Did you know that Wales had a thermal spa? Even more incredibly, that it’s in Taff’s Well?
I recently finished my fifth column on the River Taff for the gorgeous Caught By The River. All my other pieces have been very much situated in Cardiff, but for this one we zoom north a few miles to Taff’s Well. The actual well – the warm thermal spa, which the village gets its name from.
Don’t get too excited though. This is what it looks like:
The concrete bath house was constructed in the 1890s, and since then it’s been abandoned and saved repeatedly. Recently some investment has gone into preserving and reopening the well for the public to enjoy. There’s a tall blue fence all around it, but you can still get close enough to wonder and enjoy.
Back in the 1950s, the spring’s waters filled a swimming pool. Image from Wales Online
As usual, I did a bunch of research and found some wonderful stuff that didn’t make it into the final article, so if you’re interested in reading up on Taff’s Well – Wales’ only thermal spa – go read my piece for Caught by the River, and then head over to these:
If you haven’t been down to Cardiff Bay in the last few days, you won’t have seen the mesmerising new sculpture that’s currently visiting the Senedd. The ‘Weeping Window’ installation was originally at the Tower of London, where 888,246 poppies were displayed- one for every British or Colonial life lost at the Front during the First World War. Now you can see the whole piece up close on your doorstep, and there are loads of events surrounding it to suit all ages!
Photo credit : Geoff Caddick/PA Wire
The display forms part of Wales’ programme of events marking the centenary of the First World War, which are taking place across the country. The display of Weeping Window will coincide with the centenary of Battle of Passchendaele, which took the lives of many Welshmen, including the celebrated poet Hedd Wyn.
For the first time visitors will be able to view the sculpture from all sides, including behind, through the Senedd’s floor to ceiling windows.
Younger visitors will be able to explore a free Senedd Trail or try their hands at making a poppy. For those a little older, there will be free half-hour tours on the hour to illustrate why democracy at the Senedd is important to ensuring peace in society.
In addition, on Thursday evenings in August, the Senedd will be open until 20.00 for visitors to see the sculpture as the light changes, and the Senedd café will be open for longer to accommodate this.
Alongside Weeping Window the National Assembly for Wales will also host an exhibition titled Women, War and Peace. Renowned photojournalist Lee Karen Stow brings her world-famous exhibition to Wales, featuring the addition of specially commissioned portraits telling the story of Welsh women affected by war.
You can see Weeping Window until 24 September – trust us, don’t miss it.
Look up! Rob Khoo shows us around the beautiful interior of Cardiff Castle, the 2000 jewel in the heart of Cardiff.
Rob Khoo is a bicycle obsessed chef and musician who lives in Canton. He has lived in Cardiff all his life and has no intention of moving away. See Rob Khoo’s photographs on Flickr
Cardiff is slowly but surely becoming street food city, quite literally, and Feast Fest is one of our favourite ventures to be launched this year!
Feast Fest is launching a colourful outdoor ‘feastival’ on Womanby Street, with five weekends of street food, farmers market, music, vintage clothing, vinyl sales, skate competitions, DJs, craft beers, art exhibitions and much more.
The top street food traders in Wales, along with local food producers will be offering kerbside dining every Saturday and Sunday from July 29 to August 26.
Womanby Street is the city’s alternative heartland, just a two-minute stroll from the Castle and five minutes from the central train station. The street has some of the best loved music venues, bars, restaurants, indie shops, tap and ale houses in the city, and is often where we end up after a long night of hard drinking and fast dancing.
The bars and venues will be opening to provide daytime entertainment, craft beers, wines and much more. Award-winning street food chef Jamie O‘Leary of Jols Food Co, who is spearheading the event, said:
“As a chef I’ve grown to love the street food experience – the reward is seeing the customer’s face light up as they watch their meal cooked and handed to them moments later. With ‘Feast Fest’ I intend to put the street food experience back where it should be – on the street. And Womanby Street is such a rich, cultural and vibrant location in the capital – with the recent Save Womanby Street campaign it became apparent that this is a street that the citizens of Cardiff are proud of and therefore an ideal location for a summer-long food market.”
