: Ymgysylltu â'r Gymuned

Next month Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff will close after almost 108 years of providing mental health services in the capital.

To mark this end of an era, members of the Whitchurch Hospital Historical Society have turned a disused ward into a pop-up museum. For one week only, members of the public, former patients and staff are invited beyond the Hospital’s imposing – some would say forbidding – red brick façade to explore its history from 1908 to the present-day.

An autograph book in cloth

Here at St Fagans, we have a tablecloth in the collection which was made at the Hospital in 1917. It was donated to the Museum in 2014 by the costume designer, Ray Holman, who had bought it at a Cardiff antiques shop in the early 1980s. At first glance, this white cotton tablecloth with a crocheted border looks, quite frankly, a little dull. But this rather unassuming textile hides a multitude of secrets. Look closely and you’ll see faint signatures embroidered in white thread across the entire surface of the cloth – the names of British and American soldiers who were receiving treatment at Whitchurch in 1917.

Military hospital

During the First World War, the Cardiff City Mental Hospital (as Whitchurch was then called) was ceded to the military and became known as the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital (1915 - 1919). Civilian psychiatric patients were moved to other institutions, while injured soldiers requiring orthopaedic treatment occupied their beds. In 1917, 450 beds were allocated for soldiers with mental health conditions.   

The signatures embroidered on the tablecloth include two important figures in the history of psychiatric care in Wales – Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Goodall and Matron Florence Raynes. Goodall, an eminent psychiatrist who trained at Guy’s Hospital in London, was appointed the first Medical Superintendent of Whitchurch in 1906, two years before the Hospital opened. He was awarded a CBE in 1919 for his pioneering treatment of shell shock. Florence Raynes was also a trailblazer in her own right. She was the first sister to have overall responsibility for the entire, male and female, nursing staff.

If you get a chance to visit Whitchurch Hospital this week, please do go. It’s a fascinating exhibition in the most powerful of settings.

With thanks to Gwawr Faulconbridge, Whitchurch Hospital Historical Society, Dr Ian Beech, and to Ray Holman for his generous donation.

End of an Era, Whitchurch Hosptial, 7 - 11 March 2016

The tablecloth will be on display at the Hospital on 11 March, 10am - 1pm

Helo Gyfeillion y Gwanwyn,

Llongyfarchiadau i'r ysgolion sydd wedi rhannu eu cofnodion blodau ar wefan Amgueddfa Cymru:

Cennin Pedr: 

Crocws: 

Cadwch lygad ar eich planhigion, bydd y blodau’n ymddangos unrhyw bryd! Cofiwch rannu eich cofnodion blodau ar wefan Amgueddfa Cymru. Mae fy mlog diwethaf a’r adnodd cadw cofnodion blodau ar y wefan yn rhoi cyngor ar sut i wneud hyn. Pan fydd yr holl blanhigion wedi blodeuo a phawb wedi rhannu eu cofnodion, byddwn ni’n gallu cyfrifo dyddiad blodeuo cyfartalog y Crocws a'r Cennin Pedr. Gallwn ni wedyn gymharu ein canfyddiadau gyda blynyddoedd blaenorol.

Roeddwn i wedi rhagweld y byddai’r planhigion yn blodeuo yn gynharach eleni oherwydd tywydd cynnes Rhagfyr. Ond efallai bod yr oerfel rhwng Ionawr a Mawrth a llai o oriau golau dydd wedi effeithio ar ein bylbiau. Yn y blog nesaf, bydda i’n edrych ar gyfartaleddau a chymharu tywydd eleni â blynyddoedd blaenorol.

Cafwyd rhai sylwadau hyfryd dros yr wythnosau diwethaf sy’n dangos cymaint ydych chi’n gofalu am eich planhigion. Diolch i bob un ohonoch am ofalu mor dda am eich planhigion.

 Daliwch ati gyda'r gwaith da Gyfeillion y Gwanwyn.

Athro’r Ardd

Hello. Here is what has been happening play area wise in St Fagans!

Our artists have been talking to curators and visiting our stores. They now know all about the themes covered in the new galleries and are thinking of ways in which they can incorporate them into the play area design. Some of the themes are food, work, fun - which also covers toys and games (that one might work), customs and folklore, childhood, as well as the perhaps not so appropriate - sleep and death.

