Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch?? Roath-based good food institution Milgi are opening a new branch in Cardiff Indoor Market, and to celebrate they are giving away 50 free lunches on Thursday 1st December from 11am – first come, first served!
The MILGI MARKET menu will consist of seasonally inspired – wholefood bowls, one pots, sushi wraps, hot and cold elixirs and conscientious sweet treats – you’ll even be able to add extra superfoods.
You will also be able to pick up everyday essentials, dry store goods and Christmas stocking fillers to kickstart your plant based living at home. Bespoke small batch food and lifestyle products will be coming in the new year.
Gabrielle Kelly Milgi Market owner says: “Our ambition is to become the go-to option for anyone looking for a quick bite in the city centre. We’ll be serving a range of delicious seasonal and natural fast food all lovingly made at the kiosk. We’re all about making everyday delicious, wholesome food that makes you feel great inside and out.”
So we’re a bit late with this, but the awesome PROJECT SHOEBOX is BACK! Too much stuff in your bathroom cabinet? Project Shoebox is collecting shoeboxes filled with unwanted toiletries to make gift boxes for women in refuges in Cardiff and the South Wales area.
This is a community project, co-ordinated by the awesome Mali Taylor-Powell. The idea is women organising themselves to help women on their own doorsteps. Of course boys can join in too 🙂 It’s an attempt to help the women who arrive at Women’s Refuges this Christmas. Many will arrive bruised, battered and with nothing more than the clothes they are standing in.
The first donations are in! Here’s Mali with the first donations!
Project Shoebox collects together unwanted toiletries like shampoo, body lotion, toothpaste and brushes into shoeboxes, and makes them into a gift to get these women started and remind them that people can and do care.
WHAT CAN YOU SEND?
Anything from your bathroom cabinet that’s new or unused. Think basics like toothbrushes, shower gel, shampoo – but also anything nice like cosmetics or face cream is very welcome. This year we will only be accepting unused or new items. There’s a big list of ideas for inspiration further down!
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR DONATION TO PROJECT SHOEBOX?
We will be manning a donation station at the Cardiff University Students’ Union on Park Place, on the 4th floor Room 4E, from the 25th November – Saturday 3rd December.
Opening hours are: 5pm-7.30pm, Monday-Friday and also from 10am-4pm Saturday & Sunday
Please note: This is a voluntary project and I’m afraid there will be nobody to receive your donation outside of these hours**
The address is:
4th floor Room 4E, Cardiff University Students’ Union, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3QN – again, please please come to donate within the above hours! 🙂
LAST DAY FOR DONATIONS?
Saturday 3rd December so we can sort, box and deliver in time for Christmas.
IDEAS!
You can choose to donate individual items or make your very own shoebox gift. Feel free to get creative but here are some ideas:
*New toothbrushes
*Toothpaste
*Shower Gel
*Flannels/sponges
*Facial wipes
*Deodorants
*Hairbrushes/combs/bobbles/clips & grips
*Sanitary products (sealed)
*Sample packets
*Moisturisers
*Perfumes
*Body Creams/Face creams
*Body scrub
*Make up/ Make up bags
*Nail polishes / Nail polish remover/ Files & Clippers
*Cotton wool
*Hairspray
You can also choose to make, or donate things for, a baby box with things such as nappies, baby wipes, cotton buds, baby wash, small soft toys, etc.
Also – if you wrap the shoeboxes (fab!) please wrap the lid and base separately so that the box can be opened easily.
Happy shoebox making!
Big thanks to you from the Project Shoebox Crew and us here at We Are Cardiff
x
For those of you wanting to support local businesses during the Chrimbo period, we sent Benjamin Newman out into the cold to research all the best Christmas Fairs! Local shopping, local makers, mulled wines … celebrate the festive season!
***
It’s a bit cold, isn’t it? The nights are drawing in, school children are waddling around in about 72 layers of clothing, the air is colder than Theresa May’s soul, and Christmas decorations have gone up far too early – yep, it’s Winter, and that means one thing: IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAS.
Ah…nothing like Christmas to distract you for long enough to (almost) nullify the sense of impending existential doom, is there?
Here’s a few markets and fun things you can get on with in Cardiff this festive season (if you haven’t frozen to death on your commute to work yet, that is). There’s lots on offer again in this wonderful city from vegan markets to Etsy-inspired stalls, so get stuck in!
