Over to YOU A Magazine to keep us connected in these difficult times

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If— The flower for January is Galanthus you can keep your head (Snowdrop) because it’s the earliest when all about you flower to bloom giving cheer on even Are losing theirs and the darkest days. blaming it on you; A promise of better things to come. If you can trust yourself In the very earliest Roman calendars, there were no when all men doubt you, months of January or February at all. The ancient But make allowance for Romans had only ten months and the new year

their doubting too; started on March 1st. Ten was a very important If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, number to them. Even when January or Januarius as Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating, they called it, was added, the New Year continued And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise. to start in March. It remained so in Britain and her If you can dream—and not make dreams your colonies until we switched from the Julian Calendar master; to the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; Why doesn’t the Tax Year start in January? If you can meet with triumph and disaster Lady Day (March 25th) was one of the quarterly days And treat those two impostors just the same; when rents were traditionally due. Taxes were also due If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken on this day. Britain changed over from the Julian to the Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Gregorian calendar in September 1752 and 11 days were Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, lost from our calendar. This became known as the And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools. English calendar riots. People weren't impressed with having to pay their taxes If you can make one heap of all your winnings in March 1753 as if nothing had happened, in fact, 25th And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, March 1753 was a Sunday (and the taxes were paid on a And lose, and start again at your beginnings Monday) - so the taxman skipped the 11 days and And never breathe a word about your loss; decreed that taxes were due on 6th April 1753. If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And, to this day, the UK tax year starts on 6th April. And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”; As this magazine is in addition to the newsletter, If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, we are unable to print paper copies to members Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; unless we combine the two for special occasions. If all men count with you, but none too much; It’s also difficult to plan how to distribute If you can fill the unforgiving minute because COVID restrictions are constantly With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run— changing. Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! So, with this is mind, if you know any members that have a computer or electronic device and choose not to receive emails, but might be interested in reading this, please could you forward a copy to them or point them in the 1865 - 1936 direction of our webpage where they can access them by typing - porthcawlu3a.org.uk Select Magazine from the headings – see links on the right hand side and select which one you want. Thank you, Sally Corbett. Chair.

Remembering that CURRENTLY, due to covid-19 restrictions, you cannot drive to exercise.

Parc Slip: CF32 0EH. A delightful nature walk through a former coal mining site. It has been transformed with wetlands, hedgerows and habitats for a wide range of wildlife. You could be in the heart of the countryside, surrounded by hedges, burbling rivers and birdsong, but you are never far away from the Visitor Centre where you will find a car park, toilets and a café. This is an easy 2 hour walk with two stiles, but both have gates. The path is mostly gravel and woodland and has some duckboards. It is dog friendly, but as it is a nature reserve, please keep them on a lead. Map: OS Explorer 151 Cardiff and Bridgend. (GR SS 880840) 1. From the visitor centre go straight through the gate onto the broad gravel path. At a fork where the cycle trail goes left, continue ahead. At the next junction, with a wooden sign indicating wildlife to be seen, turn left. 2. Go on here, winding along the path and over duckboards to a kissing gate, go through and turn right through a second gate towards a hide. As you approach the hide look over to the left to see the massive remains of an opencast coal mine on the horizon. It is now overgrown and blends with the countryside. 3. From the hide you overlook a wide area of wetlands. Return to the gate and bear right on a grassy path between hedgerows. Look out for the glow worm hibernacula and glistening spiders’ webs in the grass. 4. When you reach a stile, cross it and go right. At a sign for the Butterfly Ride to the left – go straight ahead across a stile. Continue on the path until you reach a broad gravel path and turn right. 5. Go along this path to a fork and take the right one following the cycle trail. It winds round to a bridge on the right. 6. Cross the bridge and go along a delightful path between hedgerows and a stream with lots of little waterfalls. At the end of this path, you reach the gravel path again and turn right. Take the next left to another hide by a lake. 7. Return to the road and turn left to continue along the gravel path. Turn left again at the next junction, passing some highland cattle to the left. 8. At the T- junction at a pond, you can go left to the hide or turn immediately right to return to the Visitor Centre along the canal. You emerge at the pond next to the Visitor Centre and car park.

Just One. Author unknown.

One song can spark a moment, One flower can wake the dream Things to do in JANUARY One tree can start a forest, Sow early vegetable crops under cover. One bird can herald spring. Protect fruit trees from damage by birds with netting. One smile begins a friendship, Sow summer-flowering bedding plants. One handclasp lifts the soul. Sow sweet peas under cover. One star can guide a ship at sea, Protect plants vulnerable to wind and cold by covering One word can frame the goal them with horticultural fleece or moving into greenhouse. One vote can change a nation. Prune vigorous climbers like wisteria. One sunbeam lights a room, Cut back perennials and remove old growth. One candle lights the darkness. Aerate lawns. One laugh will conquer gloom, Clean post and seed trays ready for spring. Pinch out the tops of autumn-sown sweet peas to encourage One step must start each journey. side shoots to form. One word must start each prayer. Kay Boswell One hope will raise your spirits, One touch will show you care. One voice can speak with wisdom, One heart can know that’s true. One life can make a difference.

