ISSUE #3 July 2019
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Barry Magazine
Issue 3
CONTENTS Croeso! Can you believe we are halfway through the year and on our third edition of Barry Magazine already?! Welcome to our ‘green’ issue, where we showcase the best of businesses and people doing their bit for our town and the environment. We’ve been busy planning the first ever Barry Pride, meeting lots of you at our Barry Business Club networking events and connecting with new friends on social media. There’s so much happening in Barry this summer, so if you’re heading to one of the many events taking place make sure you let us know and come and say hi if you spot us!
Enjoy! Hannah, Tom & Bernie
Awesome.Wales .............................................. 4 What’s Occurin’ …..………………………......……. 10 How to be a Zero Hero …….…….….….....…… 14 What’s on in Barry .....................…….....…...... 18 The Goodwash Company …………...........…. 20 Businesses Going Green ……..……..…..….... 26 Little Litter Pickers ………………..…................ 28 Fitness Explorers with Brawd .................... 30 Dog Day Out .......................…….........……..... 36 Barry on the Gram ......……………….....…….... 38 Barry Action for Nature .............................. 40 Crafternoon at Ty Hafan …………….....……… 44 Barry Pride .....................…………….......…….. 50 Sup and Down ............................................. 52 A Meticulous Approach .............................. 54 ValePlus .......................….………….......……..... 56 Memories of Barry …………….……….......….…. 60 Dog Days of Summer ..………….…........…….. 62 Sending a Memo ……………………................. 64 Barry Noticeboard ...............…..…........……... 66 The Smell of Tomatoes ..................……….... 68
#BarryMagazine www.barrymagazine.co.uk info@barrymagazine.co.uk Editor: Hannah Isted Design: Tom Collins Cover: Adam Whitmore
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FROM ZERO TO AWESOME This month a new shop is opening on Holton Road in Barry! When we first heard about Awesome.Wales we couldn’t wait to meet Amy and Stuart and find out more about what they have planned. Glass jars at the ready, you won’t want to miss this!
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Awesome.Wales
We would have to do a 20 mile round trip to get to the nearest zero waste store... and this shop is 200 yards from our front door!
Hi Amy and Stuart! Tell us about yourselves Amy: I’m originally from Tottenham, but I moved to Barry 3 years ago with my little dog. I wanted to be near the beach and a year later I met Stuart. My background is in the third sector, but never something where we’ve been in charge. Stuart: I’m from Bridgend but moved to Barry 2 years ago. My background is mainly retail and I worked for Hope Rescue too until 2 weeks ago when I left and decided to work on this full time which is quite scary! Why did you think Barry would be a good fit for the shop? A: We wanted to access zero waste shopping ourselves and there was nothing locally. I think that we were quite surprised that there was nothing in the Vale.
S: Roath was leading the way. A: We would have to do a 20 mile round trip to get to the nearest zero waste store. So we thought ‘we want to do something locally’ and this shop is 200 yards from our front door! Had you already planned it? A: We had been talking about doing something together for ages. I mentioned to Stuart about the ‘weigh and save’ idea which he had never seen or heard of. The planning only started in January! S: We did it backwards because we didn’t want to lose the shop. Most people do a business plan, get the funding and find the property. We found the property, put our own money in as a deposit and then put the plan and the funding in after we had already signed the lease. 5
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Tell us more about the crowdfunder?
Even if you just come and fill up your washing up liquid or buy a bamboo toothbrush, it’s still one more piece of plastic that’s not going to landfill.
A: The crowdfunder was really interesting because we had no idea how it was going to go. To raise over £4000 in 4 weeks with no marketing budget and very little time... I think we did pretty well! S: We’ve had people say ‘I’ve heard about your shop on the train!’ Which is fantastic. We gained 2 volunteers from that one. A: Whenever we’re here people come in because they want to find out more. It’s nice to have that opportunity to connect with people and tell them what we’re doing. Do you think the response has been positive overall?
A: The funding has come from the European Regional Development Fund, via the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. They’ve got a specific fund set up in Wales to look at supporting social enterprise and that’s where we applied to for the majority of the funding.
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S: Oh it’s been crazy. A: Totally. We ran a survey and had over 800 answers. The first question was ‘have you shopped at a zero waste shop before?’ Over 75% of people said no they had never heard of it or never been to one.
Awesome.Wales
S: Or didn’t know that they had anyway A: We talked them through the process of what it’s going to look like, these are the things we’re going to sell. The last question was ‘now you know abit more about us, is it something you’re interested in?’ We had a 94% positive response. What are you most looking forward to stocking? S: Coffee! Being able to have a coffee without panicking about plastic lids and non-compostable cups. A: Having fresh fruit and veg where you can buy what you need and not have the plastic packing too. Also glass bottled milk, because we live in a house that opens straight onto the street it means we can’t have a milkman. S: We’ll be collecting all the glass bottles. Our cafe is using the glass bottled milk too, it’s more expensive but there’s absolutely no plastic at all. Do you think that programs like War on Plastic will change people’s habits? S: I think from the response to the wet wipes episode, definitely. It’s the things that people don’t realise there’s plastic in. It shocked us! Like sanitary towels. I would never have thought there’s plastic in a sanitary towel.
Have you had any issues where you can’t use something because of waste?
A: You have to be so switched on but it’s going to be easier here because everything will tick all the boxes and take the headache out of living more sustainably. Even if you just come and fill up your washing up liquid or buy a bamboo toothbrush, it’s still one more piece of plastic that’s not going to landfill. You don’t have to embrace every single product in the shop but simple things are a starting point.
S: We can’t stock pasta because we couldn’t get it to less than 3.5 times what they are charging in the supermarket
A: There’s a problem in every supply chain we’ve found, so we’re trying to see where our suppliers are at and see what compromises we’re making.
