Big Magazine Wales Issue 2 - Big Lottery Fund

free! free! free! INSIDE: How the Big Lottery Fund is putting Lottery money back into your community Baywatch –

Wales Issue 2 biglotteryfund.org.uk

Welsh style!

PAGE 12 Andrea Benfield’s Lottery

PAGE 33

Thanks to mum we hav e a lovely park to play in

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Welcome! y Fund Published by Big Lotter Website: k www.biglotteryfund.org.u Email: rg.uk [email protected] Phone: 01686 611700 a Quinn Publishing director: Lind Editor: Oswyn Hughes Nickless Assistant editor: Claire ert Blow Production editor: Rob quali Jones, Contributors: Karen Pas Gwen Sion, Cambrensis Production manager: Emma Robinson or: Production co-ordinat Amy Tomkys Design: Tom Barnes id Symons Translator: Sian Jones, Dav Printer : Belmont Press

In June 2009, we announced the results of our Big thinking consultation and how we plan to spend around £250 million on a varied range of programmes in Wales over the next six years. We also published our strategic fram ework, which highlights how we will deliver our business from now until 2015. To celebrate the announcem ent, Big Lottery Fund Wales chair and UK board member, Huw Vaughan Thomas,

was joined by children from Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch in Cardiff to roll out a giant eight-foot £1 coin , symbolising the money which will be invested in Welsh communitie s for years to come. To find out more about the results of the Big thinking consultatio n and the launch of BIG’s Strategic Framework, visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ bigthinking

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BIG thank you to all of you. Why? Because every time you play the Lottery, 14p from your pound goes to the Big Lottery Fund’s good causes. Inside this free magazine are stories of all the people whose lives have been changed for the better thanks to projects funded by BIG. So Janice Morgan from Rhonnda Cynon Taf now has a beautiful garden of remembrance to remember her son Steve, who died of cancer. Thanks to our Heroes Return programme, Geoffrey Gautrey from Welshpool has been able to revisit the battlefields where he saw action during World War Two. And we read the moving story of Lyndsey from Wrexham who lost her job and became homeless but was given shelter by a fantastic project paid for by the Lottery. None of this would have happened without you. So remember even a small amount of money can make a big difference. I hope you enjoy this issue. Please let us know what you think at [email protected] We’d love to hear from you.

Solutions for Sudoku on page 37

Brought to you by

Oswyn Hughes Editor

WALES Issue 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 3

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHAUN FITZPATRICK

A BIG ROLLOVER FOR WALES

BIG difference

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33

“I’m the Welsh David Hasselhoff!”

Andrea Benfield is on the ball

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07

34

A place of my own

BIG shorts

G I B e d i s In BIG shorts

FREE! FREE! FREE! INSIDE: How the Big Lottery Fund is putting Lottery money back into your community Baywatch WALES ISSUE 2 biglotteryfund.org.uk

Welsh style!

PAGE 12 Andrea Benﬁeld’s Lottery

COVER PHOTO BY KEITH MORRIS

PAGE 33

6 Aber Valley Communities Partnership; Calon Lan (Pure Heart) project; Big Issue Cymru 8 South Wales Reptile Group; Park View Cafe; Castell Alun High School

Real life Thanks to mum we have a lovely park to play in Page 24

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10 Wales mucks in on dirty weekend: People of all ages get back to nature

A hero returns

12 “I’m the Welsh David Hasselhoff”: Saving lives is all in a day’s work at Rest Bay

38 Full steam ahead: The Ffestinog and Welsh Highland Railway

16 A wheely good time at the beach: Disabled people from Barry are in for a smooth ride

Secret Millionaire

20 A place of my own: Lyndsey turns her life around

28 Secret millionaire is a BIG help: Residents of Merthyr Tydfil are moved by an undercover salon owner

34 Hero returns on emotional pilgrimage: BIG helps a World War Two veteran return to Normandy

30 “I’ll never put my wife in a home”: Granville Williams is there for his wife in sickness and in health

18 The healing garden: A place for remembrance

Your BIG regulars 24 Peoples Champion: All work and now lots of play, thanks to mother-of-two Fiona White 33 On the ball: Andrea Benfield from Wales Tonight answers questions about the National Lottery 36 BIG recipe: Head back in time with a war wife’s special ration recipe 37 Sudoku: Kick back and relax with this logic puzzle

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Cover story

“Thanks to mum we have a lovely park to play in”

COUNTRYWALES Issue XIssue Find 2out Find more outonline more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 5

Making a splash in Senghenydd Youngsters in Caerphilly have been having a splashing time this summer in the wake of the official opening of their very own outdoor water play system in Senghenydd. The play feature, which opened in May, cost more than £150,000 to build. It was partly funded by a grant of £80,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions competition back in 2007. The Aber Valley Communities Partnership built the Aber Valley water play feature, which replaces the existing paddling pool at Senghenydd Welfare Park with a fully automated, interactive water play system designed to stimulate children of all abilities.

Above: The play feature. Right: Joseph enjoys the fountains

BIG shorts

e, Enzo Calzagh ally pion Joe, offici am ch ce of boxing an en of remembr opened a gard in Rhondda Cynon ity for a commun . ly nt ce re Taf Heart) alon Lan’ (Pure ‘C e th , 07 20 In munity Bryncynon Com project, run by 0 slice of 10 9, £4 , won a Revival Strategy om the Big Lottery sh fr good causes ca t. Millions contes ’s le op Fund’s Pe create a to ed us en be The money has , an ce of remembran special garden comfort s ve y which gi ar tu nc sa ir -a open have lost cal people who lo to ce la so d an people to well as enabling loved ones. As views of of the fantastic take advantage e of land ce-derelict piec the valley, the on re now boasts new cent adjacent to the ork and , sculptures, artw ts an pl s, benche water features. the plaque to open Enzo unveiled a ncillor ou C ith w ted a tree an pl d an en rd ga Albert Davies.

