Cardiff Therapy

I went up to see Riona today for some motherly tlc (think it was from her to me?) plus lots of handy things that parents do like drive around and pay for things...

It was a prompt start as Riona's car needed a brake check and the garage wanted it delivered by 0900, which meant Riona favoured being collected about then. I didn't manage 0900, but 20 minutes after wasn't too shabby.  We happily rendezvoused in B&Q where I found her sitting on a garden swing reading a book (oh honestly) then we trundled off to a new beach she'd found, Ogmore-on-Sea.  

Once we'd had a little potter, and discovered a coffee shack, we popped up to Ogmore Castle, just to the north of the beach.  It is an interesting site and I was half expecting to see Wainwright easeled up to paint the rural peace he saw.  What he would have missed was the person falling into the river from trying to walk the slippery stepping stones (we tried not to laugh, but we did) and the stupid sheep bleating at each other.  A lamb would wander off 20 metres and the ewe would stand looking in the opposite direction and bleat forlornly or vice versa. 

We then headed back to Cardiff, getting stuck in traffic schlep caused by an M4 accident [Riona will be in A&E next year so receiving the outcomes of such things].  After lunch we strolled down to Cardiff Bay whereupon I organised the queue for the ice cream van - honestly, it was blocking the walkway and no-one else was doing it!  The Pier Head building is beautiful so we popped inside to have a look.  Gorgeous staircase and even more exciting to find a benchmark outside ;-)

We wandered over to the nature reserve then back to Riona's pad via the Welsh Cake shop with its extra special Ruth treat of gluten free ones.  By then we knew that Riona's car was fixed, so we hopped in my car and drove to the garage.  It was all working so well until Riona tapped her address into the Mazda's satnav and drove off in her Clio.  I didn't check the directions, but it became apparent after a while that the satnav didn't know Cardiff very well and, when Riona had tapped in her road, it had acknowledged that but then sent me on a direct course for the city centre.  I realised this when I drove past Cardiff Castle!  I tried to stop, but couldn't as everywhere is double yellows, and realised I couldn't ring her for directions as I'd left my phone in her flat, so I decide to follow signs for Cardiff Bay.  My sense of direction is pretty well tuned (fancy that) and I made it back with a 20 minute delay to see Riona standing waiting for me on the corner of her street.

I left her about 2015 and it didn't take me long to realise that the Mazda sat nat is hopeless in Cardiff, so I followed my nose (and signed for M4 East) and was soon trundling back. A swift trip home.  And, as ever, very happy memories.