To celebrate LGBT History Month this year I asked Vish to write a blog post about Glitter Cymru and why they founded it. Throughout 2019 I worked with members of Glitter Cymru to collect their banner, along with other objects and oral histories from its members. These all now form part of the LGBTQ+ collection at St Fagans National Museum of History.

In this blog post we have also included images from the collection, along with a video made by Vish to introduce Glitter Cymru’s Virtual Pride held in August 2020. This video has been donated to St Fagans and is preserved in the audio-visual archive.

Mark Etheridge
Curator: LGBTQ+ history
St Fagans National Museum of History

My name is Vish. I identify as Indian, Welsh and queer and I’m the founder and chair of Glitter Cymru. Glitter Cymru was set up in July 2016 as a meet-up and support group for ethnic minority people who are LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans) based in South Wales. Prior to March 2020, we used to meet on a monthly basis face to face, but due to COVID, we moved our meet-ups to a weekly basis on Zoom. We adapted to this challenging / isolating time and found great comfort in each other’s company.

Glitter Cymru came about after hearing the frustrations of my ethnic minority LGBT+ peers, as well as my own frustrations, of not feeling welcomed, understood or represented by the wider LGBT+ community and in society in general. So Glitter was born to be the possible antidote to the issue of invisibility that we continue to feel, particularly in smaller cities like Cardiff and Newport. We come together at our meet-ups to shine, sparkle and feel visible – hence our group’s name is wonderfully apt.

The truth is many of our group attendees and myself included, have experienced a great deal of exclusion and othering. For example, be it racism from the predominately white wider LGBT+ community to homophopia, biphopia and transphopia from people of our own ethnicities.

Don’t just take my word for it, recent research from Stonewall, a leading LGBT+ equality charity, found 51% of ethnic minority LGBT+ people had faced discrimination or poor treatment from the wider LGBT+ community. This issue was found to be greater for Black LGBT+ people where the figure rises to 61%.

Upsettingly, this stat highlights that many ethnic minority LGBT+ people feel they can’t be their authentic selves in British society. In a society where our identities are ignored and debated, we need spaces like Glitter Cymru to feel validated and in turn gain empowerment to face the wider world that can be bigoted.

Apart from our meet-ups, Glitter Cymru aims to raise awareness of ethnic minority LGBT+ identities and issues through campaigns and events. We’d put together a milestone event on 10 August 2019, Wales’ first BAME (Black Asian & Minority Ethnic) Pride in Cardiff where we celebrated our community.

We’ve donated our banner from this event and which we also marched with at Pride Cymru’s parade (on 24 August 2019) to St Fagans National Museum of History.  We’re deeply honoured that our handmade banner will be preserved at the museum and that it will continue to represent a moment in time where ethnic minority LGBT+ people in Wales came forward to be celebrated and acknowledged or in other words shine and sparkle as Glitter is supposed to.

© Glitter Cymru / Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Happy New Year Bulb Buddies!  It’s February already which means spring will be here before we know it.  Some of you may have noticed shoots from your bulbs by now – if so then you’re well on your way to some beautiful blossoms.  Don’t worry if you can’t see any shoots yet, some bulbs take a little longer before they’re ready to sprout, especially if it’s cold outside.

We all know this spring will be little different from other years.  I’m sure many of you Bulb Buddies will be missing your classroom and playground if you’re learning at home.  Perhaps some of you are also thinking of your Baby Bulbs back in school without anybody to look after them – don’t worry, your bulbs will be safe and sound, especially if they’re outside. 

Even though we’re not all in school at the moment Professor Plant still needs your help to collect the weather data and my goodness what a lot of data there is to collect!  It’s very important that we keep a note of rainfall and temperature as our bulbs grow because this will help us to understand our results better in the spring.  I’ve thought of a few ways you might be able to keep your Baby Bulbs happy and help Professor Plant to carry on collecting weather and flower data.  I’d be over the moon if you could help by doing one of these things if you’re able to:

 

Professor Plant’s ideas for continuing to collect data at home:

• Could Bulb Buddies/parents safely collect their pots and take them home to monitor their growth?
• Could a Bulb Buddy who lives close to school safely collect the weather equipment and take weather records at home?
• Would a teacher still attending school be happy to collect weather and flower data with any Bulb Buddies still in attendance?  Data collected could be submitted to the website or collected for the original class to submit on their return to school.
• Is there someone with access to the school who might be willing to monitor the plants?

 

What else can Bulb Buddies do from home?

•  It’s very important to collect weather data for our bulbs –perhaps you could keep a weather diary for Professor Plant?
• The MET office Weather Observation Website will have temperature and rainfall data for your area, perhaps you could make a note of these every day?
• Bulb Buddies and parents learning at home should keep checking the Spring Bulbs website for learning resources and activities to try at home
• Why not share your hard work on Twitter?  My handle is @Professor_Plant

 

Thank you all so much for your help Bulb Buddies, you are all doing fantastic work with this investigation and I definitely couldn’t do this without you!  I’d also like to give a special thank you to the teachers and parents too – we’re so grateful for your help overcoming everything this term throws at us.

