I live far away from my site and in the summer I dust off my bike ready for some epic commuting. Like many organisations, Amgueddfa Cymru has introduced a Cycle to Work scheme, so I thought that I would share my story (or part of it) and offer guidance to anyone that's unsure of getting into cycling.

I got my first road bike on a similar scheme about twelve years ago and have never looked back. Well, I say that but my first few commutes were hard, having never ridden on roads before and going from a background in running, to riding 40 miles on the road followed by another 40 home. I distinctly remember not being able to walk up the stairs at work and having chronic back ache on the bike, but now, even in my mid-forties, I am fitter than ever. I can even fix a puncture now which I couldn’t for the first five years!

An epic commute

In early summer I travel once a week from Raglan on the lanes to Newport then on to Cardiff via the levels - 34 miles in all. This is soon to extend to Monmouth (40 miles) and then my once-a-year full 50-mile commute will switch to through the Forest of Dean, Lydney, Chepstow, and then on through Newport. For these distances, time is obviously a factor and so I tend to ride fast - aiming at 20 mph average, but even carrying a laptop it is possible. However, beware of the dreaded headwind…. but that’s another story.

Cycling wasn’t always easy

The effect cycling has on you is gradual, but very positive. It is much better on the joints than running, but the difference it will make depends on many factors including how often and how long you cycle for, but also the intensity – uphill is more of a workout than the flat. When cycling for the first time the aches can be a little disconcerting – after my first long-distance commute it felt like my kneecaps were being pushed apart, but it was because I had none of the type of muscles used for cycling. I have no such issues now.

Your body adapts

I find now, that when I arrive at work I am fine and refreshed, but that has not always been the case. When I first started I would be quite tired, but your body adapts. I should say that I came from a very active background of training and playing at a high level of field hockey three times a week for about 20 years, but your body adapts. The running gave me a great overall fitness level but with the wrong muscles. Someone recently told me that cycling is a great leveler – in that you can continue to ‘perform’ at a really high level far longer than any running-based sport. My cycling times this year are significantly faster than when I was in full hockey training!

Commuting with a laptop and other tips

I carry a medium-sized rucksack and have my laptop case inside (without the charger to save weight – as they plug in at work anyway). Then a bag of clothes to change into and lots of food for lunch. Everything in the bag is inside several plastic bags in case of rain. I have some very small bags attached to my bike for my spare inner tubes and other repair kit things.

The ups and downs of cycling and things to think about

Bikes are a big outlay in cost now, but you save on parking, fuel, and general wear and tear on a car. The play off is that your journey takes a lot longer. If you walk or use a bus, then cycling might actually be quicker and also save money. The cold and wet of winter can put people off, but there are now many options for warm, windproof, and rainproof clothes. I find getting ready once at work slightly longer than if I drive – e.g. locking up my bike, getting changed, etc. but certainly manageable.

Reaching new heights

Now, several bike upgrades later and a house move even further into the back of beyond, I lead club bike rides of a hundred miles or more and have an obsession with climbing steep hills. This is a far cry from my early commuting experiences where I dreaded the hill up through Chepstow. On Saturday 24th June I took part in a challenge organised by Chepstow Cycling Club in aid of the Brecon Beacon Mountain Rescue. It involved ten ascents of Llangynidir Hill - most people’s idea of hell. It wasn’t a race, but remarkably I was the first competitor to complete the reps. The stats: 4,325 m of ascent, 124 km distance, and 6 and a half hours of cycling.

Portable Antiquities Scheme Cymru – Engaging Audiences 

In late 2022, the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wales (PAS Cymru) established a pioneering engagement role, designed to raise the profile of the scheme and enhance relationships with finders across the country. While PAS has consistently focused on community engagement, the scope of this new role was without precedent and has presented the scheme in Wales with significant opportunities.

Currently Wales has four part-time Finds Liaison Officers (FLOs). FLOs can be reached in Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham, with important recording support provided by Dyfed and Gwynedd Archaeological Trusts in the southwest and northwest of the country. This network gives us a good, but imperfect, reach across Wales; the creation of the PAS Engagement role has allowed for targeted efforts in parts of Wales where access to PAS staff is more challenging. 

Starting in November of 2022, PAS Cymru began contributing to and hosting a series of public-facing engagement activities, focused on strengthening connections with members of the wider community invested in archaeology and heritage. Where possible, these engagements were developed in association with key partners, namely finder communities and local museums. 

