The End of the Beginning

People of Cardiff and the world, the deadline for the Brooklyn Brotherhood Neighbourhood Project is almost upon us. I can hardly believe it, but three months have passed since I started this blog as a response to their deceptively simple challenge. When I first set out to tell the story of the place in which I live, I thought the process would be interesting if a little familiar. I was wrong. It's been a real journey, and I've learnt that there's so much more to my surroundings than I first expected.

I've collaborated with other residents and used social networking, creative writing, historical research, translation, photography, interviews, video and artwork to capture a glimpse of the city. Hopefully, this goes some way to revealing Cardiff's unique personality, and encourages people to view Caerdydd from a slightly different perspective.

For the final time: thanks a million to everyone involved. Your help in telling the story of the city has been invaluable.

Cheers,

Tom.

Swanpocalypse Now

Finally, the Cardiff Stories / Bicycle, Bicycle Designs collaboration is complete. Here's Roath Park (a lovely spot in the city where I've spent many an afternoon walking and feeding the ducks) before being PhotoShopped it beyond all recognition:

How very lovely. Now, allow me to present the exclusive artwork based on the panorama above, Swanpocalypse Now:

Hope you like it! Cheers to Miles @ Bicycle, Bicycle for his help and illustrations. Be sure to click on the pictures for higher resolution versions.

Lost in Translation?

As a way of paying homage to the native tongue here in Wales, I've put together a set of translations that I wish I'd known when I first moved to Cardiff:

1) Hello, how are you?
Helo, sut wyt ti?

2) How do I get to the Millenium Stadium?
Sut ydw i’n cyrraedd y stadiwm mileniwm?

3) Fifteen quid? This is a taxi, not a bloody Limousine!
Pymtheg punt? Tacsi yw hwn, nid bloody limo!

4) Point me to the nearest Pub, my good man.
Pwyntiwch fi i’r tafarn agosach, gwr caredig.

5) Those trainers are lush!
Mae’r trainers yna yn lush!

6) Shane Williams is God.
Mae Shane Williams yn dduw.

7) Can I borrow your umbrella?
Allai menthyg dy ymbarél?

8) Let's go to Roath Park and feed the ducks.
Dere, awn ni draw I Parc y Rhath I fwydo’r hwyaid.

9) Shall we get a kebab from Chippy Lane?
Ewn ni i nôl kebab o Chippy Lane?

10) Good night.

Nos da.

If those phrases don't come in handy when you're going about your business in the city, I'll eat my hat. Big thanks to Llinos, whose Welsh language skills and patience were invaluable!

P.S. Regarding question 8 - Miles @ Bicycle, Bicycle Designs and I are working this very minute on our collaboration (as promised in the previous post). Get ready to witness Roath Park as you've never seen it before...

10 Minutes in 1

Earlier in the week, I sat in the middle of Queen street and almost froze to death filming this little video - how I suffer for my art! Anyway, it's shot in fast mode, which means than ten minutes of everyday city action elapses in just one minute. Set to the lovely sounds of London Elektricity, I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out. See if you can spot the bloke in the banana suit.

Gorillas and Buffalos: 5 minutes with local artist Miles Hart

I've been talking to local artist Miles Hart about his work, the art scene in Caerdydd, and a new exhibition that will bring out the David Attenborough in you.

CS: Describe your work in 5 words.

MH: Zoologically geometric nuggets of grim.

CS: Nice! As you know this blog is about the story of Cardiff; what's it like being a practising artist in this fine city?

MH: I think opportunities for the up-and-coming artist as well as the professional in Cardiff are growing. With Cardiff School of Art and Design dishing out some real talent we're catching up with other cultural cities such as Manchester and Bristol. There are always local projects to get your teeth into and exhibition space seems to be popping up in every dark corner.

CS: So how do people get a look at some of the art that locals are putting out?

MH: There are several magazines that are well worth checking out. Designer Violence is an open submission zine with a different theme in each issue, giving local artists a chance to show off their creations. Most of the trendy bars in the area such as Milgi's or Buffalo's stock it. Talking of trendy bars, there's always a good shin-dig at the Cardiff Arts Institute. They offer a wicked space for local artists to show their work, while the regular club nights combine the disciplines of drawing and throwing shapes.

CS: As long as someone's rocking the classic 'big fish/little fish/cardboard box', I'm happy. Now, tell me about your latest exhibition, COLONY.

MH: Can words alone really describe COLONY? Basically Nick Robertson (aka Morris) and I have been working hard over the last year attempting to depict our view of the world onto paper using nothing but a pencil and certainly in my case, some sore-eyed Photoshop hours. We perhaps have a slightly warped view of our society, and share a utopian vision that questions mankind's perceived dominance over nature while exploring the relationship between natural form and popular culture. We've rounded up a selection of other artists local to the area who share similar ideologies to help in kitting out the CAI and put on a show which is best described as a little bit sexy and a little bit scary.

CS: Sounds good! Now, the final and perhaps most important question - FIFA or Pro Evo?

MH: FIFA obviously, unless you're 11 or happy with Ryan Giggs being called Ryan Goggs.

CS: Right answer. Cheers Miles!

If you like the look of Miles's work, check out his blog, where you can peruse his other designs and buy a snazzy t-shirt at a very reasonable price! Details about the upcoming COLONY exhibition will no doubt be posted there soon.

