: Ymgysylltu â'r Gymuned

Hi Everyone! Uri Guide Dog here, the new doggie bloggist taking over from my big bro Arnie, who’s now retired. I’ve been getting to know National Museum Cardiff very well as it’s one of my mum’s favourite places EVER!

We went to the Museum’s audio tour about Victorian art recently. The paintings and sculptures were beautifully described by the human guides. I was listening intently, even if it did look like I was having a little snooze next to mum. That’s just my listening face.

Anyway I had the chance to meet up with a few colleagues, Guide Dogs Ruby and Alfie, who were also keeping their two-leggeds safe. But we were surprised to find other dogs at the Museum!

I should have known something was up as soon as I arrived… Outside, after a doggie relief moment, I bumped into a colourful dog just sitting on the grass! A beauty, too! I couldn’t believe my luck! But she didn't respond to my waggy tail or my friendly bow. Rude, I thought, but I took a sneaky selfie anyway. Then, inside, I was even more surprised to find a whole pack of multi-coloured pups! I met Oakly, Abi, Smileosaur, Percy and Doris.

Mum explained these are ‘Snowdogs’, and that just like me these are helping dogs too. Except they are made of fiberglass, not fur. They have been made as part of an appeal to help Tŷ Hafan, the children’s hospice in Wales. These sculptural dogs have been decorated by local artists, schools and community groups, and you can follow the Snowdogs: Tails in Wales trail to find them all around Cardiff and the Vale!

As we sat next to the dogs a little girl came up to say hello. She gave me a cuddle and said she was from Marlborough Primary School and had actually helped decorate Percy the pup! Everyone in her class had put a fingerprint on a red background to create a flower pattern on their dog. She was very proud of their work. I told her Percy is PAW-SOME. He really is.

Apparently the Snowdog was chosen because it features in a film, based on a character created by Raymond Briggs. The Snowdog helps a boy deal with the loss of his pet dog by taking him on a magical adventure.

The pack of Snowdogs are going to be sold at auction after the public exhibition and trail finishes. The money raised will help support lots of children and their families, proving that Guide Dogs are not the only dogs who change lives. Good job guys! 

The Museum's next Audio Description Tour takes place on 7^th December

We have been working hard over the last few years to make our museums more welcoming for visitors with visual impairments, but most of our efforts to date have been aimed at adults. That is until a few weeks ago, when we held our first ever fun day for families supporting a loved one with a visual impairment. The dinosaur-themed event, organised in association with the Children and Young People Services team at Guide Dogs Cymru, proved a roaring success.

We began the day with our popular Sounds of the Dinosaurs workshop. This gave everyone a chance to hold some real dinosaur fossils and get a basic introduction to the topic. Once the scene was set, everyone took part in our noisy dinosaur story, Albie the Adventurer. Using recorders, shakers and trumpets, the children had lots of fun recreating the sounds of the prehistoric forest.

Once we finished the story (and our ears stopped ringing), we paused for tea and cake before venturing out into the galleries. Heading straight to the Dinosaur Babies exhibition, we were joined by museum staff who gave a special sensory guided tour. As the exhibition is full of touchable dinosaur bones and eggs (both replica and real), it made for the perfect tour. Visitors even got to compare an Apatosaurus leg bone with a cow's, and listen to the scary roars of the animatronic dinosaur!   

After the tour, we visited the activity area at the back of the exhibition. There, the children made dinosaur artworks, completed a jigsaw and even dressed up as a T. rex! Finally, everyone got the chance to become a palaeontologist and explore the dig pit. One young visitor even proclaimed, "I wish we could all live in the museum so we could play every day!"

We're still learning about events like this, but thanks to everyone at Guide Dogs Cymru, the day ran very smoothly. We're hoping to do more family days in the future, so if anyone has any ideas, or would like to take part, please get in touch! If you’re unfamiliar with our work to make our museums more accessible, find more information on the blog. There are posts on staff training, work with our youth forum, and of course our friends Arnie and Uri, the blogging guide dogs.

The programme of learning activities for Dinosaur Babies is generously supported by Western Power Distribution.