A Big Issue for BIG magazine In May, we teamed up with the Big Issue Cymru to launch BIG magazine in Wales to highlight how Lottery money is bringing improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need. BIG’s Wales director Ceri Doyle (centre) launched the new magazine with street vendor Marky Quinn (left) and Big Issue Cymru director Alex Hinds (right) in Cardiff. More than 9,000 free copies of BIG were distributed with Big Issue Cymru and the feedback has been very positive. Big Issue Cymru has a loyal weekly 6|

readership of more than 40,000 in Wales and a range of subscribers from the voluntary sector. Big Issue Cymru Director, Alex Hinds, said: "I was delighted at this opportunity to work in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund to distribute the first edition of BIG magazine along with Big Issue Cymru. Both our organisations aim to assist the socially excluded and disenfranchised in society. We want to make sure that the public knows and cares about our work." WALES Issue 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 7


punch Packinfagtha er and trainer

THE ICING ON THE CAKE Cafe workers in Cardiff with disabilities and special needs have thrown a tea party with a difference. Volunteers from the Park View Cafe in Cardiff baked and decorated a giant 1.5 sq metre Lottery ball cake to say thank you to the Lottery players who have raised over £1 billion pounds for good causes across Wales in the last 15 years. The BIG-funded charity, Innovate Trust, runs two cafes in Cardiff, helping local people with learning disabilities to gain skills in catering and customer service. This

Cold-blooded creatures find warm hearts in Neath

Shoppers in South Wales get up close and personal with some exotic creatures in Neath. South Wales Reptile Group has received £1,246 from BIG’s small grants programme, Awards for All. The grant paid for a video projector and screen to be used at the group’s monthly meetings, which offer a warm welcome to anyone interested in exo tic pets. Meetings offer an opportunity to learn abo ut reptiles, amphibians and other exotic creatures . Group secretary Frances Baines (right) says: “Thanks to the Lottery, we now have a superb reference library to help exo tic pet owners care for their animals in the best po ssible way. The screen is great for showing films abo ut the lives of these strange and fascinating ani mals.” Read more about the gro up at www.southwalesreptile s.org.uk

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training gives them the confidence to move on to paid or voluntary work. Wayne, 34, has been a trainee at Park View for over a year. He says: “Before I came to Park View I struggled to interact with others, but since I’ve been here my teamwork skills have developed massively in a real work environment, giving me more confidence. I’m also learning valuable skills in customer service and food hygiene as well as making some fantastic friends.”

Students hit the airwaves A high school radio station is set to hit the airwaves. Students and staff at Castell Alun High School, Hope, are eagerly planning the new venture after receiving £5,000 from BIG’s Awards for All programme. Media studies teacher Gareth Lloyd says: “This is a wonderful opportunity for students of all ages and abilities to experience the making of a radio station.” The new station hits the airwaves in September.


PHOTOGRAPHY: LOTTERY GOOD CAUSES, NORTH WALES NEWSPAPERS - EVENING LEADER, MATT FABER

BIG shorts

Wales mucks in on

DIRTY WEEKEND

BIG-funded wildlife events were held across Wales in June to encourage people to get their hands dirty and do one thing for nature over the BBC Breathing Places Dirty Weekend

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ver the last four years, nearly three quarters of a million pounds (£704,477) has been awarded to 96 projects in Wales, transforming green spaces ranging from scrubland and city parks to wasteland and woodland. Over £63,000 was awarded to 17 Welsh projects in April alone. The money has enabled local groups to open up hundreds of both small and large community green

spaces and invite local people to take part in activities, ranging from guided nature walks to creating bug hotels and bee habitats. Staff from the Big Lottery Fund offices in Wales got in on the action over the Dirty Weekend by joining volunteers at some of their funded projects. BIG

Future members gets (far left) One of the Courage For the e sensory garden stuck in at the Thompson Street estat project in Barry and wildlife at Ysgol (above) Children learn about nature ol scho ary Gynradd Machynlleth prim makes one of the many (above right) Four-year-old Nyiera as indicators of the used be will h whic s label n spoo wooden in the garden have y tuall even will type of plants they the sensory garden at 4, aged , Bass (bottom right) Freddie project in Barry

/ Places can be found at www.bbc.co.uk More information about Breathing is me ts awarded through this program breathingplaces and a full list of gran rg.uk available at www.biglotteryfund.o 10 |


PHOTOGRAPHY: SHAUN PHOTOGRAPHY: XXFITZPATRICK, KEITH MORRIS

real life

“

h s l e W I’m the F!

F O H L E S S A H D I V DA

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PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

real life

Forget the golden beaches of the US hit series Baywatch – the real action is at Porthcawl’s picturesque Rest Bay where there are just as many muscles, tans and teeny red shorts…

“We have to be ready at all times to rescue anyone who gets into trouble in the sea”

A HERO OF THE WAVES: Chris Bluck

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But the lifeguard is running along the water’s edge in picturesque Rest Bay in Porthcawl, Bridgend. Lifeguard Chris Bluck says: “I’m the Welsh David Hasselhoff!” But unlike his screen

role-model Chris’s qualifications are real. “I wear red shorts like he did and work out a lot to keep fit. My six-pack’s not as defined as it was when I was younger, but I’m in as good a shape as The Hoff. That’s what my friends all call me for a joke, and I just laugh. I’m nothing like him – apart from my red shorts. At least I’m not as hairy as him!” Chris, 38, is the chairman of the Rest Bay Lifeguard Club, which has 10 professional lifeguards and 200 members.

RESCUE

The five male and five female lifeguards take it in turns to man the blue flag beach, along with volunteers from the club membership. “Luckily we haven’t had any fatalities for years and not very many incidents. It’s great not to be



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uscles bulge beneath bronzed skin and sun cream glistens on taut thighs encased in a gleaming wetsuit. Sand flies up as the super-fit lifeguard sprints across the golden beach set against a backdrop of cloudless sky and azure waves. It looks like a scene out of hit series Baywatch, set on America’s trendy Malibu beach in the sunny state of California.

needed,” says Chris. “We do have a problem with the current here, which can drag swimmers and wind and kite surfers out. “We have to rescue the kite surfers a lot and cut them free from their rigs, but a lot of what we do is preventative. That way we head off trouble before it happens.”

