The Culture Show - John Cale

For anyone who missed it, here is the Culture Show's segment on John Cale filmed at the Vulcan.

Bits and Bobs

Hope you all tuned in for the Culture Show's John Cale interview at the Vulcan last Thursday - for those who missed it there was a nice little shout out to the Save the Vulcan campaign at the end.

After seeing the show a couple of people have been in touch. At least one new person has tried to sign the petition, however, after putting in her details she was told she had already registered and voted. Has this oddity happened to anyone else?

We have also had a request for t-shirts and while they do exist, no one actually knows where they are! We will keep you up-to-date but if anyone has found themselves with a surprising amount of large to extra-large Save the Vulcan shirts after a blurry night at the Vulcan then please let us know!

And finally we had a great bit of Vulcan nostalgia courtesy of Doug:

Hi thought I'd share this with you.

I was a dental student in Cardiff in the late 70s.
Occasionally I would go to the Vulcan with my mates for a pint or two or more.

There was an old bloke who was always stood at the bar called "Scratch" [for obvious reasons].

We discovered that Scratch always had a bag with him which contained various sets of false teeth that he had bought in second hand shops. Scratch could probably have visited a dentist and had a set made for nothing in those days but he preferred to pay his way!

At the bar of the Vulcan, Scratch would try the various dentures in varying combinations [for he never knew which bottom went with what top] and ask our opinion on which set we thought best.

Quite honestly, I don't think we had a clue about what made a good denture, but we nevertheless spent many happy hours with Scratch offering our worthless opinions which he received gratefully along with the pint that we would always buy for him.

Save the Vulcan!

A Bit of Culture at the Vulcan

The Vulcan is set to feature on the BBC's Culture Show at 7pm this Thursday. The team decided it was the perfect backdrop for their interview with Welsh musician John Cale of The Velvet Underground fame.

Look out for some familiar faces in the background!

And to get you in the mood, here is John himself singing Hallelujah.

A Very Vulcany Halloween

It's a bit late I know but here are a couple of photos from the very successful Halloween night at the Vulcan. I wasn't there but it looks like everyone had a great time!

Cardiff changes but The Vulcan remains - by Graham Craig

Cardiff has seen its fair share of change in the past decade. The Millennium Stadium, the Senedd, the Cardiff Bay Barrage, the Wales Millennium Centre and most recently St David's 2 have all emerged onto the Cardiff landscape. These are all fine examples of architecture and engineering, and all are playing a significant part in the development of Cardiff as a vibrant European capital.

Yet there is a feeling among many Cardiffians that this development has come at too high a price. Huge swathes of the Docklands have been condemned to history in order to build uniform soulless flats and a tacky retail and restaurant quarter by the name of Mermaid Quay. Closer to the city centre the Reformation-savaged ruins of a 13th Century Franciscan friary were demolished in the 1960s to make way for a tower block.

At the heart of the latest battle between developers and Cardiffians sits The Vulcan Hotel. The Vulcan was built in 1853 and has served the people of Cardiff ever since. The glazed tiles to the exterior were added in 1906 while in 1914 significant alterations were made to the interior – the smoke room was removed from the front bar and the unique brown terracotta urinals were installed.

The current décor came with landlord Brian Smart and wife Liz when they took over in 1993. A ship's wheel and numerous images of ships, the Docks and other local landmarks give The Vulcan a genuine character that chain pubs can only attempt to manufacture.

Despite its history and its popularity The Vulcan has been under threat of demolition for years. Owners Brains Brewery were issued with a Compulsory Purchase Order several years ago as the land was wanted for the St Davids 2 development.

In August 2008 the Save The Vulcan campaign began with the aim of saving this gem from the bulldozers. Support quickly grew with the petition reaching one thousand before Christmas and currently standing at more than six thousand. Famous names were among them: James Dean Bradfield, Lord Kinnock and Rhys Ifans among others. A public meeting drew a crowd of more than one hundred.

But the developer wasn't listening and the closing date remained fixed for late June. Then a text from the landlady: an extension to the lease was on the table. Three more years. Three more years of good beer, three more years of interesting company and, above all, three more years of Cardiff as it was.

The latest news is that the landlady is moving on. Doubt surrounds the developer's next move since the extension was offered to her and to her alone. We have worked so hard and fought so well that to lose The Vulcan now would be devastating.

We need everyone in Cardiff to experience the atmosphere of The Vulcan. On an international day when six women wedge themselves behind the bar to serve beer to hundreds or on a Tuesday lunchtime when the only soul in the place is you. Once you've been there you'll understand the pub's popularity and you'll understand why the campaign has put so much effort into preserving it.

A Vulcan visitor is a Vulcan supporter is a weapon against needless demolition of Cardiff heritage.

Don't Panic!

They're just resurfacing a corner of the car park!

Letter from Greg Mulholland MP‏

We recently received this nice congratulatory letter from Greg Mulholland MP‏, chair of the All Party Save the Pub Group.

Click to enlarge.

We’re still here!

Hello Vulcaneers!

We’re still here!

Just thought we’d keep you up to date with the latest on the campaign. Whilst the pub is safe for the next three years, we’re now working on finding a permanent solution for the pub.

- Good news! The developer has submitted 2 planning applications to the Council to build a multi-storey car park and resurface the existing car park on the Adam Street site. Don’t panic though! The plans show the Vulcan will not be affected, as the building work will happen behind the pub.

- A while ago, we applied to Cadw to get the Vulcan listed, however, we were unsuccessful – this is because the Vulcan did not meet Cadw’s specific listing criteria. This autumn, Cadw are reviewing their listing criteria, so we will be engaging in the process at every level.

- We are always looking for new events to be held at the Vulcan – so if you have any ideas, please get in touch!

Vulcan win celebrated on plinth

From Wales Online today:

THE Save The Vulcan campaign has been taken to Trafalgar Square.

Pub regular Will Downie spent an hour bringing London’s attention to the much-loved Cardiff pub by standing on the empty fourth plinth, part of a nationwide art project by Antony Gormley.

Will, from Pontcanna, wore a “Save the Vulcan” T-shirt throughout his time on the 22ft high plinth – which he had altered to read “We Saved the Vulcan” after it received a reprieve in an 11th hour deal in June.

Read the full article here.

We also get a mention in the Canadian Vulcan Advocate:

The international publicity for Vulcan continues.

Dayna Dickens, Vulcan’s tourism co-ordinator, wrote a letter to a pub in Wales called the Vulcan, which was to be demolished, congratulating the watering hole for being granted a three-year lease.

“On behalf of the town of Vulcan, Alberta, Canada, I would like to extend to you our sincere congratulations for winning a three-year reprieve against the demolition of the Vulcan pub,” said Dickens.

Full article here.

Latest petition info.

The Petitions Committee have given further consideration to petition to save the Vulcan at its meeting on 7 July, where it was agreed to await an outstanding response from the WLGA. The minutes from the meeting are available here.