Culture Syndicates CIC

   First Posted: 29th March 2017  In  Collections ,  News And Opportunities ‘The Plastic Revolution’  will be opening from the 1st April at Bassetlaw Museum, Retford. This new exhibition will focus on the uses and types of early plastics.   As part of my work as a Collections Intern at Bassetlaw Museum, I was given the opportunity to develop and create a new temporary exhibition, about the Plastic Revolution. I decided upon this theme, through exploring the collections and stores of Bassetlaw Museum. I combined this with my own interest in early-mid 20th Century history. I thought it would be interesting to look at the development of, and all the applied uses of the first natural and synthetic plastics, plus the wide variety of uses they had. In this exhibition, you will learn about three of the main types of early plastics from the early-mid 20th Century: Celluloid Bakelite Lucite   You will discover how they were used for domestic items, toys, p...

   First Posted: 22nd March 2017  In  Exploring History Impossible to prove but also impossible to disprove; this is what makes fantasy genealogy so fascinating to me. When my lecturer made a joke about how Queen Elizabeth II was descended from Odin, I don’t believe that he honestly intended for anyone to be interested enough to research the subject. Yet here I am, attempting to explain how, through a possibly inaccurate chain of generations, the Christian Queen of England came to trace her fantasy genealogy back to the ruler of all Norse Gods in the Pagan Pantheon. ​Rulers tracing their lineage back to a divine source is one of the oldest royal traditions, with one of the most famous examples being that of the Caesars of Ancient Rome. One of the titles of Augustus Caesar was ‘Son of (a) God’. On the surface, this is simple to explain as he was the adopted son of the deified Julius Caesar, a connection he was keen to emphasise. However, this title runs much deeper th...

   First Posted: 22nd March 2017  In  Reviews It’s not every day you find a bright yellow 1960s caravan gallery in the middle of Sneinton, but that’s precisely what  Anne-Marie  (fellow RS Intern) and I found on Saturday 4th March. We went to see  The Caravan Gallery  because Anne-Marie had seen it on the local news. It comprised of the caravan itself (pictured) and a project hub inside one of the units on Market Avenue. It was a part of the Sneinton Pride of Place Project commissioned by The Renewal Trust, a Nottingham charity. The Hub The People’s Map of Sneinton hung on the back wall of the hub, where anyone could annotate it with stories, special places and memories. Nobody held back! There were stories of first kisses, first houses and even conceptions! The project also asked for local people to bring any art, crafts, photographs, films, memorabilia, stories, poems, book and objects which related to Sneinton, “warts and all” in their words. ​...

   First Posted: 14th March 2017  In  Health And Wellbeing ​There is still much debate surrounding the role of wellbeing in museums  and within society, and their responsibilities towards social issues. National agendas that are governmental led require other services to facilitate these initiatives, providing health education beyond a medical framework. As outlined in my previous blog, museums are already working with, and supporting, individuals affected by dementia and memory loss, a common attribute of old age, but what are they doing in response to modern lifestyle diseases and their causes, such as obesity or smoking? Museums have always been educators, specifically focusing on their chosen theme or topic. They have developed a foundation of trust in providing information, but what if this stretches beyond their presumed remit, challenging the service delivery we expect from them? Seen as “free choice” learning sites, as we choose whether or not to engage ...

   First Posted: 14th March 2017  In  Exploring History For the BHI Museum’s upcoming event to mark the clocks going forward, the theme is timekeepers in literature and song, or ‘Once Upon a Time’ (get it?). Leading up to the event, I have been doing research into this theme and thinking about how it relates to the collection we have at the museum. This blog presents some of my preliminary research in the form of a  top 10 of literary clocks and watches . At the moment, I am in the process of condensing and clarifying this initial research for interpretation panels at the event. 1. Hickory Dickory Dock  – The long case clock that the mouse runs down ‘Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock’ Hickory Dickory Dock was first published in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book in 1744. Although more or less a nonsense poem, the rhyme is thought by some to have a connection with the large astronomical clock at Exeter Cathedral, which dates back to the 15th cen...

   First Posted: 8th March 2017  In  Health And Wellbeing This month, Ayscoughfee Hall welcomed Spalding Safe Places. An initiative set up to support people with mental health problems; providing them with a physical refuge from the stresses they may face in everyday life. Safe Spaces founder, Vanessa Browning, launched the programme in October 2016, with the help of Councillor Jack McLean and the Tonic Centre (a charity community hub in Spalding for health and wellbeing). Vanessa herself battled mental health issues for 4 years, before meeting Jack through one of his campaigns for election. She mentioned to him the need for better mental health care in the area and from this was born ‘Community Mind Matters’, an online support forum for people with conditions such as depression and anxiety. Following this, Vanessa set up a running club, aiming to support mental health sufferers in a more physical way, promoting mental health and wellbeing through exercise. Safe Spac...

   First posted: 8th March 2017  In  Reviews This month, I thought I would talk about some of the best heritage tours I have been on in recent years, the Hidden London tours. In February I went on a tour of Down Street Station, my third Hidden London tour over the last year, the first two being at Clapham South Station and 55 Broadway. Hidden London tours are organised and run by the London Transport Museum in agreement with Transport for London (TFL). On the tours, you are shown around by some of the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers and staff of Hidden London. The tours offer a glimpse at some of the disused stations of the London Underground system, telling you about the history of the original station and other uses it might have had, such as an air raid shelter. When in the stations or building, you can feel yourself become immersed in the history of the site, imagining them as they were in their heyday. ​ As I said, I have visited Down Street Stati...