Thursday 6 November 2008

Cardiff - the mural being demolished

Yesterday I was told about the recent demolition of Thomson House. There had been at least one letter of protest in the local paper and the planning department had been contacted, but the mural was completely unprotected and has now been totally destroyed. What were the JCB drivers thinking as they hacked their way through the mosaic? This photo comes from norman preis on Flickr (many thanks) and as one of the Flickr photographers commented, what were Cadw doing, taking a tea break? This destruction is exactly the same as going into an art gallery and taking a pair of scissors to a canvas. Heartbreaking. We can't keep everything but it seems strange that something so utterly Welsh - and beautiful at that - can bite the dust without any challenge. Perhaps someone from Cadw will tell me that a photographic record was made of the mural before demolition? Flying pigs (hope I'm wrong).

Cardiff again


cardiff2
Originally uploaded by mydograzzle
Another photo I took around 2002 - lovely colours even in this hurried snap.

Cardiff mural as it was


cardiff1
Originally uploaded by mydograzzle
Hi - this is a photo of Thomson House in Cardiff, built 1959 as HQ of the Western Mail newspaper; it was taken around 2002. The 35 foot high mosaic mural is by landscape artist Ray Howard-Jones, and - in abstract form - represented the geographical area covered by the paper. It had survived one rebuilding of Thomson House, and was a very fine example of a postwar mosaic.

Dog in a pub

We've just come back from a really wet walk - not like the last weekend when my owners took me over to the Lakes in the sunshine. I didn't think much of the walking - we went up a hill then came back down, what's the point of that? But I did like the pub in the evening with a big fire and lots of people offering me titbits. I liked it so much that the next evening I barked at another dog who came in, and the landlady gave me an asbo....... But I'd better let Lynn tell you about Cardiff, as she hasn't given me my evening carrot yet. Here she is.