Say what you want about the diminished size of the British Armed Forces. But, here in Cardiff docks, the Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) is ensuring its own security against foreign invasion in this increasingly uncertain world.
Until we speak again, a special thanks go to the Spanish Armada surplus stores for the loan of Galeon Andalucia. What, you thought the British Navy had anything more viable? 🤔🤣
Who’d have thought it back in the summer of 2013… as a cat deep in thought, pondered nothing but good intentions towards a swan on the canal beneath Chez Juno? Wind forward nearly 11 years, and the 500th post on Juno’s View has arrived.
How best to celebrate this milestone… when you just happen to find yourself in Dublin? As the previous post pondered… what are you going to do? Perhaps a quality control review of the city’s finest is in order… after all, it’s Guinness time!
First off, it’s The Stags Head… and yes, that first pint really does hit the spot while surrounded by the trappings of a well-preserved Victorian pub.
Then there is The Brazen Head… for some genuine history. It just happens to be the oldest pub in Ireland dating back to the 12th century and serves a cracking pint of the black and white stuff. What’s more, a traditional Irish band seems to be celebrating the 500 with me!
Then a call into Darkey Kelly’s just happens to combine all that’s good about visiting Dublin, including tasty Irish beef stew and great music…
Don’t be flagging, as there’s a load more celebrating to be doing. Kehoe’s might just provide that much needed pint… in between pints!?
Not forgetting The Temple Bar… so good they named the whole neighbourhood after it…
If bands are a bit full-on at this stage, try The Auld Dubliner for a Guinness with a solo guitarist/vocalist backing soundtrack…
And you lucky old soak, you, as there is only a few yards to stagger to The Oliver St John Gogarty across the cobbles. You might even have a horse-drawn carriage waiting outside for you to finally be poured into as you head off into your drunken stupor!
And when you wake up the day after the day before, there’s always a visit to the Guinness Storehouse Brewery Museum itself as a reminder of why your head’s not feeling like it did 24 hours earlier! A fabulous educative tour across several floors culminating in that hair of the dog pint in the Gravity Bar… complete with a 360-degree view of all you’ve forgotten you did before!
Until we speak again, that quality control review is published in full as follows… Wow! Here’s to the next 500… wherever they may be. Juno may be long since passed, but Juno’s View continues!
Life in a country facing all the Atlantic Ocean is able to throw at you means the weather is a continual topic of interest.
On a recent visit to Dublin, The Brazen Head pub, the oldest in all of Ireland, offered invaluable advice built on 8 centuries of experience…
Until we speak again, remember in Dublin all four seasons often happen… in the same day!
A great meal starts with fresh ingredients…
Then, with a creative twist and more than a little culinary incompetence, AKA, whatever you have left in the kitchen… It’s a duck in pea soup special…
Until we speak again, the first customer is dressed for dinner down in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff… It’s just another tale of local laid-back life!
When a man looks at a woman he sees a vision of beauty…
When a woman looks at a man she sees a work in progress…
Until we speak again, long may the vision and the work continue…
“You come any closer with that camera and you will need more than a pair of tweezers to remove it from where I’ll put it! What do you think this is… a fashion shoot?”
“Hey ladies, I’m sure we’re okay with these pillars being 2 metres apart… but watch out for the strange dude with a camera at 4 o’clock!”
“Back off sneaking up on folks like that. By the way… does my bum look too big in this?”
Until we speak again, Juno never did do sneaking up that well…
It’s three days to Christmas, and all in Cardiff will be frantically hitting the high street in a last minute flurry of over-commercialised action. So, let’s venture forth with great trepidation, and take on the challenge of negotiating a path through the maddening hordes of shoppers. But hang on, what’s happened to The Hayes? Always a place to provide a sight of festive elegance, but now seems a little deserted…
Let’s try the Christmas Market… always a good place for a warming festive scene (when it’s not being dismantled early, that is!!)…
Maybe the pubs and clubs are doing a roaring trade as an alternative to the worries of what to buy… but then, I forgot, they have already been consigned to memories of a cultural history!
Perhaps everyone is gathering in front of the Castle for a special pre-Christmas event? Or, maybe not…
Okay, at least Queen Street as the main shopping thoroughfare can be depended upon for accommodating the masses… Wow, my kind of shopping!!
Until we speak again, it seems I can only wish you a Merry Covid! Perhaps in years to come we will all look back on this experience and say… WTF???
Anybody seen anything resembling a strategy floating around? Particularly amidst the clear-as-mud-mess our Tory incompetents revel in serving up on a daily basis?
Our witless Government misinformation trumpets like to spout lies and nonsense to the gullible masses about how they are confidently in control.
But, take a closer look at the detail clouded by the confused messages…
Is that the truth of stark reality we can sense hoving into sight? Surely even those previously blind to the shenanigans of our ‘Liar-in-Chief‘ at Number 10 might benefit from some closer scrutiny of what is before them?!
Until we speak again, my strategic advice is to keep your eye on the prize!
Leave me alone… I’m trying to make sense of this pandemic thing.
Perhaps gravity will come to my rescue!
Until we speak again, trust me… swanning about is the only way to cope with this restricted way of being!
Just as the coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions gradually reduce it’s time to emerge out into a strange new world. You know… the place that has benefitted from the relative absence for months of pesky human creatures.
A place where birdsong has provided the soundtrack to an environment basking in a newfound laidback state of relaxation.
A place where fish have developed the confidence to swim about in clearer waters.
So, taking a gentle stroll along local canal side footpaths can only infuse the mind with a sense of tranquility…
That is, until you turn the next corner? “This is my place now… nobody passes!”
“Hey fellah, you might as well retreat into your buildings, but you can’t hide from me!”
Until we speak again, “I’ve got my eye on you!”
JUNO's VIEW 