Rachel was born in Cwmparc in the Rhondda in 1978. At the age of 10 she wanted to have a career as a fashion designer before deciding at the age of 13 that she wanted to be an architect.

It  was while she was studying at Glamorgan University that Rachel wrote her first novel In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl. The book was to receive critical acclaim when it was released in 2002 and had a place on the Orange Futures List.

Rachel was named the new face of literature by Harpers & Queen in 2003, and in 2006 won the Dylan Thomas Prize for her novel Fresh Apples, which describes life in the mining valleys of South Wales, and this shot her to international recognition.

Dial M for Merthyr is an account of her time on tour with the Welsh rock band Midasuno and won the inaugural Max Boyce Prize.

Her latest book Cosmic Latte is published by Parthian and is a collection of 11 short stories with immigration as a theme, and speaks of lives on either side of boundaries and the fringes of society. Short stories are Rachel’s passion and she says they need as much concentration as writing a novel.

Rachel’s projects include writing her first stage drama – Tonypandemonium – for National Theatre Wales. She was also one of five authors who were approached to write an episode for a BBC Radio Wales comedy drama series called Driving Home for Christmas. This was aired in December 2012 and is based on a couple visiting relatives over the Christmas period who live in various parts of Wales.

Rachel’s work has been translated into several languages and is published all over the world.

We would be very pleased to see you, so please come along to the shop to meet the author and have your book signed.

Sarah Baskerville

Read an interview with the author about her new book here.

Wellfield Bookshop, 16 Wellfield Road

Image courtesy of Parthian Books.

Follow Parthian Books on twitter here.

Follow Wellfield Bookshop on twitter here.

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A lot of people struggle to think of something they can do that would be of value to someone else. The thing is, we all have something, either a skill, some type of knowledge or experience that other people do not have. Therefore this skill, knowledge or experience has value.

Trade School Cardiff is an alternative ‘school’ where participants can barter for other people’s knowledge. The Trade School movement grew out of New York in 2010 and is based on the belief that everyone has something to offer and that knowledge and learning should be accessible to everyone.  The way Trade School works is that people offer to teach a class in exchange for things that they need. People can then attend the class in exchange for whatever the teacher has requested.

The third Trade School Cardiff takes place from the 19th-21st June in the Tavs Centre on Tavistock Street in Roath. Trade School Cardiff #3 is being run in association with Oasis Cardiff and Wales Refugee Council as part of Refugee Week Wales. Many of the classes are being run by Cardiff-based refugees and include topical subjects like Syrian Culture and Language, and Life in Afghanistan, as well as practical skills in cooking, playing music and searching for jobs.

There are still a few slots left if you have a skill or some knowledge or experience you would like to share with others. You can find out more information, register to teach or take part in a class by clicking here.

Laura Howe, Trade School Cardiff Team

Trade School Cardiff #3 ‘The Exchange’ 19^th-21^st June in the Tavs Centre, Tavistock Street, CF24 3BE

Find Trade School Cardiff on Facebook here.

Image: copyright Lynsey Jackson / Trade School Cardiff

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Wayne Courtney, Roath’s most tireless charity fundraiser, has two great events for you this June.

‘A Rockin’ Good Cause’, featuring great local bands including The Magic Rooster Brothers and The Fflip-Fflops, comedy – and even burlesque – takes place on Friday 7th June at the Gower Pub, and all funds raised will go to support nurses in the A6 Acute Stroke Unit at the University Hospital of Wales.

Channel 5 are also filming this event as part of a programme about nurses – so you could have your fifteen minutes of fame on tv as well!

Everything kicks off at 7pm, and entry is only £3.

Later in the month, on Saturday 22nd June, Wayne is hosting ’A Night With The Chicago Boys’. The comedy duo return to the Gower Pub with a hilarious new set featuring comedy and song, and there will be guest appearances from The Magic Rooster Brothers, as well as many more acts.

This will be another fantastic night of comedy and live music, and all proceeds from the evening will be going to the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Llandough hospital.

‘A Night With The Chicago Boys’ starts at 8pm, entry £3.

We’ll see you there!

Follow Wayne on Twitter here

Follow The Magic Rooster Brothers on Twitter here

Follow the Fflip Fflops on Twitter here

Find The Chicago Boys on Facebook here

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We at RoathCardiff have concerns as to whether either of these measures are necessary to increase safety; whether they would increase safety; whether it would actually make the junction more dangerous by attracting parking along the closed road; and whether local residents should be able to suggest different options to the two offered.

