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Author Talk: Parch by Menna Elfyn

Menna Elfyn is visiting Chapter One on Friday 14th November to give readings from her new book of poetry, Parch. She will be joined by Emma Baines, local poet and translator, who will also read her translations from Parch.


Parch is Menna Elfyn’s sixth poetry book from Bloodaxe. She has published five dual-language books of poetry with Bloodaxe but this volume is in English translation and with new poems.

Parch yw’r chweched o gyfrolau Menna Elfyn o wasg Bloodaxe. Mae wedi cyhoeddi pum cyfrol yn y ddwy iaith ond cyfieithiadau Saesneg a cherddi newydd o’i gwaith fydd yn y gyfrol hon.

Tickets are £5 and include a 10% discount off the book. Click the button below to book your ticket.

Book tickets

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Natural Ink and Paint Making Workshop

Spend the day learning how to make your own art materials from found and foraged plants, earth and metals. 

Together we shall explore the seasonal alchemy of botanical inkmaking with autumnal berries and oak galls, alongside working with deep time earth pigments to create paints.

You will leave with your own cluster of handmade materials and newfound skills to continue playing at home. 

Facilitated by local artist Karn John – www.kathrynjohn.co.uk // IG @_kathrynjohn

Please bring with you:

– An apron, or wear clothes you don’t mind getting a little inky.

– A notebook and pen. 

– A packed lunch. Hot drinks and cakes will be available from the museum cafe. 

– We may take a short walk during the day, so a raincoat and appropriate footwear may be needed. 

If you have any questions or access needs that you would like to share and/or discuss to support your attendance in this workshop, please get in touch with Karn hello@kathrynjohn.co.uk

Book your place here

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Upcoming Events

Our next exhibition at Narberth Museum will be from well-known local painter and writer David Bellamy.

David has been a friend of the museum for many years, having given talks and exhibited here previously. He now returns for a retrospective on his work covering both local and international scenes.

From Pembrokeshire to the Polar Ice Cap: A Retrospective will launch on Friday 6th November at 4pm. You are warmly invited to join us for the launch which will include a talk from David himself which starts at 4:30pm.

Entry to the launch is free.

Imposing castles, spectacular mountains, sweeping beaches and a vibrant culture make Wales a magnet for day-trippers, holiday makers and locals looking for an adventure. But how do you discover its joys without a car?

Join us to hear Alice Hughes share about her journeys around Wales on public transport and on foot. At times funny, at times frustrating, Alice will read from her book, answer our questions and then sign copies.

“Wry, gentle and brimming with detail… Every Other Hour is a lovely, relaxed travel book, bright-eyed with wholesome enjoyment of the author’s own country.” – Ursula Martin, author of One Woman Walks Europe

There will also be coffee and cake!

Tickets are £5 and include coffee, cake and 10% off Alice’s book.

Alice Hughes is a writer from Wales. She grew up in North Wales and she now lives in Cardiff with her partner and their two cats. Every Other Hour is her first book.

Book here

Join us for a glass of fizz to celebrate the new book from Mark Lewis.

He’s back.  Erimos, the shadow of nightmares, the whisper in the darkness.  Following on from the first epic book, the story of Erimos continues as the world falls apart.  Yet this world can still provide surprises.  And hope.  There’s always hope.

There will be readings and a Q&A along with nibbles and a welcome glass of fizz to celebrate the launch.

It’s free entry and signed copies of Mirror and Erimos will be available on the evening.

“Refreshing.  Visceral.  Powerful.   A Waste Land for the digital social mediated landscape of 2026.” Patrick Jones, Poet.

Come and spend the day creating your own seasonal woven wall hanging at Narberth Museum. 

Taking inspiration from the colours and textures each season brings, you will learn or develop the basics of weaving, depending on your experience. This will take place on a simple table-top wooden frame loom, using a bodkin needle to weave with. You may wish to choose one season for your weaving theme or a combination of all four, either reflecting the wintery season we’ll be in or evoking warmth and light from the qualities of the other seasons.  

All materials will be provided. For more info visit and to book visit https://www.starflowerarts.com/weave-the-seasons.html

Do you know what’s happened this week in the world of books? Can you tell your Bronte from your Austen or do you have a good knowledge of famous first lines?

If so, join us for our next edition of The Book-ish Quiz, held in our licensed bar and cafe, and maybe you’ll be the ones to topple the reigning champions, The Undecided.

Tickets can booked via the button below.

Book here

To celebrate the launch of Mel Perry’s new collection, Mineral Wealth, she’s leading a poetry workshop here at Chapter One on mining mining and quarrying the secrets of our family stories.

The workshop is for anyone interested in writing poetry whether they’ve been writing for a while or have just started.

Tickets are £5 and include 10% off Mel’s new book.

‘This intimate collection is a reaching out of memory to life’s pulsing minutiae.’ Menna Elfyn

Mineral Wealth by Mel Perry excavates a matrilineal history embedded in the slate and coal landscapes of Wales, tracing the life of a grandmother the poet never met through photographs, objects, letters, and long-guarded silences. Formally varied, spanning prose poems, dialogues across decades, and concrete arrangements, the collection asks what is inherited, what is buried, and what can be brought carefully to the surface.

Mel Perry is a poet, spoken word performer and therapeutic writing facilitator from Wales. She is Co-Director of write4word CIC.