Thursday 10 November – 23 December: Cardiff Christmas Market
The Cardiff Christmas Market has returned to brighten up Woking Street for a month and a half again (and increase the number of people walking down the street tenfold, sadly). However, it is still as varied and exciting as ever. The Market will ultimately become the main destination for original gifts in the city centre (do check out other areas of Cardiff for your shopping, mind). There’s a diverse range of high quality products with over 180 individual businesses taking part this year such as pewter work, heritage images of Wales and Welsh slate products, metalwork, photography, hand built and thrown pottery, silver and precious stone jewellery, original textiles, traditional wooden items and toys, original art works and cards for all occasions, handmade candles, specialist knotting, up-cycled china wear and re-cycled textiles, glasswork, and needlework together with many original decorative items for the house and garden. It’s got a lovely Crimbo vibe to it, too.
Friday 25 November, 5:30-9PM: Penarth’s Handmade Market Christmas Special
Penarth’s Handmade Market returns on Friday 25 November 2016 for a special Christmas themed shopping evening featuring 40 of Wales’ most exciting makers and food producers.
Grab your friends after work and join us for a shop and a drink. We will have loads of fantastic gift ideas, decorations, cards and food for the coming festive season.
Avoid Black Friday madness and support local business. You know it makes sense!
Winner of ‘Best Vintage Fair’ at the last 3 national awards, Lou Lou’s returns to Cardiff’s City Hall with a fab vintage fair.
Find 40 stalls of vintage fashion, homeware and collectables nestled in this stunning location. Relax in a gorgeous tea room, watch a live performance and even get pampered in the vintage beauty salon!
TEA PARTY
The lovely ladies from LILS PARLOUR will be putting on a great spread of cakes and bakes fresh from their kitsch kitchen. Teas and cakes are served up on vintage china in the cute pop up tearoom. Don’t miss the delicious lemon drizzle!
HAIR AND BEAUTY SALON
For the perfect victory rolls, glamorous pin curls or sky-scraping beehives, make an appointment in our hair and beauty salon provided by POP UP PARLOUR. Appointments can be made in advance via email: popupparlour@hotmail.com
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
The lovely ladies from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES will be entertaining us with their close harmony singing!
Get into the festive spirit with a Christmas food and drink festival on the first weekend of December. Chapter’s beer garden will be enveloped in a cosy marquee, serving festive beers, German sausages and other delicious nibbles. The perfect place to catch up with friends, exchange gifts and toast the season before December gets too busy!
Ewch i hwyl yr ŵyl gyda’n gŵyl o fwyd a diod Nadoligaidd ar benwythnos cyntaf mis Rhagfyr. Bydd ein gardd gwrw yn cael ei gorchuddio â phabell fawr glyd, a bydd yn gweini cwrw Nadoligaidd, selsig Almaenaidd a danteithion blasus eraill. Y lle perffaith i weld ffrindiau, i gyfnewid anrhegion ac i yfed llwnc destun tymhorol cyn i fis Rhagfyr fynd yn rhy brysur o’r hanner!
Seasons hosting their first Christmas market that will give customers a chance to shop from different stalls on the night from different businesses.
There will be a charity raffle, along with mulled wine, mulled cider, mince pies, singing & much more (it seems like it’s going to get pretty lit, to be honest).
Tickets are ONLY £5 per adult & £2 per child with a Christmas drink and snack included in the ticket price! Please do attend as proceeds from the event will be going to Welsh Women’s Aid.
Saturday 3 December, 4PM-6:30PM: Rhiwbina Christmas Festival 2016
RVE are rolling up their sleeves and have begun planning Festival 2016. Expect various stalls, food, fun and (hopefully) not rain (it’s become a bit of a tradition at the festival, it seems).
ANYONE WANTING TO APPLY TO HAVE A STALL at the Christmas festival should email eleanor.sanders@cardiff.gov.uk, although it may be a little late now.
Sunday 4 December, 11AM-5PM: Ab Fab Winter Wonderland Vegan Christmas Festival
A vegan food festival containing lots of excellent stalls including the renowned ‘Cheese and Chocolate’ and ‘Cardiff Vegan Pizza Co’. Make this Christmas special for the animals & for ourselves – Come down to Depot in Cardiff for a day filled with wonderful cruelty-free food, health & beauty products, gifts and animal rescue charities!
£1 admission for adults and FREE for children.
Cannot recommend this festival and the lovely organiser Sue Thomas enough – please be sure to check this place out.
