PHOTOS-Cardiff Harbour Festival

As a final goodbye to the Summer-long festivities held as part of the Cardiff Summer Festival – the Cardiff Harbour Festival is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Activities, both on and off the water, take place around Cardiff Bay, The Barrage, Mermaid Quay, the water and in the sky!

This year the theme was “Fish and Ships” with fish tents holding various competitions like Young’s British Fish Craft Championships, Welsh Oyster Opening and fish craft demonstrations. There was loads of great food to sample and purchase with a Mermaid Quay packed full of shops, stalls and the odd street entertainer (not odd in that way!)

Somewhere between Techniquest and the St David’s Spa hotel an area was set aside for fishermen to see what they could catch from the water’s of Cardiff Bay. This was proving very popular with the dockside being packed with plenty of fishermen.

On the ship front there were numerous small vessels sailing throughout the bay with 3 tall ships moored alongside Mermaid Quay which were all open to the general public for them to get onboard and discover more.

Two vintage vessels – The Ruth and (the) SV Tangaroa – were both moored alongside Mermaid Quay and made for a contrast to the modern buildings and materials that currently grace Cardiff Bay. These classic vessels had so much character and things to photograph like ropes, flags, dials, buoys and navigation equipment.




The main highlight of the day was getting onboard the Challenge Wales boat.
This boat is a 72-ft round-the-world yacht with the largest sail training vessel in Wales and quite often be seen moored in Penarth Marina from time to time.

“Challenge Wales is operated as a charity dedicated to providing young people aged between 12 and 25 years old the chance to develop their self-esteem and life-skills of team working and communication through the experience of sailing.”

We had a great tour around the vessel and found out so much more about the charity via volunteer Viccy Williams. From the sleeping quarters, to the kitchen, the navigation area and the toilets! Even got to try a hammock out aswell. (But not the toilets!)




Loads more photos over at my Flickr account or as a slideshow below:-

Also the photos were featured on the ITV Wales website. (ive tried to embed the video locally here – you might still have to sit through one advert but I think ive just about got it to work!)

MP3-Crazy Frog vs Pat from Abertridwr Mashup

Well after hearing Pat from Abertridwr appear on national radio I just knew that I had to do summat with it. Pat originally appeared on The Chris Needs Show on BBC Radio Wales but it was such a bizarre clip that it ended up being featured on Scott Mills’ Radio One show – where it is captured in all it’s glory in a previous post here.

It was begging for something to be done to it – so i’ve gone for quite an obvious mix using the Crazy Frog! Im using very little of Chris Needs OBE but loads of Pat from Abertridwr! ENJOY.
If you really want to download it just click the DOWNLOAD button at the top of the player and follow instructions from there.

Available on my Soundcloud page at http://soundcloud.com/djleekee/chris-needs-vs-pat-from-abertridwr-vs-crazy-frog-dj-leekee-mix

New artwork on CIA?

Whilst walking past the back of the Cardiff International Arena, off Churchill Way in Cardiff, I spotted something strange on the side of the building.

On closer inspection it doesnt seem to have grown from the ground or look like it has been intentionally pruned this way! Why would you only cut it off at this point?
Does anyone actually know what it is and if it is a piece of art – why?

PHOTOS-RoxeJam Graffiti event in Cardiff.

The RoxeJam was originally set up in 2007 by Lou Lockwood as a memorial to her son Bill(aka Roxe), who had died in a road accident.

It’s a 2 day free event held at SevernOaks Park in Grangetown, Cardiff bringing together all elements of hip hop culture and graffiti with support from Cardiff Council and The Arts Council of Wales amongst others.

PHOTOS-Vintage typewriter

I was having a rummage through some areas in work that were being cleared out and came across this delightful typewriter. It’s probably only 20 – 30 years old and hasnt aged that much at all!
It’s amazing how just setting your eyes on an old piece of kit can invoke the memories and this took me back to Mrs Cheetham typing away in Millbank Primary School. She’s sat in the photocopier room typing up letters for the Head Master. Such a great noise the keys hitting the paper and then the ding when you’ve hit the end of the page and you have to swipe the whole mechanism back to the left to allow the typing to begin again.
It’s unbelievable how much we already take computers and word processing for granted. The humble typewrite was deserved of a few stylish photos at least. I’ll let the photos do the talking and let you play the sound effects in your heads! Enjoy.

Almost a hatrick at The Romilly pub quiz! #Quizgate

After previous wins at The Romilly Quiz in PontCanton, Cardiff – we opted to venture there once again and try our hand at walking away with some more money this time.

The team was assembled, with Ian Watts, Lee Smith, Dan Austin and Jane Roberts all on tip-top form providing answers from their indepth knowledge of The Banana Splits, Heat Magazine and Morrocco in 1890!

First up was the picture quiz where you have to identify 25 random celebs from small colour pictures.

