Baffling things about life in city
NOW don’t get me wrong – I love living in Swansea. But there are some things about life in this city that I cannot wrap my head around.
I moved here in 2014 for university and since I graduated three years ago, try as I might to move on from recounting stories from uni, it was never going to happen. And after a couple of years living at home with my parents in Plymouth, I couldn’t wait to move back to Swansea.
Even though I lived here for three years as a student, and again for three months now, there are still things I still don’t understand about the city I now call home...
Beaujolais Day is a massive deal
On the third Thursday of November every year thousands of residents dress up to to the nines and hit the town to celebrate “Beaujolais Day”.
Dubbed the biggest event in Swansea’s social calendar, bars, pubs and venues across the city host events and parties to mark the day – a celebration of the first wine of the season made from the first harvest of grapes in the Beaujolais region of France.
But Beaujolais Day isn’t really marked anywhere else in the UK.
And, stating the obvious here, with Swansea not being located in Beaujolais, France – nor being linked or twinned with the region – it’s pretty random that the city celebrates it and to such an extent.
Everyone says ‘cheers, drive’
While I love that people in Swansea are so friendly and polite, the whole “cheers, drive” thing has taken some getting used to.
It’s not something that was said in Plymouth – a simple “cheers” or “thank you” would suffice when getting out of a taxi or off a bus – and I’ve never noticed the phrase when getting buses anywhere else I’ve visited in the UK.
But in Swansea, and across Wales, “cheers, drive” is pretty much the only acceptable comment to your bus or taxi driver when you arrive at your destination. Why “drive”? Why not “cheers, molly.dowrick@walesonline.co.uk
driver” or simply “cheers”? The great debate: Joe’s vs Verdi’s
I really love going for a walk along Mumbles prom and having an ice cream sundae at Verdi’s.
But when I was a student living in Brynmill and Uplands my housemates and I loved going to Joe’s ice cream parlour on St Helen’s Road.
A really wacky thing about Swansea is that people seem to be in one camp or the other: they’re Team Verdi’s or Team Joe’s – and some would rather go out of their way to visit their preferred ice cream parlour than visit the one that’s closer to where they live. I really don’t understand this debate – but if I had to choose, I’d be Team Verdi’s!
The traffic lights in Swansea are something else
I’m currently learning to drive and something I notice every lesson is the sheer number of traffic lights in Swansea. They are everywhere.
When driving around Sketty or along Mumbles Road heading to the city centre, you could have to stop at the lights three or four times on just a short stretch of road.
Now I’m all for safe driving and traffic management, but the number of traffic lights seems excessive.
The peculiarities of the bus service
It’s great that Swansea Council offers free bus services every now and again, including during halfterm last month and weekends in December, but I’m finding buses in Swansea are so unreliable.
Sometimes, when watching the small screens at my bus stop at the Quadrant bus station, my service will disappear off the screen – even if the bus hasn’t arrived.
There’s never a notification to say the bus has been delayed or cancelled. It just simply disappears from the screen, leaving me stuck at the station waiting for the next one – and hoping that shows up.
And the pricing is very confusing as well. Why is a day ticket cheaper than a return? And why are both tickets so expensive? A day ticket in
Swansea is £4.50 for New Adventure Travel services and £4.70 for First Cymru services – for the majority of people that’s half an hour’s wage!
The Kingsway
The Kingsway confuses me greatly. I swear construction work that began when I was a student is still going on. And is it just me or does the roundabout at the end of the road, by the Potters Wheel pub, keep disappearing?
When I was at university here the road was one-way. Pretty simple to follow. But since then there’s been a huge amount of construction work on the road and the new addition of some fancy student buildings which just seem to have popped up from nowhere.
You can’t get between a Welshman (or woman) and the rugby
I’m really sorry about this one but I cannot get my head around the rules of rugby – or everyone’s obsession with the game. It’s more enjoyable to watch than football, granted, but, try as I might, something is just not clicking about the game.
Of course people across the UK love flocking to their local stadium or pub to watch the games but people in Swansea seem much more invested than people in my home city of Plymouth. It’s the end of the world if a Swansea resident’s team loses a match. Wild.
Beaches are quiet in the winter
Okay, I get it. It’s freezing cold outside at the moment. But when you’ve got so many gorgeous beaches a short drive away, how are you not all flocking there at every opportunity?
I really admire the surfers who brave the cold in the winter but on recent weekend walks along Caswell and Langland there’s been very few other people on the beach.
Living in Swansea, we’re so lucky to have golden sands on our doorstep. I don’t understand why people aren’t going there whenever they can.
Sure, you need to wrap up warm, but there’s nothing better than a leisurely stroll across the beach in the winter with your headphones on and the wind in your hair.