The market will be open at weekends between 12-7pm. Traders appearing on rotation at Feast Fest include Annand George Tuk Tuk, Jols Food Co, Rule of Tum Burgers, Dusty Knuckles Pizza Co, Mr Croquewich, Rackdogs, Shwarmarama, Ffwrnes Pizza, The Bearded Taco, Science Cream, Dixies Vintage Ice creams, The Pork Society, Mighty Soft shell Crab, Shelly’s, EL Chilango and Got Beef.
St Fagans National Museum of Welsh History is one of the best days out you can have out around Cardiff. They’ve just launched a new app to help you make the most of your visit. We sent intrepid reporter and local boylesque star Ernie Sparkles along to try it out and report back to us.
In June, I met Alison John, Producer at Yello Brick at the entrance of The National Museum of Wales, St Fagans. Armed with my iPhone, she handed me a pair of headphones and pressed the Traces Olion app button that I had pre-downloaded to my phone. Traces is a new app that Yello Brick had developed with Cardiff University and the Museum with the help of Hoffi to build the app. Their app description: “Traces is not an audio guide. Nor is it a tourist guide. It is a companion telling you a story that reveals fragmented moments of intertwining fact and fiction inspired by St Fagans; the space, its stories and archives.” Naturally I was curious as to what magic lay in store for me, and wow, I was not disappointed.
With the option of enjoying the experience in pairs or on your own, Alison agreed to join me for the adventure (it’s worth mentioning here that you must both press the buttons on the app at the same time as timing is important to the partner journey). The beautifully designed app is very self-explanatory and simple to use, and I later found out it continues to play even when you lock-screen so you can put it in your pocket to get the full adventure.
The clear, yet relaxing storyteller voice of actor Natalie Paisey is accompanied by beautiful music composed especially for the app by Jak Poore. Both of which lead you almost into a meditative state while you are guided around the castle gardens at the museum. The story (written by Sara Lewis) is based on material from the museum’s collection, and focuses on characters who may ‘have lived and experienced’ the castle and grounds in the early twentieth century.
During the course of the journey you are drawn into a new way of interacting with the place, noticing details and things you may not otherwise have noticed. The app takes you almost to a new dimension as you are taken beyond the realms of your usual audio trails and into a fully immersive experience. Pulling you into the world of the story, but leaving behind elements of your own story at the same time.
Like any good adventure, there are moments of pure beauty, but also of sadness, but always beautiful. I must admit, before I was fully immersed in the story there were a couple of laugh out loud moments that were a little cheesy – but you get over that pretty quickly!
A review left on the android app store from Lucy Hansen-Clarke says:
“What a wonderful, beautiful experience! It was an emotional journey and I fell in love with my partner all over again x” Lucy Hansen Clark
I must admit I did think shortly after the journey that it would make a perfect date activity!
The only downside to me was that there was no follow up or information as to which parts of the story were taken from the archives – perhaps the National Museum could be encouraged to create a page on their website or a small display in their new visitor centre when it opens its doors.
I would thoroughly recommend everyone goes and has the experience of Traces. It really is a beautiful 30 minutes out of your busy day and you will not be disappointed!
The Tracesapp can be downloaded from either the ITunes Storeor Google Play and you will need to have a pair of headphones to enjoy the experience fully. It is recommended to download the app, which is free of charge, before you arrive at St Fagans.
Yello Brick is a company that specialises in digital and physical events that intertwine narrative and brand into exciting and playful experiences.
Photographer and performer Mark Robson has been documenting the life of local circus institution, NoFitState, for the past thirteen years. Now he’s running a Kickstarter to put the book together – and he needs your help to get them printed! Here he is, to explain his project.
I first got involved with Nofit State Circus in 1995 when I blew up 2 cars for the finale of their show Autogeddon. I joined their board in 2002 and started taking photos of the shows shortly after that. I stayed on the board until 2015 and was involved in a variety of ways, including touring with some of the shows. Throughout all that time, and since, I have been taking photos of Nofit State. For several years I had been dreaming of publishing these photos as a book.
