Mr Obama, I hope you are looking forward to visiting Cardiff for the NATO conference. Certainly the city is pulling out the stops for you. It’s not a bad city, as cities go. It has a pretty good park by the river, always full of people, a great parkrun every Saturday, a bustling city centre including cafes, an opera house, and a bay too. Actually, thinking about it, you might not notice the river, as they have put up a massive metal, concrete footed, security fence right through the park, I guess the people will be fenced out too, and unfortunately I expect the regular parkrun will surplus to security requirements that weekend. There probably won’t be the usual bustle in town either, as I think they are sealing the city centre while you’re here, so you may not get to see the cafes or the opera house. In fact, you know what, Cardiff will probably end up looking a bit like every other locked down city they send you off to. Which is a bit of a shame... So I had this idea. As leader of the free world, I am guessing you can pretty much do what you like. So, what if, after the conference, you tell the CIA, The White House Staff, the drivers, the snipers, the advisors, and the rest of them, that they are going home and you are staying behind to hang out with us. You can have the spare room (though it’s a single bed so you and Mrs O will have to draw straws for who gets the futon). We can go down the Gower, we can see the park properly after they take all those fences down, we can go for beans on toast in the indoor market once they let us back into town, and maybe cycle down the Taff Trail and see West Side Story at the Millennium Centre, so long as you’re OK with my wife’s bike. I can show you where they shoot Dr Who, and you can tell me what really happened in Roswell. And, if you bring your running shoes, we can do parkrun the following Saturday – I bet you’re a handy runner, right? I’ll check out what films are on at Chapter too. Let’s do Cardiff properly, after all, it’s older than the Independent United States. So send the guys in sunglasses back, clear the diary and give me a shout. It’s a bit mad, I know, but we’re in if you’re in, and I’m prepared to bet you’ll still be talking about it long after you’ve forgotten what went down at the NATO conference. Anyway, what ever you decide, enjoy your visit, keep the world safe and love to the family. X
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:32:58 +0000