This is a
community website for Grangetown in Cardiff, highlighting people, business, community
activities, local news and things to do in the area...and linking other websites.
We live locally; this is a voluntary project - in connection with Grangetown
Community Concern - completely free and not a profit or money-making
or political initiative.
The idea is to create a community resource, which can also act as a window
for those outside the immediate area.
E-mail us if you'd
like to help or to send any contributions for inclusion. Also if you'd
like to be included FREE in our DIRECTORY, FILL IN
YOUR DETAILS ON OUR E-FORM or email us.
COMMUNITY
NEWS Last orders Pubs set for demolition + Crossings' green
light + Muslim Centre |
| DIARY DATES:
Saturday 26th-Sunday 27th July:
Roxe Jam 2008, Sevenoaks Park,
12noon-6pm, free. Hip-hop event in memory of local teenager and graffiti
artist Bill Lockwood aka Roxe. The railway embankment wall has already
become a colourful expression of legal graffiti art. The weekend promises
a showcase of Welsh hip-hop DJs and dancing from across the region, as
well as bringing up to date the 140m graffiti wall with artists from across
the UK.
Sunday 27th July: Animal Charity Fun Day, Pets At Home, Cardiff
Bay Retail Park, Ferry Road, 10.30am-4.30pm. In aid of local independent
animal charities. Pets welcome. Balloon-modelling and face-painting.
Tuesday 29th July: Grangetown PACT, St Paul's church hall, Paget
Street, 7pm. Hosted by South Wales Police and local councillors, a
chance for residents to raise crime issues and help set policing priorities.
Monday July 21st-Fri 25th: Holiday Club at Grangetown Baptist
Church, Clive Street, 9.30am-12 noon. Open to children aged five to
11. Based on the Scripture Union's Champion's Challenge material. Games,
crafts, drama and Bible stories. Contact Pam Thomas on 029 2047 1337.
Tuesday July 22nd: Team Read
- skateboarding, Grangetown Library, 2pm. Ages four to 12. See library
for details of activities and stickers, linked to book reading.
Wednesday July 30th: Team
Read - Storytime and activities, Channel View, 2pm-3pm. Ages four
to 12. See library for details of activities and stickers, linked to book
reading.
Tuesday August 5th: Team
Read - skateboarding, Grangetown Library, 2pm. Ages four to 12.
See library for details of activities and stickers, linked to book reading.
Wednesday August 13th: Team
Read - Storytime and activities, Channel View, 2pm-3pm. Ages four
to 12. See library for details of activities and stickers, linked to book
reading.
Activities also at Channel View Leisure Centre from Monday 21st
July-Fri 29th August. Including: rock-climbing, fitness, pool/table
tennis/table football, Tag rugby, female-only teen fitness, street dance,
soft play for under fives, recycling arts and crafts. Sessions between
10.15am-3.30pm. Tel: 029 20 378 161. And at the Buzz Cafe Information
Shop in Penarth Road, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 28th
July until 14th of August (3pm-9pm) with activities at the centre,
plus mountain biking, BBQs and trips.
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Fresh look needed over traffic concerns
A Grangetown councillor has called
for a rethink on part of the proposals for road safety improvements along one
of the area's main roads. Francesca Montemaggi has also expressed concerns about
the impact the closure of St Mary Street is having on traffic levels in Grangetown.
Cardiff Council highways have recently proposed improvements in Clare Road,
including two new pedestrian crossings.
The plans also include improvements to the existing
zebra crossing opposite Bruton's, to make it safer to cross from the Stafford
Road junction and improve visibility.
Local councillor Francesca Montemaggi, after consulting with residents, has
raised concerns about the other two proposals in their current form, which involve
a pedestrian crossing at the junction with Court Road and a puffin crossing,
with build-outs, near Pentre Street.
"After speaking to local residents, it seems clear that the location for the
crossing on Clare Road by Court Road is inappropriate," says Councillor Montemaggi,
writing for Grange News.