CREST OF A WAVE: One of the lifeguards, Chris Page, patrols the waters on a jet ski

RISK

Chris, the community policeman, began training to be a lifeguard when he was eight. Now he keeps in tip-top condition by swimming 3,000 metres in an hour twice a week. “We all have to maintain a certain level of fitness so that when we go to rescue someone we are capable of helping them. We can’t risk creating two casualties instead of one. “I also have to live up to being called The Hoff. We have to take off our clothes before we hit the water in a rescue, so that means a lot of time with just our bathers on. I don’t want to have a belly!”

“Every time we go into the water we know we’re in a better position to help and save someone’s life”

CHAMPIONS

The team train so hard that they are the current Welsh Master Champions, beating 10 other lifeguard teams to the number one slot. “We are good swimmers and work hard,” Chris smiles. “We are all very competitive.” Chris, whose three sons aged between 10 and 16 are all training to be lifeguards, takes his role saving lives very seriously. “I am very proud of what we do, as are the rest of the team. Rest Bay is a lovely beach and it’s a popular tourist spot when the weather’s hot. “We have to be ready at all times to rescue anyone who gets into trouble in the sea.” That’s why the lifeguards train so hard, and are so grateful to the Big

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Lottery Fund for paying for a lot of their equipment. Since 2003, the club has received six Awards for All Wales grants, totalling £21,059. That’s helped buy two quad bikes, an inflatable Surf Rescue speedboat, and radio communication to provide more effective beach patrols by lifeguard volunteers. “We have a nippers section for kids under 13,” Chris says. “The youth section is for 13 and 14-year-olds who help patrol as volunteers. “Every time we go into the water we know we’re in a better position to help save someone’s life, and that’s thanks to BIG.

READY FOR ACTION: One of the lifeguards takes a breather during training

“We do a lot of fundraising ourselves but this money has really helped us – and can actually save lives. You can’t really do better than that.” Chris, who doesn’t stick to a special diet to keep in shape, is off to the Sunday morning intense training session with the other lifeguards. He shakes his head when asked if the female lifeguards wear Pamela Andersonstyle teeny red swimsuits. “They’re a bit more practical than hers was,” he laughs. “But they look just as good as she did. “I’m lucky. Sometimes when I’m on duty in the lifeguard station, and the sun’s out, and I’m watching everyone having fun in the sea without any danger, I know I’ve got the best job in the world.” Eat your heart out, David Hasselhoff! BIG WALES Issue 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 15


real life

SHORE SUCCESS: Joshua and Cliff can now enjoy trips to the beach

A Wheely good time at the beach Going to the beach when you’re in a wheelchair can be hard work. But thanks to a grant from BIG, disabled people from Barry are now in for a much smoother ride


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ver since he was a child, Joshua has loved going to the beach. As he grew older, it has become more and more difficult for him to get off the paved highway and enjoy a simple pastime that most people take for granted. The 18-year-old from Barry, South Wales, has severe learning disabilities, is epileptic and is in a wheelchair owing to brain damage. He is also nearly 16 stone. It became practically impossible for Joshua to go down to the beautiful blue flag

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beach at Barry Island in a normal wheelchair. “You can’t use conventional wheelchairs on the beach because the wheels are too thin and they are likely to sink into the sand,“ explains Joshua’s grandfather, Cliff Hayes. “And electric wheelchairs are likely to break or be damaged in the sand.” That’s why Cliff decided to do something about it. A few years ago, he established the Intersensory Club in Barry so that severely mentally disabled children and

young people in the Vale of Glamorgan could have access to a sensory and interactive equipment library. “The charity was set up so we can help more people like Joshua,” says Cliff. Now the group has received vital funding from the Big Lottery Fund to buy three new all-terrain wheelchairs, which are now hired out to people with disabilities so they can enjoy the sands of Whitmore Bay at Barry. Thanks to their wide wheels and unique design, the new chairs can be pushed across sand without sinking. Made of stainless steel, they can also go into the water. The large balloon tyres roll over the soft sand without digging in, and when on rough terrain, these tyres absorb the impact from rocks, gravel and rutted tracks. “The club’s priority is to create a more inclusive community and these all-terrain wheelchairs are making a huge difference to people in wheelchairs,” says Cliff. “Visiting the sandy beach is now a breeze for Joshua and his family. We can all go down to the beach together. “It’s great to know that other people with disabilities will be able to enjoy the benefits of outdoor activities with their families.” BIG

Want to apply to Awards for All Wales? The new easy-to-use Awards for All application form, available in English and Welsh, can be downloaded, filled in and emailed direct to the Big Lottery Fund as well as being available in hard copy. Application forms are available from www.awardsforall.org.uk or phone 0845 4 10 20 30.

What BIG did The Intersensory Club’s All Terrain Wheelchairs for Barry Beach project received £5,000 under BIG’s Awards for All Wales small grants programme, which offers grants of between £500 and £5,000 to small community groups.

Hiring a wheelchair for the beach The all-terrain wheelchairs are available for loan from the Tourist Information Centre at Barry Island throughout the summer. They are free to hire out, with users just needing to show one form of photo ID such as a passport or driving licence, or two proofs of name and add ress, such as a utility bill and a bank statement.


PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

real life

Finding solace: Janice Morgan likes to come and visit the garden to remember her son, Steve, who died of cancer

Memories: One of the plaques in the garden to commemorate a loved one

What BIG did The Calon Lan (Pure Heart) Garden of Remembrance, run by the Bryncynon Community Revival Strategy Limited, won the hearts of the public and £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s regional People’s Millions contest.

