And there was me thinking that was the name of a famous old shipyard in Wallsend, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. But, here we are in our own private lockdown situations, left to observe the animal kingdom going about their ways with little care for human interference. Who would have known that a worldwide pandemic would have such silver linings?
![Swan hunting [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/swan-hunting-1.jpg?w=584)
![Swan hunting [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/swan-hunting-2.jpg?w=584)
Until we speak again, I’m sure Juno would have been impressed by the shear ambition, if not by the inherent impracticability!
“You humans do like to convolute your language. How are you getting on with your self-isolating, eh? Some things just come natural to those of us who live uncomplicated lives. If you do manage to perfect your walking-on-water technique, you still need to keep your 2 metres distance, okay!”
Until we speak again, go away!
Taking the daily exercise walk in my local area I am pleased to report another busy ‘corona day’ down Cardiff Bay…
Until we speak again, congratulations to the masses heeding the dire warnings, and stay safe, keep well! As for the small minority of mindless morons… did you know you’re cultivating careers as serial killers… stay home!
So, you think you’re having problems trying to get flying, with all of this pandemic stuff going on? Stay grounded, they said, in the jargon of psychobabble. Well, you try taking off with this thing strapped to your legs!
![Bird Anchored [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/bird-anchored-1.jpg?w=584)
Until we speak again, stay safe and well. The option of flight is a luxury many can return to at a later date. For some, it’s just what we do!
In these strange dystopian times we all find ourselves entering, it is good to see that the traditions of good old British queueing have not been entirely lost!
![Gulls queue at Bay [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/gulls-queue-at-bay-1.jpg?w=584)
But, on a less than typical (or, is this the new typical?) Saturday afternoon down at Cardiff Bay, it looks like there might be quite a long wait for any transport…
Even up the flow, at Cool Cat Central, the wait goes on as there is no sign of passing traffic anytime soon…
![Waiting at feeder canal [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/waiting-at-feeder-canal-1.jpg?w=584)
![Waiting at feeder canal [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/waiting-at-feeder-canal-2.jpg?w=584)
Until we speak again, have a safe crisis!
It is a sad indictment on society that we have to have a day of recognition of 50+% of the population; but sadly the world is still very much dominated by misogynist attitudes, and you just have to look to some of the leaders in the western world to see there is a long way to go.
I wish a happy International Women’s Day to all my relevant readers, and would like to take this opportunity to say I have learned so much from the women in my life, even those where we had our differences of opinion… you will never know just how much I learned from all of those experiences. Utmost respect.
Until we speak again, this is a good day for me to reflect back on just how much I learned from two special cats that were in my life… Juno, after who this whole blog is named, had a very special way of communicating unconditional love; while poor Bella suffered a series of serious health issues during her brief stay here, and she had a unique way of testing my patience!
[Special acknowledgement to RisaRodil.com for the card image]
It’s that frequently annoying situation. Your train arrives in the station on time, only to find your connection is cancelled with a two hour wait for the next service.
When in Salisbury next, I suggest you hope for such a situation! 5 minutes walk brings you to the fabulous Lebanese restaurant of Baroushka…
This is a place where a leisurely approach to lunch is required; maybe even absolutely demanded…
A starter of grilled halloumi with a rocket salad accompaniment was the perfect balance of baked exterior with a delicately soft cheese interior. Looking like perfectly toasted slices of bread this provided a light appetizer…
The main course of pear glazed duck breast on a bed of cous cous with an orange salad provided a delightful range of contrasting tastes and textures. Even the designs of plate and table cloth add to the overall welcome sensual assault, to remind you that relaxation need not be a mindless exercise…
A Turkish Coffee came with a range of ethnic paraphernalia, including a cube of Turkish Delight…
The Spiced Ginger Beer was a further addition to the assault on the taste buds. Is this placed licensed? You bet, with an extensive range of beers, wines and cocktails. But this is lunch, right… and some of us have yet to navigate the dysfunctions of the privatised rail system with a clear head!
Until we speak again, apologies to any readers stranded by rail cancellations elsewhere… you really are in the wrong place.
For me, this is a 1980’s stroll down reminiscence lane. For you, this is a tale of two sides of the road.
Go south and you are in a twilight zone of mid and high rise blocks liberally interspersed with unsavoury looking fast food joints. A place where obesity and Brexit may hook up for a sleazy night out!
This is where the old saying bears some truth… “What the Luftwaffe started the town planners finished!”
However, cross the road to the north side and you can stroll the Georgian terraces that surround Tredegar Square, a short distance from Victoria Park… undoubtedly a place where the metropolitan liberal elite hang out. So, if you find yourself in Mile End with a spare 24 hours on your hands, don’t be afraid, just find north on your compass.
Start with a fueling stop at The Greedy Cow, where a Kangaroo Burger hops off the menu to assault your gastronomic whims.
Yes, you heard right first time, it is pinned down for a reason…
Then you simply meander through the conservation area to find a range of traditional watering holes to quench that marsupial thirst. The Lord Tredegar is a great old Victorian boozer serving up a fine pint of Hophead pale ale…
Then there is the Morgan Arms, requiring a careful navigation to avoid the resident Greene King family! A one time great traditional brewery that has joined many others in spoiling the name of good beer with its capitalist quest to take over the world of ‘falling down lotion’…
And if the dawn of a new day still finds you in fighting fettle why not avoid the traditional Youngs beers and opt for a Proper Job IPA in The Coborn? Just don’t let on to a certain regular reader that it comes from Cornwall…oops!
Need something less alcoholic? Who needs those coffee chains when you can pop in to an authentic independent Italian coffee house?
Until we speak again, this has been a nostalgic gastronomic trip down memory lane. As for the present day… if you are looking to get Brexit done, it has all gone south.
[Acknowledgements to the Bute East Dock for providing the full cast for the following drama].
Events across 2016 to 2019 , on both sides of the Atlantic, have arguably led to what can only politely be referred to as a foggy funk of an experience…
So, as a fully paid up member of the ‘UK Metropolitan Liberal Elite‘, I have to concede that the ‘Majority 38% Will of the People Brigade‘ have triumphed in the prolonged political battle of barefaced lies versus ineffectual bullshit.
I have never been one to believe in the power of new year resolutions, but as we all embark on the Brexiters’ journey to the most bountiful and wondrous promised land of 19th Century independent beneficence, I have a wish… and that is that the 38% now completely own their self-proclaimed victory. Once the hard right prospectus that has been bought into begins to deliver on its empty promises let’s hear no excuses, or deflection of blame onto those who still don’t buy the catalogue of deceptions, or onto the EU, or onto immigrants, or onto anyone else but their own deluded selves.
Talking of deluded selves; a glance across the pond to the incoherent rumblings of Dumbfuckistan prompt another wish… that the Twitter-fuelled comedic interlude of the last few years be terminated in November, and some semblance of sanity be reclaimed from the ‘orange peril’ that has swamped the free-thinking world.
Until we speak again, reality is likely to dictate otherwise, but we can only dream of a return to 2020 vision…
Until we speak again, here’s wishing you a still and peaceful Christmas from Cardiff Bay…
JUNO's VIEW 