We have also been talking about language - having text in the play area, maybe incorporating lullabies and sound into it (or is that too horror film?), sound, music, pigsties, beds and enclosed spaces, gates! (we have a collection of photographs of lots of different gates in the collection, all with different names) roofs! washing.... so much we could do, so many things...

Fern Thomas (supporting artist) has been managing to do research into folk remedies for her own art work - she has been looking at remedies for physical ailments from all around Wales which all seem to say 'wrap a piece of bacon round it' whatever the problem is.

Imogen Higgins (supporting artist) has started documenting all the different play areas in Cardiff and has also started blogging about it. If you know of any interesting ones, perhaps you could let us know?

I went to talk to Woodlands Special Secondary School a couple of weeks ago and some of the students there are going to help us with the design. We have our first meeting this week, so I will let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, please share, comment, and let me know stuff you've come across. Will be updating again soon.

Ysgol Pentrefoelas: Cawsom wythnos wlyb arwahan i ddydd Iau. Disgynnodd y tymheredd yn ystod yr wythnos ac roeddem yn chwarae yn ein capiau a sgarff!

Athro'r Ardd: Helo Ysgol Pentrefoelas, mae'n ddrwg gen i glywed rhydych wedi cael tywydd mo gwael.  Rwy’n siŵr roedd o'n newydd-deb i chwarae yn eich capiau a sgarff! Mae Ysgol Arkholme wedi cael tywydd gwael hefyd, roedd rhaid iddyn nhw ganslo eu gêm bêl-droed: Arkholme CE Primary School: It was so wet that we had to call off our football match on the field. The weather got a bit milder for most of the week though but our bulbs are doing very well despite the weather conditions.

Blackwood Primary School: We have noticed that some of the plants have been growing in the plant pots.

Professor Plant: Fantastic Bulb Buddies, keep a close eye on them and remember to read the ‘keeping flower records’ resource on the website.

East Fulton Primary School: School started back on Wednesday. Some of our plants are showing through the soil.

Professor Plant: Exciting news East Fulton. Watch them closely because they will grow quickly!

Coppull Parish Primary School: Sorry we didn't do Friday. This is the best job EVER.

Professor Plant: Thank you for letting me know and don’t worry about Friday’s data. I’m very happy to hear that you are enjoying the project! If you think that studying the Weather is the best job ever maybe you will become a Meteorologist when you are older!

St Robert's R.C Primary School: We had an INSET day on Friday 12th so we couldn't send the data. Sorry professor!

Professor Plant: Thank you for letting me know St Robert’s RC Primary. Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies.

Shakespeare Primary School: Dear Professor Plant, The temperature has actually been okay this week. But on Tuesday there was a LOT of rain wow I still cannot believe how much rain there was, can you?

Professor Plant: Wow Shakespeare Primary, you must have had some bad weather to collect a high rainfall reading! I hope this week will be dryer for you!

St. Mark's Primary School: The thermometer broke and we were trapped outside in the pouring bucketing rain on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and A refused to wear a jacket on all days.

Professor Plant: Hi St Mark’s Primary, I’m sorry to hear that you were caught in the rain. Thank you for continuing to take weather readings despite the bad weather! Have you fixed or replaced your thermometer? I hope A has started to wear a jacket – it’s been very cold!

Rougemont Junior School: The water in the measuring funnel froze. Which must mean it's getting quite chilly. We melted the ice. That was really fun.

Professor Plant: Hi Rougemont Primary, well done for remembering to take the rain fall reading after the ice had melted. I’m glad you enjoyed the experiment. Keep up the good work!

Drumpark Primary ASN School: We can see the leaves sticking out but not all of them yet.

Professor Plant: It won’t be long now Drumpark. There are some fun experiments you can try once your plants are a bit bigger, have a look at ‘Professor Plant’s investigation ideas’ on the website.

Henllys CIW Primary: We had a minus 2 reading this week brrr but it was before our recording time.

Professor Plant: I hope it starts to get warmer for you Henllys. Well done for taking your readings at the same time each day, and for also looking at how the temperature changes throughout the day. Why do you think it is colder in the mornings than it is in the afternoons?

