Villagers flock to enjoy soup and a roll once a week cooked up by the club’s manager – and they even get to take home any leftovers
A WEEKLY free lunch initiative run by Pentyrch Rugby Football Club has evolved into a vibrant social hub in Pentyrch village.
Villagers arrive at Pentyrch Rugby Football Club at 12 noon every Wednesday from October to March for free soup and a roll, plus chatter and table games.
The RFC does not charge for the use of the hall space, and attendees only pay £3 each week towards the cost of their tea and coffee.
“As long as we can cover staffing costs, we don’t have to make a profit and it’s not eating into the club,” club manager Leanne Howell said.
Gwaelod-y-Garth resident, Jill Stevens, has been coming for three weeks and loves the chance to socialise: “It is an occasion to see others out of the house, and I also enjoy the leek and potato soup,” she said.
Like her, many of the regulars come to the rugby club straight after the morning church service at St Catwg in Pentyrch.
Pat Phillips, from Creigiau, praised the amount of community support at Pentyrch RFC and enjoys coming to have “a natter”.
Tricia Fenlon-Jones, the former club manager of Pentyrch RFC, launched the ‘Wednesday winter warmer’ scheme two years ago.
She secured funding from Pentyrch Community Council (PCC) for the winter months to help “any vulnerable people and anybody who was a bit short financially,” said Deb Hunt, community engagement officer for the PCC.
But the weekly get-together grew so popular, they started offering toasties in the summer despite not being able to get funding for it at that time.
“It was something for people to go to, even if they were paying a couple of pounds for it,” Mrs Hunt said.
“Trish carried it on because people got used to it. My mum is one of them, she’s 84 and loves to meet up with friends. There are people there who might be a bit lonely in the house by themselves, so they go along to have a chat.”
Ms Howell buys the ingredients from Asda or Makro and dedicates four hours on one Monday per month to batch cooking four weeks’ worth of leek and potato as well as tomato soup, which she adds to the freezer.
She aims to ensure no soup goes to waste by putting leftovers in cups for villagers to take home.
“But it’s not just about coming for the soup but the social aspect,” Ms Howell said.
“I have brought my nan up once or twice – she’s 93, she loves it. It brings together a lot of people – that is important.
“It is also about checking up on people and it is knowing that they can come back,” she said.
Credit: The Cardiffian
Sixteen people regularly attend the lunch and at their fifth meet-up this winter, they hit a new record of 27 attendees. Some made the trip from Radyr and Gwaelod-y-Garth. One attendee even comes from Pontypridd.
The community also pull together to help each other get to Pentyrch RFC. “There’s people, even elderly people, who’ll go out of their way to go and pick somebody up to make sure that that person hasn’t been left out,” Mrs Hunt said.
“People find friendship,” added Mrs Hunt. “We are so very lucky to have it.”
Adrian Isaacs, clerk to the PCC, said on behalf of the PCC: “Whilst the PCC’s involvement is financial, it is important not to lose sight of the knowledge and insight into the needs of the community.”
Pentyrch RFC is one of two groups that has been awarded a grant by the PCC, alongside Pentyrch Bowling Club. It received £600 to cover the cost of buying the soup ingredients and the bread from October 2024 to March 2025.
Organisers now hope to expand the scheme to nearby villages and secure community council funding for the summer.
- The Wednesday Winter Warmer get-together takes place every week from 12 noon till 2pm at Pentyrch RFC.
- Details can be found on Pentyrch Community noticeboards, as well as the PCC, Pentyrch and Creigiau Community Facebook pages.
