Good day today at the Syr Henry Jones Museum - working on their documentation.  Interesting exhibition they have on at the moment - it's about E.H. Jones, Syr Henry's son who was an prisoner of the Turks after being captured during the Kut debacle in 1916.  His experiences are detailed in his excellent book "The Road to En-Dor", which I believe that Maj. Pat Reid mentions in "The Colditz Story" as being an inspiration for British escapers during the Second World War. 

At the museum you'd find out how E.H. Jones corresponded with his parents through postcards using a code of sorts - great story and another reason to go and check out this small but perfectly formed museum.  It's a tribute to the truly "hands-on" trustees of the Syr Henry Jones Museum that they have a vibrant exhibition programme and an immaculately kept museum. Have a trip up to Llangernyw and check it out - only a quarter of an hour or so from either Llanrwst or Abergele, and well worth it.

Very busy recently - in fact it’s been an interesting couple of weeks – now working on two main projects.  The first is at Llangollen Museum, where I’ve been awarded the contract as Documentations Officer – 3 days a week for the next few months making sure that their collections are fully up to date, correct and all with the proper images.  It’s similar to the work I’ve been doing in Llandudno in many respects, but with the added photography and scanning.  

It’s always good to look through collections like this – ok it’s not exactly “every day is like Christmas!”, but there is so much scope for the curious curator (good name for a book – or a tv series – someone commission it now, I’ll take 10%... maybe 20…).  Favourite find so far has been the log book that I’ve mentioned on the Llangollen Museum Facebook page –I’ve been asked to blog on my findings by the management.  It was the log book of and RAF pilot who had gone on to fly gliders and detailed his missions on D-Day, taking across a party from the Royal Ulster Rifles (my grandfather’s old regiment, albeit in the 14-18 war) and later in the Rhine Crossings.  

I’ll be doing a bit of museum management at Llangollen as well and the possibility of a little practical archaeology later in the summer too… looking forward to it.

The other project is at the Syr Henry Jones Museum, Llangernyw.  It’s one of those museums that can get overlooked because it’s in a village in the hills between Abergele and Llanrwst and is, at first glance, only on one topic – it’s the childhood home of the aforementioned Syr (Welsh spelling) Henry Jones, who went from mending shoes in his father’s workshop, to gaining the Chair of Philosophy at Glasgow, and the museum celebrates his life an works – it is certainly a good story of local boy makes good, but it also offers a snapshot of Welsh rural life in the nineteenth century and points out the importance of education in Welsh society at the time.  The museum is well worth the drive through some very pretty scenery.  I’ll be working on the museum’s collections management but also their forward plan and documentation as they prepare for their Accreditation return in the October tranche.  

I’ve been working on collections management a lot recently, so it will be good and useful to work on the strategic side of museums management. 

Today was also the launch of the People’s Collection in North-East Wales.  It’s great to see results of the work you’ve put in, even if it was over a year ago – or maybe it just seems it…  The launch was at Wrexham Museum, which meant that apart from catching up with my AMA mentor I was able to view the exhibition “To War with Wellington” based on Michael Crumplin’s private collection of Napoleonic memorabilia.  Unmissable if you’re anywhere near the area and a Napoleonic fan.  Which I am.  

On the subject of a year ago, tonight also saw the broadcast of Lost Routes of Britain with Griff Rhys Jones – glad Nantclwyd y Dre got some publicity – and also satisfying to see the on screen experts tell the viewing audience the odd thing that you told them off-camera just a few moments before!  I was just out of shot a few times too… a good experience and an amazing chance to publicise Nantclwyd y Dre, which ought to be better known and more visited.

Will be spending a few days a week this summer down in Llangollen - great place to be! I'll be at the museum on Parade Street, working on the collections, doing some staff training on collections management systems and a load of imaging for the museum database and for their website. 

Well, with many thanks to Mr Dave Snape the website is looking good and the new e-mail on there is working nicely.

Rainy day for the Jubilee -wet weekend in all, but the long weekend's festivities and my work in Llandudno has sent me thinking.

There has long been a debate over what sort of history is taught in schools, with the debate being mostly along the lines of traditional "battles and kings" history against "how ordinary people lived in times past" history.  In the right balance, nothing wrong with either approach in the right balance.  If you look at television, there seems to be much more of this balanced approach.  You can't have one without the other.

In the month or so I've been at Llandudno there have been two aspects to the collections.   In in one room there was a large collection of military memorabilia including items from the Royal Artillery Club collection.  Elsewhere there have been items mostly associated with the Welsh Kitchen. The way I've been sorting them into their boxes in their separate rooms is simply to distinguish between "Military Boxes"  and "Social Boxes".  I do wonder whether this is a true division or just a handy label to use for sorting out such collections, with the whole debate on what sort of history we are taught causing this division in the mind.

Is it because the history of Britain since 1945 has been so troublesome with the loss of international status going with the Empire that we are now looking inwards, perhaps - or looking differently - at history, and being more interested in the daily life of ordinary people?  Perhaps the most interesting objects are those where both sides collide - the small and personal but associated with the major historical event.  The best artefact that I've come across in the last 6 months or so was a postcard.

The card came in a box that had been at Bodelwyddan Castle, almost definitely for longer than I had been working for Denbighshire.  Morrigan Mason at Bodelwyddan told us there were some Rhyl associated items that had turned up - and would we like them.  Morrigan had done an excellent job in organising the postcard collection, especially as there were a few hundred of them.