A: If we can’t stock something that’s both ethical and affordable we just won’t stock it at the moment and keep putting 7
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pressure on our suppliers. We let them know that people want bog standard penne and they don’t want a plastic bag, how are you going to get that to them? What can we do now to help the environment immediately? A: The first thing is to save up your glass jars and bottles so you’ve got a stash to refill. The other thing you can do is be more conscious when you’re in the supermarket. There are plastic free options there but sometimes you have to look harder for them. It’s a slower way of doing things and it’s more considered but a lot of us need to slow down in life anyway. Do you need more people on board? A: Yes, we’re looking for volunteers and we’ll be employing local people, while paying the real living wage. We’ve launched a membership scheme, so if people want 10% off for the first year you can sign up. 8
We love the shop’s impact wall! A: Our impact wall is all about our goals for the year. We’d like to sell just under 25,000 unpackaged items which means that’s 25,000 less pieces of plastic going to landfill each year. S: It works out at around 500 a week, so under 100 a day A: Every product we sell will be comparable or cheaper than the supermarket and around 30 will be drastically cheaper so people won’t have to change their shopping habits. We’re also going to create some recipes and pricing them up to the exact amount. If you’re strapped for cash you’ll be able to come here and feed yourself for a week on a tenner. We’re excited about helping people to understand how it’s going to work! Awesome.Wales will be opening on 6th July on Holton Road.
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WHAT’S OCCURIN' The latest good news and updates from around Barry
REFILL REVOLUTION Did you know that around 7.7 billion plastic bottles are bought in the UK every year? We can all help the environment, save money and keep hydrated by bringing our own to the refill stations around Barry. Whether you pop to an outdoor supply or visit one of the shops taking part, there are plenty of places to fill up your reusable bottle.
PRIDE IN BARRY It’s about time, but Barry is getting it’s own Pride! Join us on 21st September to celebrate, educate and commemorate Pride in Barry. There’s lots of exciting and interesting events taking place which will be announced over the next couple of months! 10
What’s Occurin’
GAVIN & STACEY ARE BACK! It’s the news we’ve all been waiting for! Gavin and Stacey are BACK for a one off Christmas special this year. Filming will be taking place this summer in our favourite house in Barry on Trinity Street and across the town. Will you be lucky enough to spot them? We can’t wait to see what’s happened over the last 9 years!
OPENING DOORS We were lucky in June with the opening of lots of fantastic new businesses in Barry. The Watering Hole on St Nicholas’ Road is serving delicious drinks, The Little Olive is bringing a taste of Italy to Broad Street and from Italy to America - Teddy Ts on the Island is a brilliant diner you have to try!
MIND THE CHAIR Marvin Cordle who runs King Square Barbershop in Barry wants to get us talking about mental health which is how he came up with the idea of #MindTheChair., encouraging conversations around men’s mental health and the impact it has on individuals on an everyday basis.
SUMMER SOLSTICE What a perfect evening for the Kite Festival in June. The sky was lit up with kites of all shapes, colours and sizes. We took Bernie to have a look and he loved it! Congratulations to all involved, it was a great event. 11
Barry Magazine
BACKING BUSINESS We noticed there wasn’t much for businesses who want to get together to have an informal chat and a drink, so we’ve launched a relaxed networking group called Barry Business Club! It’s been really popular and we’ll next be meeting in September so keep an eye on our Facebook page to find out more.
CWMTALWG LOCAL NATURE RESERVE Last month Cwmtalwg Local Nature Reserve held a free ‘forest bathing’ event. It might not be quite what you think, but forest bathing is an immersive experience, listening to the birdsong, smelling the damp earth and trees and embrace the natural world. The reserve has also been awarded the Green Flag 15 years in a row and is managed by a volunteer group.
BARRY ON S4C Did you catch some of our favourite Barry businesses on S4C last month? We spotted Annie and Lolo, Cocoa Therapy, Homemade Wales and Academy to name a few! It’s great to see our town getting the recognition it deserves.
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Informal networking events for businesses in and around Barry
Want to join us? Follow the Barry Magazine Facebook page for updates. 13
Barry Barry Magazine Magazine
HOW TO BE A ZERO HERO Zero waste living, what’s that I hear you ask? Well, we’ve all heard of the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Zero waste living takes it two steps further, with Refuse and Rot.
By Aoife Blight (@zerowasteinthevale)
The idea is pretty simple really: Refuse anything that’s single-use like plastic straws/bags, takeaway coffee cups or anything that takes more time to make than it takes to use. Rot, food and anything made of natural fibres. You can compost more than just garden waste, especially if you’ve space in your garden. These are simple rules to live by but they are limited by how and where we shop. If you go to most major supermarkets in the UK you’ll see fresh produce aisles covered in unnecessary plastic. Luckily, Barry is a great place to live if you want to try to go zero waste. Now we’ve got our very own zero waste shop! Awesome. Wales, the first zero waste shop in the Vale. 14
Zero Waste in the Vale
If you can’t get to Awesome.Wales it’s possible to do a (mostly) packaging free shop in Barry. First off, you’ll need some equipment. Never leave home without the following: Your reusable shopping bags and enough containers for everything you need. My advice is to keep a few in the boot of your car so that you never have to pick up a plastic bag at the shops. I also try to make sure I have enough containers with me for buying meat, cheese and even sandwiches.
HERE ARE MY TOP 5 PLACES TO GET ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU NEED WITHOUT THE PLASTIC WRAP:
Independent shops and cafes in Barry are leading the way in green retail.
You can go into this bulk food shop with your own containers and stock up on everything from oats to washing up liquid!
1. Hopkins’ Butchers and Marshalls Butchers, High Street and Holton Road respectively. These two shops have really embraced the green wave that’s hit Barry. They are both happy for customers to bring in their own containers to buy their meat. The quality in both shops is excellent. The meat is locally sourced wherever possible, which means you know the carbon footprint is low and your purchase is supporting local Welsh farmers as well as keeping your local high street alive. 2. Jones Dairies. This is such a special business to have in Barry. Jones Dairies deliver fresh milk and orange juice to your door in glass bottles! Each of the bottles are used at least 40 times before being ground down and made into brand new glass bottles all over again. The circular economy at its finest. 15
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3. Sarah’s Fruit & Veg on Park Crescent and Jacquie’s on High Street. There’s something so lovely about seeing shelves filled with fresh, plastic free produce. There are paper bags there for you to fill up but I recommend bringing your own reusable bags and containers. I bring an old yoghurt tub with me for soft fruits and berries and tote bags for the rest. 4. Food For Thought Deli, High Street. Bring your own containers and stock up on some delicious deli foods. Who can resist the corned beef pasties! Don’t forget your reusable coffee cup too just in case you need a caffeine hit. 5. Everything else, shop independent. Independent shops and cafes in Barry are leading the way in green retail. From gifts and homeware to cafes and chip shops, our independent shops are leading the way. We have so many brilliant charity shops around town. Buying your clothes second hand is a great way to reduce your impact and save some money too.
