Mini Mag: Is it time for an alcohol ban in the Principality Stadium?

Alt.Cardiff

December 2021 Issue 1

If it’s offbeat and in Cardiff then it’s in here

Is it time for an alcohol ban in the Principality Stadium?

News

The latest shop to open on Whitchurch Road produces award winning bakes that are 100% vegan This month has seen the opening of Alex Gooch Artisan Bakery and adds to the list of exciting new businesses on Whitchurch Road

Alex Gooch’s Whithchurch Road shop. Credit- James Skeldon

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offee lovers and baking aficionados in Cardiff will now have access to award winning, 100% vegan bakery products courtesy of the talented and well renowned baking expert, Alex Gooch. He has opened a brand-new site for the shop on Whitchurch Road so worldclass bread, delicious pastries and artisan coffee are now on the doorstep of Cardiff residents.

Alex supplies products to a wide variety of stockists, also supplies to a range of independent delis.

He has moved to Whitchurch Road as he has ambitious plans to evolve his brand to being a fully-fledged bakery.

“Whitchurch Road is a great place with a really exciting feel to it. It’s becoming more and more desirable.”

Speaking to WalesOnline, Alex said, “We’re going to run it a bit like a modern canteen.”

“We’re going to do big pizza slices, loads of interesting focaccias with roast tomato sauce, and other things like salads.”

Alex’s bakery is 100% vegan but believes that meat eaters won’t even be able to tell.

Interview

A brand new, outdoor equestrian facility opens for use by the end of November

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ardiff Riding School has renovated and extended its facilities thanks to a £27,000 donation from Cardiff Council and Friends of Cardiff Riding School.

outdoor part of the school due to drainage issues as well as disrepair. The revamped drainage system will enable them to use part of their school which previously could not be accessed.

Cardiff council say that the renovation will provide a “multipurpose riding experience for all abilities.”

People in the Cardiff area will have access to a highclass riding facility in a very accessible location. The school is situated in Bute Park.

Cardiff Councillor, Peter Bradbury said, Cardiff Riding School is a “Fantastic community asset that allows Cardiff residents and visitors to access horse riding within the heart of the city.

Gloria Garrington, manager of Cardiff Riding School, says that prior to the renovation, they could not use the

Barbershop owner looking to bounce back after pandemic

After having to put his business in pause as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Alessandro Calliva, the owner of barbershop chain, Capello, is determined to grow his business into a haircare empire

“The new facilities will bring this redundant space into use to increase capacity for lessons.”

Kingfisher mural painted in the heart of Cardiff to promote wildlife protection

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he group run a campaign called, ‘Natural Kingdom: Wild Walls’ where wall paintings in different major cities in the UK are created by artists who share the same passion for wildlife conservation. Cardiff is one of those major cities and is the home to a striking image of a kingfisher, created by artist, Spike Clark.

Glesni Lewis is part of the team who runs the campaign and hopes that the murals will serve to remind to the people of Cardiff the importance and beauty of the natural world.

She said, “An incredible amount of hard work has been done by the UKY4N team to make these walls even more wonderful than imagined.

that are associated with the area in which the mural is painted so that each wall is relevant to the local community.”

Glesni believes that the murals will urge the public to “take action” to prevent the loss of wildlife and nature.

She explained, “This campaign is a pledge to engage the public to take an urgent stance to protect nature by capturing their attention through visual art and imagination.

“We need to be taking innovative approaches to engage people to take action.

“We hope the murals are an everyday reminder to passers by that there is no time like the present to take action.”

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lessandro Calliva, pictured abvove and the owner of Capello one of Cardiff ’s premier barbershop chains, saw his business plans for 2020 thrown up in the air as a result of the pandemic.

After lockdown restrictions were announced, within the space of a couple of weeks, the 27-year-old was forced to put his aspirations for Capello on hold which put his business under the strain that so many in Cardiff would have dealt with in 2020.

Originally, from Llandaff, Alessandro is hoping to bounce back better than ever and grow the brand into an empire.

Like all business owners who had to put their plans on pause at the beginning of 2020, Alessandro recalls that period being a scary time full of uncertainty. He was forced to not only worry about himself, but also his close-knit team of staff. Having taken over the business from his father, he maintains the same family values in his business.

“Closing my business was like losing a baby” Alessandro says. “That was very hard and very upsetting.”

How he managed his Mental Health Mental health is another issue that Alessandro had to deal with. “Initially, it was

“Each wall is vibrant and highlights species and habitats

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very hard to start with,” he said.

“Closing my business was like losing a baby” “Being isolated for that long and not being able see my loved ones for that long was very difficult.”

Relationship strains were another hurdle he had to deal with which he suggests was partly caused by being stuck indoors for extended periods with other people.

Despite the obvious stresses Alessandro would have been under at this time, he reflects on it in a refreshingly positive and optimistic way, maturely admitting that he was quite lucky compared to other people. Having to juggle three barbershops in uncertain times with everyday personal stresses, Calliva could be forgiven for letting this time affect him. Instead, he recognised the silver lining of this period. He believes the situation made him more resilient and confident that he can endure tough

situations and come out the other side stronger.

“I think if a business owner can go this and come out the other end fighting, you can do anything,” he said.

He also says he used the down time as a period of reflection to evaluate his priorities and approach to running Capello. He suggests that prior to Covid-19, he was too business focussed and admits he didn’t appreciate his family enough. He thinks this layoff will make him more family oriented.

“Before I had the blinders on, business, business, business” he said.