I fought hard and strong to get the answer to no 3 implemented whereas we were really far off the mark for no 25 – still cant believe that one now!

Next part was to identify 15 tv theme tunes from the 1970′s and 1980′s.
You can listen to them all again HERE We managed to get 12 out of 15 but was disappointed that the ‘Quiz Master’ accepted the answer TFI Friday for tv theme no 2! Oh how the players started to grumble at that decision. Correct answers listed here.

Combining our total from the picture and tv theme tune round we amassed the highest score and were duly awarded a whole fifteen british pounds! Hoorah! Stupidly we were told off for putting the answers to the pink sheet in the blue box! (*Bothered?*)

Next up was the ‘Snowball Round’ where entrants pay £1 each to buy a raffle ticket to be randomly selected to answer the Snowball question. Fortunately our ticket was selected where we were asked the following question:-

In what year did Billboard magazine publish its first pop music chart?

We were thinking either late 50s or early 60s but had a stab with 1962. The quizmaster claims that the correct answer was 1956 but we cant see any online evidence backing up that answer! We still got a fiver out of it for being selected and taking part!
 
 
Then we come to the General Knowledge part of the quiz! Full set of questions and answers here!
I cannot fully explain what exactly happened here but essentially we won the general knowledge quiz with a total of 42 points (beating The Cat Stranglers into second place by one point) hence doing the hatrick in The Romilly by ‘winning’ all three parts of the quiz!
Not too sure whether the rest of pub were thinking well done or other less nice thoughts. Anyway, within seconds of breaming in the delights of winning all this money and thinking we were much brainier than the rest of the pub the quizmaster came back over the speakers to announce an adjustment to the results! We had not infact won with 42 points but had only achieved 32 points and almost came bottom! Oh the shame!
 
This is what occurred on Twitter straight after:-
 
Just won the hatrick at the romilly quiz! Thanks to @Dan_Austin quids in.
 
 
Controversy at the quiz! @Dan_Austin cheated! Results reversed! We lost!
 
 
@djleekee He cheated? What the hell did @Dan_Austin do?
 
 
@djleekee Was it the iphone? Have they banned you or you just too embarrased to go again?
 
 
@wattsoccuring I really want to know what he did now.
 
 
Cant understand what @Dan_Austin is doing now? Is he fiddling his leccy meter or adjusting last week’s lottery ticket? #QuizGate
 
 
@PJMontgomery Blackballed at the Romilly-oh the humanity… #putspaperbagoverheadinshame
 
 
@wattsoccuring Ive just been looking at this http://bit.ly/9s86KJ interesting answer on there!
 
 
@djleekee Wow. I never expected it of him. I have lost all respect for @Dan_Austin.
 
 
@PJMontgomery i cannot repeat in the public domain but we will never be able to goto #TheRomilly quiz ever again! He has brought shame on us
 
 
@PJMontgomery I heard a lot of grunting coming from the farside of the pub but dan didnt know his wall from his miller (Max that is!)
 
 
@djleekee He managed to fix the whole thing? What he do, bribe the guy running it?
 
 
@PJMontgomery he was blatant with it aswell! we had just won the raffle and the picture quiz and were getting dodgy looks 4 winning all 3!
 
 
@djleekee #QuizGate Checks false passport and heads for the border…
 
 
#QuizGate @Dan_Austin @balletjanet @wattsoccuring THE SHAME OF IT!
 
 
@anitajaneharris no mobile phone intervention!we won 2 out of 3 rounds and ‘mysteriously’ won the third aswell. there was a stewards enquiry
 
 
@djleekee @wattsoccuring @dan_austin Mummy, ha ha!
 
 
@Dan_Austin @balletjanet @wattsoccuring “Ro n mix” ah biiiiiiiiiiiing! P C D or V?
 
 

Overall still a good night’s work and effort and we still walked away with some money. Looking at the results page of The Romilly Quiz website – it seems as if everyone else’s sheets have been scanned in apart from ours!
Has the quizmaster made a double error and is excluding our results for a reason?
Quizgate continues……………

Swedish House Mafia vs CJ Bolland-One is Sweeter(DJ Leekee Mashup)

Well this one does exactly what it says on the tin!

Taking the 2010 house stormer from the Swedish House Mafia and mixing it up with the classic Armand Van Helden remix of CJ Bolland‘s Sugar is Sweeter.

Rather than go straight for the massive breakdowns ive tried teasing the riffs a bit and dropping em both ways around! It seems the riffs from both tracks are actually quite similar but constructed slightly differently – so hopefully you wont be able to spot my edits of the main riff too much!

Amusing woman appears on The Chris Needs radio show.

Radio 1 have a feature in the afternoon which is to showcase the “BEST BITS” from the BBC’s output across all radio stations both nationally and locally.