The healing garden of cancer, but now Janice She nursed her son as he lay dying ember him after BIG Morgan has a beautiful place to rem n funded a special ‘Pure Heart’ garde

“ PHOTOGRAPHY: SHAUN FITZPATRICK

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lasping the ends of the orange ribbon, I carefully crossed them and tied them in a bow. My hand was steady as I wrote out the simple message: “Dear Steve, Love you forever, Mum x.” I stood back to admire my handiwork. “Steve will like that,” I thought, smiling. It was my son’s birthday but I wasn’t putting the finishing touches to his present and birthday card. I was tying a ribbon around the tree of life in the Garden of Remembrance we’d just opened down the road from our house in Ynysboeth, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Steve died two years ago, aged 41, though the pain of losing him is still raw. My grief’s an open wound, but this garden is helping it to heal. It’s a place to come and remember him alive and vibrant, picture him playing his darts, or

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laughing as he span his children Rachel and Matthew around until they shrieked. Sitting by the olive tree, I shuddered as I remembered him coming to see me, tired and gaunt. “Are you OK, son?” I’d asked, concerned by his sudden weight loss and grey pallor.

DEVASTATED

“Just tired, mum,” he’d insisted. He worked long hours as a courier driver, and insisted he’d been overdoing it. But then he’d had no energy at all and had gone to see the doctor. After hospital tests, the diagnosis was quick – Steve had bowel cancer. It was awful. We were all so scared and shocked, but we had hope too. The doctors were sure they could treat it. Steve was divorced and I asked him to come and live with me. I wanted to look after him. I was glad I did, especially when we were

told the doctors couldn’t remove the tumour. It was attached to his kidney and liver. I was devastated, but Steve was so brave. He carried on seeing his children and tried to keep a smile on his face. I poured all my love and energy into looking after him.

BREATHTAKING

He died 10 months after being diagnosed. I was hollowed out with grief. We interned Steve’s ashes with my dad at Abercynon cemetery. I’d go there to feel close to him. I am part of a local charity, the Strategy, and we began talking about creating a Garden of Remembrance for the community. I thought it was a fantastic idea and so I agreed to do an appeal for TV. I was a bit nervous about going on but it was too important a cause to say no. I recorded an appeal to show on ITV Wales Tonight and viewers then had to vote for the project they thought deserved help from the Big Lottery Fund’s regional People’s Millions contest. We won, and were given £50,000 to create the garden, which is called the Calon Lan (Pure Heart) project. We hired a handyman to create the most beautiful place we could imagine. There’s the Tree of Life, an olive tree, a steel bench and

The money has been used to create a special garden at the Bryncynon Healthy Living Centre, which Enzo Calzaghe, father and trainer of boxing champion Joe, officially opened in March this year. The once-derelict piece of land now boasts new benches, plants, a sculpture, artwork, and water features, providing an open-air sanctuary for the community.

an abstract sculpture with words and angels engraved in it. It’s breathtaking. There’s also a wall where we have our loved ones’ names engraved on terracotta tiles. I go and touch Steve’s – it makes me feel close to him. On special occasions, we tie ribbons to the tree of life and write messages. It’s amazing to see that tree covered in ribbons – a show of love for those who are no longer here. It helps us all so much knowing they will never be forgotten.

PROUD

I bring Steve’s children here – Rachel is 16 and Matthew’s 14, and they like it. It’s so peaceful with the plants and trees. I come down here all the time. It’s only a short walk from my house. Sometimes I cry, because I still miss him so much, but other times I smile. I love the garden the community has created – and I know Steve would be proud of me for doing my little bit to help it happen. That means a lot to me. BIG As told by Janice Morgan, 61

COUNTRY WALES Issue Issue 2x Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 19 11

PHOTOGRAPHY: XX XX PHOTOGRAPHY:

real life

A place of

my own

She’d stormed out after a row with her dad to be more independent, but Lyndsey, 21, lost her job and ended up homeless until a Lottery-funded project came to her rescue…

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y clothes were a blur of colour as I yanked them out of my drawers and threw them into a bag. I was shaking and biting back tears as I did the same with the contents of my wardrobe. “I think it’s best if I leave,” I told Dad when my bag was full to exploding. “I can’t argue with you anymore.” I was 18 and was sick of the rows. Dad sighed, then nodded. “If this is what you want, then I won’t stop you,” he said, defeated. The anger trembling inside me flashed, then died away. But I couldn’t stay now. It would only be a matter of days before we argued again, like we had every week for as long as I could remember. Dad didn’t like my friends. “They’re the wrong sort,” he’d say over and over again. He thought I’d fallen in with the wrong crowd, that they took drugs. They looked different, but they were all good kids – just like me. “Why can’t you trust me?” I’d scream when he tried to stop me going out to meet them. “I would never get mixed up with a bad crowd.” But I don’t think he ever believed me.

MISSING

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ALL SMILES: Lyndsey tends to the garden at the hostel

PHOTOGRAPHY: EYEIMAGERY

real life

I had a job working at KFC, and liked going out most nights. But if dad was going to be a killjoy, I’d get my own place. So now I barged past him and went to stay with a friend. “I’ll show him I can look after myself,” I thought, furious. Luckily my mate Kevin* didn’t mind when I showed up with a giant bag and even bigger tears. “Come in,” he smiled. “The spare room’s yours as long as you need it.” Lying in a strange bed that night, I let the tears fall. I’d been rowing with dad on and off since mum had died. I was 9 and on holiday with my grandparents when she was taken ill. We all thought she’d get better but when I arrived home, she’d already died of a brain haemorrhage. It hit me hard.

READ ALL ABOUT IT: Relaxing with a book in the hostel kitchen

Dad had tried his best, looking after me and my little sister. But our family was off kilter, and I’d constantly felt like something was missing. Even after he’d met and married our stepmother, I didn’t feel like I really belonged. I missed mum and my grief gnawed away at me. I did well at school, getting eight GCSEs, and wanted to be a nurse or a carer. But my

“I felt like jumping on the bed, I was so happy” relationship with dad was deteriorating bit by bit. We fought all the time. The only happy news was when my stepmother had a baby. I adored my little sister, but the rows still continued. I left school and got a job, but dad didn’t like me going out. What else was I supposed to do – sit and stare at him every night? My friends were decent people, just like me. But storming out didn’t change anything. Living away from home wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. All I did was work, and sleep in Kevin’s spare room. I offered him rent but he wouldn’t take it so I


bought all the food instead. Then I was offered a house share. I felt like a proper grown-up with my own place and paying my bills. After a month, I went to see dad and my two little sisters. “We miss you,” they cried, rushing up to me. Dad hung back. He didn’t kiss me or ask me to come home. I knew what he was thinking. I’d made my bed – now I had to lie in it.

