I think I read somewhere that this is one route where Cardiff Bus do their very best to make sure the buses run on time as they risk loosing the franchise if not. I suspect therefore that the bus I caught may have been a rushed replacement for a late running predecessor held up because of a fire engine causing hold ups on Cowbridge Road. Then again I may be talking rhubarb.
I had a good plan for today. I was going to visit the Saint Fagans Museum where lots of buildings from various parts of Wales have been moved, rebuilt and opened for the public to wander around. There is a farmhouse, church, shops and as of last year a pub – The Vulcan which used to be in Adamsdown, Cardiff until the land was needed for redevelopment.
The plan was to buy my lunch – some bara caws (cheesy bread) from the bakery and take it to the Vulcan and have it with a nice pint of beer. There were just a couple of stumbling blocks to that plan: it was half-term and the queues outside the bakery were long and the Vulcan has a long list of things not allowed including taking in food, even food purchased from another museum outlet. Sigh.
Never mind. I headed for the Vulcan. I’ve mixed feelings about it I must say. Great its been saved and rebuilt. Full marks for the period outfits the bar staff wear. Wood shavings on the floor rather than sawdust? It looks kind of weird. The beer is keg not cask and Glamorgan Ale not Brains but having moaned it wasn’t a bad pint today. I sat, supped my beer and dreamt of lunch. Most people just come in to have a look and wander back out again so you do feel like part of the museum display sat there on your own.
The majority of visitors to the Vulcan miss the best bit – the gents. The giant urinals look like they have been moulded out of toffee.
My book for the day was Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid, a fine author with science background and ability to write good page-turning novels.
One of the most attractive building in the museum is Gwalia Stores which used to be in Ogmore Vale. I was doing some genealogy research a few month back and discovered it was owned by William Llewellyn who was Dr David Owen’s material great-grandfather. I popped in to Gwalia Stores and explained this to the young person there. They’d never heard of him not even after I gave them hints like Foreign Secretary in Callaghan’s government and a founder member of the SDP. That seals it for me – I’m not going to seek fame as it only lasts a blink of the eye. Better to have another beer in the Vulcan and forget about all about it – but keep an eye on the time because the last No.32 back to town departs early afternoon.
Cardiff Capers 