How buildings are born

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Steve Morgan

Just look around you and ponder… how did all of these buildings come into being? Well, being a thoughtful kind of cat, I’m always prepared to share my insights on any topic that takes my fancy as I stroll around the city of Cardiff. Please feel free to send your questions on a postcard!

In the case of appreciating our built environment, Kate Bush once implied that it all begins with An Architects Dream…

Then there is the gestation period; and for this we can thank the Sage of Gateshead for informing our knowledge of how the pupae develop over the months of construction…

Then we come to the actual birth; and being delicate structures frequently subjected to architectural critique, a forceps delivery is the more usual method…

Then it’s a matter of all hands to the pump to pull the newborn into position…

Very soon the more mature buildings give way to their younger curvier offspring…

Until they are brave and confident enough to stand tall on their own foundations…

Until we speak again this Bella will be contemplating why the sun always shines in Cardiff!!??

An Easter Message from Cardiff

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Steve Morgan

Don’t think for one moment that I’m going to get all religious on you. This cat is a resident of the universal suburb of Agnostica! No, I’m going to share with you a challenge too far… a story they never thought could be told. A story of one man’s battle against all the odds.

Picture the scene, a place called Splott! A place where open air cinema has taken on a whole new dimension…

A place where religion is taking great strides to get back to its roots…

Splott is an area of central Cardiff where offices dare not go; so the former Maltings Building is reduced to advertising a location for virtual offices in a vain attempt to provide a veneer of economic activity…

They say that some things can only be loved by a mother; well step aside matriarchal sacrifice, because Splott is a love too far! Or is it, hang on a mo’, just when I was calling time on the place that even the Luftwaffe avoided, I am drawn to a message of redemption…

Until we speak again this Bella will remain hyper-vigilant for further miracles dressed up as religious artifice.

The Good Burghers of Cardiff

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Steve Morgan

Here I am just getting ready for the most important function of my waking hours… it’s time to eat!

But then comes the big decision… what to eat today? If you’re in the centre of Cardiff and facing a similar dilemma, no worries, as I occasionally send my ‘Culinary Novice’ out to collect some useful intel. Though when I suggested they get out there quick, to find me good cuisine, I wasn’t indicating they come back with information on fast food!

Having already established themselves in a quieter corner of the city centre, it seems that of The Grazing Shed’s brand of Super Tidy Burgers are doing well enough to take up an additional position in the busy south end of St Mary’s Street. But did the good Burghers of Cardiff realise that they were giving permission for a ‘shed recycling business’ when they agreed to the advancement of high quality burgers in their midst?

I’m reliably told (if reliable is something I can apply to my ‘in-house infarct’) that this place is all about locally sourced, i.e. Welsh, products and produce. I’ve always been the type of cat who likes my cow to be within visiting distance, and preferably with an individual name!

“But let’s see the produce!” you impatient burger jockeys are saying. My ‘resident imbiber’ decided that a can of beer was the first priority; but then how can a self-respecting water slurper like myself impose any discipline on the easily tempted, particularly when they are out of my sight?

The Waen Brewery have cleverly tempted my resident ‘willpower deficit’ with an advertising slogan of ‘Hellish Good Beer’!

Once the initial thirst is quenched it’s time to see what Ermentrude and Daisy have to offer for satisfying both taste and hunger. My ‘culinary chancer’ goes for a Spicy Uncle Pedro, and I demand a quick pictorial explanation to assuage my worst fears of what might have been going on out the back of the dining area! Meanwhile ‘gastronome junior’ apparently went for a more conservative bite of chicken in a bun.

The reviews are both very complimentary of burgers and the associated accoutrement. Meanwhile the good Burghers of Cardiff can satisfy themselves that they are contributing to demand for the paper and the food basket industries, wherever they happen to be dominating the Welsh economy.

Until we speak again this Bella hopes that all of your burgers are chain-free!

[Football explained, or not!] U is for…

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Steve Morgan

UBERMENSCH… in response to an UNAMBIGUOUS ULTIMATUM following the UNCTUOUS UMBRAGE experienced in the last home match defeat.

