random update

[llywela]

Right in the heart of Cardiff city centre there is a graveyard. It is very small, attached to a rather beautiful old church, and for years was just this dark, overgrown place where no one ever went or even noticed. But as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the city, this tiny little cemetery underwent a makeover that transformed it into a beautiful, open space. There are now footpaths running through it, a well-trodden shortcut for busy shoppers, and benches for the weary to rest amid the gravestones...or they can even sit on the gravestones, if all the benches are full, which they usually are. It really tickles me. How many busy shopping centres can boast a graveyard transformed into a park, right at their heart? Yesterday I walked past and saw that a pair of ducks had taken up residence in there - on a flat headstone that had a large puddle of water on it, after all the heavy rainfall of the week. That was brilliant.

Taken with the camera phone, so it's a bit blurry, but here you can clearly see the much-used footpaths and benches with a row of gravestones right behind them.


A different view.


Pair of ducks enjoying a puddle of water on a gravestone.


St John's Church



And now for something completely different. Here's a random pic of a soggy moggy drying off after being caught out in one of the torrential downpours we had last week.


And this is the view from the window of Pitman Training Centre, where I go for the IT course I'm taking at the moment, overlooking the castle. Not bad, huh?

Comments

[vltavska.livejournal.com]

That's really awesome. You always inspire me for more (european) travel with your pics!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Heh, you only just got home from foreign climes!

Most European cities don't turn cemeteries - evne very old, no longer used ones - into public parks. At least as far as I know. But this one is very pretty, and certainly adds a touch of individuality to the city centre!

[vltavska.livejournal.com]

Lol. That's why I justified "european" ;)

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a view of the castle! I keep thinking I must come over to Cardiff for a look around - you're inspiring me!
I think this is a lovely way to use this space. There are two graveyards - St Mary de Crypt in Gloucester and there's also one in Cheltenham, can't remember the name of the chrch, which are each a few yards from the main street and where you can go and sit amongst the greenery and quiet. And the cathedral close in Gloucester is also a little sanctuary where you can escape, too - nice to know that these little places are there.
Poor Poppy - learning about the less enjoyable aspects of being outside! My long-haired tabby much prefers spending her time outside and seems t wait a while when the rain starts to see whether it will stop. So she keeps appearing soaking wet and expecting to be dried, purring loudly when her towel appears!
Love those ducks, by the way - a puddle is a puddle, it seems, however small!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

The view from that window is amazing - and very distracting when I am supposed to be working!

It is great to have these quiet, shady little areas to sit and relax in a busy city centre, isn't it? This one is right in the heart of the shopping centre.

I took the picture of Poppy last Wednesday, when we had a month's worth of rainfall in one day. I had the back door open for her, but it wouldn't stop raining, so she just sat and stared out in abject misery for about an hour before deciding she was just going to have to get wet. After the first soaking, however, she realised that being rubbed dry with a towel is actually a lot of fun, so spent the rest of the day running out to get wet and then running in to show me how wet she was and get dried, so she could run back out and get wet again...

The ducks were brilliant. They came from the river, I'd guess, as that isn't far away - but how they found their way to St John's I've no idea! They seemed delighted to find that little puddle, anyway.

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

That duck picture is brilliant! Very clever of them. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I was so delighted to see them, bless their little hearts. LOL No idea how they found their way there, but I'm going to guess they came from the river, which is fairly close.

[siluria]

Pour drenched kitty!! Bless her.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

If you ask her, she'll tell you it was totally worth it because being rubbed down with a towel is fun. LOL

[jayres.livejournal.com]

Great pics. It's good to see a graveyard being used for the people instead of being neglected. Those ducks certainly appreciated the impromtu pond!

LOL @ Poppy with her nativity shepherd costume on.

What a fabulous view of the castle!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

The ducks were brilliant, so delighted to have found this tiny bit of water in the middle of the chaos of the city centre - goodness only knows why they wandered away from the river!

I love the view from that window - I'm going to miss it when I finally finish the course.

[wildcard-sej.livejournal.com]

Love the ducks. :)

And fancy Poppy deliberately getting wet so that she get have the fun of being dried off - that's crafty!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hee. Sneaky kitty. She was rather disgruntled the following day when she came home wet and I didn't immediately whip out a fresh towel...

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Hand towels come in very handy to drying Cats. They do not like being wet.

The upgrade to that little cemetery is very nice.