Book here

We run a writing group that aims to support writers at whatever stage of their writing life they’re in. The friendly, relaxed sessions will offer chances to write, to share, to get feedback and to talk about writing as well as sometimes playing host to writer talks and workshops.

Whether you’re a poet, a playwright, a novelist – or something else – the group will provide a chance to build a writing community for an area flourishing with creativity!

Our sessions are on the fourth Saturday of every month from 10:30-12 noon with our next being on Saturday 26th September followed by Saturday 24th October and Saturday 28th November.

Click the link to book your place for as many sessions as you like, one to ten (if you book ten the other two are free!)

Book here

Come and enjoy a free trial class with Yoga therapist and teacher Ness. 

Join our friendly community and discover a path into healthy aging guided by the principles of Yoga. 

Classes are held weekly in The Schoolroom in the welcoming atmosphere of Narberth museum.

Here are some of the benefits backed by research of Chair Yoga:

  • manages stress
  • supports mental wellbeing
  • improves flexibility
  • builds strength
  • improves balance
  • supports better sleep
  • helps us become more aware of our bodies
  • supports cardiovascular health
  • may help with some types of back pain
  • encourages us to move more regularly

Here are a few words from her students:

“Ness creates a warm, calm and inclusive space in which to explore what your body can do. It benefits my body and my feeling of calm.”  Mandy

“I love this class. It’s warm, friendly and adaptable for all. I found myself getting stronger every week”. Jean

If you would like to book a space please contact Ness on 07919595665

The next sessions of the Writing Hour will be on Saturdays 12th November and 14th December for writers of all kind that would like to write in the peaceful surroundings of our book room.

For one hour from 10:30am to 11:30am you’re welcome to join us for a quiet writing session to work on whatever you’re writing, be it a novel, an essay or a letter.

It’s free to attend and there’s no need to book.

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Inspiring Crankies

Fabulous day today (26 September) with storyteller/author and illustrator Peter Stevenson. Peter told stories from the Mabinogion using a Crankie. The children from Narberth CP School had the chance to create their own Crankie out of matchboxes and tell their own story, based around transformation. It was wonderful to see so much imagination and creativity inspired by stories. And Crankies are just glorious!

The afternoon session saw Peter telling stories to adults and this gave a fascinating insight into the storytelling world. The story of Henry Box Brown told through a Crankie was totally inspiring.

We would love to get Peter back for another session, in the not too distant future. This event was funded by Welsh Government through the Welsh Museums Federation.

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So You’d Like To Write A Book?

It’s Independent Bookshop Day on October 12th, and we’re celebrating all day at Chapter One.

In the morning, we’ve got our regular Paperback Breakfast, a popular event where paperbacks get exchanged and coffee and croissants enjoyed.

In the afternoon, we’ve got a gaggle of local authors with heaps of experience and over 20 titles published, to chat informally about story shaping, traditional v self publishing and – that bete noire of many writers – marketing.

You’re most welcome to come along with any sort of queries and interests. Our authors have written in many different forms, from technical publishing, to writing for radio and tv, to play writing, novels, poetry and short stories.

So whether you’re a complete newbie to writing or have an idea you’ve been incubating for decades, we should be able to help and inspire you.

Saturday, October 12th, Narberth Museum, 2 – 4pm.

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Tales from the Mabinogion

Renowned author, illustrator and storyteller Peter Stevenson will be holding two storytelling sessions at Narberth Museum on Thursday 26th September.  The stories will be based around the Mabinogion (Y Mabinogi) and to bring these to life Peter will be using Crankies.  A Crankie is a long, illustrated scroll (also called a “moving panorama” or a “moving backdrop”) that is wound onto two spools, and loaded into a box which has a viewing screen. The scroll is then hand-cranked while the story depicted upon it is presented.

Peter’s will be holding two sessions for invited school groups.  .  The project has been funded by money from the Welsh Government through the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales.

Peter Stevenson is a storyteller, children’s writer, book illustrator, folklorist, film maker, crankie maker, artist, book maker, organiser of the annual 3-day Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival and Y Mabinogi Project in collaboration with Aberystwyth Arts Centre, and the Wales Appalachia Project, along with Stories@Medina, a storytelling club that encourages collaborations with visual artists, musicians, and puppeteers. He has illustrated, compiled and written many children’s books, travelled the country with storytelling shows for adults that use hundreds of illustrations, crankies, and live music and has written four books of Welsh folk tales for the History Press.

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Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan Event

Narberth Museum volunteers recently attended a workshop with Dr Marian Gwyn and Beloved Adonai entitled Museums, Cynefin and Communities: Building A Lasting Legacy. The event explored how museums can contribute to the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and how, through open dialogue, building up community connections and exploring the ways that the collection can tell more than one story to increase diversity and interaction. It was a fascinating and eye-opening event, real food for thought about the importance of museums and their collections to change-making. There were lots of very interesting discussions and really made the museum look at the way that it engages and uses its collections. Planning ahead now!

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Pembrokeshire’s History Day

We had a really enjoyable time at Scolton Manor recently (19 May) representing the museum at Pembrokeshire’s History Day. There were lots of History exhibition stalls, a time travelling Victorian display, history talks, an archaeology dig and lots of Victorian dress up. Huge thanks to Cait at Scolton who did a great job organising the event. It’s important for people to be able to get to know what amazing heritage is available in Pembrokeshire. See you at the next one!