Alright kids. There are a couple of COOL THINGS happening this weekend around Cardiff, so I’m doing a mini events guide. This is by no means exhaustive so please ADD YOUR EVENTS IN THE COMMENTS THANKSBYEEEEE.
A great chance to visit the “new” location on Barrack Lane (okay not so new anymore but I haven’t been there yet, soooooo). Anyway. A great independent venue, go along and support – this is a FREE EVENT supported by Cardiff Council. Yes you heard!
Perennial classic which launched Danny Dyer directly into the hearts of the British public after his fabulously awkward wanking scene. Go watch it and lament miserably over how you saw it when it came out and how are you nearly 50 now??
HOFFI 4 – LUCAS ALEXANDER / MACE THE GREAT + GUESTS @ BUNK HOUSE
Some of you might remember the Bunkhouse on St Mary Street running banging nights in their basement waaay back in the day. They closed off the basement to non-residents for years, but suddenly they seem to be smashing out massive grimey nights again. Lovely little underground venue with a great line up, go headbutt the speakers and have a wonderful bubble.
I know Jacobs are getting a double entry but what you gonna do they’re a total gem in the city. If you’ve not seen it, this classic retains its claim as the quintessential Welsh film (buy yer own feckin glue). Go buy a ticket NOW.
A full day of fun on the water and fun out of the water! Live music from Live Lounge, local food from the Farmers Pantry, coffee from Coffie Pass. This year’s Paddlefest features the first ever Welsh Championships Kayak Cross (an event that will make its Olympic debut in Paris this year) alongside the GB SUP and GB Canoe Slalom races. If you’re going along for the day, there’s a load of taster sessions for you to book – Indoor Wave, Air Trail and SUP Tasters. The white water will be flowing all weekend.
MONDAY 5 MAY
CARNEDD OPEN DAY @ Ty Wilcox, Dunleavy Drive, CF110BA, Cardiff; 12:00-21:00
If you, like hundreds before you, ever temped for Cardiff Council in the 90s or 2000s, chances are you might have humped printer paper around or spilt tea pon de replay while wearing ill-fitting brown office shoes somewhere around the maze of dim corridors in Ty Wilcox. Today, this empty monument to 1980s instant coffee Welsh brutalism has been reimagined as a CREATIVE SPACE FOR GIGS. No really. The Carnedd collective is holding an open day there on Monday 5 May (the collective comprising of SHIFT, tactileBOSCH, Umbrella, and Dyddiau Du). Thanks to Xavier Boucherat’s Through the Night newsletter for the tip on this event).
A fun, free, family-friendly weekend celebrating all things print! Making its debut last summer, PRINTED FESTIVAL landed in Cardiff with a bang. Dreamed up by seasoned printers, Tom Whitehead (The Printhaus, Ed & Flo) and Aidan Saunders (Print Wagon, Prints of Hay), their mission is simple: to build on the existing print culture in South Wales, and make the art-form accessible to the masses.
With this solid foundation to build from, as well as the myriad of members who constitute The Printhaus community, PRINTED FESTIVAL couldn’t be more perfectly placed. It’s all hands on deck to make the festival the success that it is!
“We were blown away by all the positive comments from last year’s event, it was quite humbling! We begged, stole, and borrowed from everyone involved, who threw themselves into it with boundless passion! This year we want to expand and connect with more creatives and create an even better experience for visitors.” Tom – The Printhaus
PRINTED FESTIVAL 2, with the brilliant tagline – ‘Print Harder!’ – promises much of the same that made last year so good; stalls, activities, games, talks and community workshops.
Also being introduced to the line-up, will be an exciting panel discussion from print professionals, and an exclusive publication dubbed the HOLY GRAIL OF PRINTED FESTIVAL intel!
“Printed Festival went far better than I could have ever dreamed! After years of planning with Tom and Jude, we succeeded in creating an inclusive, interactive print festival that educated and inspired people to participate in creative practices. As soon as it was over, we realised Printed was but the foundation of a larger project, and we were inspired, compelled (!) to think of new and innovative ways in which we could engage the Welsh public and get them excited about printmaking. So this year we are going bigger and bolder, with more of what went well last year and some new and interesting tricks up our sleeves for this year. You can’t miss it.” Aidan – Print Wagon
A joyous celebration of print for creatives and the wider community alike, PRINTED FESTIVAL is not one to miss!
A hoy hoy friends. Today’s post is one I’ve been wanting to write for aaages, about a newsletter I signed up to a while ago that’s brought me much joy, as it covers ‘weirdo music’ in and around Cardiff. It’s called Through The Night and writer/curator Xavier was kind enough to spare me some time and some words on it. If weirdo music is your thing (and there’s all sorts of great stuff on there, so it really should be) please do sign up for Through the Night.
