Learning from the Past

Before I start, I should warn you that there's no grand social faux pas that I've learned from. Sorry to disappoint! It's rather more literal.

Last week, I went with my family for a short city break to Cardiff. While we were there, we visited St Fagan's National History Museum which details a history of Welsh life. It's a 'living museum' and therefore, in my view, far more interesting than looking at something in a glass case.

I was enthralled. This visit has not, I hasten to add, spurred a change in direction for my writing. I am not going to attempt to pen a historical novel with my woefully inadequate knowledge of history but will try and encapsulate what I learned.

The buildings that have been taken down from across Wales and resurrected at St Fagan's are presented as close as possible to how people would have lived and it was those little details that hit home and brought the places to life. The smell of the peat fire in the 1700's farmer's cottage. The linen at the window that diffused the light rather than making the room darker. And the high threshold that would have kept the thresh inside the house.


The devil's in the detail, so they say, and it's the little things that count, so I am going to try to include the little details that will really bring my writing to life.

And as an attraction, if you're in the area, St Fagan's is a great way to spend your time. From a grand house built on the site of an old castle to a farm outbuilding that dates from the 1100's and all surrounded by farmland, it was a peaceful, beautiful and enlightening.