A beautiful view from your TC window too.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Poor tea towel being put to such unconventional use... Poppy didn't really mind being wet. She didn't - and still doesn't - like the idea of going out in the rain, but she was fairly blasé about being wet. Mostly because she thought being dried off was so much fun. She is very adorable just lately, all affectionate and cuddly. Went through a phase of sleeping on my feet, but that didn't last long. Her neck obsession continues strong - she sleeps every night wrapped around my head with her little head tucked under my chin!

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

She loves you.

Rosie was asleep on my back when the alarm went this morning and was not happy when I moved. I suppose she could like the rhythym of my breathing. She keeps me warm and that is handy on the cold nights we have been having of late.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of life living/happening around the dearly departed. A part of me thinks the spirits would be happy. There's nothing sadder to me than forgotten graves.

The third picture from the bottom is beautiful. You took that with your CAMERA phone? *gawks*

Now if I could only have a view of a castle from my office window all would be right in my tiny corner of the world. ;)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

The camera phone is a little hit and miss - sometimes it takes stunning pictures, something about distance, light and perspective being exactly right, I guess, and other times it is all blurry. That church is really stunning, especially at night when it is all lit up - the top of the bell tower has the most beautiful stone carvings, that hardly anyone gets to see. One day I must take the tour up there and get some decent pictures...

I really love that the graveyard is being put to such good use, without the graves being disturbed. I confess I have often sat myself down on a handy tombstone for a drink and rest, if all the benches were full! I'm sure the long-departed occupant doesn't mind, but I do always read the name and dates first. It seems only right and proper.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

One day I must take the tour up there and get some decent pictures...

:) If you do, I hope you share them. One great thing about LJ is meeting people from places I've never been and hearing/learning about and seeing new things. Personal picspams are one of my very favorite things because it's like a personal tour of someone's life.

I do always read the name and dates first. It seems only right and proper.

*nods*

Strange as it may seem, I've always found cemeteries peaceful, and something about the histories and stories they hold awes me. The cemeteries in Mexico are a sight; the candles, pictures, decorations, and all the crypts built together like a little city ... quite different than the ones in North America with the neat rows and trimmed grass.

OK, well, I've rambled quite a bit about graveyards... *is baffled* Apparently, LJ is also a good place for complete randomness. lol

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

One great thing about LJ is meeting people from places I've never been and hearing/learning about and seeing new things.
Mmmmme, definitely. It's one reason I'm so glad Rosie and her friend set up the scene again community - it's a great place for learning about new places and people! In addition to my general f-list, of course.

I kinda like cemeteries. Full of people and their stories - stories I will never know, but nonetheless significant for that. There is a story behind every stone. I was in a cemetery last week - at Llandaff, I just picspammed it - and saw a family tombstone where the first corpse interred had been a nine-month-old baby. His parents were later buried in the same grave, their names added to the stone, and that one really stood out among all the others. Poor little family, and yet all I know of them is that one tragedy. There was a whole life story behind that stone, personal to them. And...there I go again!

Apparently, LJ is also a good place for complete randomness. lol
Hee. 'Randomness' is the sub-title of my LJ! Very fitting, I feel.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad Rosie and her friend set up the scene again community - it's a great place for learning about new places and people!

I like that community (and I noticed you're a mod for it now! :D). I actually took a bunch of mountain pictures earlier this spring with the intention of posing a tiny "hello!" post at scene again. However, it got pushed aside by "life". Perhaps one of these days, though.

Full of people and their stories - stories I will never know, but nonetheless significant for that.

YES! During undergrad I had to do some sort of genetics biology assignment which required doing research in a cemetery. I can't remember what exactly the assignment was, but I vividly remember spending the whole afternoon walking through and reading the tombstones and thinking A LOT about the people and names behind them. It was one of those days where I came to a lot of quiet revelations.

'Randomness' is the sub-title of my LJ!

*reads* LOL! So it is. :) I have so much love for randomness ... it takes me to all sorts of interesting places.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Um, yes. I had modly status conferred upon me just recently. Luckily, this community is mostly self-managing...

I actually took a bunch of mountain pictures earlier this spring with the intention of posing a tiny "hello!" post at scene again.
Ooh, I hope you do! I loved the pictures you posted on your journal of that trip you took, those amazing mountains and all. Life does tend to be a little pre-occupying, though, and putting together a picspam can be rather time-consuming! I took a whole bunch of pictures back in the spring that were intended for picspams I was planning, but have never yet put together.

I vividly remember spending the whole afternoon walking through and reading the tombstones and thinking A LOT about the people and names behind them.
So many lives. So many stories. It is humbling, no? And always incredibly peaceful. I've never understood why so many people are afraid of cemeteries.