There’s almost so much to say, I don’t quite know where to start. Firstly, just quickly, there’s a new series of posts coming here on We Are Cardiff, and we’re looking for contributors. It’s called Letters from Cardiff in lockdown, which hopefully is a fairly self explanatory thing. We’re looking for anyone (really, anyone at all) to send us short pieces about your experiences in lockdown.
If anyone says the word unpr*c*d*nt*d again I’m going to eat my laptop. But genuinely, this is a pretty unusual situation. Most of us (if we are lucky) would never have been through anything like this before. The city of Cardiff certainly hasn’t experienced anything like this, not in my lifetime.
If you’re interested, we’d love your contributions:
500-1500 words on your experiences of being in lockdown;
some photos if you can (they don’t have to be of you, they could be of whatever you’ve been doing during this time, or what your post is talking about);
feel free to write whatever you like, but if you need some prompts, you could think about these aspects:
What’s your lockdown situation in terms of work, health, relationships, friends, family, pets…?
How are things in your neighbourhood, your local area?
What were you doing before, what are you doing now?
Have you found it difficult to transition to lockdown life, what is the hardest thing for you, what do you miss the most about your “normal” life?
Is there anything you’ve been surprised by in terms of not finding it as bad as you had thought?
Any tips for other people struggling with lockdown for whatever reason? Your hopes for the future? Anything you’d like to take from this time into future life?
And that’s it. We’ll accept and publish everything we receive (but only things that are real, obviously, so please don’t troll us, as ain’t no-one got time for that). We’d love to document your experiences.
(PLEASE NOTE! THIS PAGE WAS LAST EDITED 12 JUNE 2020. IT IS NO LONGER BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED).
Morning all.
Seems like a trite thing to say, but we genuinely mean this: we hope you’re keeping safe, keeping happy, healthy, and free from suffering.
Yes, we’ve been trying to do our loving kindness meditations to cope with it all. If you’re looking for resources to help manage anxiety or general feelings of being out of control, there are a number of free things you can access.
Thanks to the wonderful We Are Cardiff reader who works in addiction counselling – who wished to stay anonymous – who sent me all of this. You’re amazing and thanks for all the work you do!
Mental wellbeing while staying at home (NHS UK) (our favourite bit from here – “You may feel bored, frustrated or lonely. You may also be low, worried or anxious, or concerned about your finances, your health or those close to you. It’s important to remember that it is OK to feel this way and that everyone reacts differently. Remember, this situation is temporary and, for most of us, these feelings will pass. Staying at home may be difficult, but you are helping to protect yourself and others by doing it.”)
Self-Isolating For Coronavirus? Here’s How To Stay Mentally Well (Huffington Post, includes advice from a counsellor and a volunteer from Rethink Mental Illness). (Their list of advice is good, and covers the following topics: Get on top of things, Use social media for good, Read a book or three, Marie Kondo your room, Buy yourself something nice, Prioritise sleep (but not too much), Get creative, Dance, Focus on the future).
Local sources of support:
Cardiff Mind. They have a great resource for dealing with stress during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, which is a six-session, cognitive-behavioural therapy class used in community-settings by the NHS (UK) and HSE (Ireland) and across the world. Usually you would attend these sessions in person, but at the moment they’re being live-streamed twice a day. Visit the Stress Control website for more information and to sign up.
Stepiau. This is a service developed by the Primary Mental Health Support Service for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, and provides accessible self help resources and links to local services as a first step to developing mental wellbeing. They also have options for people needing emergency assistance.
More options for help and support:
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK – this FREE number will not appear on your phone bill.)
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email them: help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.
Insight Timer. The world’s largest free library of meditations and music to help you with sleep, anxiety and stress. The app is FREE and available for download, and features a host of different meditations and courses to help you manage your mind. There is also a large section of audio for kids and young people.
Palouse Mindfulness. This online training course focuses on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR) and is completely free. It’s created by a fully certified MBSR instructor, based on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Big love from all of us, especially from Zelda, our mental health officer, who offers socially distanced vibes.