We also have doubts as to whether the proposals would improve safety when travelling to Marlborough Road School, as the proposed pedestrian crossing on Albany Road could be installed without affecting Claude Place, and there is also an existing zebra crossing on the other side of the junction across Albany Road, outside the Claude Hotel.

We’d like to see accident statistics for this junction, and some real evidence for the proposed changes.

Also it seems that only the residents living within a short distance of Claude Place have been invited to send their comments to Cardiff Council, when any change of this kind would have an impact on people living not much further afield within Roath and Penylan, as well as visitors to the area.

This was also the case with the Donald Street closure consultation, since only the immediate residents were informed (although Safer Routes and Communities were present at Roath Farmers’ Market in January to receive public comments) – yet the impact of closing one end of Donald Street, moving parking bays from the front of Tesco on Albany Road and allowing that to become a loading bay for deliveries would have an enormous impact on residents and shoppers from a wide area – not just those living a few metres away.

We understand that these proposals did not even win favour from Albany Primary School, who foresaw increased traffic at the side of the school, with cars turning in a small space, thus making matters worse for the children who attend the school.

In short, the proposals seem ill-thought out, and destined to result in a more chaotic junction than already exists – and a Claude Place closed at the Albany Road junction will surely lead to people from the pub gathering outside in greater numbers, causing nuisance and annoyance to residents and pedestrians?

Are you a cyclist in Roath? A parent of a child at Marlborough Road School? Or anyone or walks or drives around Roath?  Tell us what you think – comment on this post, tweet us or get in touch on Facebook.

Comment on the Claude Place/Albany Road proposals by emailing the Council’s Cycling Officer, or call 02920 873254 by Friday 21st June.

Although the Donald Street consultation is now closed, you can still send comments to the Cycling Officer by email.

Safer Routes in Communities will also be outside The Bottle Shop, Pen-y-Lan Road between 3pm-7.30pm on Tuesday 18th June to note your comments.

A map of all the proposed cycling schemes in Cardiff is available on the Enfys website here.

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SUMMER PROGRAMME 2013

Members and guests are invited to join in a series of visits to places of interest in and around Cardiff.

Thursday June 6th, 2pm  Insole Court, Llandaff  

We will have a seated presentation in the house at Insole Court, outlining the work of restoration that is underway and a guided tour of some of the restored rooms. A tour of the grounds will follow. (Access by car from Fairwater Road – look for lodge on left and drive down to house. Bus No 1 and 2 from Western Avenue – walk up Insole Grove East, turn right and enter the South Drive)

Thursday June 13th, 7pm Adamsdown Cemetery

A walk around Adamsdown Cemetery and adjacent areas of Adamsdown, guided by Jeff Childs and John Sennett.

Thursday June 20th, 2pm Pier Head Building

We visit the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay, to view the recently refurbished interior and the many historical exhibits in the museum.

Thursday June 27th, 3pm Llandaff Cathedral

A guided tour of Llandaff Cathedral, viewing the interior and exterior of this historic building. City Circle buses 1 and 2. Alight at the Cardiff Metropolitan University building on Western Avenue and walk up the footpath at the side of the Rugby Club. Meet by the front of the Cathedral.

Thursday July 4th, 7pm Old Llanedeyrn

A guided walk around parts of Old Llanedeyrn, with Malcolm Ranson. Start and finish at the Hollybush Inn, Glyn Coed Road (off Hollybush Rd) No 57 bus. Cars may be left at the pub.

Thursday July 11th, 2pm Dyffryn House and Gardens

One of the highlights of our summer Programme. We will visit Dyffryn House and Gardens, to view parts of the restored interior of the building and to have a guided tour of the restored Garden Rooms , in the magnificent grounds. Download the booking form here.

Friday July 19th, 1pm Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

A behind the scenes tour around the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama on North Road.

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DAY AND TIME. (£3.00 charge)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Gillard

Secretary

Roath Local History Society website

Email: gillard[dot]peter[at]sky[dot]com

T 029 2041 0456

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I was born in Cardiff and was a scientist during my working life. Now retired, I am aspiring to be a science fiction author and have published my first book – The Blue People of Cloud Planet – which is Volume 1 of the trilogy – Quest of the Dicepterons. It is available in paperback at Wellfield Bookshop and online here. 

I have always been fascinated by space travel and am utterly convinced that life exists elsewhere in the Universe. In 1972 Pioneer 10 was launched and it carried a gold plaque showing man and our location in the galaxy. Back then I wondered if that plaque would ever be seen again and the grains of a story formed. 40 years later I have written that story.

