The Attic

My dear, I think you have struck home on the point...

2012-05-23T13:00:52.354+01:00

My dear, I think you have struck home on the points that every PhD student feels more than once during their academic career! However, the fact that you acknowledge the flaws is a really good sign I should think!

Thanks for the links to those existing acts and to...

2012-05-14T14:24:09.984+01:00

Thanks for the links to those existing acts and toolkits. I'm curious to see what comes from this new research. Disposal is a never ending problem!

I think the consideration about room in a museum i...

2012-05-08T19:09:11.930+01:00

I think the consideration about room in a museum is a very important one to this discussion. Certainly the last museum I was with had a huge problem with that. They wanted to accept everything to 'get it out of the public's attic', but did not have the room. In some case, I think, the object might be better looked after by a private family than left to 'rot' in a museum store room.

I love this story. I'm trying to decide on wh...

2012-05-08T14:11:14.654+01:00

I love this story. I'm trying to decide on which side of the fence I'd fall. We have a family sword in the Manitoba Museum that I'm quite proud of. It was never really "in the family" in a private collection for generations though - it was acquired by the museum ages ago and is associated with the Red River rebellion.

I am glad that the sword is in the museum. It was on permanent display for ages (not sure if it still is), so it definitely has had a better life than in someone's attic.

This kind of topic brings up a lot of issues around acquisitions and disposals. Do you acquire something, even something unique, if you can't foresee specific display opportunities in the near future? Is the object required in current research? If not, once acquired, the museum must house it for forever - a very long time. With storage and display space at a premium in every museum, maybe it is better for some objects to be enjoyed in other ways - like in private collections.

Very interesting, thanks Ariane!

2012-04-27T14:19:36.013+01:00

Very interesting, thanks Ariane!

Ooh, that sounds exciting! Interested in Jewry Wal...

2012-04-20T20:52:58.079+01:00

Ooh, that sounds exciting! Interested in Jewry Wall? The other one sounds more family oriented (and I'm busy that day anyways).

Best way to prepare for your viva? Get the worst c...

2012-04-11T17:40:51.336+01:00

Best way to prepare for your viva? Get the worst chest infection in history, completely lose your voice for a fortnight, develop severe asthma two days before, and spend the next 24 hours expecting to be admitted to hospital. Suddenly a PhD viva seems very insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Breathing takes priority. ;)

Oh, I agree with you: I sprint. And sometimes it o...

2012-03-13T09:40:23.338Z

Oh, I agree with you: I sprint. And sometimes it only happens once a week! This last week has been especially hard because I'm trying to get back into research (opposed to writing) mode and it's not happening without a great deal of headache. I've managed about 2 hours of work each day, in a solid mass, and then faffed about the rest of the time! I wish I was a marathon runner...

Tracy Chevalier wrote about Anning? Cool! I did no...

2012-03-01T21:40:52.365Z

Tracy Chevalier wrote about Anning? Cool! I did not know that. I suspect it will be an easy read, you are right!

What is Waterfield's book about? I have read an interesting article about 18th century revivalism by someone of that name... perhaps it was the same man?

I got de Waal for Christmas from a friend, but haven't read it yet. My grandmother, who was staying over the hols devoured it and loved it. Not really a novel, though.

I like Pamuk a lot; my favourite is "My Name is Red" which I read parallel with Rushdie's "The Enchantress of Florence", though "The Black Book" was also excellent. I find his melancholia extremely affecting, though, and can only read a couple of chapters at a time to avoid being swallowed up!

There's another Anning related book: Tracy Che...

2012-03-01T19:55:13.995Z

There's another Anning related book: Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures - in my bookcase, as yet unread. Might post about it - I imagine it'll be a nice easy read.
My all time favourite museum book is Giles Waterfield's 'Hound in the Left Hand Corner'. I also am about to embark on Orhan Pamuk (but have been meaning to do this for a year since my partner's Mum lent it to me - oops!) And that Edmund de Waal one looks good too - 'The Hare with the Amber Eyes' I think.

I think what fascinates me about this project in p...

