Memory mosaic

I took this photo on Thursday in fact. It's part of a larger mosaic mural that covers part of one wall of our market hall. as can be seen in this blip from last year.

The mosaic was created as a joint project by local school children  who painted their designs on to tiles which were fired and  arranged by  several artists and craftspeople involved in the project. It shows in its entirety the three  sections of the community: Lower Fishguard with its old original harbour,  Upper Fishguard which became the main town centre, and Goodwick the adjoining hamlet that grew into a transport hub with a  port and  railway. Around the main mosaic are smaller vignettes depicting stories, people, wildlife of the area.  It's a panoramic celebration of this particular corner of the universe by  young people who grew up here.

It's also a historical record. For instance in the section pictured here, of  Goodwick,  the brick works on the left has long gone, the thumbnailed hotel has folded,  most of the chapels pictured have closed and become holiday homes and the Irish ferry with its rail link has been severely compromised by Brexit. The mosaic is a snapshot of  small town life  that's going, going, gone.

But no one takes any notice of it! Visitors flock to the Last Invasion Tapestry upstairs which has become a mecca for needleworkers, but I've not seen anyone taking an interest in this mosaic, it's as if it's become the wallpaper. There's hardly any explanation of what it is and who made it, apart from the date 1989. Is this is because it is the work of children, I ask myself. Twenty years ago it almost got trashed when the market hall was upgraded and there was  some doubt as to whether the mosaic could be retained.

I decided to turn to social media. It's hard to take decent photos because of its elevated position but I did my best and posted them on a local Facebook group:

"I'm looking for information on the mosaic in the market hall... I feel it's a neglected work of art that deserves as much attention as the Tapestry. It's an ingenious, amusing, colourful, highly detailed, panorama of local sights and stories, presumably created by local children. It's titled 'Gwyl Cerdd Abergwaun 1970 - 1989'....What do you know about it? Were you involved? Any memories? "


That was 18 hours ago and I've had 125 comments. The pupils involved who are now in their 40s, I imagine, are recalling and reminiscing about their contributions with a mixture of pride, humour and embarrassment and other people are pointing me in the direction of the adults who participated. Someone's told me that one individual singlehandedly replaced the tiles that were damaged when the hall was renovated. Someone else said her late mum was involved in the mosaic's creation - turns out she was a member of my reading group. And so on.

I'm delighted to have got this far but my hope is to put the mosaic on the map, have some postcards made and turn it into the attraction it deserves to be.

Newsflash - a whole lot more information has just come in!!