it's on cardiff issue 1

CHRISTMAS PARTY & NEW YEAR’S EVE GUIDES

2 IT’S ON MAGAZINE

3IT’S ON MAGAZINE


24//Amazing Spaces

12//Eat your heart out

44/Black Friday Survival Guide

16/Christmas dinner with James Sommerin

We take a look at some old institutions and new upcoming venues in the city

January’s a long way off so forget about losing weight and hit these brand new eateries

Take our advice to make it through the most mental night of the year

Trouble with the turkey? Stuck with the stuffing? James Sommerin is on hand with tips and tricks

08//On Our RadarHelping you keep up-to-date with all the latest goings on in the city

20Contents

34//2014 Bucket ListDid you make the most of 2014? See how many things you can tick off

35//CompetitionsWin £100 worth of Wahaca vouchers as well as tickets to 2.8 Hours Later

10//Little Black BookWe ask the people of Cardiff their favourite places around the city

46//Party GuideCelebrate Christmas and welcome in the New Year in style

30//Highlighted EventsCheck out our list of this month’s top events around the capital

Regulars

Food

Features

Nightlife

16

18//Pop ‘til you dropPop-ups are killing our culinary scene at the moment but check out these new ones

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33//Five minutes with Gareth Thomas

36//Francis Rossi bears all

20//Cardiff coloured in

42//Stocking Fillers

We chatted with Gareth Thomas about the panto. ‘Oh no you didn’t!’ Oh yes we did

Status Quo’s founding member tells us all about beer and jigsaws ahead of their gig

There’s something for everyone in the amazing shops of Cardiff this Christmas

Take a look at our favourite pieces of street art that adorn the walls of the capital

Cardiff is an up and coming city that will soon be rivaling the likes of Bristol and London. It’s On Cardiff reflects the capital’s dynamism and for nearly two years we have constantly bought our readers and followers Cardiff’s largest database of events, all the best news, interviews, previews and reviews to keep them in the loop with the goings on in their city.

Building on this wealth of content, we are now expanding our reach by taking our stories from your screens to your streets with a new magazine. Each month we will offer a snapshot into the goings on within the capital and far from a replacement however, the mag will supplement our online platform.

So welcome to the very first issue of It’s On Magazine. Pick it up, flick through it, put it down; read it, slip it in your bag, keep it. Heck, why don’t you even stick it in a loved ones Christmas stocking? But whatever you do, take advantage of everything that’s going on in our city. Within these pages you’ll find interviews with rock stars and rugby stars and a whole heap of other stories for you to sink your teeth into.

Jordan Harris, Editor

Welcome

40//Christmas Market GuideIt’s not Christmas in Cardiff until the sheds go up but that’s not the only market occuring

23//Funeral For A Friend’s KrisAhead of their return to Welsh soil, we caught up with the band’s guitarist

Shopping

Music, Arts and Theatre

36

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Well with 125 sheds, not 50, and in a range of different colours, the Christmas Market is a whole lot better than that raunchy book.

Running until Tuesday December 23, the market will feature 125 local artisan businesses, selling a diverse range of high quality, original products from pottery, ceramics, silver and copper jewellery, wood turning, hand carved traditional lovespoons, plus an abundance of food and mulled wine to keep you warm whilst shopping.

So if you’re stumped for stocking fillers, check out the market, which runs between 10am and 5.30pm Monday to Saturday (but until 7pm on Thursdays) and 10am to 5pm on Sundays, for some unique handmade produce and crafts from an abundance of local companies.

Chances are that this Christmas you’re going to eat your weight in mince pies and chocolate oranges, but if you’re worried about putting on a couple of pounds this festive period, get involved with this year’s 5km Santa dash.

On Sunday 7 December, the Welsh Hearts are organising the annual event, which sees those entered walk, jog or run around Cardiff Bay dressed as jolly old Saint Nick or one of his little helpers to raise money for the cause.

Register: www.welshhearts.org/santa

Everyone knows that December is the most wonderful time of the year, but it wouldn’t be half as wonderful without Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland, which has once again returned.

Running for a whopping seven weeks, from November 13 until January 5, the Winter Wonderland creates an atmospheric and authentic Alpine village featuring rides and slides, seasonal food, plus an ice rink, so get your skates on and get yourself to the Civic Centre… or to avoid injury, put your skates on when you get there.

ON OUR RADARKeeping you up-to-date with all the latest news

Get your skates on

50 sheds of grey

Be ‘elfy

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Everyone knows that if you’ve got a hankering for some pizza or paleo fare in Cardiff, then Face 11 is your best bet, but the ski chalet themed restaurant is set to take a step outside of the culinary world and into the music business.

While other eateries may release a new menu, Face 11 and its owner Matthew Hinton, are set to release their very first album in collaboration with a whole host of local artists in a bid to raise money for Cancer Research Wales.

“Due to the success of our open mic nights held every Thursday, and being surrounded by brilliant ‘can do’ friends, we thought this would be a venture worth trying,” Matthew explained. “We’ve never done anything like this before and we all thrive on a challenge,” he continued.

The project, a partnership between Matthew, his wife Jessica who has organised the open mic nights, Justin Oldham, a Cardiff based artist, painter and tattooist who has designed the album cover, and Edward John who has helped to manage the endeavor, is the product of a couple months of work and will feature an array of local artists such as Dominic Griffin, Sarah Morris and Olly James and will predominantly be made up of acoustic covers.

The album, entitled Unplugged Sessions, will be available to buy on the launch night on December 6, where 500 copies will be on sale, but also via iTunes two weeks after, so if you fancy supporting a great local charity and help to get the Cathays joint and some of the city’s best local talent into the charts, get involved.