You see, it’s up to you.

Soduko Riddles 1. Which is faster, hot or cold? 2. What question can you never answer “yes” to? 3. What has teeth, but cannot eat? 4. It is black and you say it is clean, it is white and you say that it is dirty, what is it? 5. I have cities, but no houses. I have forests but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. What am I? 6. A hungry donkey was tied to a rope eight feet long. About thirty foot away there was a basket of fresh carrots. The donkey wanted to eat those carrots. How did he reach them? 7. What do tigers have that no other animal has? 8. What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right hand?

PLANT BASED NUTRITION By Deb Davies.

What are the benefits of plant-based nutrition? Where do I start - health? climate change? preservation of natural resources? animal welfare? world hunger? Actually, it was on learning that all these issues are interrelated and can be addressed by large scale adoption of plant-based eating that I found the motivation to become vegan after more than 20 years of vegetarianism. The message is one of great hope and comfort – we have the power to remedy many of the ills of our time.

Let us take, for the purposes of this article, the example of the benefits to our health. Governments and health organisations world-wide possess this knowledge, yet, for a multitude of reasons which we have insufficient space here to explore, they choose to diminish or even disregard it. For decades peer reviewed nutritional studies published in prestigious journals have shown that animal-based products are implicated in many chronic diseases (stroke, some cancers, diabetes, heart disease to name a few). Eating a whole food, plant based (WFPB) diet, in which highly processed foods are avoided, not only prevents many diseases but, as in the case of coronary artery disease, can reverse them. (Booklists and references to relevant research can be made available to those interested.)

It follows from this that, in the current pandemic, where the majority of people dying from Covid 19 suffer from pre-existing medical conditions, we can help take charge of our health, as many such conditions can be prevented, treated or reversed by a WFPB diet.

Armed with and inspired by my new-found knowledge, in September 2019 I set up Plant Pod Cymru, a social and support group affiliated to the global grassroots movement, PlantPure Communities. If you would like to learn more about a WFPB lifestyle and the benefits it can bring, please find us on Facebook or contact me directly ([email protected]).

Spiced cauliflower steaks recipe

Ingredients Method 3 tbsp olive oil Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Heat 1 tbsp olive 1 large cauliflower or 2 small oil in a large frying pan. Add 2 cauliflower slices and pan-fry cauliflowers, for 2 mins on each side. Mix together the ground spices. Dust outer leaves removed, cut into 4 x 1cm the cauliflower slices on both sides with half the spice mix, thick slices season with salt and fry for another 1-2 mins on each side until 1 tsp ground cumin golden. Set aside on a non-stick baking sheet. Clean the pan 1 tsp ground coriander with kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining cauliflower 1 tsp paprika slices. 6 shallots, finely sliced Roast the cauliflower for 10-15 mins, until tender. 30g pine nuts, toasted Meanwhile, add the remaining oil and the shallots to the pan 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped and fry over a medium heat for 2-3 mins. Add the pine nuts 1 tsp cumin seeds and fry for another 3-4 mins, then add the garlic and cumin ½ lemon, zested and juiced seeds and fry for another minute. Add the lemon zest and handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped juice, then season. Top the cauliflower with the shallots, pine nuts and chopped parsley, and serve immediately

The story of the Butterfly: The author unknown. Given to us by Sue Hunt. A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours As it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole, then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further. So, the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shrivelled wings. The man continued to watch it. Expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body…. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around, it was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be as strong as we could have been, and we would never fly.

Aristotle.

W Aristotle was born somewhere around 384 BCE. His birthplace was Stagira, Chalcide in Macedonia, which is now known as northern Greece. W His father was Nicomachus. His mother was Phaestis. Nicomachus was a court physician for Amyntas II – the Macedonian King.

W After the death of Nicomachus, Proxenus – husband of Aristotle’s sister Arimneste, became the guardian of young Aristotle. W When Aristotle attained the age of 17, Proxenus sent him to Athens so that he could pursue higher education. W After reaching Athens, Aristotle enrolled in the Academy of Plato or Plato’s Academy. Soon he was recognized as an extraordinary scholar. W Aristotle had a close relationship with Plato and was one of his most favourite pupils. It was believed that after Plato, he would become the director of the Academy. W After Plato’s death in 347 BCE, Aristotle didn’t inherit the position of director because he could not agree to some of philosophical treatise of Plato. W He was invited to the court of Hermias – a friend of Aristotle and King of Mysia’s Atarneus and Assos. W He stayed in the court of Hermias for a period of 3 years. During that period, he married Hermias’ niece Pythias. Aristotle fathered a daughter with Pythias. The daughter was also named Pythias. W In 338 BCE, Aristotle returned home to Macedonia. There he started tutoring the son of King Phillip II. That boy who was only 13 years old then would grow up to become a man who the world now knows as Alexander the Great.