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Choose to refuse and reuse as much as possible and you’ll be taking a big step towards living a low impact life.
It can often feel like we are surrounded by plastic but even just making one change can make a difference. Choose to refuse and reuse as much as possible and you’ll be taking a big step towards living a low impact life.
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2 MINUTE BEACH CLEAN & LITTER PICK If you’d like to do more to help keep Barry beautiful, why not do your own beach clean or litter pick while you’re out in one of our lovely parks. I’m proud to say that I raised the funds (thanks to the contributions from some very wonderful Barry residents) to buy a 2 Minute Beach Clean board and litter pickers for Whitmore Bay. The board is there every day with litter pickers for everyone to use. When you’re down on the beach walking with your family and friends
why not take a picker and a bag and help us to stop waste floating off into the ocean. Or why not join in with one of the Friends of Barry Beaches litter picks, held on the last Sunday of every month. There are lots of amazing people in Barry trying to keep our environment safe and enjoyable for everyone and everything. Joining in any way that you can makes a big difference and is really fun too.
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Barry Magazine
WHAT’S ON IN BARRY
Find out what’s on in #Barry over the next few months! Click the links to visit their pages.
6th July Rhoose Summer Music 2019 12:00-23:00, Rhoose Milburn park Tickets: £15
13th July Barry Indoor Car Boot Sale St Francis Millennium Centre 9:30-11:30am. Free entry
6th July Barry Scouts & Guides Annual Fete 12-5pm / Romilly Park
17th July Barry Fringe Festival Sylvia Sceptre in ‘Phantasmagorical’ 7:30pm / Tickets: £15
6th & 7th July Rooftop Atelier Sewing School’s 3rd Birthday! 51 Vere Street, CF63 2HW 11am-6pm 8th July Social Media Workshop 10am-2pm / RNLI Visitor’s Centre, Tickets: £35 10th July ‘Stan & Ollie’ Cinema The Small Space 7pm • Tickets: £10 18
19th July Barry Fringe Festival Noel James, Comedian, Britain’s Got Talent 2018 Live Semi Finalist. 7pm / Tickets: £15 20th - 21st July Isle of Fire Barry Island / 8-11pm 20th July Barry Fringe Festival Mandy Munden, Britain’s Got Talent live 2018 semi-finalist. 7:30pm / Tickets: £25
What’s On in Barry
20th July Rotary Club Annual Duck Race & Fete The Knap Gardens 11am-4pm
16th & 23rd August Barry Play Rangers Forest Park “The Dump”, Salisbury Road, Barry, CF62 6PU
23rd July - 6th August Be a farmer for the day Amelia Trust Farm 10am- 2pm / £25 per child
17th August Kings Square Family Fun Day Kings Square, Central Park, Barry
27th - 28th July Carnival of Cockpits 2019 South Wales Air Museum. CF62 4QN / 10am-5pm 27th - 28th July GlastonBarry Romilly Park / Tickets £34 1st August National Play Day Free activities for families Romilly Park / 3pm-7pm 3rd August Ty Hafan Family Fun Day Ty Hafan, Sully, CF64 5XX Tickets: £2 / 12-5pm
17-18th August Cadstock Victoria Park, Free Entry 23-25th August Oliver! The Musical Memo Arts Centre Tickets from £10 24-25th August Cinema by the Sea Sat – Bohemian Rhapsody (12A), Sun – The Greatest Showman (PG) 8pm-11pm / Barry Island 26th August Barry Town United vs. Bala Town Jenner Park Stadium / 2.30pm
4th August Barry Island 10km General tickets: £25 7th August The Vale Show Fonmon Castle Park 8.30am / £10 adult £5 Child 8th August Wellbeing South Wales Children’s Wellbeing Workshop 161 Holton Road, Barry 10am-12:30pm 17th August Barry War Museum Special Weekend Barry Tourist Railway 10am-5pm 19
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IN GOOD COMPANY The Goodwash Company is an award winning Wash and Lifestyle brand, based in Barri on a mission to change the world #onewashatatime. 20
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ur team are delighted to be launching a regular GW Lifestyle column in Barry Magazine. Each publication will promote the finest of natural lifestyle tips all focused around our local area.
The Goodwash Company
Nature itself is the best physician.
Here are just a few reasons why walking and running along the sand is a great idea; STRENGTH TRAINING. The struggle you feel when taking a step in dry sand (when your foot tries to get traction) that’s your muscles at work. It takes 2-3 times more energy to walk or run on sand than it does to move at the same pace on hard surfaces, and up to 50% more calories! Great for strengthening all the muscles between your feet and back, calves, quadriceps and glutes. IMPROVED PROPRIOCEPTION. Good walking proprioception means your mind is in touch with the stimuli coming from your feet. We have around 3,000 – 7,000 nerve endings in our feet and shoes, even flip flops, can numb this ability. Walking barefoot on sand is a great way to stimulate your senses.
The Welsh land and sea and a healthy lifestyle are two things fundamental to our Welsh lifestyle brand. You will often find our team surfing, walking or running along the local beaches mostly followed by a coffee at any of our local establishments overlooking Whitmore Bay (two out of three of the main beaches are dog friendly all year around). So what better topic for our first article than to share some natural health benefits of walking / training along our three main beaches at Ynys Y Barri, Whitmore Bay, Jacksons Bay or Watch Tower Bay
RELAXING. Sand will conform to your feet without restriction allowing them to relax almost like a natural foot massage. If your stroll or run takes you past a shore the the sound of waves and seagulls will most likely help your stresses EARTHING. The theory behind earthing (also known as grounding) is electrical energy from the earth can be absorbed through your feet (especially when walking barefoot on wet or moist sand) and lead to a multitude of health benefits. NATURALLY EXFOLIATING. Wet sand acts as an exfoliant that helps remove dead skin cells from your body. Try walking or running in loose sand and wandering into the path of shallow waves from time to time to wash it off. It also works for the rest of your body.
