14c Mostly Cloudy
Barmouth Viaduct at Sunset 
Llanberis from Penllyn 
Morfa Bychan beach near Porthmadog 
THE demon drink has long been blamed for many of society's ills, sometimes justifiably, and the phenomenon of binge drinking is far from being just a 21st century malaise.
Back in Victorian times Wales was at the forefront of a puritanical battle against alcohol, seen as being too po-faced and dictatorial in some quarters, causing a schism in society between those who liked a tipple and others who abhorred it.
It resulted in Welsh pubs having to close their doors on Sundays, a law that was only finally put to bed as recently as 1996.
Some still blame the acute decline in attendances in churches and chapels in Wales, much sharper here than that experienced over the border, on the temperance movement's iron-fisted approach down the years.
A fascinating if compact exhibition at the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor, The Alcohol Controversy, looks at the history of temperance in Wales from the time the concept was first imported from the USA.
It explains how, in the early 19th century, drinking ale was almost the norm because "drinking water in Britain was perhaps the most dangerous habit of all" and tea was way too expensive for the working man and his family.
One exhibit features a letter sent to Lord Penrhyn beseeching him to supply his poverty-stricken slate quarrymen with tea in order to wean them off beer, their work-rate often suffering after they'd drunk to excess.
Many among the early leaders of the temperance movement favoured urging moderation, but the majority's stance eventually hardened to embrace total abstinence as the only way forward.
The exhibition examines the history of the temperance movement in Gwynedd, and looks at how it affected attitudes to drink. One of the highlights is a huge illustrated banner from the Beddgelert Temperance Society, dated 1836.
Another exhibition, All That Glitters, features unique hand-crafted jewellery, all of it also for sale.
This is Gwynedd's only general museum, to which admission is free, and it looks at several aspects of the lives of the county's people down the centuries.
It was established here in 1974 when the unique collection was moved across the city from the University, although the building had previously operated as an art gallery since 1963.
Sadly only the downstairs gallery and the museum shop - featuring ceramics, jewellery, pottery and prints - are accessible to wheelchair-users and the infirm.
Upstairs you'll find a comprehensive exhibition of Welsh country furniture down the ages, many pieces dating from the 17th century.
Meanwhile, an exhibition of 20th century household artefacts, including vacuum cleaners and washing machines, interestingly shows how quickly today's paraphernalia becomes tomorrow's museum pieces.
Here you'll also find a collection of art works, including a notable painting of Caernarfon Castle by famed Belgian-born artist Sir Frank Brangwyn, the first painting ever acquired at auction by the museum.
Meanwhile, the museum is also home to Gwynedd's Young Archaeologists Club, when youngsters aged 8-15 with an interest in archaeology get together once a month. Contact Esther Roberts at the Museum for further information.
The Museum does not have catering facilities but, based as it is in the centre of Bangor right by the main bus station there are several eateries literally yards away.
The 1815 Café-Deli-Bar in Waterloo Street, just across the road, offers an interesting tapas option for one person at £5.95, or a more traditional ploughman's lunch for £5.50.
