Just another short-ish post to highlight the arrival of our new, updated Tudor packs.

A colourful detail from the reconstructed Tudor church at St Fagans National Museum of History

These resources were designed with teachers and school groups in mind, but contain some lovely illustrations and ideas suitable for families as well.

We've put them together for use during, and after, visits to the site's Tudor buildings.

Through the Learning Department's training days for primary teachers, we've been able to get a fair bit of feedback regarding the contents - but we're always happy to hear more. What kinds of resources for learners, of all shapes and sizes, would you like to see at St Fagans: National History Museum?

I was up at St Teilo's Church this morning with Darren the photographer, taking pictures of our Tudor handling objects for use in a post-visit picture book for children. I'm excited to see what the designers will make of the photos, and how the finished product will turn out. I'll keep you posted!

For those of you wondering what other opportunities we currently offer primary schools and teachers, here's a handy guide: Opportunities for Schools (.pdf file)

Macmillan have now ended their stand-off with Amazon, and come to an agreement over the terms of sale of their ebooks. When Macmillan initially demanded new terms, all their books became unavailable on Amazon.

Now, even Rupert Murdoch says that Amazon's terms "devalues books", and he looks like renegotiating HarperCollins terms.

The problem is Amazon's selling model, in which they act as a straightforward reseller. They can sell the ebooks at any price they choose, even lossleading on some if they want to. Apple, on the other hand, have taken a completely different model with US publishers, who are welcoming it with open arms. Apple will be buying ebooks from publishers at a price set by the publishers, with Apple effectively taking a commission.

There's still no indication that Apple has started negotiating with UK publishers, so when the first iPads ship to the UK at the end of March ebooks might not be available through iBooks. If not, however, it won't be trhough lack of enthusiasm on the part of publishers. This is one American trend I don't think we'll mind following.

Happy St Teilo's Day!

For those of you wondering which particular kind of festivity to bestow on to this day, know this: St Teilo is the patron saint of apples and horses. Adjust your schedules accordingly.

See his life story depicted in an intricate, technicolour carving at the

.

Master Carver Emyr Hughes with his oak carving of St Teilo

It was really refreshing to see so many people out in the sun at St Fagans on Friday. The place really felt revived and busy - it's so easy to forget, over the winter, quite how many visitors we see once Spring kicks in.

Even though there's been plenty of coming and going over the last few months, it has been work done behind the scenes: securing thatch, digging trenches, conserving and installing objects. The site seems to have been reclaimed, by now, by the general public. A trip down to Cosmeston lakes over the weekend confirmed that half of the south east had finally emerged from hibernation, as there were more people about than mallards.

In St Teilo's church, artist Fleur Kelly has been back again to work on some painted panels in the chancel. Since this part of the church was - and still is in some cases - considered as the most sacred, the decoration relfects the taste and preoccupations of sixteenth century Clergy, rather than Laity. The wall-paintings depict the Archbishop Thomas Beckett, and the chaste, pious St George (for those of you wondering why St George appears in a Welsh church, there'll be a post on that soon!). We have chosen musical angels, playing instruments sourced from 1500-30, and linenfold motifs for the wooden panels on the parclose screens.

I took the Learning Department's new camera up to the building in the hope of getting some footage of Fleur at work, to share with you on the blog. Scorsese I am not, and so I present you with some stills from my otherwise wobbly film debut. Fleur will be back in a few weeks' time to put the finishing touches on the paintings. Traditional pigment paint dries very slowly indeed - hopefully by then I will have had a chance to practice with the camera and can bring you a little film that's more 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' and a bit less 'Pollock'...

Line drawings, or 'cartoons' of musical angels used in St Teilo's Church

Artist Fleur Kelly working on a parclose screen at St Teilo's Church

Italian Memories in Wales, Our new exhibition in Oriel 1, St Fagans:National History Museum opened on Saturday January 30 and will run until May. It's a lovely exhibition so please come and visit!

As part of the exhibition we have been collecting feedback about people's thoughts on the exhibtion as well as their stories of leaving a country. Here are some that we have had so far:

Tina and Angela Minoli wrote:

'My father Giuseppo Minoli came to the Welsh valleys from Brugnoli in the Bardi region of Emilia-Romagna when he was 5 years old in 1914.'

Paulo Nuzzo wrote:

'My father left Italy in 1956 to work in the steel works of S.Wales - lovely to see what he had to go through to stay in S.Wales.'

Paulo also commented on the exhibition, saying it was: 'Very interesting and moving.'

Roberto Pastore wrote:

'My mother and father left Italy in the early 70s after getting married. They came to the UK and had my brother and me, and found work as a boutique owner and hairdresser, respectively.'

He also commented on the exhibition: 'Some beautiful images and such distinctive expressions + faces of Italy.'

Angelina Cooper wrote:

'My Grandmother and mother left Bardi 59 years ago - we visited Bardi for the first time in Sept 09. Fantastic!!'

If you would like to comment on the exhibtion please do so below or fill in one of the postcards in Oriel 1.