[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!

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

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Steve Morgan

SISYPHEAN… as the locals adopt a STOIC attitude to their team’s SOMNAMBULANT SHIFTING between 7th and 10th positions in the league, but never quite SURGING into the all-important Top SIX.

SERENDIPITOUS… as fans SALIVATE over the SHOCK of back-to-back SEISMIC home wins.

SCINTILLA… as SUBTLETY SUCCUMBS to SPECULATION (yet again!) of what might be over the remaining 12 games.

For me, the SEQUESTERED SHIBBOLETH only SERVES to SATIRISE a SOUPCON of SOPHISTRY!

Until we speak again this Bella will largely SASHAY in SUBLIME SERENITY as I offer you nothing less than SANCTIMONIOUS SALUTATIONS. For the record it was Cardiff City 2 Preston North End 1, with the locals having played 34, won 13, drawn 13, and lost 8, which puts them currently 7th in the league (temporarily at least).

Leek & Onion Soup

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Steve Morgan

It’s a cold February day and my ‘in-house Oliver Twist’ is asking about ideas for feeding the masses. It being a big match event in the locality, I have no hesitation in coming up with my very own recipe. First, we need a pan big enough for all those insisting on “feed me ’til I want no more” (that’s an ‘in’ rugby comment). This will do…

Throw in generous portions of the main ingredients…

Add some heat to the cauldron…

Simmer for a few minutes…

Sprinkle in a dash of yellow stuff…

Add some crusty bread…

Home appetites are guaranteed to be satisfied, as the final result clearly indicates a sumptuous outcome…

Until we speak again I tempt your taste buds with my next menu, coming to an event near here: ‘Pizza for Proles’.

Men in Skirts

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Steve Morgan

It’s Six Nations Rugby Internationals time again, and unlike my predecessor, the English Juno, I have no confusion over my loyalties…

It’s Wales v Scotland for another of those atmospheric weekends in Cardiff…

But it is a strange old game with some very odd sights to behold, none less than the quintessential Scottish characteristic of Men in Skirts!

Local accommodations and hostelries can’t help themselves in an effort to engage with the event:

Meanwhile people congregate at the stadium waiting for the arrival of the gladiators to the arena…

And never has the back end of a bus been so celebrated…

Meanwhile it is the action on the pitch that counts most, and at the end of another hard fought game a brave Scotland succumb to the passion of the Welsh with a final score of…

Some of the national flowers show their excitement at the result…

And it is the home colours that flutter over St Mary’s Street in the heart of Cardiff…

Until we speak again may all of your balls be egg-shaped!

[Football explained, or not!] O & P is for…

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Steve Morgan

ONTOLOGICAL OBJECTIVISM… otherwise known as OVERWHELMED by a need to stay dry. OPPUGN the passion if you will, but OODLES of the wet stuff from PREDICTED PERSISTENT PRECIPITATION turns out to be a recipe for OBFUSCATION. News of a PITCH inspection PRODUCES PALPITATIONS, after all, who PAYS to see PLAYERS PADDLING?

Us cats are nothing but PERSPICACIOUS in our OUTLOOK on all things to do with water. The PORTENTOUS PREDICTIONS of my OPAQUE PRAGMATIST are for the game to be POSTPONED.

But, it’s no OVATIONS for my resident OBDURATE PAGAN, as the rain-soaked game goes ahead with at least one PUTATIVE PHENOMENON missing.

Until we speak again this Bella will remain OMNIPRESENT. For the record it was Cardiff City 0 MK Dons 0, with the locals having played 30, won 11, drawn 12, and lost 7, which puts them currently 9th in the league.

Food history

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Steve Morgan

So, what are my credentials for talking to you about the history of food? After all, as a true cat I appoint others to do the hard graft for me!

The President of my predecessor’s (Juno) fan club was recently celebrating a birthday, the number of which sounds to me like like something out of history. It’s one of those numbers where you people can easily tend to get lost; who knows where she is going here? Are the loos down there? Or is this a subterranean dining experience going on?

I digress, the thing here is about how history and food came together… at least in my mind anyway. This train of thought came together when my ‘appointed food taster’ said they were off to a Blue Anchor, or somewhere nautical that is actually miles from the sea (strange ideas happen when it comes to naming pubs, inns, restaurants).

But this one is old, very old, 1380 old! And it seems from reading a brief history about the place like it has always been an inn, always into the beer and food groove. So I guess they must have learned to do some things right by now. It’s a cold and bleak winter’s day, so you need something to take the chill away, and this place certainly oozes that cozy old inn vibe…

Apparently the Blue Anchor is well known amongst the beer aficionados for its small but well-kept range of the amber and pale nectar. And I’m told the lotion more than adequately complemented the nosh. As for the eating, where do you start? Ham Hock sounded like some ancient vittles, but I’m informed it was a thick and tasty starter, though who knows what the green stuff was up to hiding under the

This being a Sunday, my instructions were to go for the traditional roasts, and my compliant diners duly obliged…

Whilst these Yorkshire puddings take up space the beef (and those going for lamb) reported a very tasty meal. The real test is the vegetables, and they came through as lightly cooked and crunchy… “just right” I said. So my local fans have found another place well worth re-visiting; and being around since 1380 this place isn’t going away anytime soon. The place is East Aberthaw in the Vale of Glamorgan, and until we speak again I’m Bella, and my advice is ignore history, go now!

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

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Steve Morgan

NARCOLEPSY… as the dull surroundings before the match remind the ‘resident stato’ of the snoozefest that this corresponding fixture produced last season.

But football is a fickle mistress, and N is quickly identified as being for NURTURING of renewed expectations, as the home team take an early lead in the game…

But either side of half-time it is the away team that gratefully take the opportunities to score, and enjoy the unintentional hospitality of the welcome. N is suddenly for NEUROSES and the home fans reach for the NEUROLEPTICS to calm jittery nerves, as the roller-coaster of NARCISSISM takes its toll. Not surprisingly the stadium staff do not show a screenshot of the 1-2 score!

But here’s the thing, you never can tell what football will produce. N is clearly for NOURISHING as the home team fashion the equaliser…

But there was still time for N to become NONSENSE in the eyes of home fans as NAPALM appears to descend on them, and a NARRATIVE of NEGLIGENCE is showered on the referee for sending off a City full-back through NEFARIOUS decision-making (or words to that effect!).

Until we speak again this Bella will largely be ignoring the resident nouveau nihilist. For the record it was Cardiff City 2 Rotherham United 2, with the locals having played 28, won 10, drawn 11, and lost 7, which puts them currently 9th in the league.

January sales

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Steve Morgan

There I was ambling along City Road in Cardiff the other day, when it suddenly seems to me that you can buy just about anything in the January sales these days. But just don’t expect all of the items to look so pleased about being for sale!

Until we speak again this Bella is going to have a keen eye on such sales. Anyone know of a good talon removing service, and an extra large feeding bowl before I buy?

The problem with dragons

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Steve Morgan

My native Wales is known for its dragon associations; you’ve just got to look at the national flag for a clue…

But beware, if you park in their favourite place you could be in trouble…

Until we speak again I’m still going to be Bella, but it’s time to develop my anti-dragon strategy.

	David on Searching for Lebanon
	Kirt on NOLA: UK-style
	Wanda Rusiecki on Frohe Weihnachten
	Steve Morgan on Turkish delight
	Wanda Rusiecki on Turkish delight

JUNO's VIEW

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

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