In 2015 Ali Williams (one of the founders of Nofit State) announced she was going to move on to new exciting things and leave Nofit State. I decided to make a book for her as a leaving present using my photos; capturing as many of the shows, communities, and people involved as possible – think of it as a Nofit State Circus family photo album. Although I realised this was going to be a serious amount of work, I still massively under estimated the amount of work it would take. I finished the book and called it ‘Let’s Do It Again’, it was great, but I realised that it was not the book I had been dreaming of.
This project is about that book; a coffee table book full of the wonder, passion and beauty of circus, suitable for all. A book that still covers all the shows but whose focus is the photography whilst still capturing the feel of those shows.
I have taken ‘Let’s do it Again’ as a prototype, edited it down significantly, increased the photo size and quality, added some new photos, changed the structure, included a little more text and looked at better print methods. The work on the book is mostly done.
To make this book a physical reality the next step is printing it. This kickstarter is to enable that to happen by taking pre-orders to cover the printing, design and delivery costs.
The Book
The book is called ‘In nofitstate’ and is for anyone who likes Nofit State, circus or photography. If you like all three then perfect.
‘In nofitstate’ will be
256 pages,
9.5” square,
litho printed,
hard back,
section sewn binding
It contains over 230 photos dating from 2004 to 2017 and has sections covering community, the shows from immortal to block, backstage shots, and people.
Looking for something a bit different to listen to? We recommend a new Cardiff-based podcast from local boylesque star, Ernie Sparkles!
Fabulous Beyond is a new fortnightly chat show podcast by Ernie Sparkles. Each episode features a different guest in conversation with Ernie as they discuss the concept of Fabulous and what the word means to them.
The project was launched in June with the aim to compile and document research by Ernie. “I have been fascinated with the concept of Fabulousness for a number of years, since finding out someone had referred to me as Fabulous,” he says. “It made me question – What does fabulous even mean?! I figured capturing discussions with different people might help me to find the answers. I figured these conversations would actually make quite interesting podcasts! The conversations so far have been really interesting – we’ve talked about identity, gender, LGBTQ issues, Queer culture, the royal family, mental health and Drag Queens!”
The podcast ‘Fabulous Beyond’ is available for download on iTunes or direct from the Fabulous Beyond website. Please listen in, review, subscribe and share the word and help to get Fabulous Beyond beyond fabulous! Check us out at @fabulousbeyond
Ever wanted to learn how to bake bread from someone who has been doing it for over half a century? Or how about learning crochet from a total pro?
Well this weekend you can! GrandFest Cymru is a free one day festival celebrating the heritage skills of talented older people. The family friendly event will take place at St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff, with a series of workshops from quilting, rag rugging and embroidery to bread making and international dance. The classes will be hosted by the GrandMakers, who are all over 70. So if you want to get your make on, get down there!
The Masterclasses will be held at different times throughout the day and will aim to inspire younger generations to discover and learn new skills. There will also be a performance in Welsh and English by Cowbridge Male Voice Choir.
To find out more about GrandFest or to book a place on a Masterclass, please visit the GrandFest website.
GRANDFEST CYMRU
DATE: Sunday 9 July 2017
TIME: 11.00– 16.00
VENUE: St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff, CF5 6XB
Need some rest and relaxation, but can’t afford the gold dubloons it would cost you to spend a day in a spa? Fear not – Jenny Jones has put together this handy guide to Staycations in Cardiff – when you’re skint. She’ll be rounding up some of the best value options for pure indulgence on a budget.
Stressed out? Skint? Know you need some time out, but just have no idea how you’re going to afford it? Yeah, me too. Everyone needs time out from work – whether your “work” pays you loads, not enough, or nothing at all if you’re caring for people at home.
But luckily for you, I’ve been putting together this thrifty guide to getting your chill on. Even if you can’t take a full day out, I’ve split my ideal day up, so you can pick and choose relaxing activities that can fit around your schedule. My preferred mode of transport is bicycle (car parking is a nightmare anyway) so most of these are things you can access in or near the city centre either by bike or on foot. There are also a couple of things you can do – without ever leaving your home!
