Up and down the River Taff with Memories

Here come my ride

It is not so much a spur of the moment kind of thing as it’s been on my list of things to do for a while, get out of the house Peter, knocking off something off my bucket list and throwing in a visit to an old friend.

Most people who know me know I am very much a home bird happy to be shut away indoors. So today, I took the bus down to Cardiff Bay, deciding it was time to ride the waterbus and cross it off my bucket list. It was a fine day to mess about on the river with the sun out in force.

Arriving at the dock, I thought my luck was in as it looked like I would have the boat nearly all to myself. Then unexpected a horde of Spanish young people appeared and more a less filled the boat so my peaceful trip along the river Taff just took a major turn for the worst. It’s been many a year since I was on the river Taff, back in the late 70s when I was the proud owner of a two man rubber dingy not exactly a speedboat but fun anyway.

Home base

 I was going to buy a return ticket but owing to the youth on board, I made the decision to get off at Bute Park and wait for the next boat. It was the only thing to do. On the way up the Taff I noted that the Clarence Embankment water stop was close I was hoping to disembark there on the way back to visit a friend who live just around the corner.

It was lovely in Bute Park so I walked along the riverbank and found a bench and sat watching the ducks feed. The ducklings were funny as they snapped their beaks furiously at the water flies. When the boat returned thank god it was next to empty and there were only a few people boarding making the return trip to Mermaid Quay, which made for a much better journey back. Once back on dry land, I sat back and watched the beautiful day pass me by while partaking of a ham sandwich.

Now time to pop in on my old mate Gillian via a long walk down memory lane. A lot has changed on my old stomping ground of Rat Island but still I was looking through the eyes of my youth. The streets look much the same but old workshops are now flats and town house with all the brown land now covered in housing. It was a pleasure to be in Gillian’s company we reminisced about our childhood and our families, just a joyful time. It was actually the first time I had been in a house on Pomeroy Street since my family moved on mass from number 4 in the early 80’s and it felt so familiar. Has I walked to the bus stop I looked across to where my old home once stood and gave a bit of a sigh. I was seriously happy there even in my dark days.