Photographer Jess Ventura has been wandering around the markets of Cardiff taking some snaps for us. She’s hit Riverside, Roath, Rhiwbina and Queen Street Market so far. Are there any other markets in Cardiff you think we should get ourselves along to? Let us know in the comments!
More information:
Oliver Hurley has recently put together a book about the pubs in Cardiff. He takes some time to chew the pork scratchings with us over the pubs of Cardiff. Want to find out his recommended pub for an apocalash? Or the best pub garden in the city? Read on!
Q. How did you end up in Cardiff? Are you born local or a transplant from another dimension?
I grew up in the Forest of Dean, which I think it’s fair to consider as another dimension. I went to uni in Treforest and then moved to Cathays when I graduated. I live just outside Bristol now but I’m back in Cardiff all the time for gigs, nights out and general shenanigans.
Q. Tell us about your blog, Pint of 45. We Are Cardiff has been a fan of the blog for some time now. How did it come about?
I do the blog with my friend Phil, who takes the photos – he took all the shots for A Drinker’s Guide to Cardiff as well. We were on a boozy night out in Hamburg (this is how most of my anecdotes begin) but didn’t really know which bars to go to. Which gave us the idea for doing some sort of online drinker’s guide that provided a snapshot of a particular city’s drinking dens. Cardiff seemed the obvious choice as it’s where Phil lives, I’m generally in Cardiff a lot anyway, and there are plenty of pubs and bars to cover. The first post, Barocco, was in August 2008 and we’ve covered about 120 places since. I don’t write reviews as such – the posts are more along the lines of subjective, first-person accounts with some stupid jokes thrown in. We approached Graffeg to see if they’d be interested in putting out a book version of the blog. They seemed to like the idea and A Drinker’s Guide to Cardiff is the end result.
Q. The million dollar question… What’s your favourite Cardiff pub for a drink?
I tend to go through phases of liking different places but at the moment I’d probably have to say Urban Tap House for an early evening pint (although, admittedly, it’s more hipster-bar than pub but there you go), and then Dempseys for a full-on late-night apocalash.
Q. What’s your favourite Cardiff pub for food?
Well, as anyone who’s having a proper session knows, eating is cheating (2am visits to Chippy Lane notwithstanding). That said, I’m quite partial to the wild boar and chorizo burger in Wellingtons, even though they’ve got that infuriating habit of serving food on wooden boards. Why anyone thinks balancing a burger and a punnet of chips on a chopping board covered in greaseproof paper is in any way preferable to using a plate is utterly beyond me.
Q. What’s your favourite Cardiff pub for the ‘ambience’?
Hmmm… I suppose it depends what sort of ‘ambience’ you’re after. I’m going to say the Queen’s Vaults on Westgate Street due to the simple fact that it’s got a brilliant jukebox.
Q. Have you had any adventures in pubs during the course of writing your blog? Anything weird or wonderful happen anywhere?
Probably the most memorable incident was our visit to the Canton Cross Vaults, when a member of the bar staff followed us outside and accused us of being undercover police officers. To this day, I’m still not entirely convinced they believed our explanation when we told them we were just taking photos for a humorous pubs blog. Oh, and we’ve also come across a wake for someone who wasn’t dead and been sworn at by a parrot.
Q. Have you got a favourite Cardiff pub that doesn’t exist anymore?
Yeah, I used to love The Philharmonic at the bottom of St Mary Street. It seems a shame that it’s just been left empty for years.
Q. What’s your favourite place for breakfast in Cardiff?
Probably Garlands in Duke Street Arcade. The staff are really friendly and they do a fantastic fry-up – although it’s a shame they don’t put the baked beans in little ramekins any more. I always thought that was a nice touch.
Q. Tell us a hidden part of Cardiff that you love.
I love the unlikely beer gardens that are hidden around various parts of Cardiff. One of my favourites, which is in the book, is the outside area tucked behind Milgi on City Road. You’d never know it from the front but round the back is a beer garden that houses a massive disco ball-equipped yurt.
Q. What was the last book you read?
Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York by Gail Parent.
Q. Tell us a secret.
As a child, I once won a knobbly knees competition.
***
Oliver Hurley could be loosely described as a writer and journalist. His new book, A Drinker’s Guide to Cardiff, has just been published by Graffeg and he also provides the words for Cardiff pubs blog Pint of 45. He currently works for an interiors magazine, which may explain his fixation with lampshades, and he has also written a book on professional wrestling. But that’s another story.
A Drinker’s Guide to Cardiff is available now
Today’s Cardiff geography comes from long time friend of the blog and one time Cardiffian, poet Bill Trub. If you’re in the Cardiff area TONIGHT MONDAY 14 JULY 2014, he will be doing a poetry reading at 7pm in Gwdhiw. So get down there!
Q. Tell us about yourself
Bill Trub. I’m not great at this which must be why my online dating profile gets little action.