Read more about the book and about my research on my website.

Story synopsis

Six year old Jack Parker squealed with delight as Pioneer 10 blasted off from Cape Canaveral on its journey to photograph Jupiter and then onwards endlessly towards the stars.

How could this young man have imagined that this was a pivotal moment for subsequent Parker generations who became astronauts with dreams of travelling to the stars.

Join Scott Parker and Olivia Medici as they board their spaceship in 2150 for a one way ticket to the star Seren, 10 light years away. There they discover the Blue People, a unique species who are threatened to extinction by a hidden menace.

This fast moving space adventure is highly imaginative and explores how life might have evolved at another star. The reader is kept guessing as the plot twists and turns and slowly the presence of ‘something else out there’ becomes apparent. Enter the Dicepterons – imagine the unimaginable!

Brian Wolfenden

Follow Brian on Twitter here and like The Blue People of Cloud Planet on Facebook here.

Wellfield Bookshop, 16 Wellfield Road

Find Wellfield Bookshop on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Image credit: book cover image used by Brian Wolfenden with permission from NASA and STScl (Hubble website)

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With events taking place at Milkwood Gallery, Caffi Parc, and along Angus Street, the day will be full of plenty of interactive activities, exhibitions, live music and talks.

For the full programme see the Made in Roath website.  Highlights will include the May Queen, Loaf in Roath bread making competition, Trydarfod at Caffi Parc, Made in Spring chicks and ducklings, and Made in Spring at Milgi – music in the yurt in the evening.

Interactive activities are listed here, exhibitions and events here, and stalls here.

Sunday 5th May, 12pm-6pm

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Some of Roath Park’s earliest features are now long gone and largely forgotten. They include the bandstand and concert pavilion (described in a previous article), the aquarium and fish hatchery, the refreshment house, and several rustic shelters and rustic bridges. Fortunately these have been preserved via contemporary postcards.

Aquarium and Fish Hatchery

Pictured left in a postcard dated 1907, the aquarium was a small brick building with a thatched roof. It was built in 1899, roughly in the centre of the Botanic Garden. One section was equipped as a fish hatchery, the purpose of which was to keep the lake well stocked with trout to support fishing. In the other part of the building was the aquarium, which the Parks Committee hoped would provide an educational experience for visitors to the park.

The hatchery was operational from 1900, but the aquarium did not open to the public until June 1903. Owing to an apparent lack of interest from visitors, the following year a notice was placed on the building explaining its function, but it seems that the aquarium never fulfilled the hopes of the Parks Committee. In contrast the hatchery flourished after some early difficulties had been overcome. It produced plentiful young fish, which were reared in ponds in the Wild Gardens before being placed in the lake. There was also a regular surplus which could be sold to provide income. For example in the financial year ending March 1909, fish to the value of £70 were sold, while in April 1909 more than 25,000 young fish were placed in the shallow parts of the lake.

The success of the hatchery was short-lived. From the 1911 season fishing became less popular owing to the declining stock of fish in the lake. Writing in 1922 the Chief Parks Officer A.A. Pettigrew attributed this decline to the increasing popularity of boating and the possible contamination of the lake by surface drainage from tar-sprayed roads. The effect was that the supply of ova from fish in the lake was also reduced, and the hatchery was no longer able to produce a satisfactory supply of young fish. In the early 1920s steps were taken to revive fishing and restore the hatchery, but anglers were not tempted back, and there were no further attempts to keep the lake stocked with trout, nor to rear fish in the hatchery.

An inventory of parks buildings and equipment in 1938 recorded no equipment in the aquarium and hatchery, confirming that both had fallen into disuse. In November 1944 the Parks Director reported on the dilapidated condition of the thatched roof of the building. The estimate for repairs was £200 and it decided to defer the work. The building was evidently demolished not long after: it was not shown on the 1954 Ordnance Survey map. Its position is now occupied by a small rectangular lawn with seats arranged around three sides and backing onto the stream..

Refreshment House

Roath Park’s refreshment house was built between 1899 and March 1901. It stood at the western end of the Promenade, beside the Weir, as shown in the postcard on the right, dated 1904. Aerial photographs and Ordnance Survey maps show its continued presence in this location until the late 1960s.

