Home made

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Steve Morgan

As I happen to be a cool cat born in Cardiff it was only reasonable that I should educate this wanderer resident who I find occupying my new home. I understand they left this wonderful city for some strange reason, and then returned after many years. Well, I suppose original errors can be overlooked when action is taken to rectify the stupidity! Anyway, I digress, and not for the last time I’m sure… so what should I begin my tenure of Juno’s View with? I am Bella, and as I’m 100% home grown today I’m going to let you in on another home grown gem… come with me on a stroll around the Millennium Centre.

Slinking my way down Lloyd George Avenue towards the Bay I can’t help but stop in my tracks as I take in the visual invitation drawing me towards this shiny shed…

‘In These Stones Horizons Sing’… whatever that is supposed to mean. Personally, I don’t give a bag of mouses’ tails for much of what goes on in the way of performances in this place, except the staging of ‘Cats’ of course. Oh, and possibly ‘The Lion King’, but that sounds a bit scary to me. As a sophisticated cat I understand how some of you humans get caught up in what you like to think of as ‘culture’, but for all of your opera, ballet and classical concerts, I am initially interested in the architectural wonder of the building itself.

This is a home grown building, designed by Jonathan Adams a local architect with Percy Thomas Architects, and made of Welsh materials throughout… the metals, slate, wood and glass. The part that first catches the eye is the great metal frontage, a bronze coloured dome clad in steel and treated with copper oxide to cope with the less than wonderful climate of Cardiff Bay (think rain, and add some; not conditions conducive for us self-respecting fur paraders).

Then there is the slate; five separate colours of Welsh slate each from a different Welsh slate quarry…

Another home grown eminence, Ivor Novello, seems impressed as he sits quietly taking in the ambience of the Bay, or is he distractedly looking over his shoulder scanning the area for other Cardiff cool cats?

Just as we can see on the outside so we see the same on the inside, a good use of natural materials in their natural condition. Bands of hardwood give the natural look, with oak, ash, beech, sycamore, alder, birch, chestnut and cherry wood from sustainable Welsh sources…

Metal dominates the reception area, but steel columns topped with lights also give an impression of tree-like structures within the wide open spaces. Clearly this is a home made statement of architectural intent, even though the site has a history of architectural diplomatic turmoil. A world leading Iranian female architectural cat (Zaha Hadid) was less than pleased to have won the original design competition but fail to get the financial backing to get her ideas built. Apparently she doesn’t want anything to do with Cardiff again… some cats just don’t know how to lose with grace!

As for my first post, I hope you found it as riveting as the covered entrance to the Millennium Centre. Riveting… get it!

Until we speak again I’m going to continue to be Bella, and you have my permission to continue being whoever you happen to be. Feel free to let me know what is man made in and around your life.

Worship in the Bay

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Juno was a cat who knew what contemporary worship was all about… following the movement of any warm rays that shone into her home. Cardiff is not internationally known for its high sunshine quotient, so this act of worship required a depth of spirit and a persistence from deep down in the soul.

So this got me reflecting on the current state of worship in my native city. With the sounds of a slightly out of tune bell-ringing practice resounding from St. Mary’s Church on Bute Street, I thought about the spiritual foundation of this once thriving maritime city being located somewhere ‘down the docks’. So perhaps the newly minted Cardiff Bay would be the place to investigate the changing face of contemporary worship. Traditionally worship has needed a place, usually in the form of a church…

The Norwegian Church was originally built to meet the spiritual needs of Scandinavian seamen during their stay in the port of Cardiff. But a cursory knowledge of the area (aka being an old git) immediately indicates it is not located today where it was originally erected. True, its water-side setting on the Bute West Dock was seriously disrupted when the dock was firstly closed, secondly filled in, and finally built over with residences and a dual carriageway! So relocation would surely be for reasons of accommodating the recognised ley lines of the spiritually inclined. Well, perhaps not, as that would be forgetting that a new source of 21st century worship is… um… coffee!

