Cardiff - a surprising city

We've just spent three VERY pleasant days in Cardiff, visiting a good friend John Hyde, who lives in Sydney but has been working for the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for 12 months, writing a housing strategy. It was great to catch up with him.

And somehow, not even knowing where in Cardiff he lived, the caravan park we chose was just two blocks from his home! So he was able to visit as soon as we arrived and was a great host. We went to his local pub for tea on Wednesday evening. The drinks cost more than the dinner!

I'd never thought of Cardiff as a tourist must, but I've changed my mind completely. It's a lovely city. We were able to walk through a vast 300 acre park which had belonged to the Bute family, which made its fortune from coal. (I can't help thinking though of all those eight year olds down the pits in those days). The Bute family had bought Cardiff Castle and later generations gave the property to the people of Cardiff. We had a most pleasurable lunch in the castle grounds, on a very pleasant sunny day.

After lunch I went off shopping and to the hairdressers whilst the lads went sightseeing down to the Cardiff Bay. They toured the new Millenium Centre, which is Cardiff's version of the Sydney Opera House. They had two guides who were intrigued to hear about the problems with acoustics and access at our opera house.

Afterwards, I caught a train to the Bay and we went to a wonderful Indian restaurant. The food lived up to its reputation. We were careful to not order too much, but we still couldn't eat it all.

The long day's journey from Ireland on the Wednesday had taken its toll on John (and on me too) so John had a day in bed to rest his legs which keep swelling up. My bones were aching from lots of driving and walking so I did no more than walk into town to check out accomodation on the internet at the library. An hour's browsing was free. Some places charge, but not Cardiff. Fortunately I now have broadband back again on the laptop, having paid another month's subscription.

For those interested, a "3" modem cost us 69 pounds, and on top of that we paid ten pound a month, which for us heavy users wasn't quite enough, and I kept having problems. I have now upgraded to a 15 pound plan (for a month). It is good for travellers. You just stick the modem into the USB drive, having made sure you put the chip in correctly! That was also a problem at one stage. Vouchers for the modem (or internet phone) can be purchased just about anywhere, such as TESCO supermarkets.

This morning, John Hyde came around to wave us goodbye, and we set off for Trowbridge in Wiltshire. Another genealogy enthusiast from Hampshire had informed me about an open day being held by the Wiltshire Family History Society at the civic hall. The drive across was an easy one, straight down the motor way, and we arrived in time to meet my internet contact, Rodney and to spend three hours browsing and researching. I am now a proud member of the Wiltshire Family History Society and the Hampshire Genealogical Society. It was a great opportunity to gain advice and to look at microfiche of village baptisms and burials for areas of interest.

We also booked into a caravan park in Lacock, a village between Chippenham (where the Wiltshire Record Office is located) and Trowbridge. The village - which we haven't seen as yet - is the backdrop for many a movie including the Jane Austen films. So that is a must. We are also only 14 miles from Bath, so our plan tomorrow is to catch a train from Chippenham to Bath. We'll see if it can be done!

Till then. Only 14 more days and we'll be on the plane home. We'll have a new neighbour by then. Carmel and Ray at number 30 are expecting a second bubba this week, so we are sending them special thoughts this week.