Sunday 4 December, 11AM-7PM: Cardiff and Valleys Etsy Made Local 2016
If you’ve ever gone on Etsy, you know it’s a labyrinth of amazing clothes, crafts and jewellery. However, the Etsy Made Local market is bringing all these fun things directly to you via a market stall! A fun-filled day of shopping, workshops and performances. For one day only Cardiff and Valleys Etsy Sellers are taking over Tramshed, lots of wonderful local sellers will be there, as well as a host of workshops and performances throughout the day. Watch this space and check out our website for more details www.cavetsy.co.uk
An exclusive workshop at the CAVETSY Christmas extravaganza at the Tramshed. Join Green City to kick start a crafty Christmas! They’ll show you how to create beautiful, festive gifts and decorations from things that you might usually throw away. From upcycled Christmas tree decorations & garlands to wrapping paper, jewellery and lots more, you’ll take home plenty of crafty ideas & makes.
All materials provided, but you may need to bring along a few bits from home if you have them.
This workshop will take place in the upstairs bar at the Tramshed during the Cardiff and Valleys Etsy Made Local 2016. Why not make a day of it and enjoy browsing 50 stalls of local makers as well as live music, performances and workshops?
This workshop is suitable for ages 12+. Children aged 16 or under must be accompanied by an adult.
A cosy, alternative Cardiff Christmas shopping/eating/drinking experience with a chilled atmosphere and a diverse range of ethical local brands. There will be nature based products, veggie food, vegan food and treats, Christmas gifts that are good for the planet, handmade crafts, mulled wines, vegan friendly skincare for men and women, yoga pop up, vegan shop, live background music, a bar and more.
Saturday 10 December – Sunday 11 December – Snapped Up Market – A Dickensian Christmas
The Print Haus is one of our all time favourite places, so we can’t wait for their Christmas market! Snapped Up Market returns this December bigger and better than ever!! This time round they’ll be open for not one but TWO DAYS!!! That’s right folks, all the fun and merriment but spread over an entire weekend!
They’ll have all your favourites that you can expect from their markets, with ‘Print your own’ workshops/ open studios/ stalls from some rather fabulous artists, makers and craft people and of course resident pizza kings Dusty Knuckle will take care of your taste bud needs.
The best place to grab some amazing unique Christmas gifts and enjoy in some festive fun!
Chapter and Green City are doing it again and showcasing the best local Welsh produce!
Stock up on Christmas treats, stocking fillers, gorgeous chocs, tasty cheese, delicious meats and something special from the Caffi Bar.
For one day only!
Discover our Green Grotto, hosted by Green City. Join us for:
– Christmas craft workshops
– upcycled Christmas crafts
– and lots of family friendly fun!
… aaaaaaand that’s a wrap. Be sure to check out as many of these as you can, it’s always a great help to the city to help local businesses and – for all of our sakes – avoid the madness that is Black Friday and get to supporting your city’s local businesses!
Oh, and Merry Christmas. 2016 has been a weird one, right?
Get your Christmas cabaret on! A collective of international circus and cabaret artists famous for their thrilling, immersive performances is coming to the DEPOT warehouse at the end of this month.
On the 29 / 30 November and 1 December, guests are invited to dress in their craziest Christmas clobber and head to the DEPOT for an evening of wintery cabaret, circus tricks and ‘dodgy Santa comedy’ – courtesy of Mary Bijou Cabaret and Social Club’s ‘Fairy Tale Christmas’!
Having previously performed sell out shows at the Wales Millennium Centre, Edinburgh festival and around the country, The Mary Bijou Cabaret & Social Club are critically acclaimed for their immersive and intimate performances which are driven by playfulness and good fun.
Tickets for the Mary Bijou Fairy Tale Christmas are priced at £15 and available from depot.eventcube.io/events. Fancy dress is warmly encouraged!
For more info see DEPOT’s social media pages, or search @themarybijou
Holy cheeseboard Batman … Penylan Pantry – the award-winning Cardiff delicatessen will be opening a sister location in Cardiff Indoor Market this Saturday. The Cheese Pantry is an exciting new specialist cheese stall in Cardiff Central Market, and I can’t wait to eat my entire daily calorie allowance from it.
The Cheese Pantry will offer the largest selection of exceptional British cheeses in South Wales, a bench for lunchtime cheese board customers and a selection of chutneys, crackers and gifts for sale – this will surely become Cardiff’s go-to spot for lovers of all things cheese.
Melissa Boothman, who along with business partner Jolene runs Cardiff deli/cafe Penylan Pantry, is delighted to be setting up shop in the market.
“We are so proud to be here inside such a beautiful historic building that has been at the heart of the city’s food trade for over 120 years and with such a strong sense of community.”
