8 minute read
Climate Positive Cardiff Celebrations
How many of us look at the mountain of wrapping paper, the crumpled M&S biscuit boxes, their empty plastic inners and non-recyclable film and worry about the planet instead of our waistlines? I can’t help reflecting that this is happening in houses, flats, hotels and restaurants up and down the country. What does this indulgence amount to? 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging will be generated during the festive period in the UK. Even worse, items bought that we don’t consume head straight to the scrap heap too.
According to ecoandbeyond; ‘we waste 5 million Christmas puddings, 2 million turkeys, and 74 million mince pies each year. Not to mention huge amounts of vegetables, fruit and snacks.’ This is a shocking statistic, but not surprising when you consider how many 3 for 2 offers there are on never acceptable outside December gin flavoured candles and cinnamon flavoured crisps. This article is not here to guilt you into feeling shame over a time with family that we (I at least) start looking forward to from October. But I am here to say, we have no choice but to be flexible and considered in our choices now we see the consequences of our actions. It’s quite simple: no planet, no Christmas. The age of innocence is over. I write this with my toes tingling and my tonsils vibrating after the Cardiff day of action that saw thousands of people march from City Hall to the Senedd to demand actions, not greenwashing last month. We came together with a simple message: climate change is inevitable, climate crisis doesn’t have to be. Whilst consumer choices alone cannot halt climate crisis, they do make up part of the picture alongside Government policy and corporate accountability. We all have a part to play. It starts one day and one celebration at a time.
Think local, independent, socially conscious choices this season, starting with the options below:
Staying In
Yule log: Naked Vegan, Cardiff Market throughout December. I bought this a week before Christmas last year thinking of a regular chocolatey evening treat until the big day. It lasted two days and my partner is convinced he ate a centimetre. Recommended. Buy five.
Chocolate covered almonds, Cacao covered raisins: Ripple, Albany Road. Buy two bags of raisins to make sure you get one home. Don’t forget to bring your own jars to fill with goodies at this zero waste gem.
Seasonal tea: Waterloo tea Mill Lane, Waterloo Gardens and Penarth. Small but perfectly formed bags perfect for relaxing evenings in front of the fire. For a mindful, ritualistic brew, head to Clancy’s in Cardiff Market for the most hypnotic
by Jen Abell
jasmine flower tea to be found in Cardiff. Pop one in a glass mug for a display akin to a coral reef.
Water Kefir from Absorb Health, Bridge Studios, Western Avenue. Kefir has 15 strains of probiotic and gut friendly yeast to help your inner workings survive December’s overindulgence. Even better, it’s as delicious as it is healthy. My favourite is made using lavender which looks phenomenal on the dining table (pictured). These are a great option for party perfect special soft drinks for those who, like me, don’t drink but want more from December tipples than sugar drowned Shloer.
Getting holiday ready
Clothes swaps: the best way to source party ready ‘new to you’ clothes. Pick up your staying in edible treats and invite your friends over, bag of clothes in tow.
Self Care: ‘How Not to Die’ by Dr Michael Greger. Essential reading for anyone hoping to end the holiday season with more energy than they started with. Proceeds from sales go towards helping people in poverty access accurate nutritional information.
Christmas trees: If your plastic tree looks tired, be sure to choose a pot grown living evergreen as your festive totem. It has taken 3 attempts, but we finally have a Christmas tree rooted to bring in this year. It takes up a lot of space in my dinky garden, but this minor inconvenience is miles better than the plastic landfill alternative.
Decorations: Twin Made’s too cute sew your own tree decorations will help bring mindfulness to this festive (and frantic!) season. You can visit Twin Made and a plethora of other independent makers in the newly revamped Corporation Pub; it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas indeed.
Eating Out
Give oversubscribed chains with empty toilet roll holders a miss this year. And don’t forget to leave a tip…
Wild Thing: Seasonal food, locally grown where possible. Even their coffee is socially conscious: ‘Redemption’ is the world’s first prison-based coffee company, and you can pick up a bag from Wild Thing to take home or present to your favourite caffeine addict.