A THRIFTY AND RELAXING MORNING
BREAKFAST
If you love the idea of sitting on a Parisienne street corner, supping coffee and watching the world go by, perhaps you could consider the Cardiff budget option: getting a cuppa in Cardiff Indoor Market? As far as people watching goes, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nowhere better.
The Indoor Market has a number of breakfast options both downstairs and upstairs, where a cup of tea will set you back 85p, you can get a cooked breakfast for £2.99, and the people watching is free. Now that’s a bargain.
TAKING IN SOME ART
If you’ve got kids, then you’ll already know about how amazing the National Museum is. With its endless rooms of fossils and minerals and early finds from around Wales, it’s the perfect place for the kids to run around and you to get some peace.
Image by Rob Khoo
What lots of people don’t know is that the museum also a serious hoarding of art – including the biggest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art outside of Paris. Pick up a stool on your way in, place yourself in front of the art work, clear your mind and just let the canvases loose on your cerebral cortex. You can see Monet’s Waterlillies and Van Gogh’s Rain amongst many others here. Oh and did I mention that those galleries have free entry?
MASSAGE
Most massage places around the centre cost an average of £40 an hour, £60 for an hour and a half. If you don’t have the cash, there are other massage options that won’t break the bank, including qualified masseuses that will visit your home (great news if you’re housebound or find it difficult to get around). I like Odnova, who bring their own massage beds and other bits, charge £30 for a 90 minute massage (plus a small petrol charge to get to your house), and will pummel you to your heart’s content.
GARDENING
If you love being outdoors but don’t have a garden and can’t commit to an allotment, the opportunities for really getting your hands dirty in nature are pretty limited. At least they were, until you heard about the Riverside Community Allotment project. Based in Pontcanna Fields, you can learn how to grow food in a sociable and supportive atmosphere.
There are two working poly-tunnels where peppers, tomatoes, grapes and aubergines are grown, as well as raised beds and an accessible pond and wildlife area. There’s also a solar cooker and a compost toilet. Find out more about Riverside Community Allotment (See also the Riverside Community Garden Facebook page) and drop by – it’s a lovely place to spend an hour or two.
Although there are plenty of budget options in town, you are trying to treat yourself, so no Greggs, right!? I would send you back to the Indoor Market for lunch, where you can choose between Clancy’s Vegetarian Emporium, Milgi’s lunch boxes (my favourite is the green one!), and the Thai place (pad thai on a plastic plate – just like in Bangkok) – all of which will gift you a very tasty lunch for under a fiver.
If the weather’s nice, grab your food and go sit in the little garden between St John’s Church and the Cardiff Story buildings. Also great people watching in there (but watch the pigeons).
MEDITATE
If you’re seeking a bit of peace from a constantly busy and cluttered mind, then maybe some meditation or mindfulness could be your self-indulgence.
The Buddhist Centre in Roath (but the town end of Roath – very near Newport Road) has drop-in meditation sessions that are open to all, 19.30 Wednesdays and 12.30 (midday) Thursdays. These sessions operate on a donation basis – amazing for those with low cash flow.
It may not look like much from the outside, but inside you’ll find friendly people and a quiet retreat from the madness of the city. Bless those Buddhists.
SHOP TIL YOU DROP
If your idea of relaxation heaven is splurging loads on clothes, then how about investigating the city’s wide selection of charity shops? Albany Road and Wellfield Road in Roath are well-mined by the city’s students, but venture a little further afield (particularly into the more affluent areas) and you’ll find some real gems. I particularly like daytripping over to Penarth, where we’ve managed to get designer items for an absolute steal.
We’d also like to suggest two more shopping alternatives to you, that are perfect for people on a budget: car boot sales, and vintage kilo sales.
For vintage kilo sales, the best thing to do is keep your eye on Facebook. Local tastemakers Blue Honey put one on every so often – Vintage Kilo Sale is the thing you’re looking for.