Humiliating

Then I started having problems at work. Eventually, I quit and during one of my visits home, dad went mad. “Why are you giving up a good job?” he demanded. “There’s not too many about right now.” He was probably right but I was sick of being told what to do. But I couldn’t find another job, and went to sign on. I couldn’t pay the rent on my £45.97 a week benefit and had to give up my house share and move in with another friend. Before long, he and his partner were rowing all the time too. His flat had the same atmosphere as home, so I went to stay with another friend. And another and another. I was living out of my suitcase – in a spare room for a couple of weeks if I was lucky, on the sofa more often than not. It was humiliating. I hated not having a place of my own, somewhere to really call my own. I was relying on other people, on their 22 |

TOGETHER: Lyndsey with friends who have had similar experiences

generosity. And I didn’t like it. Every morning I woke up on the sofa, looked at my life in a suitcase and felt dead inside. What had my life become? I’d wanted to be a nurse or a carer but I couldn’t even look after myself. Each day dragged, filled with nothing. I looked for a job that didn’t exist and begged for a place to sleep from kind friends. After a couple more weeks, I woke up and realised: this was it. My life. I didn’t want to be unemployed and homeless. I wasn’t living on the streets, having to beg to survive and sleeping on concrete under a cardboard “blanket”. But it could happen. It only needed a friend to get fed up with me and chuck me out. Then what would I do with no money and no one to help me? Panic pulsed in my chest, making me shiver. I needed help now before I ended up on the streets, an invisible statistic. So I contacted Compass, a homeless charity I’d heard about who referred me to Wrexham Foyer, a hostel for homeless 16 to 25-year-olds.

“I want to give something back and stop anyone else from becoming homeless” “You can stay here,” they told me, and showed me to my own room. I felt like jumping on the bed, I was so happy. It was £9 a week, and I smiled as I signed a sixmonth contract. At last I had a place of my own, somewhere I could call home. Now I just had to try and find a job, but how? There was a recession – who’d want me? Then someone at the hostel told me about a peer education course run by Welsh Housing Aid Ltd (known as Shelter Cymru). I went along. The course was brilliant. It taught us about the homeless system but more importantly how to relate to different people in different situations. It gave me back my confidence too. I could rebuild my life. I’m still only 21 – I can now look forward to a career and my own home. But right now I’m taking one step at a time. I want to warn other teenagers about what can happen, so I’m going to talk to them in high schools. I don’t want anyone

else to make a mistake and end up homeless like I did. I spoke at a conference in Swansea and felt proud that I could make a difference. If I stop one teenager from being homeless then I’m glad.

Lucky

I’m still going to the peer education classes every week but I’m also about to start work as a volunteer at Wrexham Maelor hospital. I want to help people and hope this is a way of gaining experience so I can become a nurse or a carer, like I’ve always dreamed. I went through a lot but I was lucky. I didn’t have to live on the streets, as some teenagers do, and I never touched drugs. I was just a normal teenager who thought she knew better. I could have easily mucked up my life, but it’s back on track now. I’m grateful I’ve been helped to turn it around and that’s why I want to give something back and stop anyone else from becoming homeless. BIG * name has been changed

What BIG did The Big Lottery Fund gave Welsh Housing Aid Ltd (known as Shelter Cymru) £169,691 from their Young People’s Fund – Reaching Out programme to help their Peer Learning project. The project recruits groups of vulnerable young people who have experienced homelessness and housing problems, and involves them in a project to increase their confidence and develop new skills.

HAPPY DAYS: Back on track


PHOTOGRAPHY: EYEIMAGERY

real life

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People’s Champion Welcome to BIG’s People’s Champion – our salute to the ordinary people who do extraordinary things. In each edition, we’ll be meeting these inspirational people who, with the help of the Big Lottery Fund, make our community a better place thanks to their selfless caring and determination

the ed bring ho help y for a new w e it h ne na W raise mo mp: Fio The Cha y together to nit commu ield f playing

WELCOME: The ne w sign welcoming visitors to the pla ying fields

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uggling life as a mother-oftwo, taking care of all the housework and working full-time might seem more than enough for most people to contend with. Nevertheless, supermum Fiona White from Carmarthenshire managed to find time in her busy schedule to do all of the above and raise over £100,000 to repair a playing field in her local community.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: KEITH MORRIS

The People’s Millions competition is back on our screens between November 23 and 26 later this year. Watch the ITV Wal es Tonight evening news programme from Monday to Thursday that week to vote for your favourite project. For more information, visit www.peoplesmillions.org.uk

EYE SPY: Fiona’s daughter takes a good look at the new park

the cooking and cleaning. In 2009, Fiona was voted Netmums’ Wales Regional Mum of the Year after she raised an incredible £104,000 in just six months to create a new children’s park for her home town. Fiona started the campaign by setting up a mother’s action group. She would get up at 5am to fire off emails and prepare presentations to show in community meetings to make people aware of the state of the park. Eventually she raised £10,000 and a fun day she organised raised a further £2,500. Fiona’s fundraising continued and through hard work and perseverance she raised another £50,000 through the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions competition in November 2008.

TIRELESS

Mum of the Year

If that wasn’t enough, Fiona from Newcastle Emlyn also decided to become a town councillor to champion and tackle issues in her community head on. A world away from the typical Hollywood celebrity mum, she achieved all this without the luxury of an army of helpers to wait on her hand and foot and do all

The one to watch!

