your comments
Simon Parsons, Whitchurch
Insole Court, Llandaff Cathedral, The Taff, Llandaff Fields - what a great place to live and for me as a young boy in the 70's never a dull moment. I would spend hours every day in those seemingly endless school holidays playing in Insole Gardens then on to the cathedral and river. In 1976 aged 13 I visited the river almost ever day in the summer to see the river gradually shrink to no more than a stream; the river bed turned into a land of tropical vegetation with tomato plants producing ripe fruit, a capsicum with little peppers on it and all sorts of other weird and wonderful plants I couldn't identify! I played football for Cardiff School and that same summer (during pre-season training) we were told the we could not play on Pontcanna or Llandaff fields because the ground was too hard! Oh for summers like that again!
Hellena Gallant, Newcastle upon Tyne
I remember Llandaff open air baths, although I had forgotten about them until I read the posting below. I used to go to Insole Court library on Saturday afternoons and it was always sunny. There was a huge tree in the grounds and you could swing from the branches.
Kathryn Wilkins nee Bees, Llandeilo
From 1958 I lived in the mansion Insole Court from the age of 5 to 15. My father was a lecturer at Llandaff Tech and the education department had a few flats in Insole Court available for lecturers and also held classes there. We were lucky enough to have one of the flats. I grew up in that lovely old building with the run of the gardens. We used to sneak up the tower, though we were not supposed to. I went to Llandaff Church in Wales school when it was in the old building in the centre of Llandaff. I used to walk to school from insole court taking a short cut across what we called "The Field" to school. "The Field" is where the new school was built later. Wonderful days!
Nicola from Fairwater
As our rather large group left Fairwater at the top of Fairwater Road, and crossed over at the lights to the garage that is no longer there, down passed the small row of houses that brought us out into another world. THE CATHEDRAL. What a sight to a child back then on are way to Llandaff baths they were the cream of the school holidays walking there and back with every other child from your area as you got near you could see the water glistening in the sunshine so inviting and as you went through the turnstile and made your way to get your crate the anticipation was almost to great there was never any trouble and you didin't have to be told twice by the lifeguards to behave we would stay all day then walk all the back home wich felt like the other side of the world to a very tired very hungry but very happy little girl, that was probably going to make the same journey, the very next day. the sixties and seventies children were so easilly pleased, i was quite distruaght when they shut the baths and still to this day cannot understand why, is there anybody else out there wih the same wonderfull memories of Llandaff baths?
Clive Kelly, Rumney
I also attended Llandaff C in W School, was in the same class as Geoff Stickland, and remember gathering conkers from Insole Court when walking home with Maurice Collins. A few in our class were in the Cathedral Choir and were allowed time off school to sing at weddings and funerals. Others in the class were Alan Williams, and Graham Lambert, who lived in Heol Fair. Our Teacher was Miss Gurney.
Geoff Stickland, Gloucester
As a boy attending Llandaff C in W School we used to gather conkers at Insole Court and also visit the library that was based there. Even did some courting there later!
Jim David from South Africa
I went to Llandaff Tech from 1961 to 1969. Many happy lunchtimes spend in the pubs. Roald Dahl grew up in the village as you can read in his book "Boy". The sculptured heads of the kings were put up around the walls of the cathedral, and legend has it that when the last head went up that the cathedral would be destroyed, George VI was the last one and as Jim Hayward put it "Our Aryan Friends" bombed it. It was an empty shell for years when I was a kid.
Norman from Cardiff
Interested to read about the stone landing in Grandma's bathroom. I was a boy at the time and the tale was told about a landmine which landed in the Cathedral graveyard, with the result that a gravestone was rumoured to have been blown into someone's bathroom in a cottage on the Green, opposite what was Pickards Cafe. Perhaps Mr Hayward has solved that one for me - thanks.
Jim Hayward
My grandparents whom I loved so dearly lived at Brynteg on the High Street adjoining Chapel Street. As a reflection of my regard for them, my own home is named Brynteg. Not so bad for the son of a Welsh man & Scottish mother!!The bathroom on the fourth floor had a patched up ceiling. During WW2 our Aryan friends bombed the docks, missed, hit the cathedral graveyard and a stone flew through the air and landed in Grandma's bathroom.
During said war, Grandad (known as Lou) was working for Hancock's and would bring home leftovers from functions. Shared with boozers from The Butcher's in the two cellars below Brynteg. From a grateful boy of the fifties - thank you to the Gambols of Chapel Street for your friendship. Such are my emotions that I make a trip to the streets once a year that my Gran Olive called God's City.
Dave Robinson in Ridgeville, USA
I was a pupil at Llandaff Cathedral School, so most Sundays we attended services there. My dad worked for the Church in Wales, which had its offices on Cathedral Road. In the summer he would attend meetings at St Davids, and my mum and I would go too. I distinctly remember getting lessons on the finer points of cricket from the Archbishop of Wales, who I recall as being a very jolly gentleman. His name escapes me now.
Thanks for all your stories and comments - we're no longer updating this page. If you'd like to offer stories and comments for use on the BBC South East Wales website please 