One afternoon I had a good look at them.  Pretty much all were of the coastal resorts and towns throughout North Wales, not just Rhyl.  Many had been posted, stamps and clear postmarks being wonderful news to the social historian.  The one that really got to me, however, was a postcard of the Marine Lake, Rhyl Miniature Railway, only a few years after it opened. It was a coloured in photograph of one of the engines on the tracks full of holidaymakers in their best clothes, enjoying the experience.  It could have been a sunny Bank Holiday snap.  What makes the card special, however, is when you associate the happy picture on the front with the postmark.

The postmark was dated 9.30 PM on 3rd August 1914.  The last day, indeed the last few hours of peace before the horrors of the First World War.  

Suddenly the happy snap is a memory of the last hours of a world that was about to destroy itself forever, a confident world, certain of its values, and sure that these values and Britain's place in the world would remain forever.  The picture becomes more poignant.  The postcard becomes a symbol of lost innocence and a world about to be left in ruins.  The bright colours contrast with the now familiar photos of men in uniform, black and white such as the ones I've inherited from my own grandfathers, both of whom went through the trenches.  The postcard is such a simple thing, the writing just a short message on the "having a lovely time" theme, but because of when it was sent - and also think of when it was received - it becomes so much more.  A cheap little item when originally bought and posted, now to the right people, priceless.

Further  television thought - good to see Griff Rhys Jones' Britain's Lost Routes - mostly because he came to Nantclwyd y Dre last year to do some of the filming of the series - it'll be on the programme where they're covering the pilgrim trail from Holywell to St Davids.  They spent most of the day at Nantclwyd, cooking in the garden as it went dark.  Nice to meet Griff and the crew who were excellent guests, even the next morning when he signed our guest book. 

http://www.peteralexheritage.co.uk/

End of another week down in Llandudno, but may be spreading my wings a bit - possible work coming up in Llangollen and in Conwy - watch this space. 

This week's Accreditation Briefing was interesting, looking at the new standard and how to fill in the forms online may not be essential for a freelancer, but it does impact on the work you do.

The session, led by Emma Chaplin pointed out the need for Accreditation to be an ongoing process, not just a case of  "whew, we passed this time - it's OK to sit tight for a few years now!"  Some of my upcoming work might be entwined with upcoming Accreditations, so it'll be all hands to the pump with Forward Plans and other documentation.  It'll make a change from collections management, although there will be some of that, but I won't be getting my hands dirty by actually handling anything. Damn.  It's been nice the last few weeks having a look at everything from Civil War armour to Eleventh Century Coins, to beer bottles. Yes, no end of beer bottles....  All in a collection, I should point out!

Website : http://www.peteralexheritage.co.uk ought to be up and running in a week or so. That is the plan....

Great week, including getting down to London for the Museums and Heritage Show at Earls Court. Although it's mostly a trade show with stands that are more designed for the museum and heritage organisations the seminars on engagement with young people and on marketing were pretty good, although there was nowhere near enough space to fit everyone in who wanted to attend - note for next year - more space for the seminar rooms!  Good to see Dr Sian James -who I'd run into in Llandudno only the day before - from the wonderful folks at Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, and Annette Butler from Framework.  Their transportable cases made life a load easier when I was with Denbighshire.   Putting three collapsible museum cases in the back of an old Punto is no easy task, but achievable without too much bending of the space-time continuum. 

Must also apologise to all who had to clean up afterwards as I left my business cards on as many tables as I could.  Must have been a few left over!

In between another couple of days of working on the collections at Llandudno Museum.  Having a look at the Museum's environmental controls this Tuesday, so more on this subject then.

Then the week got not so good.  When one of the most competent people in the museum world in Wales hands in her notice,something somewhere is very very wrong.  There's not much more I can say here, due to legal considerations, but most of us, in the north anyway, know who the guilty men are and how it is a demonstration, even in these troubled times, of how not to manage a museums service and how to alienate an demoralise staff.

Men that, having been given the Welsh Government's "Museums Strategy for Wales" have not read it.  Who told me that they did not see how it applied to them.   These are people responsible for a heritage service - along with other services, yes, but when some of the most important heritage sites in the region are in their hands you despair.  See my previous post on how local authorities see the museum future.

Dark days, my friends, dark days...

It's been a busy couple of weeks down at Llandudno Museum.  On one level it's great to be let loose to catalogue an entire collection but also daunting due to its size as well as finding items for which you find you need to create a whole new record.  Looking at the CyMAL Significance Model has also helped to see things in a new light, and will hopefully be a tool to help with the further development of the collections.

Wednesday was a great day out in Llanelidan with Dave and Polly Snape.  I've worked with Polly with a schools drama and exhibition project at Plas Newydd, Llangollen.  Great work, helped by Polly's seemingly endless energy. Dave is currently setting up my website for my consultation work. Coming to a webspace near you soon at www.peteralexheritage.co.uk.  

Thoroughly recommend the Leyland Arms at Llanelidan too - excellent chowder. It was a nice chance to re-connect with my old job, visiting Llanelidan church, seeing the grave of John Jones, Coch Bach y Bala, who was shot nearby in 1913after breaking out of Ruthin Gaol.  Inside is also the memorial to Eubule Thelwall who lived in and added to Nantclwyd y Dre.  A truly wonderful little village church.