This instalment of “Postcards from Tongwynlais” features a very special image of the village square from the early 1900s. The postcard was sent on the 30th of September 1907. I shared some photos of the Lewis Arms back in 2024 from the early 1900s to 2016. I kept this postcard back because I wanted to … more…
I picked up these illustrations of Cardiff by Joseph Pike a few years ago. I’m currently practising my drawing and these sketches are very inspiring. I love Joseph’s style and they show a fascinating glimpse of Cardiff in the 1920s. Joseph Pike (1883 – 1956) Joseph Pike was born in Bristol in 1883 and educated … more…
The Tongwynlais, Taff’s Well and Nantgarw Picture Album is a series of books first published by Roger L Brown in 1988. I discovered these books over 13 years ago and eventually managed to acquire a copy of each volume. My collection also includes Roger’s local history books. I’m astounded by the work involved in producing … more…
After completing the microscale Lego Tollhouse in part 1, I was immediately inspired to create a “Minifig-scale” version. I don’t collect Minifigures but I’ve acquired a few over the years and I thought it would be interesting to create a scene featuring the Tollhouse. It took quite a while, mainly through trial and error, to … more…
This series was inspired by an article from John&Jane that explored the design of a modern flag for Cardiff. In the first part I looked into the history of Cardiff and found some examples of the “Cardiff Arms”. In the second part I discovered some of the history of the arms and shared more examples … more…
I have a few postcards that feature a view of Castell Coch by photographer Martin John Ridley (1861-1936). This example was written in 1917 but not posted. The original photo is thought to be from 1905. I have another postcard using this image that was sent in 1908. The postcard is titled, “Castle Coch, Taffs … more…
Tongwynlais will always be home sweet home to me.