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Category: General News

  • Newspaper Appeal

    With the arrival of the cold weather and darker afternoons we need your old newspapers to keep our braziers burning for longer during events and also for filming.

    Please leave your used newspapers in the guide hut.

  • Planday Training for Historic Character Team

    We have been using Planday for just over a year now. Planday is continually improving and updating its functionality and Team Managers from all Departments have recently taken part in training to ensure consistency in use across the Museum.

    To help keep you up to date with the latest developments and to further help our integration as one Historic Character Team, we will be holding Planday Training on the following dates:

    • Wednesday 20 November, 4:00pm to 5:30pm
    • Thursday 21 November, 4:00pm to 5:30pm
    • Friday 22 November, 4:00pm to 5:30pm.

    The training will provide an opportunity to update you all on how Team Managers and colleagues can work together to improve communication and make best of Planday for rostering shifts, notifying availability and requesting holiday. We will also look at how best to use Planday across different Platforms – computer, tablet, smart phone etc.

    We would like you all to attend. Even if you are an experienced user of Planday, please attend to keep up to date with the latest developments.

    Please contact your Team Manager to notify them which date you would like to attend. Alternatively, signup sheets will be posted in the Staff Room above Doo’s and the Guide Hut.

    Your time at the training will be paid. 

    Jonathan White, Engagement Operations Manager

  • Greenery Appeal 2019

    It’s that time of year again when we start thinking about decorating the buildings ready for the festive season.  We use traditional greenery for many of the houses and shops so we are appealing for your help.

    Do you have rampant ivy or holly that needs pruning?  Do you have excess Christmas/ fir tree cuttings?  Or do you have other evergreen materials you can spare?

    If you have any of the above we would be grateful for donations of greenery.  The Santa Hunts and ‘Christmas in the Home’ start on Saturday 23 November this year so we will start preparing key buildings from Monday 18 November and continue the following week.  We may also need additional greenery in December, to refresh the buildings.

    If you can bring in any materials you can deposit them outside the staff Guide Hut and the Collections team will collect them.

    During the festive period, once buildings are decorated, if you are looking for greenery to refresh your building we will store surplus greenery on the first floor of the Cast iron House.

    If you have any questions about decorating the buildings for Christmas you speak to the collections team or email  [email protected]

    Thank you.

  • Staff Cycle Shelter

    The Museum is committed to providing a healthy working environment and improving the quality of working lives for all staff and volunteers. As part of our current work in relation to this, the Museum has purchased and installed a covered cycle rack specifically for the use of staff and volunteers. This provides a dedicated and secure location for individuals, who wish to cycle to work as part of their healthy lifestyle, to keep their cycles whilst at work.

    The rack has been installed in the secure area of the top compound next to the Guides Building.

  • Personal Details Check – Information Required

    As outlined in our Privacy Policy, we are undertaking a periodic review of the personal information we hold to ensure that it is correct and up to date. As such we are asking all employees to complete a Personal Details Check form.

    The Personal Details Check form is available to download under the Documents tab above. Forms will also be distributed to managers to cascade to their teams, and will be made available in Morning Briefings and in break rooms around site.

    Please can all forms be returned to the People & Culture team by Friday 8 November 2019.

    Completed forms can be handed to a member of the People & Culture Team, emailed to [email protected], or returned via internal post using the black post box next to reception or the black post box in Rolfe Street situated by the People & Culture team.

    We appreciate that for some of you this will be the second time we’re asking for this, however given the changes in the People & Culture Team we want to make sure that the data we hold is accurate.

    For details on how we use your personal information please refer to the Museum’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Policy.

  • Staff use of Pool Vehicles

    The museum has a small fleet of modern vehicles which are available for business use. These range in size from a small Seat car, to a large Citroen van capable of carrying a payload of up to 1,300 kg. All have manual gearboxes and can be driven on a full ‘Cat B’ car licence.

    When using these pool vehicles staff are reminded that:

    • The drivers log book contained inside the cab of each vehicle must be filled in and signed before setting off.
    •  It is your responsibility to report any faults or damage whilst the vehicle is in your possession.
    • You must carry out a check prior to driving, making sure all lights are working, tyres are safe and legal, windscreen undamaged and clear, bodywork and trim secure.
    • Drivers must carry their valid driving licence.
    • The vehicle must be driven in a safe and responsible manner, complying with licence, highway regulations, road conditions and any height or weight restrictions.
    • A fuel card is kept inside each vehicle along with useful information such as who to call in the unlikely event of a breakdown.
    • Upon returning to the museum please remove all personal items, leaving the interior in a clean and tidy condition.
    • The log book must be completed and any damage reported to the Transport Manager.
    • If involved in a road traffic accident or any other incident while driving a museum vehicle then the Duty Manager and your Line Manager should be informed immediately. Details must be recorded on an incident form (kept inside the log book) and returned to the Museum. Please refer to the accident checklist (also kept inside the log book) which will help you keep safe and gather information for our insurers.