So, ready? Here we go!
WAC: Hello. Please introduce yourself.
I’m Xavier, from Cardiff. Since moving back in 2014 I’ve been putting on and playing shows here, initially as part of the Hotel de Marl collective, and now under the Sgarab Tapes moniker. I used to be a freelance music writer but am thrilled to say those days are behind me
WAC: You’ve been writing the Through the Night (TTN) newsletter for a while now. What inspired you to start it up?
Just before lockdown I felt we were seeing an especially fruitful time for weirdo music in Cardiff, culminating in a sell-out show in Tiny Rebel for Special Interest, a New Orleans-based outfit who play a sort of mutant no-wave dance-punk. Wild shit, largely the work of Luke Penny from Cardiff punks Cankicker. Happily, the pandemic failed to take the wind out of things, and so in Jan 2022 I threw together some listings in an effort to signpost things. There was once an outfit called ‘The Joy Collective’ who, along with putting on a tonne of leftfield stuff in Cardiff, ran a vital blog that did a similar thing, and I’m picking up where they left off.
I know that ‘Weirdo music’ is a pretty unhelpful catch-all, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t basically boil down to stuff I like, including projects I’m involved in. But fundamentally, this is a free, artist-led newsletter with no allegiances, least of all to pissant music monocultures of the sort which Cardiff Council loves to flaunt, if not actually support (see the presumably defunct ‘Music City’ project, for example), and which commercial venues are required to continuously indulge. Basically, TTN is dedicated inches for noise and drone, ambience and electronics, industrial, improv and weird jazz, anything that runs the risk of failing to draw an audience. At the same time I’m also open to including artists that are perhaps more easily pigeon-holed on paper, but in practice push boundaries, musical or otherwise, and that’s why I’ll still include certain punk & hardcore, weird metal, or club music. Ultimately I want to help anyone taking a chance, including the DIY promoters and venues; Lesson Number 1, Subvert Power Control, Paradise Garden, and on the performing arts side of things there’s TactileBOSCH.
I should point out another thing I don’t owe any loyalty to, which is publishing deadlines: in theory it’s once a month, but this doesn’t always happen since right now I am retraining as something with far, far more social utility than music-writing. Along with Cardiff I also do my best to cover similar stuff in Newport (home of Le Pub and more recently The Cab, which has quickly established itself as a righteous DIY space for punk and hardcore) and Swansea, (which is frequently the site of the excellent NAWR Music, led by the incredible Rhodri Davies, an improvising harpist from Aberystwyth), but am always concerned I might be omitting the real gear in these locations and am always keen to hear from punters on the ground
WAC: You also run a record label called sgarab tapes. Can you tell us a bit about that, and your own music production?
‘Label’ is a bit grand, for now it’s just a cassette and digital imprint for music I’ve made, on my own and with other people, but this year there will be some releases from artists whose music excites me and hopefully a Cardiff-focused compilation. Some people have asked about the logo, it’s the Summoner from the Canterbury Tales, whose job was to bring people before the church to answer for their crimes and face punishment, which is sort of what it’s like coming to our gigs
Of course, it’s a stupid time to be doing any of this; venue closures and rising costs make things like rehearsing, equipment, touring and getting people out of the house a struggle. Strangely though, it feels like things have never been better in Cardiff for adventurous sounds, at least in my time. Personally I think this is largely thanks to SHIFT, a performance space buried deep in the remains of the Capitol Centre which many, many hands have helped transform into a vital hub of experimentation, cultural solidarity and, I stress, real, actual fun. It’s been a riot, and I’ll be gutted when someone somewhere decides it’s got to go (presumably when the council finally decides to demolish the centre and replace it with unaffordable flats). A lot of highlights there over the last two years (Tara Clerkin Trio, Elvin Brandhi and Yeah You, Lo Egin, Viridian Ensemble) but a recent one that I think underlines what it’s all about was a residency by the Dutch performer Svartvit, who I suppose you could describe as an extreme noise artist. He’s also an extremely nice guy who, as part of the residency, ran a free, open workshop in which he described the processes by which he makes music, which embrace things like chance and situation, and by no means rely on expensive tech. Two of us ended up using what we learned to perform as an improv duo on the final night of his residency. I loved the name of the workshop, which was ‘democratising and de-quantising sound’, which I think is what it’s all about for me (de-quantising is a fancy way of saying working outside of traditional parameters or guidelines)
As for my own music, I perform solo as Beauty Parlour, which I normally describe as an extended exercise in world-building that looks to capture the ‘air of calamity’ I think hangs over South Wales a lot of the time. The music itself takes a few forms, from flooded ambience to manic, industrowave stuff that you can sort of dance to. I also play alto sax and sampler / synth in a band called ‘The Panama Papers’, which began as a hopelessly convoluted in-joke and has since expanded into a jazz-not-jazz-electronics outfit
WAC: Who are your favourite local musicians / artists that you’ve featured? Anyone you’d like to pick out for us to listen to?