"The junction of Clare Road with
Pendyris Street and Court Road has become quite busy. A crossing by this junction
is unsafe without any additional measures to control the traffic." She has raised
the matter with the council's executive member for transport Delme Bowen and
hopes "to work together in finding better solutions to the current level of
traffic in the area." "I would like to see a reduction in traffic as this is
primarily a residential area," she added.
Coun Montemaggi said she was "very concerned" and had objected to the proposed
puffin scheme at the lower end of Clare Road, near Pentre Street. "Crossing
facilities are already in place by the junction, a puffin could create congestion.
"Clare Road is classified as a major road and the junction is already operating
over capacity. Any further obstruction would seriously affect the safety of
the junction for pedestrians as well as motorists." She plans to meet with officials
to discuss a way ahead and anyone with any views is asked to contact the councillor
on on fmontemaggi@cardiff.gov.uk or (029) 20 384034. Meanwhile, the councillor
has also written to Mr Bowen to raise concerns about the effect the total closure
of St Mary Street to cars and lorries has had on traffic in Grangetown. "I appreciate that there is a need for decongesting the central area so as to ensure that buses are not obstructed by traffic and that pedestrians are encouraged to the city centre. However, the total closure of St Mary's Street has had an adverse impact on GrangetownTraffic
has increased significantly, including heavy duty traffic. We need adequate
measures to tackle the current traffic flows, which should include better public
transport. "I would like to see the south end of St Mary's Street re-opened
unless other ways to re-direct the traffic are put in place. The complete closure
is affecting Grangetown and, so far, I haven't seen any proposals to stem the
current level of traffic." Coun Montemaggi has also raised the problems at the
Penarth Road/Clare Road/Corporation Road junction, including the issues of drivers
ignoring the one-way system in Paget Street. The Pendyris Street and Court Road
junction over Clare Road was also suffering from increased traffic and difficulties
for drivers.
Coun Montemaggi also said she was "particularly concerned" at the current parking
provision for residents, especially around Taff Mead, the Cornwall Street area
and Powerham Drive area.
"Grangetown being close to the city centre and
the Bay, it is affected by motorists parking in residential areas," she said.
"This is exacerbated by the number of events held at the nearby stadiums. I
understand that there have been initiatives put forward in other cities with
regards to stadium events, I have therefore asked whether this could be investigated."
Clare Road - with traffic travelling down towards the junction
with Court Road and Pendyris Street
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Piping up at garden party
This year's event was again well attended by local residents, with the
cake, cuddly toy and tombola stalls selling out long before time was officially
up. Face-painting also proved popular with local children. Thanks were
also due to Rob Blackmore (of Cornwall St Baptist Church) for providing
the DJs and music and the Welsh Piping Society for sparing the time to
entertain us during a very busy weekend schedule.
This was the first garden event organised by North Grangetown Residents'
Association, since it merged with the Friends of Courtmead Gardens group.
The continued aim is to keep a watch on the garden and ensure it continues
to be respected and used by the local community. This event was mainly
about bringing the community together but it also managed to raise some
money for the association, to help continue its work. Thanks to Ikea,
Boots and Pets At Home for their support, with some of the prizes. Special
thanks to Simon Bedford and the team from Neighbourhood Planning for their
help before and on the day. North Grangetown Residents Association.
|
Second hip-hop and graffiti
event comes to park
A second legal graffiti art event is to be held in Grangetown in memory of a talented teenage artist, who died after a road accident last year.
The Roxe
Jam will be held again at Sevenoaks Park on 26th-27th July, featuring graffiti
artists from across the UK and top Welsh hip-hop DJs.
During the event, the existing wall along the railway embankment, bordering
the park, will be repainted. The existing artwork was made possible - and "legal"
with the support of Arriva Trains Wales. The event is supported by the Roxe
Foundation, a voluntary organisation aimed at promoting "legal walls"
around the city. It was set up in memory of Bill Lockwood aka" "Roxe", following
his tragic death at the age of 15. Bill was a talented graffiti artist, who
at 13 became the youngest artist invited to paint at the Compass Point festival.
