It doesn't always rain in Wales

Just thought I ought to get that bit of information out there! And to prove it here is a photo I took this week when a friend in Portugal said "You must be fed up of the cold and wet, come and bask in the warm Portuguese sun, drink a little wine, read a book or two ..." *sigh* yeah right. I would if I could but anyhow here is the photo:



Sadly the castle ruins went into cloud shadow just as I snapped so here's a pic of the office from which I took the photo:



Best office view in the world? Very possibly and especially on a warm summers day.

I've just noticed a new blog! The Tithe Barn. Will be following what they have to say with interest.

Arrrrhhhh, me hearties!!

New season, new exhibition. This one is about pirates!

You might be surprised to hear that quite a lot of the most famous pirates were Welsh. Although a very small country with a small population, Welsh ports provided crews for ships that travelled all over the world. Some of the sailors, either by inclination, bad luck or force, ended up on pirate ships.



So come to the museum and read about the pirates, see the sea faring artefacts and try on the hats!

Spring has sprung

And we're getting ready for the new tourism season. New exhibitions, new events.

But first let's take some time to enjoy the new leaves on the trees, the song of the birds as they compete for nesting spots and the busyness of the castle squirrels.

The grounds smell good too at the moment mostly due to the violets that have seeded all along the base of the wall in the Victorian garden. As one walks through the gap into the inner bailey there's a great waft of sweetness.

Dydd Gwŷl Dewi Sant hapus!!

Or Happy St David's Day for other folk.



This glass and silk leek was worn by Augusta Hall - Lady Llanover - who is credited as being one of the most influential supporters of Welsh culture. In the early 19th century Welsh as a language was dying out. It was forbidden in schools and children were punished for using it. Augusta Hall and her friends were determined to preserve what they could and reintroduced the custom of the Eisteddfod and commissioned the translation and printing of ancient Welsh literature, such as the Mabinogion.

Spring exhibition

This spring we have a royal wedding to look forward to and luckily our spring exhibition reflects that.

"Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" is a display of wedding dresses from the museum collection and some loaned by members of the community with information on wedding customs.