I’ve mentioned Cankicker (goth-adjacent dirge-punk from Splott, really looking forward to their second LP which should be out this year) and Rhodri Davies (awe-inspiring improvising harpist, also plays in Hen Ogledd; last time I saw him he was supporting my favourite band of all time The Ex at Clwb Ifor Bach, and the performance was him simply going hell for leather on a smaller harp until all but two or three of the strings had snapped, it was special). A few more from across Wales who I’ve featured these past couple of years are Ardal Bicnic (duo of Rosey Brown and Heledd C Evans, no music online but whose shows have featured everything from scorching violin and clarinet loops to mic’d-up gelatine desserts), Sachasom (deranged, Machynlleth-based beatmaker; what if J Dilla had been made to watch S4C?), Ordeal By Roses (South Wales’s premier power electronics act, ‘And Darkness…’ is my favourite) Somatic Responses (prolific modular synth and electronics producer), and Ash Cooke (improvising guitarist from North Wales, currently putting on some very interesting stuff in Aberystwyth)
WAC: Any hopes / dreams / ambitions for your work for 2024?
Only that I can find the time to carry on doing this stuff. If the newsletter actually helps anyone, that’s mission accomplished. There are a couple of Sgarab releases available now:
Okay kids. We don’t often do last minute TONIGHT style announcements, but here you go. TONIGHT (22/3/2024) at CultVR Lab, don’t miss this unique live performance.
Das Koolies, returned to their rave roots last year with their expansive debut album DK.01 taking an extended road trip through the former Super Furry Animals’ techno, pop, krautrock and psych influences before hitting the road for real on a sold out UK tour.
Now, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Daf Ieuan and Guto Pryce are back in Cardiff for a unique live performance, in collaboration with immersive studio 4Pi Productions and Dah Dit Dit, the creative minds behind their groundbreaking music videos.
Supported by Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and Cardiff Music Board, the Soundspace Session on Friday 22nd March will see the bands’ sonic adventures and poignant beats bound songwriting enhanced by immersive visuals, under the dome at experimental digital arts centre, CULTVR.
Das Koolies:
“Home sweet home, yet unfamiliar territory to all of us, as we turn the Das Koolies’ sounds into something altogether otherworldly at only our second Cardiff live outing. Our album, DK.01, recorded in the secrecy of our HQ in Cardiff Bay, is made of our shared imaginations and experiences but, beyond our own imaginations lie possibilities unexplored. Something unexpected. For perhaps one night only, DK.01 becomes an immersive experience at CULTVR and together we’ll find out what that world looks, sounds and feels like.”
Matt Wright, Artistic Director of 4Pi Productions:
“Over the past decade, 4Pi has been at the forefront of innovation in immersive creativity and live performance. Through this live XR experience, we aspire to offer audiences a deeper insight into the band’s artistic vision.”
Is your Cardiff street like my Cardiff street? Littered with an assortment of kebab wrappers, empty baggies, and recycling bags stuffed full of actual waste that your neighbours keep leaving out? Keep Wales Tidy have got you.
They’re arranging Spring Clean Cymru on 15-31 March 2024 – and calling on people across Wales to join forces to collect and safely dispose of litter from our streets, green spaces and beaches.
The plan? Join in and pledge to pick up as much litter as you can during the campaign. You might choose to pick up just one bag, or you could set yourself a goal of collecting as many as you can.
Last year, an incredible 7,000 #LitterHeroes collected more than 4,000 bags of litter and recycling. Can we do even better in 2024? I could probably do that just from my street in Butetown. COME ON CARDIFF WE GOT THIS!
Whether you’re an avid litter picker or this is your first time joining for a community litter pick, pledge to pick up a bag – or more – today!
Nadolig Llawen to all you lovely, lovely folks out there. There have been a couple of useful posts in the Cardiff subreddit this week which I thought I’d share (and pull some info from) in case you’re looking for something to do on Christmas Day, a place to get coffee or food, or if you’re looking for something to eat and you’re on a low income or unwaged.
Here’s what we’ve found:
Lovely lovely Queer Emporium is open 16:30 – 19:00 for a couple of hours, for folks looking for somewhere warm and welcoming
The amazing Pink Kiwi is open and serving breakfast and lunch, coffee and cake free of charge 08:00-15:00.
