St David in stained glass at Castell Coch
Today is “Do the small things” day, when we are invited to contribute something in the Welsh language to the web. And so in the spirit of our Patron Saint, who bid us do the tiny things that matter, we’ve posted something extra on the Welsh language side of this blog (click on “Welsh” at the top of this page if you wish to view it).
Happy translating!
An interesting afternoon was had today in the Drwm, with S4C launching their new series ‘Pen Talar’, which is a 9 part drama starting on Sunday, 12 September. Eleri Twynog from S4C presented the launch, along with director Gethin Scourfield and actor Ryland Teifi.
Half an hour of the first episode was screened along with clips of the other episodes. The response from the audience was very positive, and it looks like the series will be a very popular!
August has been a very busy month. While many staff are away on holiday, the enquiries and numbers of users rise, as they spend their summer break studying and viewing material, or visiting from far afield, laden with donations of family films. Those of us left manning the barricades are now more than ready for the extra day off this Bank Holiday Monday. While the Archive will be shut on Monday, the exhibition spaces at the National Library will be open, so there will be ample opportunity for those holidaymakers, squeezing out the last of the Aberystwyth summer, to see items from our collection on various screens and jukeboxes.
It’s at the end of August that we get to hear of all manner of professional courses, conferences and so forth which take place from now until the end of spring. Some of the upcoming conferences and workshops are sponsored by the EU, which is undertaking a lot of strategic work in the audiovisual sphere at present; some of them are international conferences arranged by professional or trade associations.
NSSAW is a member of several organisations, including FIAF, IASA, AMIA, BISA, FAF, Focal and the BUFVC.
You’ll find links to these organisations on an occasional, personal blog I keep; feel free to visit, there might be something useful or interesting that might catch your eye. There are other more dedicated archivists than I who maintain extensive blogs, which between them deal with a very wide range of related topics. One of the most prolific and erudite of these is the Bioscope. Read it and learn!
At the moment, I’m working on selecting clips from the Archive’s collection for the ‘Small World’ Exhibition, which will open in the Library in October. I have been searching for audio-visual material which shows how Welsh people have discovered the world.
One of the most interesting films I have found is a welsh film called ‘Prydydd y Paith‘. The film was made by Wil Aaron in 1976. Bryn Williams, who moved from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Patagonia as a 7 year old boy, tells his story and shares his memories of life in the ‘Wladfa’.
The clips which I will select will be shown on a screen in the Exhibition, along with other interesting travelling artifacts from the Library’s collection and beyond.
I really like this aspect of my work, as it gives me an opportunity to familiarise myself with the collection and it will hopefully give those who visit the exhibition a taste of the Archive.
At the moment, essential maintenance work is being carried out in the corridor outside the Archive Office. This means that there is no entrance to the Archive through the usual route. If you’d like to visit the Archive, please ask one of the Porters by the main door to bring you here, or, they can arrange for a member of the Archive to meet you. If you’d like more information, please call 01970 632 828.
Last week, in preparation for the Library’s Outreach Programme that’s happening in Wrexham in the Autumn, a few of us from the archive went on a technical recce of a few Wrexham locations.
From our findings, we can then plan what equipment is needed for each venue, carry out specific modifications and work out the best way to use each space.
Among the most significant films held by NSSAW are the few surviving titles by William Haggar, the early twentieth century fairground showman turned film-maker.
From the time – about twenty years ago – when the films of William Haggar first began to receive the wider recognition they deserve, the Archive developed a close relationship with Roy Haggar, William’s great- grandson and a fount of knowledge about his ancestor’s life and work. We were sad to hear of Roy’s death last year and his advice and cooperation are much missed.
Today we were honoured by a visit from Roy’s wife, Maggie and a group of their friends from Pembrokeshire. We sat in the Drwm for a screening of a classic Haggar, ‘The Sheepstealer’ before touring the film conservation facilities. This classic chase film is as fresh today as when it was first made and Maggie commented on how well the print looked projected on the big screen. For once, we ran the film without accompanying music and in the silence the 102-year old images, bursting with life, were all the more moving.
With the Eisteddfod drawing to a close, the Chairing Ceremony will be shown in the Drwm at 4:30pm today. Students on the WLPAN Welsh for Adults course at the University of Wales Aberystwyth will be attending the screening yet again this year. Winning the Chair at the National Eisteddfod is one of the greatest honours a poet in Wales could wish for.
We are also celebrating a win within the Archive. On Monday, Catrin Jenkins, our Administrative Officer won the prize for the Best Actress in the Drama competition. Catrin is part of the Licris Olsorts Drama Company. Well done Catrin!
Yesterday I had a very long, but worthwhile and inspirational day, at the National Eisteddfod, which this year is being held at Ebbw Vale.
The National Eisteddfod is one of the most important, if not the most important, cultural engagement in our calendar, and each year NSSAW takes part in a number of events on the Eisteddfod field, mainly on the National Library stand.
This year we have on display some very interesting pearls from past eisteddfodau, and one gleaming gem, a film depicting the last eisteddfod to be held in Ebbw Vale. The 1958 event was rather special, as it was visited by Aneurin Bevan and Paul Robeson, who spoke from the podium.
Our special screening of the 1958 film was introduced by local historian Frank Olding, and we had the great pleasure of receiving Susan Robeson, grandaughter of the great man, as our special guest.
She was very interested to hear of any film material of her grandfather dating from his visit in 1958 had survived.
If you know of any such material, please let us know!
In the picture – Susan Robeson, Frank Olding, Iola Baines and Anwen Pari Jones.
Practically a full – and lively! – house for our afternoon screening of children’s cartoons on Tuesday.
We showed many of the classic cartoons that were made in Wales during the 1980’s and 90’s, including Superted and Sam Tân (Fireman Sam) and of course owr own Jerry the Tyke, from the 1920’s.
Jerry first appeared on screen before the era of sound and we were delighted to welcome Stephen Briggs who came in to provide piano accompaniment in the original style.
Today there are more Welsh language children’s cartoons than ever, many of them to be seen on S4C’s children’s service ‘Cyw’, but the experience of coming to a cinema to see them along with other children will always remain special, I’m sure.
