Memories of Cardiff

Cardiff is blessed with many parks, straddling the city from the sea to Caerphilly mountain. They range from the riverside beauty of Bute Park in its heart to the newest, the hillside Cefn Onn. So much see and enjoy 

My favourite as a youngster was Roath Park, with its paddle boats, rowing boats and the adventure playground.

I used to swim in the lake, changing in the row of cubicles on the bank, before swimming was banned due to pollution from by the stream running through it.

The park was donated to the city in 1887 by the Marquess of Bute as a quid pro quo for permission to build roads and develop the surrounding area. The 30 acre lake, almost a third of the park area, was excavated by hand on scrubland once described as a ’malodorous lake’.

Cardiff is rare in having at its heart a beautiful riverside park, the former grounds of the castle, also provided by the generous Marquess, again not solely for altruistic reasons.

Bute Park and Sophia Gardens stretch northwards along the River Taff for over a mile, linking with Llandaff  Fields.

Sophia Gardens, created in 1854 on the site of the Plasturton farm was the first publicly accessible park in Wales. Capability Brown, who designed and landscaped, it would have been shocked two hundred years later to see his work desecrated by the monstrous Sophia Gardens pavilion, opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain.

It was a 2,500 seat old aircraft hangar, brought from Stormy Down aerodrome in Pyle. Over the years it staged a huge range of events including boxing, pop and classical concerts. The acoustics were terrible, as was seating and the view of the stage, due to the lack of a sloping floor.

Standing in as reluctant deputy music critic of the South Wales Argus in 1957 I covered the the farewell to Wales performance of the internationally famous tenor Gigli. 

The unloved pavilion had an ignominious end: it collapsed under a mountain of snow in the bitter January 1982 Cardiff white-out.

In 1892 Thompson’s Park became the city’s first public park. Formerly the private garden of the Thompson family it was designed from and landscaped by Charles Thompson who donated it to the city. It is grade 2 listed historic park.

The nationally acclaimed success of the city’s parks is due to two families, the Pettigrews and Nelmes. 

Cardiff’s largest park by area is Trelai, 130 acres, now mostly recreational, with sports pitches. For many years from 1855 it included the long abandoned Ely racecourse.

Rivalling Roath Park as a favourite is Victoria Park, opened in 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. Its original bandstand lasted 100 years until 1998 to be replaced later.

For many years the park’s most popular attraction was Billy the Seal who lived in the pond and who is commemorated by a statue.The park’s latest fame is as a regular setting for the BBCs Dr Who.

The national acclaim for Cardiff’s parks is due to two families, the Pettigrews and the Nelmes.

William Pettigrew and his younger brother Andrew were from 1891 to 1936 successively chief gardener, parks superintendent and chief parks officer. They were followed byWilliam Nelmes and his son Bill who retired as Director of Parks in 1982, the same day I left  South Glamorgan county council.

He was a national award winning gardener with experience gained at Kew Gardens. The former park heads lived in a substantial house in the park, now demolished.

Those are just a few of the parks and playing fields that make Cardiff such an attractive, green city,  still giving us such pleasure.

View from the turret

Looking out from my Sunrise turret room onto Cyncoed Road, the most significant difference change is ... the traffic.

I have known the road for nearly 90 years when to the north, the road led mostly to fields with hardly a house in sight. Even 50 years ago, Hollybush Road became a country lane not far from here. Today it is the route to new communities, schools, shops and thousands of homes. A whole new area of the much expanded city.

My uncles Walter and George lived in or just off  Cyncoed Road when it was one of the most attractive parts of Cardiff. It still is.

Cars were few and far between in those days but over the years attractive front hardens were were spoiled as garages were added and space for two or more cars.

Walter was unusual in having a car, an Austin Twelve saloon, to me the epitome of a luxury, which I loved to ride in - KG 9291, a Cardiff registration umber plate.

My most exciting ride, when I was young, was one from our home in West Ham, London for a family Christmas in Cardiff. It took all day.

Looking out, onto Cyncoed Road, I sometimes conjure up seeing Uncle Walter, Auntie Ethel and my cousin Joan passing by Sunrise.

Freedom

One tiny change, but one that has made a huge difference in my daily life. Since the start of the lockdown I was reluctant to look out into Cyncoed road from my living room in the Sunrise turret.

I felt shut away from the real world, helpless to do anything about it, not knowing when it would end.

Now it has come, at last. My favourite spot is the bay window, my window of an old yet new world, viewed from the comfort of my armchair.