Finally, keep your eyes peeled for a Cardiff Stories collaboration with Bicycle Bicycle Designs, where Miles and I will endeavour to create an uber-cool artwork based on the city. Sayonara!

Cardiff at Night: Photography by Maciej Dakowicz

I'm extremely excited to reveal that Cardiff based photographer Maciej Dakowicz, whose work has been featured in almost every major national newspaper, has agreed to contribute to Cardiff Stories!

Below are some stunning photos from his album Cardiff at Night, a compilation of weekend scenes shot in the city centre. Maciej manages to capture a dazzling range of moods, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous to the downright scary. Enjoy!

Please note: All images above are copyrighted. Do not reproduce without express permission of the photographer.

Check out Maciej's personal website here, where you can view some of his other work from exotic locations across the world.

Also, if you're in the Cardiff area, be sure to visit his gallery in Cardiff Bay, currently featuring the exhibition 'Love UK' by Peter Dench, as featured in this week's Spectrum in The Sunday Times Magazine.

Cheers Maciej!

Describe Cardiff in One Word: The Results!

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the Facebook group, I was surprised and delighted by the enthusiasm and support you all showed. Below, in all it's glory, is the word cloud I promised that gives a snapshot of' your opinions of the city:

Thanks go to Arzu, Charlie, Cleo, Dan, Gav, Hannah, Harriet, Hayley, Jack, Lucy, Megan, Pat, Robin, Sam, Sarah, Tim and Tom for their contributions, as well as Wordle for their excellent word cloud generating website.

Death Junction

Any self-respecting story blog should include a little bit of history, so here's an interesting fact about the point where Crwys Road, Mackintosh Place, Albany Road, City Road and Richmond Road converge, a spot known locally as 'Death Junction' (see below for a photo).

I always thought the junction got its morbid nickname from the chaotic traffic (anyone who's driven there will know it can get a bit dodgy, especially at rush hour), but a small plaque I noticed on the wall of the NatWest revealed something a lot more intriguing:

After a bit of Googling, I discovered that the junction is in fact the site of the old Gallows Field, where countless criminals (and, apparently, innocents) were hung. The men mentioned on the plaque were priests hung for practising Catholicism, which was outlawed at the time.

This little find just goes to show that there's a lot more to Cardiff than meets the eye, and there's a vast, exciting and sometimes bloody history waiting to be uncovered - all you have to do is look for it.

City Road

Here's a short piece of prose I wrote about a nearby street. Hope you enjoy it!

City Road, Cardiff. It’s eleven or twelve in the evening and spitefully cold; the kind of cold that crunches up your abdominal muscles and stiffens your jaw, a reminder that you really should be inside. Curry-houses, kebab shops, convenience stores and takeaways squeeze claustrophobically into the terraces that line the street. They compete for the attention of drunken punters, shamelessly displaying themselves with a spectrum of gaudy electric signs and the promise of warmth. Neon reflections dance in black puddles as the sharp November rain expertly maintains its war of attrition.

There are a lot of people about, despite the time and the weather. Three girls huddle under an umbrella outside a pub, sharing a cigarette and shivering, whilst a couple men in tracksuits argue in a bus stop. A student slumps awkwardly in a doorway, too drunk to walk, to think. His phone rings pleadingly in his pocket, but it goes un-noticed. Welcome to Orange answer phone. He’s not the only casualty of the night; a bin bag lies wounded in the gutter beside him, spilling its insides over the pavement. It stinks, overpowering the salty smell of döner meat and cooking fat that pumps from steaming vents above the kebab-house window. An oblivious ambulance blares towards town, kicking up a fine spray from the saturated road.

Further up the street, anonymous shouts of anger are drowned out by a modified hatchback screaming invasively as it pulls away from a set of traffic lights. It elicits a loud ‘wanker!’ from a herd of forty-somethings on a hen night. They clip-clop in an unsteady human chain to the next bar, screeching, giggling and singing Abba hits to anyone they pass.

Across the road, a group of dismal buildings stand; some dilapidated with boarded windows and heavy, padlocked doors. Amongst them is the Spin bowling alley, one of the only detached structures on City Road. Once popular, it now looks grim and foreboding, as if becoming slowly amalgamated into the terrace. In the darkness, ivy tendrils sprout from cracks in the asphalt, pulling the building down into the gum speckled street.

Night edges on. Gradually, the rain gives up. Stumbling drunks are replaced by early morning joggers. The cold sky streaks soft orange as first light yawns. Sequined satin glimmers emerald in the window of the sari shop.

Describe Cardiff in One Word

Click through to this facebook group to take part!

Your answers will be magically transformed into a funky-fresh word cloud that sums up peoples' attitudes to the city.

Welcome to Cardiff Stories

Hello, I'm Tom.

My aim in this blog is to contribute to Brooklyn Brotherhood's Neighbourhood Project, which is all about telling the story of the place in which you live.

But how do you go about telling the story of a city from just one person's perspective? It's possible, but can't possibly capture the vibrancy and diversity of the capital.

That's where you come in. I need your help to tell the story of Cardiff and to share experiences of the city. Written text, photos, drawings, music; any medium will do. Just enjoy taking a break and sharing your experience of Caerdydd!