We have had a very pleasant morning. I was invited to speak to the University of the Third Age in Brecon. It was a lovely bright morning and the views in the snow covered hills were beautiful. We had a very warm welcome from our hosts in the Theatre who were concerned to ensure our…
Author: gbadmin
January 2012
It has been a busy and in some ways an unexpected start to the New Year. Visitor totals have remained at a high level, with particular interest being shown in Robert Everett and Hedd Wyn, as always. The piece in the Welsh Country Magazine this month was about Charles Rolls, of Rolls Royce fame, who…
December 2011
I am still coming to terms with the new website and its special tricks. That is why I am so far behind! Of course work on the Bloody Welsh History volume took some time too but it is time that I gave the websites more attention. Anyway, visitors are still pleasing with double figures every…
An introduction
Cwm School Records – an Introduction The closure of Cwm schoo lwas the end of a little piece of history. A place which had been a focal point for a small community and holding so many important memories for so many people. My wife’s family all went there and so did my own children for…
Times change. Issues don’t.
Times change. Issues don’t One of the great fascinations of reading the log books is the way that you can suddenly be surprised at how contemporary some of the issues appear to be. The same issues appear to have been facing schools for over a century. Look at some of the examples I have unearthed …
Two Marys
Two Marys (as originally published in the Times Education Supplement April 2010) A local school is closing. All that it represents will be consigned to history. Cwm School, a warm and productive place, will cease to be in September after over 130 years. I have been able to look at the School Log books which…
Cwm at War
Cwm at War The First World War did not impact much on Cwm School. They delayed playtime in 1914 so the children could watch soldiers go past on the train. At Christmas 1915 they held a concert and a collection in aid of wounded soldiers and on 17 July 1919 the school was closed for…
Into the Seventies and Eighties
Into the Seventies and Eighties In the final surviving log book from Cwm School we arrive at the Seventies and we can continue to examine issues big and small. In 1974 the school moved into refurbished buildings, but with a sense of disappointment, especially with the standard of the work. The toilets didn’t flush properly …
The Punishment Book
The Punishment Book I am so glad we don’t have such a thing today. The book speaks of a more brutal time – “A Record of Cases of Corporal Punishment” – as it tells us on the inside cover. The one I have found in Cwm School dates from 1959 and what strikes you first…
Ann of Bridgewater
Did you ever hear the story of the Ann of Bridgwater? No I hadn’t heard of it either but if you go looking you can find the oddest things. As I did, rather like the Rhosili rocket crew… Ann of Bridgwater was a ship that was found drifting off Rhosili at the very end of…