History in the Making

My father Raymond was an engineer and, for as long as I can remember, has loved nothing more than to spend a few hours buried under the bonnet of a classic car.

I guess I've inherited his passion, and one of the proudest moments of my life was becoming editor of the Coventry Evening Telegraph - the city where the once-proud British motor industry was born and grew. (And if you have not yet visited Coventry Transport Museum, you've a treat in store)

Here's dad speaking about the car he's driven for over 20 years ... a 1936 Alvis Speed 20. Built in Coventry, of course.

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The Welsh National Heritage Museum at St Fagan's, near Cardiff is marvellous museum. Set in rolling Welsh countryside, buildings that tell the story of Welsh heritage through the ages have been moved to St Fagan's, and painstakingly rebuilt. Knowledgeable, helpful and extrememly friendly museum staff are on hand to help visitors bring to life the story of these remarkable buildings.

Shops, a church, mill, bakery, row of terraced miners' cottages are all there. As is a reconstruction of a Celtic settlement, tucked away in woodland behind a wall of wooden stakes.

It was here that I cam across Ian. In a dark, thatched Iron Age roundhouse, gently prodding an open fire that left a layer of wood-scented smoke above head height. He was only too eager to explain who might have lived in the house, and the life they might have led. Fascinating.

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