CHRISTMAS TREE GUIDE

Paleo pizzeria unplugged

If you don’t have a tree, then no one can leave your presents under it so make sure you to get a good one. If however you’re more stumped than a... well, a tree stump, check out these places to get your hands on one.

Glamorgan Christmas TreesGlamorgan Christmas Trees is a family owned “pick your own” Christmas tree plantation in the heart of the Vale of Glamorgan between Cowbridge and Cardiff. Once you’ve decided your type you can select the tree to be cut down resulting in an instant festive mood.

Gower Fresh Christmas Trees Located in Cefn Malby, their prices start from just £12 and they have a great selection of Nordman, Fraser and Norway Spruce trees all of which are cut daily from their plantations in Swansea.

Ty CerrigHere you have the option of choosing between eight different types of Christmas and Ty Cerrig will be open daily from 10am so go early to walk around the farm and pick out your perfect Christmas Tree. You can even arrange a date to collect it nearer to Christmas and they will cut it ready and fresh for you.

Berry Hill Fruit FarmLocated in the village of Coedkernew between Cardiff and Newport Berry Hill have all those hard to find traditional goods from Mistletoe and Wreaths to even free range turkey and of course Christmas trees. They are open Monday through Saturday, 9am to 5pm and Sunday 9am to 4pm.

Brynawel Fuchsia & Garden CentreHere the Christmas Trees are supplied by Needle Fresh and are responsibly grown and replaced with two saplings.


LITTLE BLACK BOOKEach month we ask the people of Cardiff what’s in their little black book of their favourite haunts around the city to drink in, eat in, relax in and let loose in

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Where’s your watering hole?Duke of Wellington.

Best place for a cocktail?Boutique - Grey Friars I’m obsessed with the Dark Berry Daiquiri.

Best burger?The Grazing Shed.

Best live music venue?Boutique on a Thursday. It’s all unsigned, raw local talent.

Best place for a fry up?Bistro No. 1 forever will be my only place for a fry up.

Best night out in Cardiff?I love bar hopping, Lab 22, Boutique, Laguna Bar, Duke of Wellington.

Where’s your watering hole? Tap House.

Best place for a cocktail?Lab 22.

Best burger?The Smokehouse of course!

Best live music venue?Cwlb Ifor Bach.

Best place for a fry up?Brava, Pontcanna.

Best night out in Cardiff?Porters.

Where’s your watering hole?The Lansdowne pub.

Best place for a cocktail?The Cosy Club. They have a really interesting range of cocktails, including a Gingerbread Bramble, which tastes like Christmas in a glass.

Best burger?The Grazing Shed. Really quick and really delicious.

Best live music venue?The Brewhouse features new original music every Monday night. Porter’s Bar is also great for a great range of live music.

Best place for a fry up?Chapter. Not only do they do great fry ups, but they do great food.

Best night out in Cardiff?I’m not a massive fan of clubbing, so I would say Buffalo Bar or Ten Feet Tall.

Where’s your watering hole?I love my beer so this is a hard one to choose. I would say my favourite places to get a beer would be the Urban Tap House and BrewDog on Westgate Street. Both places serve great ales.

Best place for a cocktail?I would say Milgi Bar on City Road.

Best burger?Grazing Shed hands down.

Best live music venue?Clwb Ifor Bach

Best place for a fry up?At the Ocho Lounge in Penarth.

Best night out in Cardiff?It would be all the places I’ve mentioned already. I’m usually in one of them on the weekends.

Jay PageMarketing Manager at Glam Boutique

Debra NightingaleExecutive Chef at The Smokehouse

Ellie JamesMusician aka Ellie Makes Music

Phillip MorganStreet artist and illustrator


As much as December is about presents and and carolling, it’s about eating and stuffing your face, so make sure to check out some of these restaurants

EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Food

January is still a long way off and therefore those New Year’s resolutions of getting healthy and shedding the winter padding are on the distant horizon. Therefore you’ve got a full month to properly pig out and stuff your face and belly until then.

With Cardiff’s food scene expanding in line with out waistbands, we now have more places than ever to chow down on a slap up meal, so add these to your list of places to eat at this month before you hit the bootcamps hard come January.

What do you get when you put two Welsh MasterChef finalists together? No it’s not a four armed, leek weilding, mutant chef, it’s Hokkei. Opening last month, they are revolutionising take-aways in Cardiff with their take on Asian cuisine. Cooking up katsu and pulled pork jiaozi, this isn’t your average chicken chow mein Chinese take-away.

Hokkei - Crwys Road

Another restaurant fresh from the mind of a MasterChef contestant, this time a winner, Wahaca’s Mexican street food has taken Cardiff by storm with their first restaurant located outside of London. Make sure you try the pork pibil, Alambres steak and chicken pipian tacos, served alongside exotic cocktails

Wahaca - St. Davids

If you think American comfort food is all burgers and hot dogs, you can think again. Serving dishes that are steeped in history, such as New England clam chowder, crispy shrimp Po’Boys and oyster fry, Apple Jacks offers its customers unique grub on their plates straight from the States and to top it off, one of their booths is made from a camper.

Apple Jacks - Church Street


Fast food doesn’t have to be heaped in saturated fats, salt and calories as Magic Wrap are proving. Serving delicious and healthy wraps, such as the Hot Aussie and the Spicy Jamaican, in minutes, they’ve gone down a treat in the Union and on Barrack Lane and have just opened a third venue in Cardiff Bay giving Mermaid Quay a new lunchtime venue.