“We worked tirelessly on this project and put our hearts and soul into it”

The King George V Playing Fields Association won the hearts of the public. Viewers voted for the project to win the grant in a closely fought head-to-head on the ITV Wales Tonight regional news programme. They have since splashed the cash on replacing redundant play equipment with a modern and safe

playground for children and young people in the town. “We worked tirelessly on this project and put our hearts and soul into it,” says Fiona. “It was so important to all of us to see the park finished and to see everybody enjoying it again. We wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay for it without

“There’s no point talking or moaning about something, you need to get on and do it” The People’s Millions grant from the Big Lottery Fund. The kids told us what they wanted and we delivered. It was like something was being done here finally.” Fiona’s daughters Teigan and Holly (aged 6 and 7) share their mum’s spirit, and worked hard handing out flyers and delivering leaflets through people’s doors. After continued campaigning and grant applications, Fiona raised another £40,000 for the park. Despite all her good work in


SPRING IN THEIR STEP: Enjoying the new facilitie s


SWING INTO ACTION: Fiona’s hard work paid off

the community, it came as a great surprise to Fiona when she found that she had won Wales’s regional mum of the year. “I have to say it’s not often that I am lost for words but that’s what happened when I heard I had won, especially as I didn’t know that my mum and husband were in cahoots and had put me forward for this award,” says Fiona.

ON A MISSION

“To win Wales’s regional mum of the year 26 |

makes me feel incredibly proud, but this award really goes to all the other mums and dads who got involved in the action group and worked tirelessly with me to raise money to refurbish the old and derelict playground. I owe a huge thank you to all of them, and my family, friends and colleagues who have helped and supported me wholeheartedly throughout this campaign.” When Fiona’s friend and fellow campaigner Sue asked what they could do about the state of the only playground in their town, it was like a red rag to a bull for Fiona and she made it her mission to get something done. “I was in the final year of my nursing degree and in the middle of writing my dissertation and working full-time shifts in the hospital when on placement. Understandably my family was concerned I was taking on too much,” recalls Fiona. ”Fortunately, they were very understanding, and my daughters Teigan and Holly really got into the spirit of things. Sheer determination and drive saw me

through and the busier we got with fundraising, the more focused I became. In the summer of 2008, I graduated with a first-class honours degree and by November, when we won The People’s Millions competition, we had finally secured all the funding we needed to complete the project.”

“I am happy to devote my time to my lovely family and my nursing career, not to mention enjoying the new playground with my beautiful daughters”

DEVOTED

Fiona is very much of the opinion that actions speak louder than words. As she cares so much about the town, she decided to became a town councillor and uses her position to do what she can for the community. “There’s no point talking or moaning about something, you need to get on and do it,” she says. “Now that the playground is completely installed, I’m already looking for a new project to help with – after all, the town desperately needs a youth centre. But for now, I am happy to devote my time to my lovely family and my nursing career, not to mention enjoying the new playground with my beautiful daughters.” BIG

Who are your People’s Champions? Is there a special someone whose flair and commitment is making your Lottery money go further and really making a lasting impact to your community? Tell us who they are and why your People’s Champion deserves a little extra credit and we’ll do our best to tell the world about them. Email: [email protected]

COUNTRY WALES issueIssue x Find 2 out Findmore out more onlineatatwww.biglotteryfund.org.uk www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | | 27 5

PHOTOGRAPHY: MEDIA WALES

SECRET MILLIONAIRE

is a BIG help

Battling with cancer: One girl’s story

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he looked just like any glamorous hair salon owner – except for the cameras following Jennifer Cheyne’s every move. But Jennifer, 56, who swept into Merthyr Tydfil to meet the local residents, was actually so moved by their stories she gave them £60,000 of her million-pound fortune. The blonde Scot – whose clients include Cherie Blair and Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson – hoodwinked everyone in the Rhondda Cynon Taf community. Jennifer told residents she was making a documentary, and many thought she was looking for a new salon to add to her hairdressing empire. In reality, she was taking part in the hit Channel 4 Secret Millionaire TV programme, where a millionaire leaves behind their life of luxury and goes undercover in a strange community to see if anything – or any projects – deserve a slice of their wealth. In her 10 days in the area, Jennifer went

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along to a writing course run by Merthyr Tydfil’s Cancer Aid.

DOWN TO EARTH

Manager Tracey Burke says: “I had no idea whatsoever. She was so down-to-earth and interested in everybody. We all took to her straight away.” Jennifer met brave teenager Clara Thompson, who is battling thyroid cancer, and spent time with the 15-year-old and her dad Steve Giles, a single father-ofthree. “Clara was a lovely little girl,” said Jennifer, who was filmed giving Clara a makeover. “She talked to me so candidly about what she’s gone through and I’d never experienced that before. “She was just so strong. She’s recently had an operation to remove her thyroid and lymph glands.” Luckily, Clara, of Penywern, has just received the news everyone was praying for – her treatment is beginning to work.

to Steve Giles with his daughters (left le Ade and e Chlo a, Clar right)

ASTOUNDED

Clara’s story was one of those that moved Jennifer – who lost her dad to lung cancer – so much she gave the charity £40,000. She then handed shocked dad Steve a cheque for £10,000. He has now booked the family’s first ever holiday – a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. BIG

What BIG did In 2007, Cancer Aid Merthyr Tydfil Ltd also received £354,314 from BIG for a project to support a greater number of people affected by cancer, enabling them to take control of their lives and their treatment. 15-year-old Clara Giles is one of the people to benefit from the project.

Jennifer cares

home Jennifer also went on day trips and ity, char l loca ther visits with ano Crossroads Caring for Carers. The charity gives full-time carers a break, provides help in the home and takes elderly people on excursions. After meeting Granville Williams, who with looks after his wife Eileen who lives ity char the e gav ifer Alzheimer’s, Jenn £10,000. ‘We were astounded and delighted,’ says Crossroads manager Yvonne Parfitt. read more overleaf


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SECRET MILLIONAIRE

is a BIG help

“I’ll never put my wife in a home” Granville Williams, 73, of Merthyr Tydfil can care for his Alzheimer’s sufferer wife Eileen at home, thanks to the BIG-funded charity Crossroads

met my wife walking home from the fish and chip shop one night. I saw her coming towards me and said: ‘Do you fancy a chip?’ She stopped, took one and gave me a kiss on the lips. I was a bit shocked, but pleased. She was very pretty. She walked off without saying anything

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UNITED: The couple have been married for over 50 years

and I hoped I’d see her again. Then the next night there was a knock on my door and a friend she worked with was holding out a note. It was from Eileen asking me to meet her down the road that night at 7pm.