(PLEASE NOTE! THIS PAGE WAS LAST EDITED 22 ARIL 2020. IT IS NO LONGER BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED).
There are a number of ways you can support Cardiff’s frontline staff. This page covers a number of FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES where you can donate money to help NHS staff, plus a list of locations where you can directly donate supplies.
This is the main charity that supports the departments and staff across the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. Their Spread the Love campaign has just had large donations from Aaron Ramsey! The money raised through this appeal will go directly to Cardiff & Vale Health Charity’s Make It Better Fund. The doctors and nurses – local professionals who understand what is most needed for our local communities, and who are aware of what the NHS is already doing – will decide how the money raised will be used to best benefit the most vulnerable.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board covers Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen and South Powys. As I know a lot of you will be living / working / have family in these places, or have family in these places, I’ve included info here on how you can support them.
The Aneurin Bevan GoFundMe page is collecting donations directly from the public to be placed into a specific fund for the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic. From their page: “The Health Board is currently committing resources on a range of things in response to COVID-19 including PPE, ventilators, beds, drugs, consumables, additional staff, etc. all of which we hope to be funded by Welsh Government. We do not yet fully know how we will utilise your donations as none of us have been in this situation before. Staff well-being, essential supplies for patients and increasing volunteer activity are some of the things we are currently looking at.”
(PLEASE NOTE! THIS PAGE WAS LAST EDITED 12 JUNE 2020. IT IS NO LONGER BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED).
There are a number of ways you can support Cardiff’s frontline staff. This page covers a number of INGENIOUS fundraisers that are being run by Cardiff people – to FEED STAFF AT NHS HOSPITALS!
So far I’ve come across THREE different fundraisers organised by amazing local businesses, all raising money to deliver food / coffee / meals / snacks etc to staff in hospitals in Cardiff.
FEED THE HEATH! CO-ORDINATED BY WATERLOO TEA – Feeding NHS staff at UHW – Heath Hospital
Working in collaboration with the NHS staff and volunteers, Waterloo Tea have set up a volunteer cafe in the Heath Hospital Sports and Social Club, open from Monday 30 March, providing free food and drink to NHS staff working there. (It’s not a Waterloo Tea cafe – they are just co-ordinating and their staff are volunteering there). This is the Feed The Heath project!
The cafe is intended to be a place close to the hospital buildings where NHS workers can get some respite. With cafes on site closing down recently the food options are becoming even more limited. They’re aiming to offer healthy nutritious food to fuel the staff at the hospital.
Suppliers – please donate Ingredients for chefs to cook with / Disposables / take away boxes and coffee cups (ideally compostable or recyclable)
Caterers – please donate prepared meals they can deliver to the hospital for healthcare workers to eat something healthy and nutritious. They can contribute to the cost of ingredients from the fundraising.
Businesses & Individuals – please donate cash donations for purchasing essential items including ingredients, drinks, disposables.
The #helptheheroes campaign has been set up to help feed our amazing NHS staff by a collective of independent food businesses from the Cardiff and Newport area. The plan: A weekly food based care package, made up of goods from each independent business involved, will be dropped off to a different hospital each week in the Cardiff, Vale and Newport area. So far wonderful Kev has worked with loads of wonderful local chefs and kitchens, including Wild Thing, Leyli Joon, Bad Boy Brownies – and has delivered food and drinks to Heath Hospital, Llandough Hospital, and Rockwood Hospital (who have no on-site food provision for staff at all, so really need the food!)
This joint effort co-ordinated Grazing Shed pulls in a ton of local food businesses to feed and water NHS frontline workers. You donate money to the campaign, the food makers make food and deliver it to hospitals in Cardiff.
(PLEASE NOTE! THIS PAGE WAS LAST EDITED 12 JUNE 2020. IT IS NO LONGER BEING ACTIVELY UPDATED).