The Magic Wrap - The Bay

The UK’s number 1 noodle bar chain opened last month with a whole week of offers and deals to get your chop sticks wagging. Wok & Go offer a range of Asian fusion dishes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China and Thailand, all cooked fresh infront of you to give you a tasty and nutritious lunchtime treat that will transport you to the Orient to escape our weather.

Wok & Go - St. Mary Street

Coming soon...

If art is food for the soul, then steak is food for the… well… stomach. So at Steak of the Art, opening in January, you can feed both, as the steakhouse also features an art gallery. Using only the best Welsh and Cornish steak and fish, as well as beer from local breweries, Steak of the Art will add a new dimension to Cardiff’s dining experience.

Steak of the Art – Churchill

When you’re presented with a menu featuring lobster alongside burgers, you know you’re in an upmarket, fancy pants kind of burger joint and you wouldn’t be wrong. The restaurant, which has venues in posh London districts, is situated above the new Miller and Carter and is a welcome addition to our burger boom that has witnessed an influx of burger joints.

Burger and Lobster – The Hayes

Forget the Golden Arches because Five Guys are storming across the Severn to bring us their burgers with a range of 250,000 topping variations. Using the best ingredients, such as hand formed, grain fed beef patties and fresh cut French fries, Five Guys do everything in-house and are set to open in Cardiff’s city centre next March.

Five Guys – City Centre


CHRISTMAS COOKINGWITH JAMES SOMMERIN

Struggle with the stuffing? Trouble with the turkey? Have no fear, James Sommerin is here with a whole heap of tips and tricks for Christmas cooking

Plying his trade from a tender age, James is one of Wales’ best chefs and after working in kitchens in Newport, Usk and up in Scotland, he obtained his first Michelin star whilst at The Crown in Whitebrook and retained it until they closed in 2013. Now embarking on a new chapter in his career, James is doing what he does best in his new restaurant over in Penarth.

Catering for the whole family on Christmas can be more of a trial than pretending to love the jumper your Nan’s knitted for you, but there’s no need to fret because we’ve picked the brains of one of Cardiff’s culinary kings (well technically Penarth’s but give us a break) to get the chef’s top tips and tricks for cooking a slap up Chrismas dinner this year.

Food


CHRISTMAS COOKINGWITH JAMES SOMMERIN

Forget the turkey, stuffing and roasties for a second because the key ingredient is preparation and you’d be wise to listen to that piece of advice come Christmas, especially if you don’t want to be stuck by the stove all day.

“You want to prepare everything a good 24 hours in advance, but leave the cooking until the morning,” he suggests. “I would prep everything on Christmas Eve and then start cooking on Christmas Day at about 7:30am.”

Supplementing preparation in the recipe for success, is simplicity, simply because James says so.

“Keep it simple,” he states, “on Christmas Day there’s a lot of hype and the last thing you want to be doing is spending it in the kitchen.” So you heard the man; keep it simple and you’ll have more time to play with all your new presents.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the turkey, but far from you average chef, James says lose it and get on a different kind of bird this year.

“I wouldn’t use turkey,” he advises. “Go for goose. Sourcing it is pretty hard and good goose are few and far between but go to somewhere like Madgett’s Farm in Chepstow or a reputable butchers.”

Again keep it simple by leaving the goose stuffing free to ensure a nice even cook, topping it with bacon, wrapping it in tin foil and baking in the oven (the time will depend on the size of your goose or turkey). For the last 20 minutes however, crank up the heat, peel back the foil to crisp the skin up.

No matter how much you stuff your face, and you know you will stuff your face, they’ll always be leftovers but don’t you dare think about letting it go to waste or chucking it all out. Whip up some bubble and squeak patties for a Boxing Day breakfast by shredding the sprouts, mashing all the potatoes and crushing up the remaining veg, then form them into burger shapes, lightly coat them with a dusting of flour and then fry them in about 5mm of oil and serve them with a poached egg and a couple rashers of crispy bacon. Or, if you’ve got a lot of meat left over, James suggests making a good stew opposed to a curry or a stir fry as that will just dry your turkey or goose out. A stew utilises both the meat and the veg and is dead easy to make. Just chuck it all in a slow cooker and top it up with stock and let it slowly stew.

Although he advises leaving the cavity free, that doesn’t mean you’ve got to leave out the stuffing all together. Serve it on the side and stick to sausage meat mixed with apricots, chestnuts, thyme and garlic. “Keep it really pure,” James advocates, “and then finish it with a little bit of brandy to give it a punch.”

A Christmas lunch table isn’t complete without a gravy boat but chuck out those stock cubes, because you’ve got a wealth of delicious stock and juice leftover from roasting your meat and cooking your veg. Use the meat pan, add some flour and thyme to the juice and stir, before pouring in the vegetable water and cooking it out.

If you’re like James and you hate those little green guys, just follow his simple instructions to transform the stinky fellas into a mouthwatering side dish.

“I can’t stand sprouts but what I like to do is chop them down really fine and finish them with cracked black pepper. I don’t boil them, just cook them in a little bit of butter and sautée them like you would do cabbage.” Now we’re talking.

With the mains out the way, it’s time for dessert, and here James offers a crucial piece of advice when it comes to the Chrismas pud.

“Buy one, don’t bother making it!” he joked. “It’s cheaper and if you’re going to be making one, you’re going to want to start in August and keep feeding it with a good whiskey or brandy flowing through it so it matures with age,” he said, so save yourself some time and go to the supermarket.

