Welsh Museums Festival: Aneirin Karadog's 'History of Hwyl' launches

Pupils in Carmarthenshire have had a unique opportunity to learn cynghanedd with poet Aneirin Karadog, as part of a session launching his new resource ‘History of Hwyl’ (joy or fun in English) for the Welsh Museums Festival.
The workshop at Carmarthenshire Museum was an opportunity not only to explore poetry, but also the activities and traditions of Wales that symbolise the Hwyl' in Wales over the years. The resource will be available at the 50+ museums participating in the festival during October half term (25 October - 2 November).
The author of the resource, poet Aneirin Karadog, said: "I've really enjoyed the process of developing the booklet, especially the opportunity to introduce one of Wales' most unique bardic traditions, the cynghanedd!
"As we remember dark times like Tryweryn or Aberfan this week, it's a nice thing for us to come together and discover our unique ‘hwyl’ (joy or fun in English) – for example old Welsh sports such as Bando and Car Gwyllt. I really hope you enjoy the booklet!"
Families can access the resource – free of charge – when visiting the festival's museums over half term. A full list is available on the festival's website.
Ken Griffin, President of Museums Federation Cymru, which organises the Welsh Museums Festival, said: "The resource offers opportunities for museums and galleries of all sizes, particularly smaller venues and volunteer-led venues, to extend a warm welcome to visitors and to link the stories in the resource with items already part of their collections."
Year 5 and 6 pupils from Ysgol Abergwili took part in the session with Aneirin asking them to find an item in the museum's collection to kick-start the creative process. Loanna chose artifacts “the phone and the buttons” in particular; Reuben and Alexander liked to write about “the Egyptian exhibition"; and Max liked to write about “the mystery of the fire, the palace and the school".
In addition to the resource, the festival is also running a Wales History Trails Passport Challenge which allows those who attend one museum over half term the chance to win a den making kit (or a scooter if they succeed in visiting six museums by the end of the 2026 Easter holidays).
The main purpose of these activities is to showcase the power of museums. Mrs Caryl Beynon from Ysgol Abergwili said: "Carmarthenshire Museum is a great resource to help pupils immerse themselves in the heritage and history of Carmarthenshire and Wales. They enjoy learning in a visible and interactive form and we are fortunate that the museum is within a stone's throw of the school."
For more information about the festival, visit: www.museumfestival.wales