WONDERFUL

That was it. We were inseparable after that. We dated for three years, were engaged for two and have been married for 50 years. She’s made me so happy all of my life. She’s a much better person than me – she’s a wonderful wife and incredible mother. She raised our three children while I worked at the steel works. She was brilliant with them, always laughing and seeing the bright side of life. Eileen loved to dance, and was a funloving, chatty girl. She always had lots of friends and was the life and soul. She’s my best friend as well as my wife.

FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE: Granville looks after his wife, Eileen

I LOVE HER SO MUCH

She’s never been ill. I was the one for that. I had both my hips replaced and couldn’t get about very well for a while. And then we went on holiday to Greece, and I noticed as she went up some steps she kept missing her footing. Then she kept missing the plate when she ate and I knew straight away it was Alzheimer’s. Her mum and sister died of it, so it was always in the back of our minds that she

on holiday HAPPY DAYS: Granville and Eileen before she became ill

might have it. I didn’t take her to the doctor for years though. She wasn’t too bad and I knew if the doctor told her outright she’d be so upset. I don’t mind looking after her. I love her so it’s an honour, especially after the wonderful years she’s given me. Luckily, Eileen deteriorated slowly but now she doesn’t know who I am and doesn’t really understand what’s going on. She likes her routine, watching TV and listening to music. I used to look after her all the time on my own and then, three years ago, a woman knocked on the door and said she was a carer from Crossroads, and had come to help me. Now they send carers to look after Eileen for a couple of hours three times a week. It means I can go food shopping, pay the bills and



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(part 2)

ON THE BALL

get all the things we need without having to worry about Eileen.

TV presenter Andrea Benfield answers some questions about the National Lottery


CARING

They are wonderful with her and it’s completely free. It helps me so much. I don’t know how I’d cope without Crossroads. They told me a woman called Jennifer was coming to make a documentary about the local people and asked if I’d meet her. I didn’t mind. She came to see me and Eileen and was very nice. She said she was impressed with the way Eileen and I communicated together. We’ve been together so long we’re like one person. I really liked talking to Jennifer and thought she was very caring. I was shocked when everyone told me later that she was making the Secret Millionaire programme and had given £10,000 to Crossroads. I knew she was a nice lady. A few days after I found out, a parcel arrived for me. Inside was a bottle of whisky and a box of Thorntons chocolates. They were from Jennifer. I shared them with Eileen. She likes a glass of whisky before going to bed. Sometimes she’ll look over at me and say: “Granville where are you?” I’ll smile and say: “Over here, love.” That’s when she tells me: “I love you.” That’s the only time she seems to remember me. It’s hard knowing those times are becoming fewer and far between. I’ll always keep Eileen here. Thanks to

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Crossroads, she’ll never have to go into a home. They are amazing. I can’t thank them enough. They mean I can keep my wife where she belongs – next to me. BIG

What BIG did

Merthyr Tydfil Crossroads was awarded £180,033 by BIG in 2004 to run the Caring for Carers project, which develops a range of services for people with dementia and their carers. The project is helping people like Granville Williams of the Gurnos, who has been married to his beloved wife, Eileen, for 50 years. She has Alzheimer’s disease and the couple are reduced to living in one room while he provides her with care.

e Fund BIG uncovers the Secret Millionair nts

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he Big Lottery Fund is working with Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire me. through our Awards for All program site web ire iona Mill ret Sec Visitors to the they ect proj ity mun com a e can nominat ery think would benefit from the Big Lott if see to Fund. We will then contact them ts gran they’re eligible for our small apply scheme, Awards for All. Or they can 32 |

directly to the programme. Gra of between £300 and £5,000 are available. Successful applicants may then be selected for filming by Channel 4 and could appear on the website. For more details visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk epage. and follow the link from the hom

Andrea is co-anchor for the flagship evening news programme Wales Tonight and the weekly arts and entertainment series, The Wales Show, for ITV Wales. Having worked with us on The People’s Millions competition, Andrea knows only too well the difference that Lottery funding can make to people’s lives.

What’s impressed you most about any Lottery-funded project you’ve visited or met? I was impressed to see how the St Anne’s Creative Learning Spaces project (People’s Millions winners last year) brought the community together, from all walks of life, to improve the school. Their drive and enthusiasm was infectious. It was great to see the children’s zest for life; many of them had grown up without a garden, so this project made a difference to their lives. If you were prime minister for the day, what would you champion as your good cause? Being fit and healthy is very important in all aspects of life, so I would make sure that all children would have the best opportunities and support available to live a long and healthy life – this would be a priority for all age groups. Do you think that the National Lottery plays an important role in improving the lives of people in communities throughout Wales? The National Lottery is an ideal way to inspire and encourage communities to

PHOTOGRAPHY: ITV Wales PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

SECRET MILLIONAIRE

apply for funding. The People’s Millions application process is accessible to everyone, and changes the lives of so many people across the UK. Do you play the Lottery? Yes – but I prefer Instants because I’m more spontaneous! Do you choose the same numbers each week and is there a pattern to them? I’m a Lucky Dip girl! What’s the biggest amount you’ve won? £10 – on an Instant. If you won would you tell your friends or keep it secret? I would tell my friends and buy champagne for them all! What would you buy first if you won the Lottery? It would have to be a Mulberry handbag and Armani shoes! What would you spend the money on if you had a big win? A red sports car – but it would have to be a convertible! If you won millions, would you give up your day job? I don’t think I would – I love meeting people and every day is very different – I don’t think I’d ever get this if I didn’t work for ITV Wales.

