Seems that the good burghers of Grangetown in Cardiff don’t hold out the warmest of welcomes for posh people!
![Grange [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/grange-2.jpg)
But revenge looks sweet, as the owners are no doubt members of the landed gentry; and my guess is they decided if we are not getting in then nobody is getting in!
![Grange [3]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/grange-3.jpg)
Until we speak again this Bella hopes that all of your preferred lotion is accessible!
MEDIOCRITY… which judging from the recent experiences of the local team takes a lot of careful teamwork and planning. Here is where meteoric is more mythological, and the meticulous mimics malady.
![City v Blackburn [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/city-v-blackburn-1.jpg)
As normal service resumes for the whole of the first half we are reminded that M is for the MANGLE of MISERY… exemplified by the miscreant misdemeanours of maladroit malingerers; you don’t need to bring your own gloom, it comes provided in the ticket price!
![City v Blackburn [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/city-v-blackburn-2.jpg)
But M can briefly be for MELLIFLUOUS… as a rare flowing movement gives the home team players and supporters respite and cause for celebration, as the microscopic minutiae metamorphose into an unexpected mirage.
![City v Blackburn [3]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/city-v-blackburn-3.jpg)
And finally, M is for MENDACIOUS MISCELLANY… as a justly deserved but narrow home win tempts the fans to continue returning to the maelstrom of malarkey that manages to mirror the developing masquerade.
Until we speak again this Bella will largely be ignoring the resident mentor of melancholia. For the record it was Cardiff City 1 Blackburn Rovers 0, with the locals having played 25, won 9, drawn 10, and lost 6, which puts them currently 9th in the league.
It’s the time of year when families get together and try desperately not to beat the crap out of each other, or so I’m told; as mine is brimful of decorum.
‘In-house numpty’s’ Junior 2.0 has just left after a visit across xmas, so now we can return to drawing our usual battle lines… they don’t share enough of the good food, and I might just miss the litter tray on the odd occasion!
Must remember not to go so far as to make it look like some serious disease-thing though; otherwise I might be dragged off to the vet in that strange cage thing left out in the passageway as some kind of humanoid threat. Is that the best they can do?
Anyway, I digress with these deliciously wicked thoughts and future plans of retribution. “Tis the season to be jolly” they keep saying on the talking box in the corner of the room. What was more interesting on my recent visit to the local mega cultural centre (aka the Millennium Centre) was a true recognition of the challenge this time of year presents for so many people. It seems that one of the key messages in Cardiff this year reflects a sense of reality… seasons greetings are reserved ‘Only for the Brave’!
Until we speak again this Bella is puzzling over what the overhead spectre in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff is meant to represent. Any suggestions welcomed on the back of a postcard.
It’s the time of year when Cardiff has to look deep inside itself… to find three wise men. But, if its wisdom you’re in search of just look up (no great discoveries emerged from looking on the floor all day, except unsolicited gifts from the rear end of dogs that is). Star Wars might be the ‘in thing’ at the cinema, but who would have thought that Cardiff will find a unique way of reminding you!
It has become all the rage in recent years for German Christmas Markets. At least it provides something to do with all of those surplus sheds since the downturn in the economy; or is it a sign that the modern re-constructed man spends more time in the kitchen and in front of the bathroom mirror, and less time in the shed? The monotonous selection of wood winds its way around many parts of The Hayes, but try to find anything of use in any of them?
![Festive Quarter [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/festive-quarter-2.jpg)
The presence of a windmill does little to celebrate the German origin of the whole tradition…
![Festive Quarter [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/festive-quarter-1.jpg)
But fear not, when hunger bites the German sausage can be relied on to come to the rescue (or is this a convenient location to offload your badly behaved children?)…
![Festive Quarter [3]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/festive-quarter-3.jpg)
Having dumped the minor irritants in the vicinity of a sausage making machine it’s time to catch up on some of that much-needed liquid refreshment. Why not try the Moose Head Bierkeller? Provided you can navigate the Canada and Germany cultural collision you might be surprised to find a full range of non-Canadian and non-German fayre. The ubiquitous Welsh flag and Union Jack are on hand to resolve any geographical cognitive dissonance at this point!
![Festive Quater [4]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/festive-quater-4.jpg)
So all that’s left to do is stagger home by the light of the understated seasonal illuminations…
![The Hayes [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/the-hayes-11.jpg)
Which just leaves this home-based Bella time to reflect on the true meaning of this time of year. Is it something to do with the fairy tales that emerge from the dark tower at the heart of the pious city? Or should I just practice my look of utter surprise as Santa comes down the non-existent chimney?
Until we speak again have a merry christmas, or Nadolig Llawen as a few of the locals around here are occasionally heard to say.
![Pretty girl [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/pretty-girl-11.jpg)
Family birthday events do have a habit of clashing with the run up to christmas; but then it’s difficult to shift a birthday I suppose. So what can be done if the christmas effect is to be avoided in the culinary department? Nothing it would appear, but then who listens to the advice of a knowledgeable cat? It comes as an unusual experience for my kind not to be in complete control of what goes on, particularly when this bunch of humans decide to go off to ‘noshville’ without me!
It seems the older, so-called wiser members of the group decided to do the same thing as last year. Well, don’t blame me if you get the same as you already had! There were incessant moans about the rubbish service from my ‘resident gourmand‘ on the news of the deja vu eating experience. Nevertheless, off to the Marriott Hotel in central Cardiff is where the starving clan congregated. [With thanks to booking.com for the above image of the hotel exterior].