Hi all. Strange times. There’s a lot going on in Cardiff at the mo, so this post is intended to pull together all the main volunteering and help resources for:
A number of these groups / resources are on different platforms (eg a lot of main discussion for the Mutual Aid groups is on Facebook groups, so while you may not agree with the Suckerberg, might be time to set up a temporary account just to engage and either volunteer or ask for help). Mutual Aid is exactly what it sounds like – people offering help and asking for help. Please obey rules of basic human decency in these groups (and just everywhere in life).
I’ll try and keep this post updated on a regular basis, so please add anything relevant in the comments and once I’ve checked it, it’ll be added in here.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO SEEK ACTUAL NEWS FROM REPUTABLE NEWS SOURCES – DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!! THERE IS A LIST OF TRUSTED SOURCES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. The Senedd Research blog has a comprehensive list of places to go for information. Like, you wouldn’t wash your hands with mud, so why fill your heads with it, eh?
CARDIFF COUNCIL RESOURCES
Volunteering opportunities through Cardiff Council’s Together For Cardiff scheme (currently looking for people to pick veg for foodboxes, deliver food parcels and volunteers to help with elderly people): Volunteer Cardiff website
More soon. Also here is a photo of We Are Cardiff emotional relief pooch after she’s disinfected the house, just in case you need some light relief at the mo.
We’re animal lovers here at We Are Cardiff. (Yes, my dog Zelda has her own Instagram, don’t judge me, I’m a DOG PERSON). And you can’t be a Cardiff-based animal lover on Instagram without following Alex – aka therescuehotelcdh. She devotes all her spare time (and her entire IG account!) to helping the abandoned poochies at Cardiff Dogs Home. So I decided to spend some of my spare time talking to her about her passion for those pooches. So here she is – meet Alex!
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I started volunteering at Cardiff Dogs Home in 2016. I’m originally from Pontypridd but moved to Cardiff just before that. I always loved dogs, and all animals. My parents had an English bull terrier called Dylan, and I loved him so much. But they split up and my dad took the dog with him, I didn’t really speak to my dad so that meant I didn’t see Dylan, which made me sad, every single day. So I think i needed to give my attention and love to some other puppers, who are desperately in need. That’s how I started out helping at Cardiff Dog’s Home.
I’d love to see my Dylan and I think about him all the time, but I don’t think I ever will. That’s why I have a soft spot for bull breeds, especially English bull terriers. I think they have a bad reputation with a lot of people – I think people think they look so scary, with their long piggy nose and eyes. They’re also very stubborn, so I suppose if you don’t know the breed you would feel very unsure of them.
We used to get a lot of Staffordshire Bull Terriers being turned into Cardiff Dogs Home, but not so much anymore. There are still a lot of staffies, and most bull breeds. At the moment we seem to be getting a lot of French bulldogs in. As the craze for a frenchie is ending, there seems to be a lot of them dumped at the home (most have been used to breed, which is sad).
We also get a lot of greyhounds and lurchers. Most of them have been ex-racers and when they’re no longer wanted to race, they end up with us.
The best thing about helping out at the home is seeing dogs go to their forever homes. Especially the long termers (ones that have been with us for a long time), and the ones that struggle with being in the kennels.
Agnes was a lovely dog who came through the home, and when I think of her it’s bitter sweet – I loved her so much, and I regularly took her home on respite to give her a little break from the kennels. I knew that someone else could give her a great home, and now she’s living the high life in England. She has a house in England and France, and her parents are home all day so she’ll always have someone around. I miss her!
Then there was Peter, who constantly got over looked, a lady from Devon drove all the way to meet him and it was love at first sight. Then there’s Oggy, bless his little heart. He’s with the most lovely couple, he’s in the most perfect home for him and you can see how much both of them dote on each other. Then, there’s Roxy. She went on a home trial today, seeing her drive off in the back of the car with her teddy in her mouth was the sweetest thing. We’re all hoping that it’s going to be her forever home. We have a feeling that they’re going to keep her, they were such lovely people just what she’s been waiting all this time for.
