Namaste. We do hope you are enjoying the spring edition of City Life. After all the turmoil of Brexit, we thought life would get a little less fraught. But life, as we’re all finding out, has a habit of not going exactly to plan.
As I’m writing this, our amazing capital and the country is facing one of its greatest challenges for generations. The coronavirus Covid-19 has landed and it’s not going away any time soon. The fear and uncertainty that this pandemic is creating is understandable and, for most Cardiff residents, hopefully we will come through this relatively unscathed. We can but wash our hands (thoroughly), stay in, keep calm and carry on. At this point, I’d like to offer our sincerest condolences to all those families, not just in Cardiff, but across Wales, the UK and the world, who have lost loved ones. We cannot imagine what you are going through.
Our covers star(s) for City Life spring are those lovely and lively dogs from Cardiff Dogs Home. So this issue is very much a dog’s life edition. We hope you enjoy reading about what Alex Milakovic and the team of fabulous volunteers are trying to achieve at the The Rescue Hotel on Penarth Road.
Click here to read the digital edition.
The situation will inevitably cause economic disruption and for the Cardiff’s small, independent businesses, it will mean huge challenges. Finding the positives in this can be difficult but there are benefits from using smaller food shops: there would be less crowds (less people, less chance of contact with anyone carrying the virus). Certainly, large supermarkets could create, potentially, a greater chance of catching the virus. However, they are doing remarkably well and the measures they have put in place to protect customers is commendable. We have the utmost respect for our retailers, big and small.
Perhaps this is the time that, by changing our behaviour and shopping at your local butcher, greengrocer and fruiterer, we can all make the change to a more environmentally friendly way of living. It was interesting that when I was at (insert any large supermarket name here) the shelves were stripped bare of toilet roll, paracetamol and sanitizer, while at our local small independent shop, supplies of those items were plentiful.
Talking about sustainability and with the environment very much in mind, on page 34 and 35 we have our regular feature about Happy Days Vintage. Happy Days, in Cowbridge, is the epitome of the reclaim, recycle and reuse ethos. It’s a lovely place and you should certainly pay them a visit. Cardiff and the Vale have several excellent markets and we should certainly use them more.
We hope we will all come through this and wish you the very best, brightest and healthiest spring. Stay safe, keep healthy and be kind.
See you, hopefully, in the summer. Namaste.
Jennifer Hobbs-Roberts
Editor
07766 106701
Jennifer was photographed at Keyif (the fabulous Turkish restaurant in Penarth – which, incidentally, is still offering takeaways). Pictured here with the owner, Mehmet, who is one of the loveliest people you’ll ever meet. Image copyright Mark Roberts.
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Namaste. What does it mean?
Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. It is used both for greeting and leave-taking.
Many people have adopted this rather than shaking hands, kissing or hugging. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā; the standing posture incorporating it is Pranamasan. In Hinduism, it means “I bow to the divine in you”. It may also be spoken without the gesture, or the gesture may be performed wordlessly.
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