Cardiff's winter wonderland

Christmas has come to Cardiff, the lights are up, shoppers bustle through the streets and festive music is playing everywhere you go. And with twinkling lights, rides and one more go style attractions so has Cardiff's Winter Wonderland.

I wandered past food galore; freshly made candyfloss, overflowing chocolate fountains, sizzling sausages and a an invitingly warm beer tent offering a great place to warm up.

The rides and attractions lit up the night, people screaming and laughing from bumper cars, the mad scramble of those foolish enough to attempt the fun house. And glowing over it all a whizzing tower that lifted its pundits high into the night sky.

The night was made for lovers as happy couples enjoyed the brisk night air, no where more then the ice ring where some couples glided and soared and some slid off their feet much to amusement of the person they were with.

 I left feeling joyful having enjoyed the romance, glitz and sparkle of this winter wonderland.

Penarth: And the sea came in

In the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman, death is compared to the sea. Not a sudden surge that sweeps everything away but a tide that comes and goes gradually and slowly wears it all away. Penarth more then anywhere else in Cardiff reminds of this idea.

It once was a vibrant, bright promenade full of small businesses, a thrivingly active port and a bustling stone beach overflowing with families visiting the sea. But old age has crept slowly upon it and now with its gently decaying pier and slowly eroding sea front, the waterfront has taken on the atmosphere of a setting more akin to Wuthering Heights or the poems of Keats.

The night I took these pictures a storm was rolling in and the rain soaked me and the stony shore. I love nights like this when the sky turns to charcoal and the sea threatens to swallow everything in endless greys and greens. And I can for a second imagine a town recapturing what made it great, a beauty waterfront slowly reclaimed by the sea.

A painted veil

The veil is a powerful and recurring theme in mystical symbolism. In Islam God is said to wear a veil of light that will only be removed before his worshipers. In Babylonian myth for her descent into the underworld the goddess Inanna has to remove all her clothing in order to save her dead lover, the last item being her beloved veil. And in qabalah there are said to be three veils that separate existence from the supreme nature of God.

So what is the symbolism behind the veil then? In two of the above examples, the veil is something that obscures the true nature of divinity. In the above example it is said that the veil of light could also be translated as a veil of fire and it is said that if Allah removed this " the splendour of His countenance would consume His creation so far as His sight reaches."

The veil in qabalah present a mystical allegory, for they represent that which the mind cannot comprehend. The true nature of divinity is such that the mind would not be able to truly be able to describe or ascertain its true nature without direct experience of passing beyond these veils.

And the last could be seen as the lesson that only in humility can true spiritual gnosis be reached. For when Inanna first sets out into the underworld it is her rainments of heaven which she has to remove in order to reach her lover and finally have him restored to life.

Seasons of Mist

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue; 
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; 
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn. - To Autumn, John Keats

Outside of somewhere like Canada I would argue that wales is one of the best places to experience autumn. The leaves on trees shift from green to red to gold and are finally swept from their moorings by autumnal storms.

Mist veils the world in an ethereal haze and crisp mornings leave fields frosted over with dew. And after a days of kicking your way through leaves you can always retired to your local pub to warm up and get in a pint.

These pictures were taken on a day out in abercynon, on a particularly scenic trail that carried you up into the hills and wooded areas that surrounded the area. With sunlight filtering through clouds, leaves crunching underfoot and stunning views over the surrounding fields it proves autumn in Britain really is an inspiring time to get out and take some pictures.

A neon sea

I got the chance to experiment with different types of lighting recently after going down to the bay at night.

As much as I love street lamps as sources of lighting, sometimes I long for an alternative colour to the neon orange glow that is most street lighting. And down the bay proved the perfect place to do that.

Car parks to local apartments were filled with greens, blues, purples and whites that created much more variety and colour then I would otherwise have found on the streets.

Futhermore the sea created wonderful patterns to the light on the water that when distorted through long exposure became a fantastical canvas through which to create abstract paintings.

Kenfig Nature Reserve

Located in the desolated and wind swept heart of the South Welsh coastline, lies Kenfig Pool Nature Reserve. This beautiful reserve is home to a wonderful selection of nature due to its impressive freshwater lake, sweeping sand dunes and expansively lovely coastline.

I volunteered at this site for a year and a half and it stills holds many good memories for me. Whether it involved sloshing through flooded reed beds hunting for elusive Waterails (a type of wading bird that squeals like a pig when it gets territorial), hunting by flashlight for the rare newts that dot its pools or (like today) exploring its beautiful beaches it really is an extraordinary home for nature.

I was there with a friend and together we stomped over the dunes, gazed across the lake, took a moment to rest in the bird hide by the lake before finally making our way to the sea. The coast stretches for miles and is made even more amazing by the fact that just over the hill lies a steel mill that seems to exist to pump clouds into the sky.

After walking a fair stretch of the beach we climbed over the now rocky shore before looping our way back the local pub The Prince of Wales to take in a pint. It really is an excellent place to relax, filled as it is with warmth, old worldly charm and some truly exquisite food. This historic pub and the reserve itself is also home to many legends of ancient apparitions and ghostly goings on. After all if you visit the reserve on a lonely night you just might hear the toiling of a church bell from far beneath the lake or feel the icy chill of the local lich that wanders Kenfig's local graveyard.

Overall I would thoroughly recommend Kenfig as a wonderful and beautiful spot for a day out.

Trees

Trees and nature have always inspired in me a sense of love and peace. Their leafy domes offer a place of respite and relaxation in a hectic world of city life.

They offer home to countless animals and birds, providing the air we breath and a substantial amount of the food we eat.

In summer days they are gently respiring giants, adding a breathing green pulse to the city. At night they become silent sentinels, passively observing the secrets of a nocturnal city.

As the year turns to autumn their shifting colours usher in the changing year and shed their leaves in autumnal swirls that leave the streets crunchy underfoot.

And in winter their bony fingers reach to the skies under baleful moons, like witches summoning a multitude of stars into the heavens. 

If there is any one thing on Earth that we should protect our trees and our forests should be a treasure we should seek to protect, safeguard and propagate for ourselves and our loved ones, now and for the future.