I’m a 32-year-old American writer and wanderer. I’m currently on a UK tour of my debut book of poems, All Men Are Afraid (Cinnamon Press). It took me ten years to write and get it published, so I’m really savouring sharing the poems with friends and strangers around England and Wales. The book’s a beer-soaked romp through the world, a collection of bizarre, stray underdogs trying to break through, a tangle of dysfunctional relationships, a call to readers to reexamine gender identity. It’s an awful anniversary gift, but great for your weird friend’s birthday. If you don’t have a weird friend, you’re the weird friend so you can buy it for yourself. When I’m not reading to adults, I am a lecturer of English at a university in China.
Q. Explain your Cardiff connection
In 2003, I booked a one-way flight, packed two suitcases and moved to a mythical, dragon-protected place called Cymru. I didn’t know anyone in all of the UK and didn’t know what to expect, but I remember being confident in the decision. I enrolled in an MA at Cardiff University and became very comfortable very quickly. I was a brash, young kid in a brash, young capital with a castle zonked down in the middle of it. By day, I was in creative writing seminars with poets and novelists from all over the world. By night, I was dancing to the pulse of St. Mary’s or Womanby Street. Weekends, you could find my on cliff’s edge in the Gower, exploring Brecon or eating hummus in Bute Park. Even though Cardiff is no longer my full-time home, I packed part of it with me when I left.
Q. What’s your favourite food?
Cold sandwiches… A chicken and bacon baguette with butter and salad. Pita and hummus. Tomato, pesto and mozzarella wrap. Chicken tikka on a bun. Salt bagel and cream cheese.
Q. What book are you currently reading?
‘Telling Tales’ by Patience Agbabi. It’s a reworking of Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’, set in modern Britain. Agbabi has accomplished something brilliant and important with this book. I saw her performance of it last month in Rochester Cathedral and was gob smacked. There’s even a poem about Cardiff.
Q. Last film you watched
I’m tempted to lie and say a really cool indie flick, but honesty is my biggest flaw. I watched We Are the Millers at my friend’s house last week. It was actually really funny. When Jason Sudekis’ character encourages his faux son to give a Mexican cop a blow job by saying, “Just pretend it’s a girl’s penis,” I couldn’t stop laughing. I’m laughing now. Also, it has Nick Offerman in it and he is the man.
Q. Current favourite band
I’m listening to Little Dragon quite a lot on long bus, train and plane rides. I dig their songs “Paris” and “Pretty Girls” but the whole Nabuma Rubberband album is solid. Generally, I like music with a unique female vocal and strange beats. Think Bjork, Portishead, MIA, Santigold, Morcheeba, Tori Amos, Missy Elliott, Aluna George, Roisin Murphy, Robyn, Nelly Furtado.
Q. Tell us a secret
I’ve been living out of a backpack for the last five weeks. I didn’t have anything to wear to my book reading and signing tonight (Monday, July 14, Gwdihw Bar, 7pm) so rather than do laundry and iron, I just bought more clothes at a shop on Queen Street.
Thanks Bill! Hope to see some of you tonight. In the meantime, here’s some more info about him …
Facebook.com/billtrub
Twitter.com/allmenareafraid
Purchase All Men Are Afraid
(Photo by Nathan William Meyer 2014)
In today’s personal geography, we speak to Dan Barnett of Cardiff band Samoans, who have recently released ace new record Rescue. If you live in Cardiff, order the vinyl and you may even get it hand delivered to your door by a member of the band! Read on for Dan’s map of the city!
Q. Tell us about your band! Where can people see you play soon, are there records they can buy, etc….
I’ve been in Samoans since 2008. It all started when Calvin (our bassist) crashed a party at my house. We instantly hit it off and within about a month decided to start a band together. We haven’t looked back. It’s been a good sixe years now and I can’t believe we’re only releasing our debut album now!
But that is one of the great things about being in the band. We always set out to do things our way and not be pressured in to releasing music for the sake of it. Being realistic about being in a band has been integral to us and we all still work full time jobs as I know all our other musician friends do to.
We’ve achieved a good amount, being championed by BBC Introducing to play Reading & Leeds Festival in 2012 was a big highlight. We’ve also played with some of our favourite bands like Los Campesinos!, And So I Watch You From Afar and Minus The Bear.
This year we were awarded funding through Arts Council Wales which has helped us loads in promoting our album, Rescue, which is out on 14th July on 12” vinyl and download. I’m pretty excited to finally have a release on vinyl as me and my dad used to sit around for hours listening to his records when I was growing up.
The line-up we have now is the best we’ve had so far. In 2012 we enlisted our friend Chris Rouse who was playing drums for another band who we’d played with a few times called Hold Your Horse Is. We were drummerless and he posted up online that he was looking to play drums for some other bands. It seems like fate was on our side. We took the decision to bring in Oli Miles on guitar after we had recorded the album last year. It made total sense as the sound we have adopted is more expansive than our previous material and he’s also better at playing guitar than I am!
You can listen to and buy any of our releases from samoanstheband.bandcamp.com.