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VITAMIN AND MINERAL BOOST. The sea contains a multitude of healthy minerals such as magnesium, potassium and iodine often used in skin anti-aging products, have you seen how fab and bouncy surfer hair is? Sea salt is amazing for hair, we use it in all our hair products. Even if you wanted to sit and watch the waves, the natural sunshine provides you with a dose of Vitamin D which helps calcium absorption, autoimmune response and mood. GAIT ANALYSIS. Although this may appeal more to runners, but if you are interested in analyzing your footstrike then rather go through the expense of professional give yourself a chance by running barefoot down a sandy beach. A simple glance at your footsteps can tell you quite a bit!
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So there it is, run, walk, swim or even sit along our Barri coastline, soak up a multitude of health benefits and develop a new found love for our natural environment as Hippocrates once said ‘Nature itself is the best physician’. More natural lifestyle tips and Goodwash blogs can be found on our website www.goodwash.co.uk Let us know how you get on … share your walks and runs using hashtag #GWlifestyle. May all your adventures be good ones….. #GoodwashCo
Keep Barry Tidy
If you are visiting our beaches, please take your litter home. #LoveWhereYouLive 23
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GOING GREEN There’s been so many negative stories about plastics and the environment recently, and all for good reason. But we know that it’s up to every single one of us to do our bit, so we thought we would share some of the local businesses working hard to go green.
Hopkins Butchers have received their new biodegradable carrier bags and will be stocking tupperware to encourage people to take their meat home in reusable containers. You are always welcome to bring your own tubs in! Wynter Isabelle Bridal only use paper or fabric reusable bags and customers get all orders sent via email to reduce paper. They have also just stopped giving compliment cards to futher reduce their paper waste. Barrybados use wooden spoons, paper bags, biodegradable slush straws and are hopefully moving over to paper slush cups. Before you buy a product at The Beach Hut they will cut off as many tags as possible so they don’t end up on the street. 26
Going Green
Annie and Lolo use paper bags and the tins that their Thornbush Hill candles come in are reused. Bay 5 are now offering fresh salads to take away in a biodegradable salad box with a biodegradable dressing pot and wooden cutlery set. Pick from 3 delicious sounding choices, salad caprese, tuna nicoise and ham and boiled egg. At Paletta Pizzeria being green is definitely a priority. All of their tables are made with up-cycled wood, plastic, cans & bottles are recycled, their coffee grinds and ash are composted and fuel is local and sustainably sourced. They buy recycled serviettes and their decor is rejected building materials. If you love a cup of tea first thing in the morning then chances are you’re getting through a lot of milk in plastic cartons. Jones Dairies in Barry will deliver fresh milk and fruit juice in returnable glass bottles to your doorstep.
Marcos have disposed of polystyrene products and done away with plastic spoons. They have now got biodegradable slush cups.
Whitmore + Jackson use compostable items and give customers wooden takeaway cutlery. They are getting food and drink items locally to reduce their carbon footprint. 27
Barry Magazine
Little Litter Pickers Local mum Charlotte Archibald shares her musings on raising her two children and our next generation of litter pickers in Barry.
My little girl Emily is three-and-a-half, and any parent will tell you how much information children seem to absorb at this age. These little ‘sponges’ are desperate to soak up as much about the world as they can, which is presumably the reason that all parents hear the word ‘why?’ about six thousand times a day. Emily loves to learn all about the world she lives in, so we spend a lot of time at the beach, watching the birds and the wildlife on the Old Harbour and counting the squirrels we see in Romilly Park. She will ask numerous questions about what she sees, where the animals live, what they eat and what they need to stay happy and healthy. More and more frequently, one of the questions she asks on our walks, is; ‘why is there rubbish on the ground? Who has put it there?’ When I explained to her that it’s wrong to drop our rubbish because 28
Little Litter Pickers
If a three-year old can understand why we should take our litter home with us... why do so many adults struggle to commit to this?’
it’s bad for the animals and the wildlife, she just couldn’t understand why people would ever drop litter. I can’t help but ask myself, ‘if a threeyear old can understand why we should take our litter home with us or throw it in a nearby bin, why do so many adults struggle to commit to this?’. I understand that people lead busy lives, and that they might think one piece of litter isn’t going to matter that much, but people who live by the beach will tell you that after a warm and busy weekend, a lot of people with that mentality leads to an awful lot of discarded food containers and unwanted beach items left on the sand. When we’ve gone for a walk after a busy day on the Island, it makes Emily really upset to see so much rubbish strewn across the beach. She worries that the fish won’t be able to swim properly or that animals will get caught up in the food containers and plastic that gets left behind. To help set a good example and encourage her to care about where she lives, we’ve started doing our own small litter patrols. At this stage, I always get Emily to point out the litter and then I pick it up for her.
We make it a fun activity to see how much litter we can collect in our bags in a few minutes. Sometimes we even ‘feed’ our carrier bags to the big penguin-shaped bins on Barry Island. As she gets older, we’ll start working other games into our collections, like counting the items we pick up and increasing the competitive element to see who can find the most litter. She’s really enjoying helping out and it just goes to show that it’s never too early to start these good habits. Even pre-schoolers are able to understand why it is important to keep our beautiful area looking clean and tidy…now if only I could figure out how to convince her to tidy up the toys in her bedroom!!!
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FITNESS EXPLORERS Keeping fit today can be a challenge. Whether you choose to sign to the gym, head out for a run or take up a new sport, most of us need more exercise and adventure in our lives. We caught up with Mark Lloyd, Co-Owner of Brawd, Ms.Fit & Anturio Adventure to find out how he finds adventure in Barry. 30
Fitness Explorers
Fatherhood, Brawd and Msfit.. it’s an ongoing life project for me.
my ankle quite badly and had too much time to think. I thought ‘stuff this corporate life’ bought a mobility scooter and recovered. I started Brawd and Msfit. The rest is history.