Happy gardening everyone!

Professor Plant.

The world has changed immeasurably in the last year, and the threat to the planet caused by climate change is increasing. The climate crisis affects all of us, old and young, but we can make decisions as individuals and as a society to fight climate change before it is too late.

In January, the museum launched Footprints – a new digital festival with a series of talks and events about climate change and sustainability. As part of the festival, an open call was made to young artists in Wales to contribute to a virtual exhibition with work on the themes of protest, sustainability or climate change. This exhibition is now visible here: artsteps | Arddangosfa Rithwir Olion - Footprints Virtual Exhibition

Click on the works to learn more about the artists and what inspired them, then go to http://doo.vote/footprintsexhibition to vote for your favourite. The closing date to vote is February 28^th, and the winner will receive a prize.

The live talks from the festival are now available on the Amgueddfa Cymru youtube channel. These are the talks available:

Sustainable Homes Past, Present and Future – 20 years since opening the ‘House for the Future’

In 2001, the ‘House for the Future’ opened at the Museum for Welsh Life, St Fagans. This pioneering building was the result of collaboration between the museum and Jestico + Whiles Architects to create a sustainable home that predicted the standard of housing in Wales by 2050. Twenty years have since passed, so join our panel to hear them discuss the relevance of the ‘House for the Future’ by today, how the collaboration was inspired by the historic buildings in St Fagans, and exciting developments in sustainable housing and sustainable energy for the future.

Panel

Talulah Thomas (chair) – Amgueddfa Cymru Producer

Dafydd Wiliam – Principal Curator, Historic Buildings

Elinor Gray-Williams – Architect, PEGWArchitects

Grant Peisley – DEG Cymru

Meilyr Tomos – Y Dref Werdd

This is a Welsh language talk, with a simultaneously translated version also available.

Welsh: Olion-Footprints 2021: Cartrefi Cynaliadwy Ddoe, Heddiw ac Yfory CYMRAEG - YouTube

With English translation: Olion-Footprints 2021: Sustainable Homes Past Present and Future WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION - YouTube

Farewell to Fast Fashion

The fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter after the oil industry, and fabric production is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution annually. In the UK we buy more clothes annually per person than any country in Europe, and around 300,000 tonnes of used clothes are burned or buried in landfill every year. It’s clear that we have a problem with fast fashion, but how do we move on from this?

Our panel discuss the key issues surrounding fast fashion, the steps we can take as individuals, and how we can hold brands to account. What is greenwashing? What are clothing brands in Wales doing to be more sustainable? How can we break our addiction to buying new and make the most of the clothes we already have? Listen in to find out!

Panel

Izzy Mcleod (Chair) – Amgueddfa Cymru Producer, blogger at themuccycloud.com

Imogen Ferda-Riley – founder, Clecs Cymru sustainable clothing brand

Elen Mai – sustainability blogger welshwanderer.com

Ophelia Dos Santos – textile artist

This is an English talk and can be viewed here: Olion-Footprints 2021: Ffarwelio â Ffasiwn Brys Farewell to Fast Fashion - YouTube

Love Food Hate Waste: Towards a Sustainable Food Future

UK households waste 4.5 million tonnes of edible food each year, and if global food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US. Many projects and initiatives in Wales are working together towards a sustainable food future, and reducing food waste is an important first step on this journey.

Join our panel as they discuss why reducing food waste is important and what we can do about it, the importance of seasonality and the local food economy, as well as wider issues around food sustainability across Wales and beyond.

Panel

Pearl Costello (chair) – sustainability consultant

Margaret Ogunbanwo – founder, Maggie’s African Twist, author

Dan Hunt – owner, ‘The Sustainable Weigh’ shop

Becca Clark – Green Squirrel

This is an English talk and available here: Olion-Footprints 2021: Caru Bwyd Casau Gwastraff Love Food Hate Waste - YouTube

 

It's National Storytelling Week!! To mark it, we're inviting you to create and tell us a story....about this wedding dress! We'll tell you more about it's real story at the end of the competition, as we don't want it to limit your creativity or influence your ideas, but you might be interested to know that it is made from fine flannel cloth, purchased in 1974, when our museum was still a working woolen mill known as Cambrian Mills.

The winner will receive a beautiful double Welsh wool blanket, made on our museum site by Melin Teifi. A number of colour choices are available.

 

The best story weaver will win a beautiful, traditional double Welsh blanket, made by Melin Teifi on our museum site. These blankets were traditionally given as a wedding gift, and continue to be valued and collected the world over.

HOW TO ENTER:

The art of storytelling is an ancient one here in Wales. It was practiced by Cyfarwyddion, storytellers at the courts of kings and lords as well as at forge fires and in parlours by the fire. To honour this tradition, for storytelling week, we're asking you to TELL us a story, rather than write one down. You are welcome to submit your entry in Welsh or Englisng. So,

1. Dream up, imagine and think through a short, original story inspired by this wedding dress from our collection. You may find it easy to jot down a few notes to help you get a bit of a structure.

