The weekend that was

It all started with cocktails in Wahaca, then, via a day trip to Swansea, dinner in Chapter, a run in Roath park, custard doughnuts from the Portuguese bakery, and a walk along the Taff trail, it ended with the vigil outside the Senedd for the Paris victims. Well done Cardiff (and Swansea), another amazing weekend.

the view of beautiful Swansea from the tower

This week I will be start to attempt to improve my French by watch the videos by Comme une Francaise. She has some great tips. Today I started with swearing because that's how I roll.

running needs CARBS

Any other suggestions for videos to watch to improve my French?

love this weir along the Taff trail

Learning Cymraeg

This September will mark 10 years of me living in Wales. Way back in 2002 when filling out my dreaded UCAS form I must admit I had very little knowledge of the Welsh language, Dorset girl that I am, and how important it is. But it is important; language and culture make up so much of a person's identity and expression.  Last year I married a Welshman who uses the Welsh language a lot both professionally and socially. Consequently our group of friends includes many a proud native Welsh speaker. Sometimes, in fact, I am the only non Welsh speaker in the room, not that anyone has ever made me feel excluded. However, I have felt for a while that I should make an attempt to learn. I once tried to learn when in my final year. A patronising teacher, slow class and the fact that I was in my final year made me give up after only a few lessons (I also seem to remember some guys from Rhyl trying to teach us Welsh at Glastonbury festival 2003 but needless to stay it didn't stick).

Tafwyl at Cardiff Castle

Recently, a few friends and I went to see American Interior, the film that accompanies The Gruff Rhys album of the same name. In the film, Gruff follows the trail of one of his ancestors on the quest for a mythical Welsh speaking tribe in America. Check it out btw, it's great. The Welsh language is prominent throughout and at one point Gruff states that there are only 1 millions speakers.

At the weekend, Hywel and I went to Tafwyl festival at Cardiff Castle. It was so interesting to see, and hear, Welsh being spoken by so many people and to listen to musicians singing in Welsh. It made me jealous. I want to speak Welsh! One person shown in Gruff's film mention the website "Say Something in Welsh" so I decided to check it out. It is a series of online Welsh lessons which can be downloaded and listened to as and when you want. Each lesson is only about 35 minutes long so it is easy to fit one in. I honestly cannot praise it enough. I have only done 5 lessons so far and already I can say loads! It teaches you to construct sentences rather than learning by rote. The only slight downside is that it requires a lot of speaking on the learner's part so I cannot really do it at work but then speaking is the only real way to learn! I can even do my crochet at the same time. Win.

Sorry quite a wordy one

My First Blog

How exciting. Welcome to my little world. I have been meaning to start a blog for a while mainly to document what I get up to be it gigs, craft, day trips or new purchases. Let's begin. This weekend was one of those lovely sunny Cardiff weekends where we float from place to place in a happy cloud. On Saturday my husband Hywel and I went for a walk at Forest Farm and firmly cemented our desire to move from Splott to Whitchurch. We could have spent longer there as it was so peaceful and full of nature. We even saw a heron.

The beautiful river at Forest Farm

 Being in the outdoorsy mood put me in the frame of mind to sort the garden out. We took 2 car loads of ivy to the dump and planted some lavender, roses and herbs. Hopefully they will flourish.

New plants in my garden

 Later that evening a friend and I went to local favourite Chapter to watch Casse-Tete Chinois (Chinese puzzles), the 3rd film in the Auberge Espagnole triology. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in French cinema. It was funny and witty and the French is easy to follow (it does have subtitles for non French speakers). It made me want to move to Paris. But that happens on a weekly basis.

G&Ts with basil, lemon and strawberry

Sunday saw the first Pop Up Boutique on Womanby Street. Although I was hoping for more stalls, the amazing food and drink made up for it. Hywel and I have been Hang Fire Smoke house enthusiasts since our fist bite of pulled pork back in the Canadian so we were sure to be first in the queue for their street food style menu on Sunday. Man, it was good! I had the pulled pork bap and Hywel had the ribs. Their homemade sauces are truly mouthwatering. I can't wait to find out where their next venue will be.

The just perfect Hang Fire smokehouse pulled pork baps

 The day and weekend was rounded off by an ice cream from Pettigrew Tea room (we couldn't get a table for cake- curse their popularity!) and a wander through Bute Park. Perfect