Grangetown Community Action
The group no longer has a permanent office but will have a presence on certain days at the Grange Bowls Pavilion and the Grangetown Library Hub. It can be contacted on: grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk. A new phone number for contact and messages will be operating soon.
www.grangetowncardiff.co.uk Twitter: @grangecardiff
Formerly known as Grangetown Community Concern and it is registered as a
charity. Established in 1977.
 Diane Dowsell |
 Ken Barker |
 John Fellows |  Colin Greer |
 Tariq Awan |
 Rhys Price |
 Ashley Lister |  Steve Duffy |
 Nicola Allen |
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 2019/20:
Co-chairs: Nicola Allen and Cllr Ashley Lister
Secretary: Colin Greer
Treasurer: Ken Barker
Vice chair Tariq Awan
Publicity officer/Website: Steve Duffy
Executive committee: John Fellows, Diane Dowsell, Rhys Price, Steve Khaireh. Advisers: Cllr Lynda Thorne; Vaughan Gething AM,
Joyce Martin, David Reeves
We held our 2018/19 AGM on May 22nd 2019 at the Grangetown Hyb.
Out of this world for 2019 festival
There was a fantastic turn-out at Grange Gardens for the annual Grangetown Festival fete day and carnival.
The weather turned out better than many had anticpated for much of the afternoon, as hundreds enjoyed activities, live music, rides and a record-number of stalls.
The event - which has been organised by Grangetown Community Action since 1978 - reflects the diverse neighbourhood and is enjoyed by all ages.
This year's fancy dress parade saw schools following a space theme, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing next month. Techniquest and Cardiff University's astronomy department also put on science activities.
There was also an open mic slot in the bandstand, while performers included local bands Art Bandini, Spring To Life and grime artists BWritten and Sonny Double.
Grangetown Youth Forum were presented with the annual Joan Gallagher award for contributions to the community by Stephen Doughty MP.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped on the day, those stall-holders who supported the event and special thanks to Lynne Thomas of Cardiff University's Community Gateway.
Community awards for youth forum and girls' football coach
The annual Joan Gallagher award for community champions was awarded to the Grangetown Youth Forum, while football coach Ayah Abdul was presented with a commendation.
The awards were presented at Grangetown Festival by Cardiff South and Penarth MP Stephen Doughty. They are made every year in memory of Mrs Gallagher, who was a long-serving member of Grangetown Community Action and a former councillor.
The Grangetown Youth Forum is made up of diverse young people from Grangetown who come together weekly at the Grange Pavilion and recently during the new development in the grounds of Grange Gardens. They are aged from 14 years old to 20 and are called upon to support the numerous events and activities that take place in the community.
A recent example is the Grangetown Community Iftar where up to 10 members of the forum supported the street market team with setting up gazebos, tables and chairs for the local businesses to display their goods and services they then helped to collect food from local businesses to set up for the well attended iftar. The forum members then helped take down the market stalls and tidy up afterwards.
At a time when there is so much negativity towards young people the Grangetown Youth Forum members are a credit to the community of Grangetown and rise to the occasion to demonstrate that they are not representative of the stereotype of the small minority letting the community down and often get the attention.
The older Grangetown Youth Forum members are also responsible for volunteering at the numerous weekly activities that regularly taking place in Grange Gardens from football, cricket, tennis and rugby.
Local youth leader Ali Abdi said of the award: "It's vitally important that we recognise young people like those involved in the Grangetown Youth Forum so that their contributions are infectious and rub off on other young people in Grangetown to also get involved in volunteering and making Grangetown an even better place for all residents".
Meanwhile, Ayah Abdul (pictured above left) earned a commendation as an "unsung hero of the local community".
In her nomination, Ayah was described as a "real role model," who coaches up to 40 girls every Monday on the Grange Gardens 3G Astro. For girls from BAME backgrounds especially from the Muslim community they are often stereotyped and categorised as the least engaged in sports and physical activity and hence later prone to all sorts of health issues like diabetes and obesity.
Ayah, a former pupil at Fitzalan High School, lives in Grangetown and has inspired the next generation of young women and girls to partake in sports and not have to see their their appearance or clothing as a barrier. Many attend the sessions wearing headscarfs and other faith related and modest garments.