Hey Mark! Tell us more about you? I’m Mark, 6ft, blonde with blue eyes, 44 but still feel about 20. I’m educated to degree level (2:1 Hons) in Geology. Some might say a little overweight for a personal trainer but I love beer, crisps and fun – balanced with chicken and broccoli of course. I’ve got 2 kids, Oscar and Georgie who are my world along with the lady in my life who has put up with me for nearly 20 years – Becky. I love the outdoors, animals and helping people get the most out of their lives through my work. How did you start your business? I’ve always had “prescriptive” exercise in my life along with “accidental” exercise in the form of anything outdoors. It levels my mind as well as the obvious physical benefits. After a successful corporate career, I lost my way in my early thirties and found a “bootcamp” in Cardiff. I loved it but I broke
How has it changed/grown? We started with just 2 coaches and 3 fitness sessions a week in the Vale. We now have 12 coaches and it’s their personality and buy-in to what we are doing (essentially changing peoples’ lives) which means we now run 14 classes a week across the Vale, plus 3 classes in Swansea and personal or group training set up in Bridgend. What do you offer? We offer a huge variety of sessions and no session is ever the same. But that’s just the fitness side of the fence.. did I mention that we love the word ‘adventure’? We actively encourage our members to live a more adventurous lifestyle, which started by going on obstacle course races together and has ended up being in the very DNA of what we do! We’re also in our 5th consecutive year of running the now legendary Big Brawd and Big Msfit Adventures. These are 4 day high octane trips to North Cornwall where we Coasteer, surf, SUP, monster sup, jet wing, surf raft, walk, drink, bond. 31
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What do you love about working in Barry? I love the people as they are down to earth. Barry is one of the only places I know that still feels a bit old school, even though it’s the largest town in Wales, it still has a community feel. Why is fitness important? Well, it’s part of the 3 elements that underpin everything we do in Brawd and Msfit. Body – Adventure - Mind. This forms part of the wider blueprint I created to live a good life. The Brawd/MsFit Blueprint. What does a typical day look like for you? There isn’t really a typical day, although the school run does anchor my mind in the real world and is by far the hardest and most stressful part of my day. Depending on what day of the week, month of the year…it could be a group fitness session, online coaching, developing the business, adventure trip planning, Anturio development… What are your favourite businesses to visit locally? I’m in a very privileged position to be able to meet local folk from a very wide range of local businesses. It’s one of the things I love about Brawd and Msfit. And on that note, 32
I haven’t really got a favourite.. they are all my favourite – there you go. What do you think Barry needs? To believe in itself. I’ve often stood on Marine Drive and looked east and west and thought ‘man… this place has so much potential it’s unreal’… so let’s have big ambitions. I’d love for my kids to live and work in Wales. What is your biggest achievement? Surviving the first 2 years of becoming a dad (twice). Close second - coming back from being really unwell from deep depression and anxiety to not just survive but THRIVE as the “Lloydy” today. What projects do you have lined up for the future? Fatherhood, Brawd and Msfit... it’s an ongoing life project for me, Anturio – that should keep me busy. There is also a big challenge in me, but not until the kids are a bit older so they can convince me not to do it.
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welshbutchers.co.uk
At Hopkins Butchers on Barry
welshbutchers.co.uk High Street the team have been
serving the local community for over 50 years. Whether it’s dropping off their rib eye steaks to a restaurant down the road or hand delivering orders straight from their website, keeping the You can now produce local is an important SHOP ONLINE part of the business.
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SHOP ONLINE
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Barry Magazine
DOG DAY OUT We’ve been a little busy lately celebrating Bernie’s first birthday but we couldn’t miss out on our favourite page in the magazine! We brought in some professional help in the form of Emma and Tom from Oh Doggo...
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Old Harbour
As the beach ban comes into effect on May 1st every year we like to make the Old Harbour (or Barry Harbour) our summer stomping ground. When the tide is out this little beach comes into its own, with rock pools galore for doggos to cool off, and plenty of space to run free this place is perfect for pups to enjoy the longer days. It’s a favourite with regular pups Stella and Minnie, who love swimming, sprinting and sun bathing. 36
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Friars Point
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Marcos
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Cadwaladers
Friars point connects the Old Harbour to Whitmore bay, and is a pretty glorious walk in itself. We go there most days for a walk with the dogs, and it always makes me feel so lucky to live in this amazing town. Even on a windy and rainy day, it’s the best place and lets you see a huge stretch of the vale coast line.
Famous for Gavin and Stacey, but Gus the lovable Labrador cross who’s currently staying with us is always more interested in the toast! We stopped off here last week because Gus’ owners told us that it was his favourite stop off for a treat. The place has a lush outlook right on the beach front, perfect for morning walks, if you fancy a stop off for a cuppa and a slice of toast if you’re anything like Gus. They also have a great range of homemade treats, ice creams and baguettes if you’re passing later in the day. Sitting outside on a sunny day is best to watch the world go by.
Fancy an ice cream but don’t want to leave your pooch out? No problem! Home of Frozzys is the dog ice cream that means you can both have a treat! For research purposes we took four dogs in this week and did just that — human ice creams for us (pistachio ice cream in a waffle cone) and a few Frozzys for our furry friends. Dogs love these lickable treats and they make for a good photo shoot opportunity. The Cadwaladers gram LOVE these so check out their ‘Dog pals’ highlight for cute furry visitors, including Davey getting stuck into his Frozzys!
Dog Day Out
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Barry Magazine
BARR THE G
We’ve picked som instagram pictu
Want to be Tag @BarryMag @_edmorris
@kidsphotographyclub
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(by Zakk aged 12)
@iamjoannapage
Barry on the Gram
RY ON GRAM
me of our favourite ures of #Barry
e featured? gazine in a post! @valeofglammam
@kidsphotographyclub
(by Sofia aged 10)
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Barry Magazine
Barry Action For Nature
CLIMATE EMERGENCY Barry Action For Nature is a community voluntary and action group standing up for wildlife and nature in Barry through campaigning, fundraising and hands on project work.
They have been involved in many projects recently including putting up bat and bird boxes around Barry, collecting seeds to be replanted in other areas and making us aware of the benefits of the trees around us by putting up signs. Rob Curtis from Barry Action for Nature told us; ‘As a coastal communities, it is vital Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s play their part in helping to tackle climate change. The science is overwhelming and our elected representatives must now play their part in responding to this looming crisis. The UN have warned us that over a million species are under the threat of extinction...when we damage biodiversity, we damage ourselves! Declaring a climate emergency locally is just the starting point, we really need to start taking action before it is too late!’ The team regularly post the projects and events they have coming up on their Facebook page, so if you want to get 40
involved make sure you like and follow them for updates. You can also join the group as a member to get email updates and local news for Barry and the surrounding areas.