2012-02-05T17:16:11.375Z

I think what fascinates me about this project in particular is the question of 'reality'. Given that all we have of the physical tombs are fragments and recompositions, would it be possible to argue that the virtual reconstructions are, in fact, as, if not more, 'authentic' than those remains of a turbulant period of British history.

I may now have to go and see if they are still the...

2012-01-18T07:54:51.996Z

I may now have to go and see if they are still there, and what has been done with them...Interesting you found this post after all this time, Vivien!

These dioramas are in themselves 'mid-twentiet...

2012-01-18T00:31:44.615Z

These dioramas are in themselves 'mid-twentieth-century' artifacts. They are all that I remember of my first visit (age 5) to the Leicester Museum back in the late fifties. I was thrilled to find them pictured on the internet! It would be a shame to see them go. Vivien, Vancouver, Canada

Reading your list I found many of them recognisabl...

2012-01-17T14:10:12.005Z

Reading your list I found many of them recognisable! There is potentially a naughty little voice in all of us I think who tells us that they are 'not good enough' to do a PhD. Some people may be lucky not to have this. Also the thing about a PhD is that it is (excuse my language) bloody hard work!! It is not surprising that it is difficult and our brains rebel occasionally (or a lot) in order to get away from the horrible mental torture we are imposing on it.
That said, my worst habit from writing up was not giving myself enough time to have a break from writing. I made myself ill from forcing myself to sit at the computer for hours on end writing and writing. And for the most part my best ideas, the time when the random and fragmented thoughts came together in an estactic moment of clarity was when I was having a break. In the shower, at the shops, having a walk - whatever. It gave my addled brain time to release itself and actually make sense of the ideas I was pounding into it. If I learnt anything from writing up it is that I should have started writing up sooner and so allowed myself more time for breaks.

Over the weekend the Guardian reports on the terri...

2012-01-16T08:46:27.348Z

Over the weekend the Guardian reports on the terrible condition that Haworth Church is in -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/15/in-praise-of-haworth-church-editorial

That was such a great trip. Thanks to the New Hist...

2012-01-11T20:25:57.321Z

That was such a great trip. Thanks to the New History Lab for organizing it, and thanks for taking all those photos! It really does look like we were on a convincing moor, doesn't it?

The Crystal Gallery is well worth looking at.

2012-01-09T15:42:22.078Z

The Crystal Gallery is well worth looking at.

As a friend of a former trust employee, you have i...

2012-01-09T13:10:01.331Z

As a friend of a former trust employee, you have identified a number of issues rather intuitively. The volunteers are wonderful and hard-working, demotivated and demoralised by incompetent paid staff. One director started out as little more than a receptionist, and the others aren't much better. All bumble along with little care or knowledge of what they are really doing. This constant rivalry with National Museum of Computing (which is usually behind the scenes) sometimes makes it feel as if the war isn't over. Oh, and I'm assured the curator is female by the way.

Mark, I’m glad to hear that you would be visiting ...

2012-01-06T10:39:04.166Z

Mark, I’m glad to hear that you would be visiting BP again. Certainly we all appreciate feedback from visitors on what could be improved and changes are made in response to these – maybe not as fast as one might always like, but they do move on. Without visitor feedback any organisation could be in danger of stagnating, and I appreciate you expressing your experience of the visit. I also appreciate that different people have different senses of humour and a sign that is amusing to one person could be annoying or offensive to another depending on their experience and mood at the time (I have to say I don’t condone the office humour indicated, but I have no connection with it). BP by virtue that lots of the exhibitions are owned by different people and not by the trust adds to the quirky nature of the place – not to everyone’s taste, but so far there has been a lot of happy visitors.
I wanted to help clarify the situation with the various donations that have been made since reading the press reports and not knowing the museum you could get the idea that a lot of money has come in and not much has been done. Such is the way with building work, the basic infrastructure is costly, and time consuming (especially when trying to remain open for visitors) and by the end gives the appearance that not much has happened. A well design display area on the other hand will give that wow-factor. Block C and Block D are in a poor state of decay now (particularly Block C) however, things are looking up with the Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the Google donation (Google recognised Block C as the predecessor to Google!) if the appropriate match funding can be finalised (a simplification on my part). Work will start on renovations soon that will halt the decay process and set them up to be great visitor exhibition areas. There is a lot of potential in these buildings allowing the exhibitions to be properly spaced out with more information available to do better justice to the stories from the sites past.
Finally, I would just like to say that BP epitomises the British wartime spirit. We all like an underdog struggling to achieve better things in the face of adversity (lack of funding, initial attempts to keep its past a secret). The fact that it was a secret brings out the school boy interests in us all, it has bags of stories and heritage to tell, but does it discretely (it’s there for the visitor to uncover if they wish to delve further and their imagination is sparked). It gets by on luck, will power, determination a little bit of money and a lot of love and hard work. Hopefully we are just on the cusp of seeing the transformation into a world class heritage site.