Q. Are you Cardiff born and Cardiff bred? If not, how did you get here?
I was born in Bridgend in February 1984 as my parents had moved from Whitchurch in Cardiff to Brynna, near Llantrisant. My dad was Bristol-born but had moved to Cardiff when he was young and my mother was born at her family home on Velindra Road in Whitchurch. So I’ve always had strong ties to Cardiff since I was a child.
My mother is one of fourteen children so there were always plenty of visits, especially to Heath where I used to spend a lot of time with my cousins. The one thing that always springs to mind when I’m on Whitchurch road heading towards Gabalfa is a piece of graffiti that was drawn on a wall opposite the school. It was a huge illustration of a newsreader with a speech bubble that read, ‘hello, good evening and b*****ks’. I think that piece of graffiti pretty much set the tone for my sense of humour and it stayed there for years until it weathered away which I’m gutted about.
When I was four, my parents moved us to Caerphilly to be closer to my dad’s work at a sawmill in Senghennydd that was built on the top of the old coal mine. Growing up I always felt that I wanted to leave the town though and university gave me that opportunity. I was accepted in to Cardiff University to study Welsh and Ancient History in 2002 and have pretty much been based in Cardiff ever since.
Q. What local bands would you tip for people to go watch?
Kutosis are probably my favourite Cardiff band. I used to live with two of them so it may seem a bit biased, but in all fairness they are great songwriters and excellent people!
I would also say to check out my friend Jimmy’s band The Epicdemics. A little bit of me died when Strange News From Another Star stopped but I was chuffed to see Jimmy form this band with Julia from Future of The Left and Bernie from Right Hand Left Hand. Jimmy is a true talent!
Finally I’d tell everyone to go watch Right Hand Left Hand. They do the business!
Q. What neighbourhood do you live in? What’s it like there?
I currently live in Splott, which gets pretty bad rep. It feels like Splott gets a little forgotten by the council in all honesty. The amount litter and dog mess on the streets is insane. I don’t think the council do enough in our area to promote keeping the streets clean or changing people’s attitudes.
Q. Fav Cardiff venue?
Hands down has to be Clwb Ifor Bach. I’ve seen some of my all-time favourite shows in that venue.
Q. Fav Cardiff eatery?
There’s too many places for me to choose just one, so here are a few!
– Fresh in Royal Arcade makes a mean sandwich. Gareth & Co are always friendly and I always walk away satisfied.
– Lilo’s on City Road does some amazing mezza, falafel and sea bass and the juices are great!
– Tenkaichi on City Road do a great tekka don and spider maki
– Canteen on Clifton Street is always interesting as they mix up the menu frequently and cater for mainly vegetarian meals.
– Vegetarian Food Studio over in Riverside. Two words: Atom bombs.
– Mirchi on City Road do the best paneer curry I’ve ever tasted.
Q. Best Cardiff pint?
Hop Rocket it Urban Tap House
Q. Best Cardiff fry up
The Pot on Crwys Road do THE best Welsh breakfast and they’re ace people too!
Q. If you were going to take someone on a first date in Cardiff, where would you take them?
St Fagans. It’s just such a nice place to walk around and buy sweets and bread from. Plus I get to tell the story of Me and my friend Joe watching our friend Emma break in to a wheel of wax-covered cheese with a key in front of a troop of horrified young French kids.
Q. What’s the best / most memorable gig you ever went to in Cardiff?
I’ve been to some amazing gigs in the past, Lightning Bolt at The Point, Biffy Clyro in Barfly and last year seeing one of my all-time favourite bands, Dinosaur Jr playing Cardiff was incredible but I’d say my most memorable gig is probably Reuben at Clwb Ifor Bach in 2008. I’d seen their first ever Cardiff gig in Barfly in about 2003, but the show in Clwb felt significant and special for me. It was rammed upstairs and the band played pretty much everything they’d ever done, including early songs. It almost felt like a greatest hits set, which was apt as they broke up not long after, so to see their final show was special and they remain a huge influence on me musically.
Q. What’s the last film you saw?
Wrong Cops. It’s a spin-off of another film called Wrong. Both utterly insane and make no sense, which thankfully is right up my cup of tea!
Q. What’s the last gig you went to?
Nine Inch Nails at the CIA (or Motorpoint Arena as it will never be known to our generation!)
Q. What are you currently reading?
I’ve just finished reading The Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman which is a great read. His writing is so vivid and allows you to properly escape.
Q. Tell us a secret about you
It was nice to hear somebody else has this problem too. When I heard Gareth from Fireproof Giant say he hates people touching his belly button I was like “EXACTLY!” That’s my personal space! I don’t want someone digging round for fluff in there!
***
Thanks Dan! Why don’t you go on over and take a look at the Samoans Bandcamp page or their Samoans Facebook page, eh? YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE
Dan was photographed by Simon Ayre
Today’s We Are Cardiff piece goes back in time … and visits a lively gal by the name of Gwen Love, who – in 1996 – is enjoying her 20s in the city of ‘cool Cymru’. Read on to find out what she’s been up to!
