Tributes have been paid to a beloved ice cream seller who has died. Great-grandmother Ida Cardinale served customers at Victoria Park in Cardiff for over 50 years and became a well-known figure in the local community with her bubbly and kind personality.
After opening her family business with her husband Luigi in 1965, Ida carried on selling into her eighties and was adamant that she had no plans to retire. Known affectionately as 'Mamma' - a nickname after which her business was named - she sold thousands of ice creams out of a van in the Canton park, before moving into her own kiosk called 'Mamma's place' in 1997.
Sadly, on May 3, Ida passed away at the age of 83. Floral tributes have been left outside the cafe in Victoria Park, with customers and local residents paying their respects to the much-loved seller. Read more: Restaurant owner gives entire £1,000 bill of 'arrogant, rich' diners to server who they 'treated like crap'
Ida's daughter, Anna Cardinale, said that her mum "absolutely loved" the job which she had held over seven different decades. "She loved talking to customers and everyone at the park," she said. "She was always mingling and socialising, it wasn't just a job to her, it was like her social life as well.
"She really enjoyed meeting different people, but everyone knew her as Mamma. I remember I was in the kiosk one day and I called out to her, 'Mamma', and a man who was waiting to be served said: 'Oh, you call her Mamma too do you?'. I told him: 'Yes I do, she's my mum!'. But she was Mamma to everyone.
"We've obviously had to shut the shop for a couple of days since she passed away. My nephew went up to the park the other day just to check on things and he was gone for three hours because of all the people who stopped him to ask questions about Mamma and reminisce about their times with her. She met so many people and they all loved her."
After growing up in Italy, Ida moved to Leicester in the 1950s, where she met her husband Luigi and had three children with him. The couple then moved to Cardiff in 1960, bringing with them a love of traditional Italian gelato.
When Luigi was made redundant from his job in a car factory, the couple decided to start their own business and bought an ice cream van together. They opened for business on Easter weekend in 1965 and crowds of punters rushed to their window as they sounded their chimes.
Speaking to WalesOnline in 2015, Ida reflected on her long career selling ice cream and how customers' tastes have changed. "The most popular ice cream in those days was called a Super Zoom," she recalled. "But the favourite has always been a 99 Flake - I must have sold thousands of those over the years."
As business boomed, the couple bought a second van and Luigi sold ice creams in the Valleys, while Ida continued to work in Victoria Park. The couple named their business after Ida's nickname - 'Mamma' - with Mamma's Place celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Ida continued to work in her van for more than 30 years, until Cardiff Council offered her the opportunity to move into a permanent kiosk next to what is now the popular splashpad. "I jumped at the chance," she said. "I had always wanted my own cafe. It's a lovely spot, right next to the pool. I can't complain."
After Luigi died in 2004, the family commissioned a bench in his memory, which sits next to the cafe. Helped by her daughter and grandson, Ida remained adamant that she had no plans to retire. Speaking in 2015, she said: "Why would I want to retire? I love my job."
Having turned 80 in 2018, she began to step away from selling ice cream, with her family taking over duties. However, she would still be at the kiosk every day, smiling and chatting away with customers.
"It was her life," said Anna. "She absolutely loved it. In the last two years, she hadn't been working as she was getting older and couldn't really manage it anymore - but she was still there every day. She just loved being there and talking to customers. We used to have a joke in our family that she would still be going there on a zimmerframe, which she did."
"I'm not surprised that so many people have paid tribute to her, she was a very popular character. To us, she will be remembered as an excellent mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She just lived for the children, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as her work."
