Cardiff City Centre At Christmas

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well there I was on the Monday before the Monday that will be Christmas Day in the centre of Cardiff dragged by wife and daughter for last minute holiday shopping and to see the lights. I the man with no Xmas spirit at all experiencing the capital in action.

First stop for me was going to be W H Smith. Was going to come out with the Kindle and I'd read my library books so I needed something to read whilst wife/daughter were in the clothes shops. Unfortunately nothing screamed "Buy Me!" though the unauthorised biography of the Chinese ambassador to Britain was not selling well.

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So had to be ready for boring moments of women buying clothes and asking for my opinion. I've said before that for a man this is possibly the hell on Earth that doesn't involve weapons. First was New Look. The fashion chain my daughter was interested in. The only thing I practised there was reverse psychology in making sure that she didn't buy clothes I didn't like by praising them to the hilt. She's fifteen now however and cottoned onto that quickly enough.

Then came "Bonne Marche" The clothes place, according to daughter "for old women". A long wait was had there as well.

Marks and Spencer, finally. Small items bought. On to something to eat.

Now a word needs said about the Christmas lights. Regular readers of this blog would know how there's no way I'd describe myself as Mr Christmas. Still even I was shocked by how relatively pathetic it was. This was Queens Street:

About as imaginative as a brick wall

All Queens Street was were these lights, some blue others white but that was it. The decorations in nearby streets and around Cardiff Castle were better but rarely did you shake off the feeling that the general idea was to go for the barest minimum they could get away with and that was it. Whether it was austerity, the consequences of Brexit, the march of online retailing or a mixture of the three I don't know.

But it wasn't impressive.

So to food. Though a Monday daughter wanted us to go to TGI Friday's. As it was Christmas we agreed. So a loan on was agreed over the phone and we had dinner there.

The bit about a loan was a joke. And wife/daughter loved the food (me less so) but I tell you it was definitely expensive. I'm sure I could have enjoyed food cheaper somewhere else.

Our bellies full we walked to our car. On the way we were passing St David's Hall and we saw a homeless man just looking at the cap of coinage in front of him. It was already a cold frosty night and it was going to get worse. He was a white man in a dreadlocked hairstyle but more importantly dressed in a T-Shirt and jeans.

I gave him all the coins I had in my pocket (about three pounds - I had no notes). He thanked me and I saw his face. Couldn't place an age on him though he looked considerably older than I'd expected. There are some homeless people whose faces are so ravaged by the elements that you just can't tell how old they are.

Hope he got through last night.

There are many things more important than Christmas. Homelessness is one of them.

Until the next time.