bonfires and winter wonderlands

There is a huge fireworks display and bonfire under preparation to light up the sky within Cardiff Castle grounds on Saturday night.

Sparks in the Park will celebrate what the Brits call Bonfire Night. Unfortunately this is not free, but unless it's pouring rain I do plan on attending.

As November begins its grey march, workers in the city centre have been quietly placing lights here, there and everywhere. Every day on my walk in to work I notice more strings, more domes and geometric shapes. They are not lit yet. I think they may be waiting until the Winter Wonderland launches next week at the City Hall.

Even now, unlit, they dangle like fine lace overhead. Inside some of the covered Victorian and Edwardian arcades, elaborate upholstered decorations take on the form of velvet lampshades. There is an anticipation in the air, all the more mysterious because there is no Christmas music playing.

The shops inside the City Centre malls are decorated and people are everywhere among the golds and reds and blues. It's refreshing to see all the colour and light and not be blasted with all the repetitive, competitive sounds of Christmas carols. I'm sure the music is coming, but music here is treasured, so I'm hoping -- and expecting -- it will be measured and showcased in wonder.