my Ceredigion and my Cardigan Bay » events

Photos: Barley Saturday, Cardigan, 2010

Paul Williams — Sat, 01 May 2010 23:26:10 +0000

Another Barley Saturday; another overcast day, warm but waiting to rain. Not a lot different to last year, though a week late and under the watchful eye of S4C.

24 photographs in the slideshow and I’ve picked what I think is my best shot; I’d love to hear what you think it might be…

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Photos: Studt’s Fair Night Cardigan

Paul Williams — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:19:59 +0000

A faint reminder of Cardigan’s rural Market Town past arrives in town this week. It’s approaching November 10th – the annual Fair Day. After 100+ years Studt’s travelling fun fair still fetches up at the Fair Field car park. Conveniently located by the the Infant and Primary schools, for the last few days excitement has ramped up as new bits of mysterious kit arrive. Today dodgems, tarped, but not quite hidden, tomorrow who knows what?

An attraction for the children, and I assume teachers, is that it will be a whole day off school. Lord only knows what frenzy will be unleashed next year because Vernon Studt is bringing his fair rides into town for a two day ‘Big Weekend’ extravaganza from August 20th and 21st 2010.

This particular fair probably had it’s roots in the November All Saints’ Day Hiring Fair. And jolly good fun it seemed to be; carousing til the small hours and the prospect of work for the coming year! Preferable to the utter woefullness of the modern Job Seeking experience I’d have thought?

Indeed if this 1850-ish account is to be believed a Cardi could be educated too.

Saw a giantess, a Hottentot woman, a flaxen haired negro, two serpents, a crocodile, a sand sloth, a jackal, a muscovy cat, an American sea serpent, and a boa constrictor. I also saw a very fat woman and one who lifted 300 pounds by her hair.

Nothing remarkable about the last two (they can be seen still on most Saturday nights in Cardigan) but the rest must have been eye-poppingly exciting.

Anyway enough of my yakkin’…

Here are some photographs from 2007 when a little girl I know took her first ride at Cardigan Fair.

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Ffair Aberteifi – Cardigan Fair
Aberteifi / Cardigan
Cardigan Annual Street Market and Funfair
01239 613966

Thanks to Gateway to Wales: History of Cardigan by W.J. Lewis for the quoted material.

Photos: Folly Farm Vintage Fun Fair

Paul Williams — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:37:26 +0000

Once again MyCeredigion finds itself in Pembrokeshire…

Not far from Narberth in Pembrokeshire is a treasure house of fun. Anyone who’s been to Folly Farm will know you really only go with children. In fact an un-accompanied adult, male, with a camera would probably be fed to the pigs.

Anyway for the third time this year I braved it’s hallowed halls with a party of 20 celebrating EM’s number 4 birthday, the Big O-Four. Folly Farm has all the usual appointments associated with farming; goats (yay, feeding time!) cows, sheep, horses, donkeys, chickens, giraffes, ocelot etc etc. Of course you guessed, it’s not only a farm it’s a zoo too.

But what do you do in the unlikely event of rain in West Wales or if you’re tired of petting and feeding and gawping? Well, we head for ‘Europe’s largest undercover vintage funfair with a huge collection of working rides and stalls lovingly restored for your enjoyment.‘

I’m not a fun fair fan in the normal, That’ll Be the Day sense. Too many scary rides and too much teenage shrieking. But this is special. As it says on the can, it’s ‘Vintage’. The Chairoplane, the Caterpillar, Dodgems, the Royal Coronation Speedway, the Cakewalk, Golden Gallopers and a Helter Skelter with coconut mats rough enough to satisfy the most sadistic PE teacher.

Best of all? The vintage art…

Highly Recommended. Here’s some pictures.

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My Photos: Cardiff Photomarathon 2009

Paul Williams — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:54:01 +0000

It’s a couple of months since the Cardiff Photomarathon; here are the images I made that day. 12 images in 12 hours. One frame, on film, and in order of topic.
Click on an image to open the gallery.

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A mixed bag. I’ve retained the original orientation which is as the judges would have viewed them. Obviously it’s about the taking part but I got a Red Star for ‘Spillage’ and for ‘Black and White’ and made it into the Top 50.
To see all 4000 images from the day try the Western Mail Web pages here.
I’m entry number 369.

Photos: Cardigan River and Food Festival 2009

Paul Williams — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:13:29 +0000

More on a watery theme and as far as I’m aware without Rory McGrath.
This festival has become an annual event for Cardigan and makes great use of the River Teifi as backdrop with boats buzzing about and rowers grunting and groaning in unison.
A rather lovely way to spend the afternoon though I suggest a big pocket full of hard currency and no breakfast. Somehow crispy duck seems just WRONG at 2.30pm. Plenty for children to do (in particular a VERY long and boring queue for face painting) and, of course, eat. Though the thing that children do with highly coloured extruded sugary things probably isn’t technically ‘eating’ is it? It’s more like substance misuse.
Best things? Lots of lovely people, being mistaken by a visitor for someone who might know something about the history of Cardigan, real lemonade, being asked if I could teach a Dreamweaver Course, and meeting the people from the Cardigan and District Agricultural and Maritime Museum (they don’t actually HAVE a museum so don’t ask me where it is).

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