After not just satisfied with three successful barbershops already thriving in Cathays, Pontcanna and Penarth, Alessandro has recently launched his own barber training facility, Barber School Wales. His academy is an exciting prospect and fills a hole in the industry. His fasttrack, 9 week course allows barbers to qualify without the years training as an apprentice whilst also creating the next generation of barbers for himself.

Alessandro says, “I’m trying to create a brand rather than just a barbershop.”

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Long Reads

Should the Principality Stadium ban serving alcohol at rugby matches?

After an autumn ridden with drunk-fuelled incidents at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, should there be a change to their policies around serving alcohol?

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hisAutumnNationsserieswhereWales facedoffagainstNewZealand,SouthAfrica, FijiandAustralia.Therugbydidn’talways commandtheheadlinesasavarietyofalcohol-related incidentsthroughtheseriesoccurred.TheInstituteof Alcoholstudiessuggesteditistimeforrugbytoendits “cosyrelationship”withalcoholandithasbeencalled a“newlowfortheWelshRugbyUnion”byAlex Bywater,edit.

Afterthestadiumwasdubbedthe‘World’sbiggest pub’thisautumnbySportsJournalist,PeterJackson.

IsittimetofortheWRUtochangeitsstanceon servingalcoholatmatches?

Alcohol-related incidents this autumn Themostobviousandwelldocumentedincidentwasduring Wales’matchagainstSouthAfrica,whenafanwhoappeared tobedrunkinvadedthepitchandputastoptoapotentialtry scoring,matchwinningopportunityforWales.Despitethe initialangeroverthepreventionofatryforWales,therewere alsoserioussafetyandsecurityconcernsoverthisincident.

AlexBywaterattendedthematchesaspartofthepressand gavehisopiniononthedrinkingcultureatthePrincipality Stadium.Hewitnessedthedrink-fuelledpitchinvasionduring WalesversusSouthAfricaandcalledita“newlowforWelsh RugbyUnion.”Healsosawanotherincidentoffightinginthe crowdsnearthepressboxwhichwasseenbyallthemediain attendance.Heattributedalcoholastheprobablecauseofthe fightingandthatthisautumnhasbeen“worsethanprevious Walescampaignsintermsofalcoholproblems.”

Aswellasthis,spectatorshavehadtheirdaysruinedbyothers whotakethestadium’sfourdrinkperpersonpolicyasa minimumratherthanamaximum.Mostnotably,theincident whereJoeyDelaney,6,wasvomitedonbyadrunkenfanduring Wales’matchversusAustralia.

SophieDelaney,Joey’smother,whilespeakingtoBBCRadio Wales,saidthedrunkman“didn’tsayawordafterwards.”He wasclearlytoointoxicatedwherehewasunawareofhisactions.

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DuringWalesvsSouthAfrica,therewasanincidentcovered thatinvolvedadrunkmanfallingintoagroupofother

spectatorsduetohisalcoholconsumption.Michael Edwards,thefanwhohadthedrunkmanfall intohim,madeaformalcomplainttotheWRU andblamedtheexcessivedrinkingthatoccurson gamedayasthesourceofthisissue.

Aftersomanyincidentshappenedrecentlyatthe PrincipalityStadium,itissurelythejoboftheWRU andstadiummanagerstoreviewtheirpolicies surroundingalcoholconsumptiononamatchday.

“A new low for Welsh Rugby Union” IoanDyer,producerandpresenterforWelshradio show,ClwbCymraeg,wasalsoinattendancein thepressboxandwitnessedthefightattheSouth Africagame.Hesawan“altercationbetweentwo individualswhichescalatedquitequickly”thathe perceivedtoclearlycausedbyalcohol.

Whenconsideringwhatcanbedonetocombatthis problem,bothBywaterandDyersuggestedlimiting thetimethatbarsareopenthroughouttheday.

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TheWRUhavealreadyintroducedanalcohol-freeareaofthestadium.However,theyaresomeoftheworstseatsavailableinthestadiumandclearlydonotaddress alcohol-relatedissuesoccurringthroughoutthereststadium.

Whenconsideringwhatcanbedonetocombatthisproblem,bothBywaterandDyersuggestedlimitingthetimethatbarsareopenthroughouttheday.Forexample, shuttingthemfromkickofforpriortokickoff.

TheWRUhavealreadyintroducedanalcohol-freeareaofthestadium.However,theyaresomeoftheworstseatsavailableinthestadiumandclearlydonotaddress alcohol-relatedissuesoccurringthroughoutthereststadium.

“It all boils down to money” ThenumberonefactorpreventingrugbyfrombanningalcoholalltogetheratthePrincipalityStadiumisthevastamountofrevenuethatalcoholearnsfortheWRU. Withover250,000peopleattendingoverthecourseoftheAutumn,banningthepurchaseofalcoholwoulddrasticallyreducetheamountofprofitthestadium generates.Rugbyneedsmoneyatalllevelsofthegame,anissuethatfootballdoesn’tnecessarilyhavetothesameextent.Dyersaidthatthenumberofincidentsthat occurredinproportiontothenumberofpeopleinattendancewasactuallyverysmall.“Itallboilsdowntomoney,”saidDyer.

Bywateralsothoughttheactionsofafewirresponsiblepeopleshouldnotstopfansfromhavingafewenjoyablepintswithfriendsandfamily.Thisispartlywhatattracts manytoattendingthematches.Itisclearlyacomplexissuewithprosandconsoneithersideoftheargument.However,allthingsconsidered,itappearsthatdrunken fansareanecessaryevilthatthestadiumisforcedtoacceptsolelybecauseofthemassiveamountofmoneyalcoholgenerates.

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