What's on in Cardiff Christmas Card

Here at What's on in Cardiff we'd like to wish you all a merry Christmas with our Gingerbread dragon Christmas Card!

Hope you all have a sweet and magical Christmas!

America calls it... the world ending - In Wales...we call it Summer!

Ok, not that we want to be tasteless but we did find this meme floating around twitter.. yes Wales is known for being a lil bit wet from time to time!

 

 

Cardiff Bus Song

 

Cardiff bus song:

"Maindy, Tremorfa, Pontcanna, Adamsdown... this Cardiff Bus is taking us to town."

Catchy too! - as in catch a bus... oh forget it! (groan, sorry!)

Keep Calm Be Welsh Do It Now In A Minute

Bad roads in Ponty? you have been warned!

We're not too sure where this image originated, but as ever impressed with it having a welsh translation!

10 twitter pics of the week in Cardiff

In no particular order here are 10 great sights of Cardiff seen on twitter over the last week gathered purely at random or just because we thought they looked good...

1

@adeflockaflame

“Stumbled upon this actual #Time #machine while in #Cardiff”

2

@stevecastle

“Another lovely rain-free morning. Been lucky this week! #cardiff #bay #weather #hotel”

3

@bigwelshbear

“Roath park #lighthouse #cardiff”

4

@falcy11

“I do like living here. #cardiff”

5

@keeeeegan

“Dead mammoth #cardiff #museum #skeleton”

6

@puzzledown

“#Cardiff”

7

@hamadalamri

“#cardiff #wales #buildings #photooftheday #pictures”

8

@jessicabest87

“Brief let-up in the rain for the official unveiling of Cardiff's Olympic Rings”

9

@biancahernandez

“Weeping angel? No, jut bird poop. #doctorwho #wales #cardiff #travel”

10

@Tulstar

"Stonking sky over #Cardiff Bay earlier. Lovely.#Photography"

Cardiff, Llanymynech and Prestatyn battle it out to be crowned Welsh Curry House of the year 2012.

The Festivals Company is proud to announce that the three Indian restaurants through to the final of the 2012 Welsh Curry House of the year are:

• The Suhail, 12 Bastion Road, Prestatyn. LL19 7ES (NORTH WALES WINNER)
• Bengal Spices, Ashfield House, Llanymynech. SY22 6ER (MID WALES WINNER)
• Purple Poppadom, 185 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff. CF11 9AJ (SOUTH WALES WINNER)

The three exceptional restaurants impressed the regional judges who have been visiting the top 30 restaurants in Wales over the past five weeks.

The Purple Poppadom was described by the regional judges as “A very high quality dining experience, fine dining that one would ordinarily expect in a world capital. A pleasure and the best Indian Restaurant I’ve eaten in Europe.”

Bengal Spice was described as “small and cozy with some nice touches including complementary bottles of Welsh water on each table. The menu included all the usual dishes but the tastiness of each dish was exceptional and quite a surprise.”

The Suhail impressed the regional judges “The internal décor of this converted school and chapel was stunning, a lot of thought and attention gone into it. The waiters were friendly and made useful recommendations. It is no surprise they’ve been trading for 20 years.”

“We have 280 Indian Restaurants in Wales and to make the final three is a huge achievement. We received more votes this year than ever before (12,893 to be exact) which confirms that the people of Wales are passionate about Indian cuisine and have a huge affection for their local Indian Restaurant,” said Berwyn Rowlands form the Festivals Company.

“It was important for the regional finalist to embrace their role as ambassadors for fine Indian dining but also to demonstrate their desire to use locally sourced Welsh produce. Welsh Lamb Curry has played a significant role in the competition to date and we hope that many of the restaurants will continue to offer the dish to their customers,” he added.

The names of the national judges who have been tasked with choosing the National Winner have also been announced. They are:

• Graham Titchener from Meat Promotion Wales
• Niaz Taj is the Jury Chair and Manager of the Spice Route.
• Shuel Mahal, winner of the competition in 2009 and 2011 from the Sheesh Mahal in Llanelli.
• Bonny Young from London returns as a judge having travelled extensively in India.
• Sirajul Islam returns as a judge having spent 40 years in the Indian Restaurant sector.

 

“This is my first year judging the awards and I have been impressed with the standard set by the restaurants; it was a really tough process deciding on our final three. We are excited to be hosting the Awards Gala Dinner at The Red Dragon Centre right next to the Spice Route and I can’t wait to share the enjoyment and experience of eating food made out of the best locally sourced produce. It’s going to be a fantastic evening and we owe it to the 280 Indian Restaurants in Wales to celebrate the nation’s skills & talents,” said Niaz Taj, Jury Chair and the Manager of the Spice Route at The Red Dragon Centre.

The national winner will be announced by the First Minister for Wales, Carwyn Jones AM during the Awards Gala Dinner at the Red Dragon Centre in Cardiff Bay on Monday 23 April 2012. Tickets are available for the event priced at £45 inc VAT. BUY TICKETS HERE.  The evening will also be a fundraiser for Help for Heroes.

The nation rises up to go the extra Mile for Sport Relief 2012

More than one million Milers take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile

More than one million men, women and children have taken part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile this weekend, with a record number of people taking to the streets today (Sunday 25th March) at hundreds of Mile events across the length and breadth of the country.