Preparation

Meat

Gravy

Pudding

Leftover Lunch

Sprouts


As well as a wealth of spanking brand new restaurants, Cardiff is welcoming in a host of new pop-ups this winter so make sure you catch them while you can

POP ‘TIL YOU DROP

Food

Offering a refreshing break from high street chains, pop-ups are now the norm on our cuisine scene and bring imagination, innovation to our city’s menus and an abundance of flavour to our stomachs.

Over the past year or so we’ve eaten at BBQ pop-ups, burger pop-up, hot dog pop-ups, taco pop-ups and even paleo pop-ups, but now we are about to welcome in a new class of pop-ups .

Launching last month in Got Beef, Clwb Brecwast is revolutionising Sunday breakfast with their menu that is far from your average greasy spoon fry up. Their innovative menu includes the PIG, their take on Ronald McDonald’s sausage and egg McMuffin, is made up of a pork patty from Cwm Farm, American cheese, black pudding purée, baconaise and a fried egg, stuffed inside an English muffin, as well as the PBNJ Bagel, which is topped with peanut butter, craft beer jelly and smoked streaky bacon. Now that’s how you cure a hangover in style. You can catch them every Sunday in Got Beef so what are you waiting for?

Clwb Brecwast

After successful pop-ups over their first couple of months in a variety of locations, including Castell Coch, Dusty Knuckle are hitting the Christmas period hard with a pop-up at The Kings Arms in Pentyrch on December 7 where they’ll be cooking The King’s Peach pizza, plus they have a regular slot at The Full Moon with dates to be confirmed, but keep an eye out for their chilli beef brisket pizza called The Full Moo. If all that wasn’t enough to satisfy your passion for pizza, you can catch them at the Riverside Market on a few Sundays where they will be serving up their breakfast pizza.

Dusty Knuckle


Set to launch on December 13, Drunken Sailor will be serving up Belgian waffles with a Welsh twist. Their milk and cream for example comes from Ty Tanglwyst dairy and their flour from one of Wales’ last working watermills situated on the River Wyre in Ceredigion. The waffles are drizzled with a range of indulgent homemade sauces including Merlyn’s Beard sauce, a custard made with Merlyn from Penderyn Distillery, a choice of fruit and a hearty squirt of freshly whipped cream. Alongside the waffles will be waffle dogs made with frankfurters from Charcutier Ltd. and covered in a savoury cheddar batter.

Drunken Sailor

Drunken SailorP o p - u p W a f f l e S h o p

Bursting onto the pop-up scene with their taste of Mexico, Messy Mexican have been popping up at Mischiefs in Cardiff Bay and at Ten Mill Lane during the rugby internationals.. Inspired by the owners Mexican travels, the pop-up will be serving up heaps of platters and paletas (fruit ice lollies to numb the pain of their Mexican heat) and use the spicy sauces of Chilli of the Valley who grow their own chillies right here in Cardiff.

Messy Mexican

Follow us on Twitter @wafflesofwales

Drunken SailorP o p - u p W a f f l e S h o p

J o i n u s f o r o u r l a u n c h i n T h e G r a v i t y S t a t i o n o n D e c e m b e r

13 t o e s c a p e t h e C h r i s t m a s s h o p p i n g a n d h a v e a w a f f l e

a n d a b e e r. W i n t e r i s c o m i n g a n d y o u b e t t e r b e p r e p a r e d f o r

w h e n i t d o e s .


Graffiti gets a bad rep. The crude tags and political protests sprayed across the urban landscape create a harsh backdrop to the concrete jungle, and where the walls escape the scribbles and the scrawls, they are plastered with posters and adverts. Therefore it is was a welcome sight to see the Empty Walls Festival bringing more colour to our walls yet again this year. This isn’t graffiti; this is street art.

Who said Wales is drab and dreary? Not us! Check out our favourite pieces of street art from around the city

CARDIFFCOLOURED IN


When you’re off globe trotting on tour, what do you miss most about Wales?Probably my family. I think that in general, it’s the familiarity of places. Having the comfort of home and knowing where everything is. It’s nice to be in places and experience new things and go on adventures, but to be in a place that you know as well as you know yourself is really nice.

… and what don’t you miss?I wouldn’t say that there’s anything about it I don’t miss. I love Wales. I live in London so I miss Wales a lot basically. I could say the weather but when you spend six weeks in the blazing hot sunshine, you like a bit of wind and rain.

My favourite FFAF song is Your Revolution is a Joke, but what is your favourite Christmas cracker joke?What’s black and white and eats like a horse?A zebra. That’s a proper cracker joke that is.

What advent calendar do you want this year?I don’t normally do them to be honest. When I do have one I usually forget about them. I’m not being ‘bah humbug.’ I normally get my wife a Lindt one but she’s recently gone vegan so I’ve got to go to Sainsburys and get her a ‘free from’ dairy free advent calendar, which is going to be full of chocolate that she’s not going to like.

What is your favourite thing about Cardiff?It depends. If I’m going for a night out, I’d probably say the Welsh Club; Clwb Ifor Bach. If I’m going to meet up with friends or whatever and chill out, I really like Milgi. It’s a really cool place with a pretty much vegetarian menu and a lot of art work and it’s pretty unique and kind of cool.

What do you want for Christmas?Probably a wedding ring because I lost mine recently so a new wedding ring would be nice. I lost mine in a freak dish washing accident.