With coffee challenging for the mantle of a dominant religion, I wondered what might offer any competition. Look no further than 100 yards from the altar of the bean… Is it sharp? Is it groovy? Well, yes to both of those; but is it a home of worship? Katradius is an imposing marbled neighbour to the Senedd, home of Welsh government.

And it conveniently represents everything that contemporary politicians seem to worship… mammon. Such outward projections of ostentatious élan are hardly within the purview of your modern day happy clappy’s! For here lies the home of corporate finance, nonchalant in its lack of connection with everyone else who passes it by; pointedly projecting to the watery horizon beyond the enclosed bay upon which it sits (and no doubt slurps from the secretive and exclusive pond for the already bloated and bounteous).

Perhaps there is a spiritual sign, at the mid-point between coffee and dosh, as I stroll bayside in deep contemplation of what became of the historic fire and brimstone tradition of Welsh methodism. No, it was not the new location of spiritual leadership and guidance, cunningly placed next to a car park. It is the World Peace Statue, with no less a message of deep calling for the secular masses who pass it by often oblivious to its presence.

Was I really having these deeply philosophical reflections? Or, in reality, was I just imbued with Juno’s other main source of worshipful activity… contemplating the next meal! Strange that, because a cursory glance across Mermaid Quay illuminates the other modern day focus of our worship…

Until we speak again may your worshipful exertions bring you whatever nourishment floats your boat!

Stumbling into Chinatown

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Anything that involved water or sport tended to induce the same reaction from Juno…

If you combined them both together you could even induce the audible sound of cat-snoring!

But much to my surprise, just the other day, not only did both coalesce into the strangest of mixes for a Cardiff location, but they also constituted a welcome disturbance to the usual becalmed nature of the local Bute East Dock. Dragon Boat racing had surreptitiously arrived:

It would appear that the longstanding welcome provided at the dockside… that of imminent and painful death if you so much as breathed within a mile cordon of the inviting waters, can now be ignored. Is this a strange triumph for the laws of ‘Health & Safety‘, as historic industrial waterway gives up its toxic defence?

Or, perhaps it is just a UKIP ploy to con overseas visitors into plying their favourite pastimes while unwittingly reducing their numbers through leisure-based poisoning agents!

Either way, my usually quiet stroll past The Wharf (site of Brains Brewery’s sad but gradual neglect) was happily interrupted by more than the usual quota of waterside fun-lovers, thrill-seekers, and barbecue-chompers:

I was half expecting to hear ‘Hawaii-Five-O‘ theme music to blast out across the dock as the contestants took to the new addition of clean water in the city…

But I was quickly alerted by the comparative lack of muscle-bound athletes that I had indeed stumbled into a quaint Chinese custom being appropriated by a few Saturday afternoon fun-seekers, not a new cultural takeover of Wales as China’s preparation for world-dominance…

Nonetheless, this would still be a sight of fierce Welsh competitive spirit. The organisers of the annual University Boat Race had better be prepared to move over, there is clearly a new kid on the block…

With another race over, the victors make their way towards a well-earned pint of Brains SA, and the losers will have to make do with the consolation of a warm pint of flat Euro-fizz (or two pints of Brains SA in the view of Fat-Freddies Cat!).

Until we speak again may all of your toxic algae provide you as much pleasure as that which we nurture ‘down the docks’!

Altruistic Juno

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Take a quiet stroll along the dock feeder through Atlantic Wharf and you come upon the still water course that once was the bustling Bute East Dock…

Who would guess today, from a cursory glance at the tranquil scene, that a century ago this was part of one of the busiest docks in the world?

Juno would occasionally hold some respect for history, but that quickly took second priority when matters of local wildlife care and protection arose. Take for example, the imminent impact of a mid-air collision (or is it a suicide attempt?). Juno had a sixth sense for these dangers, and would be the first to put herself in a position to provide that soft landing safety net…

How was she to know that birds are confident creatures around water? Or even that wings were designed to help them land and take-off from these precarious water-bound islands? For Juno there was only ever one thought… to be on hand to rescue any of God’s creatures should they experience distress.