The event will be held from 12noon to 6pm and there are more details of the artists on Roxe Jam 2008
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Every month we
select a "photo of the month" to help showcase the work of the digital photographers
from the Grangetown Flckr Group. The competition is just a bit of fun and
is now into its second year!
It was good to see the Grangetown Carnival dominating the submissions
for July, all the work of Sean Kisby. As well as some colourful shots
of the parade and banners in the fete itself, there was this quirky and
luminous image Carnival Volunteer Force of St John's Ambulance
members trooping into Grange Gardens.
Share your photos of Grange A photo-group website has been set up for people to share their images of Grangetown.
The Grangetown Flickr
Group was created to allow people to add their photos of Grangetown
places, people and events. "To be honest my prime motive was to put
Grangetown on the map," says webmaster Sean Kisby.
A great idea and we're happy to help. What's good about the photos there so
far, is there's a mix of people and places - the "disappearing" and
sadly "disappeared" landmarks of Grangetown, as well as some more
off-beat and domestic shots.
If you'd like to contribute, follow the link at www.flickr.com/groups/grangetown
Past months winners
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Quins' grounds for complaint
Doubts have been raised about the future of Grange Quins playing in the McWhirter Welsh League, after the football club were told they would have to wait until October for the new Leckwith Stadium to open. Quins, who have had a rollercoaster ride over the last few seasons, played half of last season's Division Two home games in Ely, with the demolition of the old athletics arena to make way for the new Cardiff City stadium. Quins have also been forced to cancel a potential money-spinning pre-season friendly with a Cardiff City youth side to mark the move to the new ground. The club's chairman Steve May told the Echo he had informed the Welsh League they were unable to continue unless someone comes in to help. See the Quins website.
History society's new chair - and corner shop book
I
have recently agreed to undertake the duties of chairperson of the Grangetown
Local History Group following the loss of Eileen Breslin. Of course, Eileen
will be a hard act to follow but I will do the best I can. Some of the projects
planned for the Grangetown Local History Group include preparing a small book
with photographs and memories of the Old Corner Shops of Grangetown.
If any residents have photos we could borrow and memories they might like published
in the book please let us know. I can be contacted on email. We meet on the first Wednesday of every month
at the Grangetown Library at 2.15 p.m. Of course, as usual the hugely popular
calendar is in the process of being compiled and we hope everyone enjoys the
selection of photographs this year. New members are always welcome at our meetings.
Let us try to save the memories before everything disappears!
Pictured: The motherless Davies children of Amherst Street, Tom, Winnie,
Ronald, David, Doris and Zena's mother Iris May, circa 1920 pictured with their
aunt, who lived next door.
There will be a tribute to Eileen Breslin in the forthcoming Grange
News, as well as on this website. 
FROM ZENA MABBS:
A look back at Grangetown - a century ago
Seeing Clifford in difficulty as he passed over the bridge, he dived from
a parapet, fully clothed, into the water. Passer-by Stephen Keely, who lived
in Court Road, went to help. Clifford was revived by Pc Albert Knight, with
the help of bystanders, and was taken to his grandmother's house in Eisteddfod
Street in Temperance Town, where he lived (approximately where the pitch of
the Millennium Stadium lies today). He came round, although was very wet and
suffering from shock. The Western Mail reported that "but for the
plucky action of the boy Darroch and the man Keely, Baldry would have been drowned."
The paper interviewed Elmer "a bright, intelligent lad", who told
his story with "becoming modesty and treated the matter somewhat lightly".
Elmer told the paper: "He was going under as I got to him - I managed to
hitch one of my feet to his bathing drawers." Finding his clothes and boots
heavy, Elmer had to let him go and Keely took over. Elmer lived with his mother,
"a hard working widow" - the rest of the family had moved to Cardiff,
where Elmer was born, from the north east of England. Two sons and two daughters
had learned to swim at school at the corporation baths. More next month
Thanks to those of you already interested in our Grangetown
Local History section, as we continue to build up features and photos about
the area.
