A Few Days in South Wales

Cardiff/Cwmbran

Last Monday we left London and headed for Wales. First stop, Newport and my sister's. Two of her daughters were there with their husbands and young daughters to that added to the interest and we had a short but enjoyable time. We then went on to Cardiff where we are staying in my son's house (they are all on camp in West Wales this week). In the evening, we had a lovely meal with Eleri's Cardiff based sister and her husband and son. Nice evening. Tuesday Eleri and I drove into town and had a little wander. We had a cuppa in the museum and then lunch at Shake Shack. Lovely time. In the evening I did some blogging and then we entertained some Cardiff friends who are getting married in November and that was a good time too.

Eleri has spent today and yesterday at the National Eisteddfod, which this year is in Pontypridd, half an hour from here by train. She is helping man the stondin for the Welsh school but it is also a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and she has been having a great time, I think, although today has been rather wet.

I have been spending my time mostly reading and drinking coffee. Yesterday I headed into Whitchurch on foot for a coffee then caught a bus into town. I don't know Cardiff and so I enjoyed little things like the way all the stops are announced bilingually on the buses these days. (The route took us past The Earl Haig Club where I saw Focus in 2022 and the Velindre Cancer Centre where my mother had been a regular back in the nineties). I wandered around town and had lunch in the Caffe Nero in the St David's Centre (Focus also once played the St David's Hall and had someone play the organ for La Cathedrale). I then bussed back here before picking up Eleri. We popped over to Eleri's sister again later.

Today I took Eleri to the station then met up with my sister for a nice breakfast in a nearby Harvester. I then headed to Cwmbran where I enjoyed another coffee and an undercover wander in the rain. I sat in the Library which I now notice has similarities to the Swiss Cottage Library. I had luch in a  MacDonalds on the way to Pontypool and then headed back to Cardiff. (Kept my eyes peeled for anyone I might know but saw no-one. I like hearing the local accents, especially hearing people say by here and by there for here and there). In t evening I did a bit more wordling and reading and we watched the news an a couple of episodes of The Turkish Detective. Tomorrow we are off to Aberystwyth.