Monthly Archives November 2017

‘A Test of Endurance’

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

It was on October 29th 1987 that Owen Davies passed his driving test. It took a few attempts but determination to achieve won through, despite one ‘Failure Sheet’ looking like a ‘Football Coupon’. Owen was delighted by his achievement. It’s not merely the freedom of mobility, but the satisfaction of knowing that I passed my Test entirely on merit, plus the fact of being 100% responsible for my actions is extremely rewarding. He also paid tribute to his driving instructors Norman Hadlow and Chris Reed. To offer thanks for their dedication, friendship and outstanding professionalism, seems totally inadequate, therefore all I
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Pen Y Bryn School visits Swansea University

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

This month a group of budding historians from Pen Y Bryn came to Swansea University to visit the Richard Burton Archives and the Egypt Centre. Their visit began with half of the pupils visiting the archives and while the others worked in the library researching the history of Longfields Association. Katrina and Sue from Richard Burton Archives made us all feel very welcome and their enthusiasm was mirrored by the pupils! Richard Burton’s ‘book bag’ was the cause of much debate. How many books could fit in there? Would the bag be too big to take on a plane as hand luggage
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Owen Davies learns to drive

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

Owen Davies was one of the first children to attend the school set up by Longfields in 1953. He didn’t attend Longfields as an adult but his family were supporters of the Association and his mother was an active member of the Ladies Guild. Owen contributed articles to the Association’s Year Books and in the 1983/84 Year Book he wrote about his decision to learn to drive. The article entitled Oh’L’ its Owen. is reproduced below. You will be able to find out if he passed his driving test in a future post.
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Association Year Books

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

As with similar organisations Longfields produced a series of Year Books and between 1959 and 1999 there were a total of twenty-nine books printed. The Year Books are a valuable resource when researching the history of the organisation as they give an insight into the day to day life of the organisation, the issues they faced and achievements made. They also reflect social change and attitudes towards disability. The inside cover of this Year Book illustrates how the organisation was supported during the early years. In addition to the people listed here the Officers of the Association included Honorary appointments of Secretary, Treasurer, Solicitors,
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Being Human Festival 2016

November 21, 2017 | Comments Off

We had a brilliant event on Thursday 24 November as part of the Being Human Festival which was organised by RIAH – Research Institute for Arts and Humanities at Swansea. During the festival over 250 events took place over 45 towns and cities across the UK and was led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. The programme of events was themed around ‘Hope and Fear’. Our workshop took place at The Waterfront Museum in Swansea in the Ocean room which is where we will be holding our
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