ITV Wales recently featured the Girls-Only Football project, supported by Community Gateway, and delivered very much by Ayah Abdul with additional wrap-around support by Cardiff City Foundation, Street Games Wales and the Welsh Football Trust.
Chair's annual report, 2018/19
I would like to thank members of Grangetown Community Action for allowing me to serve as chair but most importantly for the incredible amount of support offered in the last year.
It is the commitment, activism and passion that you all display towards the group and its activities which mean GCA continues way past its 40th anniversary.
We continue to grow with fresh ideas, expanding activities and events and hopefully a growing interest in community activism from strength to strength.
June 2018 saw a successful, if albeit rainy, Festival; a community ifthar with food donated by various local businesses shared between Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The profile of Grangetown News has gone from strength to strength, with the efforts of Steve and Bruce recognised in March with a community news nomination at the Wales Media Awards. The paper and online presence continues to thrive.
Our role in supporting others to deliver activities and projects has also shown its worth, with GCA acting as the host or applicant for funded projects. I am truly proud that we have engaged with children, young people in educational projects.
Also as representative of GCA on the Grange Pavilion CIO, we continue to support the developmet of this brand new community asset/venue, run for and by the community, with the fantastic support of various organisations and residents but notably Cardiff University's community gateway programme.
I certainly look forward, fingers crossed, for the 2020 AGM to be held in the new building.
Here's to a bigger 2019/20!
Ashley Lister, April 2019
Grangetown News, Summer 2018
Grangetown News, Winter 2017/18
The latest copy of Grangetown News was published in December 2018 - ideas and contributions are welcome in the meantime for the summer edition 2019. And advertising enquiries. Email: grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk. The paper is entirely produced by volunteers - and 6,500 copies are printed and delivered to homes and local businesses.
Grangetown News, Spring 2017
Grangetown News, Spring 2016
2019 projects
Ongoing activities for the rest of the year include:
- Organising Community Safety Week
- Producing Grangetown News (due to be published late summer)
- Putting together a project team to plan the 2020 Grangetown Festival
- Working with Cardiff Business School and Community Gateway on the Shop Local/Local Business project, which includes developing a business forum idea and planning for a more regular craft/clothing market in 2020
If you would like to volunteer for the committee or to help with any of the projects, please email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
| About us
Grangetown Community Concern
was set up in 1977 to act as an umbrella group for other voluntary
organisations in the area.
Originally, its aims and objectives were to provide
and encourage services for all age groups, with a particular focus
on the elderly.
The organisation was based from
1985 in the Clydach Street day centre before it had a temporary home
in the Buzz Café in Penarth Road. It moved to the new Grangetown library
in 2006 but after the building's renovation in 2015. The group is now working partly out of the Grangetown Hub but hopefully eventually out of the renovated Grange Pavilion.
For a number of years, GCC organised a daily lunch club for the
elderly, as well as special lunches at Christmas and on May Day,
when there was coach trip. Due to dwindling numbers, GCC in 2014
decided to refocus and re-think some activities.
After more than 35 years, the organisation relaunched as Grangetown
Community Action. It decided to continue with organising the week-long
Grangetown Festival in June, including an open-air service,
a schools sports afternoon at Leckwith stadium, culminating in a
parade through Grangetown and a carnival and fete at Grange Gardens.
We encourage local groups and schools to participate during the
week. The event started in 1978 as a one-off carnival day but expanded
to a week-long series of activities in 1983.
We also have this community website, www.grangetowncardiff.co.uk
which has also been developing on social media.
Twice a year, Grangetown Community Concern produces a local
newspaper, which is delivered to thousands of homes in Grangetown
and neighbouring Butetown. This has been produced since 1978. It
contains local news articles about the community, from local schools,
churches and other organisations. The long-running publication is
dependent on funding from advertising by supportive local businesses
to keep going. In 2016, it relaunched as a newspaper for the first time, with a group of local residents and students helping to produce it.