As PAS remains a voluntary scheme, we are dependent on the goodwill of our partners, but that goodwill can only begin with an awareness of our existence. PAS Cymru pop-up events have allowed us to significantly enhance visibility, promoting the work it generates, within geographies which have historically been difficult to access. Thanks to Bangor, Carmarthen and Narberth museums, over the last year PAS Cymru has been seen and accessed by finders who would otherwise have to travel significant distances to be able to have face-to-face interactions with FLOs. 

A strong working relationship with museums throughout Wales is critical for the successful recording of archaeological material found outside of a research context. Where cultural heritage institutions have confidence about who to direct finders towards, pathways can be established ensuring everyone invested in their local heritage, knows how and where finds can be reported. During early autumn 2023 and winter 2024, museums in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire will host exhibitions exploring the work of PAS Cymru, creating additional opportunities to embed an awareness of the scheme within local museums and their audiences. 

In additional to the established practice of FLOs attending detecting club meetings, PAS Cymru is also working closely with metal detecting clubs and individuals, inviting finders to attend pop-up events in local museums, and also to contribute towards them. As a consequence, PAS Cymru and detectorists have shown a unified front to wider audiences, strengthening a shared message of best practice in relation to detecting. In the Spring of 2023, PAS Cymru was invited by members of the detecting community to participate in one of their public-facing events in mid-Wales. This was a significant moment for us to share in their collective enthusiasm for the historic environment, while offering reflections on best practice and recording, with an audience who might otherwise never have known about the scheme. 

The engagement role has proven to be very rewarding and has been received with high levels of positivity. Local museums have been enthused by the potential of widening audiences through the presence of PAS Cymru in their own events calendars, while detectorists have been proactive in supporting the engagement scheme in Wales, attending and promoting events, and pushing the narrative of responsible detecting. The potential of these partnerships has only been scratched, and we are looking forward to seeing how these dynamics can grow, to the benefit of our shared archaeological assets, as we move further through the year.  

On 27 August 1981, 36 women from Wales left Cardiff and marched to RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire to begin their battle to stop United States nuclear armaments from being kept on British soil. The group named themselves ‘Women for Life on Earth’. ⁣
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In recognition of these courageous women, I’d like to mark this anniversary by focusing on a collection I’ve been currently cataloguing which gives a valuable insight into the Greenham Common protest. The collection was donated by Carole Stuart McIvor, a leading peace activist heavily involved in the protests at Greenham Common and the later protests at the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) base in Llanishen, Cardiff. ⁣
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This collection documents the sacrifices and continuous resilience shown by Carole and her fellow protesters. From numerous newspaper cuttings showing the prejudice they encountered and judgement by the mainstream media of the day to images of the arrests made by police and records of Carole’s time spent incarcerated as one of the many women who received prison sentences for their actions. ⁣
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The collection also includes the court action submitted by Greenham Women Against Cruise Missiles against President Ronald Reagan and US Secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger. Carole Harwood (later Carole Stuart McIvor) gives her reasoning for supporting nuclear disarmament and the women’s peace movement in her statement:⁣
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“I finally became involved in the women’s peace movement after taking my family to the sea in Tenby in West Wales. The realisation that the sound of children’s laughter, which had been heard along these beaches for centuries could be silenced by men who chose never to hear it was simply too painful… I had been stunned to learn that if we continued to play with nuclear materials (not just bombs) the average lifespan of children being born now could be 18 years.”⁣
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At its heart, this was a protest for peace by Welsh women, and others from across the UK, and this collection encapsulates that struggle.

What are the volunteering opportunities at the National Slate Museum? 

Getting people involved in volunteering at the National Slate Museum has been a priority since I began my role as Volunteering Co-ordinator here in May 2022. So what opportunities for taking part are there at the Museum?

Blacksmithing placement 
In December 2022 we excitingly welcomed Dai to the museum on a Student Work Placement. Dai was on a Welding and Fabricating college course, which requires students to partake in 20 days of work experience. He worked with Liam, our Blacksmith, in the historic forge in the Gilfach Ddu workshops and over the 20 days learnt how to make a bottle opener, a fire poker, and a pair of tongs. It was great to see his confidence and skills develop over the months he was here!

Skills Development Placements 
Last year we started Skills Development Placements in Llanberis, something that already exists at Cardiff National Museum. They are one day a week of shadowing the front of house team, providing invaluable experience for people who have barriers to work. We piloted the placement over the Winter 2022, and this year Aaron has just started a placement with us. He says he is looking forward to learning about the history and the opportunity to be part of a team. These placements are available almost all year round – please feel free to get in touch for more information.

