Put up a podcast of a childrens story- a memory of life in a remote TB sanatorium in Wales, how one child , Douglas, was forcefed cabbage until he vomited.
That child is now a successful Swansea accountant so I sent him a link to the blog and got an email back saying he was on holiday in Antartica.
'Tis a shrinking world we live in…
Podcast available at:
www.Youtube.com/childrenofcraigynos
or from my blog:
Just returned from Wales having deposited the "Children of Craig-y-nos" exhibition with Swansea museum.
They will store it until the summer when it will be exhibited there for two months – July and August.
Saw the space today and was a bit taken aback at the size. It is enormous!
Normally this is the Resource room for school projects but they have agreed to let us have it for the summer months as an exhibition venue.
The project is becoming more community based in Wales- essential since I am based in Scotland- and a small group is emerging who are prepared to help.
When we saw the size of the exhibition space this morning we agreed that some kind of installation is required to go with the photos.
Have to discuss several proposals with the curator.
Fly to Cardiff on Thursday to dismantle exhibition in Brecon. Hopefully this time the airline will not loose our luggage.
Some good news…Swansea museum have agreed to take the "Children of Craig-y-nos" exhibition for the months of July and August.
Moreover, they will store it there until needed. So we take it, with the help of volunteers involved in the project to Swansea museum on Sunday morning having put it in to archival boxes supplied by The Wellcome Trust, courtesy of Dr Carole Reeves.
Meanwhile, will take the opportunity while in Wales to do some last minute research. Have just heard of a vast collection of photos belonging to an auxiliary nurse, Auntie Maggie, who was a surrogate mother to all the children.
She died, blind, some years ago.
Just when I thought all my research for the book was complete an email pops into my mailbox from Canada…and yet another avenue opens up: more childhood memories whizzing across the world wide web.
Sandy from Ontario tells me she burnt the dinner the night before so engrossed was she in reading my blog and seeing photographs not only of herself but of childhood friends there.
Ann Shaw is an artist/writer based in Scotland working in new media. As a journalist she campaigned and wrote about many social and medical issues. She is a feminist and founder member of Falkirk Womens Aid, active in the trades union movement and former member of National Union of Journalists Equality Working Party, and founder member of Forth Valley Open Studios.