Another amazing local organisation – Aubergine Cafe – are hosting Queersmas in Cathays, 14:00-20:00 – free to attend but you’re encouraged to book a ticket through their site (link in their Instagram)
Here are the two posts (more info about places that are open tomorrow on there. We also hear the following Cardiff Wetherspoons are open from 11-15:00 – The Ivor Davies, The Ernest Willows, The Aneurin Bevan, The Mount Stuart):
Okay so full disclosure, we are huge Minas fans over here. And we may be biased, but we think his artistic takeover at CULTVR on 17-18 November is going to be VIBES and you should buy tickets IMMEDIATELY if not sooner.
MINAS: WAITING ROOM @CULTVR
An immersive, story-driven live event by genre-busting Welsh Music Prize nominee, Minas.
Fresh off the back of a triumphant UK tour and Sŵn Festival closing set, and a Welsh Music Prize nomination for his debut solo album, All My Love Has Failed Me, Cardiff-based artist Minas presents Waiting Room – a narrative-led event featuring live music, 360-degree visuals and live performance.
The two-night Soundspace Sessions event at groundbreaking digital arts centre CULTVR is supported by Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and Cardiff Music Board and forms part of Cardiff Council’s Music Strategy.
Act One, on November 17th 2023, will feature live music from Tamarebi, Lily Webbe, Freddy Forbidden, Foxxglove, Half Happy as well as Minas himself.
Act Two, on the following night (November 18th) will see Grove, Shlug, Minas, Sorry Stacy, Razkid, Mogan, and Spit Hood perform, as well as a DJ set from Gemiiniize.
Speaking about the event, James Minas, said: “I’m so gassed about this event, it’s a chance to do something on a different scale to anything I’ve done before.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s going to be kind of intense.
“The creatives I’ve been working with to put this all together have been immense, so talented and together I think we’ve created something that takes what we do live to a whole new level.”
For those tune lovers seeking out a night of solid entertainment in the city, we heartily recommend a night spent with Technicolour – the choir that brings you shows like no other!
Whether you’re seriously into musical theatre or a casual lover of a good sing-along, the Technicolour events are one of Cardiff’s best secret nights out. Think immersive theatre meets club night – a bit like Secret Cinema on a more intimate scale.
You’ll experience the power of a 120-member strong choir remixing show tunes, layering in their own special harmonies, and bringing you new fresh versions of classics. Their shows are colourful, vibrant, and full of energy.
For their next performance ATLANTIS (Sat 3 June, Cardiff Student Union – Atlantis tickets here), Technicolour invite you to get your glitter on and travel to a magical underwater kingdom, where you’ll be entertained by a rollercoaster of energetic vocal performances (think your favourite musical theatre hits – but in mash-up style). Then get your dancing shoes on for the afterparty, where the DJ spins up-beat party tunes and the festivities go all night long.
Each show is a unique experience (you’ll never see the same show twice), and the choir uses a variety of venues across the city to match the vibe of the performance.
Want to see a taste of what’s to come? Here’s a sneek peak at past show Masquerade …
St David’s Hall has found itself in the centre of public debate lately, as news broke last week that Cardiff Council was considering a proposal from a private firm, Academy Music Group, to take over ownership of the beloved concert venue. As of this writing, more than 15,000 people have signed a petition calling for St. David’s to be protected as a vital performance space for classical music in the heart of Cardiff.
On Monday November 28, as if to reinforce its importance to Cardiff’s vibrant cultural scene, St David’s hosted the Sinfonia of London, billed as a “super orchestra” of top musicians hand-picked by artistic director John Wilson. Originally established in 1955 chiefly as a recording orchestra, Wilson revived the orchestra in 2018 and in a few short years has propelled it to sold out concerts across the UK, not to mention reviews so universally gushing that they border on the hyperbolic. (The Sinfonia of London is not to be confused with the City of London Sinfonia– a case of absurdly confusing nomenclature worthy of a Monty Python skit).
Opening with William Walton’s boisterous comedy-overture Scapino, Wilson and his musicians established their trademark bold attack and swaggering virtuosity right off the bat. Walton composed the work in 1941 as a commission for the Chicago Symphony, home to one of the world’s great brass sections, and the Sinfonia brass negotiated the spirited music with ease. Wilson’s approach to conducting is remarkably economical and un-showy; like a master jockey, he can control this powerhouse ensemble with the lightest touch, and mostly knows how to stay out of their way.