Rag rug volunteers 
If crafting is your thing, helping us create rugs might be your motivation to volunteer! We have around 3 volunteers weekly in the Chief Engineer’s House, working on making rag rugs for our historic houses. Since they started in May they have had many interesting conversations with our visitors. Many of our visitors talk about how they used to make rag rugs with their grandparents when they were younger, albeit not everyone knows them as rag rugs! They are known by different names across the United Kingdom – we have learnt about 'proddy rugs', 'peg rugs' and many more!

What can we look forward to?  
We’re currently developing a few interesting roles in Llanberis... we will soon be recruiting for an Ambassador Volunteering Role, and a Machine Conservation Volunteering role! We will also be advertising a Heritage Student Work Placement in September for students looking for general experience in the heritage industry. Keep your eyes peeled!

Written by Madalyne Epperson, MA Conservation Practice student, Durham University – on placement at National Museum Cardiff.

Natural history collections are often central to our understanding of evolution, population genetics, biodiversity, and the environmental impacts of pesticide use and climate change, among other things. For this reason, caring for these collections is of great importance. A taxidermy tree pangolin – named Paddy by the conservation team - was brought to Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales in 2017 in need of attention. Paddy was collected on August 4th, 1957, by researchers during Cambridge University’s French West Africa Expedition. According to the expedition diary, Amgueddfa Cymru had asked the researchers to retrieve a pangolin to make a museum specimen, as was common practice at that time. The mounted pangolin was feared lost after the expedition’s drying tent went up in flames on August 25th, 1957. Paddy was terribly singed by the fire, which greatly disheartened the expedition team. It is perhaps for this reason that Paddy never made it to the museum when the expedition concluded. It was not until 2016/2017 that Paddy was found in Staffordshire in the home of one of the expeditions members and sent over to the museum.

Condition Prior to Conservation

Analysis was conducted to learn more about Paddy’s preparation, and his condition was assessed before interventive conservation treatments were undertaken. X-radiography revealed an iron wire extending the length of the specimen, while scanning electron microscopy with elemental analysis (SEM-EDX) confirmed no arsenic, mercury, or other pesticides are present. After being left on top of a wardrobe for 60 years, Paddy was covered in dust, cobwebs, and other contaminants. He was also coated in smoke residues from the fire that melted the keratin scales on his face, torso, and tail. Larvae casings found on and within the specimen suggest there was a carpet beetle (AKA wooly bear) infestation as one point, although no signs of an active pest problem were found. Arguably the most imperative concern was the split in Paddy’s chest, which was liable to grow if not addressed properly. 

Conservation Treatment

A conservation vacuum and soft bristle brush were used to remove loose debris, including fuzz, insect casings, and dust, from Paddy’s surface. Cosmetic sponges were proposed and tested as a means of removing engrained dirt from the specimen’s scales, but they were not as effective as expected due to the coarse nature of the scales. A dilute solution of Synperonic N non-ionic detergent in 50:50 water and ethanol on dampened cotton swabs proved very successful at removing the stubborn contaminants. Once Paddy was cleaned, ethanol on cotton swabs was utilized to clear any remaining surfactant residues.

After Paddy was clean, attention turned to the split in Paddy’s chest. Bridges were made from Japanese Tissue paper and secured using Evacon R, a neutral pH, non-plasticized ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer emulsion. Tweezers and dental tools were used to manipulate the adhesive-soaked strips of Japanese Tissue paper into the split until the entire gap was sufficiently filled. Once the adhesive was dried, Winsor and Newton acrylic paints were used to tint the Japanese Tissue. The so-called “six-foot, six-inch” rule was followed during the color-matching process. This will allow the gap to be identified upon close inspection but ensures it does not detract from the specimen while on display.

The decision was made to remove the section of iron wire protruding from Paddy’s nose. Although the wire is part of the preparation history of the specimen, there was concern that the wire may snag and cause damage in the future. A small hack saw and wire cutters were utilized to quickly remove the wire. Care was taken to cut off as much of the wire as possible without affecting the organic material surrounding it. The cut wire was very bright and shiny, so the end was obscured using Winsor and Newton acrylic paints.

Paddy is now ready to meet his adoring public! Pangolins, generally, are considered the most trafficked animal in the world. Their defence mechanism (i.e., curling into a ball) makes them easy for poachers to collect and transport. They are primarily harvested for their scales, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. Now that Paddy is presentable once again, he can be used to help educate and raise awareness for these wonderfully odd and endangered creatures. 

References: 

Pan Golin. 2018. GabonExpeditionPart1. [online video] Available on Youtube  

You can find out more about the vertebrates collections at the museum here. If you'd like to find out more about the stories behind some of the Natural Sciences collections and the work we do, why not check out our articles pages.