By Polo to Penarth

Finally this bright and breezy afternoon, we got around to taking the new car for a drive, so that Clare could familiarise herself with its workings before taking it out on her own tomorrow. We went first to Lidl's in Leckwith, then on to Penarth for a photo opportunity, a walk on the pier and an ice cream. We're very pleased with it, as its interior is spacious for a small car, with more headroom than the old Golf, and being a little higher off the ground, slightly easier to get into.

I hadn't so far read any of the car's documents, nor checked out its technical specification on-line, apart from knowing it's a 1.2cc engine. The sound of the car on the move was different from what I expected, and this aroused my curiosity. A little research disclosed that this car's engine is the three cylinder 'Blue Motion' engine, designed for lower emissions and economy. I was delighted by this on both counts. When this design was announced fourteen years ago, I hoped that one day I might own a car with such an engine. Since then, we've had two Golf Mark 2s in succession, and both served us very well. I'd forgotten my earlier aspiration, and surprised that all along this particular Polo had my name (well my initials) on it all along. I know they say 'Be careful what you wish for', but on this occasion, it couldn't be better. I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit comfortably in it for an extensive period and take it for a long drive.

In the evening, I watched ITV's current mystery drama serial 'Strangers', set in Hong Kong, which is shaping up nicely into another exploration of police, political corruption and organised crime in the former UK colony. I like the fact that it's bi-lingual, with subtitles for what I presume is Cantonese being spoken. I may have mentioned this before, but it's interesting that we live the the Parish of Canton, which not only has Cardiff's Chinese Christian church, but also a fair number of Chinese residents and children in schools, not to mention shops. Perhaps the place name was a magnet back in the days after World War One when Chinese people started to settle in Cardiff. 

It's a coincidence, however as this Canton is Canna's-town abbreviated, St Canna is supposed to have been a sixth century Breton princess who converted to Christianity. Canna is the name given to the stream which runs through the Parish. Not that it can be seen nowadays, as it's more of a storm drain nowadays, running entirely through culverts from Penhill down to Riverside Embankment where it enters the Taff, if there's ever any water. Nowadays, it's just a memory imprinted on old maps from 16th to 19th century, before the suburb developed the way it is now.