Roxy, who never leaves home without her trusty teddy in her mouth
It does happen that someone takes a dog with them and it doesn’t work out. When people adopt a rescue, most people know that it will take time for the dog to settle into their routine. You have no idea what that poor dog has gone through, so they need more time and patience. On some occasions (not a lot), some dogs get brought back as the people who adopted did not realise what having a rescue dog entails. I mean, it’s great that more and more people are choosing rescues now instead of going to breeders, but I think you definitely need to do your research on rescue dogs.
Rescue dogs are not your typical dog. I think they know they have been given a second, third or maybe fourth chance in a new home (depending on how many times they have been passed about before arriving at the home!) but it will on occasions take them longer to come out of their shell.
For the dogs that have been brought back to us, they always go on to find a better home for them. I always think I’m glad they’ve got brought back because it was a reason for this. Their new family was mean to have them, and the pups are so much happier. It’s like they know this. So it’s sad when they come back, but then when you see them with a new family/individual you see that they were always meant to be with these individuals instead. Everything happens for a reason, as they say.
If you’re looking for a way to feel good about yourself or to socialise or learn new skills, there’s no better way to spend your time that volunteering at Cardiff Dogs Home. If ever you’re feeling down, or need a little bit of a pick-me-up, volunteering at the home will always put a smile on your face. The dogs are sooo happy to go out on their walks, and despite that they are homeless with nothing, they have so much joy and love to give. It also really puts things in perspective.
I spend all my weekends down the dogs home, and if I have some time off from work I’m usually down there!
If you’re thinking about adopting a dog but worried about getting an older dog, please, PLEASE don’t get put off! In regard to the older dogs, these are the ones who need homes the most. They’ve spent most of their life with the people they class as family, to only find themselves at Cardiff Dogs Home at some point, bewildered, and confused. It’s no place for an older dog to be (or any dog). When the older pups get adopted it’s like they are smiling when they are leaving, they know that they can now live their last few years in a home environment on warmth and comfort.
Adopting a rescue dog will change your life, for the better. You’ll get to see how loving and forging they are, after they have endured so much. It really does put things in perspective. It’s like they know they have a second chance and they will do anything for you, they are so loyal and loving. It makes you appreciate the little things more, and not worry about mundane trivial things you may have been stressing about.
If you are thinking about adopting a rescue dog, do it. Their lives matter, they’re just a bit less energetic than a puppy. But in my opinion, they’re much better! They’re usually already house trained, the older ones generally need less exercise than the very young ones. They just want to be loved, and to love in return. If you’re interested, please have a look at my @therescuehotelcdh instagram or check info about Dogs Looking for Homes.
Jonah, who has recently joined Cardiff Dogs Home – looking for his forever sofa!
Cardiff Dogs Home really relies on volunteers. You’ve got to think without volunteers, some dogs may not get the much needed walks they need. Staff at home will walk the dogs but because they have so many other things to do, it can be very limited. But volunteers can walk the dogs for however long they want, some volunteers also adopt that one dog that they bond with. Which is great. It also gives the opportunity for the dogs to get used to different people. All of this helps them getting rehomed, and them ending up with their perfect homes.
So if you just think ‘I’m just a volunteer’, you’re not – you are so much more than that! If this sounds good to you, register to become a dog walker at Cardiff Dogs Home.
I set up my Instagram account @therescuehotelcdh in 2016. I hated all social media! I know you wouldn’t think it now from looking at how much I post on there. I remember asking my friend what Instagram is, and how it is different to Facebook, because I had no clue or no interest. But I did want to start up something that would show people these dogs were lovely pets waiting for their homes. I wanted to do something different rather than just say the same generic thing that others post up, such as the basics like breed, age, name etc – I wanted to show their personality (because they all have different personalities, that you totally see when you spend time with them!) So that’s why when I write the posts I wrote it as if the dog is talking, just so it gives people more of an insight into them. I hope it helps!
The next steps for Cardiff Dogs Home are exciting. We’re setting up a charity which will be such a game changer. We have had so much interest social media wise, we should be up and running with charity status soon, which is so exciting.