The Sinfonia’s feel for panache and razzle-dazzle was on full display for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Joining the ensemble was 26-year old British pianist Martin James Bartlett. Bartlett certainly has technical chops and musical charm to spare, but his Gershwin felt over-thought and overwrought. His playing was fussy and precious, with odd rubato choices that he perhaps thought sounded more “jazzy”. The sexiest, most impressive versions of the Rhapsody happen when the pianist relaxes into the pocket of the music, letting Gershwin’s bluesy growls and soaring skyscraper melodies speak for themselves.
The balance of the program was devoted to works by the French impressionists Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. For this refined repertoire, Wilson’s approach needed more polish and shimmering French elegance. In both Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and Debussy’s La Mer, his focus on rhythm and impulsion created a sense of drama and cinematic excitement (at one point his baton went flying into the viola section), but it was too often at the expense of more nuanced orchestral colour and patient, sustained legato. The rarely performed original version of Ravel’s Bolero, composed in 1928 for the flamboyant Ballets Russes dancer Ida Rubinstein, sounded glaringly Spanish rather than achieving a more subtle effect of Spain viewed through a Frenchman’s wineglass. Some of the orchestral solos missed the mark here, in particular the tenor and soprano saxophones. Still, there was no denying the musicians’ visible enjoyment in performing this satisfying work, nor Wilson’s skill in allowing the dynamic tension to build until its explosive final flourish.
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Natasha Gauthier has been writing about classical music in Canada and the US for more than 25 years. She is the former classical music critic for the Ottawa Citizen, in Ottawa, Canada. She currently writes for Early Music America Magazine, Opera Canada and Ludwig Van, among other online and print publications. In June she was a teaching fellow at the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She moved to Cardiff in September 2022 to complete a postgraduate degree at Cardiff Uni. When not attending concerts, she spends her free time here breathing in the sea air, admiring the clouds, learning Cymraeg and trying to make friends with the magpies.
Today’s piece is a lovely reflection on living in Cardiff, written by Mary Ocana, who originally hails from South East LA. Also just like to say it wasn’t a deliberate move to publish this on the day the President Biden was inaugurated but what a nice piece of synchronicity, eh?
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“Croeso i Gymru” – “Welcome to Cardiff” is a sign I read as soon as I exited the M4 towards Cardiff. A warm and honest welcome.
Cardiff Bay
I have lived in Cardiff for the last three years and every second has been nothing short of a wonderful time. Wales is a country that I have come to see as widely diverse and exciting, and Cardiff now holds a special place in my heart. While it may not be the place where I was born, or where most my family and friends are, it has grown to feel like home in many aspects.
My love for Wales started in 2016 when I first stepped off a train in Ebbw Vale. At that moment, everything felt both foreign and welcoming to me. I remember the surrounding trees and splashing of water from the river stream nearby, and the giant valleys leaning over as if to say “welcome”. Driving around the winding roads, I could hardly grasp what I was looking at. It was beautiful – the only thing that I could compare it to would be scenes in films I had seen in the past, like the green Irish countryside in P.S I Love You. I could see hundreds of sheep sprinkled like sugar atop the valleys, quietly whispering to myself “I’m home”. The cold-yet-inviting air that filled my lungs that day is something I’ll never forget; sometimes it still happens when I get off the train in Ebbw Vale or Rhymney.
Bryn Bach
See, I grew up in South East Los Angeles, in Maywood, California – home to a large Latino population. My parents uprooted their life in Mexico and settled here in their early 20s. It has now become their home and is far more familiar to them than anywhere else. Maywood is only 1.8 miles in diameter, but it is filled with a lot of character and is still a place which harbours memories that will stay with me always. As an only child and the daughter of two low-income immigrant parents, it was difficult to think of the future. I felt like a failure after graduating High School because I did not get into the colleges I applied to and I ended up attending community college.
At the time, it felt like I would never get to have a study abroad experience – which is something I had always wanted to do. I appreciated LA and the OC, but I just simply wanted to see what else there was outside of my comfort zone. Even if it was just upstate, somewhere like UC Davis or somewhere in Rhode Island, far away. I wanted to experience growth in this way.
A few months away from my Cypress College graduation, I found myself staring at an opportunity I had only dreamed of all these years. It was difficult to imagine that I, a 21-year-old from Maywood would ever get the chance to study abroad, but yet here it was – a study abroad experience in Wales. It was a frightening thought, as it meant moving 3,000 miles across the Atlantic ocean and creating a life far away from everything I had ever known. It is a decision I am truly grateful I had the opportunity to make. I am glad I went for it.
Tredegar
Two months after arriving in Wales I found an apartment in Canton. It was a small one-bedroom apartment nestled by Thompson’s Park, and only a 30-minute walk from Cardiff Metropolitan University. It wasn’t long before I eased into my new life in Cardiff. This was something completely new and exciting because I had never lived on my own. I started to develop my own routines and found solace in walking to places like the Canton Fruit Market – partly because of the 50p banana bowls, but mainly because everyone I ran into was so pleasant. Breakfast at Crumbs, coffee from Lufkin and sandwiches from Bee & Honey quickly became my new favourite treats.
