#11 Accomplished! World's Oldest Record Shop and Young Welsh Musician

Yeah!  I have accomplished #11 on my list of things to do before I die.  Right now I am back in Brecon for the evening (so I can visit the brewery in the morning before I head home to Boston), and am sitting in a sports pub called the Lounge.

It is getting noisy around me, but I do a good job of blocking out a noisy world to sit in my own sacred space.  It is Football (read "Soccer" for we Americans) Night Man Utd. and West Ham the sign says.

Back to my point:  After last week's near miss with going inside Spiller's Records, I decided to meet Sarah Louise Owen in front of the record store.  Sarah is from Caernarfon (my favorite city in Wales right now), but recently moved to Cardiff.

I am trying to get Welsh musicians to come to the US through Boston, and wanted to talk with Sarah so we met at Spiller's.  So, here's the proof:  I met with Sarah, and went to the oldest record store in the world.

#11 on my list of one thousand things to do before I die is accomplished.  I even bought a couple Welsh band CDs while there - under Sarah's watchful eye, and helpful hints.  I wanted to buy one of her CDs but she insisted on me not doing that so she could give me some of them.  We stayed long enough to experience the store, pencil a check on my list (not really), and go to find a place for tea.

Here's Spiller's on the inside.  It is not so exciting as a shop, but the mystique is cool enough to make it worth it if you visit Cardiff, and necessary if you are an audiophile.  Check #11 off on my list!

Near Miss on #11 - Dang.

So there I was in Cardiff.  Looking for a place with wi-fi to connect with Eleri and John.  I needed to touch base about the time we were meeting for dinner at their house.  In the back of my mind I realized I should be quick, because I could accomplish #11 on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die if I had enough time between communicating with people and going to dinner.

Found the Starbucks (a place I hate for internet connections, because I do not like coffee, and am not on their plan, and have to pay for it), connected and talked with Eleri.  Then I made a few more contacts.

I left Starbucks a little after 6pm, and meandered out onto the wonderful market place of Cardiff.  Wide shopping mall lanes, which were once streets, Saint David's Shopping Centre is a comfortable market.  I glanced across the street from Starbucks, and gloriously in front of me was Spiller's Records.

I made haste across the street, and noticed that behind the overly busy windows it looked too dark for browsing inside.  I now stood gloomily in front of the door reading the hours.  Spiller's Records closes at 5:45pm.  Ouch.

 

If you make it Saint David's Mall and are looking for Spiller's here is their website.  If you find yourself near the Cardiff library you are almost there.  Maybe I will see you there.  I still have to make it.

#11 - Go to the world's oldest record store

At this point I am not quite sure how high each of the things on my list I want to do really belong.  It is not easy to number them in importance, or interest.  So I will number them as they come to me.  This does belong on my list of 1,000, and I have a chance of fulfilling it in a couple weeks.

Spillers is the world's oldest record store.  It is in Caerdydd (Cardiff), Wales.  In 1894 the store was opened, and it has remained in business since then.  It is not in the original location, but it is just around the corner in a space they had to move to in 1940, because they needed more room.

For me the experience is increased by the fact that it is in Caerdydd, Wales.  This means that the selection of Welsh music will better than anything I can find in the US.

I will be returning with pics from my stop at Spillers, and will post them here.