This means that it will be much easier for people to donate money, and all of the money will be used for the pups and whatever they need. We’ve also got Sam Warburton on board as an ambassador which is amazing.
So this year will definitely be one of my highlights and it hasn’t even really started yet!
Alex Milakovic is a dog lover, originally from Pontypridd. She runs @therescuehotelcdh Instagram account, where you can get up close and personal with all the lovely dogs that have ended up in Cardiff Dogs Home. Alex remains dog mad, and currently lives in Cardiff.
Happy New January! This post is dedicated to a new podcast you NEED to be listening to. This is the Welsh Music Podcast, hosted by James Cuff (We Are Cardiff fans may remember James for helping out on the We Are Cardiff documentary that we made a few years back) and Neil Collins, both avid music fans.
They set the podcast up in 2019 to celebrate Welsh music and culture, past and present, and the people who helped shape it.
Here’s more about them: “From Anhrefn to Zabrinski we’ll cover it all, including obscure, emerging and established artists, across the Welsh and English language spectrum.
“Each episode will feature a music obsessive guest who has, in some way, helped shape Welsh music and culture. They’ll be talking about their careers and giving an in-depth analysis of their favourite Welsh album.”
Their most recent episode of the podcast features me! (Helia Phoenix, helllooooo). I chat about various things on my musical journey through life in Cardiff, including Catapult Records, Kruger Magazine, Lady Gaga, club nights in Cardiff through the 1990s and 2000s. SO much to chat about. Thanks so much to the Welsh Music Podcast for inviting me on, it was such a lovely chance to reminisce and celebrate!
My nomination for best Welsh album of all time is High Contrast‘s True Colours. I don’t think the electronic scene in Wales gets anywhere near enough coverage or kudos for how diverse and wonderful it is, so this is my attempt to correct that. Also if you think about global impact, Lincoln (High Contrast) is a producer who is leading his field. He worked on the music for the Olympics opening ceremony, he’s a Grammy nominee. This will date this piece, but check the High Contrast Spotify profile and you’ll see his top 10 tracks have had 47 MILLION LISTENS. That’s big time.
Anyway, that’s today. Back to True Colours. It’s a wonderful album, and I mention in the podcast that I did a pre-interview with Lincoln to refresh my memory. We ended up chatting for nearly an hour and there was a lot of interesting stuff in that, so look forward to a post about that in the future.
Listen below:
Here’s the beef:
We talk to music journalist and Cardiff Music Board member Lalovely Phoenix about DJing, working on Kruger Magazine and writing Lady Gaga’s biography.
She also chose the Grammy-nominated High Contrast’s debut as her favourite Welsh album.
Earlier episodes of the podcast so far feature discussions with Dave Owens, Patrick Jones, Huw Stephens, John Rostron, Matt Durbridge, Keri Collins, and they’ve got a lot more guests to come (more about Welsh Music Podcast guests).
Two other Welsh electronic artists I wanted to give a special shout out to:
Last year’s Bite! food festival was one of the highlights of our calendar. This year they’re returning, but with a new aim – sharing great food while reducing single-use plastics. Specially designed reusable cups will be available to buy at the bar (or order in advance)!
And now THIRTY incredible chefs are returning – bringing pop-up food at a street food price to the beautiful surroundings of Insole Court. They’ll all be creating a single dish each for just THREE POUNDS! Which means you can sweep the site and try loads of different dishes without busting the bank or your belt.
BITE! FOOD FESTIVAL – INSOLE COURT, CARDIFF – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Gareth Daw, Henry Webb’s Restaurant at St Mellon’s Hotel
Laurian Veaudour, Cocorico Patisserie
Vicky Crabtree, Shawarmarama
Stephen Terry, The Hardwick
Montserrat Prat, La Cuina
Antonio Simone, The Humble Onion
Nick Spann, Bao Selecta
Leyli Homayoonfar, Leyli Joon & Co.