W In 335 BCE Alexander became king and conquered Athens. That is when Aristotle returned to Athens. At that point, Plato’s Academy was still running and was still one of the premier institutions of Athens. W Aristotle asked for permission from Alexander and opened his own school known as Lyceum. W After that, he spent most of his time in Lyceum. He taught students and himself did much research work and wrote down everything. W His pupils were forced to walk around behind him as he had this habit of walking around Lyceum campus while teaching. That is why the pupils were known as Peripatetics which in English translates as ‘people who travel about’. W Pythias, wife of Aristotle, died the same year in which Lyceum was opened. Soon after her death, Aristotle got engaged in a romantic relationship with a woman named Herpyllis. She was from Stagira – his hometown. W Historians believe that Herpyllis was a slave given to Aristotle by the court of Macedonia. However later, he freed her and eventually married her. W In 323 BCE Alexander the Great died suddenly, the government that was pro-Macedonian was overthrown. There was anti-Macedonia sentiment all around in Athens and Aristotle was afraid that he would be prosecuted. So, he ran off to Chalcis on Euboea island. He stayed there until he died. W Aristotle held the belief that the universe was eternal. He said that there was no beginning or end. W He said that things can change over time. However, the overall conditions will never change. W He was very interested in zoology and carefully studied animals. He classified the animals into two groups – red-blooded-animals and not-red-blooded-animals. In today’s context it corresponds to vertebrates and invertebrates. W Aristotle was also fascinated by marine biology. He even dissected marine animals and studied the anatomical features of those animals. The observations he made about marine life were significantly accurate. W Aristotle was even interested in earth sciences. His treatise called ‘Meteorology’ gives us insights into his knowledge. In Meteorology we find that he identified water cycles and even discussed astrological events and natural disasters. W The primary objective of Aristotle’s philosophy was to get hold of a universal reasoning process. He observed things based on their characteristics, their actions and the state in which they are. W He gave birth to deduction and inference drawing. According to him, certain things when done, lead to something else because of necessity. This deduction process was later termed as syllogism. W After the collapse of ancient Greek civilization, Muslim writers preserved some of Aristotle’s work. W Aristotle, whose philosophy greatly influenced the Christian and Islamic religions, eventually died in 322 BCE.

Art History by Graham Cross.

Alfred George Janes – (30th June 1911- 3rd February 1999) was a Welsh artist, who worked in Swansea and Croydon. He experimented with many forms but is best known for his meticulous still lives and portraits. He was a talented painter and draughtsman, one of the many from the Swansea School of Art, whose interest in music and science was often reflected in his work. He was born in June 1911 over a fruit shop owned by his parents in Castle Square, Swansea. He studied at Swansea Grammar School and later attended Swansea School of Art. He exhibited at the Treorchy Eisteddfod in 1928 at the young age of 16. When he was just 19, Janes was commissioned to paint the then Mayor of Swansea, Councillor Arthur Lovell. He was a meticulous and painstaking artist and was influenced by studying the works of Picasso and modern artists in commercial galleries and began to experiment with abstract and semi-abstract form. In 1931, while at the college in Swansea, Janes won a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools in London. During his time there he shared a flat with Dylan Thomas and Mervyn Levy. He was part of a group of ‘bohemian’ Swansea friends that included poets, Dylan Thomas, Charles Fisher, John Pritchard and Vernon Watkins, composer Daniel Jones, artist Mervyn Levy and “Marxist scholar” Bert Trick.

Collectively they became known as The Kardomah Gang or Kardomah Boys, named after the Kardomah Café, which was in Castle Street, Swansea, where they would meet.

He returned to Swansea in 1936 and taught part time at the school of art, having only completed his studies there five years previously. Janes signed up for service in World War Two, was enlisted in the Pioneer Corps and spent two and a half years in Egypt working in a prisoner of war camp. There he learned Italian, befriending some Italian prisoners – friendships which continued long after the war.

While on leave in 1940 he married Mary Ross, who like Dylan Thomas had acted with Swansea Little Theatre, and they had a son and daughter. During the war years he did no painting but produced a series of drawings of army colleagues. After the war he returned to Swansea and his teaching post at the school, and for a period in the 1950s lived on the Gower Peninsular. He later taught at the Croydon College of Art from 1963 and consequently moved to Dulwich, where he lived until his death in February 1999.