    To check the availability of each vehicle and arrange a booking, please go to the dedicated calendars on Outlook. – If a pool vehicle is not available you do have the option of using your own vehicle. This is on the understanding you have business cover on your personal insurance policy (normally an add-on you have to pay for) and have checked with your line manager that there is sufficient budget to cover your claim.

    Where practical, public transport should always be prioritised as the preferred method for undertaking a journey.

  • Black History Month Event: When I came to England

    Join us on Thursday 24 October for a celebration of Black History, where you will have the opportunity to listen to Z. Nia Reynolds, author, cultural curator and filmmaker.

    Her book ‘When I came to England’ portrays an oral history anthology of life in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s told by those who came in search of life, love and lifestyle…a long way from home. Full of hope, humour and honesty, this gives a fascinating insight into post-war British society. This event will inform and support the collection of Migration stories as part of our major development project, BCLM: Forging Ahead.

    Following the interval, we will host an authentic fashion show featuring garments worn during the 50’s and the swinging 60s. This fashion show gives an insight about the lives of Black people arriving in Britain at that time. Samantha Prescott, Artistic Director and Founder of ‘Fashion, Talent & Black History Showcase’ will share an informative account of what it was like for migrant communities at the time.

    Time: 7.00-10.30 pm

    For more information, and to book your place, please contact: Glenis Williams, Community Engagement Manager [email protected]

  • September Directors’ Bi-Monthly Report

    September Directors’ Bi-Monthly Report

    Please note, the Director’s Bi-monthly Report is now available to view online

  • BCLM Forging Ahead: Laurie Thomas Hairdressers

    Black Country Living Museum is looking for memories from the 1950s of Laurie Thomas hairdressers – a barbers and ladies salon based in Burnt Tree, Tividale Road, Tipton. The Museum plans to recreate the hairdressers as part of its ambitious new development project BCLM: Forging Ahead.

    The recreated hairdressers will be set in 1956, and visitors will be able to learn about the growth of hairdressing, the rise of popular fashions and the changing role of women in society.

    Established in 1904, Laurie’s was well-known and much-loved within the local community.  The shop was opened by Joseph Thomas and was taken over by his son, Laurence Arden Roland Thomas, known to many as ‘Laurie’. The family tradition has been carried on with Laurie’s grandson running a traditional barbers to this day.

    Laurie’s shop was small but bustling, with only two chairs for cuts. After Laurie married Phyllis Orton in 1933, she went to Birmingham College to study hairdressing and opened up a ladies’ salon in the back room. She was later joined in the business by her daughter, Kay.

    The Thomases had a familial relationship with their customers; generations of families came through the shop doors, some of whom still go to the barbers to this day. Laurie was well known locally as a ‘character’ and was loved by everyone. He was always happy to help those in need and he had dreamed of working as a doctor but could not afford the training – however, his medical knowledge saved both his daughter’s life and that of a car accident victim. Male customers would be offered refreshments on busy Saturdays and on special occasions. Laurie also placed a radio on the top shelf in the window and brought out a television for customers to follow key events, such as the cup final. Ladies were offered tea and biscuits upon arrival and Phyllis would often put extra groceries into customer’s bags if she knew they needed them. Kay spent much of her childhood in the shop. She enjoyed the attention she received from Phyllis’ customers, and called many of them ‘aunty’.

    The post-war period saw new styles emerge in leading salons, often based around shorter hair than had been common before the war. However, this required more frequent, expensive haircuts and treatments. Therefore, in an age of austerity these styles were slower to catch on in areas such as the Black Country. The 1950s and 1960s saw tremendous growth in the hairdressing trade with working class women increasingly using hairdressers, spending more on their personal appearance than ever before.

    To help us in our recreation, we would love to talk to anyone with memories of the hairdressers. Do you remember Laurie Thomases? Did you or your parents go there to get the latest hair cut?

    Please get in touch with us by emailing: [email protected]  or call 0121 557 9643.

    For more information about BCLM: Forging Ahead, please visit: www.bclm.com/forgingahead .

  • Updating your personal information

    Don’t forget to inform the People & Culture team of any changes in personal details including a change of address, change in telephone number, updating emergency contact details and a change in bank account details. It is important that we have the most up to date and correct information on file.

    If you need to update any of your personal information, the relevant forms can be found under the ‘Documents’ tab above under ‘Forms: For Staff’ and should be sent to [email protected] on completion or passed onto a member of the People & Culture team.

    For details on how we use your personal information please refer to the Museum’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Policy.