Rob Haswell, Ceridwen Centre
Simmie Vedi, The Warden’s House
Sam Speller, Lazy Leek
Rhodri Evans, Pieporium
Lali Suto, Hoof
Debs Lewis, Dusty Knuckle
AND WHAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO DRINK?
The 30 chefs and producers are joined by five great drinks providers. This year, Bite Cardiff has partnered with Freedom Brewery, a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).
Wrights Wines will also be serving a range of natural wines, and Skyborry will be offering a selection of Cider and Perry.
Both Little Man Coffee Co and The Handlebar Barista will be serving coffee – so don’t forget your re-usable mugs / flasks!
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE REUSABLE CUPS?
In an effort to cut down on waste this year and also avoid single use plastics, Bite are selling reusable cups for use at the bar. These will be on sale on the day for £3.50, or you can buy one in advance, for £3, by clicking here.
Buying a cup helps Bite to cover the costs of putting on the event, ensuring that it can be kept *free entry* for years to come. Purchasing one in advance will help speed up and lessen the queues at the bar on the day and mean you can fast track your way into the event. The cups can also be taken away as a memento and are dishwasher safe on the top shelf.
CAN I BRING BLANKETS ETC?
People are encouraged to take picnic blankets, and also, their own picnic crockery and cutlery if possible, as well as refillable water bottles.
IS THE EVENT CASH-ONLY?
Yes – you will need cash to buy tokens (stickers) which can be exchanged for food. £3 = one token = one dish. This is to prevent chefs from having to handle cash on the day. The bars will run as normal (you won’t need tokens) but the whole event will be cash only.
WHERE CAN I BUY THE FOOD TOKENS?
These can be bought from token stalls dotted throughout the festival. You can also pre-purchase these, on any day in the week before the festival, at the Insole Court visitor centre.
ARE DOGS ALLOWED?
Yes, well behaved dogs on a lead.
IS THERE PARKING ON SITE?
Parking at Insole Court is reserved for festival staff and disabled drivers only. There will be a limited amount of Bite festival parking available at Rookwood Hospital, at Fairwater Road Llandaff Cardiff CF5 2YN.
Though some parking is available at Rookwood, we are encouraging people to use public transport to access the festival as much as possible. The nearest buses that operate between Cardiff city centre and Insole Court are the 66, 25, 62 or 63 (operated by Cardiff Bus) and the 122 or 124 (operated by Stagecoach).
Insole Court is approximately a 25-minute bus ride from Cardiff city centre, and a 10-minute walk from Victoria Park.
Alternatively, the nearest train station is Fairwater. Insole Court is 500m from the Fairwater Road exit.
The main cycle routes to Insole Court are:
· From Cardiff Bay via the Ely Trail.
· From Cardiff city centre via the Taff Trail.
Bike parking is located near the Visitors’ Centre / in the car park.
Creative Republic of Cardiff is a non-profit organisation that plans to rejuvenate Cardiff’s live music and creative culture. It was been set up by former staff & friends of The Full Moon, which closed in April 2017.
They set up an Indiegogo campaign which raised £14,000 in two weeks, which helped them to take on the building’s lease and open at the end of April 2017 as a new community-led, non-profit venue & arts space called THE MOON.
eg – securing the lease; licenses; insurance; tills; stock; accounting; legal; security; design & signage; plumbing & electrics; continuing refurbishment – painting, carpentry, tiling, loads of odd jobs and fixing stuff, lights replaced, little cloakroom/space for band gear; & everything else associated with maintaining a fully functioning venue!
Additional funds will allow us to improve the venue, carry out maintenance and provide them with basic working capital.
Creative Republic of Cardiff will use the venue to establish an environment of collaboration, networking and knowledge sharing. It will nurture, develop, organise and showcase talent from Cardiff and beyond.
The Moon has been an powerhouse for supporting grassroots artists, and supporting them is support for our independent music scene!