They selected a gem from the previous night’s Chris Need’s OBE(!) show as broadcast live on BBC Radio Wales from August 10th.
Pat from Abertridwr (in South Wales) gives Chris Needs a call live on the air……..

You could be forgiven in thinking that you have entered a parallel universe!
It seems that she even gets the ‘F-word’ in there aswell!

Zapcat Powerboat Racing in Barry Island.

The weather forecast was looking quite bleak with rain and moderate winds on the cards. Luckily the odd shower didnt last more than a few minutes and so the Zapcat Grand Prix 2010 could take place at Whitmore Bay (that’s Barry Island beach to you and me!)
It is now the second year that Barry has held this event with another heat held in Prestatyn the previous week.

“Whitmore Bay not only delivers some unpredictable conditions and challenges for the Zapcat teams, it also has a fantastic amphitheatre like viewing area for spectators from the sandy beach, promenade and the gardens that all adds to the drama and nowhere else in the UK do the teams have a covered dry pits to store their boats overnight!” said Martin Jupp – Event Director for ZCR

The beach was full of normal sea-siders enjoying a day at Barry Island beach whom were not disturbed by the high-speed power boats racing before their eyes.
A Zapcat is a small lightweight, high-speed powerboat and in some weather conditions (ie high winds) can easily take off and somersault in the air. I saw a few get close to this stage due to the prevalent winds, but I unfortunately didn’t see any totally flip over (boooo!)


The Zapcats all lined up in the starting position and waited for a submerged man to raise his green and yellow flags before they all zoomed off and raced many circuits. This adjudicator/referree also had a white flag which he used for a false start and also raised a black and white chequered flag indicating the last circuit.

 



 

There was numerous television cameras dotted around the event as it was being filmed for Sky Television (and Channel five) who will then syndicate it around the world to about 50 countries.

Above is a slideshow of all the images taken on the day. PS I sent one of the photos to weatherpix@itvwales.com and they featured it on Sunday and Monday’s weather forecast!

GLC-Newport State of Mind(You’re not from Newport)

GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN are from Newport and have previously made numerous albums paying homage to their home City.
This track and video was made in response to the (Ymerodraeth)Newport State of Mind track released a few weeks ago by MJ Delaney. Obviously the previous artists were not from the area and so have given the GLC some more material for their version of the track.
The GLC version was recorded and edited in a day by Rhys and his mate Jon Lawrance on Eggsy’s camera phone.

Made in repsonse to the video by MJ Delaney available HERE
and followed up by You Aint Seen Ruthin Yet HERE

PS It might be worth catching this edition of Wales This Week to see whether you think the GLC are the genuine article or not! (Split into three parts!)

PHOTOS-More Graffiti Characters by ‘Spades’

The third in a series of unearthing these great little graffiti characters dotted around Cardiff City Centre.
Im not entirely sure how to describe them but people have previously named them Whales or Blobs!
I spotted the first few in Cardiff Bus Station in the small alleyway that runs alongside the Cardiff Council drop in centre.

VIDEO-You Aint Seen Ruthin Yet!

Well after the internet sensations of P-Town and (Ymerodraeth)Newport State of Mind (see previous videos HERE) – David Garland Jones has decided to pen a little ditty to the classic tune by Bachman Turner Overdrive-You aint seen nothing yet.

But this time dedicating it to the North Wales town of Ruthin! (We’ll just about let him off the pronounciation here for comedy purposes! )
I certainly can’t wait for follow-up tracks for Aberbargoed and The Gurnos!

Robert DeNiro Filming in Cardiff

Well it has got Twitter all of a flutter since last Friday.
It was rumoured late last week that Robert DeNiro himself was going to appear in Cardiff’s Windsor Place to film scenes for a film in production – The Killer Elite.

Photo by Urban Cavalier

A red London bus, a few red telephone boxes and some old cars transformed the area into 1970′s London. Film crews have previously changed bits of Cardiff into London for other programmes like Dr Who and Sherlock (it doesnt take too many alterations for the cameras!)

Filming for The Killer Elite has also taken place in The Welsh Assembly Governement buildings in Cathays Park, around Ely Leisure Centre, Brecon Beacons and also Aberthaw. These are just the locations we know the crew and entourage of trucks have already been spotted at – so there must be many more!

So whenever there is a hint of a rumour that Robert DeNiro is somewhere here in South Wales – Twitter goes mad!
Here are some of the posts commenting on where he has been ‘spotted’ so far!

 

Buzz Magazine Spots of Jason Statham and Robert De Niro at Windsor Place so far. Pretty big time.

 
NiaJon No sign of #DeNiroinCardiff during my run, just the entire population of Canton & Pontcanna taking deliveries of Domino Pizzas.