Kris Coombs-RobertsFROM FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Music, Art & Theatre

Bursting out of Bridgend in 2001, Funeral For A Friend are one of the last remaining bastions of British rock and Jordan Harris caught up with the band’s guitarist Kris ahead of their gig at Cardiff University’s SU on December 18


Wally’s Deli

New York Deli

Spillers

New Theatre

Amazing SpacesOld Vs. New

Feature

An arcade relic, Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world and has been flogging its goods since it was founded by Henry Spiller in Queen’s Arcade way back in 1894. Now residing in Morgan Arcade since the 1940s, Spillers specialises in a diverse range of music on CD and vinyl, but in its infancy, focused on phonography before diversifying slightly to include musical instruments in the 1920s.

The destination of choice for Cardiff’s lunch hour, the New York Deli has been filling stomachs for decades and just the thought of their hoagies, grinders, bagels and sandwiches are enough to get you salivating and power you through a dull morning in the office. Piled high with fillings, the Americana style deli is a firm favourite and a pillar on the city’s dynamic food scene that has witnessed many places come and go over the years.

Originally situated on Bridge Street as Continental Delicatessen, Wally’s has been a mainstay in the capital since 1948, providing the very best meat, cheese, oil and other continental products. Founded by Ignatz Salamon, who fled Austria to escape the Nazi advancement, the shop was changed to Wally’s in 1981 when Ignatz’s son took over the business. Wally’s son, Steven, is now continuing the legacy in Royal Arcade.

Names can be deceiving; you won’t find a single Granny Smith in Apple for example. The New Theatre is another case in point as it’s far from new. The old Edwardian theatre was built way back in 1906 and is Cardiff’s oldest surviving theatre. Since first performing Will Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on December 10 of the same year, the theatre has become part of the furniture in Cardiff.


Spit and Sawdust

The Depot

Jacob’s Market Rooftop

The Boiler House

Ever heard of Frisbeetarianism? Thought not. Well it’s the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck. Pretty morbid hey? Well not if your soul gets stuck on Jacobs Market Rooftop because then you’ll get to enjoy Motley Movies whose cinema has been popping up there this year with an array of delicious eats such as Got Beef, The Smokehouse and Mission Burrito.

Amazing SpacesOld Vs. New

Tucked behind Cardiff Central, The Depot has become the city’s street food mecca thanks to SFC (Street Food Cardiff) who have taken their food trucks, stalls and bars to the new venue on Dumballs Road. So get your eating pants on and head down there for artisan hautedogs, controversial fried chicken, Spanish tapas and a whole lot more to fill your bellies with, before their residency ends at the end of the month.

Spit and Sawdust, a not-for-profit social skate park, looks fresh out of a Tony Hawks Pro Skater Playstation game and not only do they have an array of ramps and obstacles for skaters to shred on, they also cook up a whole mess of homemade treats in their café, show special screenings of films, host live music and provide a space for artists to show off their skills. Pretty impressive for a skatepark.

After two years of searching for the perfect warehouse, The Boiler House Graffiti Gallery had its relaunch last month at its new home in Canton. They’ve transformed the venue into an ever changing gallery space dedicated to showcasing graffiti art and offer workshops, host exhibitions and is available for photoshoots, pop-ups and parties if you wanted to rent the space out.


DECEMBER’S HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS

Planet Ice will be showing the magical story of Aladdin and his three wishes on ice between December 11-13 and promises to be fun for all the family.-

One of Britain’s favourite comics, Russell Howard, has extended his tour into the autumn and will be hitting the Motorpoint on December 18.

The holidays are coming and that can only mean a return of the Coca-Cola truck, which is rolling up to St Davids on December 9 at 1pm.

The sci-fi thriller takes to the stage at the Motorpoint on December 2 and 3 and stars none other than Liam Neeson.


DECEMBER’S HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS

The hairy bunch from down under (get your mind out of the gutter, we’re talking about The Beards from Oz) are playing The Globe on December 16.

Welcome the house of fun! Madness bring their ska to the Motorpoint on December 5 and will be supported by Scouting For Girls.

Katherine Ryan is touring the UK for the second time this month and is sett to return to The Glee Club on 3 December.

SFC are leading the way in the Welsh street food revolution so make sure you catch them at The Depot this month.

Head over to our website for Cardiff’s largest database of events!www.itsoncardiff.co.uk


Is pantomime different to playing rugby for Wales?When I overcame the original fear, I realised there are a lot of similarities between rugby and panto. You become part of a really great team and look after each other. If someone forgets their lines or misses their cue, you prompt them. In North Wales, the scriptwriters tweaked the lines to match my personality, so they wrote jokes about my rugby history into the script. For Cinderella I also have a silver rugby ball.

What will audiences be most surprised by when they see you in panto?Hopefully it’s the fact they see me outside my comfort zone and they see me trying things they wouldn’t normally expect me to do. And because I’m enjoying it myself and making people laugh.

Will any of your former rugby colleagues be coming to see you?A lot have said they are which puts me under a bit more pressure. Martyn Williams is bringing his children and a bus load from Bridgend Rugby Club is going to come. A lot more of my family and close friends will be coming this year.

If you had your own Fairy Godmother like Cinderella, what would you wish for?I would ask to have just one more day as a kid when you don’t know right from wrong and life is just for living. No fear and no prejudice. To have a day like that and look through a kid’s eyes again would be pretty special.

What do you most enjoy about Christmas?I am the biggest kid ever. I love the decorations. Our decorations go up the middle of November. It’s me and Ian’s second Christmas together so he knows I’m naff when it comes to Christmas decorations. I like loads of tinsel everywhere and rocking Santas and singing snowmen and he is quite posh and pretentious, so he despairs. We have an attic full of pound shop junk from Christmas bargain basement shops, I love it. In our house there is no fight, I win the battle of the decorations. I know it’s a cliché and cheesy, but I love buying gifts for other people.

