As the days grow shorter and the winter chill sets in, we reach for our woolly jumpers, scarves and blankets to keep warm. But did you know that there was once a time when a simple piece of red flannel was believed to do much more than keep out the cold? It was thought to help cure it too!

Long before the days of modern cold remedies, families turned to a humble piece of red fabric, believing it possessed remarkable healing properties. The practise was wonderfully simple. When someone developed a cold or sore throat, a piece of red flannel would be wrapped around their neck, sometimes warmed beforehand and often left in pace overnight. 

For chest complaints the fabric might be worn beneath clothing, close to the skin, while some people wore red flannel throughout the winter months in the hope of preventing illness altogether. 

Red flannel was also associated with remedies for rheumatism, muscular aches and other ailments. 

But why red? You’d think that any warm piece of wool would work.

The answer lies in a fascinating mixture of practical medicine, folklore and superstition. 

Throughout history, the colour red has been associated with warmth, blood, strength, vitality and protection. In traditional folk medicine, colours were sometimes believed to possess special powers, capable of influencing illness or driving away harmful forces. Red was considered particularly powerful. 

In medieval medicine, red cloth and furnishings were sometimes used in the treatment of diseases such as smallpox. It was believed that surrounding a patient with red could influence the course of the illness. 

Over time, such ideas became woven into everyday household remedies, with red threads, ribbons and pieces of cloth used to protect against various ailments. The red flannel remedy was therefore about more than keeping warm. For some, it was a way of wrapping themselves in protection against illness. 

Of course, there was also a more practical reason why flannel became such a popular choice. Wool is a remarkable natural fibre. It can help to regulate body temperature by insulating from the cold and it wicks away moisture to prevent chills from fever sweats. Woven into flannel, it provided a comfortable and practical material for clothing, bedding and wraps.

In Wales, flannel has a particularly rich history. For centuries, Welsh woollen mills produced flannel for clothing and everyday use, supplying both local communities and markets further afield. Red flannel was among the fabrics produced and sold. 

Today, we know that the colour red has no special ability to cure colds or prevent infections. Colds are caused by viruses, and wrapping ourselves in wool cannot make them disappear. Nevertheless, a warm woollen scarf can certainly provide comfort on a chilly winter’s day. 

The story of the red flannel remedy offers a wonderful glimpse into the lives of generations past. It reminds us of a time when home remedies were passed down through families, and when the warmth of a simple piece of wool could offer both physical comfort and reassurance. For the people who believed in its healing properties, red flannel represented something more than a piece of fabric. It was a symbol of care, protection and hope. 

And while we may no longer believe that red wool can cure the common cold, the comforting warmth of wool remains as welcome today as it was centuries ago. 

From the frozen landscapes of Antarctica to the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru, one remarkable penguin has a story to tell. A story of exploration, scientific discovery and an unexpected connection between one of the world’s most famous polar explorers and Wales. 

More than a century ago, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the celebrated Antarctic explorer, made a gift to the National Museum of Wales (as it was known then) of a King Penguin collected during his pioneering expedition to the Antarctic. 

But how did this extraordinary bird find its way to Wales?

An expedition into the unknown

In 1907, Ernest Shackleton set sail aboard the Nimrod, embarking on an ambitious expedition to explore the largely uncharted Antarctic continent. 

The British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909, better known as the Nimrod Expedition, would become one of the most celebrated voyages of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. 

During the expedition Shackleton and his companions endured extreme temperatures, treacherous ice and unimaginable hardships. In January 1909, they reached within approximately 97 geographical miles of the South Pole, travelling further south than anyone before them. 

Although they did not reach the Pole itself, their achievements captured the imagination of the world. 

The expedition was about more than geographical records. Scientific research and the collection of natural history specimens were also important parts of the voyage, helping to expand knowledge of the Antarctic and its remarkable wildlife. 

Among the specimens associated with the expedition was a magnificent King Penguin, believed to have been collected on Macquarie Island, a remote sub-Antarctic island between New Zealand and Antarctica. 

A rather unusual request

On 16 March 1910, William Evans Hoyle, Director of the National Museum of Wales, wrote to Shakleton with a request. 

The museum was developing its natural history collections, and Hoyle hoped that the famous explorer might be willing to donate a specimen from his recent expedition. Remarkably, the explorer replied the very next day, on 17 March 1910, agreeing to present the museum with a King Penguin. 

Arrangements were made through Rowland Ward, the renowned London taxidermy firm, for the preserved bird to come to the national collection. It was a generous gesture from one of the most celebrated explorers of his generation, and one that would establish a lasting connection between Shackleton’s Antarctic adventures and Wales’s national collections. 

Even more remarkably, the original correspondence between Hoyle and Shackleton survives in the museum’s Natural History Archive, providing a fascinating glimpse into the story behind the donation. 

A Penguin takes centre stage

Standing approximately 90 centimetres tall, the preserved King Penguin became a remarkable addition to the museum’s growing natural history collections. 

In 1914, the bird was displayed at Cardiff City Hall as part of an Antarctic Exhibition alongside an Emperor Penguin. 

For visitors in Wales, the opportunity to see these extraordinary birds offered a glimpse into a distant world that few people could ever hope to experience for themselves. 

More than a century later, the bird remains an important part of the story of the museum’s collections, preserving a connection to one of the most remarkable periods in the history of exploration. 