COUNTRY WALES Issue Issue 2x Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 33 15

real life

Applying to Heroes Return 2

HERO RETURNS

The deadline for applications is 31 January 2011. If you have any general questions about the scheme and to find out whether you are eligible, ring the or application helpline 0845 00 00 121 s@ email us at general.enquirie biglotteryfund.org.uk .uk Or visit us at www.biglotteryfund.org

on emotional pilgrimage

A young Geoffrey Gautrey as a signalman in the Royal Navy

PHOTOGRAPHY: EYE IMAGERY

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hen 19-year-old Geoffrey Gautrey landed on the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago, he was greeted with a battery of bullets and bombs as he came face-toface with the Nazi war machine. This year, Geoffrey, from Guilsfield, near Welshpool, returned to Normandy and received a warm welcome from locals, for the role he played in liberating the occupied territories of Europe from the clutches of its oppressors. When he landed in Normandy all those years ago, he knew he had to put his fear aside. The D-Day veteran was on board one of the first boats to leave the English south coast for France to take part in an operation which would ultimately lead to the end of World War Two. The 84-year-old was among the 326,547 troops who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day 6 June 1944. He returned on the 65th anniversary of Operation Overlord, which saw around 2,500 Allied troops make the ultimate sacrifice. Geoffrey’s journey over the channel 65 34 |

A World War Two veteran from Welshpool recently returned to the beaches of Normandy as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Heroes Return 2 programme years ago was brought to an abrupt halt when a storm blew up during the crossing. “We had to sit tight until we got the go-ahead from the powers that be to start the invasion,” he recalls. “By the morning of 6 June, the sea and the sky were black with ships and aircraft. The senior officer on the landing craft, myself as a signalman, a helmsman and a couple of engineers and four machiners stepped forward with all the other action going on to land these tanks, just before the first infantry soldiers went ashore. A lot of them never got off the beach after the first time. We were hit, but only superficially. It took a long while to get off the beach back through the stuff coming forward.” Before D-Day, Geoffrey had been stationed as a Royal Navy signalman at Milford Haven coastguard station. He was called up to take part in the Normandy landings at less than a day’s notice, having only just dodged death while serving aboard a minesweeper in the Bristol Channel. “We were struck by one of the mines we

Geoffrey is one of the numerous veter ans from Wales visiting places where they saw actio n during World War Two, thanks to the Heroes Return prog ramme

had been sent out to clear, and only three of us got off the boat alive,” he says. “I was sent home after being in the hospital on sick leave. I arrived home on the Friday night about 10pm, and the next morning I got up and went to the next village to see Janet, my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife of over 60 years. A telegram arrived at my own home to report back to Weymouth immediately. So Geoffrey Gautrey with his fellow crew aboard HMS Zealous off I went back to Weymouth, and found myself on this landing craft. By Sunday night, we were halfway across the channel.” What BIG did Despite the danger, Geoffrey said there was no time to let fear take over. “People often ask, ‘Weren’t you frightened?’ and I Geoffrey Gautrey is one of numerous think anyone who says they weren’t isn’t Welsh veterans to benefit from the Big Lottery Fund’s multi-million telling the whole truth. We were all anxious pound Heroes Return 2 programme. as we knew what lay ahead, but at the time The programme provides travel we had a job to do and I just got on with it grants of between £150 and £5,500 the same as everyone else.” to allow World War Two veterans, Geoffrey is proud of the role he played in their spouses, widows and carers to D-Day. “I think it’s important that we keep return to the battlefields, cemeteries these things alive, so that future and places where they saw action. generations are aware of what happened, in the hope that it never happens again.” BIG WALES Issue 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 35

BIG recipe

The average ration for a Briton during World War II (per person per week): 1lb 3oz of meat 4oz of bacon or ham 2oz of butter 3 pints of milk 2oz of margarine 2oz of lard 2oz loose tea 1 egg

2oz jam 3oz sugar 1oz cheese 3oz sweets 2lb onions Plus 16 points a month for dried and tinned food

Corned beef pie Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

Beat the ‘credit crunch’ with a war wife’s ration recipe

PHOTOGRAPHY: LEWIS JAMES HOUGHTON

We are all at war with the credit crunch on every front. Look back to the days of World War Two and take cost-cutting inspiration from an era where rationing ruled in kitchens across the land

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o deal with extreme shortages, the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing in Britain during World War Two. Each person registered with their local shops, and was provided with a ration book that contained coupons. The shopkeeper was provided with enough food for registered customers. When purchasing goods, the purchaser had to give the shopkeeper a coupon as well as money. Janet, the wife of Normandy veteran,

Geoffrey Gautrey (see previous page), shares her favourite wartime ration recipe with BIG... Corned Beef Pie. “I used to love it,” beams Janet. ”Corned Beef Pie was a real treat in those days and we had it about once every fortnight during the war. The ingredients for the recipe would use up a lot of your ration coupons, and you wanted to spread them out a bit back then.”

A small piece of fat 1 cup of shredded raw vegetables 1 cup of cold water 1 stock cube 3 rations of corned beef, cut into cubes For the pastry – 6oz flour, 3oz fat, and then one extra dessert spoon of flour

Sudoku There’s just one simple rule in Sudoku. Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9, and so must each 3 x 3 box. This is a logic puzzle, so you shouldn’t need to guess the answers!

Method

1. Melt the fat in a pan and lightly fry the vegetables.

8 7

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2. Stir in the flour and cook for a few

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3. Add one cup of cold water and the

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minutes.

crumbled stock cube and stir until thickened.

4. Take it off the heat and add the cubed meat.

5. Line a small plate with pastry and fill it with the meat mixture.

2 1

98

3 4

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2 1

98

5 43 6 7

9 8

4 5 7 6

5 6

8 4

See page 3 for solution

6. Cover with pastry and bake for 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

N.WALES Ireland Issue issue 1 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 13 37

Tân arni!

Rheilffordd Ffestiniog ac Ucheldir Cymru, Gogledd Cymru Dyfarnwyd bron i £4.3 miliwn o arian y Loteri yn 2005 i adfer yr hen gyswllt rheilffordd rhwng Caernarfon a Phorthmadog yng Ngwynedd. Gwe: www.whr.co.uk

Full steam ahead Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, North Wales The project was awarded nearly £4.3 million of Lottery funding in 2005 to re-instate the long-lost railway link between the towns of Caernarfon and Porthmadog in Gwynedd. Website: www.whr.co.uk

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WALES Issue 2 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk 39

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN RAWLINGS PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

STRAEON BYW real life