Stori SS Arandora Star yn eich dosbarth: Hydref 2020

Leisa Williams, 11 Medi 2020

Yma yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol y Glannau ein nod yw i groesawu a rhoi profiad byw, unigryw o Gymru, ei phobl a’r diwydiannau sydd wedi siapio ein gwlad a’n cymdeithas i ddisgyblion ysgol. Rydyn ni yn yr Amgueddfa wedi bod yn rhan o bartneriaeth arloesol am 15 mlynedd a mwy gyda Theatr na nÓg, Amgueddfa Abertawe a Technocamps. Mae’n bartneriaeth unigryw i Gymru, os nad Prydain.  Mae’n cyfuno theatr byw gyda chasgliadau lleol a chenedlaethol ac arbenigedd Technocamps mewn cyfres o weithdai cyffrous.

Eleni, fe ddaw Theatr na nÓg â stori bwysig yr Arandora Star, a suddodd 80 mlynedd yn ôl, yn fyw i ddisgyblion ar draws Cymru drwy ddrama radio gyffrous. Bydd y ddrama eleni yn canolbwyntio ar Lina, merch ifanc sy'n byw yn Abertawe sy'n wynebu dyfodol ansicr ar ôl i'r Eidal ymuno â'r Rhyfel yn 1940. Mae ei thad yn cael ei gymryd o'u caffi bach yn Abertawe ac yn cael ei gludo ar yr Arandora Star. Collodd 805 o bobl eu bywydau, gan gynnwys Cymry o dras Eidalaidd, oedd ar eu ffordd i wersylloedd yng Nghanada.

Fe fydd hi’n flwyddyn go wahanol eleni yn sgil Covid-19 i ni ac i’r disgyblion. Fel arfer ar yr adeg yma o’r flwyddyn, fe fydden ni’n brysur yn gorffen paratoi gweithdai ‘hands-on’ cyffrous, yn barod i groesawu miloedd o blant ysgol drwy ddrysau'r Amgueddfa ond eleni mae pethau’n wahanol iawn i bob un ohonom. Gyda Covid-19 a'r cyfnod clo a ddilynodd daeth yn amlwg na fydden ni’n gallu dilyn yr un drefn - rhaid oedd bod yn fwy creadigol! Felly, gyda ein tîm bach, wnaethon ni fynd ati i greu gweithdy digidol, gyda ffilmiau byrion ac adnodd athrawon i gyd-fynd â’r ddrama radio ar The Arandora Star, gan ganolbwyntio ar stori technoleg ac arloesedd yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd.

Felly yng ngweithdai digidol yr Amgueddfa byddwn yn cyflwyno cymeriad Capten Edward Morgan o’r Llynges Frenhinol. Bydd yn tywys dysgwyr trwy manylion y suddo a chyflwyno dyfeisiau a thechnoleg y cyfnod. Mae yna becyn ar gyfer athrawon gyda cyfres o wersi ag awgrymiadau er mwyn gwneud gwaith estynedig sy’n cyd-fynd â Chwricwlwm i Gymru 2022.Fe fydd y cynnwys i gyd ar gael drwy app gwych Theatr Na nÓg.

Queer lives celebrated: LGBTQ+ Tours at National Museum Cardiff

Dan Vo, 27 Awst 2020

Just prior to lockdown we were able to run the first LGBTQ+ tours at the National Museum Cardiff which were created in partnership with Pride Cymru. As the doors unlock and visitors can start to return to the museum and also to mark and celebrate Pride Cymru 2020, I would like to share with you my favourite set of objects from the tours.

Teithiau LGBTQ+
© Dan Vo @DanNouveau

An Encounter with May and Mary

Clasbau llawes a wnaed gan May Morris (1862-1938)

When I first saw the exquisite silver sleeve clasps with a centrally suspended chrysoprase teardrop gemstone flanked by two apple-green orbs, I was utterly charmed. What rooted me to the spot and caused goosebumps to tickle my skin though was the name of the owner and the donor: Miss May Morris, given by Miss M. F. V. Lobb.

Echoing in my mind was a talk, The Great Wings of Silence, that I’d seen Dr Sean Curran deliver at an LGBT+ History Month event at the V&A museum on their relationship. Curran also wrote about May Morris (1862-1938) and Mary Frances Vivian Lobb (1879-1939) saying, “people like Mary Lobb and May Morris are part of a still barely visible queer heritage that can contribute to legitimising contemporary queer identities”.

