Daily Archives: May 19, 2020

The People

Letters from Cardiff in lockdown: Claire Ait-Hammi, The Med Shed

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Today’s instalment for the Letters from Cardiff in lockdown series comes from Claire Ait-Hammi of The Med Shed. We’re looking for your stories, so please contribute to Letters from Cardiff in lockdown! 

One thing I am absolutely loving at the moment is getting to know our local community a lot more. Usually I am dashing to work/from work/running after the kids/working at weekends, so I am really loving being able to take leisurely walks in our local area of Penylan.

So here’s my summary of my life so far in lockdown – as a mum to Zach (nine) and Sophia (seven), wife (to Nabil), full-time employee and co-owner of a small food business.

Even though it seems we were following the spread of COVID-19 for ages, and lockdown was inevitable, it still came on a bit sudden. One minute I was in the office, Nabil was at work, the kids at school. Next minute routine was completely out the window as I enjoyed a delicious amount of free time with Nabil and the kids but was the only one who had to get up the next day to work.

Anyway after a few weeks I started to get into the rhythm of things a little bit. Nabil and I were tinkering with various projects in the house, starting painting and tidying jobs that were well overdue.

Zach and Sophia were enjoying (and still very much are), the freedom of childhood not currently bound by strict timetabling and ferrying from one extracurricular activity to the other.

Unfortunately we are not the type of people happy to tinker in the house for very long. Despite working full-time, our weekends are usually busy with events for our street food business – The Med Shed.  At first I was enjoying the freedom of evenings and weekends at home, but we quickly became bored.

We started to see fellow food businesses branch out into other ventures – including offering meals to NHS workers and offering a takeaway service.

We approached a charity based in West Wales – FeedtheNHSWales and began supplying meals to our hardworking NHS staff in Cardiff and Llandough. It can be tough coming up with suitable meals – considering reheating, presentation and flavour – but we’ve had some great feedback so far.

It certainly presented a new and exciting challenge doing bulk catering from a domestic registered premises!  Meals that we have provided so far include:

  • Poulet Roti with Pommes Lyonnaise
  • Algerian Meatballs & Couscous
  • Tchakchouka & Couscous
  • Chicken Shawarma Wraps
  • Falafel Wraps
  • Butternut Squash & Goat’s Cheese Lasagne
  • Goats Cheese & Caramelised Onion Tartlet.

Nabil is Algerian, so our street food is usually heavily influenced by North Africa, but we decided to create a Mediterranean name and theme to enable us to offer dishes from all over the Med and experiment with different cuisine.

One week in to providing meals for the NHS we got the fever and started to offer takeaway delivery service to locals on a Saturday. We usually take orders during the week and offer a Saturday night delivery. This is going very well and has certainly been a huge learning curve taking on different aspects to a food business during this time!

We have had great support from various local suppliers in helping to feed the NHS. Huge thanks goes out to The Orchard Butchers (Rumney) and C Snell Potatoes. Their generosity knows no bounds and they offer quality produce.

One thing I am absolutely loving at the moment is getting to know our local community a lot more. Usually I am dashing to work/from work/running after the kids/working at weekends, so I am really loving being able to take leisurely walks in our local area of Penylan.

Being a member of a Facebook group such as the Penylan/Cyncoed/Roath community is lovely, but it doesn’t work as well as personal interaction. We were looking forward to hopefully working with everyone at the Penylan Picnic event this year (organised by Waterloo Gardens Fete).

Last year’s event made a huge difference to our community and it was great to meet so many other locals. Hopefully next year! I’m hoping that when things start to go back to ‘normal’ (not sure I ever knew the meaning of the word!), I don’t forget our family evening walks, bike rides and chats (currently at a distance!) to other locals. As someone who has split their time as a full time employee working from home, tutor and food business owner, I never anticipated the lack of energy I sometimes have for either one thing or the other.

Can I confess something? I had big plans for home educating when all this started. I have all the resources/subscription to Twinkl/years of early education/personal tutoring, but sometimes I really can’t be bothered!

I’m often feeling torn between thinking I could (or is that should?) do more with my children; and thinking hang on! They are happy – and as long as they continue to be happy and can reintegrate when all this is over isn’t that enough? Please tell me I’m not alone in feeling this way!

So in short – I, like so many others, am just doing the best I can during this time. I won’t be taking up another language or learning a new subject (although languages is a huge passion of mine and I’ve always wanted to study forensic linguistics), because I really don’t feel like it at the moment.