The traffic, the people enjoying what I can now enjoy .. freedom.

Media hysteria

The mood has changed as people realise that next month we may at last see the revival from pandemic conditions. There is still uncertainty and many problems lie ahead, but there is tremendous relief. 

I think we shall very soon take up where we left off and again start to enjoy ourselves. But it will not be the same. 

Life is so fast and complicated these days - utterly different from my early life. And the main reason is the overwhelming influence of the media. 

We are now characters in a drama.  

I have written before about it in my diary and it has intensified over the months. Everything is larger than life. We have been drawn into this make believe.

It  is demonstrated in many ways. For example, the near hysterical approach to events.There have  always been dramatic happenings, local, national and international that have made ‘news’, first by word of mouth and now the staple diet of the ever-developing media and information delivery platforms.

But the reporting has reached a new, hysterical level. How can a national newspaper devote 20 pages in one day to the BBC’s interview with Princess Diana, and 40 more pages over the next few days? 

We are being taught, demanded almost, to join in mass hysteria over death and people’s grief, people we have never met or even heard of before, like murder victims,

We may be shocked by the horrifying scenes from India but do we need to be reminded of it every hour for a week on end, do we need to see the placing of flowers,  hundreds or even thousands, at the scene of death - teddy bears in the case of children?

Apart from these magnified manifestations of mourning we have become more shallow in many ways, more selfish and materialistic.

We need to change if the post pandemic world is to be enjoyable, let alone bearable.

Or am I being over pessimistic, old fashioned?

No longer a world apart

What a week this is turning out to  be. So much good news. The news that we could go out from Sunrise came out of the blue, immediately changing my life.

Today, the almost two-year-long design and refurbishment of Sunrise was completed and the difference is amazing. The whole building is brighter, even more attractive and comfortable. Every part of the building has been updated with new furniture and pictures. You can already feel the residents’ relief at the changes, not just in our home, but in our day-to-day life.

I had a chat with Danica Mrozek, the interior design manager for Sunrise Senior Living, responsible for the ‘new’ Sunrise. She is staying for a few days to oversee the result and she has a lot to be pleased about. Tomorrow the press are coming to view her efforts.

I am lucky with the timing, too. I am feeling better than I have for months and think I have finally recovered.

I celebrated yesterday with a trip down to the shopping parade opposite the Discovery, open at last, and managed to do some shopping in Tesco. It was good to see all the shops, most of them new, open, and I hope they all do well.

It is so good to be back in the real world. For too long we have lived in a world apart - the title of the book edition of my blog diary that Robert, the editor, and I have decided on.

Freedom for me too

Just a few hours after I posted today’s blog I have heard that it is, after all, Freedom Day for me too.

Guidance from the Welsh government says that residents assessed as not at risk do not need permission to go out. At last!

I hope to do so later in the week after my scooter has had its annual service. Then I can hit the road - or the pavement. And I can return the three library books I have had for over a year.

The visiting rules have also been changed. We can now have two sets of two nominated visitors and they can come to our rooms

A day to remember.

Freedom day

It’s the long awaited Freedom Day for most people in the UK. The day hotels, pubs, cinemas, theatres reopened after months. But not everyone is free.

There is still no sign of the burden on us care home residents being lifted.

While concerns grow about the Indian variant cases, hospitalisation and deaths are the lowest for many months.

Wales has one of the lowest rates, yet we are still waiting to be allowed out into the world and to have the strict. limited  visiting rules changed

How long  will this be allowed to continue? I have no idea but I have today emailed the new Wales Health and Social Services Secretary, Baroness Eluned Morgan, urging her to act.

We will see.

The answers to yesterday’s Drinks quiz

1 Water

2 Russia  Japan  Greece  Spain

3 4,000 BC

4 Burton on Trent

5 Italy

6 France

7 Rheims

8 Sugar

9 Any fruit

10 Vodka

11 Muskatel

12 Hampshire

13 Tot

14 St Bernard

15 Apple cider

16 USA

17 Jerez

18 Whisky

19 England

20 Pastis

21 Red

A drink quiz

I don’t like taking part in quizzes. I don’t know most of the answers and and am too slow in giving correct ones, but I enjoy producing them.

I have just completed my ninth for Sunrise where quizzes are a popular pastime

Here is my new one.... Drinks. 

If you have the time, try it.

