Rhiwbina Living Issue 50

Scarecrows take Rhiwbina by
storm in place of festival
Rhiwbina may have missed its annual
Summer Festival this year but a local
trader was determined not to let the
community spirit succumb to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Local business Word of Mouth
Maintenance launched a Scarecrow
Walk instead to bring the community
together and help support local
businesses.
Word of Mouth Maintenance owner
Adrian McGrath told Rhiwbina Living:
“The annual Summer Festival is a
huge community gathering with lots
of local businesses and residents
coming together to share happy
and fun times. We were keen not to
lose that occasion, just because we
couldn't celebrate in the usual way.
Here at Word of Mouth Maintenance,
we wanted to do something
that brought people together
and involved both residents and
businesses.”
Adrian usually carries out work for
Rhiwbina residents or businesses,
and as a gesture of appreciation to
the community, he donates money
to the Rhiwbina Summer and
Christmas Festivals.
“We could see that many people
were out taking daily walks as part
of their lockdown exercise plan so
we thought that a fun and happy
sighting, while out on a walk,
would be a good idea – hence the
Scarecrow Walk was pitched to the
Rhiwbina Events Team and they
agreed to run it. Word of Mouth
Maintenance provided the prize
money and Worzel Marmaduke
Oscar McGrath was created the
following weekend – he was the
brand ambassador!” said Adrian.
The Scarecrow Walk was officially
launched on 8th July and came to its
exciting conclusion in early August.
Rhiwbina residents (including
Pantmawr and Pantbach) were
encouraged to participate by placing
a homemade scarecrow in their front
garden and registering this via the
Rhiwbina Festival Team Facebook
page. The competition was decided
by a public vote.
Three winners were announced
as Strictly Come Dancing (Heol-y-
Deri), Worzel Scrummage (Heol-y-
Deri) and Gareth Bale (Lon Isa). The
winning scarecrows each received a
£50 scarecrow voucher to spend with
any of the Rhiwbina businesses.
20mph limits imposed
Rhiwbina has become the latest part
of Cardiff to be designated a 20mph
zone.
Road markings were painted onto
the streets of the village in early
August, and it is hoped that the
scheme will make the roads safer.
The First Minister Mark Drakeford
argued last year that the
implementation of 20mph limits on
residential roads would result in a
reduction in the speed of traffic and,
in turn, a lower accident rate.
A Department of Transport study
in 2018 revealed that on average,
86% of drivers break 20mph speed
limits. Trials have been taking pace in
Cardiff over the last two years.
news
Squirrels Vice
Chair steps down
Rhiwbina RFC has experienced
a monumental change in their
Senior Section both on and off
the field over the past decade.
This includes promotions, cup
wins, finals appearances, and
significant player and coach
development. In addition,
the development of new
infrastructure and improved
facilities have also been realised.
During this period, one man has
been a significant leader of the
process – David Hobbs.
The Vice Chairman has been
a member for over 25 years
and has been intrinsically
linked to the club’s continuous
improvement. This takes skill,
knowledge, determination but
also a serious amount of effort
and time and, in Hobbsy’s case, a
lot of bare-faced cheek!
Going forward, David has
decided that he wants to take a
step back from his current frontline
rugby role and concentrate
on other club activities, such as
fundraising and continuing the
#7-77 model. To this end, he
is stepping down from his role
as Vice Chairman of the Senior
Section and will be taking up a
new offline role on the Executive
Team.
This will provide an optimisation
of his time in other areas. From
change comes opportunity
and, in the near future, the club
hopes to appoint an existing club
member or associate to continue
the amazing work Dave has
undertaken.
"The Club wishes to recognise
and thank Dave for the incredible
work and dedication he has
shown to Rhiwbina RFC as a
volunteer over the last two
decades and we are excited to
see the impact he makes in his
new areas of interest," said a
spokesman.
3