I felt what I was seeing was evidence of their relationship. Though, as it turns out, there are two great collections that hold jewellery made by May and gifted by Mary, National Museum Cardiff and my ‘home collection’ of the V&A. Somewhat ironic! 

 

The Welsh Connection

The link between May and the V&A, I think, is easy to deduce: William Morris had significant influence in the early years of the V&A and after he died May, a respected artist in her own right, carried on his work teaching about good design principles and maintained a strong relationship with the museum. 

While the Morris family were proud of their Welsh ancestry, the question of how May’s jewellery ended up specifically at National Museum Cardiff involves a curious path that takes in sites from all across Wales, and certainly affirms the significant relationship between May and Mary.

May was a skilled jewellery maker and embroiderer and took charge of the embroidery department of her father’s renowned company Morris & Co. when she was 23. By the time Mary came into her life, May was living alone in the Morris family summer residence, Kelmscott Manor in the Cotswold.

Mary was from a Cornish farming family and during the First World War and as an early recruit to the Women’s Land Army she was involved in demonstrations showing how women could support the war efforts, even making the news with a headline “Cornish Woman Drives Steam Roller”!

At some point after the war, Mary joined May at Kelmscott Manor and the couple became a familiar sight, even attending local events together. Then, perhaps as it is for some now, not everyone was sure what to make of the relationship: Mary has been variously described as Morris’s close companion, housekeeper, cook, and even bodyguard!

When May died in 1938 she bequeathed her personal effects and £12,000 to Mary, an amount larger than any she left to anyone else. She also secured the tenure of Kelmscott for the rest of Mary’s life, however, Mary tragically died five months later in 1939. In those short months, Mary arranged the donation of May’s jewellery as well as her own scrapbooks to the National Library of Wales.

The scrapbooks were not given much consideration and were broken up and scattered across various sections of the library. It was researcher Simon Evans who began slowly reassembling the collection, and as he did so started to realise the significance and how it helps paint a clearer picture of the relationship between May and Mary.

Rediscovered items include watercolour landscapes painted by May, which suggests the pair traveled extensively together across Wales with journeys including Cardigan, Gwynedd, Swansea, Talyllyn and Cader Idris (one of my favourite images of the couple is a photograph from the William Morris Gallery that shows them camping in the Welsh countryside).

 

The Queer Perspective

Sandwiched in the scrapbooks is also a cryptic note in a letter from May to Mary, "after posting letter, I just grasped the thread at the end of yours, and having grasped (how slow of me!) I will be most careful.” 

To contextualise, Evans also describes a postcard (at Kelmscott Manor), written on a trip in Wales, in which Mary asked someone back at the Manor to send Morris’s shawl which is in "our" bedroom, which seems to put to bed the rumour May and Mary shared a room. Further, writer and curator Jan Marsh concludes in her book Jane and May Morris by saying the relationship between May and Mary was, in contemporary terms, a lesbian one.

Teithiau LGBTQ+
© Dan Vo @DanNouveau

Through the jewelry gifted to the National Museum Cardiff we have a small glimpse of two lives intertwined, an intimate relationship between May and Mary that was full of love, care, and concern for each other. Theirs is one story among many on the free volunteer-led LGBTQ+ tours, which will return in the future when it is safe to do so.

In the meantime, labels for 18 objects have now been written that help highlight works with an LGBTQ+ connection for visitors. Connected to the May and Mary is a stunning hair ornament, which resembles a tiara, formed by floral shapes studded with pearls, opals, and garnets with silver leaves, all meeting symmetrically in the middle of the head. 

There are landscapes and a self-portrait by Swansea born painter Cedric Morris and several portraits by the renowned Gwen John who hails from Haverfordwest, as well as a bust of her by lover Rodin. Other highlights include works by Francis Bacon, John Minton, Christopher Wood, and 'Brunette' - a ceramic bust of Hollywood star Greta Garbo by Susie Cooper.

It is also now possible to explore the museum’s queer collection online by searching for ‘LGBTQ’ in the Collections Online. This will allow you to see works like The Wounded Amazon by Conwy sculptor John Gibson, a painting of Fisher Boys by Methyr Tydfil born artist Penry Williams (Gibson and Williams lived together in Rome and are understood to be lovers), and a ceramic plate that features perhaps the most famous lesbian couple in history, the Ladies of Llangollen, who lived together at Plâs Newydd. 

