Monthly Archives: December 2014

Blackpill Local History Society 2015 …

Blackpill Local History Society  Programme January to December 2015

All meetings 10am for 10.30 start at the Vivian Hall

New members and Friends always welcome

Tuesday 20th January

Bernard Lewis, The First World War

Tuesday 17th February

Gwyn Evans, Memories of Old Clydach

Tuesday 17th March

Jeff Childs, Parishes and Parish Churches of the Lordship of Gower.

Tuesday 21st April

Rosemary and John Blythe, Mechanical Music

Tuesday 19th May

Debra John, World War One

Tuesday 16th June

Jen Wilson, Those Saturday Nights – The Tower Ballroom

Tuesday 21st July

Clive Reed, The Swansea Canal Part 4

August

Trip TBA, Exhibition TBA

Tuesday 15th September

Rowena Hart BSc MA MIfA, The Archaeology of Gower.

Tuesday 20th October

AGM followed by: Gwylym Games, Swansea Ghosts

Tuesday 17th November

Rob Hulme, Railways of Gower

Tuesday 15th December

Christmas Social details announced later

 

White Rock Clean and Clear, Sunday 11 January …

The first White Rock Clean and Clear day will be on Sunday 11 January, 10.30 to 2.30. The format will be similar to the Hafod Morfa clean up on 6 December.

There is a lot of litter to collect, shopping trolleys to corral, and foliage to cut back. The foliage plan was developed with the Council’s Parks Department and Tidy Town team, Cadw, Welsh Wildlife Trust, and Keep Wales Tidy. Cadw have given guidance on working around structures, and WWT have prepared a detailed report to enable us to preserve the essential ecology of White Rock. Keep Wales Tidy will supervise the day, provide insurance cover, tools and blue bags, and arrange collection for our mountain of rubbish.

The previous day, Saturday 10 January, Tidy Town will clear a section of river bank between the dock and the south entrance to the Smith Canal. This work will be carried out by young volunteers under the direction of council supervisors. White Rock volunteers will be present to ensure Cadw and WWT guidance is followed.

Mencap – exhibition assistant at Swansea Museum …

White Rock Friend Teresa Hillier has a request for another very important project she is working on:

I hope you don’t mind me emailing you about this project with my ‘Mencap head on’ but thought you may now of some people who would be interested in volunteering.  We have an exhibition launching next month and are looking for exhibition volunteers. I have attached the role profile and copy of an ‘advert’ that is going to be in the volunteer bulletin for students via Discovery at Swansea.

Opportunity for exhibition_ assistant at Swansea Museum

Volunteer Exhibition Assistant_ role profile

If there is anyone who you think may be interested would you forward it to them?

Many thanks,

Teresa Hillier
Hidden Now Heard Volunteer Co-ordinator
Mencap Cymru
T: 07908 629810

Mencap is the overall winner of the Charity Awards 2011 for our two health campaigns ‘Death by indifference’ and ‘Getting it right’. For more information about learning disability and Mencap, go to http://www.mencap.org.uk

This email should be read in conjunction with the disclaimer contained within the Mencap Website at: http://www.mencap.org.uk/emaildisclaimer

Royal Mencap Society. Registered office: 123 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0RT.
Registered Charity number 222377.
Company Registered Number 550457.

 

 

 

Swansea Castle video …

New film brings Swansea Castle back to life

History fans can soon watch an online video about Swansea Castle if they’re in the area of the iconic landmark.

Swansea Castle

A new Wi-Fi hotspot that’s being installed means anyone with a smartphone, tablet or laptop within about 100 metres of the attraction will automatically get a web link to the film and other information as soon as they log on.

The video is the final part of a project to educate residents and visitors about the castle’s rich heritage. It includes aerial footage of the landmark and the sound of clanking swords from bygone battles. Also featured are actors playing apparitions of some of the key figures in the castle’s history, including William de Braose III, a former Lord of Gower who once lived in the castle in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and William Cragh, a medieval Welsh warrior who was said to be miraculously brought back to life after being executed within sight of the castle in 1290 for killing 13 men.

You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7__UbcSffR4

A Swansea Castle family trail can also soon be downloaded from the web link. Hard copies will be made available at the Tourist Information Office on Plymouth Street.

Other recent works have included the introduction of ornate paving to mark the location of the castle’s medieval well. Grass turf, pennant stone and a number of new seats have also been installed to help make the castle courtyard capable of hosting activities and acting as a meeting place for many years to come.

Funding of £300,000 has been provided from Cadw’s Heritage Tourism Project funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Welsh Government targeted match funding and the Welsh Government’s Regeneration Area programme. The work is part of a project called Castles and Princes that’s led by Carmarthenshire Council and overseen in Swansea by Swansea Council.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “Swansea Castle is one of our most treasured historic landmarks. It’s vital we do all we can to preserve and celebrate it for the benefit of both local people and visitors to the city.

“The growing importance of heritage tourism across the UK can’t be understated, so we need to keep pace here in Swansea. Projects of this nature show we’re doing just that by conserving our rich history and offering a visitor experience that meets the aspirations and expectations of 21st century visitors.

“The combination of the video, the on-site displays and the family trail will help bring Swansea Castle back to life for many thousands of people in years to come.”

Swansea Castle was founded in about 1106 by Henry de Beaumont who was later given the Lordship of Gower by King Henry I. It originally consisted of earthworks and timber defences.

Historical Association Essay Prize …

Historical Association Swansea Branch
Essay Prize Scheme
2014-2015

This scheme is available to all schools and further education colleges in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Powys. Download full details of the Essay Prize.

Entry is invited from students studying History at AS and A2 level in the academic year 2014/2015.

Each participating school/college may submit one or two of their very best essays. These may be those written as part of the AS/A2 course or on any Historical theme the student wishes, as long as there is a clear link to the marking criteria and is acceptable to the Judges.

Entries may be submitted in English or Welsh.

Entries should be word processed, and be between 2,000 and 3,000 words.

The Judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence will be necessary. Essays would not be returned.

Each essay should be submitted with the declaration form, signed by the student and the supervising History teacher, confirming that it is the work of the student.

Essays must be submitted by post by 5pm on Monday 23 March 2015 to:

Essay Prize Scheme 2014-2015
Historical Association Swansea Branch
c/o National Waterfront Museum
Oystermouth Road
Swansea
SA1 3RD

There will be a £100 cash prize to accompany the Historical Association Certificate for the winner. There will also be local media coverage and the result posted on the Historical Association Swansea Branch website. This, needless to say, would be very beneficial to the winner’s CV as well as being prestigious to her/his school/college.

The Historical Association will accept entries from non-affiliated institutions. However, affiliation has several benefits, helping History teaching at all levels. (See website for details: www.history.org.uk/member/register.php.)

Any queries, please contact Richard Lewis, the Essay Prize Scheme Co-ordinator: richardlewis54@googlemail.com.