I cannot imagine being anywhere more exciting than Cardiff in 1996. I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing city at such a buzzing time. Right now, Cardiff is at the heart of the Cool Cymru movement. It has been amazing to witness the explosion of the Welsh music scene before our very eyes – watching our home-grown talent become part of the Britpop brigade has made us all proud of our heritage and roots. I have been lucky enough to see Catatonia and Super Furry Animals morph from obscure Welsh language bands to being on Top of the Pops and playing with some of the biggest bands of our time. I love the fact that I have seen these bands live several times at venues around the city – and that they just get bigger and better.
I knew I wanted to study in Cardiff as soon as I set down my country-bumpkin-North-Walian feet in the bus station in 1993 – three years ago. An excited gaggle of us were here for the university open day and it was as though we had found utopia. Cool people, friendly bars, and live music. This was what I had yearned for throughout my awkward, frustrated teenage years. I’m ashamed to admit that I paid a lot less attention to the details of my course of study than I did to the events calendar.
It’s not just live music that Cardiff excels at either. The variety of night life is endless. As students we are spoiled with our fantastic Student’s Union and we have all enthusiastically taken part in Fun Factory, Jive Hive, or Cloud 9 at some point in time. The town centre offers everything from the sterility of Zeus (RIP Cocos) to the dirty, dingy yet delightful Metros. At the moment my favourite venue and night out is Clwb Ifor Bach’s newly opened Popscene. A fantastic indie club upstairs playing everything from Oasis to Puressence, where the DJ will kindly oblige to the musical whims of most indie kids. Then, downstairs, for a change of tempo is the Cheesy Club; funk, disco and cheese. It is impossible to dance without a smile. It’s the happiest dance floor in town.
Downtime, when I’m not studying hard, can be spent idling in the beautiful parks with friends after a magnificent breakfast from Ramones. What better way to cure a hangover than by watching the beautiful people play baseball, turning slowly pink in the sun amidst the sleepy floral scents.
When the student loan has been freshly deposited in my bank account my other method of relaxing is to shop, shop, shop. I love Cardiff for its independent shops. I love exploring the arcades to find an elusive vinyl, that perfect 70s shirt to emulate Jarvis, or some beautiful, hand crafted jewellery. It is so easy to buy retro in Cardiff and develop your own sense of style.
I hope to graduate this summer but have no plans to leave Cardiff just yet. I love this city and feel very proud to be studying and partying here. Whatever the future holds, whereever I will be in 20 years time, Cardiff will hold a very special place in my heart and will always be synonymous with friendships, good music and unlimited fun.
Having graduated from Cardiff University in 1996, Gwen Love then moved to Bristol and spent many years in marketing until she retrained as a primary school teacher. She has been teaching for 10 years and is a mother of two young children. Her retroblog came about through her love of music and through a selfish need to do something creative for herself. She always wanted to write and, as she was still in possession of her eventful diary from ’96, she was inspired to write a blog set in that year. During ’96 she left her long term boyfriend, reached the grand old age of 21, and graduated with a respectful drinker’s degree – all to a thoroughly researched Britpop soundtrack. Follow Gwen on Twitter @GwenLove3 and on her blog site www.gwenlove76.wordpress.com. She hopes to publish as a novel in the near future. During 1996 Gwen lived in Cathays. She currently lives in Canton.
***
In today’s personal geography, we speak to Gareth Jones of Fireproof Giant. Read on for his map of the city!
In Cardiff, home is…
Splott/Roath….so….Sploath!
How did you get into making music initially?
I’ve played music since the age of five but I really started creating music when I was in Italy performing an outdoor site specific theatre piece. The director encouraged me to write for the show and I haven’t been able to stop since.
Tell us about your band, Fireproof Giant
The band developed over a number of years. Whilst I was touring around with Nofit State Circus people in the audience kept asking where they could get the music or hear it again so I finally gave us a name (Fireproof Giant). Now we’re running away from the circus and playing music for music’s sake. I tend not to think of genre whilst writing and just let my mood direct the song. But now I’m having difficulty describing our music whenever we’re asked. The best way to describe it so far is Pop-rock/folkstep with classical influences.
Who were the last band you saw live?
Sigur Ros
Favourite Cardiff eatery …
Penylan Pantry
Ideal first date in Cardiff …
Walking a dog in Roath Park
Last album you bought?
If you leave by Daughter
Earliest Cardiff memory
Staying with my brother and watching Apocalypse now the directors cut. It’s very long.
Do you have a favourite record shop in Cardiff?
It’s a battle between Kellys and Spillers
Last book you read
I’m a massive comic book fan…..so…..death of the family. Does that count? If not, the hungry caterpillar.