Kindle: Fairly new restaurant at the gates of Sophia Gardens serving ‘fire food’ with a focus on sustainable, natural ingredients.
different chef takeover every fortnight. Past highlights have included Norwegian street food, Caribbean soul food and tacos. Service here is as nurturing as the food.
The Big Day
The veg: pick up Wales grown seasonal veg at Rhiwbina’s Friday, Roath’s Saturday and Riverside’s Sunday markets in December.
The spices: Spice of Life, Albany road is the perfect one stop drop for minimally packaged weird and wonderful nuts and spices.
The sweet treats: Look no further than Beanfreaks’ Canton, Central and Albany Road stores for all your dairy free ice creams and locally made desserts.
The tipple: Vin Van is your go to for Welsh wines. Cardiff born wine expert Sara spent 4 years in Madrid learning about the grape before setting up at The Bridge Studios near Fairwater. Expect wines from Wales and further afield for a range of budgets, Christmas tasting events throughout December with order online or in person pick up from Bridge Studios, where you can try before you buy at their weekend street food and tipple events.
The gifts: Where possible, think experience not accumulation when gifting this year. There are wonderful musicians, actors, poets and circuses putting their hearts and souls into productions across our city. A ticket to support an artist is a lifeline for the culture of Cardiff. A special date for loved ones to look forward to once the tinsel’s back in the loft cannot be undervalued either. Performance gift options include; Lexicon from No Fit State in Sophia Gardens, a full roster of weekend comedy events at Glee Club and a myriad of theatre options from Sherman, St David’s Hall, The Gate, Chapter, The Other Room at Porters, New Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre.
Christmas is just one of the many special religious (and otherwise) festivals and ceremonies celebrated in December. Other special days include Hanukkah, Rohatsu, The Lohri Festival and more. I especially appreciate the spirit of the modern-day Hindu festival Pancha Ganapati, celebrated between 21st and 25th December. Pancha Ganapati gives time to mend past mistakes and focus on renewal, certainly a mantra for most climate conscious Cardiff dwellers.
It takes time and effort to start climate friendly seasonal traditions, but it truly is the best way to show important people in your life that you love them. Remember, imperfect is perfect. Personal resilience is still low for a lot of people after the strains of 2020 and the shadow of Covid still looming in 2021. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be flawless. It’s much more helpful for Cardiff’s 300,000 strong population to be making green changes imperfectly than for five houses to be doing it immaculately. Any positive choices are just that, positive. A win for the planet is a win for us all. A very happy seasonal celebration to all of you, whichever day and whatever festival you’re observing this month. I hope you get your hands on that yule log and, much more importantly, see the family members you missed in 2020’s season. Nadolig Llawen pawb.
Jen Abell @ffotojenic
ACAPELA – THE UNIQUE PERFORMANCE VENUE
Acapela Studio one of Wales' leading music venues has an amazing schedule of concerts for you to enjoy.
Set in a converted Welsh chapel, it's real timber flooring and high ceiling give our musicians and artists the space to perform naturally. The venue is renowned for it's amazing acoustics, warm & friendly welcome and the superb bands and musicians that play throughout the year.
Voted "Cardiff's Best Music Venue in 2018" and "6th Best Music Venue in Europe" ! FLOOK 2nd February 2022
Flook have an enviable trademark sound, weaving and spinning traditionally rooted tunes over precise acoustic grooves, with a rare blend of fiery technical brilliance, delicate ensemble interaction and a bold, adventurous musical imagination.
RANAGRI 9th February 2022
Alt folk band Ranagri are 4 Irish and English musicians; combining Voices, Guitar, Bouzouki, Flutes, Whistles, Harp/ Electric Harp, Bodhrán/ Drums. An amazing night of music.
Sweet little Mystery - The Songs of
John Martyn 23 January 2022
Soul jazz diva Sarah Jane Morris and guitarist Tony Remy pay homage to the sublime genius of John Martyn – a restless, often selfdestructive artist whose unique voice and music is both breathtakingly bold and achingly tender in its beauty. 2019 marks 10 years since his tragically early death aged 60.
JESUS JONES 12th February 2022
Jesus Jones have achieved a number of huge worldwide hits, including “International Bright Young Thing”, and “Who? Where? Why?”. The band were awarded an MTV award for “Best New Artist”, as well as being nominated for a Grammy.