Grangetown Community Concern was the first group in Cardiff to
receive the prestigious Queen's Golden Jubilee Award. The
group was one of only 12 across Wales and 200 in the UK to be honoured
in this way, as part of the celebrations of the Queen's 50 years
on the throne. Group chairman Chris Lomax and administrator Christine
Davies were invited to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in July
2003 to mark the award. "It's a great honour for the whole area,
we're delighted," said Mrs Davies, who said the group can use the
crown symbol on all its publicity. The award, presented by the Lord
Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, highlights community-focused voluntary
activities "of a very high quality, that have generated a high level
of goodwill and respect amongst those they serve."
The group was relaunched as Grangetown Community Action in 2014. It has been involved in several projects, including being a partner in Keep Grangetown Tidy and in the Grange Pavilion project; it is also working with Cardiff University's Business School on setting up a shop local and local business forum.
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Group mourns loss of long standing members
Chris at the Grangetown Carnival and Festival, which he helped organise every year
Grangetown Community Action is mourning the loss of two of its long-standing committee members, who both died on the same day.
Councillor Chris Lomax, who died suddenly at home on Friday 16th September 2016, aged 73, was the long-standing chair of Grangetown Community Action (previously Grangetown Community Concern). A champion of local causes, especially involving the elderly, Chris was also at the helm in a difficult transition in the wake of city-wide financial cuts as the voluntary group looked to become more project-focused in recent years.
Vice chair Hazel Ball, 74, died peacefully in hospital, where she had been for a few weeks after being taken ill while away in the south of England. She was also on the committee of Grange Conservatives for many years and chairman of its Ladies Friday Club.
Warm tributes were paid to both. Chris remained a dedicated and hard-working Labour councillor despite recent ill-health and attended the council's planning committee earlier this week. He was taken ill again on Thursday, shortly before GCA's AGM was due to take place.
On a personal level, Chris was friendly, warm and cheerful, always very approachable to residents. He chaired GCA meetings with a light touch and the ability to listen to others, but was always forceful and passionate about the causes he believed in - and certainly battled in Grangetown's corner when it was needed.
He didn't wallow in the past either and knew when it was time for Community Concern to move with the times, with a new name and taking the best of the old while embracing the new; he welcomed and encouraged new blood - and took on board new technology himself (his laptop and was even getting the hang of Twitter).
Over the last couple of years Chris would have taken quiet satisfaction and some pride in seeing his grandson Ashley work alongside him as secretary of the group and start to make his own impact locally.
Cardiff South and Penarth MP Stephen Doughty (pictured above with Chris at the 2015 Grangetown Festival) said: "Devastated today to hear of death of friend and local Labour colleague Cllr Chris Lomax. Thoughts and prayers with all family and friends."
Fellow Grangetown councillors also paid tribute. Ashley Govier said Chris had "fulfilled his dream in representing Grangetown. He will be sorely missed by us all". Lynda Thorne praised his dedication and said he was "so proud of being a councillor and representing Grangetown".
Council leader Phil Bale said he worked "incredibly hard" but also paid tribute to the "great family man." Fellow Labour councillor Sarah Merry called him "a warm lovely man who cared so much about his area," while Gretta Marshall called him a "true gentleman."
Lib Dem councillor Joe Boyle added: "In all my dealings with him, he was a kind, decent and gentle man".
Plaid Cymru postponed local election campaigning for the weekend with local candidate Dafydd Trystan saying: "Very sad to hear the news about Chris Lomax. A great servant to the Grangetown community - my condolences to all his family and friends."
Sad news about Chris Lomax whose heart and soul was in Grangetown
— GLHS (@GLHS1) September 16, 2016
Sad to hear the passing of Grangetown's Cllr.Lomax, top bloke always cheerful my thoughts are with @AshL93 & Family! https://t.co/u75HruZzZ7
— A L ! A B D ! (@AliAbdi_) September 16, 2016
Terrible news re Cllr Chris Lomax. I sit with him on planning & @GlamArchives. We were always chatting, espec re motor sport. I'll miss him.
— Adrian Robson (@Adrian1Robson) September 16, 2016
Grandson Ashley Lister, secretary of Grangetown Community Action, paid an especially moving tribute saying he was "my grandfather, my councillor, my mentor but most importantly, my friend."