Excellent post, Mark. You bring up the important i...

2012-01-06T00:40:03.409Z

Excellent post, Mark. You bring up the important issue that visitor experience is affected by all parts of the museum, including label vocabulary and customer service. I thought it was particularly interesting to read your and your partner's response to Turing's biography; it is, indeed a shame that the life of a man so important to science has been reduced to a few lines.

Thanks for stirring up debate in the wider community, as well. It's lovely to see responses from Bletchley's dedicated cadre of volunteers, and these also reflect the challenging limitations faced by the museum in terms of conservation and staffing. I think the important thing to remember is that you, your partner, Phillip Le Grand, and M Pentlow all appreciate and love Bletchley and want to see it succeed in spite of some current problems. I am sure we all wish the administration luck in balancing their budget with their ambitions!

Hi Philip le Grand, thank you also for your commen...

2012-01-06T00:38:31.980Z

Hi Philip le Grand, thank you also for your comments.

The comments here certainly show a very dedicated and passionate side to the volunteering at Bletchley Park, I'm honestly pleased to hear that you get so much positive feedback from visitors to the museum.

You make very valid points, about the ways the money awarded to Bletchley Park has been spent and has to be spent, but I'd like to say again that I hope my blogpost doesn't read as if I'm criticising the Park due to it's being not so glossy, I make the point of defending it on that basis because it wasn't recognised for what it was for most of the twentieth century.

I'd also like to think that my blogpost doesn't just read as a complete trash of the museum, I did enjoy many aspects of the exhibits, and made a point of saying so.

I understand that Bletchley Park is a unique museum, and that is one of the reasons it is treasured locally and nationally, however I think you can still maintain this charm without the 'office humour' poster on public display!

I look forward to the opportunity to use my pass again in 2012, so I can see Bletchley Park in full swing. When I do I would like to write a follow up guest post on the Attic's blog, to show different sides of Bletchley Park.

Hi Mr Pentlow, thanks for your comments. I also h...

2012-01-05T22:32:25.749Z

Hi Mr Pentlow, thanks for your comments. I also have affection for Bletchley Park, I lived in Milton Keynes for the first 18 years of my life and it was always somewhere to be proud of.

I appreciate that Bletchley Park as a museum has not been easy or rich, I hope my blogpost conveyed sympathy with this and not criticism because of it. I have a lot of experience of working with closed historic buildings and raising funding to maintain them, so I really can relate to the difficulties the museum's had in the past.

We decided not to go on the Guided Tour so that we could discover the Park by ourselves, I appreciate that our experience of interactions with staff were fleeting and during a quiet period at the museum, and that the next visitors could easily have had a different experience of the staff.

We were very impressed with the use of QR codes and the standard of interpretation at the computer museum, unfortunately we were there on a day when only the Colossus exhibition was open. I hope to explore further there in future.

Twitter is a great tool for the people behind museums and historic buildings to connect with visitors, I had noticed that Bletchley Park's account was very well used usually and that's why we were surprised not to get a response straight away. I have since got a response and the opportunity to feed back privately with the Director of Museum Operations.

Thanks again for your comments, I'm really pleased so many people are passionate about Bletchley Park! :)

I have volunteered at BP nearly 10 years. In that ...