1 Of these main ingredients of beer, which is the most important

Hops  rye  yeast water

2 What countries produce these drinks

 vodka sake ouzo  sangria

3 When was beer first drunk

1 3,000bc 4,000bc 1290  1520

4 Which of these English towns is known as the Beer Capital

London  Masham  Burton  Sheffield

5 Which of these countries produces the most wine

USA  France  Italy  Australia 

6 And which of them drinks the most of it

7 Which is the most famous French champagne cit

8 What is the main ingredient of rum

9 What can brandy be made from, apart from grapes

10 which of these drinks is the strongest

 Whisky  brandy  port  vodka 

11 Which is the sweetest of these sherries

Oloroso. Amontillado   Muskatel  Paola Cortada

Bl12 Which of these English counties does NOT commercially produce cider

Somerset  Devon Herefordshire Hampshire

13 From 1870 to 1970 the navy issued a daily.....? of rum

14 What type of animal is associated with rescuing stranded travellers

15 Even during prohibition in America one drink was allowed - what was it 

16 Which country invented cocktails

17 Which town is famous for sherry 

18 The original name was uisge beatha. What does it mean and what is the drink

19 Which of these countries does NOT produce whisky

England  Australia  Canada Japan

20 What is the favourite drink in France

ANSWERS TOMORROW

The transformation of Sunrise Cardiff

What a transformation. Sunrise Cardiff is celebrating the completion of its refurbishment project. Rightly, too. It is magnificent.

The well designed and equipped building, opened 14 years ago, was always comfortable and attractive - that is why I chose Sunrise after looking at other care homes. But the interior was looking a little worn. 

Now, all is changed. The new Sunrise Cardiff is bang up to date, brighter, more spacious for the residents and easier for the carers and the whole team.

It has taken almost two years but it was worth the wait.

What is needed now is for visitors to be able to come and see us, how comfortably we live and how well we are looked after in lovely surroundings.

Mr Drakeford, let us go out!

I am one of 13,600 who live in care homes in Wales and have had our two vaccinations. I have also had coronavirus and am recovering.

So I should be relieved and happy. But although I have have been very fortunate I am frustrated and surprised. While life is opening up for everyone else, I, and all the care home residents, are being left behind. 

Despite all the plans and pleas, no one seems to be listening. We have been marooned for almost 18 months. We can at least now have one hour visits by one nominated person at a time, but that is not enough.

Sunrise is an excellent, well-run home with a magnificent team who make life comfortable and as interesting as possible, but they cannot make decisions on relaxing what is for most a tedious time.That is up to the government. 

The election showed that Wales backed Mark Drakeford, the first minister, because of his handling of the crisis but even he is remarkably quiet on the plight of us old people.  

England has just announced that care home residents can now go out. I hope our new government will be bold enough to decide it is time to give us a livelier life.

Clarification: my scooter parking 'ticket'

You can't park here!

I have had a few messages commiserating me for the parking ticket for my scooter that I mentioned in a recent blogpost.

It was a joke that misfired...

I was not out on my scooter but in Sunrise and the parking  warden was carer Lyn dressed up for a fun day.

Beside her is John, the catering head, as Pavarotti.

I thought I had included the photograph explaining the true story. Sorry!

Politics and personalities

Luck, or fortune, is important in life. Being in the right place at the right time or making the right decision can have a massive influence. Some people just seem more fortunate than others.

Prime Minister Johnson is one of them. He can scarcely believe that after so much turmoil and criticism, initially over his handling of the pandemic and lately, personal problems, that it now seems plain sailing. 

The elections could not have been better timed for him. His saviour - vaccination and the near prospect of a normal life after all these months of tribulation

Other prime ministers whose fortunes changed dramatically include Mrs Thatcher, thanks to the Falklands war, and Winston Churchill who earned historic fame in World War Two.

It was the war against the pandemic that changed the tide for Mr Johnson.

But the election with its long drawn out poll counting is cause for concern, not just for him but for the UK.

The public’s muddled thinking and irrational polling pattern suggests that there is real danger ahead for the country, with Mr Johnson leader of England with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pondering on their future.

Despite the importance of efficient governance and a long promised but never achieved equality - ‘levelling up’ - under half the electorate bothered to turn out. 

When you look back at the ages-old struggle to achieve votes for all - now including sixteen and seventeen year olds - it is a sad reflection on democracy in the UK.

Another unusual feature of the election was the impact of personalities.

Millions of voters are happy with Mr Johnson’s  bonhomie, his jack-the-lad profile. He is a larger than life character, like the blow up version exhibited after his election victory - I wonder who paid for that.

