Cardiff + Swansea

Visiting Abi 

I met Abi when she and I worked for The Lumberjack newspaper in spring 2024. We had always been in classes together but never really talked or became friends. After we had been assigned as co-editors for the news section, we've been friends ever since. I was excited to hear she was planning on studying abroad at Swansea University because we both would be on our study-abroad journeys at the same time. Before we left Arizona, we both decided we would come visit each other at our host universities. So I did just that from Wednesday, October 23, to Monday, October 28. I arrived in Swansea very late on a delayed train from Norwich. We had plans to travel to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the next day.

BBC Wales

My favorite thing we did in Cardiff was take a tour of the BBC Wales Headquarters. The BBC has several locations across the U.K. and the world, and Cardiff is one of the big bases. One of the amazing things about this BBC is that they write and record in both English and Welsh. 

Outside of BBC Wales Headquarters

The building was large, with colorful square panels hanging down on every floor. Large screens spanned the lobby walls and were visible from behind the glass in the general TV studio. The building houses TV studios, podcast booths, radio show studios, editing bays, and newsrooms. We started off in one of the TV studios. It had green screens and countless LED lights hanging from the ceiling. The entire ceiling was basically covered in lights. The tour guides explained this is so they can film anywhere in the room. 

Next, we then moved on to a radio show recording studio. I had never really considered radio dramas or things of that sort until we went to this room. There were several microphones and script stands, some with two microphones crossed over to record conversations. In the back of the room, there was a house facade. There was a dead room at the bottom of this makeshift house and a bed upstairs. The guides explained the fake house was to make the sounds in the radio shows as realistic as possible. If a voice actor's character was supposed to be lying in bed, they would lie in the bed too. Breathing and voice sounds differently when lying down versus standing up. The stairs were made of two different materials to emulate walking in a house and walking upstairs outside. The floors throughout the whole studio were different because sound reverberate differently off different materials. Even the windows were made of different materials. One person reported to the BBC that they could tell the water supposedly being poured for tea was cold not boiling, which is why they put so much effort into making sounds as realistic as possible. People can tell a difference. 

We then moved on to see the podcast studios. There were custom mic covers for recordings made in English and Welsh. Even the screens in the room could be changed to match the branding. There were cameras pointed at all eight plus chairs so online viewers can watch and listen. 

BBC Wales Podcast Studio

The last thing we got to see was the news studio for BBC Wales Today. There was a large desk in the middle and screens covered the entire room.  The desk was situated with a hidden monitor in the middle so anchors can see what is being displayed when live. The screens throughout the room had so many pixels that cameras would not be able to pick up when they flickered. There were augmented reality cameras which place three-dimensional graphics in front of anchors to paint a better picture for the audience. Off to one side of the room, there was weather with a huge map of the U.K. This was my favorite room we visited.

Me sitting in the anchor's chair in the BBC Wales Today studio

After seeing some items from the BBC's hit show Dr. Who, our tour ended. There was a Tartarus, a Dalek, and costumes used in the show. 

Swansea

Swansea is right next to the sea, so Abi and I got to walk along Swansea Beach. I never considered going to a school next to the water. Her apartment was only about a half an hour's walk to the sand. We visited the shopping area, the harbor, a few parks, and Swansea University. We got very lucky and had sunshine the whole time I visited. 

Abi and I walking along Swansea Beach

Welsh Culture

I think it is an unfair assumption that Wales is just closely related to England, one I made the mistake of making. Wales is part of the United Kingdom, but it is very different from the other countries and also a part of the U.K. Firstly, Welsh is a live language and is still taught in schools. Abi said there are Welsh schools and English schools, some teaching both. Public signage is in both Welsh and English. Gaelic is an endangered language, and Scots is a vulnerable language, but Welsh is alive and thriving. 

Before our BBC tour, Abi and I were looking around some of the stores in town and I noticed there were carved wooden spoons in several of them. Abi said they are Welsh love spoons and were traditionally given to show affection and love. 

Welsh love spoons for sale

One of my favorite parts of going to new places is eating! I had so much good food while visiting I do not even know where to start! I had one of the best sandwiches of my life at Fresh the Baguette Bar. It was a baguette sandwich with chicken, salami, salami̇ crackling, white truffle mayo, arugula, onion, and parmesan cheese. No words can describe how good this sandwich was. 

Best sandwich ever from Fresh in Cardiff

In Swansea, we stopped at Joe's Ice Cream for an incredible vanilla cone. At Albert Food Hall, I had a flavorful pita, hummus, french fry, and olive wrap from Olive and Oregano. I enjoyed Welsh cakes and did not enjoy so much bara brith, a fruit cake made with tea. The Welsh cakes were yummy though. My best comparison is a mini raisin pancake sprinkled with sugar. Neither Abi nor I cared for the bara brith, but I appreciate her getting one for us to try, nonetheless. 

Welsh cake from Fabulous Welshcakes

In Sum

I enjoyed spending time with my personal tour guide and friend Abi in Wales. I had been to northern Wales for a Snowdonia trip with UEA's Mountaineering club, but it was quite isolated. It was fun getting to see how Welsh culture is different than English culture and talk with Abi and compare our experiences abroad. Soon enough she will come visit me in Norwich and I cannot wait. 

This blog post was written for HON491C