On the days that I had to go into university, I walked through Llandaff Fields, I used to cut through the field because I liked the way wet grass felt on my boots. Walking to school was a huge breath of fresh air – back in LA I was used to driving in one-hour traffic just to get to my 8AM lecture, but here I was, walking, witnessing dogs off their leads and the trees welcoming the autumn season. I could not be happier.
Taffs Well
I discovered that, for the most part, Wales is a rainy and cloudy place. This wasn’t a bad thing, however. Coming from a place where it hardly rains, experiencing the rain, whether it was manic or calm, was a lovely contrast.
The first few months I lived in Cardiff, I visited all the “tourist-y” bits. I took a train to Penarth, walked through Alexandria Park (a favourite of mine) and Penarth Pier. Beaches were not foreign to me, but this was the first time that I had ever seen a pebble beach – pebbles as far as I could see and seagulls waiting for the opportunity to swoop in and steal my chips. I took a train to Cardiff Bay, to see the Wales Millennium Centre and the Pierhead Building, it was interesting to read about the history and see what Cardiff Bay used to look like. Barry is one of my favourite places, too, and I feel as though the beaches around Cardiff are hugely underrated.
Ogmore
But, by far, my favourite place I visited and still escape to often is St. Fagans. Turog – the bakery there – is the perfect place to grab a snack to hold on to whilst walking around. When you are at St. Fagans it truly does feel like you are experiencing a piece of history, it is a wonderful feeling. The best thing about visiting all of these places is that they are not far. They are only a short train or bus stop away.
In LA, driving is an absolute necessity. Public transport is decent, but I have to admit it is not the safest or most reliable. In Cardiff, however, I have the pleasure of walking everywhere. If I needed to go into town I could just hop on the 61 bus and be there in ten minutes. On my first day of school, I remember walking down the River Taff trail through Pontcanna Fields and through Bute Park, and it was the first time I witnessed Cardiff Castle – I had never seen a castle in my entire life! I’ll admit I was a bit giddy. Sometimes I still feel that way as I walk past and the clock chimes its tune.
Mary at Lidl in Tredegar
I find myself in the city centre quite a bit, whether it is looking for beetroot wraps in M&S or just wandering around to take in all the Victorian and Edwardian architecture beauty. I enjoy walking through the arcades; the feeling that I get when having a stroll through them is something I can’t quite put into words!
In close proximity to the arcades is the Cardiff Market which, believe it or not, used to be a prison, and now it is home to a wide variety of food stalls and vendors. Cardiff Bakestones is a favourite of mine here because of their vegan Welsh cakes, which are always baked to perfection. I spent a lot of time there, whether it was to drink a flat white from Hard Lines or pizza from Ffwrnes. It is a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
It was also at this time that I experienced snow for the first time! It snowed in January of 2017 and it was super exciting for me. I witnessed a snowy Bryn Bach and Thompson’s Park; they were completely different when they were covered in snow, it was magical, albeit cold but still a wholesome new experience.
I thought I knew what celebrating Christmas was all about in California, but Christmas is truly something special in Wales. It is in the air. During the Christmas season, the city centre becomes a luscious Christmas paradise. There are vendors and stalls and the excitement of Christmas right around the corner. It was the place where I tried mulled wine for the first time and it is the place which I keep coming back to each year for churros, from the lovely Emilio of Churros and Chocolate. Winter Wonderland feels genuinely festive, and we don’t have anything quite like it in California, mostly because of the weather. Celebrating Christmas in the UK has made me appreciate the season more.
Bryn Bach
I lived in Canton for two years and in those two years, I remember how thankful I was that I only had to walk 15 minutes to get to work. I worked in Bloc, at the edge of Victoria Park, and if I got there early, I could hang around the park, watch all the dogs and have a coffee. Getting to work in a coffee shop, and getting to know the regulars and people that lived in Canton was such a lovely experience – everyone was always very friendly and forgiving. Working there was refreshing and it did not compare to any places I had worked in before – I will always be grateful to Bloc.
After living in Canton, I moved to Roath. Roath differs from Canton significantly but it has still been a wonderful place to live in. Because my 50p banana bowls were long far I had to find something else, and rightfully found Sammy from Fruit and Veg Barrow and slowly the routines were settling in. Now I only live twenty minutes away from Roath Lake and the Roath Rose Garden and these places have comforted me throughout these difficult times. Walking around these places and checking out nice spots like Roath Mill Gardens helped me throughout lockdown, and reminded me of how many lil’ gems Cardiff has.