A REWARDING EVENING
DINNER
As the spiritual (and physical) home for Cardiff’s student population, Cathays and Roath are absolutely bursting with cheap, tasty eats. It’s hard for me to pick just one, so I’m selecting two: Falafel Kitchen on Cwrys Road (my pick: Sabich pitta – fried aubergine and an egg, with mountains of salad for a fiver), or Jalan Malaysia on Woodville Road, where the Turmeric Fried Chicken is a finger licking £8.95.
Don’t feel limited to these two though – City Road and Crwys Road are all about the budget eats.
JOIN A RUNNING CLUB
If you’re one of those nutters that gets relaxation from endorphins, how about joining a running group? Cardiff has recently acquired its own GoodGym, and we’d recommend this. The group meets every week at the Old Library in town, goes for a short run, and then heads to a local destination where they carry out a task to help the local community. Examples of tasks carried out include painting fences or walls, weeding, basic gardening tasks – all for local community groups or charities.
They’re a fun and sociable group which does good and gets fit together. They keep together as a group and no-one gets left behind. Although you do have to pay to join Cardiff’s GoodGym (a tenner a month), the money goes into the GoodGym charity – plus imagine all that karma you’ll be building up.
YOGA
There are weekly free Sahaja Yoga Meditation drop in sessions in the city centre. In this class, you’ll sit on chairs to achieve Yoga, effortlessly and spontaneously – no Asanas (exercises), mats or special clothing required. If you’re having trouble juggling the challenges in your life, this kind of activity can help you manage stress, master your emotions and find solutions to your problems. You may enjoy better health, better focus, and a deeper understanding of the universe and your place in it. And if not – it’s free, so why not give it a try?
RELAX IN A SPA
Okay, I said spas were out of the question right at the start … but I lied! Cardiff and Vale College on Dumballs Road has its very own hair and beauty therapy studio, called Urbaspa. It’s brand new, it’s cheap, and I love it!
The idea is that the students get hands on experience while they’re studying, and so the prices reflect that. Bear in mind though, your treatment might take a little longer than usual, and students might have to get teachers to look over what they’ve done. If that doesn’t float your boat, you can always ask for one of the recent graduates who work there in a professional capacity – I had a great short haircut in there for £20, and got a shape and paint done on my nails for just a fiver. Bargain!
You should also check out the actual spa there – it’s got a sauna, jacuzzi, steam room and monsoon shower, along with heated ceramic beds, and half day access is only £8. I recommend adding on a session on the floatation bed, which is just £7. If you’re feeling really flush, book in a half day spa along with a tasty lunch at the Schoolroom. It’s an incredible £20 – but because it’s so cheap, weekends are booked up months in advance. Go during the week, when the spa is much quieter. Urbaspa website / Urbaspa price guide.
Well, that’s it! Thanks for reading my guide to Thrifty Staycations in Cardiff. Have you got any recommendations you could add? Let us know in the comments!
We spotted these gorgeous illustrations of Cardiff a few months back and decided to investigate who was behind them and their accompanying poetry: meet Efa Lois and Morgan Owen!
Gwelsom ni’r darluniadau hyfryd hyn hyn o Gaerdydd rhai misoedd yn ôl a phenderfynu ymchwilio i bwy oedd wedi’u creu yn ogystal â’r barddoniaeth sy’n cydfynd â hwy. Dyma gyflwyno Efa Lois a Morgan Owen!
Rhithganfyddiad is a collaborative project between Morgan Owen, a young poet and MA student at Cardiff University, and Efa Lois, an illustrator and Architectural Assistant currently based in Cardiff. They told us:
“We started Rhithganfyddiad because we wanted to document the city as it currently is. Cities are constantly evolving, especially Cardiff, and we hoped to capture what the city is currently like, whilst reflecting on its past.
The end result is a poem and an illustration – a chronicle of each place.”