But it also seems to be for UNBELIEVABLE… as the match goes ahead with an UNEQUIVOCAL clash in timing with the England v Wales international rugby match, as seen in the respective crowds…

Then there is always the U for UNBEKNOWNST… as the business end of the season poses the ULTIMATE challenge for those still feeling UPBEAT…

But fans need to be UNIQUELY aware of the potential for UNABRIDGED UPHEAVAL as the UPSIDE of the rollercoaster ride that will form the end to the season…

Until we speak again this Bella will be seeking an UPGRADE to UTOPIA. For the record it was Cardiff City 1 Ipswich Town 0, with the locals having played 37, won 15, drawn 13, and lost 9, which puts them currently 7th in the league.

[Football explained, or not!] T is for…

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Steve Morgan

TROUBADOUR… as T’YORKSHIRE TYKES TRY TO TRICK local TRIBESMEN with a seductive mascot in their TRADITIONAL TAPESTRY of white…

But it is also about TRAVESTY… as a TABLEAU of TENDENTIOUS TRANSGRESSIONS THWART THE TERRITORIAL TENACITY of the huddled few…

Those in the know (i.e. biased home supporters) understand that T is for TENUOUS… as TREMULOUS TREPIDATION sets a TEMPLATE for a TOXIC TRAJECTORY as recent TUMULTUOUS TRACTION TURNS TO TRAUMATIC TRANSACTION…

If I didn’t know better I’d swear my TRUCULENT TYRANT TRANSACTS THROUGH TRANSFERENCE and the proposition of a TSUNAMI of TURMOIL is nothing more than TANTAMOUNT TO TRAGICOMEDY!

Until we speak again this Bella will TRADE only in TAUTOLOGIES. For the record it was Cardiff City 0 Leeds united 2, with the locals having played 36, won 14, drawn 13, and lost 9, which puts them currently hanging TANTALISINGLY to 7th in the league.

The Art of Eating

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Steve Morgan

For most of us culinary cats the whole idea of the artistic nature of food is its appearance on the plate. If it looks really good it just might taste really good. My personal ‘Fanny Craddock’ (apparently you have to be over 55 years old to understood what that means!) pays no notice to all those cookery programmes on the TV, and believe me it shows! But, it seems that first in Bristol, and more recently here in Cardiff, the connection of art and eating has been taken to a new and interesting level.

Steak of the Art is definitely a place that will have you wondering what on earth is going on (in a good way) as you enter. Everywhere you look your eyes will challenge your brain to work out what you’re looking at. A variety of art installations decorate booths and pods in all directions, with Daleks, rugby, and Roald Dahl some of the most obvious sources of inspiration…

The whole restaurant is an artistic adventure in its own right…

But what about the food you hungry cool cats ask? Followers of my eating preferences will remember I can’t help but instruct my ‘walking taste bud’ to go check out the finest end of the cow… where would Steak of the Art’s menu of finest fillet rank in the Cardiff Fillet League Table? It seems that ‘taste buds senior and junior’ decided to go a little off message initially, as a starter of a Shared B-B-Q Platter was ordered. All well and good, but with this monster feast arriving where is the space going to be made for the fillet steaks??

My trepidatious delay was soon to be satisfied, as the bovine delicacy made its entrance. And what’s with those chips!

If it’s medium rare you like, the report back suggested this is as good as it gets locally; and this self-respecting cat has lost all sense of decorum as I salivate over my galloping imagination…

It seems that a new league leader has been found in the Art of the Fillet Steak; but there seems to be more about the Art-thing than initially meets the eye. Why not make best use of every space… a secluded staircase provides the perfect canvas for an art exhibition.

If you have spare cash at the end of your visit to this very reasonably priced food emporium you can always purchase a picture for your mantlepiece! Yes that is the Millennium Stadium (re-branded for commercial purposes in real life a few hundred metres away). As for the art of eating, this Bella has to once again face the disappointment of what could be, if only I can plan my escape from this place of rocks & water cat diet!

	Bernard James on National security
	Kirt on Paean to elegance
	Tom on Devouring history
	Steve Morgan on To Juno’s Dismay
	Thomas Seay on To Juno’s Dismay

JUNO's VIEW

Seeing Cardiff and the world through the eyes of one cool cat

Monthly Archives: March 2016