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Forum: General Forum
Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , Klingon , sem , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , coldrum , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith
Respond to: Museums - are they useful?
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Blingo_von_Trumpenstein
Joined:
25-01-2011
Messages: 26
from Derbyshire
 OFF-Line
|  New Message Posted!2011-02-03 12:58
I've visited most of the museums in Britain and have had stores visits for several dozen of them. I have only ever been met with excitement, interest and whole-hearted caring. I only view stone items so no idea on rusting iron items. They all have humidity and temperature controlled storage rooms so I can't imagine it is really a big issue . . . but I may be wrong.
I have been constantly delighted by the people I meet in museums and have become good friends with many of them. They don't get paid a huge amount and work long hours protecting our heritage (or they did before all the cuts).
The ones that stand out in terms of helpfulness and passion in my opinion are:
The Ashmolean (Oxford), Buxton, Royal Cornish (Truro), Manchester, Derby, Nottingham, Royal Amrouries (Leeds) and Kendal.
The 1939 edition of the National Welsh Museum's catalogue can be found for just a few quid if you are lucky (I paid £4 delivered for hardback in perfect condition on Ebay). It is a superb book for lithics freaks like me and also covers much megalithic site info aswell.
Try http://www.alibris.com or even Amazon for special/rare/unusual/out of print books !!
Oh yes and they are almost all free to get in and tend to have great cafés (especially the Ashmolean - yum yum) !!
Visit them and see for yourself.
Blingo
A true friend of our museums.
[ This message was edited by: Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on 2011-02-03 13:09 ]
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sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1707
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2011-02-03 00:04
Yet again in Cardiff, THE National Museum of Wales, appears to be lacking in organisation.
My intention was to attend a lunchtime lecture by Dr Rick Schulter on the use of seafood in early prehistoric Wales. As I had lots of other things to do I thought (in my stupidity), "Let's ring Cardiff Museum, just in case the lecture has been cancelled or altered."
The lady-on-the-phone immediately transferred me to Helen Head of Event Organising. A disembodied voice then told me H wasn't at her desk. I could leave my number and she would ring me back but "If I wanted to book a room I should press 1, etc, etc "
Now, given that Helen is "Head" of event organising, why should she be wasting her time answering questions like "Is the Event on?"
The lecture itself was superb, but the whole experience left me wondering where my hard earned "taxes" had been spent.
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AngieLake
Joined:
12-03-2004
Messages: 550
from Newton Abbot, Devon
OFF-Line
|  New Message Posted!2010-08-17 00:21
Well done Simon.
Our breaths are all bated! 
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sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1707
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-08-16 23:29
Museums, are they useful? Judge for yourselves.
Last Thursday I finally managed to spend £55 (YES £55) on the "Catalogue of the Mesolithic and Neolithic Collections" of welsh museums.
Very nice lady at the till - The er'm Meso...Neo.. Neso..?
Me - Yes, the expensive one.
Her (talking to a nice man) - I'm sure we've got one downstairs.
Him - I think we might have.
Me - (to myself) At that price I should damn well hope so.
Her - (producing a very classy brown paper bag into which she puts the book) Thank you.
Me - It looks wet outside (ie it's chucking it down), have you got a plastic bag?
Her - Sorry, we only use bio-degradeable material.
Judge for yourselves.
The tale of what the book tells will have to wait, children.
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airybiker
Joined:
24-06-2010
Messages: 49
from Lancaster Area.
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-20 11:02
When I was making the lamps for the Georgian facade of Kendal Museum, a senior member of staff showed me round the storerooms, and I saw the things they had no room to exhibit.
Many were iron, rusting gently away, when a drop of oil would have done a great deal of good.
The higher you go in any organisation, the more you meet goons whose priorities are determined by a distant committee, and this man, famous in his world, had absolutely no feeling for the welfare of what he was responsible for.
He was just too bloody important .
airybiker.
[ This message was edited by: Runemage on 2010-07-20 12:51 ]
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sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1707
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-20 00:30
So I've heard Cerrig!
Captain, my Captain, archaeology is dead and buried! Although the precise date of internment remains a matter for fudging, sorry calibrating, the radio-carbon dating in order to fit other people's theories.
Sem
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cerrig
Joined:
25-09-2009
Messages: 907
from Brecon Beacons
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-19 23:55
I'm free!!!!
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TheCaptain
Joined:
30-10-2003
Messages: 1483
from near Bristol
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-19 22:43
just wait till all the staff are replaced by part time big countryers doing it for free !
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sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1707
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-19 11:56
It seems I owe Cardiff Museum a few apologies. So.. here goes.
No1. Having paid taxes that keep the museum going, I sincerely apologise for expecting it to be open on a Monday without checking the website.
No2. Ditto the above during school holidays.
No3. Ditto both the above AND during the festival of archaeology.
No4. I sincerely apologise for having spent the £50 plus I was going to spend on a book from the museum shop on a book from a shop that was open, a snack in a cafe that was open and a lovely piece of fish from a stall in the market, which funnily enough was also open.
Not bad, trying to visit the same place twice in a week and on both occassions being unable to!
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TheCaptain
Joined:
30-10-2003
Messages: 1483
from near Bristol
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2010-07-15 01:14
So who was using the other three?
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