Barry Magazine
Finding the right mortgage can be tricky, my aim is to make the process as painless as possible for you. My services include: • • • • •
First time purchase including Help to Buy Additional borrowing, incl. debt consolidation or home improvements Buy to lets for private individuals or limited companies Protection products for life, critical illness and income protection Moving home
Contact Lucy, your local Barry mortgage adviser to arrange a FREE no obligation initial meeting 07791786265 lucy.gulwell@charlesderbymb.com www.charlesderbymortgagebureau.com Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage
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Cocoa Therapy
95 High St, Barry CF62 7DY
Barry Magazine
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Tŷ Hafan
Crafternoon at Tŷ Hafan
Children’s hospice charity Tŷ Hafan is celebrating the first anniversary of its innovative upcycling project If you read our last edition of Barry Magazine you might have spotted an article from Tŷ Hafan about the 1st anniversary of their ‘Handcrafted by Tŷ Hafan’ project. We were intrigued by what they were getting up to, so when Penny invited us to visit we couldn’t say no.
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Barry Magazine
For some it’s a safe space where they can come and relax and help a worthwhile cause, for others it’s a step back to work where they can gain valuable skills. When we arrived at the Tŷ Hafan offices in Sully the first thing we noticed was the incredible view from Penny’s office on the first floor. It set the scene for the day, there’s no way you can’t love your job with a view like that. The room is full to the brim with fabric, accessories, paint and donated furniture, from chairs to chest of drawers they upcycle it all. It really is a crafter’s dream. 46
Penny showed us around the projects they have been working on recently including their ‘Woofachiefs’, festival brooches and medal holders, before setting us up with our own projects to get stuck into. Tom decided to upcycle a wooden plant holder by giving it a fresh lick of chalk paint and I stitched a colourful denim brooch made out of recycled jeans. While we were working away we got talking to the volunteers to find out why they got involved with the project. For some it’s a safe space where they can come and relax and help a worthwhile cause, for others it’s a step back to work where they can gain valuable skills. Whatever their reason, it’s clear that spending time at Handcrafted has huge benefits, and not just with the money it raises for the charity. There’s been plenty of studies on the effects of crafting and its impact on mental health through mindfulness and relaxation.
Barry Magazine
Handcrafted by Tš Hafan is a very personal project to me and I am totally delighted how it has grown over the last 2 years. Handcrafted is innovative, inclusive, creative and helps spreads the word about our amazing hospice. - Penny Collins
Before we knew it 4 hours had passed which is the joy of spending a day doing craft, time flies when you’re focussed on a project!
If you would love to get involved, Handcrafted are supporting Barry Pride this year by helping us reduce the use of single use plastic and hand make our bunting and flags out of recycled materials. We are looking for volunteers who are a whizz on a sewing machine or donations of rainbow and bright coloured fabrics. If you are interested in getting involved please email Penny on penny.collins@ tyhafan.org or call 07787296294.
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Barry Magazine
Non Surgical Aesthetics
NN Aesthetics Medical Cosmetics are two sisters and registered nurses from Barry who are both advanced aesthetic trained. The sisters specialise in Non Surgical Aesthetic Treatments and have been working hard to bring Barry non surgical medical cosmetics whilst working full time as nurses in the NHS sector. They offer dermal filler, botox and lip enhancements.
Keep your eyes peeled to see where they’ll be heading next!
Barry Magazine
PRIDE IN BARRY We’re bringing Pride to Barry! We were so excited to announce that we’ve volunteered to bring the first ever Pride to Barry this year on 21st September.
Barry Pride, sponsored by Spectrum Collections, will be held on Barry High Street and will be a fun family and inclusive community day to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community. We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response, with the most common question being ‘how can I get involved!’. So we thought we’d give you a few suggestions. Volunteer to help on the day On the day we would appreciate any help to marshall, set up, litter pick and just help us make sure the event runs smoothly. If you would like to volunteer or have a group of people who would be happy to help, please email us on barryVOGpride@gmail.com. Help us make bunting! We want the streets to be filled with colour, but we’re working really hard to make this event as single use plastic free as possible. To do this we’re going to need some help! If you can donate bright coloured fabric,
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help us make bunting or if you love to knit or crochet and can help us in a different way, get in touch on the email address above. Decorate your windows If you’re a business in Barry we’ll soon be coming round to tell you about our window competition. We would love for every business in Barry to proudly display that they support Pride in the week leading up to the event. We’ve got plenty of time to plan, but why not start thinking about how you would decorate yours? Spread the word Finally, the only way we can make this event a success is if everyone knows about it! Help us spread the word on social media by sharing our posts, tagging anyone you think might be interested and spreading the word far and wide. We really appreciate all your support to help make this event the best it can be.
21st Sept 2019 Sponsored by
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Barry Magazine
SUP AND DOWN If we said we were off to SUP, would you know what we were talking about?
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Island SUP Barry Magazine
Moving to Barry and getting to know Kerry has shown us a whole new world of water activities and we were really excited to try Stand Up Paddleboarding. One Friday in June after a week of rain and storms we had booked in a beginner’s session at Jackson’s Bay. We almost cancelled as the weather had been so bad but luckily it cleared by the evening to reveal a cool and calm night which Kerry explained was perfect for getting out on the water. We headed down to Barry Yacht Club, a hidden gem that we hadn’t visited before, ready to meet the rest of the group who would be going out with us that evening and to pick up all the equipment we would need. We squeezed into our wetsuits, grabbed our boards and headed out onto the beach at Jackson’s Bay. Kerry, who is UK SUP National Champion 2016/17 went through all the basics of SUP such as how to stand on the board, how to balance and how to move forward and stop.
With our new-found knowledge we dipped into the sea and, not very gracefully, got on the board. My main question about being out in the water in the evening was ‘isn’t it cold?!’ but with the wetsuits on you couldn’t feel the water or the temperature. Getting on the board was easy once you got the hang of it and we only fell in a couple of times, mainly from showing off or trying to pick up the pace. We just stuck to the basics in this session but you can go much faster and even do yoga on the board! It’s a relaxing experience and it is easy to see why it’s a popular sport in Barry. SUP is a great way to spend an evening and an even better way to explore the water if you feel like you don’t make the most of living by the sea. If you’re interested in booking a session get in touch with Kerry at www.islandsup.org.
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Barry Magazine
A METICULOUS APPROACH Finding someone you can trust with your skin is hard. Sometimes we just need to find the right person to help us get our skin looking its best. Meticulous Beauty and Skin Clinic offered me a chance to try one of their signature Medik8 Superfacials and dermaplaning.
