Content about Geography of the United Kingdom

Since the launch of the new Twitter account set up for the asbestos-infected tarantula on the loose in Cardiff The Cardiffian looks at some of the odd and interesting Twitter accounts set up around the city.

Asbestos Spider

In a very short time after news broke of the tarantula, the suspected spider thought to be at large in the city streets had its own twitter account @asbestosspider.

THE MEMORY cafe in the Butetown History and Arts Centre aims to provide a safe and relaxed environment where people who are affected by dementia can socialise and share their experiences.

The cafe has been set up in conjunction with Diverse Cymru and focuses on the area’s ethnic minority communities who lack awareness about dementia and dementia support. 

TODAY marks the 25th anniversary of Red Nose Day, a campaign which has raised more than £600m to help alleviate poverty in the UK and Africa.

The idea behind Comic Relief and Red Nose Day is simply to make the public laugh while they raise money to help people in desperate need.

WE SEE dragons a lot in Cardiff. The beast proudly flown on the Welsh flag is a reminder of the country’s national pride and heritage. But another symbol, less easily spotted on St Mary Street, also means a lot to the city.

This weekend will be the exception: you can expect to see shamrocks everywhere when the city is wreathed in green for St Patrick’s Day on Sunday. But we haven’t just adopted the day as an excuse for a booze-up. Wales has historic links with Ireland, and its capital was built by Irish hands.

Shopping may be considered a leisurely activity for most people in Cardiff but an event today revealed for some of the capital’s residents, it can be much more hard work.

The event was held at Cardiff city centre this morning in response to a petition from Mencap Cymru and Ysgol Erw’r Delyn concerning accessibility for disabled people.

The National Assembly’s Petitions committee met with Mencap Cymru and pupils from Ysgol Erw’r Delyn to walk through the city centre to highlight some of the day-to-day problems they face.

EXPERTS in surface water management gathered in Cardiff Bay today for the launch of a revolutionary rainwater-recycling project, along the Taff embankment.
The Greener Grangetown scheme was launched at Welsh Water’s Creating a Water Sensitive Wales seminar chaired by journalist Iolo ap Dafydd at the Norwegian Church. The project will see rainwater recycled through new drainage systems, producing environmental and economic benefits which include water being recycled for household dishwashers and washing machines.

Fans group, FC Bluebirds of Cardiff, have announced their intention to set up their own club after Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan’s decision to change the clubs traditional colours from blue to red and amend the club’s badge to include a dragon in the summer.
FC Bluebirds of Cardiff founder, Darren Thomas, said for many Cardiff fans the tipping point was the Brighton match two weeks ago which saw the club give out free red scarves to fans. Thomas said: “Scarf-gate two weeks ago was the point that people have been pushed over the edge.

Results from a new survey have revealed 88 per cent of Wales now accept the world’s climate is changing. Although we are known for our rain not even the most fool-hardy of us could deny that our weather is changing. Last summer’s washout continued into winter, plunging the Welsh capital into transport chaos as red alert snow statuses turned into flood warnings. A nationwide announcement from the Environment Agency warns the floods and droughts of the last year are here to stay.

Welsh language music is in a precarious position. The clashes between Welsh musicians and the BBC, along with last week’s announcement on Clwb Ifor Bach’s uncertain future, have left the industry stuck between a rock and a hard place.

On January 1, BBC Radio Cymru lost the right to play more than 30,000 Welsh language songs because of a dispute over royalty payments to musicians. Earlier this month, EOS, the group representing the musicians, came to an interim agreement with the radio station allowing them to resume business as normal.

The allotment is the usual haunt of the green-fingered gardener, but two Cardiff-based community groups are about to change all that.

Farm Cardiff and Orchard Cardiff are leading the drive to get gardening-mad Cardiffians growing their own fruit and vegetables by mapping every potential area where food could, and does, grow. Their aim is to make Cardiff a more sustainable city by getting more food grown locally by communities.   

LLANDAFF residents may put in a bid for their village to have its own community council, so they can have more control over services in their area.

If successful, residents would have the power to raise money locally to spend on facilities such as bus shelters, allotments, street lighting, war memorials and public toilets.

A community council is equivalent to a parish council. It can levy a charge on each household in the area through the main billing authority (Cardiff Council).