Even at pub closing time down at The Wharf, she would be there to supervise the queue for the night bus; knowing all too well what birds in Cardiff can get up to after a night out!

Or was I and the local wildlife just being lulled into a false sense of security? After all, Juno was never one for the vegetables!

Until we speak again enjoy your time with your furry friend, but don’t fall into a trap of ascribing any altruistic motives to their interests in fellow members of the big wide animal kingdom.

Today’s menu

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Juno always had an eye for lunch…

She could often be found on the dock of the bay, sacrificing so much of her valuable time in order to inspect the catch of the day…

But nothing satisfied her more than a good quality pie filling…

Even the challenge of foraging for your own food was not beyond her wit or wisdom. She always believed in the play dead tactic as an element of surprise…

Until we speak again I leave you with a thought you would never hear from Juno… don’t forget to add some vegetables!

Lest we forget

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Photographs of our favourite pets, even those who are now former companions, are a great means of keeping connected with all those feelings we share(d).

However, on a stroll about the town centre of the city of Cardiff just the other day, I was accosted by the need for memorial on a much grander scale. The Royal British Legion have erected an installation as part of the centenary remembrance of World War 1 (also incongruously known as ‘The Great War’).

Every so often the fan-assisted installation blows poppies around the statue for added effect…

Just behind the installation you may spot one of our modern day deterrents on the front-line to prevent further warfare, the all-singing-and-dancing soon to outnumber lamp-posts… surveillance camera! ‘They know what we are up to, and very soon there will be a policy of prohibition coming near to you!’

So, as Juno would undoubtedly have said, before we speak again try to remember… something, anything, but at least those who gave their lives so that surveillance could help us sleep easier in our beds.

The end is nigh

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Cardiff City 3 Blackpool 2

“IDEAL SHOWCASE FOR A SHALLOW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE’S SUPERFICIALITIES.”

As the final home game of the season draws to a close Juno would undoubtedly have felt justified in her preference for sleep over spectating. She always felt that everything interesting in football could be said in less than 10 words… Bill Shankly would surely be spinning in his grave at such sacrilege. Until we speak again may your sporting associations be less of a millstone than the unconditional support for your childhood team can often feel!

On a foggy day

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Steve Morgan

As much as Juno would have a routine of waking me up far too early in the morning, I would usually manage to resist the so-called temptation to get into the world so ridiculously early in the day. But just recently I was drawn out from my cozy lair by the promise of fog coming from the soothing voice of the weatherman through my bedside radio. Yes… strange turn of events indeed; but I had this sudden urge to get out there and experience what goes on in the strange world of early morning fog.

I know what you’re thinking… just a useless camera, a useless photographer, or both. Well you may be right, but I am going to just brush off your critique and offer you the true meaning of a foggy day. What really happens in the murky depths of the cold of the morning?

As Queen said back in 1981 ‘that crazy little thing called love‘. Or, as Juno would have said… until we speak again I have a crazy little matter of breakfast to enjoy!

Old Dockers Derby

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Cardiff City 0 Millwall 0

Bluebirds v Lions

Teams line up in earlier meeting at Millwall

“NO DANGER OF ROCKET SCIENCE OR BRAIN SURGERY HERE!”

Until we speak again it is important to remember that Bill Shankly once claimed football was more important than matters of life and death, but Juno’s view on football hyperbole was to respect it primarily for its sedative qualities… what can’t be said about football under 10 words wasn’t worth listening to!!!

[With thanks to http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk and http://www.dailymail.co.uk for the posts that help illustrate this post].

Missed the Summit

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Steve Morgan

Following on from the success, or otherwise, of the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014, Juno had completely forgotten about the animal version right here on her doorstep. As she approached it seemed like the delegates were already in the process of leaving.

However, the moment did cause her to briefly reflect on an exotic lunch missed!

As Juno used to say, until we speak again may all of your summits be tasty events!

	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

Tag Archives: Wales