In its early days the refreshment house was not allowed to open on Sundays, despite Sunday being one of the busiest days for visitors to the park. This became a controversial issue, with several proposals being put to the Council to allow Sunday opening. In April 1903, for example, 645 ratepayers signed a petition in favour of the idea, but it was opposed by the Churches and defeated in a Council vote in July. Sunday opening was finally approved by the Council in 1913. Although there was again opposition on religious grounds, the view prevailed that it was not unreasonable “to make provision by which the worn and the weary could have a cup of tea at the park on Sundays” [from the Western Mail, 15th April 1913, quoted by A.A. Pettigrew].

Visitors to the park could also take advantage of picnic tables on the west bank of the lake, roughly opposite the present day Highfield Road. Close by was a shelter, to which a gas supply was installed in the summer of 1908, with a penny-in-the-slot gas stove for picnic parties to obtain hot water.

Rustic Bridges and Shelters

The image below showing a rustic bridge and shelter in the Pleasure Garden is from a postcard postmarked 1904, though the photograph was probably taken by Francis Frith in 1896. There were several bridges of this design in the park – four in the Pleasure Garden and two in the Wild Gardens – as well as a number of similar shelters in Roath Park and other Cardiff parks.

Until the 1960s the brook flowing through the Pleasure Garden took a meandering course and included three small islands. The rustic bridges were built to allow access to the islands, one of which accommodated a tea room. The bridge shown with the shelter in 1896 was the first to be built in the Pleasure Garden, and was probably the one mentioned in Council minutes in April/May 1895 when the Parks Committee decided to “meet at the Roath Park (by the new rustic bridge … in the Pleasure Garden section) … to fix a site for the bowling green”. (The bowling green was not actually built for another 10 years.)

The image below right is from a postcard dated 1943 and shows the rustic bridge to have been replaced by a new structure, possibly the one still in existence. At that time the rustic shelter was still present.

The brook is thought to have been straightened in the early 1960s: the Ordnance Survey map dated 1965 shows the brook taking a more direct course through the Pleasure Garden, with a single bridge beside the bowling green. By the 1970s the Ordnance Survey maps indicate that the rustic shelters had been removed both from the Pleasure Garden and from elsewhere in Roath Park.

In addition to the evidence in old postcards, Roath Park’s lost features are documented in an unpublished  history in six volumes by A.A. Pettigrew: The Public Parks and Recreation Grounds of Cardiff, available at the Cardiff Central Library Local Studies Department.

Anne Bell

Read more on Anne’s blog and follow her on twitter here.

Images: Collection of Anne Bell [postcards no longer in copyright]

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They’ve chosen 14 April (at 4am obviously) as the date to celebrate – anybody is welcome to take part by taking a photo at the magic hour and submitting it to the projects’s website.

We’re not organising a Roath group this time round, but from past experience we can recommend a few good spots:

• City Road – always something going on, even at 4am
• Railway lines between Roath and Cathays
• Roath Park – the lighthouse is lit up all night
• Wellfield/Albany Roads – quiet but really well lit
• Roath Rec – very dark if you want to do some light painting

If anybody would like to get together, you can use our facebook group to make arrangements and if you’d like to share your pictures, please add them to our flickr group.

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The Great Roath Bake Off returned bigger and better this year with nearly 100 entries and a community fête in St Andrew’s Church Hall.

From 12 o’clock a stream of bakers queued to enter the competition and within an hour the tables were jam-packed with cakes, bakes and savouries. Entry fees were in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and more than £500 was raised by event organiser Wayne Courtney and his team of volunteers.

Cakes and bakes were judged in four categories: general cakes; professional cakes; savouries/bakes; under 16s. Judges included two BBC Wales presenters, Sue Charles and Owain Wyn Evans, Real Radio’s Dave Brookes, Media Wales’ Dave Owens and bloggers/bakers Sharon Mills, Nikki Vivian, Matt Appleby, Mariclare Carey-Jones and Sarah Williams. Judges marked on presentation, taste, quality of bake and texture.

Keeping the bakers entertained, Wayne laid on a great mix of live music led by Calum Ross and the Magic Rootser Brothers.

The winners were:

• General cake: Lisa Watts with chocolate and salted caramel crunch cake
• Professional cake: Nata & Co with Pastel do Nata
• Savoury/bake: Bill Ward with pork pies
• Under 16: Molly Spivey with white chocolate cake

Lots of photos were taken – we’ve posted some to our Flickr account and here’s Wayne’s Instagram album. If you’d like to share your photos from the day, you can add them to our Flickr group here.

The winning cake – photo by Nic Rugman

Champion baker Lisa Watts

Roathcardiff’s Nic Rugman captured most of the cakes – thanks to her for the slideshow above.

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