Best Cardiff pubs
The City Arms, followed closely by Porters
Favourite Cardiff discovery
The tiny models in the metal pillars outside St David’s 2
Tell us something that most people don’t know about you
I have a fear of people touching my belly button
If you had friends coming to Cardiff for a weekend, what would you recommend they do?
If they’re around on the weekend and it’s a sunny Sunday morning then I would suggest Riverside market for some chai tea and the best butchers in Wales.
Why don’t you go on over and take a look at the Fireproof Giant Facebook page? There is music and information there galore!
Gareth Jones grew up in Swansea and very quickly found a passion for the arts. As a teenager he went from instrument to instrument learning to play whatever took his fancy. Although music was a large part of his life he found himself heading towards acting and after completing school he went to study performance art in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. During his three years there his music took a backseat role but occasionally crept forward as more and more directors asked him to compose music for them. After graduating from RWCMD in 2007 Gareth joined Nofit State Circus as a musician/performer and began touring around Europe meeting musicians from different cultures who would help him shape and develop his musical style. After three years of touring Gareth then became Musical Director and Composer for Nofit State and spent the next three years directing and leading a band in over 300 shows. Now Gareth is exploring his music for music’s sake and is running away from the Circus to share his sound with whoever will listen. If you see him around, don’t touch his bellybutton, whatever you do…
Gareth was photographed by Jon Pountney
***
In Cardiff, home is…
Canton with the wife, kids and the coolest 3-legged dog in Wales.
Favourite Cardiff eatery
Hangfire Smokehouse at The Lansdowne
Ideal first date in Cardiff?
Fry up at Saffron, boating on Roath Lake, watch Wales beat England (again!) at the stadium, pints at Tap House, curry at Purple Poppadom, early night 😉
Tell us something that most people don’t know about you
I have the longest tongue in Wales (unofficial)
Earliest Cardiff memory
Watching Paul Bodin miss THAT penalty at the Arms Park and seeing grown men cry
What was the last film you saw?
Frozen (for probably the 20th time this week)
Favourite Cardiff shops
Rules of Play, Riverside Market
Best Cardiff-based leisure activity
Chilling in the park (take your pick). Simples.
What was the last book you read?
The Prodigal Daughter, Archer.
Biggest ambition
For my children to be proud of me and not to have any regrets on my death bed
Best Cardiff pubs
Urban TapHouse and The Lansdowne
Favourite Cardiff discovery
The New York Hoagie
Last album you listened to
Gipsy Kings, self titled (instant sunshine).
If you had friends coming to Cardiff for a weekend, what would you recommend they do?
Take me out on my ideal first date (minus the early night)!
Your ambitions for the future?
No regrets and make my children proud
What do you want to achieve this year?
Four million people taking part in The Big Lunch on June 1st!!
Gwion Thorpe is involved in a number of social / community projects in Cardiff / Wales. Current day job is social marketing for The Big Lunch, a wonderfully simple campaign to help strengthen communities and spread a bit of happiness by encouraging people to have lunch with their neighbours annually on the 1st Sunday in June. Also proudly a Director for Cardiff’s award-winning RCMA Social Enterprise (home of the Riverside Market) and a (very) part-time blogger at inspiringcardiff.com, sharing the stories of awesome people doing really cool things across the city. Cymro Cymraeg!
Gwion was photographed at The Lansdowne by Adam Chard
***
I was born in Carmarthen, but lived in Scotland until the age of six before coming to live in Cardiff. I lived in Rumney, where my parents owned the Monkstone, a private club catering for weddings and evening events. Although my education and time spent with all my friends in the local schools was very normal, I have always remembered that my childhood was slightly different to my friends, because of where I lived. All my friends had normal family lives during the early sixties, but my early life was surrounded by parties, music, and late nights while my parents worked. Obviously I was always meant to be sleeping….but my memories of this time (good and bad) have stayed with me all my life.
Eventually in 1967 I left home at the age of 17 and went to Cardiff Art College in the old Friary. I was free to live my life as I pleased, and the sixties were a perfect time to do it! During my time in art college I studied fashion and textiles…although I could have worked much harder, I chose not to….and just enjoyed life as much as possible.
During the sixties we had many coffee bars and small venues where they played great music all night. I particularly remember The Kennard Rooms in Roath, The Victoria Ballrooms in Canton, The Estonian Club in Charles Street, The Scene Club, Whisky a Gogo, The New Moon in the Hayes, and The Casablanca in the Docks. The regular place for meeting then was upstairs in The Kardomah in Queen Street. All the mods would meet there regularly on a Saturday…. we would get to know about parties that were happening that night….sometimes huge numbers of mods would turn up on scooters at some unsuspecting home most often in Cyncoed or Lisvane.
Music was at its best for me at this time … Dylan,The Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Yardbirds, Kinks, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd … too many to mention. I feel very privileged to have been able to see all these amazing groups and singers in their early years performing live in Cardiff mostly at The Capitol, Sophia Gardens or Top Rank … and at very little cost. One memorable event for me was at The Stax Tour seeing Otis Redding singing just a few feet away on a small stage in Top Rank in 1967 just before he died. The event was amazing to see … with Arthur Conley, Sam and Dave, Booker T and the MGs, Eddie Floyd and The Markeys.