What does 2015 hold for you?It’s a big year for me. Max Stafford Clark has written a theatre about my life growing up in Bridgend and the troubles with teen suicides.

Gareth ThomasFIVE MINUTES WITH...


The rugby ace has switched the pitch for the panto and after starring in Aladdin last year, he is back on stage in Cinderella at The New Theatre from December 13


Take a photo of Dirty Bird’s controversial chicken logo

Genuinely believe that the city had been hit by asteroids

Chill out on Jacob’s Market Rooftop and catch a film with Motley Movies

Pin a poppy to Pizza Pronto in Penarth

Party at the Pop-ups on Womanby Street

Asteroid art installation

Survival of the Fittest

Cardiff Comic Con

How many of these can you tick off of our 2014 bucket list?

2014BUCKET LIST

Poo your pants at The Haunted Basement

Get covered with multicoloured powder at the Colour Festival

Witness the Hakka at the All Blacks game

Compete in Survival of the Fittest and live to tell the tale

Spot some of the street art from the Empty Walls Festival

Oggle at the warships in The Bay when Barrack came to town…

Run your socks off at the Half Marathon...

... or sit on the sofa glad you didn’t

Have one too many at the W-Ales Beer Festival

Dress as a superhero at Comic Con

…and get stuck in the traffic that followed

Eat street food in a warehouse

Fly high at the new Air Trail at CIWW

Attempt to break a world record dressed as a prince or princess


COMPETITIONS

A couple weeks ago they bought us the tidiest tacos on the Taff for free, but Wahaca’s kindness is continuing now that they’ve opened as they are offering one hungry It’s On reader a voucher worth £100! Just imagine how many tacos that will get you.

The newly opened Mexican restaurant, located on They Hayes, is bringing us a true taste of Mexican street food so just head over to www.itsoncardiff.co.uk/Competition to enter and to be in with the chance of winning.

Wahaca are located at 51-53 The Hayes, St David’s Dewi Sant, Cardiff, CF10 1GA.

Check out their website: www.wahaca.co.uk And follow them on Twitter: @wahaca

2.8 Hours Later, the original, biggest and most sensational urban zombie chase game is back with a new story when it returns to Cardiff next March.

In the 2.8 Hours Later world, created by game designers Slingshot, a rapidly depleting number of living humans are left. Five years after the original zombie infection broke out, a devastating discovery has been made; a weaker strain of the virus has infected our entire species and, as a result, no children have been born in four years.

For your chance to win tickets head over to; www.itsoncardiff.co.uk/Competition


Status Quo’s

bears allAhead of their gig at The Motorpoint Arena on December 16, Jordan Harris chatted with Status Quo’s founding member about ice creams and jigsawsYou’ve stripped the songs down for Aquostic. What prompted that decision?What prompted that was a series of things. The Head of Music at the BBC was out with our management at some showbiz function and said ‘Why don’t you try and get your guys to do an acoustic album?’ It was about three years back and we were doing some adds for Australia with Down Down and on about the fifth or sixth version we were in the studio thinking that’s rather good. Our manager then said ‘Are you sure you want to look at this?’ and Rick was kind of interested so to cut a long story, we started the album and the moment we started the album, something happened, I don’t really know what because I suppose I was against it in as much as it’s another greatest hits package and we’ve had enough of those you know and I’m always aware you see them all the time. I mean Presley’s been dead yonks and they’re still doing greatest hits. It’s definitely a different take on it and at the moment even people who don’t historically like Quo are liking it, which with people with our egos, is always a plus.

You’ve done it all; Guinness World Records, an OBE, top 10 hits and you’ve even brewed a Status Quo beer, but what has been the highlight?What has been the highlight? I think that the fact that I’m still here is a highlight. To have one highlight out of a 40 or 50 year career… what a sad life. I think certain moments are momentous occasions such as with Live Aid and such. I’m supposed to say Live Aid or the Nordoff Robbins concerts or Glastonbury or Hellfest or whatever

that rock thing we did last year was; all the ones with the PR angle, but to be honest it is usually some gig you don’t really fancy doing, you aren’t feeling too well, it’s always those ones that don’t have the pressure on them I suppose and I always find it an annoyance when people kept going, ‘Oh won’t it be great when you’ve done that!’ and I’m thinking ‘Why? It’s a gig! Stop making the gig more important than the punter!’ It’s all about the people you stand in front of. So for one gig to be more important than another, to me is a complete fallacy, it’s just not true.

And you brewed a Status Quo beer with Wychwood Brewery last year, how did that come about?Well there are many things we are offered in our career over the years, like from various limousine companies, from jet companies that flew you to blah blah blah and whisky the other year. Various people come up to you and this was another one that came to ask if we were interested and we were interested and it’s become very successful. It passed a million pints a couple of weeks ago and it’s become a permanent beer and it’s all very thrilling and exciting. It’s a great feather in our cap that we are now purveyors of beer.

One of your iconic songs is Whatever You Want, but what do you want for Christmas?Another jigsaw. My wife buys me jigsaws each year because I love doing jigsaw puzzles. Some are by this guy called Mike Jupp and there’s all these crazy situations. You’ll have everything; they’ll have airplanes in them, trains and trucks

RossiFrancis


“To have one highlight out of a 40 or 50 year career... what a sad life

FrancisMusic, Art & Theatre

crashing. I adore doing a puzzle because I don’t think of anything else. I do crosswords and jigsaw puzzles so I don’t think. I have a serious problem with internal dialogue and I know lots of people understand that, but I don’t have internal dialogue when I’m doing a crossword or a jigsaw puzzle at Christmas so I really enjoy a nice jigsaw. That would be good.