Recently added to the wartime page is Jack's map
of the Marl and Ferry Road area, as it used to look, plus some memories of Dennis,
a Grangetown boy now living in Australia. We'd welcome any stories from old Grangetown timers - wherever they live now!
New on the other page is the story of a Cardiff
RFC rugby player who died a tragic death on the ice and the World War One naval
hero who postponed his marriage to fight in battle.
Thanks to the Grangetown Local History Society (who meet the first Wednesday
of the month, Grangetown Library, 2.15pm), we're starting to publish some
photos from their archives, will hopefully re-tell some stories, include some
interesting facts about the area and run a "then and now" section.
It's been interesting already to hear from as far afield as the US and Australia
from people with family roots in Grangetown! So Email
your memories, stories and old photos
JULY 1908: The
perils of playing in the river in a heatwave. There was praise for the heroism
of 13-year-old Elmer Darroch, from 35 Saltmead Road (now Stafford Road), who dived
into the Taff to save nine-year-old Clifford Baldry from drowning, after he got
out of his depth. Elmer had just passed out of Court Road school and was on his
way to work at Messrs A McLays printers in Duke Street in the town centre.
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Sites we like!
There are links to a lot of local websites
at the bottom - and more in the directory. If you'd like to be included,
please email us.
A few we came across recently, took the eye. First Cardiffians,
which is dedicated to assembling photos of old Cardiff - or old buildings
and landmarks in different districts across the city. A very promising
heritage site, which we're missing.
There's also a fantastic zoomable map on the recently created Grangetown
Map site, which homes in on local landmarks and shops too on the flash,
animated street plan. A good tech-y feature and if they extend it across
the city, it would be an excellent tool for locals and visitors.
Also, there's a very detailed and exhaustive Cardiff
Pubs website, a real labour of love and very informative.
You may already be familiar with writer Peter Finch's excellent Real
Cardiff series, which is a miscellany of prose, poetry and opinion
from journeys around the city. He also has Real
Cardiff web pages, which give a flavour of the books.
Among a few local community sites is one for Old St Mellons, being carefully put together by Rhys Gregory. Good to see
more springing up in different parts of the city, which network together
nicely.
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Grangetown Community Concern's newspaper
is a regular and long-running FREE link between thousands of homes in
Grangetown and parts of Butetown.
The summer edition - a special
to mark its 30th anniversary year - of Grangetown Community Concern's
newspaper is now out. The next deadline is July 18th for our next edition.
E-mail here for
details and to volunteer to help deliver. FREE to more than 6,500
homes across Grangetown and some of Butetown - the newspaper
is a long-running and vital community link, which is non-profit-making
and depends on advertising and sponsorship to keep it going.
We still need volunteer deliverers - especially for Cambridge
St, Stafford Road, Ludlow St and Close, Burt St, Clarence Embankment
and Place, Pomeroy St and Hunter Street. If you can spare half an
hour every two or three months, contact Christine or Joan
in the office, (029) 20 377 010!
Advertising rates for 2008:
Full page: £130 Copy and adverts - contact: Christine/Joan on 029 20 377 010.
Email contributions to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
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Directory for Grangetown
A community directory of local
organisations, services and activities was distributed FREE to homes throughout
Grangetown and Butetown in May 2006.
Grangetown Community Concern assisted Butetown Healthy Living Programme
in the project.
As well as the printed version, we're updating an online
version, which also includes local shops and traders. If you want
to be included or amend your entry, you can e-mail
us here
We hope one day to be able to publish an updated printed version, so
help us keep it up to date. If there are any changes or inaccuracies, please let us know.
We'd be glad to receive contributions or relevant articles for the website, please email us at grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
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SUMMER ACTIVITIES
& PLAY SCHEMES
The Welsh Piping
Society brought the second annual garden party to a rousing finale at Courtmead
Gardens on Saturday 19th July.