Hi, it’s me Mike, volunteer curator with The Wallich working on a new exhibition called ‘Who Decides: Making Connections with Contemporary Art’. The old exhibition that was in the gallery has come down, it’s totally empty now.

So we are going to start this new exhibition; with new art, photos and films that you won’t have seen before. You can see some of my favourite pieces. I really hope you enjoy this new exhibition.

 ‘Who Decides: Making Connections with Contemporary Art’ opens on October 26^th 2017. More information here and here

Throughout 2017 the Museum has been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Oakdale Workmen’s Institute with a variety of projects, all aimed at bringing the building alive again. One of these projects has involved cataloguing the books housed in the Institute’s Library.

When the building opened in 1917, the Circulating Library operated out of the Book Room (which is now the ladies lavatories), it wasn’t until 1932 that it was relocated into the current room, due to outgrowing its space.

The Book Committee was responsible for choosing and purchasing the books, and they purchased a wide variety of different subjects. There is a note in the Committee Minutes that in 1918 a book of “questionable character” was to be burned, but not before the Committee had been allowed to read it, if they so desired!

The rules for using the Library allowed for one book per member for 14 days, although in 1928 that was increased to two, so as to allow members to choose a book for their wives. And, in 1933 they decided to set up a children’s section in the Library.

The Library was well used, the minutes record the poor state of repair of the book stock due to overuse, at one point 300 to 500 books were being loaned each month. However, the Library was closed and the books dispersed when a branch of the County Library opened in 1967.

The Institute then closed entirely in 1987, before being relocated to St Fagans, where it was rebuilt and reopened to the public in 1995. At this time many other Workmen’s Institutes donated items from their buildings, and now the Library holds a mix of books from across many of those areas.

A keen group of volunteers came together to in May 2017, to start working on writing out book record cards. These would then be housed alphabetically in wooden drawers, allowing visitors to browse through the contents of the library shelves, much as original users of the Institute’s Library would have done.

As we copied out the details of each book, one by one, we had the opportunity to discuss the wide range of material available to the Institute’s members. The collection included technical manuals, classic works, poetry, sermons and bible stories, mysteries, thrillers and adventure stories, and political works.

The mystery and adventure novels certainly seemed the most popular, judging by the amount of date stamps in the front. However, probably the really popular books didn’t survive, as the wear and tear on them would have been the greatest.

We found many books in the library with the distinctive red covers of the Left Book Club, a publishing group founded by Victor Gollancz in 1936, with the aim to “help in the struggle for world peace and against fascism”. It offered members a monthly book choice, and the Book Committee at Oakdale joined in 1937.

We also found a number of books which had been part of the Boots Booklovers Library, an initiative that many of us hadn’t heard of before. From 1899 till 1966 Boots ran a subscription based lending library out of their chemist branches, at one point more than 400 branches across the UK were participating in the scheme. Many of the books had a distinctive green badge, identifying them as part of the Boots Library, and were probably donated after the closure of the branches.

A large collection of books that came originally from the Nantymoel Workmen’s Hall, donated by a father in 1952 in remembrance of his son. They were copies of the 100 Best Books collection from Sir John Lubbock's choice of books. This was a list originally compiled in 1886, after a speech given at the Working-Men’s College in London, on the best books for self-education.

We admired how attractive some of the books looked, with stunning illustrations or cover designs. There were a number dating from the 1930s, published by Gwasg Aberystwyth which had very striking designs, including a copy of Y crefftwr yng Nghymru (The craftsman in Wales) by Iorwerth C. Peate, founder of St Fagans National Museum of History!

Fel arfer Mis Hanes LGBT ym mis Chwefror yn frith o erthyglau a digwyddiadau yn ymwneud â chyfeiriadedd rhywiol, hunaniaeth, a’u hanes. Ond ddylai hanes byth gael ei gyfyngu i un mis, felly ar achlysur Pride Cymru yng Nghaerdydd, dyma gyfle da i ystyried hanes LGBT.

Stori ar Blât

Ystyriwch, er enghraifft, y plât yn nghasgliad Amgueddfa Cymru ag arno olygfa o ddwy fenyw yn marchogaeth. Mae’n un o filoedd o eitemau crochenwaith printio troslun glas a gwyn fu mor boblogaidd ers y 19eg ganrif. Ond mae’r llun hwn yn fwy nag addurn.