And what’s the worst Christmas present you’ve ever received?I’m one of those people that just gets knocked out that someone’s bought you something you know. It’s in the thought that counts. My first mother-in-law, she used to buy me 200 No6, some socks and some pants. Now most people would be upset about that but it was great because I never had to worry about buying socks or pants and I used to smoke No6 so that was a great Christmas present. Socks and pants blimey… and a jigsaw puzzle.

Your father and grandfather were ice cream makers so what is your favourite flavour?Vanilla. Well I would say vanilla or lemon ice. We used to call it lemon ice and actually it’s sorbet, but it’s lemon ice and so the ideal would be vanilla and lemon ice. Lemon ice isn’t necessarily ice cream, it’s slightly different. Mmm you’ve made me really fancy some now.

You’re a huge inspiration to a lot of people, but who inspired you when you first picked up a guitar?Everly Brothers. That’s what started me wanting to do it. I never wanted to play lead guitar; I got coerced into that somewhat and I’m probably a marginally better guitar player than I was when I was twenty something but I’m still not as good as I should have been, so for me it’s all about strumming and singing. I’ve only recently got into accepting my voice and using it as it is and it’s quite good now, so strumming and singing, Everly Brothers.


CHRISTMAS

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, even more so now that the sheds have appeared in the city centre, welcoming with them the official start of Cardiff’s Christmas Market. But that isn’t the only market popping up this Winter however, so make sure you stick these on your Christmas to-do list.

MARKETGUIDE

The art and craft market, with the addition of seasonal food and drink, is arguably the city’s main event. Lasting from November 13 to December 23, you’ve got more than enough time to check out the 125 different artisan, predominantly Welsh, businesses that will be occupying the sheds including Coco Caravan and Ewemoo.

There may not be a market in the Roald Dahl Plass this year but the Millenium Centre are stepping up to the plate to fill the void with their craft and food fayre on December 15-16 and 22-23 and the fat man in the red suit will even be putting in appearances at the venue on most weekends throughout December.

The art collective will be hosting their Christmas version of their Snapped Up Market on December 14. Featuring a mix of local craft artists and designers selling their wares in the workshop, as well as opening up some of the studios within the venue for visitors to have a go at activities such as silver ring makin, it should be a cracker.

Chapter’s quarterly craft fair returns this festive season and will be crammed full with fabulous ceramics, textiles, jewellery and homeware to stuff the stockings of your loved ones with. Chapter are also holding their annual Festive Food Fair on Sunday December 14 between 11am and 6pm featuring vendors such as Inner City Pickle.

Christmas Market - City Centre Oh So Crafty Christmas - Chapter

Christmas Fayre - Millenium Centre Snapped Up - The Printhaus

Cardiff Bay Market - Portland House Street Food Market - Riverside

Shopping

Halloween is in the past and the ghosts and ghouls from the Haunted Basement have left the building, therefore making it the perfect venue for a Christmas market featuring stalls selling crafts, toys, jewellery, beauty products and locally produced food and drink, plus live entertainment, a male choir, a raffle and a secret Santa.

Taking place on December 13 between 4pm and 9:30pm, the Street Food Market at Riverside will feature a plethora of street food vendors to get your taste buds tingling like the bells on Santa’s sleigh. The day will also feature demonstrations and entertainment from the likes of Crafty Devil Brewery who will be showing you how they brew their beer.


Street Food Market - Riverside


STOCKING FILLERSChristmas is looming and the stockings need filling, so head to the city’s arcades where there’s something for everyone in our diverse shopping district

Shopping

Welsh Joke BookPortmeiron Gift Shop

For DadBrains box set

£10.95Wally’s

For AuntieChaiholics tea set£12.50-£14.50

Chaiholics

For GranTeacup Candles

From £12.50Annie & Co.For the tree

Handmade tree hangersFrom £7.99

Angel Lodge Studio in Annie & Co.’s downstairs


Secret Santa

Welsh Joke BookPortmeiron Gift Shop

Slate CoastersTourist Information Centre

Vintage Chocolate CarJoanna Joys Chocolate Emporium

For GrandadPenderyn Whisky

£32.50Wally’s

For UncleRugby and football refillable

bottles with anything from oils to liqueurs

From £20Vom Fass

For herBrit-Stitch bag

£95By Kirsty

For GranTeacup Candles

From £12.50Annie & Co.

£5 £10 £20


If Christmas had a rugby kit, it would, without a shadow of a doubt be red and green. From the pines on the tree to the mistletoe, and from the breast of a robin to the Santa’s jacket, reds and greens are the colours of Christmas, but the week before the big day, there’s something a little darker looming; Black Friday.

A night of complete carnage, Black Friday is the most popular night for the office parties and we’ve got your back when it comes to getting through the heaviest night of the year.

First you’ll want a hearty breakfast to start the day off on the right foot so head to Bombay Café for a tidy fry up with a twist.

If you’re working, keep your fingers crossed that your boss lets you knock off early and head to Glam Boutique for a few cocktails before heading over to Wahaca for some tacos to line your stomach.

Next up, walk over to Mill Lane where you know at least someone’s tie is going to be wrapped around someone’s head Rambo style.

Remember to hit Chip Alley to soak up some of that alcohol before getting a taxi home and waking up to a whole load of embarrassing photos.


Having spent 20 years in Wellfield Road, Body Image has this year relocated to new premises on Oxford Street, which is situated just a six minute walk from the city centre and has private car parking.

