The Cardiffian Catch Up: greyhounds, Chippy Lane chips and burning hot embers

A collection of the week’s stories from our newsroom. Best accompanied with a steaming cup of coffee

WE have a wide range of features from our reporters this week, the perfect accompaniment to your morning croissant and steaming cup of coffee as you start your weekend.

James Bessant Davies has been exploring Penarth’s allotment crisis and how community gardens may be a solution to the problem …

Penarth’s green-fingered residents turning to community gardens as solution to chronic allotment shortage

Following the announcement that Wales is banning greyhound racing, Hannah Walton-Hughes has been finding out what happens to the dogs after they retire. She also met the most adorable three-legged greyhound, Jilly, who might just make your heart melt …

Greyhound racing will be banned in Wales, but what happens to dogs when they can no longer compete?

If you have walked down Queen Street you may have seen some striking artwork at the site of the former Dorothy Perkin’s store. Benedict Elliot has been to meet Gavin Thomas, who has used art as a form of therapy since going through hard times. His moving story is a reminder that happiness can still be found, even in the darkest of places.

The Cardiff street artist using spray paint to help overcome tragic week that derailed his life

Are you ready for the end of Six Nations?

If you’re preparing for Super Saturday we have some Six Nations-themed articles that may take your fancy.

Sydney Morgan has reported on calls for the WRU’s to ditch its ostrich emblem ahead of next year’s tournament, in favour of a Welsh dragon.

Welsh rugby urged to ditch three feathers again – this time to save ostriches from fashion industry

William Dalgleish has been on the hunt to find the best chips on the iconic ‘Chippy Lane’. Watch the video below to hear his thoughts!

At the heart of the community

As ever, our reporters have been out covering stories at the very heart of Cardiff’s communities.

Rachel Fergusson has written about the five-year extension of Grangetown’s pioneering modular homes scheme, providing a lifeline for homeless families across the city .

Good news for homeless families as modular homes set to stay in Grangetown for another five years

Lisvane has been hit with frequent water outages over the past six months, causing the primary school to close and people left without water. Haris Armstrong has been to talk to Lisvane residents about the ongoing problem.

Primary School forced to close for third time in two months as Lisvane’s water supply dries up again

Lou Sadler has reported on a Welsh-storyteller bridging the the language gap for non-Welsh speaking parents through free bilingual puppet shows.

How non-Welsh speaking parents can learn alongside their children thanks to a Welsh storyteller and her puppets

Would you walk across burning embers?

Brave participants have been walking barefoot across burning embers as part of a fundraiser in aid of Tŷ Hafan hospice. Joe Hearn attended the event to meet some of the “fire walkers”. Watch his video below:

And that brings a close to another week of news stories.

From everyone at The Cardiffian, we hope you have a lovely weekend, and return next week for another Cardiffian Catch-up.