Plât, Crochendy Morgannwg, oddeutu 1813-1839

“Menywod Llangollen” yw teitl y gwaith, a ysbrydolwyd gan hanes dwy fenyw – y Fonesig Eleanor Butler a Miss Sarah Ponsonby.

Taniwyd fflam rhwng Eleanor a Sarah gartref yn Iwerddon, a chan ofni’r atyniad hwn rhwng dwy ferch, ceisiodd y ddau deulu eu gwahardd rhag gweld ei gilydd. Yn benderfynol o fod gyda’i gilydd, dihangodd y ddwy liw nos, ond cawsant eu dal ymhen fawr o dro. Brwydrodd Eleanor a Sarah yn ddiflino am yr hawl i fod gyda’i gilydd tan i’w teuluoedd ildio, a gadel iddynt fynd.

Teithiodd y ddwy i Gymru ac ymgartrefu ger Llangollen, gan fyw yno am dros 50 mlynedd.

Enwogrwydd 'Menywod Llangollen'

Lledodd yr hanes amdanynt yn gyflym, a byddent yn llythyra gydag enwogion megis Shelley, Byron, Syr Walter Scott, Dug Wellington, Josiah Wedgewood a Caroline Lamb, gyda nifer yn ymweld â’r ddwy yn Llangollen. Parhaodd y diddordeb yn y cwpl wedi eu marw ym 1829 a 1831 ac erbyn heddiw maent yn adnabyddus fel un o’r cyplau lesbiaidd enwocaf erioed.

Roedd y ddwy yn bendant yn ystod eu bywydau nad oedden nhw am gael llun neu bortread wedi’i dynnu.

Ond pan ymwelodd y Fonesig Parker ym 1829, perswadiodd ei mam i ddwyn sylw Eleanor a Sarah tra’i bod hithau’n creu brasluniau cyflym o dan y bwrdd. Erbyn hynny roedd Eleanor yn hollol ddall, felly llwyddodd y Fonesig Parker i fraslunio’i hwyneb yn llawn, tra bod Sarah mewn proffil. Wedi i’r cwpwl farw, datblygodd y brasluniau yn ddarlun llawn o’r ddwy yn eu llyfrgell a gwerthu copïau i godi arian at elusennau.

Portread o'r Foneddiges Eleanor Butler a Sarah Ponsonby, wedi'i ddarlunio ar sail sgets cyfrin a wnaethpwyd yn eu cartref yn Llangollen

Dwyn Portread 

Oddeutu 1830 copïwyd y darlun heb ganiatâd gan James Henry Lynch ac ef gynhyrchodd y darlun mwyaf adnabyddus o Eleanor a Sarah. Masgynhyrchwyd y darlun a’i ddefnyddio ar amryw o nwyddau megis cofroddion twristiaid, cardiau post a chloriau nifer o lyfrau.

Portread 'Lynch' o'r Foneddiges Eleanor Butler a Sarah Ponsoby, wedi'i gopïo yn helaeth o'r portread 'Llyfrgell'. Fe werthwyd nifer sylweddol o'r print hwn.

Mae darlun Lynch yn eu dangos yn sefyll yn yr awyr agored ac yn gwisgo’r clogynnau marchogaeth oedd yn gymaint o ffefryn gan y dwy. Ymddangosodd y gwaith tua diwedd y cyfnod o ddiddordeb cyhoeddus ym mywyd Eleanor a Sarah; erbyn troad y 19eg ganrif roedd hanes y menywod wedi lledu a nifer yn cyhoeddi eu stori.

Ysgrifennodd William Wordsworth gerdd ym 1824 ar ôl ymweld â’r ddwy. Ymddangosodd y crochenwaith felly mewn cyfnod pan oedd diddordeb mawr yn eu hanes.