 
SophieCorry One of my colleagues has just informed me that De Niro’s been caught on Cardiff Gate Business Park’s CCTV, fly-tipping. #DeNiroinCardiff

 
GingeKnievil De Niro spied having a munch on a Clark’s pie on Cowbridge Road East. He was pulling that face he does. #deniroincardiff

 
g_r_owen Waw!! Just seen Robert De Niro buying tickets for Get him to the Greek at the Vue Cinema in Cardiff

 
lounatik I’ve just seen De Niro coming out of De Miros down the bay #DeNiroinCardiff

 
VisitCardiff We’ve heard Robert De Niro is checking out Daleks at the Doctor Who Up-Close Exhibition @RedDragonCentre in #Cardiff Bay #deniroincardiff

 
duffyc Robert De Niro is chasing my cat around the house, enabling me to get on with my work. What a nice man. #deniroincardiff

 
AJCorner I think I just saw De Niro banging a bin with drumsticks outside Argos #deniroincardiff

 
Dizzyjam Lots of rumours of Robert De Niro in Cardiff today. The truth is that he’s in our workshop printing t-shirts with us. #DeNiroInCardiff

 
phoenixlily De Niro is round my house in Roath, helping us clean the guttering. He’s handy up a ladder #deniroincardiff

 
chaptertweets Talking Italian. Could have sworn I just saw Robert De Nero in caffi-bar Chapter. Wow-wee.

 
KathWEPR DeNiro has just left @WEPR towers. Sadly Clint Eastwood not available for new Welsh Water Dirty Dozen campaign. RDN happy to step in…

 
Looby_Loos Is Bob De Niro really in Cardiff today, or is another one of those Twitter lies? #deniroincardiff

 
gramatter Robert DeNiro seen in the Miskin Manor, today: www.miskin-manor.co.uk
 
 

FeedtheSprout Robert DeNiro is apparently playing with Lego at Cardiff Arts Institute as I type this…/// Filming Meet the Blockers

 
magentapurple Apparently Robert de Niro is filming in Cardiff. Must leave flat to stalk

 
amcunningham Looks to be deNiro free zone @chaptertweets @sarahnicholas http://yfrog.com/5ne3sfj >>> You are excellent for looking

 
roathcardiff SPOTTED! de niro tucking into a fry up at Ramones in Cathays!!!

 

Dan_Austin Just found Robert De Niro in my kitchen putting a frozen pizza in the oven.

 
themeekshall Deniro is round mine for tea, were gonna have beans and chips then play resident evil but bobby might not play cos it’s scary. Wimp

 
And there you have it ‘conclusive’ evidence that Robert DeNiro has been in Cardiff……….

Cardiff Mas Carnival

It’s now 21 years since the original Cardiff Mas Carnival event was held – beginning as a small affair in Butetown but blossoming into a big and beautiful procession from Cardiff Bay, through Butetown and into the City Centre.
In conjunction with Swica and Cardiff City Council this event has grown over the years and now plays an important part in The Cardiff Summer Festival.

We were promised “hundreds of flamboyant costumes and carnival creations, masks and headpieces, giant puppets on backpacks and mobile sculptures – all dancing dynamically through the streets of Cardiff” and it didn’t disappoint.

Each year the carnival has a theme with this years being titled “COSMIC CELTS” – we were told to imagine futuristic Celtic tribes of the Year 3000! I think last years theme was “DRAGONS” which was quite easy to spot and understand whereas this years created a spectacular clash of colours and shapes but I couldn’t particularly name what each thing was supposed to be. (But maybe that was the point of it!)

The parade wasnt just for teenagers and adults though – there was synchronised pram pushing and all ages taking part in the rhythm section!

The parade kicked off precisley at 11:30 from Roald Dahl Plas in Cardiff Bay and slowly sneaked it’s way over to Butetown and Down Bute Street. People lined the route and joined in the dancing and also donated to the charities that were collecting along the way. It was great to see how close the old and new parts of Cardiff Bay are and how well they intergrated and felt united as one as the parade passed through.

There was some graffiti near Loudon Square celebrating the first Cardiff Mas Carnival back in 1989! (or summat! i couldnt work out whether there is a date on the graffiti stating 1930!!!!)

The parade safely and quickly made it up Bute Street and into the City Centre. The parade passed new landmarks for the first time – like John Lewis and St David’s 2 Shopping Centre.



And after the success of the introduction of The Street Jam last year it was time for another 30 minute showcase of the performances up close and personal on the only bit of St Mary Street that hadn’t been dug up!! Numerous dance performances, drumming, sambas and even Wonderbrass entertained the crowds that had faithfully turned up. There was even someone filming from the Far-East!




Then taking a detour down Wharton Street to continue the parade via The Hayes and Working Street. At last a fantastic use for these areas and its great to see them so full of life and colour. (Growing up here as a kid – both these roads always needed something doing to them and at last we have an area to be proud of!)

A slideshow of all the photos here!

Further amendment and tweaks to come later! Dinner time now!