However I will try my best to get to know my community of Cardiff better and try to be content with what I achieve on a day to day basis. Who else is with me?!

Follow Claire on Facebook (Claire Ait-Hammi), or check out The Med Shed and order all the goodies from them! Email The Med Shed | The Med Shed Facebook | The Med Shed Twitter | The Med Shed Instagram

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The People

Letters from Cardiff in lockdown: Katrina Rohman

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Today’s instalment for the Letters from Cardiff in lockdown series comes from Katrina Rohman. We’re looking for your stories, so please contribute to Letters from Cardiff in lockdown! 

Cardiff In Lockdown: from a woman in business to 1950s housewife

As a woman in my mid-thirties, I have created a life that I love. I have worked hard to climb the ladder, with few formal qualifications, to become a Marketing Manager in a field that I love – travel, tourism and food. My free time was spent enjoying the best the city has to offer with decadent dining and swanky events in the evenings and on weekends. As well as exploring the countryside or heritage buildings and with my partner Michael. All of that changed for me on 25 March, 2020, when I was furloughed.

I went from a busy social calendar to absolutely nothing. Like so many others, I am trying to fill my time with trying to get fit, a spot of DIY and of course making soda bread. Am I the only one that is completely fed up with this?

I don’t want to read another book or take another online self-improvement course. TV is tedious, and social media has become a bickering battlefield or is nauseatingly over-optimistic. (Don’t I sound like a grump!)

My days before lockdown were filled with meetings, reports, planning marketing campaigns and analysing how well the website, blog posts and social media was improving.

Now I clean the house from top to bottom, cooking healthy meals from scratch (something I used to love), while checking in with friends and family throughout the day. I count down the hours until Michael comes home from work. He works for the Police, and is so exhausted from arguing with people who flout the rules, that he wants to sit quietly and relax.

As I’m such a social person, this really does feel like a prison sentence to me. I wander around my cell all day, on my own. Once a day, I’m allowed to stretch my legs and walk around in circles in the neighbourhood. I also get to go out on parole, once a week, but this is only to do the food shop – something I detest anyway.

Immaculate kitchen

I completely understand that this is serious, I don’t mean to be selfish. I do not want my friends, family and colleagues to get this terrible virus or any of yours. Too many people have died, unnecessarily. I am not so naïve to believe that it’s going to go away overnight. I just need some sense of normal, even if it is moderated. However, saying that, I also don’t want the rules lifted too soon. It does need for it to be safe to do so.

I suppose after eight weeks, I just needed to have a rant and get that off my chest. Lockdown has clearly affected my mental health, and I am making adjustments to bring my wellbeing up to where it used to be. This is something I haven’t had to think about before. I have been starting the day with positive affirmations and enjoying exploring walks along the Taff Trail.

After the misery of the last few paragraphs, some things have changed for the better. People are shopping local, something I have been really passionate about for a long time. Cardiff has really changed over the last few years, fewer chain restaurants and more independent shops, and all of these seem to be thriving during lockdown. They have quickly adapted to getting their online shops up and running. Less fast fatty processed food is being consumed and fantastic fresh dinners delivered to your door. People are also cooking, baking and roasting. They realise that it doesn’t take that much time – and food tastes so much better. I hope this continues!

What have I learned from this experience?

  • We ask “How are you?”, mean it and want to hear the answer.
  • The people in your lives are everything, and your time should be invested in them.
  • Cardiff and the wider Welsh community are incredible, they support each other and local business.
  • The NHS is the heartbeat of our country, and the government now realise that more should be invested – if they will is another story. We should not be topping them up with fundraisers.
  • Our other first responders have not had enough limelight. I am giving a massive clap to the Police, Fire Service, Mountain Rescue, the Coast Guard, Paramedics, GPs and so many more that I have missed off the list.
  • I am a person who thrives on routine, it’s what keeps me focused and driven. It was something I won’t take for granted again.
  • If I am feeling motivated, I take advantage of it. If I am feeling down, I try to be kind to myself.
Soda Bread!

Katrina Rohman is a Marketing Manager in the tourism industry. She runs the website Real Girls Wobble, an award-winning lifestyle blog which looks to inspire readers with travel, food and drink, especially in Cardiff and the surrounding areas. She is a passionate cider drinker, a cooking from scratch advocate, a Cardiff City FC season ticket holder and Welsh rugby fan. Follow her on Twitter @RealGirlsWobble or on Instagram @RealGirlsWobble.

Want to write for Letters from Cardiff in lockdown? Find out how here…

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