Body Image is Cardiff’s leading and longest established beauty salon and draws on over 40 years of experience in the beauty industry to offer an array of treatments and services to its customers from free consultations to laser technology, and from body wraps to aromatherapy massages to help with everything from acne to sun damage and from lines and wrinkles to scarring and stretchmarks.

The modern, fully equipped salon offers a relaxed, confidential environment in which owner Ronni Maclaren and her team also offer OPI Gel Nails and LVL lashes to get you ready for those New Year’s parties, as well as all aspects of waxing including Brazilian and Hollywood with Strip and Hot wax.

The GUINOT accredited salon also offers a huge selection of GUINOT products and as a registered

independent Healthcare provider, which assures the highest quality of service delivered by a team of highly skilled, professionally trained therapists.

Body Image are now offering a new service as Dermapen MD skin needling is now available at the salon. Using advanced oscillating vertical needling, which stimulates natural collagen production with the absorption of active ingredients into the skin, it stimulates repair and faster resurfacing to help with fine lines and wrinkles, smokers lines around lips, skin tightening and rejuvenation, large pores acne scarring and stretchmarks.

Gift vouchers are available for purchase which can be bought at the salon or posted, so for that perfect Christmas gift idea browse our website www.body-image-cardiff.co.uk to find that perfect treatment for yourself, family and friends.

You can subscribe to the monthly newsletter via our website. ‘Like’ us on Facebook at Body Image Beauty & Laser Clinic or follow us on Twitter at Bodyimagecardiff for the latest up-to-date monthly offers.


Nightlife

CHRISTMAS PARTY GUIDEChristmas is the time of giving presents, a time of stuffing your face with turkey and all the trimmings, a time to wear a big knitted itchy jumper with a Santa emblazoned across the front, but most importantly it’s a time of letting loose and making a fool out of yourself at your Christmas party.

If the responsibility has fallen upon your shoulders to orgainse your work do, a family get together, or just a festive party with your mates, help is on hand as we’ve found the best places to hold your party this winter and to make sure your Christmas is a real cracker!

Running right up until Christmas Day, St. David’s is hosting a range of Tribute Party Nights and Festive Party Nights. Both the Tribute and the Festive Party Nights wrap up at 1am but why go home when you can get a room for the night, a full Welsh breakfast when you wake up, plus use of their Marine Spa from £120 per room.

Fancy getting festive by rocking out to the Rolling Stones or singing along to the Spice Girls? Well The Motorpoint Arena has got you covered this Christmas as their themed party nights are back by popular demand. The parties will run throughout December with the Rockstars and Popstars Parties running on Friday 5, 12 and 19 and the Electric Dreams ‘80’s party is scheduled for Saturday December 13, where guests will have the chance to win gig tickets if they are dubbed the best dressed (fancy dress is optional).

Forget those reindeer because this Christmas it is all about the tiger. Offering ‘Christmas with a roar,’ Tiger Tiger are bringing you drinking, dining and dancing, with prices starting at just £13.95 per person.

Across seven rooms the club has all you need to have a cracker of a Christmas; from ‘80s inspired cocktails, glittering MJ gloves, a flashing dance floor and retro sweets, to classy cocktails in their decadent and luxurious bar, not to mention state of the art karaoke booths to take your caroling to the next level.

You can forget jolly old St. Nick, because this year it’s all about Henry. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Thursday November 27, all the way up until Tuesday December, 23 Henry’s will be hosting Christmas parties in their café bar.

The Duchess of Delhi, down in Cardiff Bay, offers a fantastic fusion of traditional South Asian cuisine for you to feast on. Every beautiful dish at The Duchess is handmade and there will be three separate delicious menus for you to chose from starting at just £12.50, not to mention the free glass of wine with every guest who books using the offer code: ITS2014.

St. David’s Hotel and Spa

The Motorpoint Arena

Tiger Tiger

Henry’s

Duchess of Delhi


NYE GUIDEIt might be nearly a whole month away, but there’s no denying that 2015 has come around faster than Kriss Akabusi in the 1990 Commonwealth Games (he won gold just incase you were wondering) and you don’t want to be unprepared when it arrives, nor do you want to stay in do you? Thought not.

If you want a night out on the tiles, to let your hair down and to paint the town red, blue, green or whatever colour tickles your fancy, to welcome in the New Year, be sure to check out some of these venues and parties.

If you’re in the market for a couple classy cocktails and drinks, be sure to head to Henry’s, Glam Boutique, Mocka 10 Feet Tall or Ten Mill Lane.

If however, you’re looking to get the fancy dress box out, get yourself over to Gwdihw who are hosting a heroes and villains party with a free bar tab going to the best dressed, or dust the tux off and get down to Miss Jones who are throwing a Casino Royale party.

Make sure you don’t miss out on some amazing live music and performances in Tiger Tiger from the like of Professor Green, or in Yard thanks to Fizzi events.


Fill your home with the hot, sweet smell of mulled wine and winter spices with this easy to follow recipe, from Jane Cook, award winning food blogger at www.hungrycityhippy.co.uk which can be done in the slow cooker for ease, and kept warm until serving.

1 bottle (750ml / 25 oz) bottle dry red wine3 cloves

1 star anise1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 orange, sliced3 -4 tbsp sugar

Ingredients

MethodPut the wine and all the ingredients in a slow cooker set to high and leave to infuse for an hour while the house fills with a scent more festive than Santa’s feet.

Give it a taste and add more spice or sugar

dependant on your taste.

Remove all the floating spices once you have the flavour you want , leaving the orange slices.

Serve in glass mugs witha sugar rim, or with a clove studded slice of orange and a cinnamon stick.

Making Mulled Wine

it's on cardiff issue 1

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people of cardiff

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