A lasting legacy

Today, Shackleton’s King Penguin tells a story of courage, curiosity and the human desire to explore the unknown. It reminds us that museums play an important role as storehouses for biodiversity, keeping a record of a species over time, allowing generations of visitors and researchers to learn more about the natural world.

From the icy waters of the Southern Ocean to the museum collections of Amgueddfa Cymru, the journey of Shackleton’s penguin is a reminder that even the most unexpected objects can have extraordinary stories to tell. 

Now, more than 115 years after the generous donation, the penguin continues to connect Wales with one of the greatest adventures in the history of polar exploration as it makes its next journey from Cardiff to Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum.

Imagine standing on the deck of a ship in Swansea Harbour 150 years ago. Around you, vessels are arriving from across the world, carrying cargo, passengers and stories from distant shores. But how did sailors communicate with one another before radios and modern technology?

The answer was often found in the colourful flags flying high above their ships.

For centuries, maritime flags have helped sailors communicate across oceans, overcoming language barriers and sharing important information through colours and patterns.

Five colours, countless messages

The International Code of Signals uses just five colours: red, blue, yellow, black and white.

Chosen for their visibility and contrasting combinations, these colours form distinctive patterns that allow ships to communicate messages without exchanging a single word.

Each flag represents a letter of the alphabet, but many also carry a specific meaning when flown individually.

Here are three examples:

🔴 Red – Bravo

A solid red flag warns that a vessel is carrying, loading or unloading dangerous goods.

🔵⚪ Blue and white – Alpha

This distinctive flag signals that a diver is working beneath the water and warns other vessels to keep clear and proceed slowly.

🔴🟡 Red and yellow – Oscar

Divided diagonally into red and yellow, this flag communicates one of the most urgent messages at sea: Man overboard!

Connecting Wales to the world

These colourful flags have a particular connection to Wales’s rich maritime history.

During the nineteenth century, Welsh ports such as Swansea, Cardiff, Porthmadog and Newport became bustling centres of international trade. Ships carried Welsh coal, copper and other goods to destinations across the globe, returning with cargoes, people and ideas that helped shape Welsh communities.

In these busy harbours, maritime flags were an important part of everyday life.

Ships displayed national ensigns and shipping company flags to identify themselves, while signal flags provided a shared means of communication between vessels whose crews might speak different languages.

From the copper ships of Swansea to the coal-carrying vessels of Cardiff, the maritime world relied on systems of communication that helped connect Wales with distant shores.

A tradition that continues today

Although modern ships now rely on radio, satellite navigation and digital technology, maritime signal flags remain in use.

Their bold colours and distinctive designs are a lasting reminder of the ingenuity of generations of seafarers.

And behind each flag is a story of communication, cooperation and the extraordinary connections made possible by the sea.

Next time you spot colourful flags flying from a ship, remember that you’re looking at a language that once helped connect Welsh ports with the rest of the world.

The National Slate Museum is keen to celebrate the wealth of names for slate quarries scattered throughout Wales by carving their names into a slate path which will lead to the gateway of the refurbished Museum. Anyone who explores the many corners of Wales will easily notice the remains of the huge effort made by previous generations to dig and extract slate rock from the ground and transform it into slates for various uses. Some of these remains can be very obvious since the quarrymen reshaped the landscape by blasting the rock and pouring waste into massive tips. And yet the remains of some of the quarries are mere ripples on the face of the earth since they weren’t worked for long enough to produce much waste nor create the need for numerous holes, addits and a transport system. Whatever the size and substance of the physical remains another clue can point to the presence of a quarry and that is its name.

Most of the names are Welsh and they frequently originate from a nearby landscape feature e.g. Ffynnon y Gog – cuckoo spring, Dŵr Oer – cold water, Pompren – wooden bridge a Rhiw Gwreiddyn – hill of the root. Some of them have been named after a person such as Doctor Hughes, Chwarel Gethin – Gethin’s quarry, Mathew’s, Palmerston’s, Vivian and Hollands. Several of the names simply follow the name of the location or area where they reside such as Tal y Fan, Nantlle Vale, Hafod y Llan, Garreg Fawr and Deeside. It may be difficult to trace exactly why some quarries have been given a specific name, but the name itself is so well known that it is synonymous with a slate quarry even without the prefix ‘chwarel’ or quarry. We could refer to Dorothea, Glynrhonwy, Llechwedd, Prince of Wales and Alexandra in this regard.

More than anything, the wealth of quarry names present in various corners of Wales is testament to the sweat and labour expended by men to produce and export slate to the four corners of the world. Over the years historians and experts have recorded the majority of the quarries in various papers and books. The Slate Museum redevelopment project is keen to celebrate this wealth by carving as many names as possible into a slate path which will lead visitors to the gateway. After poring over various sources Museum staff have gathered a list of 196 names which include names from the area of the World Heritage Site in Northwest Wales in addition to Denbighshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire and Carmarthenshire. However, we need to ensure that the path is as representative and comprehensive as possible and so we are calling on local knowledgeable people the length and breadth of Wales to contribute names of lesser-known quarries here:   
 

Contribute to our list of Welsh slate quarry names here - Google Forms

Find out more here - Our website 
 

This activity was a part of the National Slate Museum redevelopment project, which is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, UK Government via Gwynedd Council as part of the Llewyrch o’r Llechi project, Welsh Government including the Community Facilities Programme, the Wolfson Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation and other funders.