Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

[Kind of Blue]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Cockles from the market and deli food from Wally’s are the most evocative for me as a youngster in the 90s/00s. Spent a lot of time in Cafe Europa as a teenager. Old Spillers and Kelly’s, along with all the chain record shops. Gamlins and Cranes. The Plan, Crumbs and Fresh. The ice rink. Jacob’s market.

Appreciate some of these things are still there but as an exile my visits are pretty infrequent now.

I have a memory of this fella playing what sounded like funeral dirges to me on a keyboard of some kind and mic’d up vox outside of the Capitol. I was fascinated and frightened of him as a nipper.

[Toadstool]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Definitely called beaties. Then after that the Sony shop it was called next to barfly

Different Place - Castle Arcade was Bud Morgans
Beaties was by the Rose & Crown Pub on Kingsway.

[Toadstool]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Grassroots cafe - Charles St.

[uncle bob]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Different Place - Castle Arcade was Bud Morgans
Beaties was by the Rose & Crown Pub on Kingsway.

Same place. Barfly was named this after rose and crown.

[Toadstool]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Same place. Barfly was named this after rose and crown.

Yes it was - but beaties wasn't in castle arcade

[Stanmore Bluebird]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Top Rank

[Stanmore Bluebird]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Welsh Rarebits!

[MOZZER2]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

what was the name of that punk fashion shop in the late 70's early 80's the bottom end of st mary street ?

paradise ocean or something like that .

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

what was the name of that punk fashion shop in the late 70's early 80's the bottom end of st mary street ?

paradise ocean or something like that .

Paradise Garage.

[GL1Blue]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Beaties? Was that it’s name? Remote control cars and stuff where the Sony shop is now opp the castle.....loved that place as a teenager

I was going to mention Beatties, that's the one opposite the castle. Spent hours in there looking at the tamiya remote control cars!
Also was it Pizza Land just round the corner from there, go down the stairs to get in?

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Qui Qui's on a Saturday night until it closed at 1am then Monty's next door until 2 unless you were having a meal (I never did) and they let you stay on.

As a kid? You must have had very liberal parents! :hehe:

[The Hooded Claw]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

- Oh, yes, going to Bud’s
- The smell of the rubber floor in the Habitat store (now Waterstone’s) in The Hayes
- Eating at the Positano on Church Street, where Waldo made a big fuss of us children
- Being left in the toy department at David Morgan, whilst my Mum & sisters were about three floors up in the ladies clothes
- Visiting my dad’s fruit machine factory around the back of Charles Street
- Going to see my sister who had a Saturday job in WH Smith (mid 1980s)
- Buskers
- Echo & Football Echo sellers

[Majorblue]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Howells and Morgan’s
The bomb site type car parks where the St David’s centre is.
Empire Pool diving boards.
The Lious and
Buying concert tickets at Spillers.
Orange buses and a bus stop to go with them.
The old cricket ground at Sophia Gardens and the concert hall next to it.

[Trigger]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

The smell of the brewery, always thought it was a bit like a pasty smell.

C&A
The cinema on Queen Street and the one in the capitol which has obviously now been reopened.

[IanD]

Re: Things you remember as a kid visiting Cardiff Town centre

Getting the bus into town and walking to NP.
A day out for 10d.
Swimming at GC and EP.
Cinemas various
Looking through the windows at Budd Morgans and realising your pocket money wouldn't stretch to just about anything.
Queen Street with traffic and so many people on the pavement they spilled out onto the road.
Waiting for a bus out of town and waiting and waiting.

Bales fishing tackle shop. Most of the maggots made it home. Some were left "elsewhere" on the 25 bus.

Shopping on Christmas Eve when just about everyone was pissed. Or at least seemed to be.

Watching new buildings being built through gaps in the hoardings.

Hurrying passed the Prince of Wales cinema at chucking out time. "Best avoid those kind of men", wondering what an X film was.