on May 8th to pay tribute to them.

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said:

We wouldn’t be where we are today without the determination of our veterans and those who contributed to Britain’s efforts during the Second World War. As we remember and thank them, let’s find inspiration in their bravery to guide us through our own extraordinary moment in history

Notes to Editors:

• The BBC will broadcast two special programmes on BBC One to mark VE 75 which will be shown at 14:45 – 15:45 and 20:00 – 21:10.
• All events will be pre-recorded. Journalists and the public are not encouraged to travel to watch events being filmed. The public are reminded not to travel to watch events and must adhere to the Government’s social distancing and travel guidance. Everyone must stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
• You can download DCMS’s commemoration afternoon tea party guidehere and activity pack for children here.
• You can see and take part in Dan Snow’s creative challenge for children here.