Places To Go, Things To Do

The Big Pit

Boom! It’s National Museum Week 2019 so I’ve been thinking about the last museum I went to, Big Pit National Coal Museum, Y Pwll Mawr. I bloody loves museums I does. The best of them stir a little something in your soul, leave some new knowledge nestled in your brain and get my kids buzzing with the experience. The Big Pit delivers on all three.

The first time I visited, I was excited to get free entry with my Blue Peter badge (which I’ve sadly lost, do they do replacements?) in about 1990. Another time, aged about 18 with my 9 year old brother the day after watching How Green Was My Valley, he produced a white cotton handkerchief to mop his brow because that’s what they’d done in the film. A few weeks ago we took our own similarly aged children and it’s still a thrill to travel in that dark lift 300 feet underground, to stoop through the tunnels, to momentarily stand in darkness, feel the terror and thankfulness that life has changed.

One of the themes of Museum Week 2019 is #WomenInCulture and the vital role of women in the mining industry and mining communities is explored in the Pithead Baths exhibition. Women were only banned from working underground because the inspector was shocked at their state of undress. The work they did was so physically demanding that they were replaced with ponies. Ponies.

As a museum, the displays and experiences above ground have had a hell of a lot of work since becoming part of National Museums Wales, which gives so much more to explore than the 50 minutes down the pit, the shower block was especially effective with interactive bits. Plus, it’s been free to visit since 2001. FREE. (Think it’s £3 for parking though). It’s set in a unique industrial landscape, designated a World Heritage Site.The guys, real life miners, who lead the tours of the mine are essential, their wit, knowledge and warmth give visitors a flavour of the camaraderie and banter of the place.

That said, I’m not writing this wearing rose tinted glasses about the job of mining. My grandad, great grandad, great uncle, my dad’s cousins all worked in the mines of the South Wales valleys. My grandad hated it. “No son of mine is ever going to work down a mine.” The day he started working at the pits as a teenager, a body was brought up from underground (the deceased man is mentioned in part of the museum), so I can’t say I blame him and he worked his arse off to have a career in another sector.

I am, however, writing this sat in the second largest town in Wales that only sprung into existence on this scale because of the coal industry but I’m also writing this in a time when we’re looking for cleaner energy sources than fossil fuels. Museums are powerful when you can make those connections.

The Big Pit

For more info, opening hours, directions and all that, head here: museum.wales/bigpit/

Things To Do

Free Family Dance Festival (yes, FREE!) this Easter Holidays

This weekend I ended up at Chapter with my boys (Chalk age 8 and Cheese age 4) and my nephew who we shall call (for reasons unbeknownst to you) Ross age 2.

We stumbled across a FREE (yes I do mean to shout that word) new dance event for families that’s touring Wales during the Easter holidays. Chapter’s Coreo Cymru programme and National Dance Company Wales have picked four delicious short dance pieces by four very talented dance companies.

Animatorium by National Dance Company Wales premiered at Green Man festival in 2016. This incredibly skilled group of dancers kept all three boys rapt and asking questions “why are they on the floor?” “is he eating his jumper?” “what do the tags on their jackets mean?”

Bounce by Harnisch-Lacey Dance is a high energy mix of breakdance, acrobatics and contemporary dance that had my 8 year old gymnast saying “wooooah” and prompted a chat about climate change and global warming on our walk back to the car.

Into the Water by Up & Over It mesmerised my 4 year old, so much so that he wriggled his way to the front and sat watching it on his own cross legged. “that was amazing, how did they do that with their hands?!” It was a really sweet piece with amazing hand dancing. You might have seen them on Britain’s Got Talent or YouTube (if you engage with either – I don’t really so hadn’t seen them before).

Homo Irrationalis by Karol Cysewski was very funny and a big hit with the boys. The 4 year old has been muttering “stupid behaviour” daily since we saw it. Three hilarious male dancers took us on a journey through evolution. The boys enjoyed trying to guess which creatures they were at different points.

As a bonus we got to join in with a ceilidh at the end of the show led by Up & Over It. I know it’s some people’s idea of hell but for me it’s the ultimate in family-friendly-join-in-if-you-fancy activities. The 4 year old and I threw ourselves about with gusto (that Gusto, he’s always one for a knees up) while the less keen 8 year old guarded the 2 year old.

It was a gloriously sunshiney day for the first ever Family Dance Festival and as it’s part of a tour you can still catch it across Wales. For my fellow Vale of Glamorganers it’ll be back in our neck of the woods at the end of the Easter hols in the Bay. A good excuse for a stroll across the barrage and some free (yes, FREE!) dance.

Chapter, Cardiff – Friday 7th April 4pm and 6pm / Saturday 8th April 12pm, 3pm and 5pm

Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon – Sunday 9th April 3pm and 5pm / Monday 10th April 12pm and 3pm

The Hafren, Newtown – Tuesday 11th April 3pm and 5pm / Wednesday 12th April 12pm and 3pm

Riverfront, Newport – Tuesday 18th April 3pm and 5pm / Wednesday 19th 12pm and 3pm

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – Friday 21st April 3pm and 5pm / Saturday 22nd April 12pm and 3pm