Mae Rhithganfyddiad yn brosiect ar y cyd rhwng Morgan Owen, bardd ifanc a myfyriwr MA ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd, ac Efa Lois, sy’n arlunydd ac yn Gynorthwyydd Pensaernïol. Dywedodd Morgan ac Efa wrthom:
“Dechreuodd Rhithganfyddiad am ein bod am adlewyrchu’r ddinas fel y mae hi ar hyn o bryd. Mae dinasoedd yn datblygu drwy’r amser, yn enwedig Caerdydd, ac rydym am ddal naws y ddinas fel ag y mae hi, tra’n ystyried ei gorffennol. Cynnyrch ein hymwneud â’r gwahanol ardaloedd yr ydym yn ymweld â nhw yw cerdd a darlun.”
They are gradually filling in their map of Cardiff with their gorgeous work – we can’t wait to see the full set!
Maent yn raddol yn llenwi eu map o Gaerdydd gyda’u gwaith hyfryd – ‘da ni’n methu ag aros i weld y casgliad yn ei gyfanrwydd!
Dyma ddetholiad o’u darluniadau a’u barddoniaeth – gallwch weld mwy o’u gwaith ar eu gwefan, neu yn siop Cant a Mil Vintage ar Heol yr Eglwys Newydd. Gallwch hefyd brynu printiau arlein.
Heol y Gadeirlan | Cathedral Road
Mae’r hewl hon yn bont annisgwyl
o’r canol i’r cyrion,
un stryd sy’n rhychwantu
dinas benbwygilydd.
O unpen i’r llall mae bywyd
yn arafu a’r ddinas
yn ymbentrefoli
nes dy fod mewn byr o dro
yn bell bell o’r dwndwr
heb ymgydnabod â’r rhyngdir.
Plasnewydd
Cydgymysgwn – nid goddef
ond parchu gwead
ein cydblethiad;
ymhyfrydwn yn y cymhlethdod
cain lle gwêl
y culion ddryswch.
Treganna | CantonMewn dinas o’r iawn ryw mae’r
strydoedd yn gyfrodedd
heb arwain at unlle’n benodol.
Dryswch dymunol yw ei nod amgen,
ei chyfiawnhad a’i gogoniant.
Mae’r hewlydd oll yn rhan o’r cyfanwaith,
a phob un, eto i gyd, yn torsythu
yn ei hannibyniaeth.
Y daith ei hun yw’r unig resymeg.
Wrth hyntio’n ymwybodol o’r cymysgedd
awn i wledydd dirifedi
heb adael am eiliad ein dinas ni.
Cathays
Ni fu realiti erioed mor hurt â tharfu ar y cyfeddach a’r delfrydu, ac amheuthun yw tario yn y tir neb rhwng rhyddid a chyfrifoldeb.
Dychweli’n ddoethach
yn ddieithryn. Fe weli,
a thithau’n lwcus, fod bellach
sylwedd am yr hen haniaethau
a’r breuddwydion liw dydd.
Fe weli, a thithau’n eithriad, nad ildiaist i’r sadrwydd mae’r lle hwn yn brotest yn ei erbyn.
Heol y Fuwch Goch | Womanby St
Fin nos yn feddw nadredda gwyntoedd ffrwythlonder a phydredd i gyfeiliant diotwyr a gwylanod. Yn ddeuparth bywyd ac unparth marwolaeth, cerdda ffantasmagoria y strydoedd sydd bob un yn arwain at ruddin y gân a’r golau. Annedd frwysg rhwng gwyll a gwawr yw’r noswaith lân sy’n darfod yn yr oriau mân.
Llandaf | Llandaff
Yng ngogysgod y ddinas mae hendref greiriog sy’n edliw i’r concrit ei lesgedd.
Ar ei ynys grebachlyd mae’n mesur y llanw di-drai sy’n difa gwreiddiau.
Lle cedwid gynt rin rhyw genedl a gwagle i freuddwydio ceir heddiw grawcwellt yn ymborth.
Eilbeth yw iaith a llên a myfyrdodau lle mae arian yn llywio meddyliau.
Deled y byd i weld tomen o garegos pan nad yw llwydni Llanbobman yn ddigon.
Y Sblot | Splott
Dur yw iaith absenoldeb;
dur sy’n rhydu yn y dociau dof
yw pont dwy genhedlaeth;
dur sy’n fy nghludo i gartref
na ddychwelaf iddo eto.