Penylan Pantry was opened in December 2013 by Mel and Jo, wanting to create a place to showcase all the fantastic produce from Wales and the rest of Britain. Their ethos is all about sustainability: low food miles, supporting local producers and therefore the local economy and aiming to maintain a 95 per cent level of recyclable waste.
Penylan Pantry in Penylan, Cardiff
As a result of their hard work since opening, Penylan Pantry has won a Cardiff Life award for Best Cafe, and been Runner-Up three years in a row in the Observer Food Awards in Wales for Best Ethical Retailer, Best Cheap Eats and Best Independent Retailer.
When asked why she wanted to open a specialist cheese stall in Cardiff, Mel said:
“We are nuts about cheese! The smells, flavours, textures, characteristics, the rich history and varied stories that lie behind each one… did you know there are over 700 cheeses made in Britain?! Each one has its own tale to tell and we’d like to share some of those with you and showcase the absolute best of British cheese.”
Cheese fans Melissa and Jolene are joined by cheese expert Owen, who has 14 years’ experience in the artisan cheese market as a buyer for the catering industry, sourcing the best British cheeses directly from the makers and farmers. If those credentials weren’t enough, he has also been a judge at The World and British Cheese Awards. Sounds like a cheese lover’s dream! Safe to say, Owen is a man who knows his Cornish Yarg from his Dorstone and he’ll be the head cheese monger at Cheese Pantry, imparting his knowledge and expertise to all staff. Unsurprisingly, Owen is also excited about the stall opening:
“We want to give Cardiff the very best cheese counter and this understanding of the cheese we sell will absolutely set us apart from any of the supermarkets. Working with the girls from Penylan Pantry is a perfect match, combining their passion for exceptional food, supporting British producers and their love of great cheese.”
“Their passion for cheese shines through and their know-how will be shared with you when you buy, showing customers how to cut, care for, wrap and present each cheese, including many cheeses which cannot be found anywhere else in Cardiff. What better time to head down to the market and pick up some fantastic cheese and top tips on creating the perfect festive cheese board.”
See you guys at Cardiff Indoor Market on Saturday 26 November for the opening, yeah??
In this week’s person to person, we sit down for a chat with Meryl Cubley, Cardiff-based journalist and writer.
Cardiff is my home – despite not being born here. I’m originally from a very small village located on the Staffordshire Moorlands (very Heathcliffe) but I spent much of my childhood growing up on the coast of west Wales.
You could say that that particular part of the Welsh coastline is intrinsic to who I am – it certainly makes up a good 70 per cent of my childhood memories. It was a very special time for me and the friends who I grew up alongside in west Wales: mainly Welsh, though two or three of us were English. These were dark political times – significant tension existed between the local Welsh and the English interlopers who had holiday homes – but never used them: basically pricing locals out of their own areas of birth because they could no longer afford the house prices.
It was also a time of miners strikes, huge unemployment and a change in the cultural landscape of Britain that we have never recovered from. Yet despite these difficult times, tucked away in a tiny part of the world seven coves long, we enjoyed a halcyon childhood that many will never experience. I know that I feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing and special memories of that west Wales coast; and whenever I go back now, I immediately feel all the stresses and strains of everyday life disappear as soon as I smell the sea air, or look at the different play of light there, or look up to see a canopy full of stars. It is a very special place – and I simply wouldn’t have those memories if it weren’t for Cymru – the people and the place.
Being a country girl at heart brought up pretty much on horseback; I knew I’d have to move to ‘the big smoke’ if I wanted to live the exciting kind of life I dreamed of and read about in the countless novels and biographies I often had my head stuck in. So I left home at a very young age; and over the years lived in London, Manchester and Bristol among others; and leaned my street smarts the hard way. Each city had its charms, its time ‘on the map’. There’s no question that they have influenced my passion and love of arts and culture, music and society. There were incredible music scenes, new political ideas, a change in style, culture and fashion: we’re talking about in particular the scenes in Manchester and Bristol here – London always seemed like a rat trap to me.
But Cardiff had me hooked from the start. I was living in Australia, pretending to be a surfer chick, on a gap year before they were called a gap year; after a particularly nasty accident left me in a wheelchair for eight months. I got a phone call from my Mum at home in west Wales, to say I’d had an unconditional offer from Cardiff’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies – one of the top rated institutions in the UK for media training. I think it’s significant to note that I was seriously considering studying in Sydney at the time – but I knew immediately that I wanted to study and live in Cardiff.
After three years of hard graft and like many students, I decided to stay and work in Cardiff after I had graduated. I’ve worked for all of the Welsh media institutions at one time and another – and learned a lot – and had a lot of fun doing so.