![Marriott [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/marriott-1.jpg)
It seems that the place was quite popular, or is that just the christmas effect kicking in? Anyway, those who should have been at home taking care of my culinary delights were led to a table in close proximity to carver central…
![Marriott [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/marriott-2.jpg)
![Marriott [3]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/marriott-3.jpg)
It seems that lightening really does strike twice, as I hear it took three separate members of staff an eternity to sort out bringing a bottle of Rioja and a couple of glasses to the table… a mere 20 minutes later than the glass of Pino Grigio and glass of Pino Rose requested by others in the party.
I wonder if draping a clean handkerchief around the bottle adds to the flavour of the wine; or is it just a sneaky flourish to cover up for poor service?
With a taste of wine smoothing the palate my discerning food taster goes for a simple mix from the starters buffet table; salami and ham accompanied by salad and antipasti…
![Marriott [4]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/marriott-4.jpg)
But the coup de gras of the whole set up was the hotel’s signature hot buffet carvery, top ended with melt in the mouth turkey breast and beef, sublimely accompanied by crisp seasonal vegetables, a fluffy Yorkshire pudding and tasty gravy…
![Marriott [5]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/marriott-5.jpg)
Tis the season for brussel sprouts, and for all of the faint praise they receive, a crunchy sprout is a fine accompaniment to any festive dish. The overall verdict reported back to me was of a very tasty meal, but a likely seasonal recruitment campaign results in service that falls below the average expectations. So, until we speak again may all of your brussel sprouts be crunchy!
KARMA SUTRA… well, what do you expect when the birds (Cardiff City FC) and the bees (Brentford) get together? After all, there are at least 26 positions across the pitch (if you’re counting the referee and other officials); all laid out in front of a voyeuristic crowd!
But K is also for KINAESTHESIA… as the kick-ass locals are fully in tune with muscle tone, position and movement, resulting in the quite common recent experience of going in to half-time with a 2-0 lead.
![City v Brentford [3]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/city-v-brentford-3.jpg)
However, K is also for KNIFE-EDGE… as once again the full 90 minutes turn on a Desmond (Tutu, that is… as in 2-2), as knackered knaves kibosh the chance of any kudos.
![City v Brentford [4]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/city-v-brentford-4.jpg)
Then, suddenly K comes to stand for KAFKAESQUE… as the kerfuffle of a final kamikaze raid by the home team produces a winning goal in the last minute of added on time. Kaleidoscopic splinters coalesce, as kindred spirits no longer stare down the khazi. Karma is returned, no sutra required; as unrealistic expectations are kneaded back to kite-flying proportions.
Until we speak again this Bella will be anticipating Kalamity with a capital K; and where can a cat find a proper kebab when you need one? For the record it was Cardiff City 3 Brentford 2, with the locals having played 21, won 8, drawn 9, and lost 4, which puts them currently 7th in the league.
JIHAD… as the crowd are jingoistically implored to create mass jocularity as they ‘Do the Ayatollah‘…
But J is also for JUDGEMENTAL… as jubilation justifiably means jack when the crowd are off somewhere else on another junket…
JUGULAR becomes the jest at a critical juncture as the joust becomes a jibe with a converted penalty early in the game…
But jettison the japes as the second half nerves jangle when jaded jackasses deliver nothing more than a jaundiced form of JUSTICE…
Until we speak again I will continue to be Bella… and for the record it was Cardiff City 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2, with the locals having played 20, won 7, drawn 9, and lost 4, which puts them currently 7th in the league.
My ‘resident inebriate‘ does bang on about how traditional pubs are disappearing, only to be replaced by swanky bars, and craft this, brew that and hop the other! Why should I care, after all, any self-indulgent cat worth their whiskers would always go for swanky whatever’s.
However, as I was prowling around the Adamsdown-Splott-Roath who-knows-whats-where boundary in downtown Cardiff, I couldn’t help but notice that the local maple leaf had hit the turf, as the Dead Pubs Crawl gets a little longer…
Until we speak again I will continue to be Bella, but I guess that’s the end of any potential twinning of Cardiff and Ottawa!
I knew they shouldn’t have shown The Towering Inferno at Splott Cinema recently!
Though it didn’t look the most inviting of places in recent years…
After the secret showing some even had the temerity to suggest there was little difference!
Until we speak again I’m going to be a cautious Bella about what I watch in the cinema!
HESITANT… as memories of the fallen dead from previous wars mingle with memories of what Cardiff City actually scoring a goal is like. With a run of four goalless matches the home hackles have been handicapped by happenstance.
![City v Reading [1]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/city-v-reading-1.jpg)
But H is also for HANDSOME… as the home team’s centre forward hangs hypnotically in the air to head heavenly into the current roll of honour…
![City v Reading [2]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/city-v-reading-2.jpg)
Everyone knows that H can be for HYSTERIA… as the hoi polloi pay homage to haughty hombres in their own hedonistic hallucinatory ways, clearly haemorrhaging any sense of harmonic hegemony…
But finally H was to be for HYPERBOLE… as any potential hollow hostility gives way to a herculean heist of the headlines as homies haggle over the hierarchy as they hypothesise over hammy heroics…
![City v Reading [5]](https://cardiffcoolcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/city-v-reading-5.jpg)
As for my heinous heretic of hogwash at home, I’m hoping for hassle-free honesty rather than harassed haranguing from the haggard haemorrhoid! Until we speak again I will continue to be Bella… and for the record it was Cardiff City 0 Reading 0, with the locals having played 16, won 6, drawn 7, and lost 3, which puts them currently 7th in the league.
JUNO's VIEW 