Saturday 17 September 2016

City Of The Unexpected - Cardiff Celebrates Roald Dahl

City Of The Unexpected - Cardiff Celebrates Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff 100 years ago and to celebrate Cardiff put on a spectacular event, City Of The Unexpected - Cardiff Celebrates Roald Dahl. The details were kept quiet and no-one knew what to expect. We just had to go into the city centre to find out. Unfortunately 35,000 other people thought they'd go too. The buses were overflowing and the traffic at a standstill. The events run late so children were stood in the heat crying and bored. When it did start we couldn't see because of the crowds.

Despite all this we actually really enjoyed it. We had no children or dogs with us. What is it with dog lovers that they bring their dogs into the city centre, amongst huge crowds on a boiling hot day?

We found calm and peace in some pubs and chilled. We did lots of people watching and got stuck in some horrendous crowds too. Thank goodness we didn't have children is all we kept saying as we sipped our ice cold lager in the blistering heat.

So for those of you who didn't go or did go and saw nothing here's my gallery of what we captured.

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-waiting-for-something
Crowds in St Mary Street waiting for something to happen. Some had been here an hour or more


City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-waiting-for-something-oh-it's-a-giant-peach
Oh a Giant Peach! What will happen now?

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-waiting-for-something-yep-it-is-a-giant-peach
Nothing. Can't see but can hear something over a tannoy

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-pint-of-Korev-lager-in-the-Cambrian-pub
We decided to step into The Cambrian pub and have a lager

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-through-the-pub-window
Lots of sirens and a fire-engine puts out its massive arm

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-and-fire-engine-ladder-extended
Then after a while takes it down again

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-withch-in-Oxfam-window
Refreshed we have a walk around and see this witch in Oxfam's window

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-in-High-Street
We walk down High Street and the crowds get denser again

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-and-books-hanging-from-a-lamp-post
A lamp post made into a tree and covered in books. I have no idea what this is. The person who made it is being interviewed for the TV so I can't ask either. Onward we go.

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-crushed-together-giant-peach-just-appearing-in-front-of-castle
Oh No! The giant peach has appeared in front of the castle and the crowds are getting denser

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-crushed-together-giant-peach-in-front-of-castle
Can't move forward so have to go back the way we came

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-Jamie-Owen-presenter-reading-with-microphone-and-headphones
Hi Jamie! We saw Boyd Clack too but I couldn't get a photo before he was engulfed by the crowds

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-in-front-of-library
We decide to head for the bus but theres a crowd outside the library so we stop...

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-airoplane-with-banner-in-the-sky
An airoplane goes over with a message...Welcome Peach. I'm getting a bit fed up of this peach now...

banner-welcome-peach-groeso-welsh-words

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-in-front-of-library
More crowds

pint-of-peroni-lager
That's more like it..a cold Peroni out side the Duke of Wellington and I find out there are extra animals on the wall so off we go

collage-of-animals-on-cardiff-castle-animal-wall
Seagulls; turtles; coloured cones; reindeer; Little Red Riding Wolf; a dinosaur?

Giant-frog-on-Cardiff-animal-wall-with-tongue-out-and-fairy-and-table-on-tongue
But everyones favourite was the frog with the big tongue



weird-pedal-bike-contraption-with-three-people-riding-it
A very weird pedal bike


City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-crowds-giant-peach-in-front-of-castle
It's that peach again!

City-Of-The-Unexpected-Cardiff-Celebrates-Roald-Dahl-Giant-peach-in-front-of-castle
Just had to get a close up.


We then strolled to Churchill Way and the queues for the buses were very long so we popped into The Chapel for a pint of lager and a rest. Then caught the bus home.

All in all the atmosphere was great. It was a beautiful day. The organisation of crowd control left a lot to be desired and some people were getting very fed up as they had small children. Seeing as this was designed to be attractive to children it was rubbish, they just couldn't see anything. There were a couple of large screens but we couldn't get near one and another we found wasn't showing anything.

Did you see the event? What did you think?


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2 comments

  1. Hi! Nice trip for you. The big peach looks very funny. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi! Nice trip for you. The big peach looks very funny. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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