Meet the villagers

We are Kevin and Pam Wilkinson and we moved into The Old Farm the weekend of lockdown in March 2020. Unfortunately, our furniture didn’t, but as soon as people became aware of our predicament we were inundated with offers of help.

We have moved from Cambridge where we lived for the past thirty years and despite Kevin being a true Geordie, we decided that when we retired, we would move to South Wales where Pam is from originally.

Kevin previously worked as a Global Operations Director for a major pharmaceutical company and Pam was a Deputy Head of a secondary school. We have one son, Thomas who is twenty two and at university.

We fell in love with The Old Farm as soon as we saw it and we can’t believe that we have ended up in such a beautiful village. We are really looking forward to meeting people and getting involved in the community.

Hello! We are Andrew and Judith Bateson from Ochiltree Cottage.

We first moved from Surrey to North Cardiff, with our two sons, who now have their own homes and children; but for us a pretty cottage in a rural setting, nearer to the coast was a goal. Now here we are - surrounded by our roses and vegetables, living our dream.

A serious sausage, cheese and pickle eater I love live music and a good film. Judith and I can be found walking our lanes or at the Bush! I also enjoy a round of golf and I work as a Director of a Housing Association, attempting, to improve opportunities, homes and places, for others to live in.

Judith is usually smiling, laughing, helping out others, or up to something creative. She is also up for some serious DIY, and used to be an interior designer, so wave, if you discover her on the roof, or up a tree, (though you’ll probably have to help her down again!).

Love our community! Its people, the quiz, the Church, the Bush, the Telephone box, the theme and Curry nights. Figure - we’ve won the Lottery!

Hello! We are Clare and James. We moved to the village in August 2018 from Llandaff in our own escape to the country.

We both work in primary schools in Cardiff. In fact, we met in Malaysia teaching in an international school. Global travel is a shared passion of ours, however, since our son Gethin was born last year we have had fewer opportunities to get away to far flung destinations.

St Hilary is an amazing place to bring up Gethin and everyone has been friendly and welcoming.

We are Phil, Clare, Wilfred and Beatrix. We’ve moved here from London (via Wiltshire!), where we lived for a number of years, to be closer to family and enjoy a better quality of life. Phil is originally from Devon and I (Clare) am from South Wales.

Wilfie is 5 and is in Reception at Y Bont Faen and Bea is 3 and will be starting Nursery at Y Bont Faen in September.

Phil works in IT infrastructure (I don’t even pretend to understand what Phil does) and I am a solicitor by profession but currently not working. Apart, of course, from the two demanding clients I’ve retained (in the form of a 5 and 3-year-old).

We look forward to meeting each of you at some point in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future. But most of all we look forward to the pub reopening!

Hi! We are Dave and Libby Riman from Woodside.

We have a daughter, Nora, who is nearly 10 months old and a Cockapoo called Stanley.

We moved here in October 2018 from Pontcanna before commencing redevelopment work on the property throughout most of 2019. Work internally was finished just in time for Nora being born but if you walk past you will notice that work on the exterior is still ongoing!

Libby is an English teacher and head of year at Bishop of Llandaff school and I work in finance for PwC in Cardiff and hold a Trustee role at a small charity in Canton called The Friendly Trust.

We enjoy travelling and catching up with friends – both of which have been severely restricted in recent months! We did squeeze in a very well time trip to Dubai in January before Covid took hold!

We love the way the community has come together over the last few months to help each other where they could. You will more than likely see us walking around the village with Stan in tow and Nora on our back so stop us and say hi!

See you in the Bush when all this blows over!

Hi we are Chris and James, and we moved into the village in October 2018.

We both work in IT. Chris is a Head of Programmes for a technology company, and James is the Chief Operating Officer for an IT business supporting home working.

We were both born in Cardiff, and lived in Canton together for a number of years before moving to the village. We love to travel and explore the world, something clearly on hold at the moment - although we have enjoyed exploring our local area instead! Assuming the world craziness is sorted, we are getting married in Spain in 2021.

We are Alex and Jonny and we live in Fairview House with our children Ezra (4) and Maya (2). We moved to the village in 2017 from Liverpool, although Alex grew up in Cowbridge. Jonny is from Scotland and hadn't been to Wales before we met. We moved as we wanted to be closer to family and to have space for the children to roam the countryside. We also had a vision that we would be green fingered but unfortunately we seem to be untalented in that area but it still continues to be an elusive dream maybe when we have a bit more time to dedicate to it, it will come to fruition.

We both work in healthcare and when we get the chance we love walking and skiing and travelling. But I think lockdown has reinforced that the most important thing to us is being around other people. We are so pleased to be living in the village and have felt so welcome since we moved here and often wish we had more time to spend in and around home. And we hope that we can spend more time with you all when regulations and safety allows.

Hello all! We are Jayne, Neil and Lewis from Lansdowne.

We moved here last summer, having previously lived for 18 years just down the road in Bonvilston. A need for more space with a growing son prompted the move and we fell in love with the house and its garden as soon as we viewed it. It's a lovely home and we've enjoyed getting involved in village life.

Neil is originally from Dundee, works in software and electrical engineering and is an active member of the local CAMRA branch. I'm from Cardiff, work in primary schools teaching road safety and enjoy gardening.

Our son Lewis is a teenager, attends Cowbridge comp and like most of his generation, loves his Xbox. He also loves maths, a good comedy or musical and bakes a good fairy cake!

As a family, we love camping and travelling and can't wait to get back to exploring the world!