*A very special weekend*

Gosh, I don't even know where to start with the blog! A very exciting one indeed. 

This weekend Mark & I went for a little weekend away in West Wales near Cardigan. We stayed in a lovely Airbnb - with a hot tub! It was very pretty and cosy, although initially we parked on the wrong side of the Airbnb and were stumbling around in the dark a bit. 

On Saturday we headed to the Welsh Wildlife Centre for a little walk. It was a gorgeous walk - it included green trees, a castle, and a proposal! Of course, I said no - he hadn't met the pre-requisite of reading all 7 Harry Potter books! Only mostly joking... we are of course now very happily engaged! 

We ambled around the rest of the walk enjoying a debrief about the proposal plan and ring designing. We had a poke around Cilgerran Castle, which was free and empty due to the time of year. Mark still has a bit of growing to do before he's ready for a broadsword.

We ended up back at the Welsh Wildlife Centre cafe where we enjoyed a delicious piece of ginger cake before heading back to the Airbnb. We chose our dinner out from the Airbnb recommendation book and were lucky enough to get a space at Michelin accredited small plates restaurant Yr Hen Printworks in Cardigan - phenomenal food. 

Calling families to tell them the news that evening was a mostly straightforward event - apart from my mum, who decided to get on a 10 hour flight across to the other side of the world to avoid me. I tried to catch her between flights hoping she had wifi, but no luck, and with the time differences we eventually gave up the next day and sent her a video instead, which worked a treat :) Rest assured we have now managed to speak on the phone!

On Sunday we visited The National Botanic Garden of Wales, which was lovely and crisp. It had huge grounds for a walk, and we popped into the greenhouse (nothing compared to the Eden Project) before enjoying the Gruffalo trail as 2 recently engaged adults should. Mark enjoyed it when we saw they had an old car show with a nice looking yellow one. 

Following this we drove home & promptly took a nap - a lot of excitement for one weekend!

Cardiff Half Marathon

Over a year ago in April 2024 we were on holiday in the Azores and were staying next to a lovely footpath along the seafront that stretched about 3km towards the centre. All I could think about (amidst all of our car troubles) would that it would be so lovely to be able to run on this path - and much quicker than walking! I've always said that I'm not built to be a runner - asthma, sports bras, anything - I'm not a runner.  But I wanted to prove myself wrong. 

So there my running journey started. Firstly with Couch to 5K, then signing up for the 2024 Cardiff Half (a bit premature) but skipping it in favour of a holiday in Portugal with friends. The loss of this goal meant I didn't run for most of August onwards (and it was dark and cold) until I recommitted in January - I'd signed up for the 2025 Cardiff Half and I was determined to do it this time! With the aid of minimal work shifts and a running coaching app, I got back into the habit. A bit harder to keep on once back at work (boo, full time job) but I managed well enough!

And then, on Sunday, something I never ever expected I could do - a Half Marathon!! From multiple reasons I believed myself to not be a runner to definitely a (not the speediest but who cares) runner!

 

The route was mostly great (a bit boring in parts but boring mainly because I run slowly) - starting at Cardiff Castle, across the Barrage, past our flat up Lloyd George Ave, around Roath Lake and finishing at City Hall. Very busy and crowded but the running was just right. I loved the spectators' support and the various signs around. 

My favourite support bean was there, cheering me at the start and providing me with sweets before collecting me for a massive hug at the end. 

 

So that's it, I'm a proven runner now. The goal is to now keep running through winter (and resist my bed  calling) - and maybe the Cardiff Half again next year!

Cladams in Bristol

 On Saturday I managed to see two of my favourite people - Abbie and Georgie! With Georgie jetting off around the UK and further elsewhere it's often hard to track her down, so when she announced a free day in Bristol we all met in the middle for a lovely afternoon of coffee shops and card games, and oodles of catching up to do. 

Photos for proof!

September sibling stay

 This weekend Cait visited us in Cardiff for a couple of nights. She arrived late on Friday night after joining a friend for dinner in Bristol. I had to set an alarm to make sure I picked herself up from the station as I was mostly asleep on the sofa!

On Saturday I persuaded Cait to come out for a run, and had to reel her back in when she sped off like a guinea pig who has just heard the fridge door open, before we enjoyed a calm 5k around Roath Park. Meanwhile, Mark was pretending to be a football dad and watching some of the games in the park, completely missing us when we (who he was waiting for) ran past. 

Look! Matching shoes!

We enjoyed coffee at Sibling (who else was I supposed to visit it with?) before enjoying a mooch around some charity shops. We treated Mark for his patient with a shop to his favourite pick and mix sweets at Siop Sero. Lunch was very tasty at a Japanese restaurant Ichiban - the interior was gorgeous but the exterior street view leaves something to be desired! If you get the Friends reference, well done. The evening was spent chatting with our financial and housing advisor Ms Caitlin Adams - we will essentially steal all of her hard work in return for her borrowing my ski jacket. 

On Sunday I’d booked for us to go to the Queen Inn in Cwmbran as I’d heard good things about their roasts - a fully vegan pub! Cait planned us a nice 7.5km amble up and around a forest, with a trig at the top! It felt like the first gorgeous weather we’ve had in a while. I love a cosy rain day, but also love a crisp blue sky. We played card games in the pub garden until we dropped Cait back to Newport station for her train home. 

A lovely weekend! Although I did once again fall asleep on the sofa… zzzzzzz…

Tour of Britain

I first noted a few months ago that the Tour of Britain was likely to finish in Cardiff to honour cyclist Geraint Thomas who is retiring this year. I swiftly invited dad up for the weekend (Caitlin apparently has more important places to be) as I’ve heard he’s fond of a bike.

He arrived on the Saturday (bringing with him my lost Bananagrams, which is pretty much the only game Mark will play with me). We mooched out in the evening and enjoyed the Everyman cinema for a drink with views. 

On the Sunday we first stopped for dad’s favourite meal, brunch, before heading up to see the finish line & look for goodies. The Cardiff 10k was also that morning so Cardiff felt very busy! Mark kindly exerted himself on a static bike to earn us some casquettes… only for us to see later they were handing them out for everyone else too. Dad was very pleased when we spotted they were handing out cowbells too. 

We found a spot about 100m up from the finish line and waited. The atmosphere was great! We saw a sprint finish (but had no idea who had won until later) and cheered as G wheeled in. The final race presentation less focus on the stage or race winner than the Welshman of honour. 

I hear the Tour of France is coming to the UK in 2027 - hopefully we’ll see another stage then!