Monthly Archives: May 2017
The Book of Cardiff – launch!
So I was in my trapeze class yesterday and my lovely teacher Olga said that a photo of me was on Facebook, and it was going to be in a photography book! Intrigued, I reactivated my Facebook account to check it out…
In the most Cardiff fashion ever, I was photographed riding my bike through a lovely park, past Bryce Davies’s (aka graffiti artist Peaceful Progress) van. In serendipitous style, Bryce had also recently done my tattoo (you can see it poking out of my right sleeve). If that’s not Cardiff, I’m not sure what is – cycling everywhere, parks, graffiti, everyone knowing everyone and a gorgeous photo of the whole thing.
Anyway, it turns out that the wonderful photographer Craig Kirkwood has gone and made a photography book about Cardiff! It features loads of incredible shots of lots of our friends. It looks really amazing, so we had a chat with him to find out more….

The Book of Cardiff is a hardcover bound portrait of the city told through around 300 stunning photographs taken over a 12-month period.
You can see some of the wonderful shots below, or on the book’s Facebook page.
Foreword to the 1st edition
“This book covers about a year in the life of the city. As an expatriate Australian, I don’t pretend to understand the history of Cardiff in any detail. Nor do I have the cultural ties that would give me an informed, insider’s perspective. But I do bring the eye of a resident tourist still delighted with just how pleasant it is to live in a city that can be covered largely by foot or bicycle.At the time of writing, I’ve lived in Cardiff just over a year. It’s not such a long time really but to delay this book any further would be to miss the opportunity of seeing the town as a fresh outsider.As a photographer, it’s important to grab that ‘new car feeling’ and breath it in before the sights that seem fascinating become commonplace.”
About the author
Where to buy and launch party details
We can’t wait to see the finished book – best of luck Craig!!
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Zombies, killer swans and Welsh cwrw on the River Taff
The second part in my series of essays about the Taff is up on Caught By The River now: Zombies, killer swans and Welsh cwrw on the River Taff
I’ve been doing lots of walking and lots of research for this series, and so there’s a lot of stuff I don’t get to publish on CBTR. Luckily for me, the overspill can go here.

(Photo by Wales Online)
I was listening to Underworld during my walk.
Further reading:
A brew that’s part of the city’s history (Wales Online, 2009)
The Brewing of Brabo 2: The Brains behind the operation (Des De Moor, 2013)
Grangetown Online History: pubs
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Not too shabby, Tintern Abbey!
Tintern Abbey is just 50 minutes out of Cardiff, but the wooded, mountainous surroundings feel a million miles away from the city. We spent the afternoon testing out a new camera lens, so here’s a little photo blog for you!
The present-day remains are a mixture of building works covering a 400-year period between 1131 and 1536. Very little remains of the first buildings but you will marvel at the vast windows and later decorative details displayed in the walls, doorways and soaring archways….
Little Guide to Cardiff 2017 – update
So, we thought you’d all be able to access the Little Guide to Cardiff that we stuck up on Scribd, but it seems that they want to make everyone pay to join it now … cheeky!
So we’ve abandoned ship and stuck it up on Issuu instead. Inside you’ll find our guide to our favourite major attractions, shopping, arts and culture, pubs bars and clubs, and family friendly things to do in Cardiff.
Read on!