Roath
As a Mexican-American, it has been an absolute joy being surrounded by Welsh people and immersing myself in their culture. Maybe it’s because Welsh people remind me of who I am as a Mexican-American, as there are parallels between each culture and their hard-working attitude.
There is just something genuinely honest and special about Welsh people: they are kind, hardworking, and always up for a good time. Getting to know my partner’s Welsh family was a joy – they were all welcoming, and I quickly began to see them as my own. I didn’t grow up with a lot of family, but Wales and my partner’s family – from their caring attitude to treating me to Sunday dinner – made me feel like I was in one straight away. My eyes begin to water when I think about how proud people are to be Welsh and I am overwhelmed with happiness that I get to experience it.
Wales has taught me more than I could have ever imagined, not only about how fantastic other places in the world can be, but how to love myself. I feel a lot more independent, and I feel like if I can move across the country on my own then I can do absolutely anything. Cardiff and the Welsh Valleys will forever be with me. I cannot thank both my parents and friends enough for believing in me and always encouraging me to follow my heart.
Mary in Penarth
Mary is an Interior Design graduate from Cardiff Met. Thanks Mary for this wonderful account of your past few years living in and around Cardiff!
If you’re interested in writing for We Are Cardiff, please contact us.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, LET’S NECK SOME BEER AND CHEER AND EAT ALL OF THE THINGS.
Did everyone else’s dry January last approximately 1.5 days? Asking for a friend. Anyway, I realise it’s a bit late for the old Blwyddyn Newydd Dda but coronavirus rules means you can wish anyone anything anytime you like (so happy Halloween and Yalda greetings, friends!). So happy new year from us here at We Are Cardiff.
This isn’t really a post about new year though, it’s a post about drinking beer. Or wine. Or anything you like. With or without alcohol. And also eating, because eating is great. Basically this is a post reminding all of you that even though we’re locked down, many MANY amazing Welsh indies are still making and baking and roasting and basting and selling, so if you’re shopping online (let’s face it, what else is there to do these days?) then why not fill your food basket with stuff that supports some local businesses?
Hungry / thirsty yet? LET’S GO.
FINE DINING – EAT AT HOME!
Let’s stop d*cking around. You want Michelin guide level fine dining but obviously there’s go getting you to the restaurant at the moment. So sweep the cat hair off the dining table and put on a bra, ‘cos we’ve got some options for you. And they’re fancy as f*ck. (Sorry if you’re here for the full swears, we have a NYRes to try and control our potty mouth).
HEANEY’S
HEANEY’S have put together a Dine at Home box which brings top quality small plates into your home and feeds two people. But be quick – the boxes are limited and so far have been selling out early in the week! They’re still doing their Sunday dinners as well, btw, as well as the sourdough and Marmite butter …. (Dine at Home £85 feeds two people).
PURPLE POPPADOM are also doing takeaway set menus – they’ve got a winter set menu (vegetarian and meat options available) that feeds two people – and who wouldn’t want chef Anand George curating that special curry night for them?? They’ve also got an extended a la carte takeaway menu as well. (Winter set menu £27.95 for two people).
PASTURE are offering Pasture Experience Boxes for the meat lovers (veggies and vegans avert your eyes). And it’s meat tastic. I mean, it’s literally a box full of delicious meat. More meat than I’ve ever seen in a single box. The boxes arrive in time for you to carry out a ‘Pasture cookalong’ with chef and owner Sam Elliott, who will be showing you how to cook your slabs of beef (and all the rest) through a live Instagram event. There are plans for Sunday Roast Cook-alongs and a Porterhouse Box. (Porterhouse Box £95 for two people).
THE CRISPY COD – while you might not have considered a seafood extravaganza as a viable option during lockdown, the Crispy Cod are here to serve you Rock & Scallop platters which look the absolute business. Also HELLO Kinder Bueno dessert from The Cheesecake Guy, get in my mouth please. (Welsh seafood platter £80 for two to three people).
THE HUMBLE ONION – this indie bistro in Dinas Powys is also offering Sunday lunches and three course Humble at Home boxes. (Three course boxes are £30 pp).
KERALAN KARAVAN have literally fuelled us throughout the pandemic. Big thanks to Krish in the kitchen for those magic cooking hands. AND they’ve just started their Heat 2 Eat curry club, where you get fresh curries AND BEER brought to your doorstep! I honestly don’t think I could have made it through without that tasty swag in my belly. My favs from KK are their vegan burger and sexy fries. DAMN. The Keralan Karavan Heat 2 Eat curry club needs to be preordered so get yours in now / follow Keralan Karavan on Twitter.