Severn Primary: We wonder if plants can get too much rain?

Professor Plant: Hi Severn Primary, this is an interesting question! Plants can get too much water. The plant pots you are using have holes in the bottom to drain the excess water so that they don’t become water-logged. You should only water your plants when the surface of the soil is dry. If the soil is damp then your plants won’t need extra watering. Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies.

Craigbank Primary School: This week, there was snow and our plants were covered in ice. Our ice melted and we had a lot of water in our rainfall collector.

Professor Plant: Well done for letting the ice melt before taking your readings Craigbank Primary. Did you notice if the reading was higher before the ice melted or after?

Broad Haven Primary School: A really cold frosty morning on Wednesday ice on the playground. Will it affect our bulbs?

Professor Plant: Hi Broad Haven Primary. Lots of schools have reported colder weather through weeks 2-6. Frost can affect your plant. Usually, cold weather would mean that your bulbs would take longer to grow. However, because we had such a mild December your bulbs will have started growing earlier than normal and should now be sturdy enough to survive short periods of cold weather.

St. John the Baptist Primary School: J saw some flies today and says that the country is warming up and the flies are coming out of hibernation - it is much warmer today! H says it is already starting to turn spring because it has been mostly sunny this week. But, it really snowed on Saturday and some children built snowmen and went sledging but the snow melted very quickly and was away by Monday. The sun is very bright today and it made L's eyes a bit sore. R says it was boiling today compared to what it has been. Interestingly, M saw a bee in her garden this morning, it tried to land on her finger! She says it was a very big bee perhaps a queen.

Professor Plant: Wow St John the Baptist’s, what a busy week! Well done for noting changes in the weather and looking out for the first signs of spring! There are lots of early signs of spring as a result of mild weather throughout December, but the cold snaps keep reminding us that it is still winter! Hopefully the weather will start to get warmer soon!

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School: The weather this week has been variable. We have had sun, rain and snow. The plants have not needed watering but have not grown very much more. On Wednesday we found that the rain gauge had disappeared and we found it on the other side of the garden with a crack in it. We think someone had been playing with it! Fortunately, we don't think it rained that day so no results were lost.

Professor Plant: Hi The Blessed Sacrament Primary, I’m sorry to hear about your broken rain gauge! Do you need another one if it is cracked or have you already replaced it? Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies!

Ysgol Rhys Prichard: It was -6 degrees on Wednesday morning. Frost on the ground all day in the shade.

Professor Plant: My gosh Ysgol Rhys Pritchard, -6 is very cold! I see it warmed up slightly by the time you took your weather readings. Well done for checking on the thermometer throughout the day to see how the temperature changes.

Coppull Parish Primary School: Hello! This week it has been very very cold and muddy we are also training people to do the rain gauge and we are upset that were not gonna do the rain gauge any more! Thanks for the opportunity! Thanks so much from J and L!!!!

Professor Plan: I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the project J and L. Well done for taking the skills you have learnt and training other people to use the rain gauge. You really are Super Scientists!

Stanford in the Vale Primary School: What a bitter cold week! All our water butts have been frozen solid, we have had lots of fun playing with the ice we have found around the school grounds, and endless experiments!

Professor Plant: Hi Stanford in the Vale Primary. I’m glad you have been having fun despite the cold weather! I’d love to hear more about the experiments you have been doing with ice! There are lots of great weather experiments to be found on the MET Office website:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/weather-for-kids/experiments

Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies!!

While Nils, Fern and Imogen get stuck into searching archives and stores, looking at the Museum's collections and working with visitors and groups to get their ideas, how about we think about what play areas we like? what local ones have you played in or taken children to and they loved? what ones have you been to that you didn't like? have you seen play areas that just look amazing? What makes a playground good? what do want from a playground? does it have to look nice? does it have to look like a playground? I'd be really interested in hearing your thoughts and ideas.

Meanwhile, I have been collecting images of play areas which I think are good design, look fun, are imaginative, look exciting... i'm not suggesting we have a play area exactly like these in St Fagans, but it wouldn't it be great to have something different and unexpected?