Life changed for me when I married and had my daughter, although, our life style always remained unconventional. We opened Wild and Woolly in 1973, selling our own designs, hand made using Liberty Print Fabrics. We had a range of ethnic clothing and jewellery from Peru and Afghanistan. In later years we introduced what was then called secondhand clothing. I had always worn and collected “vintage” clothing since I was a student and now we had hit on something new….and it was very successful. Second hand and antique clothing was easier and cheaper to find in the seventies, but times changed and we had to move with it, to Jacobs Market which is still trading there now and worth a visit.
Eventually in 1985 my husband and I both worked in the television industry at HTV, freelancing in the costume department, but we continued designing, making and selling to various fashion outlets in Cardiff.
I am very nostalgic and miss the old Cardiff that used to be. I miss all the old streets behind Queen Street and St Mary Street, all the old pubs, cinemas, and cafes. I miss the individuality of all the local department stores and shops of that time. I find it quite hard to accept that we (society) are happy to destroy so much of our past so easily, only to replace it with something that has no relevance whatsoever and now most cities look the same. Having said that, I think that Cardiff is still a beautiful city. Luckily we have kept our arcades and of course our castle and civic centre makes Cardiff as special as it is. We are lucky to be a few miles from the sea, close to the country side and the mountains are just a short drive away.
My life now is as busy as ever. I’m still buying and selling vintage clothing, under the label http://www.artofvintage.com. More recently I have started another small venture http://www.artofvintagesouk.com, importing Moroccan kelims, cushions and unusual artisanal goods. I love Morocco and travel there regularly to many different areas, including the desert and south Saharan coast, sourcing interesting items for the business.
I continue to design and make costumes for television and private commissions, and if that wasn’t enough I work on weekends in The Albany Gallery helping to organise exhibitions and selling art!! All my work combines to enable me to remain reasonably free and independent, a way of life that interests me and keeps me active.
If I had friends coming to visit me in Cardiff for a weekend, because my house is too small for guests I would first send them to stay at The Lincoln House Hotel in Cathedral Road where they would be well looked after by Kath and Neil. There are so many great places to go in Cardiff. I would obviously take them to see the art in The Albany Gallery in Albany Road. We would probably have coffee in one of the many new cafes in Wellfield Road. We would visit the new Cardiff Made shop in Lochaber Street. I expect I would take them to the Pumping Station in Penarth Road, or I would take them to Chapter for casual food and drinks and chats with loads of familiar faces or to see a film. We would possibly go down to the bay to the original old pub The Packet, my favourite pub. If it was the right weekend, we would go to Cafe a GoGo in Gwdihw for some soul music, a regular event there.
I would take them to the Zio Pin Italian restaurant, not expensive and consistently good food and friendly staff. I’m always checking for live music events that are on in St David’s Hall or The Millennium Centre. Just sometimes there will be a rare performance on of some good music, and the next one I would recommend is Tinariwen, nomad musicians from Mali, in July in St Davids Hall. Not to be missed!
Elizabeth Lee has lived in Cardiff for nearly 45 years, though she still feels only 25 inside. See her current venture at www.artofvintage.com. She currently lives in Cathays.
Elizabeth was photographed in her workshop by Joe Singh.
***
Back in April 2012, we posted this great story from David Wills about volunteering for Civil Aid Voluntary Rescue Association (CAVRA) with his dog, Bob. We never posted all the photos from the photoshoot though … and there are some sweet ones. Check out Bob in his goggles, above!
“CAVRA was founded in 1998 at a time when flooding was overwhelming the emergency services in Cardiff and the Vale,” says Dave. “It is an entirely voluntary search and rescue organisation, and a registered charity. Our purpose is to provide back-up personnel and frontline assistance to the Emergency Services (Police, HM Coastguard etc) in a range of situations, including searches for missing persons, during times of adverse weather conditions, natural disaster or civil emergency. We are a lowland search and rescue unit specialising in flood and swift water rescue as well as recovery. At present CAVRA has around 30 volunteers. We are highly trained in First Aid and some of us have specialist skills in land search, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rescue, dog handling and water rescue. We also have a Rescue Boat on permanent standby in Cardiff Bay.”
About Bob – the rescue dog: “Bobby is my latest dog and the only dog I have trained in Search and Rescue. I rescued him myself from Croft Kennels in Bridgend. I was looking for a medium sized dog that I could train up as a Cadaver Dog. I ended up with a large boxer-cross who has an uncanny knack for finding the living! Boxers are not normally good search dogs but Bob is crossed with something (we don’t know what!), giving him some invaluable traits. Normally Search dogs are air sniffing tracker dogs trained to national standards.”
