Monthly Archives: July 2014

Existential angst

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A strange juxtaposition is occurring down at the water’s edge. Just when the native waterfowl thought it was safe to bask amongst the toxic algae of the once formidable old dock, dual threats emerge to challenge the meaning of their very existence. To be consumed is a given, but by who or what now becomes a battle ground to test out the true meaning of life.

Just when a superior predator of my kind arrives on the scene as the expected feline threat to anything dressed in feathers, I also find myself sharing the bewilderment at the world conquering rise and expanse of Chinese domination.

Ming dynasty building

Is this a Ming Dynasty after-thought we see over-shadowing the once powerful Bute East Dock? A Welsh pagoda style rises out of the depths to house the hot air and wind combination of local government. But the question arises as to whether this source of heat can be converted into another form of culinary energy, somewhat reminiscent of the take-away/restaurant variety proliferating Chinese cuisine the world over?

This has been ‘Culinary Missive’ Juno reflecting a tale of unsatisfied hunger, and until we speak again may all of your ducks be aromatic and crispy!

Key to a kiss

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This adopted home of mine has a seemingly insatiable capacity to draw out the most unexpected of emotions from time to time. Take the other day, there I was minding my own business, gently sashaying along the boulevard… a cool cat in shades with a gentle breeze through the whiskers, when I am arrested by a heart fluttering vision. Being in the heart of the renovated old industrial docklands my first thought was of a site of romantic antiquity, a monument for the demarcation of a long forgotten industrial love story… thoughts drifting to the romantic melting pot that was Tiger Bay, a mere palpitation away across the railway tracks.

Key to a kiss [2]Curvy, groovy, and altogether suggestive of tender moments spent with the cat you love. A reminder that us cats may spend time in territorial seclusion, but thrive most when we are lost in thoughts of others… particularly those with the special quality of occupying almost every waking moment. Step aside Paris, take a break Venice, the capital of romance has found a new candle-lit table to gaze across. As the warm sun bathes my coat I am left to ponder whether this is a clue as to why my ‘in-house failed romantic‘ decided on a return to their spiritual home of Cardiff…  was it a search following love lost for the potential to be re-ignited by some unexpected magical tryst. Nope, I guess it was just the pure romance of economics, and a pint of Brains SA!

The Blade My A

 

So, my message from the heart of Cardiff to all you cats who decide your lives from the head, is to occasionally listen from the heart… you may just be surprised by what could change and transform your bowl into a banquet.

Then again, if you can’t spare a kiss for the one you love, I can offer you the alternative of my furry rump, along with a cut-throat razor for re-shaping some of your thinking!

Until we speak again this has been Romancer Juno, and sick bags will be provided on request.

YQ?

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Food festival [3]

What is it about you humans? As soon as there is a sun-food-tent combination going on you just can’t resist the idea of forming long queues! As the 2014 International Food and Drink Festival descends on an expectant Cardiff, you seem to be joyously getting into a chaotic jumble of the single file arrangement mode.

Food festival [2]

So, whether it is something to do with your native country’s produce, Persia, the Orient, or even wholefoods (whatever that means?), you just get the whole ‘standing in lines’ thing going.

No such etiquette for us cats… just get on with lunch and then relax…

My feast! Fighting fit [3]

Until we speak again I fully expect to be a recipient of your sensitivity-oriented disgust, but what the hell this is road-kill Juno signing off in search of more prey!

Serendipity

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Atlantic WharfHere’s the thing… while taking a quiet stroll around the gentle backwaters and streets of the former world renowned docklands, and more recent industrial wastelands, you never know what pleasant surprise might befall you. Why, just the other day while I was contemplating the historical significance of my home surroundings, I was suddenly confronted by a strange vision of the future yet to be imagined.

Take a slide on the downside, Silicon Valley… rip your heart out, Seoul… give way, Tech Roundabout… Cardiff is making its creative play for the crowning mantle in technological advances. First there was the phone, then there was the TV, now it is the turn of the, well… ‘up, over and down thing’. For the Danes and Swedes it has become the focal point for joint adventures into gruesome murder mysteries. But, in Cardiff it is making a play for the mantle of knowledge and urban savvy. Herald the age of the…

Smart Bridge [1] Smart Bridge [2]

 

 

 

 

Until we meet again I am going to be a baffled Juno pondering the question “just what the hell do we do with it?”

Searching for the zeitgeist

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Southend [1]Why does my ‘resident renogade’ always take it upon themselves to do the opposite of what I suggest? Only the other day, and against the spirit of the age for international travel, they were lost for things to do in the spare moments during a UK coastal appreciation gig. I couldn’t resist to proffer the obvious combination of a long walk off a short pier!

Unknowingly, I was offering this advice to someone who happened to be gazing at the world’s longest. Time for a quick reappraisal of the situation, and by my calculus what was needed here was a recalculation of the ‘long to extra long’ boards to steps ratio…

Southend [2]

And as if this wasn’t enough of an intellectual challenge for a sophisticated cat, originating from London I should have known that the neighbouring county of Essex bucks many a trend. Us cats are known for our curiosity, but I am sure you will forgive my incredulity at the evidence that the all-pervading nannie state had been well and truly driven out of town. Something distinctly American seems to be happening in a noisy corner of the land of the white stiletto, as a subtle obesity drive seems to be going down, with a distinct charge-for-walking vibe, bucking the current trends for healthy living…

Southend [3]Where is the zeitgeist when you most need it, I pondered?

All that was left was for me to assimilate the wisdom of a local insightful exhortation…

Southend [4]… which come to think of it, is precisely what I did when I decided to move to Cardiff with the ‘in-house numpty’ on their attempt at a personal homecoming and cultural re-imagining. Until we speak again I shall be a claw-sharpening Juno, intent on re-moulding my ‘resident servant’ into something more contemporary.