Crochenwaith Morgannwg a Hanes 'Plât Llangollen'

Mae’r plât cyntaf yn dangos y ddwy ar eu ceffylau yn siarad â gwr yn cario pladur dros ei ysgwydd. Yn y cefndir mae gyrr o wartheg, tref Llangollen, afon Dyfrdwy a fersiwn hynod ramantus o gastell Dinas Brân.

Gwyddom ddyddiad cynhyrchu cynharaf y plât o stamp y gwneuthurwr ar y gwaelod – ‘BB&I’, sef Baker, Bevin and Irwin o Grochendy Morgannwg ac a ddefnyddiwyd oddeutu 1815-25. Daeth yn un o blatiau enwocaf y crochendy hwnnw. Er bod Eleanor a Sarah yn frwd dros gadw dyddiaduron, ac i’r gwaith gael ei gynhyrchu yn ystod bywydau’r ddwy, nid oes sôn amdano yn eu hysgrifau. Wyddon ni ddim os oeddent yn gwybod am fodolaeth y platiau neu wedi cytuno i gael eu portreadu yn y fath fodd.

Ym 1838 daeth Crochendy Morgannwg dan reolaeth y gwr busnes o Abertawe Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn ac fe barhaodd i gynhyrchu’r platiau dan stampiau Morgannwg, Abertawe a Cambrian tan oddeutu 1840. Mae’n debygol ei fod yn defnyddio’r un dyluniad yng Nghrochendy Cambrian ym 1925; roedd cystadleuaeth gref rhwng y ddau grochendy a byddent yn aml yn copïo gwaith ei gilydd.[1]

Y cyswllt rhyfeddol yma yw taw un o aelodau enwocaf teulu Lewis oedd Amy Dillwyn. Menyw fusnes oedd Amy, ac yn ogystal a bod yn nofelydd blaenllaw, hi gymerodd yr awenau yng ngweithfeydd sinc ei thad wedi iddo farw.

Roedd Amy hefyd mewn perthynas hoyw. Braf yw breuddwydio bod Amy, wedi gweld plât Crochendy Morgannwg, wedi dwyn perswâd ar ei thad i’w gynhyrchu yng Nghrochendy Cambrian, ond nid oes unrhyw dystiolaeth o hyn.

Manylun o blât glas yn dangos darlun o Sarah Ponsonby ac Eleanor Butler © Norena Shopland

Manylun o blât glas yn dangos darlun o Sarah Ponsonby ac Eleanor Butler © Norena Shopland

Mae’n anodd dweud os taw plât Crochendy Morgannwg oedd y cyntaf i gael ei gynhyrchu, neu plât gan  William Adams o Stoke. Ladies of Llangollen yw enw’r dyluniad hwn hefyd, gyda dwy fenyw mewn clogynnau marchogaeth yn sefyll dros ŵr sydd yn dangos pysgodyn mawr i’r ddwy. Yn y cefndir mae’r ceffylau, ac yn y pellter mae dau ŵr mewn cwch ar afon gyda phont drosti a bwthyn gwerinol ar y lan. Ar y gorwel mae mynydd Cadair Bedwyr.

Cynhyrchodd Adams gyfres grochenwaith dan y teitl ‘Native’ yn y 1820au, ac roedd y plât hwn yn rhan o’r gyfres honno. Yn fuan caffaelwyd y dyluniad gan F. ac R. Pratt o Fenton, Swydd Stafford gan ailenwi’r gyfers yn ‘Pratt’s Native Scenery’ a’i hatgynhyrchu rhwng 1880 a 1920. Prynwyd y busnes gan Cauldon yn y 1920au a cynhyrchwyd yr un dyluniad tan y 1930au.

Mae diddordeb mawr o hyd ym mywydau Eleanor a Sarah, yn enwedig wrth i ni drafod y diffiniad o berthynas lesbiaid yn y gorffennol. Er gwaetha’r diddordeb, prin yw’r sylw a roddir i’r crochenwaith glas a gwyn yma, a peth da yw cofio bod y gweithiau yma yn rhan o gasgliad LGBT Amgueddfa Cymru.

NORENA SHOPLAND

Awdur Forbidden Lives: LGBT stories from Wales a gyhoeddir gan wasg Seren, 17eg o Hydref, 2017

Gwefan: http://www.rainbowdragon.org