Following an online debate on the best place to live in Cardiff, we ask you what you love about living in your part of our city. Good idea. Lets all move to Roath Park.

This article titled “Question: Where to move to in Cardiff?” was written by Hannah Waldram, for guardian.co.uk on Tuesday 26th April 2011 16.20 UTC I noticed a little bit of Twitter debate taking place today following a Guardian article which encourages people to move to Roath and Cathays in Cardiff. Tom Dyckhoff in his regular ‘Let’s Move to’ column in the Saturday Guardian, explains his sister is moving to the city and after a little research (I must hereby state I was not contacted) found the eastern wards, traditionally student hub, to be the best options for newcomers. Dyckhoff writes: “I winkled out Roath and Cathays, the kind of studenty-cum-posh-inner-suburb-close-to-a-university that’s deep within Guardian readers’ DNA to instinctively like. With its Arabic cafes, comic shops, ironic and unironic corduroy jackets, veggie cafes, eccentric miniature lighthouse in the delightful Roath Park, splendid arts centre (The Gate), weekly farmers’ markets and nice-but-a-little-shabby-round-the-edges Victorian houses, it’s practically this newspaper in bricks and mortar.”

chandradevi comments: Cathays has sadly long been little more than a student ghetto. If you like that, you’ll love it. My sister moved out in the nineties after chicken tikka was spewed up on her car there by one of the little darlings. Roath, as a geographical extension of Cathays, has largely gone the same way. It does boast The Albany pub though, which has a nice quirky garden.

This isn’t the first time the housing debate has raised its head this year – when a short tête-à-tête occurred between Roathians and the Pontcanna elite over which ward was the most desirable. As Edwalker1986 points out in his comment: Enjoyed your profile and Roath definitely has a lot going for it. I moved here from the city centre a few months ago and it’s great – there’s a real mix of people. Having Roath Park on the doorstep is fantastic and there’s some great local shops. I wrote this article in January about how Roath was on the up and perhaps taking Pontanna’s crown (a popular area of Cardiff).”

Now as someone who has divided her blissful time in the city equally between living in Roath and Pontcanna (well, more Canton but technically Riverside), I can faithfully say both are delightful to live in – each with very different appeal. But what about all the other wards in the city – would we really only guide potential new inhabitants to Pontcanna, Roath and Cathays? Let’s hear it from the rest of you – the Butonians, Splott dwellers, Adamsdown massive, Whitchurch and Rhiwbina villagers… I know you’re out there. What do you love about living in your area of Cardiff? Leave a comment below.

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The Harp is still Central  London’s best Cider pub too. The Harp - London Cider Pub

This article titled “Pub of the year award goes to a London local for first time” was written by Ben Quinn, for The Guardian on Wednesday 16th February 2011 00.05 UTC With its reputation for glitzy musicals and crammed weekend shopping, the bustling tourist magnet that is Covent Garden might seem an unlikely location for the latest official place of pilgrimage for beer purists. Yet in a first for London, a cosy bolthole in Chandos Place, near Trafalgar Square, has been named Britain’s pub of the year.by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra). It was standing room only at what Camra described as a “true gem” where a cross-section of local workers, including musicians from nearby theatres, mingled in a narrow bar area adorned with mirrors and theatrical memorabilia. Undisturbed by either television or music, staff handed patrons samples from a range of eight real ales and imparted taste advice with all the authority of a master sommelier. “They look after their regulars very well – that’s the secret,” said Martin Knowles, a tubist from the English National Opera, sipping a pint of Darkstar Hophead with colleagues under the whir of a fan. Upstairs, a handful of drinkers relaxed in a small carpeted lounge area as the owner, Bridget Walsh, praised “good staff” for The Harp’s 17-year-old reputation. “They are the backbone, but we also pride ourselves on the range and quality of our real ale,” said Walsh, a real ale pioneer, who fretted slightly about the potential upsurge of interest in her pub, which outshone rivals from some of the more traditional real ale heartlands. Runners-up in the national pub of the year competition were Taps in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, the Beacon Hotel in Sedgley, West Midlands, and the Salutation Inn in Ham, Gloucestershire. Julian Hough, Camra’s pubs director, said the most impressive aspect of the Harp was its appeal as a true local, “even though situated in the tourist heart of the capital”. He added: “What makes a great pub is the ability for it to welcome both regulars and first time customers alike and this is something it does to perfection.” Situated close to Charing Cross station, the pub has been no stranger to awards in the past and has long been regarded with fondness by ale connoisseurs seeking a refuge to quench their thirst in the heart of the city. Beer choices generally include a mild or porter, Dark Star and London micro-brewery seasonal while real ciders, perries and malt whiskies also feature strongly. Completing a package that won over the notoriously choosy real ale drinking fraternity are award-winning real sausages in baps. Kimberly Martin, Camra’s London regional director, said: “I never ceased to be impressed or surprised by the continuing success of a pub staffed by individuals so passionate about the real ale industry. The Harp is a perfect example of how the London cask beer scene is reaching out to new drinkers.”

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