There is the forceful, strident femininity of Mrs Sturgeon and the quiet confidence of Mark Drakeford. I found his comment about the warmth of feeling he experienced when out and about before the poll quite moving.

It is not all about politics all the time.

Travelling again - at Sunrise

Just as I as beginning to think my travelling days were over, Sunrise is again widening my horizons.We old folk are  enjoying new experiences with the Sunrise Around the World programme..

Every week we are enjoying a different country, their people, climate, history - all from our armchairs. Best of all, we can sample their distinctive food and drink.

So far we have tasted the culinary delights of France, Italy and Greece, with the chefs excelling themselves with national dishes accompanied by drinks I last tasted years ago.

The Sunrise team ingeniously transform themselves with home made national costumes - yesterday they were Greek goddesses.

We are learning a lot, too. I have done quite a bit of globe trotting but realise how much I have missed, thanks to the quizzes, films and other special activities 

I can’t wait to be whisked around the world, learning more about other countries, climes and cultures. And it is cheaper than cruising.

An outing down memory lane

An interesting morning trip yesterday, to the Llanedeyrn Health Centre. It took me back over 30 years to the time when Owy (Rosemary) was a part-time receptionist there. I also saw the Powerhouse community hub that Carmen and Rosie helped to found - a spectacular multi coloured building.

The health centre, part of the University Hospital of Wales, is not the bustling place it used to be. Busy, no doubt, but strictly controlled with patients allowed in one by one. No crowded waiting room and everyone wearing masks. 

My visit had been arranged by the doctor at Sunrise last week. who had noticed a mark on my leg. She took some pictures and said it would be looked into. After a pleasant taxi ride, accompanied by carer Helena, I went for the check up. It did not take long. Nothing to worry about. I was back home in no time.

More good news: my recent blood tests are the best for a year, I have just been told.  I think that is worth a celebration, perhaps, one of these days, a pint at the Discovery, if they serve outdoors.

Voting day

With Rosemary at the Senedd, May 2006

Election Day. And probably one of the most important ones for years. So much uncertainty about the future, and so many important decisions to make to put us on the road to recovery from the pandemic.

Almost certainly how the governments and their leaders have dealt with the crisis will be a deciding faction. Voters will weigh up the decisions, ponder on the errors.

Another uncertainty is how many will bother to go to the poll.

It is easy to criticise and harangue governments for their performance in a unique situation but could we have done better?

I doubt it, yet past experience suggests too many will not bother to turn out today. Britain’s performance at the polls, national and local over many years has been miserable, a disgrace.

I am not convinced that it will be better this time, when there is a much wider range, including the devolved governments, mayors and police commissioners.

In Wales we have sixteen and seventeen year olds getting the vote.

I was involved in and enjoyed elections for many years. I found them exciting and important but was always disappointed to be in the minority.

In local elections turn out could sink to 30 percent or even less with 50 percent, almost laudable, for a national poll.

The Senedd has never attracted more than 50 percent.. Maybe this time will be different. I hope so.

Bank holiday - brighter times ahead

Bank holiday and, on cue, comes the wind and the rain:  barbeques unlit, a pint in a pub garden only for the hardy.

But there is much warmer feeling, generated by the consistently more cheerful news on the apparent muzzling of Covid.

Hospital admissions have dwindled to the lowest for many months, the death toll is down, some days to just double figures. There is relief and anticipation.

We may be just over a month away from the kickstart of near normal life.

But it does not pay to be carried away. Looking back to last August the omens were just as encouraging but it all felt apart.

We have learned a lot since then and seen the huge difference made by the vaccines with the government’s deserved success in the massive, well organised programme.

Even the care homes are able to indulge in moderate celebration. England today welcomed the belated decision that residents can venture out into a new world.

Yesterday I had a second visit in a month from Robert who spent a day, driving 290 miles, to spend an hour solving my problems.

We are on the last lap of editing my year-long diary into a book describing the heroics of carers. 

I have been struggling to find a title but at last think I have found a suitable one - A World Apart ... A Covid Care Home Diary.

The valiant carers - Sunrise of Cardiff

We elderly and vulnerable in care homes have been set apart from ours families, friends and all that was natural and comforting. We have relied on our carers  to see us through a dark, sad chapter in our lives.

My book is a tribute to them..Now is a time for tears - and cheers. 

Carers - everywhere - have transformed an everyday job into a service; a calm commitment to us that we will never forget.

The tears are of sadness yet relief, the cheers for those who have been with us all the way in what was our world apart.