Dau le a unwyd gan un enw
a dynghedwyd i gyd-ddioddef –
dau le sy’n gorwedd
dan lwch hen luniau
sy’n stwyrian wedi sôn am Ddowlais.
Dowlais yw enw colled
yn y blaendir a’r ddinas
fel ei gilydd lle mae’r dur
yn rhydu o hyd.
Mynydd Bychan | The Heath
Nid angof fydd y fan hon
sydd rhwng dau le o hyd –
tramwyfa aml daith,
ond cyrchfan anfynych.
Pan fo’r cyrion yn crwydro a’r ddinas
yn glastwreiddio’i chalon,
rhinwedd yw rhyngedd
y lle sy’n aros yn yr unfan.
Illustrations/Darluniadau: Efa Loi, poetry/barddoniaeth: Morgan Owen
The weather has been CRAZY, right?? And you guys have been out and about, merrily snapping away. We have gathered some of our favourite ‘grams and stuck them here in this wee video.
In my latest column for the ever-lovely Caught by the River about the Taff, I wrote about Cardiff’s very own afanc (river monster).
I went on an amazing guided walk at Christmas, where tour guide Bill O’Keefe totally blew all of our minds with a selection of legendary stories about Cardiff, and made mention of Cardiff’s reputation for being a wretched hive of scum and pirate villainy back in the sixteenth century. I did some more research into this and decided to dedicate a column on it and the Taff’s afanc for CBTR.
Here’s part of the piece (you’ll need to click through to read the full thing):
The River Taff’s afanc reached the height of its fame towards the end of the 1500s — a time when Cardiff was the stronghold for some of the world’s most infamous pirates. The town fulfilled vital conditions for a shady sea port: lots of nearby coves to offload ill-gotten gains; a big market; townspeople happy to buy ripped-off goods at bargain prices; the Welsh language — which made it impossible for investigators from London to work out what was going on — and a good supply of ‘bawdy houses’, run by single women at a time when prostitution wasn’t fully criminalised.
Most importantly of all, Cardiff had officials with a flexible attitude towards the law – happy to let the buccaneers do what they wanted, as long as there were some sweet kickbacks.
As usual, I ended up doing loads of research that couldn’t make it into the final piece, so I thought I’d pull out some of the more interesting pieces and links for you, if you want to do some more reading.
My research for this piece (lots of reading plus lots of walking) took place over the month of May, while Cardiff was going through a crazy hot period preparing for the UEFA Champions League Final. I didn’t manage to get all my photos in the CBTR piece either, so here’s what was left over.
Some lovely wooden art in Bute Park – two pieces I hadn’t seen before, the seal/fish guy and the daffodil guy …
The water-bus stop in Bute Park and the bridge between Castle Street and Cowbridge Road East. This little area is right next to Pettigrew Tea Rooms.
I like this graffiti. Looking at it made me think about some great disaster wiping out the human race and everything being totally destroyed apart from our buildings and bridges, and some aliens finding this in hundreds of years time and thinking it’s hieroglyphics, like we think the Egyptians were doing … when actually they were probably just tagging …
Back on the bridge, the city is slowly being dismantled in the post-Champions-League-world we now all live in. You can tell this is Sunday because it was still sunny and hadn’t quite started completely shitting it down with rain yet, like it has done all week after the football…
The view south towards the MillenniumPrincipalityNational Stadium of Wales (wtf are we supposed to call the thing now??)
The quiet after the storm: Quay Street and surrounds on the Sunday after the Champions League Final.
Some other bits and pieces I came across:
Cardiff’s pirate days
Queen Elizabeth’s first minister wrote to Cardiff to ask what was going on. It became increasingly obvious these people could not be operating without assistance.
Have you heard about the boy from Llanrumney who became one of the most feared pirates of the seven seas? You may not recognise the story, but you will know the name if you drink rum. Captain Morgan. The world’s second-best selling rum carries the name of a swashbuckling Welshman who went from scourge of the Spanish fleet to favourite of King Charles II and governor of Jamaica.
We Are Cardiff 
