Savoury pies

Do we have savory pies in America?  Google has informed me that chicken pot pie is a common US recipe, but I don't think I've ever had it.  And then I moved to the UK, where I was introduced to the glory that is a homemade savoury pie.  It is a crisp golden and flaky crust surrounding a hearty stew of tender earthy goodness.  Amazing.  I had my first piece in Bracknell, served fresh from the oven of Dave's mum.  It was heaven.  And then this weekend, after having her culinary wisdom transmitted via mobile phone, Dave and I attempted our first pie.

Bacon and butter and onion and leek and shredded chicken and stock and shortcrust pastry.  And I was the happiest (most gluttonous) person on the planet for a few exquisite mouthfuls.  Eye candy follows.

Yum!  Already dreaming up little individual pies with obscure flavor combinations... moroccan? turkish?  Still, there is something particularly lovely about an English classic!

Shwmae!

Lots of Welsh words look desperately in need of more vowels, or at least a rearrangement of letters.  Shwmae, meaning Hello in Welsh, is pronounced "shoe my" or "shu mai" (which I'm pretty sure are dumplings from trader joe's).  I have recently participated in a short "taster" course to learn Welsh, and I'm very much enjoying all the new consonants and the rather bouncy melody of the language.

Wales is officially bilingual, and all the signs around Cardiff have both Welsh and English.  It isn't quite like Montreal, where everyone first addressed me in both English and French and then determined what I preferred.  Especially in Cardiff, where very few people are fluent in Welsh, the default language is still English.  But I do get the sense that the Welsh government, and many Welsh people, would like to change that.  Learning Welsh is frequently subsidized by businesses and other organizations, and I got a questionnaire in my New Staff induction pack and an enthusiastic email about Welsh courses the day I began my new job at Cardiff University.  As staff, I can attend courses for free, like the taster one that I have just finished, but also including the 2+ year courses.

Welsh is an early Celtic language, and more removed from English than French and German.  Still, there are echos of some francais in certain Welsh words... I won't try to give examples because the spelling and the sounding are quite dauntingly different at first glance.  My class consisted of six (then five, then four) pupils, sitting in a semi circle in front of a rather adorable native Welsh speaker who was just filling in and wasn't quite sure what was supposed to going on.  The four people remaining for the third/last class were a nice blend... Sonya, my compatriot from lab, Adam, who had taken high school Welsh but since forgot a lot (but not enough to really be in a beginner class... still he was very patient and classy about knowing more than the rest of us!), and Anna, an Italian teacher who approached new sentences with gusto.  It was the right mix of people to really get me to stop being self-conscious and just start making silly sounds.  Nothing makes me giggle like trying to say "six" ("chwech") or anything with a double ll in it.  Spit flies.

But it is a beautiful language, and it never hurts a brain or an empty social calendar in a new city to take more courses.  So while Welsh is one of the least useful languages to learn on the planet, I might just do exactly that.  Come September, I might take a free one-year entry level course.

Have a look here, at a translation of the Welsh anthem: http://www.know-britain.com/songs/welsh_national_anthem_english_version.html

A country that has muses and poets and minstrels and language and harps featured proudly in its national anthem... I think Wales and I (and maybe Welsh and I) will get along quite nicely.

The Norweigian church on Cardiff Bay, where my class was held.  Norway produced all the timber that formed the support posts in the epic swathes of coal mines that covered Wales in its industrial age.

A flat at last!

After having places vanish an hour before viewing, after having the perfect place be dirty and broken, after finding toilets in separate rooms without sinks to wash your hands, after being asked for massive rent prices for the tiniest of apartments, I have finally found my future home in Cardiff... I left the bond fee at the agency today, next week I sign a contract and give the full deposit, and July 18th or so I move in!

What is this magical property that rescued me from weeks of trolling Craigslist and agency websites?  It is large, it is full of light, it is ticking all the boxes and in a rather posh location... it is also, however, currently a pile of rubble.  After being vacant for two years, the flat is being entirely refurbished.  It takes a lot of vision, and optimism, to see the result through the debris.  But I kinda fell in love with the idea of the place, with it's windows and gardens and original tile floors... I have faith that a brand new kitchen can't be that bad, and the lovely ceiling of the mostly finished living room helps me visualize the loveliness that could potentially emerge.

The lovely preserved/repaired bay window facing the street, with stained glass in the upper pains.  Not double glazed, but pretty enough for me not to begrudge them my increased heating bill.  The floor could almost be salvaged, but some gaps in the wood means they're putting in carpet (alas).  TV is going.  Blinds and curtain rod installed.

The bedroom with it's door direct to the walled back garden.

The inside of the bedroom (needs imagination to see past the debris!).  It will get a new bed, new wardrobe, and more carpet.

A rather quirky feature, this little annex/pantry room is attached to the kitchen, connected the rear and side gardens, and is meant to hold the washing machine.  It will eventually provide perfect secure bike storage with easy access through my gardens to the street!

The kitchen.  Well, none of this is staying.  It will get a new sink and new stove along the window wall facing the rear garden.  The opposite wall will have a long counter with cabinets.  Cabinets are wood, counters black, everything brand new.  I have a tough time picturing the final product, but fingers crossed!  They are saving the lovely tiled floor rather than covering it up like the previous owners.

The bathroom is large, albeit a little odd.  A sink (the agents want it black, the builders want it white...) a tub a toilet a bidet and a shower.  Oh my.

So there we have it.  Or there we can almost see it.  I love that it has personality.  It has charm.  It has all the things I need in a place.  I hope hope hope that the final result is lovely, having met the builders I think they really take pride in doing a nice job and I am very optimistic.  And come July, you are all invited to come see my new home in Cardiff!

Cosi fan tutte by the sea

On a whim, I picked up tickets for the Welsh National Opera's production of Mozart's Cosi, performed in the rather impressive Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay... my Oxford student ID has another two months on it, so I managed an orchestra ticket for only 10 quid.  The hall is lovely, with rich earthy walls and rather good acoustics.  The music was also delightful.  But the unusual English sea-side setting for Mozart's rather silly opera plot resulted in man-sized dragon people, bearded ladies, actual dogs, fake dogs, long sausage links, fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, tap dancing tutu-wielding aging street performers, and a small woman in a big bikini-ed fatsuit to appear upstage from the glorious quartets.  The director also made the ending, normally a roll-your-eyes-isn't-it-nice-it-all-sorta-worked-out finale, a brutally self-deprecating and bitter grimace.  But, they sell little cups of ice cream in the interval, and the music was top-quality Mozart, so a brilliant night out regardless!

"In these stones horizons sing"

Cardiff wanderings

I'm one week into my new job, and overdue for an update.  This one will be mostly visual, since I'm feeling a little sleepy!

Sonya,  my North American ambassador to Cardiff, spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Pen-y-lan and Roath with me... the general idea was to look at streets and houses in my quest for rental real estate, but the ultimate aim was the Waterloo Tea Garden for coffee and cake :)

Cardiff has a castle.  It totally trumps the one in Oxford.  As soon as I can prove I live here, I will go about getting my free pass.  Until then, I can walk around its walls in the park.  Think there are any flats to let in the castle?

Bute park is gorgeous.  The river would be glorious for punting, except that people don't punt here and the bridges would decapitate gnomes.  Still, there are near endless swaths of lush green wonderfulness just adjacent to the university.

Bute park apparently has a little mascot.  I don't know any more than you do.

See, there CAN be epically gorgeous weather in Wales!