Roath Park

On Sunday I took the time to explore all that Roath Park had to offer during Made in Roath. Have a scroll through what I found.

I made my way up from the Rec through the pleasure gardens (where lots of children where having fun with a cardboard castle, amongst other things) and to the botanical gardens and lake.

The lake (and surrounding play area) was very busy. Children ate ice-cream from Mr Whippy and feed the ducks with stale Kingsmill and ran screaming from the geese and swans. I started off around the lake, putting my life on the line for the story like a young William T. Vollmann.    

The most thrilling moment of the day had nothing to do with Made in Roath (sorry MiR!). It was was of those chance happenings that no-one could have seen coming but made us leave the park different people, changed by the worry and tension that filled the air. To cut a long story short, a model boat capsized on the choppy waters of the lake, leaving crowds gathered in a nervous hush as a second model boat tried to right her. The crew are still missing.

As well as lacustrine tragedy, my walk was made more interesting by the Lost and Find exhibition. This collection of photography from Zara Mader centres on lost or dropped objects that have been captured where they fell. The photos were hanged at various points on the railings around Roath Park lake, managing, for the most part, to survive the rather brisk autumnal wind.

The twelfth photograph in the Lost and Find series: a dead umbrella.

There were various other activities available for people to enjoy, such as the Paint the Lake activity which invited the public, free of charge, to... paint the lake. As to why I didn't have a go, I have several excuses and I am prepared to use them: A) I didn't have time; B) It was busy and there were children waiting for a turn; C) I didn't bring an old T-shirt as recommended in the programme; D) I am sorely lacking in any artistic vision or talent; E) I was still traumatised from the model boat drama; F) All of the above.

I did however take a sneaky photo and the artists hard at work.