When I did leave in 2003, to edit a graffiti publication in Bristol; I honestly didn’t think I’d be back – but lo and behold – nine years ago I did come back to live and work in Cardiff once more. It seems I just can’t stay away!
Since coming back I love the range of things on offer here. If I had friends visiting for the weekend, this would be our weekend itinerary:
Friday night – local drinks – which ranges from the Albany pub to Milgi to all the choices on Wellfield Road.
Saturday – brunch at Porro or Cameo – or one of the greasy spoon cafes if it was a really good night! Then follow that by a walk around Roath Park Lake or Bute Park. In the summer it’s great fun hopping on the little boat docked near the Bute Park entrance; and zipping down to Cardiff Bay. A walk across the barrage to Penarth is a must, blows away the night before, feels like a million miles away – and is an awesome spot for collecting marine fossils. Grab the train back to Cardiff, have a brief siesta; then the fun starts all over again! Dinner at Il Pastifico, Potted Pig or Cafe Citta, followed by cocktails at Dead Canary; and dancing over at Gwdihw. Then on to an after party wherever that happens to be …
Sunday involves, bed, cat, papers and ordering in!
***
Meryl Cubley is an Editor, Journalist and Writing Consultant. You can see more of her work at merylcubley.com or follow her @merylcubley. She currently lives in Roath.
Meryl was photographed by Lorna Cabble at Cameo Club on Wellfield Road.
You guys! BFI and Film Hub Wales have collaborated on a season called BLACK STAR. It’s the UK’s biggest ever celebration of black screen actors. In Wales, the focus is on a film called The Proud Valley (1940) which was filmed in Rhondda Valley coalfields and it starred American actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson.
The tour celebrates American actor, bass singer and Civil Rights activist Paul Robeson and the film, The Proud Valley, which was filmed on location in the Rhondda Valley coalfields.
The film tells the story of David Goliath, played by Robeson, who has sailed to Cardiff to find work. On discovering his voice, he joins the local male voice choir, finds work with the Blaendy miners and is is adopted by the community. It was extremely rare for a black character to be presented as kind, generous and good natured in the 1930s and 1940s, when cinema audiences were used to seeing Stepin Fetchit playing the fool in American comedies.The film enabled Robeson to express his socialist beliefs and portray the struggles of Wales’ working class.
The screenings launch with newly remastered material at Chapter Cardiff, on Sunday 13 November and will be accompanied by a performance from Treorchy Male Choir. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion, exploring Robeson’s impact on Welsh life, politics, and BAME communities.
We don’t usually promote businesses on We Are Cardiff. But Mark (aka @oddjobscardiff) is our exception.
Mark pitches himself as an ‘honest man for hire’, and both of us at We Are Cardiff have been super impressed with him and his work. In a Facebook post, he describes his frustration at seeing people being ripped off for odd jobs, and vowed to provide a better service to the people of Cardiff:
He provides window cleaning, gardening, gutter cleaning, hedge trimming, airport pickups, power washing, house painting, home security… basically anything!
Mark’s unique business operates on a pay what you want policy – ie. you give him whatever you feel is appropriate. He doesn’t quote for jobs, and he’s really honest about payment. He spent 4 hours clearing my garden and trimming a huge hedge – when I tried to pay him he gave me half of the money back ‘because it was too much’!
Alongside his great attitude to business, he’s reliable, punctual, fast, clean, works in any weather, very scrupulous and thorough in his work. Check out his Twitter account for examples of great before and after photos.
If you want to hire Mark, get in touch with him on Twitter or phone him on 07801 432 863 – you won’t be disappointed!
Fluidity Freerun Academy and Splatch care coming together to explode the idea of cabaret, with fierce challenges, audience games and contemporary circus. The event is being run to raise money for the wonderful organisation Performers Without Borders, which teaches performing arts to vulnerable children in countries of high child poverty.
Here’s Esther from Splatch to tell us more…
We’re celebrating the nostalgic Gladiator TV show using the newly opened freerun academy as a platform to create a high adrenaline night with circus spills and thrills, extreme athletic challenges and classic games. Bring your comfy shoes ready to move around and dance your tootsies off after. It runs 8pm until late with a DJ and drinks.
And it’s all in aid of a charity that’s close to our hearts …..
Two Nofit State performers, Sam Goodburn and Esther Fuge will be sharing, teaching and creating the life changing experience and skills of circus with vulnerable and poverty stricken children in Nicaragua. They will be joining a team of 8 performers for a three month tour around schools and community groups to build confidence, develop empowerment and overcome social barriers.
We Are Cardiff 