Beat any turkey come-down with a trip to Chapter this evening, where Likely Story will be in residence to grab audiences and hurl them deep into a world of fantasy and monsters, in which storytelling and humour blend with puppetry and circus skills to create A Monster Christmas Adventure.
Likely Story perform A Monster Christmas Adventure, courtesy of One Glass Eye Photographer
This post-Christmas show tells the story of Amy, a girl whose holiday wish is that her step-father would disappear. But when he does just that, she finds she will battle her way through a myriad of monsters to get him back, wading through impossible landscapes of stinky swamp and icy tundra.
Likely Story, a Cardiff theatre group established by three women, spin their creative yarns with and within different communities to bring vivid and energetic professional performances to all kinds of stages. A Monster Christmas Adventure was developed through a series of creative workshops with children at Adamsdown Primary School in Cardiff, before being scripted by acclaimed playwright Louise Osborn. The show is performed to a newly commissioned musical score by composer Tom Elstob.
The show will be performed at Chapter this evening, as well as on Friday and Saturday the 28th and 29th of December. Suitable for big and small monsters and adventurers alike.
The newly refurbished Lansdowne pub in Canton, courtesy of Owen Mathias
There aren’t many activities that are more festive than a merry get-together at your local pub, with good company and a nibble or two.
Here cometh in The Lansdowne pub in Canton, recently refurbished and offering a Christmassy treat this Saturday in the form of a festive sing-song and a cake competition.
Llamau choir, made up of members of the Llamau homelessness charity which aids vulnerable women and young people across Wales, will be at The Lansdowne pub at 4:30pm this Saturday to perform to visitors.
A Christmas cake competition will also be held at the pub, where participants are asked to deliver their creations before 5 o’clock, where they will then be judged by the Llamau choir themselves. In true Christmas/pub spirit, the best cake will receive a gallon of beer.
Entry to the event will be £5, donated to the Llamau charity.
Below are some pictures of the pub’s spruced-up interior and exterior, courtesy of fantastic Cardiff-based photographer Owen Mathias.
The freshly painted interior of The Lansdowne
After renovation and some TLC from the same owners of The Potted Pig in Cardiff centre, the pub re-opened its doors on Thursday the 29th of November.
At no other time in the year is this plainer than in the run-up to Christmas when, in this far from prosperous economic climate, people are increasingly preoccupied with what they get for their money. And what gift is more heartfelt than a handmade present, or a unique trinket or two?
Canton is no exception to this trend. On Saturday 15 December Chapter Arts Centre will be hosting a Christmas craft fair, where makers and sellers from all over Cardiff will flock to Canton to sell their creations.
Oh So Crafty is Chapter’s fifth craft fair in a series that began two years ago. Earlier in the year Chapter held a special Jubilee market (titled ‘Oh So Jubilee’) which celebrated the fun and kitsch aspects of the celebration, including bunting and knitting workshops as part of the event.
This year’s fair will see a host of crafts and handmade goods from the likes of By Kirsty, Ellymental, Emma Passey, Kate Dumbleton, and The Pocket Pirate, to mention only a few. Cool4Cats, another stall holder, sell paper craft automaton kits which you assemble yourself. For your enjoyment, here’s what a paper craft automaton look like in action:
Chapter never fails to gather a good crowd to these kinds of events, so what makes Canton a prime location for exhibiting and selling handmade craft?
The area is known for being a creative hub, with its multicultural population well served by centres such as Chapter and Llanover Hall. And craft can be found in the most unusual of places. Katy Boyer makes handmade jewellery under the name Bojanglies, selling at Severn road’s opticians amongst other places.
Katy began making her jewellery two years ago and uses unusual beads and charms to create one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings, and delicate chains for glasses.
Fair Do’s Siopa Teg on Llandaff Road is also in competition for best trinkets, selling handmade products from over forty different countries, and all from registered fair trade suppliers. Jan Tucker, founder of the shop, has been selling in Canton since 1998, and regularly teams up with Chapter to hold events during Fairtrade Fortnight, as well as in the run-up to Christmas (read more about Fair Do’s Siopa Teg’s recent late night Christmas event).