Civil Aid Voluntary Rescue Association (CAVRA) are always looking for volunteers. No experience necessary. You provide the time – they provide the training. http://www.cavra.org
David and Bob were photographed on the Cardiff Bay Barrage by Doug Nicholls.
Set below a picturesque back drop of the rolling hills of the Wenallt, with its patchwork of fields and woods, lies this pretty yet busy northern suburb of Cardiff. It still retains much of its original charm and the unspoilt nature of a bygone era. Furthermore, it’s my home, albeit my adopted home!
Approached from the south, the main road arches over the brow of the hill , underneath which passes the single line railway track that connects directly to the city centre. On first seeing the village ahead you might wonder where on earth you’d arrived. The ‘Gateway to India’ no less, stands invitingly on the first corner, the name of the oriental takeaway. Further along and opposite is the celebrated Juboraj restaurant with its varied and sumptuous curries all authentically and carefully prepared.
The ‘green house’, or more strictly the green-roofed bungalow, stands on the same site as the once well-loved and oft frequented newspaper and sweet shop, which also had a green painted roof. It was a favourite destination for school kids on the way home and wanting a cheap fix of confectionery. Its replacement is a chiropractice, and next to that an aromatherapy clinic for ‘treats’ of a different sort but very much in keeping with our modern holistic lifestyle.
At the crossroads with Pen-y-Dre you are greeted by the rather incongruous looking life-sized figures of Laurel and Hardy with animal models close by. You would be forgiven for thinking that they were advertising some sort of waxworks or museum. In fact, they stand outside the Virtual Service Centre for cars. Does that mean there really isn’t a garage there? Well yes and no! There is no garage on the premises. If your car needs servicing or repair it is collected, taken away, fixed and duly returned afterwards. How civilised!
On the corner of the increasingly busy junction with Beulah Road, stands Beulah United Reform Church dating back to 1890 and opposite that Beulah Assembly Rooms a popular venue for clubs, meetings and concerts. It would be easy to hasten past and hardly notice the secret garden to the rear, a quiet place to just sit and think or simply contemplate, just yards from the general buzz of village life.
There are plenty of places to browse, including trendy craft shops such as Cwtsh Bach with its handmade Bespoke curiosities, Cariad with all things Welsh and the Victoria Fearn Gallery with its array of interesting objects such fun pencils with character tops, pottery, artwork and wooden instruments. If you have a sweet tooth and keen eye you’ll soon come across the aptly named Sugar Mouse, with a selection of sweets and chocolates that have names more familiar to children of yesteryear but still able to entice children and their all too gullible and more than willing parents.
As we know shopping can be thirsty, tiring work so where better to stop for coffee or light lunch than the Olive Branch, the church run cafe with its recent makeover and where there’s always a welcome, and a chance to buy books, cards and gifts. There are other places to eat and buy refreshments such as the Whittaker Lounge or on Beualah Road, Snails Delicatessan serving soups, coffees, cakes and ice creams. At the far end of the village is the one charity shop, Tenovus, though at first glance you might think it a niche high class clothing shop which befits its surroundings.
Take a small detour from the main street through a narrow side lane and you are suddenly transported to the original early 20th century Garden Village with its quaint array of white-bricked semis arranged as a square around a spacious lawned centrepiece. Built in the 1920s, as a more pleasant and healthy residence for the working class it retains the timeless quality, if not its purpose, that its founding fathers intended all those years ago.
Wander around, stroll along the Welsh named streets , walk by the gentle stream that meanders through or relax in the green open spaces and soon you will discover many more fascinating facts, facets and delightful nooks that attracts one to this enchanting, inspiring part of a beautiful city.
Brian Dodd is a retired primary school teacher having taught in Cardiff for almost 40 years. He moved from Bristol to Cardiff in 1973 and loves the city. He has lived in Rhiwbina with his wife and family for 17 years. His favourite spots in the village are the old buildings, the stream and the parks away from the main streets. He says the village from the railway bridge with the Wenallt backdrop is lovely anytime of the year, but more so in the spring …
***
This week, Jane Cook shares the story of her remarkable, epilepsy-defeating, marathon-running dad Bruce. Read on!
My dad is 58 years old and in November last year, he announced that he wanted to run the London marathon in 2014. We all thought he was talking rubbish and didn’t really listen, until he came down the stairs to announce that he had been offered a place in the Marathon on behalf of a Children’s disability charity. Suddenly we realised he was actually serious.
My dad has lived in Cardiff all of his life. When he was a kid, he was racing homemade go-karts on Roath Court Road with a bunch of other boys his age. Trying to show off to his Grandma, he came shooting down the road at speed when one of the other boys pushed their kart in to his path. The karts collided with such force that my dad flew in to the air, and as he came down, he hit his head on the concrete pavement. Three weeks later, he started having epileptic seizures.
For years, my dad tried different medication to control his epilepsy, but nothing worked. He couldn’t get a driving license because he never knew when an attack might come on. Once, he even ended up having an attack and losing control whilst on his bike, and he crashed through the front door of a corner shop on Treharris Street. He managed to roll all the way up to the counter in the midst of a blackout before crashing a heap on the floor. On another occasion, he fell off a train platform in Cornwall and had to be pulled off the tracks.