Meticulous opened on Barry High Street in November last year and their clinic has gone from strength to strength. The team has been in the industry for over 15 years. Corrin has an extensive knowledge of skin, products and treatments and you immediately feel that you are in safe and experienced hands. I’ve heard lots of good things about dermaplaning recently so I thought I would give it a try. Dermaplaning is a deep exfoliating facial which removes dead skin and hair to increase cell turnover and improve your skin’s radiance and luminosity. To do this Corrin used a surgical scalpel to gently scrape the surface of the skin and remove any dead skin and peach fuzz (the fluffy hair on the side of your face!). My biggest fear was that it would hurt and that the hair would grow back thicker or darker, but there’s no pain at all with this treatment and my hair grew back the same. Corrin combined the dermaplane with a double 54
cleanse, mask, retinol and their 100% natural clarity oil which she prescribed would be best for my skin. My skin was smooth and glowing, when I applied make-up it went on much better. I’ve already been for a further treatment since and my skin is looking better than ever.
Barry Magazine
Beautifully Blooming DOULA, ANTENATAL & AQUANATAL SERVICES IN THE VALE Danielle Fox is a trained and fully certified Doula and Aquanatal teacher and has plenty of experience with new mothers and their babies. She can ensure you have the emotional and practical support you need right through pregnancy, birth and new motherhood.
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Barry Magazine
On the Plus Side You might have seen the blue signs over Barry High Street, but did you know they are all connected to one great cause?
ValePlus is a brilliant charity that we are lucky to have in the Vale. Based in Barry and Llantwit Major, ValePlus works with adults aged 18-60 and over with learning difficulties to help them learn and engage with our wider community. It’s not about standard care, ValePlus focus on activities and education which benefits the service users. I popped in last month during one of their sessions to learn about the environment, how waste is affecting our beaches and what we can do to stop it. Service users choose the sessions that they would like to attend and they may select half or full day sessions and also social occasions. Everyone who attends the classes will get an accreditation and the conversations we had really made me think about all the ways we can reduce plastic. Vale Plus has clearly put a lot of thought into this and had a list of things they were already doing to help the environment, 56
ValePlus
“We have developed our garden to grow local food to use at Cafe No:5 and our goal is to increase the quantity we grow to achieve transport metres rather than transport miles. We are committed to working with other local groups to make this happen� - Mark Mitchell
such as growing their own food in the garden and taking part in the Castleland Fair Share scheme, walking to work, recycling and reusing items they have found out and about such as driftwood on the beach. The Vale Plus cafe on the High Street Cafe No.5 is partly supplied with vegetables and salad from the Vale Plus garden to make delicious meals
Like us, they know that there is still work to be done and we spent some time thinking about other ways that we can help the environment. Vale Plus would love to do more with the food that they grow and create a method to share excess food and reduce food waste. They would like to get involved in cleaning our beaches by helping with local beach cleans too and they are making crafts out of the things that they collect from the beach such as driftwood. If you are interested in getting involved with Vale Plus by becoming a volunteer or you have other ways that you could help, please email MarkM@valeplus.co.uk.
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Barry Magazine
MEMORIES OF BARRY We look back at your memories of #Barry over the years.
The history of Barry has been a talking point for us recently and we have loved looking through old photos of Barry to find the perfect picture for this edition of Memories of Barry! We love this picture from Victorian Barry Dock of the front page of a brochure for Barry produced by Barry Urban District Council in 1963. The advert welcomes people to Barry for a great holiday and although plenty has changed since then, we still think Barry is a brilliant place to take a trip to over the summer months! How has Barry changed for you? We would love to know.
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1963 Do you have any photos of Barry that you’d like to share in the next edition of #Barry Magazine? Get in touch at info@barrymagazine.co.uk.
Memories of Barry
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BarryMagazine Magazine Barry
Dog Days of Summer The summer holidays are upon us and everyone will be out enjoying what the Vale has to offer. This also means that children and dogs are going to be crossing paths much more often.
As a dog trainer, safe and happy interactions between dogs and children is one of the most important parts of owning a dog. The majority of dog bites that occur to children are from a family pet so it is important that kids learn how to interact with man’s best friend. The following tips are aimed to educate parents and dog owners on safe interactions between dogs and children. Here are our top training tips to set you and your dog up for success: 1. Teach children to ask if it’s ok to pet an owners dog. Just like we don’t want children to wander over to strange people, it’s also important that they don’t wander over to strange dogs and just assume they can be petted. Respect if the owner says ‘no’.
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Dog Days of Summer
2. It’s important for children to grasp basic canine body language and to know how to spot the signs of a dog who isn’t happy to be touched or approached. Even if the owner says it’s fine for you to approach, they might not understand their dog’s signals. A dog that should be left alone might display: Cowering Tail between legs Stiff wagging tail Licking their nose Ears pinned back Whites of eye exposed
Hackles up Backing away Lips curled Hard staring Growling
3. If the owner of the dog is happy to let your child greet their dog, it’s important they do it the right way: • DON’T stick your hand out for a dog to sniff, they might be scared of a hand coming at them. • DO keep a straight posture, avoid leaning over a dog as it can scare them! • DO make your movements nice and slow and let the dog approach first; if they don’t want to socialise, that’s fine!
5. If your child gets spooked by a dog tell them to BE A TREE! When kids get scared they are likely to run away, make noise and flap about. To a dog, this can be seen as a sign of play or encourage a dog’s natural prey drive and will cause them to give chase, bark and mouth. When a child becomes a tree they become boring and makes is easier for an adult to quickly intervene and remove the dog from the child’s presence. To BE A TREE: STOP! Become tree trunk and stand tall. FOLD! Cross your arms over your chest. LOOK! Look down at your toes & count WAIT! Keep calm and still until an adult arrives to help you. 6. Teach your child to know WHEN to leave a dog alone in general. Never let a child approach a dog that is: • • • •
Sleeping, resting and eating Chewing or playing with a toy Taken itself away to be alone Showing signs of being unhappy
If you’d like more information on kids and dogs, please contact us. We have some great resources to teach children about safe interactions with dogs.
• DO talk calmly, no need to shout, a dog’s ears are very good. 4. Knowing how to pet a dog correctly is very important. Dogs don’t like to be petted on the head and will often duck away from someone who tries. Instead, pet or stroke a dog on the side of their body or under their chin. Use long slow strokes and make sure the child doesn’t hug or kiss the dog or stare at the dog in the eyes.
