April in Cardiff

Here are a couple more shots of Cardiff in the pink.

I walk through this park, Alexandra Gardens with the Welsh National War Memorial centre stage, on my way to work in the morning. Good way to start the day.





Beth in Paree

When you can't be there yourself, nothing beats being an armchair traveller.

I urge any of you perusing this blog, to check out Beth Kaplan's Born to Blog. There is a link to the right, but you can also get there from here.

Beth teaches creative memoir writing in Toronto at both Ryerson and the University of Toronto, and I was very fortunate to have taken a class with her. Not only is she an excellent teacher, but she's a wonderful writer and for the last couple of years has been sharing her spring visits to Europe -- as well as chronicling her life in Toronto.

April in Paris! She's there!

flower power



Magnolia magic

Last week was a glorious week of sunshine and summer heat. The flowering trees at Bute Park were among the most beautiful I have ever seen. Kudos to the Cardiff Parks department for amazing work.

Cardiff Castle from Bute Park



  

More of Bute Park





At the back of Bute Park are a canopied wood of camelia --  red, white and pink.
They look like roses and can grow into tree-size shrubs.  Simply breathtaking.



BobbyGeorge, the giant warthog troll, so named by my niece Sarah and nephew Shawn.
He has been given a fresh spring coat of sod.

all in the wash

Laundry day

Most flats in the U.K. come with washing machines, as did mine. Most do not have dryers, which leads to the proliferation in most British households of portable drying racks. As the machines also only hold loads about one-third the size as North American washers and each load takes an average (no kidding) of two hours (as opposed to the N. American 30-45 minutes) the sight of drying racks is pretty constant.

Clothes lines are available, and I have access to one in a shared courtyard, but clothes lines are not much of an option when it rains every other day.

This drying of clothes anywhere inside the house where there is a wall heater also leads to a very high moisture content indoors, which leads to a constant battle against mould. Britain is mouldy.

I have only seen two laundromats in my Cardiff travels and one was actually outside Cardiff in Penarth.

In the winter, on my walks home from work, I was able to see into windows of other flats, and everywhere, on staircases, railings and racks there were constantly clothes drying.

swansea bay



Take that, Cardiff

Last week I had another rough week at work (after nearly six months I still cannot clean the rooms in the time expected and they cut hours due to a slow time), a higher-than expected utility bill, and the TV Licensing folk finally found me, adding another bill of 12 pounds a month on the pile. (In the U.K. one has to pay to have a TV-viewing device in your home. Ostensibly it is to pay for the very fine and excellent BBC. I was told by the Harris' when I came to Wales that the licensing people would contact me, but it took them awhile and I wasn't about to call them. Time to pay the piper though.)

So, time for a little treat. I looked at the rail and bus schedules to see where I could go on a day trip for 10 pounds. There are actually many places I can go north, east and west, but I wanted to be by the sea and had passed through Swansea on one of SeeWales tours of the Gower Peninsula, but only briefly.

So, off I went on my adventure to Swansea, the so-called 'second city' of Wales. I was hoping I could visit the seaside community of Mumbles, which I knew was west of Swansea, but didn't know if it was within walking distance.

Swansea, as it's famous son the poet Dylan Thomas wrote, is a 'ugly, lovely town.' It also has played second fiddle to the capital Cardiff for years. The owner of my favourite local cafe says the animosity between Swanseans and 'Diffians can be unpleasant.  He himself is from the Swansea area, but 'You don't  want to let them know you're from Cardiff, as I found out the hard way,' he said, turning serious and fading away from details.

'It probably should have been the capital of Wales, but it suffered terrible bombing during the War and was never properly rebuilt.'

What I didn't remember or realize was that the length of Swansea Bay from Swansea to Mumbles is flanked by an amazing pedestrian/cycling path. I was able to walk to Mumbles (a very hearty 2 hour walk followed by a seaside lunch and another hearty 2 hour return trek). I liked what I saw and think Swansea Bay is going to be a favourite getaway.

There must be something in the water there. Besides the poet Thomas, the area has been home to some excellent internationally known performers, among them Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bonnie Tyler (Mumbles), and the great actors Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and, my personal favourite, Michael Sheen (all from heavily industrial Port Talbot.)

And just on the far side of the Bay begin the breathtakingly beautiful beaches of the Gower Peninsula.



In Swansea: 'a host, of golden daffodils' -- William Wordsworth

  

Seaside village of Mumbles

  

Mumbles Pier

  

Mumbles Lighthouse



not-so-grave walk to roath park




In the conservation area of Cathays Cemetery

I often find old cemeteries peaceful places. In Toronto, one of the most serene spots in that city is the old Necropolis Cemetery near Riverview Farm, not far from where I lived.

Here, not far from where I live is Cathays Cemetery, much larger than the Necropolis and equally contemplative. When it was developed in Victorian times it was the custom to use it as a public park. Today, part of the oldest section is treated as a conservation area. Partly to cut costs, but also to return those parts to their original look of wildflowers and meadlowland before lawn cutting, the area is cut back by hand in fall and allowed to go 'wild' the rest of the year.

(Also, in the winter it is a good place to nab some errant holly.)

 




Roath Park Lake

I've been to nearby Roath Park twice and each time have taken the circuitous trip through the cemetery. It's not my favourite city park though. It's lovely and popular with the locals, but it's a long, narrow structured strip dissected by roads with the sound of traffic present all the time. It feels as if it is in a big city, and Cardiff is not a big city like Toronto or New York. I prefer Bute Gardens in the City Centre, which is more open and quieter -- but sometimes you want the bustle and greenery at the same time.







Boathouse

   




Roath Park brook

   





March of the daffodils

  

on my doorstep



The blossoming tree at the end of my street

Since early March, when I step out of my flat in the morning, there have been sprinklings of small, pink petals on my doorstep. There was no tree in sight, but a few weeks ago I found the source a couple of blocks away. This week I noticed that the tree to the left is afloat in white petals.

Every day now there are new flowers in the parks. One of the wonderous results of the U.K. weather is that flowering plants that usually only bloom a few days or weeks in Canada may blossom for months here. When I was in Cardiff a few years ago in late September there were dandelions present: suspended spring.

In the evening on my doorstep, beginning a few weeks ago, I have been able to hear a marvelous songbird. I wasn't able to spot it until recently, and then only as a silhoutte in the distance. I like to think it is a nightingale, which I have never heard nor seen, because its fluid singing is beautiful, however I'm not certain it is from the description online.

Morning and evening graces.