When I was about three years old, my dad became one of the first people in the world to have a groundbreaking type of treatment. First, doctors cut a circular hole in his skull. Then they fixed electrodes to his brain that would monitor its activity (I am using layman’s terms). Then everyone waited.
A week later, my dad had another seizure, and as a result, the doctors were able to pinpoint the exact area of his brain that was damaged. They set to work in removing the damaged tissue, which amounted to be the size of a human fist. Afterwards, they replaced the piece of skull, and sewed it all back up. For the next few months and years, it was a waiting game – not only to see whether the operation had been a success, but also to make sure that nothing else had been damaged in the process.
Fast forward 25 years, and the date of the London Marathon is just one day off being the 25th anniversary of my dad’s operation – and marks 25 years of my dad being epilepsy-free. Despite the fact that my dad started his marathon training by going for a jog in a pair of jeans and his work shoes, last weekend he (quite unbelievably) completed his first 20-miler. His route takes him all over Cardiff – usually from our house in Penylan, via Lisvane and over to Cefn Onn Country Park, then back home via a couple of laps of Roath Park Lake.
The money raised by my dad will be donated to a charity called Phab which encourages equality and integration for disabled and able bodied children. If you would like to help him reach his fundraising target of £1,600, you can donate via his fundraising page.
Jane Cook is the proud daughter of Bruce Cook, who will be running his first London Marathon this year. Help him raise money for his chosen charity Phab by donating to his fundraising page. The family currently live in Penylan.
For this personal geography, we get all up in Elliot Bennett’s grill – he’s the drummer for (mostly) Cardiff-based jazz band, Slowly Rolling Camera. Read on for Elliot’s slant on the city (he’s second from left in the picture).
Tell us about your Cardiff connections …
Although Dave (Stapleton – pianist/composer) now lives in Newbury, we were all students that studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. It was here that we started composing and playing together. Similarly, whilst still being a student, I was also the house drummer at the old Toucan Club, and Dionne (Bennett – vocalist/lyricist) was the vocalist in the funk and Latin band that played there on the weekend.
Tell us how Slowly Rolling Camera formed.
The band started out with Dave and myself discussing the need to write some new music that differed from our quintet. The want for a fresher approach that could have a wider a reach and echoed more of the things they were listening to, such as the Cinematic Orchestra, Robert Glasper, Christian Scott, Massive Attack and Portishead.
The writing process began with Dave sending me some ideas to see what I thought. Hooked on what I’d heard, I began playing around with the ideas presented and recorded some grooves and rhythms that would cement and support the phrases and melodies. This process continued for sometime, until we both realised that an ingredient was missing, the voice. There was only one person I had in mind that had the depth, warmth and soulfulness needed for what had been written. It was then, that I pitched the ideas to Dionne Bennett, a lyricist and vocalist that I had worked with many years ago.
Once Dionne had added some ideas, again me and Dave thought that a more electronic, produced sound pallet was needed to bind the existing ideas together, which is when I called upon my old university friend Deri Roberts to help. Like Dave and Dionne, I had worked with Deri many times in a number of different ensembles, some of which included the others. Fast forward to the present day, the four us through our friendship and work in various ensembles have written – I believe – music that has a little of all our personalities and life’s journey embedded with the fabric of the album.
Where was your first gig?
Our first gig was at Chapter Arts Centre, which I guess is regarded as a bit of a hub for music, drama and the arts in Cardiff and therefore, seemed the perfect location to showcase what we had written. Thankfully, the gig sold out and the response and feeling from the audience and players booked for the gig was great. The four of us now knew that the product worked, both as something to listen to at home, or as a live performance.
What are the great things about living in Cardiff?
Cardiff is a very friendly, lively and cosmopolitan city. It has great entertainment, a diverse music scene, good night life, and shopping all within walking distance.
How does it feel to be releasing an album?
I’m sure I speak for the others when I say that we are very proud to release this album. We wanted to collectively create something that appealed to a wide audience, that didn’t fit into a neat label or box that say’s ‘genre’ on it. Something that musicians would appreciate, music that would stand up for its production, engineering, the way it was recorded and mixed. It’s an album that contains snapshots of our life as friends and musicians, which like our name have slowly, rolled and evolved.
If you had friends coming to visit Cardiff for the weekend, what would you recommend they do?
During the day, stop for a coffee and a bite to eat at the Pen-y-lan Pantry or maybe visit Cardiff’s award-winning farmers’ markets on Sunday 10 – 2pm. And team that up with watching a knock-out performance from an amazing new band called ‘Slowly Rolling Camera’!
Elliot Bennett plays drums in Slowly Rolling Camera. The band’s debut album is out now on Edition Records, and you can catch them live soon – see tour dates here.
We Are Cardiff 