2. Practice TELLING the story out loud, and time yourself to make sure it's UNDER 2 MINUTES IN LENGTH. We will not accept stories that go over time.

3. When you feel confident, film yourself telling the story in under 2 minutes. It doesn't need to be fancy, just a film using a phone camera will do. Alternatively, you could record yourself speaking the story (no more than 2 minutes in length) and send us the recording. However, please do not just READ us a story. There's a big difference between spontaeously speaking a story and reading it.

4. When you've got a film / audio recording you're happy with, email it to us at: stori@museumwales.ac.uk

These blankets were traditionally given as wedding gifts, and continue to be heirlooms and collectors items worldwide.

COMPTETITION CLOSING DATE: WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY at 15:00. For competition terms and conditions, see below

We'll be sharing the top 5 stories through our social media channels on Valentine's Day, and announcing the winner that afternoon.

 

 

 

TOP TIPS FOR RECORDING YOUR STORY USING MOBILE PHONE / TABLET / LAPTOP / DESKTOP COMPUTER

Lighting

- Use natural light: outside or beside window with the light on your face.

- Avoid backlighting, e.g. window, lamps, TV behind you.

 

Framing and Positioning 

- Film in landscape, not portrait, position.

- Keep your phone as still as you can by using a tripod or resting it on a steady surface. Avoid hand-held filming.

 

Recording on Laptop or Desktop

- Start up Zoom, Teams, Skype, FaceTime etc and ensure you can see yourself, then start QuickTime Player.

 

Using screen capture with QuickTime Player

- Within the application: File, “New Screen Recording”, press red record button to start capture.

- Press stop button to end the recording.

- Saving the file: File, “Export As”, 1080p, title the video, select file location, “Save”.

 

Terms & Conditions

· The Promoter is: Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru / the National Museum of Wales (Charity Registration number: 525774) whose registered office is at Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NP.

· Employees of the National Museum of Wales or their families, or anyone else connected in any way with the competition, shall not be permitted to enter the competition.

· There is no entry fee to the competition and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.

· The promoter will only consider one entry per participating email, Facebook or Twitter account.

· Entries which put entrants, staff or any other persons at risk will not be eligible for this competition

· The Promoter is not responsible for any physical injury or harm to entrants or any other persons in the course of participating in this competition

· It is the Entrant’s responsibility to ensure that they take necessary precautions to guard their own safety, and the safety of any other persons present, while participating in this competition

· Closing date for entry will be Wednesday 10 February at 15.00. After this date no further entries to the competition will be permitted.

· No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for any reason. 

· The Promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of any event outside of the Promoter's control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the Promoter.

· The Promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.

· No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

· Winners will be chosen on merit by a representative of the Promoter.

· The winners will be notified via email Facebook or Twitter by 15 February. If the winners cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 72 hours of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

· The Promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected, or to where it should be posted

· The Promoter's decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

· The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by UK Law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the UK.

· By entering this competition, an entrant releases Facebook and twitter from any or all liability in connection with this contest

· All entrants agree that National Museum of Wales can display and share their entries on their website and social media channels, with name credit where the information is available. Submitted entries will remain the intellectual property of the entrants.

· Winners agree to post an acknowledgement Facebook or twitter, mentioning @amgueddfacymru in their message.

· The winner agrees to the use of their name, likeness and entry in any publicity material.

· Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant's prior consent.

· Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

· This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or any other social network. You are providing your personal information to the Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales and not to any other party. The information provided will be used in conjunction with the Data Protection Act.

 

It’s Saint Dwynwen’s Day on 25^th January, the day when we celebrate love here in Wales. In case you’re separated from your loved one during this lockdown, we’re posting this recipe early so you get a chance to pop them in the post. Whatever you’re doing, we send you Covid safe cwtches from the museum.

This delicious recipe is from our catering team at National Wool Museum in Drefach Felindre.

 

Pice Bach – Welsh Cakes

 

INGREDIENTS:

1lb self-raising flour

8oz butter

6oz caster sugar

2 eggs

2 handfuls currants – or cranberries if you want to add a dash of red for St Dwynwen’s day!

extra butter for greasing

 

METHOD:

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the diced butter.
2. Rub with your fingertips, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the sugar, currants / cranberries and beaten eggs  and mix well to form a ball of dough, using a splash of milk if needed.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured board to a thickness of about 5mm/½in.
5. Cut into heart shape with a 7.5–10cm/3-4in heart cutter.
6. Rub a bakestone or heavy iron griddle with butter, wipe away the excess and place on the hob until it is heated through.
7. Cook the Welsh cakes a few at a time for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown.
8. Remove from the griddle and dust with caster sugar while still warm.

Here they are, delicious, romantic Welsh Cakes!

Enjoy!!