your comments
M Taylor in Gabalfa
I can remember the floods, when Pontcanna Fields where under six foot of water, and the blizzard which left five foot of snow hanging off the roof of the old Heinz factory on Western Avenue where Tesco is now. Also the thunder storm of 76 after the drought, which had dried the river Taff to a trickle. The lightening was like something I had never seen before.
Phil Cottrell, Victoria, BC Canada
Spent a year in Pontcanna on a job-swap with a Probation Officer. I lived in her place on Denbigh St., right by Llandaff Fields. Though the temperature and rain was similar to what we get on the West (Wet) Coast of Canada, I don't remember ever feeling so cold...it was an old house and that damp feeling stayed in my bones all winter. I ventured out at night only occasionally and usually to venues within walking distance (the Halfway pub, nice delis and butchers on Cathedral Rd.). I lacked ambition, because I was learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road and streets aren't planned on a grid the way they are in North America.But I settled in and when spring arrived I felt more a part of the place...that was 15 years ago and I miss Cardiff very much - even though Victoria is reckoned to be one of the most beautiful places on earth...I guess it's Brains I need :)
Mike Sparkes, Cardiff
Between 1964 - 1967 we lived in Plasturton Ave in Pontcanna. I remember playing on the grass verge in the middle of the Ave with my friends. I went to Bishop Hannon High School in Pentrebane and remember one winter, when there were no buses due to the snow, we all walked to school and back - quite a trek for schoolkids to make in the snow, but what an adventure!
Rita Evans, Cardiff
My memories are of Llandaff Fields swimming pool - what fun we had there. Picnics on the grass running in and out of the little pool - perfectly safe and it was always packed. It was about a two mile walk from where we lived but we never seemed to mind that.
Wayne George, New Zealand
We lived in Ely as a family from 1958 until the big move in 1976. It was daunting to leave our roots and move to a 'flash' part of town! The Pontcanna years were great, also playing for Canton RFC, then based at The Butchers Arms in Llandaff Road. Fantastic memories all. I now reside in NZ, but will always remember 'the founding years'. I visited the old places recently and felt progress had been made. Some of our family still reside around Cardiff and seem to be thriving - good on them!
Peter Green, Pinetown, South Africa
I remember many things about Pontcanna as it was the student res/digs for Llandaff Tech. The Robin Hood pub was a known haunt and I remember The Who playing live at Sophia Gardens. I didn't have any money but managed to get one of the doormen to let us in at half time.
Terry Lee, Bristol
Sophia Gardens was the best place to be in
Cardiff when the Miners Gala came to town. Everyone was a miner that day, and men from the valleys marched under painted banners wearing red rosettes. We swilled Brains by the bucketful in the beer tent, ogled the beauty queen, and heard the blaring and thump of the miners brass band as we huddled around the bandstand. There was a deathly hush as Aneurin Bevan spoke before thunderous applause erupted across the green fields. Or you could just lie shirtless on the banks of the Taff with a new found girlfriend. It was good to be young that day - good to be alive in the day the Miners Gala came to Cardiff.
John R Jones in Preston
I was in Cardiff when Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1982. I was at Pontcanna Fields with friends and family from the local church to see him. The atmosphere was wonderful and although I only saw him in the distance it meant a lot to me to see and hear him in reality rather than on TV. The timing of the weather was such that throughout the day it was very nice for everyone including the Pope until the end of the event. Suddenly, as everything was finishing a spectacular thunderstorm broke out with heavy rain. Although some of us got a little wet, it was a good job that this didn't happen earlier. This actually made my day as I enjoy thunderstorms.1982 was also when many of us across South Wales experienced the big blizzard.Another occasion around 1989 - 1992 one afternoon while in work (about 4:30 pm) the rain was so heavy for a short while in the centre that many roads were like rivers because the drains couldn't cope with the volume of water. I waited for it to stop before leaving the office and when I got to Gabalfa the roads there were bone dry with no trace of any rainfall.
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