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Barry Magazine
SENDING A MEMO Megan Merrett has recently joined Memo Arts Centre as their Volunteers Coordinator and tells us what she has planned for the new role.
I’m inviting people in Barry to join our new volunteer bank to support the culture and heritage of Barry. We have volunteering opportunities based at the Memo Arts Centre and other cultural and heritage organisations in Barry with huge potential for skill sharing and making connections between new and long running groups. We soft launched at Art4U’s Kite Festival at the Knap for the summer solstice. It was a glorious evening and when talking to people about the project, it was clear that there are already a lot of generous and community spirited people in Barry who volunteer their time and energy.
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There were also plenty of people who weren’t entirely sure what volunteering would involve. At the Memo Arts Centre we’ve got a few different volunteer roles available but we’d also love to hear from people who have something else to offer. FRONT OF HOUSE TEAM VOLUNTEER Volunteer your smile as an usher at one of our many live performances or screenings. We’ve been developing our dementia friendly programming and front of house volunteers at these events would hugely enhance the experience for audience members living with dementia and their carers. You could also help us sell drinks and snacks.
Sending a Memo
BOX OFFICE & RECEPTION VOLUNTEER Volunteer your phone voice in our box office by answering calls, selling tickets and greeting our guests. GROUNDS VOLUNTEER Volunteer your hands on experience in our car park, building and garden. You’ll be helping us with maintenance, painting, gardening and litter picking. OPERATIONAL TEAM VOLUNTEER Volunteer your chair stacking skills, helping to set up and clear rooms for our wide programme of events and hires. We’re not asking for a minimum time commitment, we want to be as flexible and accessible as we can to allow as many people as possible to join us and fit volunteering into their lives. All our volunteers will have training and support.
Do you want to try something new and meet new people? Perhaps you’d like to share your knowledge, skills and passion to help others or maybe you’re keen to gain confidence, work experience and a boost to your CV. Volunteering helped me understand what I wanted my career to be and the experience got my foot in the door for my first job. I love the volunteering that I still do because it connects me to my community, I’ve met some great people and I feel like I can make a change. Whatever your reason, we’d love to hear from you and help you to help us to make Barry a great place to live, work and visit. Contact us: volunteer@memoartscentre. co.uk or call us: 01446 400111 The volunteer bank is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Great Place Scheme, in partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Council, Barry Town Council and the Memo Arts Centre.
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Barry Magazine Barry Magazine
BARRY NOTICEBOARD It’s so easy to get caught up in negative news, so we’ve created a community noticeboard so you can share your positive words about people, businesses, places and more!
Festival of Food Thank you to all of the acts that performed on our stage at the Barry Island Festival of Food. We had an amazing weekend and can’t wait to be involved in the rest of the Barry Island Weekenders.
- Bro Radio
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Oh Doggo We’d like to say thank you to Oh Doggo for looking after our dog Mandy while we were on holiday. We loved seeing pictures of her having a brilliant time with the other dogs and we felt happy and comfortable with her care. She seemed to love Tom alot! Thank you again.
- Pam
Barry Noticeboard
Barry Business Club Barry Business Club was a fantastic event once again. Thank you to Hannah, Annie & Lolo for a great evening.
- Alex
RNLI Ball
Cocoa Therapy On a long overdue trip to Barry I was delighted to discover the hidden treasure that is Cocoa Therapy. It’s truly a treat for all the senses and, although I’m not big on chocolate, I can see me indulging in some regular Cocoa Therapy their flavour combos make my little pâtissière heart happy!
- Amber
What a great night for a great cause! The 1st RNLI Ball held in The Bear, Cowbridge looked beautiful with tables decorated in the blue and orange of the lifeboats. Jasper Blakeley, from The Small Space kept everyone laughing and marvelling at his magic tricks! We’re really looking forward to supporting this event again next year!
- Rosemary
If you’d like to acknowledge someone in our next issue just send us an email to info@barrymagazine. co.uk to be featured here!
Paletta Pizzeria Not only are Paletta the best go to for pizza EVER but they are SO lovely! We go to get take away at least once a week and they always end up giving us something extra, and when we do get a chance to go in we always end up chatting with the owners for ages because they’re just bloody lush.
- Emma
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Barry Magazine
The Smell of Tomatoes Neil Angove
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The Smell of Tomatoes
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um stands with her two sisters – my Aunties Audrey and Edith – on the front lawn.
Beyond, across the road, two fields are separated by a long high hedge stretching northwards towards a green hill. I’ve often felt apprehensive about that second field – the one to the right of the hedge, closed by a barred wooden gate, private, forbidding. Whereas to the left, I’m anticipatory, as I cross the road with Grampa, and wander along the dust track northwards onto the hill, to gather watercress from a stream, for our tea. Gramma and Grampa are the first to live in this semi-detached house, built in open countryside. They are the middle couple. Next door to the left is Gramma’s older sister, to the right in a separate bungalow is her younger – my great Aunties Bessie and Barbara. All three sisters live here with their respective husbands, my Grampa and great Uncles Howard and Frank – the first residents in this green eastern fringe of Barry. Watercress, washed fresh in the stream, bubbling down the hillside – green, peppery, nourishing. Grampa’s greenhouse is filled with tomatoes, ripening red. Their smell, rich and evocative… permeating, connecting, belonging – clinging to my childhood.
We are told that we still breathe the same air of all humanity throughout time. Sustainability is a persistent connection with our shared home. But now the hedge is cut down, the stream constrained, the fields opened as public playgrounds, and houses veneer the hillside. Gibbonsdown, Churchfields, Pencoedtre – our countryside urbanised, my childhood home occupied by strangers, the greenhouse demolished. All disappeared, but alive in my memory. Mum is still here, but Gramma, Grampa, Bessie, Barbara, Howard, Frank, Audrey and Edith have left – their dust dispersed in sea, soil and wind – to nourish other generations. We are told that we still breathe the same air of all humanity throughout time. Sustainability is a persistent connection with our shared home. And I, whenever I breathe the smell of home-grown tomatoes, I am there again with them all in ever-present past, connected still to this day…
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Barry Magazine
If you’d like to be in future issues of #Barry Magazine, please visit our website www.barrymagazine.co.uk
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