Thank you all for your kind comments after the passing of my Grandfather, Cllr Chris Lomax. He was a wonderful man pic.twitter.com/iFRgKEnTkS
— Ashley Lister (@AshL93) September 16, 2016
Although Chris was born in Tenby, he spent most of his life in Grangetown, which was etched into his soul. He went to the old Cardiff College of Food Technology and worked as a baker for many years, including for Avana in Grangetown. He also spent six years as a milkman and also in procurement for the local health trust at the Heath before his retirement. He had been an active member of the Labour Party since the 1970s and a trade union member since the 1960s. Condolences to his children and grandchildren. His wife Lorraine had died in 2005. He leaves two daughters, a son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Hazel - pictured in the GCA tent at the Grangetown Festival in June
Hazel Ball - who leaves a son and a daughter - had also been extremely active in the Grangetown community.
Friend and fellow committee member at GCA Dianne Dowsell said: "Hazel was a collector of people. She didn't think that people should be lonely or unhappy so tried to get everyone to join in - organising coach trips to give us all a great day out and other get-togethers.
"A few months ago she met The Bishop of Llandaff who asked 'And what Church do you belong to my dear?' 'All of them,' said Hazel. 'I'm hedging my bets!' But she did, whereever there was a 'do' - morning coffee at St Pauls, Ebernezer for the Wednesday prayer meeting and The Salvation Army on Thursday or whenever needed. And that's the key word - needed."
"I bet you all have your stories of her. To me she was a very special friend who I will miss forever and I'm so glad our paths crossed. She passed away peacefully and leaves a son Ian and a daughter Sue - also many, many friends."
Hazel (second left) with Dianne and other helpers after a Christmas lunch for local pensioners
Fellow committee member Steve Duffy said: "It's been a shock to lose two people who were the heart of the group for so many years. Hazel rarely missed a meeting or event and was always there helping at pensioners' lunches and the festival especially. She was a lovely lady with a twinkle in her eye and a dry sense of humour. Chris fought hard for Grangetown while always willing to listen and welcoming to a variety of voices. He was also kind and a proper gentleman."
| Award remembers Joan Gallagher, a "force for good" at the heart of Grangetown
Joan was a prominent member of Grangetown Community Concern - as it was then called - from when
it started in 1977, and only in recent months before her death had stood down from
editing the Grange News community newspaper after an involvement
stretching three decades. Over her long association, she had also
served as chairman, vice chairman - every position except treasurer.
She had continued to be very active in all aspects of the organisation's
work and her indefatigable spirit remained at the heart of it; she
was still involved in helping to organise GCC events such as pensioners'
lunches, trips and the annual carnival week. Joan's many years of
dedication to Grangetown was rewarded with an MBE in 2004. She also
served as a Labour councillor in Cardiff for 12 years - both with
Cardiff City Council and South Glamorgan County Council before local
government reorganisation. She was also dedicated to the scout movement
both in Cardiff and Scotland, a family tradition which was inherited
by her daughter Christine, who is also administrator at GCC. Joan
was treasurer of the 13th Cardiff Scout troop. Joan was also involved
in other organisations, including the local food co-up.
Joan, a mother of six children - Christine, Susan, David, John,
Patricia and Brian - died at home suddenly on 27th September. She
left nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and many
friends in the Grangetown community, which she served. Daughter
Christine said: "She was always there for all of us - she'll be
very much missed".
Joan spent most of her life in her native Cardiff, apart from
a period from 1955 to 1969, when she and her late husband Hugh,
a civil engineer, lived in his native Scotland. The couple had married
in 1946.
In 2008, when celebrating 30 years of the festival and the community paper, Joan reflected: “The most important thing about Grangetown is its community spirit. To us, Grangetown is like a village in the city. We’re enclosed by the rivers Taff and Ely, the railway and its bridges – it makes us slightly isolated.” Joan said she encountered that "unique" spirit during the war. “In 1943, I worked for a credit drapery in the town centre and had to collect on my bicycle in the evenings during the blackout. In Butetown and Grangetown, the people there were always the best payers. And you’d know where you could stop for a cup of tea!” Chris Lomax, chairman of Grangetown Community Concern, said at the time: "Joan
was like a mother to us all."