Portraits of his close friends (and fellow members of the Kardomah Gang) Dylan Thomas, Daniel Jones, Vernon Watkins and Mervyn Levy are currently held in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. Collections of his works are also in the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff, Newport Art Gallery, Swansea University, and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

Groups Zooming at the moment are:

Philosophy – Quiz – Conversations – Mindfulness.

The walking and cycling groups have been suspended for now due to COVID restrictions. Contact the email address below for updates or check out our webpage.

An invite is required to join the Zoom meetings, if any members would like to give any of them a try please email [email protected] for an invitation.

1. Hot, you can easily catch cold 2. A comb 3. Are you asleep? 4. A blackboard 5. A map 6. The rope is not tied to anything else! 7. Baby tigers. 8. Your right hand.

Did You Know?…

The county of Glamorgan has its own flag.

Attributed to Iestyn Ap Gwrgant (1045-1093), the last native ruler of the kingdom of Morgannwg, on which Glamorgan is based. Iestyn was deposed by the advancing Normans in 1090, a time when heraldry was not used in Wales, but the mediaeval heralds a few centuries later ascribed arms to him and his forbears, of three silver (white) chevronels (small chevrons, like three inverted letter Vs) on a red background. One plausible theory is that the design arose indigenously as an early form of proto heraldic mark – their comparative simplicity makes this a viable suggestion. A more convincing theory, however, is that they could have been created in honour of the arms of the de Clare family, the Norman Lords of Glamorgan. These arms appear in a stained-glass window in Tewkesbury Abbey

The first recorded use of the Iestyn arms is by Iestyn’s descendant Lleision d’Avene, his great-great- great grandson, in the 12th century, when they appeared in a seal used by him. The arms were reported to have featured on the stonework of Margam Abbey. In a 1684 document named “Duke of Beaufort’s Progress”, it is not clear exactly where they were located.

The oldest seat of learning in Britain can be found in Llantwit Major.

It was established 900 years before the universities at Oxford and Cambridge. In fact, it was established 700 before any other known educational centre anywhere in the UK and it used to stand under what is now the parish church of St. Illtyd, the name of which commemorates the saint who played such a pivotal role in the history of the institution.

It was originally called Cor Tewdws which translates as ‘University College of Theodosius’, the Roman emperor who in 380AD declared that Nicean Christianity was the only legitimate religion of the Roman empire, and is believed to have been founded around 395AD, at the tail end of the Roman occupation of Britain. At its height, the Cor had over 2,000 students enrolled across 400 different houses. Alumni included princes, theologians, academics, and men from the very top of ancient society, either as masters or students, they included St David, Patron saint of Wales; St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland; the Welsh bard Taliesin, author of the books of Taliesin; and the sixth century monk Gildas the Wise, who wrote De Excidio et conquest Britiannae, one of Britain’s earliest history books, cataloguing the rise and rule of the Saxons in England.

With the protection of Pax Romana, the institution thrived, but when the romans left around 410 AD, it frequently fell victim to attack from pillaging Saxon, Irish, Scottish and Pict marauders, the most brutal of which was in 446AD, which resulted in the buildings being burned to the ground and all the masters associated with the college either being murdered or taken as slaves.

The site of the college was then abandoned for roughly 60 years, until 508 AD, when according to the twelfth century Book of Llandaff, the evangelist St Dubricius instructed St Illtyd (a prince of Breton origin) to go with his patronage to the site of the old Cor (as it was known) to rebuild and re-establish it as an institution of Christian learning. It was at this point that the college entered its golden age and for which it was best known. That’s why the blue plaque at the church records the college’s foundation as being the work of St Illtyd and the date of the investiture as 500 AD.

In its second incarnation the college continued to thrive for over 500 years. So, what went wrong? Throughout its history it continued to be vulnerable to frequent sackings from the Irish and latterly the Vikings, and it was again practically totally destroyed for the second time in 987AD, but one of the most crushing blows came from Robert Fitzhamon, feudal baron of Gloucester. When he conquered the ancient kingdom of Morgannwg, his forces sacked the college and took religious artefacts, relics and treasures and transferred them all to the abbey at Tewkesbury. The college was reinstated in 1111, but with depleted authority and without patronage it just limped along until it was finally closed down on the orders of Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries circa 1540. All that remains now are the church buildings in the centre of town. Llantwit Major was originally named Llan-Illtyd Fawr or The Church of Illtyd the Great.

Thank you to everyone that’s contributed this month. Could we have articles for next month by 2nd Feb please. So, ‘Over to You’ we need your contributions to keep us going, don’t be shy. Edited by Jaci & Gary Russell contact and send articles to: [email protected]