So what is Fair Do’s Siopa Teg’s secret to success in selling handmade goods to the people of Canton? “I think most people are spending less,” says Jan, “but if you’re thinking about where your purchases have come from, and whether they’ve harmed people, then I think you’re more committed to buying fair trade.”
“Everything’s unique,” she adds, “And also you know you’ve made a difference by buying it. You’ve got a lovely product, but you’ve also made a difference to someone’s life.”
Whether it’s buying a handmade gift for Christmas, or making your own creations, getting into craft seems very communal. Many craft workshops are held in Canton, but perhaps the most prominent hub is Calon Yarns craft studios on Cowbridge Road East. Here all kinds of craft workshops are held weekly, from machine patchwork and quilting to felting and knitting.
Calon Yarns set up shop two years ago, and is run by Lynne Seymour, her brother John and their mother Jackie. Their workshops range from one-day sessions (with one-off Christmas cupcake and Christmas cake decorating sessions for the festive season) to six-week courses.
These workshops have been a huge success, and the shop itself has created a community where people come and go with their knitting, popping in to ask questions and have a cup of tea.
Lynne explains, “It’s not actually cheaper to make your own things, because really cheap things are available to us on the high street from countries such as China, but people are becoming more aware of their footprint, and people want to feel more self-sufficient.”
The act of making something can also work as a form of therapy; when people focus on the tactile it often has a calming, de-stressing effect. Lynne says that the main aim of the workshops held at Calon Yarns is to make crafting something enjoyable, “We want to make it fun,” she smiles, “because once you know the rules, you can break them!”
One who certainly knows the pleasure of creating something with his hands is baker Ben Harding of Mark’s Bread. Ben lives in Canton, and as part of his work at the bakery he attends Chapter’s Pop Up Produce every Wednesday in order to sell his artisan bread to the community. Fresh from a sell-out session at Chapter, here he explains why playing with dough every day makes him happy.
Will you be giving or making handmade gifts for Christmas? What will they be?
Canton Community Centre was host to the Great Charity Bake Off on Saturday, where local people cooked a smorgasbord of delights, to be judged by the audience of the event.
Queuing for cake at the community centre
The small room at the community centre filled with people by 2pm, clambering to try their allocated 10 bites (which were, in fact, very generous slices, and concluded in lot of waddling attendees).
Karen Timbrell, organiser of the event, supervised the cutting of chocolate cakes, sparkly cupcakes, experimental and traditional delights (the victoria sponge cake may have been the best I’ve ever tasted!)
The gingerbread house proved so popular it was put up as a prize for a separate raffle
Cake enthusiasts fill their plates
The event was held to raise money for Brain Tumour Research, as 16,000 people a year are diagnosed with this type of cancer, one of whom is Karen’s daughter Holly, who has received five operations since being diagnosed three years ago. Doctors are regularly monitoring Holly’s condition and are heartened that there has been no change in the size of the brain tumour for her last three check-ups. Should Holly’s tumour begin to grow, the family knows that she would need to receive a course of radiotherapy.
The research into brain tumours is starkly under-funded. “The statistics versus the funding don’t equate,” says Karen, “There aren’t enough research projects going on, nor are there funded posts for PHD students to carry on their work.”
In the light of these hard facts, Karen and her family have busied themselves raising money. The Bake Off has been one in a series of fundraisers, with previously organized evenings in Canton featuring tribute bands and a drag act, all to raise money for the research into this type of cancer.
A portion of the proceeds of Saturday’s Great Charity Bake Off will also go toward the project Head Smart, an initiative to raise awareness of the symptoms of brain tumour, for people and professionals alike.
Karen said of the event on Saturday, “I usually hold evening events music, and so this is the first really different thing we’ve done. The turnout is fantastic, I’m thrilled. Hopefully this will take our fundraising amount to over £17,000.”
Any leftover cake from the event was taken to the Huggard Centre for the homeless.
Canton Cuttings 