"She just kept us going and with all the activities, she was always
there to guide us, as well as being an incredible example to all
the old fogeys! Her heart was Grangetown and I hope that energy
is still beating for Grangetown in the future. She will be sadly
missed and never forgotten for what she contributed to the area
and for her many friends."
>Among
tributes was one from Alun Michael, Cardiff South and Penarth MP,
who had served with Joan on Cardiff Council, where he said her greatest
contribution was "nurturing the area’s community spirit during good
times and bad". He called her "a constant force for good and for
engagement" in the community.
Mr Michael added: "The MBE was a formal recognition of Joan’s
work, but it’s the fact that everyone associates Grangetown’s community
spirit with Joan’s efforts through the decades that is the real
recognition. It’s a simple fact that Grangetown – and Cardiff as
a city – will be the poorer for Joan’s passing but of course the
real loss will be for the family. Although with such an extended
family – including a large number of great-grandchildren – there
is certainty that she will always be remembered and that others
will carry on her work".
Carol Bartlett, of Grangetown Nursery School, called her a "truly
inspiring lady who worked so hard for the good of the community".
Zena Mabbs, chair of Grangetown Local History Society said members
also wanted to express their sincere condolences to Joan's family.
"Her presence will be sadly missed by all those who loved her
and also by the community of Grangetown who benefited from her wonderful
contributions of time, caring and concern over so many years,"
she said.
Father Ben Andrews told the hundreds who mourned her at her funeral
at St Paul's in Grangetown that her heart had always been in the
community and in the "very many organisations" she served, as well
as being sorely missed by her large family. Her grandaugter Tracey
told the congregation about her Nan, how she loved to socialise,
enjoyed a joke and their weekly shopping trip.
Grangetown Community Concern has established an award in memory
of Joan, to be awarded annually to someone living or working in
Grangetown who has made an outstanding contribution whether in work,
school, an organisation or generally in the community. DETAILS OF THE JOAN GALLAGHER AWARD AND HOW
TO NOMINATE
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Grangetown
Community Action remembers with an award the organisation's long-serving and much-loved
secretary Joan Gallagher MBE, who died at the age of 85 in September 2010.
'Selfless servant' gets community award
Halimah Islam, who has been running a homework club for local children for the last 19 years, was given the 2017 Joan Gallagher memorial award for her contribution to the local community.
Mrs Islam has been running the Saturday elementary school called Al-islah (meaning "guidance") for three hours per week as a volunteer. It started in portable buildings before moving to Channel View and more recently has been operating from the Grange Pavilion.
The idea behind the club was to build up the confidence of local BME community children offering them cultural studies through the medium of arts, crafts, books and social interaction in informal class settings.
As it progressed, Al-Islah organisers realised that children also needed assistance to improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills to catch up with national standards, so additional volunteers were recruited to offer children the support they needed.
At its peak, up to 85 children have attended.
The nomination for the award called her a "true community champion," who had "selflessly served" Grangetown. It added: "Mrs Islam has been an incredible asset and a symbol of inspiration for the women of the BME community who are often very difficult to engage with. She has been offering her time, skills, dedication and often paying money from her own pocket to purchase the learning materials, when certain parents find it difficult to pay the minimal fee. She has taught and inspired all my three children to gain the cultural awareness and the confidence to do well at school."
The award was presented at Grangetown Festival by Cardiff South and Penarth AM Vaughan Gething to Mrs Islam, accompanied by her sister, who also helps with the club.
Photos from past Grange festivals
2018 Festival beats the weather
Despite a mixed day as far as the weather was concerned, we had a good attendance. This year's parade theme was myths and legends - and thankfully the showers kept away for the children's march along Corporation Road to the park! We had a fair few wizards and fairies, as well as Robin Hood - and an imaginative Grangetown Whale from Ninian Park pupils.
Photos from the day - click on the smaller images for larger versions.
Pictures of the 2017 Grangetown Festival
Click on the images above for larger versions
Earlier festivals