They’re currently offering two levels of support: £7.50 per month, or £20 per month. Here’s how they break down:
$10 (£7.50) or more per month:
Moon ‘Saviour’ T-Shirt
10% discount at the bar FOR LIFE any time you come in wearing your Saviour t-shirt
Your name will also be placed on the wall plaque of saviours
$25 (£20) or more per month:
Saviour t-shirt
10% off at the bar for life when wearing Saviour t-shirt
1 free gig per month at The Moon of your choice (subject to ticket availability)
In today’s interview, we meet Patrick Steed, the Musical Director for Technicolour – a new, inclusive choir that practises every week in Chapter Arts Centre. And they have a concert on Friday 28 June! If you’re into musicals and pop mashups, get along to their concert this Friday!
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Q. Hello Patrick! So tell us – what’s your story?
A. Cardiff has been my home since 2005 when I came here for Uni. I live here with my amazing fiancé – Matt – and after being in Wales for 14 years now, I feel I’m a Welshman! I’m a musician with a massive passion for musical theatre and choirs. I’ve been leading choirs here for 11 years. I’ve worked as a composer and lyricist for musicals such as Stalking John Barrowman, Blink! and I’ve been composer in residence for Hello Cabaret for the past three years! Musical theatre songs have the capacity for such emotional depth and invite the audience to step into a moment with a character. That’s why I love what I do!
Q. What’s your favourite musical?
A. It changes on a fairly regular basis – there are so many fantastic musicals to choose from! I absolutely love ‘Hamilton’ and it’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius. Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Legally Blonde, The Last Five Years, Wicked and anything Disney also hold a special place in my heart.
Q. Why did you create Technicolour?
A. I love musicals. I love epic harmonies. I love festivals. I love clubbing. I love glitter. And I thought, wouldn’t it amazing if I could turn everything I love into a choir? Our tagline is #musicalsremixed – and we love putting a twist on conventional ideas. That’s why we mix up Chicago with Dua Lipa and Wicked with Ella Eyre. And that’s why our gigs feel more like club nights that concerts! We’ve got 90 members in less than a year and more joining next season – which makes me think I’m not the only person to love musicals, epic harmonies, festivals, clubbing and glitter!!!
Q. What’s next for Technicolour?
A. ‘Life in Technicolour’ – our summer gig – is fast approaching! It’s all inspired by The Wizard of Oz and uses music from an eclectic range of musicals – everything from West Side Story, to RENT to The Lion King to reimagine the classic tale. We’re taking over Tramshed and turning it into an Oz inspired wonderland! And the amazing Disco Motel will be getting us dancing until the early hours! It’s all happening on Friday 28th June from 8pm at Tramshed – there’s still some tickets available @ www.tramshedcardiff.com
USW’s School of Music and Sound have a listening launch party for this year’s Create Sampler, FCI 2 on 14th May from 3.30pm, and they want you to go along!
Following steep competition and over 40 entries, a staff panel selected the final tracks to represent the School and release on vinyl, complete with cover artwork from The Wild Midnight.
FCI 2 contains 13 eclectic tracks ranging from rock to folk to electro house, collaborations and an exclusive track recorded at Rockfield Studios. The creative standard this year is exceptional and they can’t wait to share the finished product with you. Finished copies will be available on the day and also on the shelves of Spillers Records.
Join us in the Theatre to listen to the album and hear the stories behind the tracks from the artists themselves TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE
Theatre listening party 3.30pm-5pm
Zen Bar Social, DJ & Buffet 5pm – 7pm
Get yourself along and support tomorrow’s musical stars!
Side A
“Y Diweddaraf” – Adwaith
“Zen Me Kan Dao Zi” – Min & Hui
“Curves and Lines” – Suleiman Atta
“Nowhere’s Ark” – Jacob Haslam & 3rd Year BMus Contemporary Music Performance
Last year’s Sampler, FCI 1 gained critical acclaim in the industry receiving radio airplay and was championed by BBC Producers Huw Stephens,Adam Walton and Bethan Elfyn. It is also stocked in Spillers Records and will be available for this year’s Record Store Day. Featured bands Mellt, The Kelly Line and Naomi Rae have continued to gain attention in the business and we anticipate big things for this year’s artist rostra.