FRANKS – everyone’s favourite hot dawg – have put together home kits as a special treat. There are veggies options alongside their meaty deals, plus cheese and bacon add-ons and some sweet merch. Order from the Franks website / follow Franks on Instagram.
MILKWOOD – somewhere in between super fancy dining and delicious lunch and dinner options is where Milkwood have placed themselves, and it’s pitch perfect. We’re big fans of the takeaway pizza menu (hello gorgonzola get yourself in my mouth), plus they do beers, wines and ciders and lovely sandwiches as well. Order and book a collection slot on the Milkwood website / follow Milkwood on Twitter.
BOOZE AND OTHER ESSENTIALS
POP’N’HOPS
POP’N’HOPS have their online shop’n’hops (sorry) open for business, with free delivery for orders over £50, or you can pop’n’lock (seriously stop it now) in there for collection during specific times in the week. Pop’n’Hops specialise in those unusual beers you just can’t get from other places – we are big fans of their massive selection of milk stouts (they’ve even got an alcohol free one!) and all the lovely pale ales. Plus cider. Mmm. Order from the Pop’n’Hops website.
LITTLE MAN
Though you’ll know them for coffee, LITTLE MAN have expanded their delivery catalogue to include all sorts of things for doorstep delivery, three times a week! Our orders from them usually include Oatly Barista oat milk, Who Gives a Crap! toilet paper, blue roll (we make a right mess here in this house) and Freddos. YES FREDDOS YOU HEARD. They also sell WINE which is not a drink I know much about, but check out their selection via Chilled and Tanin. On the way in or on the way out – whichever orifice needs attention, Little Man have got you covered. Choose your own adventure from the Little Man linktree / follow Little Man on Instagram.
PETTIGREW BAKERIES are still STILL nearly a year own baking their way through the pandemic. They’ve been open throughout providing tasty baked goods and kitchen essentials. You can book a slot for collection OR they will deliver some of their patisserie items, if you have some friends who need cheering up with gluten (seriously their brownies should be offered as mood improvers). Have a look at the options on offer from the Pettigrew Linktree / follow Pettigrew Bakeries on Twitter.
HARD LINES
HARD LINES – Hard Lines Coffee are trying to twist my melon by offering so much variety of good things I don’t know what category to stick them in. Their Canton store is open for pick up (although check opening times and days – at the moment they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). In store you can buy coffees, pastries (and burritos on the weekends!) and peruse a massive selection of organic wines and ciders, plus a whole bunch of different kitchen essentials. Their website also offers coffee club subscriptions (great gift ideas) plus ALL THE COFFEE for mail order. If this floats your boat then please enjoy the below image of Mary Berry holding a packet of Hard Lines Coffee. Order from Hard Lines website.
WILD THING are open for pre-ordered takeaways from Thursday to Sunday (go visit their hatch in Cathays Community Centre!). Excitingly, they are also running a Community Fridge! If you’re struggling and in need of food, the community fridge is open EVERY DAY between 9AM-4PM, 36 Cathays Terrace (the fridge is also looking for volunteers, so if you’ve got some time to spare please contact Wild Thing!). They are one of our best social businesses – please do what you can to support them. Pre-order takeaways from the Wild Thing website / follow Wild Thing on Twitter.
OUR CROWDFUNDER IS LIVE! Help us return to Grangetown by sharing or donating if you can. We are so so grateful for everyone’s support to make our sustainable community cafe happen! https://t.co/tunm1pfbbf
ORDERING A TAKEAWAY? USE A CARDIFF-BASED DELIVERY SERVICE! Yes it exists, and it’s called Indie Eats! It’s a co-op affair which means your local eateries get a better deal from it. Also if you use it, you’ll probably discover some great new places to eat! Visit the Indie Eats website or Indie Eats on Twitter and support that little guy.
RIVERSIDE FARMERS’ MARKET: Riverside Farmers’ Market Every Sunday 10am – 1:30pm, Fitzhamon Embankment, opposite. Principality Stadium, City Centre.
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Okay, well I’m now too hungry to carry on. Hopefully some of these have inspired you to add some indie treats into your weekly shop. Because YOU’RE WORTH IT.
If you see anyone we’ve missed out, please add them in the comments!
As lockdown is lifting (this version of lockdown, anyway), you’ll have noticed the stream of letters has dried up a bit.
We know it’s taken time for some folks to really get to grips with they felt about lockdown, so we’re not closing down the series.
Instead, we welcome you to write pieces about how your lockdown went, now you’ve had some time to reflect. Or you might still be shielding. Whatever. We’re still welcoming your stories, so please feel free to contact us with your Letter from Cardiff in lockdown.
We Are Cardiff 