In Cardiff, 3,971 people donned running gear or fancy dress to do 1, 3 or 6 miles in glorious sunshine. Cardiff Miler Ceri Landers, 62, from Cardiff said: “What an amazing event – I’ve had so much fun today but more importantly I feel like I’ve made a real difference to Sport Relief by lining up on the start line and getting sponsored - I’ve even seen a few famous faces too. Not bad for a Sunday morning.”
Famous faces joined Cardiff Milers to celebrate the UK’s biggest year of sport including Danielle Lineker, Rhydian Roberts and Rhys from Goldie Looking Chain, among others. Rhydian Roberts was first past the finish line in an impressive five minutes 40 seconds.

Celebrity Miler, Danielle Lineker, said: “I am so proud to be supporting Sport Relief and doing the Cardiff Mile this year. Sport Relief is a great day out for all the family and even better, all the money raised goes to a fantastic cause. We need everyone to go to www.sportrelief.com to do their bit and donate now!”

Joining the charge from Cardiff, Milers in cities from Brighton to Belfast completed 1, 3, or 6 miles at 16 other flagship cities around the UK, weaving their way past some of the UK’s most iconic landmarks. This year, for the first time ever, the London Mile took place along the Mall with Milers enjoying fantastic views of Buckingham Palace. Hundreds of local Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile events also took place across the country, with communities coming together to raise cash and change lives.

From families having fun in the sun to super sprinters up against the clock, there was something for everyone on the big day which was filled with energy, entertainment and excitement.

Other notable Milers who have also taken part this year include Prince Harry who ran a Sport Relief Mile in Rio de Janeiro and Prime Minister David Cameron who ran a Mile at Prestwood leisure centre in Buckinghamshire today.

Fresh from his ‘Week of Hell’ challenge, John Bishop joined thousands of people in Manchester to do 1 mile to complete his extraordinary efforts for Sport Relief.

The winner of the First Nation Home challenge was Team England, captained by Josh Lewsey, who won with a total of 36 points.[i]

The One Show 1000 also finished their relay at the London Mile. The event started 10 days ago and has seen members of the public from all over the UK join forces to run in a 1,000 mile relay from the Isle of Mull to the Mall in London.

The Sport Relief 2012 total currently stands at £52,070,587 with more still coming in from Milers getting sponsored and the public raising money in all sorts of inventive and challenging ways.

Sport Relief would like to say a huge thank you to each and every person who has donated money or given their time to go the extra mile.

Money raised from Sport Relief will be spent by Comic Relief to help some of the most vulnerable people in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries.

[i] Celebrity teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales went head-to-head in the First Nation Home challenge. Over seven days, the teams covered a gruelling distance of more than 1,000 miles around the four nations. On Sunday 25th March the teams will be joined by members of the public for the final 6-mile leg of the challenge, in a bid to be crowned the ‘First Nation Home’.

Lord of the Dance steps up for Sport Relief

Dancers from Michael Flatley’s legendary production Lord of the Dance pulled up their Sport Relief Socks and picked up their heels to show support of the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in Cardiff.

Tapping their toes in perfect time, the dancers showed off their signature steps, during f their tour, which will be coming to the Wales Millennium Centre from March 6th. Onlookers were spell-bound by the masterful choreography and precision movements, but the show got a little extra kick from 19 pairs of eye-catching Sport Relief Socks. The Irish dancing troupe literally jumped at the opportunity to support Sport Relief and encourage the people of Cardiff to enter the Mile on Sunday 25th March.

Michael Flatley took time out from his busy schedule to support the efforts of his performers: "Both myself and  the cast of Lord of the Dance are delighted to be involved in Sport Relief and urge everyone to enter the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile in Cardiff on Sunday 25th March and make their way to the start line at Roald Dahl Plas, Cardiff Bay.”

The Sport Relief Mile in Cardiff is open to everyone, young or old, so whatever your level of fitness, make sure you enter now and go the extra mile to help raise vital funds for vulnerable people right here in Cardiff, across the rest of the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

There’s less than a month to go to the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Cardiff Mile, so enter today to guarantee your place at the starting line. It’s a great day out for all the family and the best thing is everyone gets a medal at the end of it. So, on your marks, get set, go to www.sportrelief.com.

Cardiff gymnasts are having a flippin’ good time for Sport Relief this Shrove Tuesday

A team of gymnasts from Cardiff put their own spin on the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in celebration of Shrove Tuesday with back-flips, somersaults and cartwheels around their sports hall.

The six youngsters aged nine to 16 years, from Cardiff Olympic Gymnastics Club in Grangetown, took time out from their training to prove you don’t need to run the Sport Relief Mile but can add your own personal “twist” to taking part.

Dressed in Sport Relief T-shirts, Socks and Deeley Boppers, the team raced against each other around the gym with high flying spins in the air and even back-flipped over the finish line.

Denise Morgan, Head Coach at Cardiff Olympic Gymnastics Club, was thrilled with her team’s performance. Denise says: “Our gymnasts had a really great time creating their own version of the Sport Relief Mile. They’re currently hard at work training for the next regional gymnastics competition so it was nice to have this break and get involved in something so quirky and fun, that’s what Sport Relief is all about! We’re hoping to sign our team up to do the Mile in Cardiff, and hopefully thousands more people will also get into the spirit by taking part in the Cardiff Mile, but perhaps they’d prefer to run or walk than back-flip it!”

This year, over one million people are expected to pull up their Sport Relief socks and take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile to raise vital funds for vulnerable people right here in Cardiff, across the UK and in the world’s poorest countries. Enter the Cardiff Mile, or one of dozens of Mile events happening all over Wales, right now at www.sportrelief.com.