Join us in the Atrium theatre to listen to the album and hear the stories behind the tracks from the artists themselves.
Theatre listening party 3.30pm-5pm
Zen Bar Social from 5pm
Bought to you by the School of Music and Sound this event is free, open to students & the wider music community, please tell your friends. If you are looking to get into the industry or advance your business within it these talks are for you.
Today, we welcome Millennial Mother over to We Are Cardiff to give us some insights into the top things to do in Cardiff with your kids – when the weather sucks! Welcome, Millennial Mother!
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The colder months are tough in our household. My three year old is one of those children who gets cabin fever after 9am. In the warmer months we can explore an array of countryside walks, beaches and parks around Cardiff. But in the winter months, with frost, rain and wind it is hard to get the motivation to change out of my loungewear and into 10 layers of waterproofs.
We have found some great indoor activities for children in Cardiff that have saved our skin more than once. This is a list of my top five. I hope you find them useful!
This was where I could usually be found on a Saturday as a child. I watched Jurassic Park about age six, and after that just wanted to be an archaeologist. I would spend days wandering around the dinosaur exhibition, pretending I was on an excavation! Now, I play the same games with my little one. After delighting in the dinosaur exhibition, you can enjoy the whale in the sky, and an intriguing creepy crawly section. Upstairs holds some beautiful pieces of art from Impressionist to Modernist, which are great to relax even the most busy of minds. I would recommend holding onto toddlers extra tightly to avoid orange crisp fingers staining 500 year old paintings though!
P.S if you like good coffee stop off at Brodie’s Coffee afterwards.
This swimming pool is a wonderful rainy day activity. The facilities are excellent, there are three large slides for older children and adults and a smaller slide for smaller children. The swimming pool doesn’t have a deep end, which is fabulous for someone like me (5 foot 3). It also has a small paddling area for younger children. The changing area is communal, which is ideal for families, as parents can swap and change to help out with kids there. On a rainy day there is nothing better than a family trip to the swimming pool. As my Nanna would say though ‘make sure you dry your hair probably before you go out in the cold as you don’t want to catch a cold!’
This is where science comes to life through interactive engagement. Children can learn how water currents are created in the water works, watch balls shoot up in the air, play on a giant piano and learn about all sorts of science. The museum is an excellent visit for children of all ages and the venue provides Toddler Days, Theatre Shows, and more. The museum is based in Cardiff Bay, so after you can enjoy a nice spot of lunch at one of the many cafes and bars.
P.S. I recommend a trip to Quantum Coffee because their coffee is insanely good, and friends have spotted A List celebs enjoying an Americano there!
This is my husband’s favourite place to take Nancy. As the name suggests, it tells the story of Cardiff’s rich history, and how it evolved from a small market town to the capital city we know and love. My daughter’s favourite part is the reconstruction of a house on Cathedral Road. It shows changes in these houses, and showcases how differently we live in comparison to our ancestors over one hundred years ago. There is also a variety of interactive resources that show the different people living in the Cardiff Docklands.
There is also a wonderful restaurant on the top floor that caters for children and adults alike. Milk and Sugar have a small but area with enough toys to keep your little occupied while you drink your latte. I would recommend keeping an eye on the Cardiff Story website as they often run special events called ‘Dinky Dragons’ which is a Rhyme and Story Time.
This is a hidden gem, right in the heart of Canton. Your little one can explore what it is like to be a doctor, a postman, a barista, a hairdresser, and even to do their own food shop! This imaginative playtown is a fantastic opportunity for your little one to develop their role-playing skills and to enhance their vocabulary as they come across new items. I always love to make up games and watch Nancy pretend to be me as she wanders around the shop. The centre opens in slots to allow the staff to tidy the rooms before new arrivals, I would therefore make sure you check the opening times to avoid disappointment There is also a family room for snacks and drinks, which is ideal, especially if you have more than one child and one needs feeding while the other needs entertaining.
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Thanks to Millennial Mother for dropping by! You can catch Kelly on any of her channels:
We Are Cardiff 