I was early for my Noโ8 Cardiff Bus to Cardiff Bay via Grangetown so went for a wander around Central Square. Itโs a dangerous time of year to dawdle around there as you may get speared in the head, not by Cupidโs arrow but by a ripened seed pod from what looks to be a Catalpa bean tree of some sort. I wonโt complain though. Iโll leave that to the many others who moan about the lack of greenery in Central Square and continuously mention the words โWhy donโt the Councilโฆโฆ.โ in their social media posts. That reminds me. There must be a huge opportunity awaiting for anyone who can develop a Google Extension or alike that filters out posts containing the word โCouncilโ.
I still had time for another find before I caught the bus, this time a mislaid passport left on a bench in the bus station. I pictured someone on the way to the airport and barred from boarding their flight without their passport. This one however was battered with ripped pages and more likely used for ID purposes that international travel. I handed it in to one of the attendants. These finds are getting a regular occurrence. It was a mobile phone when I was on the No.6 route.
I like the No.8 route. Instead of going direct to Cardiff Bay from the centre of Cardiff it does a sort of slingshot type route through the multi-cultural community of Grangetown. I got off part way and visited Grange Gardens, one of the smaller but still splendid Cardiff Victorian parks. It has been modernised with an up-to-date playground and five-a-side football pitch but still has relics of the past in the form of a war memorial, bandstand and not forgetting the park caretakerโs shelter complete with Cardiff motif above the door. In 1938 an inventory was made of the contents of the shelter and it included pruning saw, axe (felling), a set of drain rods and kettle (copper).
I went into the Pavilion in search of a bite to eat and a beverage. It was a hive of activity. Thereโs a lot of community initiatives going on in here and a pleasant atmosphere. I had a seasonal biscoff hot chocolate and cheese and chutney toasty. The menu appeared to comprise of three type of cheese toasty: cheese and jalapeno jam, cheese and chutney and 3-cheese toasty. I was tempted to ask what their signature dish was but thought better of it. Bet it included cheese.
My book today was โThe People on Platform 5โ by Clare Pooley. I must admit I had picked it up in error in a charity shop. I thought it was going to be travel book but itโs actually a novel. When I discovered this I feared it may be chic-lit but Iโm halfway through and no chicken has appeared nor fowl of any sort. Actually, itโs pretty good read, very funny, about a group of people on commuter train who break the rules of commuting and start talking to each other. My only disappointment is thereโs no mention of the types of trains e.g. are they loco-hauled or multiple-units?
I still had time after lunch for a walk around the streets Grangetown with its Victorian schools and churches. I even went down to the Taff embankment and had a view back up the river towards the Principality Stadium in the distance.
I then rejoined the No.8 which took me down to its terminus at Cardiff Bay and after a five minute scamper around the area and hopped back on the same bus to bring me back to town.
Cardiff Capers 