2012-01-05T22:04:32.503Z

I have volunteered at BP nearly 10 years. In that time I have seen enormous changes to the site, exhibitions & facilities over the years, considering the incredibly small amount of money the trust had to make any changes & the bare minimum of staff available to run the place I think they have coped extremely well. Especially when you think that whenever winter looms another huge bill for repairs rears its head - replacement heating systems, replacement roofs, making the roads safe for pedestrians, etc. - the list is endless & each year one or two more items get fixed on the merest budget. What was available had to have its use very carefully planned to prevent a deeper decline into debt.
You may say that is all well & good, but what about the announcements of money awarded to the Trust recently? There have been substantial donations, but often with strings (large ropes?) attached. The money often couldn't be spent on the next urgent repair since the red tape around the 'gift' prevented accessing the money immediately. In several cases, it could not be used for basic infrastructure repairs or required match funding first.
BP is a privately run museum & has to work very hard to get funding. Despite this, publicity has gone skyward all due to the dedicated following of Twitter & Facebook fans. They wouldn’t have done this, if they had the same experience that you reported. Several volunteers hold fund raising events at the Park that have helped enormously to improve the displays (thanks go to Jason Gorman, Astrid Byro & the Over The Air event to name but a few).
Granted the site isn’t the epitome of a high tech, glossy, modern museum that you would see at the IWM or Science Museum, but that is a part of the charm & attraction of the place. The information isn’t immediately in your face, it is gradually revealed to you over a period of time – especially when you realise the mental feats some of these people went through – & then you can get to meet some of them! Where else can you get this kind of experience?
Another factor that keeps the museum working on a budget is the dedicated volunteers who turn out to ensure visitors have a good day. As you can appreciate, it may be difficult to persuade volunteers to come in over the seasonal break. There is a visitor’s book (yes, real pen & paper, but it is read!) in the shop to which visitors are often directed to comment on their experience. I have seen many of these & the vast majority are all good – families who enjoyed themselves & have returned. The events at BP are usually very well attended & help make return visits a must.
My voluntary involvement has been in a dual capacity, firstly as a Steward, meeting & greeting visitors, ensuring they find their tours, coaches, spouses, the facilities, etc. & secondly as Editor of the Friends of the Park magazine. My knowledge, in all that time, of what happened at the Park in those few short war years only scratches the surface of the stories & information to be gleaned. The thing that keeps me going back is the opportunity to learn more, meet interesting people & the ‘quirky / unpredictable’ nature of working there. Regular volunteers also Tweet about the Park & TNMoC including Guides & Duty Managers, even an ex Code breaker tweets.
It is a shame that you left BP feeling that your day could have been enjoyed a lot better. Personally I see many visitors when I’m on site & virtually all (and I mean that) come up to us & express how much they have enjoyed their visit & would recommend it to their friends & relatives. Agreed, the museum isn’t to everyone’s taste, but on an events day, there are other attractions. Now you have been, you must be in possession of the Annual Season ticket that will get you in free again? I suggest another visit during 2012 during one of the events & see how much visitors enjoy the park - & hopefully you will see a different side to the BP experience.

I used to volunteer at Bletchley Park and I still ...

2012-01-05T07:21:34.294Z

I used to volunteer at Bletchley Park and I still have a great affection for the place and its staff. I can understand however your views. The visitor interpretation at the Park at the current time is not ideal. It is a legacy of poor funding and the fact that the Park didn't have any collections when it was first set up.

Most of the Park's funds over the years have been used to keep the buildings viable for public use. Many have had building work or still need it. The site was designed to last the second world war not for 70 years. The current HLF money will allow the trust to bring the museum elements much more up to date.
One small question did you go on the guided tour? It is free for all visitors and a highlight of any visit. It is an example of effective first hand interpretation and sometimes features former WRENS who worked at the park or one of its outstations. Also the bulk of the computer museum is very good, with updated displays and some use of QR codes. I am also surprised you did not receive a response via twitter as the twitter account is very active, but I believe it is only run by one person.

I should point out that I no longer volunteer for the park, and the views above are my own.

It is not a coincidence that she was Italian! genn...

2011-12-13T15:06:38.408Z

It is not a coincidence that she was Italian!
gennaro