The Mary Poppins Ghost of Cardiff Bay

The Mary Poppins Ghost of Cardiff Bay?

It sounds ridiculous – and it probably is – but it was making headlines in 2009 when a strange image on Google Street View caused quite a stir.

The snapshot appeared to show a woman in Victorian-looking clothing floating outside the Wales Millennium Centre. What was going on?

In this video, I head to Cardiff Bay to revisit the spot where the so-called Mary Poppins Ghost was photographed and look at how a very early piece of Google Street View technology managed to concoct a ghost story that some people spooked.

And if that wasn’t enough, while I’m in Cardiff Bay, I manage to shoehorn in Roald Dahl, Ivor Novello, the old Tiger Bay docks and the Torchwood secret lair beneath the Wales Millennium Centre.

And then, because I happened to be at the Millennium Centre to see two particularly Gothic operas from Welsh National Opera, there’s a little bit of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex thrown in for good measure. Short review: I loved the spooky opening to Bluebeard!

Watch the video below or check it out on YouTube:

Finally, under the light of a nearly full and very Gothic moon, I ponder the slightly bigger question: as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated – particularly with AI – what does that mean for ghost hunting and paranormal evidence?

Will some of the things we accept today look as obvious to future generations as the Google Street View image looks to us now?

Oh, and there was supposed to be a sunset at the end but, alas, I missed it.

Until next time… nos da!

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