It is a joy and a privilege to be able to share the rich history of Welsh queer culture in such a historic place. I'm pleased to say the tours and the related research are merely just getting started! There are so many more stories to be found and told, many that will take us down interesting intersectional paths too. So do stay tuned for more from the National Museum Cardiff and Pride Cymru volunteers. 

For now I wish you a happy Pride. However you’re celebrating it, I hope it’s with as much sparkle as May and Mary’s glamorous bling! 

Arweinwyr teithiau LGBTQ+


Dan Vo is a freelance museum consultant who founded the V&A LGBTQ+ Tours and developed the Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd National Museum Cardiff LGBTQ+ Tours. He is currently the project manager and lead researcher of the Queer Heritage and Collections Nework, a subject specialist network supported by the Art Fund formed of a partnership between the National Trust, English Heritage, Historic England, Historic Royal Palaces and the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (University of Leicester).

Ysbrydoliaeth o Natur

Stephen Williams, 4 Awst 2020

Mae llawer o brosesau diwydiannol wedi'u hysbrydoli gan natur, a gellid eu hystyried yn estyniad mecanyddol o broses law draddodiadol a oedd yn defnyddio pethau o fyd natur. Mae'r Gigiwr yn enghraifft wych o hyn. Dyma ychydig am y peiriant hynod hwn sy'n gymysgedd o'r naturiol a'r dynol.

Gigwr

Yn draddodiadol, byddai pobl yn defnyddio teilai neu 'lysiau'r cribwr' i gribo arwyneb y brethyn gwlân gwlyb gyda phennau pigog llysiau’r cribwr er mwyn ei wneud yn feddal ac yn fflwffiog. Yr enw ar hyn yw ‘codi’r geden’.

Dyfeisiwyd y peiriant hwn i gyflymu’r broses a’i gwneud yn fwy effeithiol. Mae’r gigwr yn cynnwys 3000 o lysiau’r cribwr pigog mewn ffrâm haearn ac fe’i gyrrir gan drydan.

Roedd y brethyn yn symud dros lysiau’r cribwr, gan roi gorffeniad mwy gwastad a fflwffiog iddo.

Y Gigiwr a theilau yn Amgueddfa Wlân Cymru

Mae’r gigwr yn gymysgedd diddorol o’r naturiol a'r diwydiannol. Roedd yn cyfuno prosesau a wnaed â llaw yn y gorffennol â pheirianneg fanwl – sef dyfodol y diwydiant tecstilau.

Byddai ‘Dyn Llysiau’r Cribwr’ yn teithio o un felin i’r llall i adnewyddu llysiau’r cribwr yn y gigwyr. Roedd y gwaith hwn yn gofyn am grin dipyn o fedr gan fod rhaid trefnu pennau llysiau’r cribwr yn ofalus er mwyn sicrhau bod y brethyn yn cael ei orffen yn wastad. Roedd y rhan fwyaf o lysiau’r cribwr yn dod o erddi arbenigol yng Ngwlad yr Haf.

Gwyddonydd Gwych 2020

Penny Dacey, 3 Awst 2020

Hoffai Amgueddfa Cymru longyfarch y 4,463 o ddisgyblion o ar draws y DU a enillodd gydnabyddiaeth Gwyddonydd Gwych am eu cyfraniad i'r ymchwiliad Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn i Ysgolion 2019-2020.

Llongyfarchiadau anferth i bob un o’r ysgolion! Diolch am weithio mor galed yn plannu, arsylwi a chofnodi, rydych yn wir yn Wyddonwyr Gwych!

Diolch yn fawr i Ymddiriedolaeth Edina am eu nawdd ac am helpu i wireddu’r project.

 

Gwyddonydd Gwych 2020:

Enillwyr / Winners

Cymru / Wales: Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tonyrefail

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: Holy Cross Girls' Primary School

Lloegr / England: St Michael's CE Aided Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland: Gavinburn Primary School

 

Yn Ail / Runners up

Cymru / Wales: Bryncoch CiW Primary School

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland: Greenhaw Primary School

Lloegr / England: King's Meadow Academy

Yr Alban / Scotland: Penpont Primary School

 

Clod Uchel / Highly Commended

Cymru / Wales:

St Paul's CiW Primary

St. Julian's Primary

St. Robert's Catholic Primary

Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland:

Steelstown Primary School

Lloegr / England:

Arkholme C of E Primary School

Bursar Primary Academy

Clifton Primary School

Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

St Austins Catholic Primary School

Stoneferry Primary School

Woodfield Primary

Yr Alban / Scotland:

Dalbeattie Primary School

St Fergus' Primary School

St John Ogilvie Primary School

 

Cydnabyddiaeth arbennig / Special Recognition

Cymru / Wales:

Blaendulais Primary School

Bro Pedr

Broad Haven

Carreghofa C P School

Darran Park Primary

Evenlode Primary

Ferryside V.C.P School

Gaer Primary School

Henllys C/W Primary

Litchard Primary School

Llanedeyrn Primary School

Llanharan Primary School

Pil Primary School

Sofrydd Primary School

St Athan Primary

St Joseph's Cathedral Primary School

Tonyrefail Community School

Ysgol Deganwy

Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant

Ysgol Llwyn yr Eos

Ysgol San Sior

Lloegr / England:

Canon Peter Hall Primary School

Fieldhead Primary Academy

Fleet Wood Lane Primary School

Hudson Road Primary School

Oldfleet Primary School

Stanford in the Vale Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland:

Carnbroe Primary School

Earlston Primary School

Greenburn School

Lawefield Primary School

Sanquhar Primary School

St Mungo Primary

Whatriggs Primary School

 

Gwyddonwyr Gwych / Super Scientists

Cymru / Wales:

Dyffryn Cledlyn

Aberdare Park Primary School

Albert Primary School

Blaengwrach Primary

Garth primary School

Georgetown Primary

Hendredenny Park Primary

High Cross Primary School

Llangan Primary School

Maesgwyn Special School

NPTC Newtown College

St. Michael's RC Primary

Ty Isaf Infants School

White Rose Primary School

Y Berllan Deg

Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa

Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan

Gogledd Iwerddon / Northern Ireland:

Auchencairn Primary School

John Paul II Primary School

Newbuildings Primary School

Saint Patrick's Primary School

St Anne's Primary School

St Paul's Primary and Nursery School

Lloegr / England:

Adelaide Primary School

Bardney CofE Primary School

Castleford Park Junior Academy

Chorley St James CE Primary

Dunstall Hill Primary School

Garstang St Thomas C.E. Primary

Gonerby Hill Foot C E Primary School

North Road Primary School

Sandal Magna Community Academy

St Helen's C of E Primary School

St Michael's Church of England Aided Primary School

St Peter's Catholic Primary School

Yr Alban / Scotland:

Cummertrees Primary School

Drummore Primary School

Gelston Primary School

Glenluce Primary School

Gordon Primary School

Laurieknowe Primary School

Locharbriggs Primary School

Loreburn Primary School

New Abbey Primary School

Newmains Primary School

Our Lady of Peace Primary School

Saint Anthony's Primary School

Sheuchan Primary School

Wormit Primary School

St Peter's Primary School

Straeon Covid: 'Everyone has learned that in the end, a simple life is best'

Jan, Caerdydd, 30 Gorffennaf 2020

Cyfraniad Jan i broject Casglu Covid: Cymru 2020.

The current Covid situation has brought us closer as a family and we have spoken to neighbours we didn’t know before… We have communicated by Zoom with our children. Our son is a doctor and has been involved in ITU in a main London hospital. He was pleased to contribute on the front line but equally pleased to leave it when things settled down.

The lockdown was a rollercoaster. I am now used to the new normal although miss my children dreadfully from the point of view of actually being able to see them. I am calmer than I was at the beginning of the pandemic but still very much aware of my own anxiety about keeping a social distance with people.

One of the ways I dealt with my anxiety was to walk the streets of Cardiff taking photographs of people’s window displays - the colourful rainbows and the messages of support to NHS workers. That activity, playing quizzes online with the family, my dad’s 90th in the garden at a social distance and clapping and chatting to neighbours on a Thursday night will stay in my mind forever.

Everyone has learned that in the end, a simple life is best. I have certainly learned to appreciate my local community more - the corner shop and veg and fruit barrow, the market - who all went out of their way to help with providing food. It made me think how lucky I am to have a garden and green space outside my door. Everyone I have spoken to have appreciated how much more difficult it must have been and still is for those who live in high-rise flats/have mental health issues and those who are on the NHS waiting lists. It makes you appreciate what you have rather than what you don’t and how maintaining good health is a priority.