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Category: General News

  • Black Country Studies Centre launches

    On Wed 21 Nov the Black Country Studies Centre launched.  This new education partnership between the University of Wolverhampton and the Museum will provide new learning opportunities for communities across the Black Country.  The partnerships’s aim is to deliver learning outcomes that will help local people to develop their employability skills, raise aspirations and encourage community cohesion.

    The Centre will offer guest talks, taster courses, student placements and research projects to create unique learning opportunities for the region and which build on the history of the Black Country.

    Commenting on BCSC, Andrew Lovett said, “The Black Country Studies Centre has been created to formalise our current relationship with the University. Together and through a programme of inspirational activities we will continue to explore the history of the area and how that history informs our understanding of ourselves and our communities.”

    Click here to find out more about Black Country Studies Centre.

    Wednesday’s launch evening also included Snidge Scrumpin’ – an experiment to map smell and memory in the Black Country.  Run by the University of Wolverhampton as part of the Being Human Festival 2018, the experiment exposed participants to a range of different smells and asked them about the memories and places they triggered.  The results will be published in January and we hope they can input into the Museum’s interpretation plan for our 1940s-1960s town as part of Forging Ahead.

  • Thank you!

    Thank you!

    In the early hours of Friday 16 November, many buildings within the Museum were unfortunately vandalised.

    Whilst this is a truly frustrating incident, I am grateful to every member of staff who pitched in to clear up the mess, fix the damage and have the Museum open to visitors as usual by 10am. This was a wonderful team effort and I would like to thank everyone involved!

     

     

  • Museum Wins “Day Out With The Kids” Award

    Day Out With The Kids is a website dedicated to recommending exciting ideas for days out ideas to families across the nation. This year, the site created their first ever Family Favourite awards, to “recognise the attractions going the extra mile to deliver a great family day out”.  Nominations were put to a public vote, and we’re pleased to announce that we have been awarded “Best Educational Day Out” for 2018 in the Midlands.

    We are thrilled to have won the award and are so thankful to all that voted for us. We are especially proud considering the competition in our category which included such other high profile attractions as Warwick Castle, ThinkTank Birmingham and Tudor World.

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – Halesowen & Hasbury Co-operative

    Our next public call-out for memories and stories to feed into BCLM: Forging Ahead will be for the Number 11, ‘Hawne’ branch of the Halesowen & Hasbury Industrial Co-operative Society on 19 November. Did you or anyone in your family shop at the Stourbridge Road shop in the late 1940s/early 1950s? Do you remember your Halesowen & Hasbury ‘divi’ number and where you collected your share from?  Did you shop at other Halesowen & Hasbury Co-ops? If you have anything you’d like to share, please pop in and see the Collections team in the Rolfe Street offices.

     

    A bit about the Number 11, ‘Hawne’ branch

    The very first co-operative shop was opened by the Rochdale Pioneers in Toad Lane, Rochdale in 1844.  The Halesowen & Hasbury Industrial Co-operative Society was founded in 1871, opening its first shop in Peckingham Street. By the outbreak of World War One they had five branches. After the war it attempted to expand its operations to embrace the new residential areas in towns like Quinton and Blackheath. The Hawne branch on the Stourbridge Road was its eleventh opening, in 1930, after a strong period of expansion, well positioned to serve the large-scale development of the Short Cross area of Halesowen.  The building, with its distinctive steep pitched roof and square frontage, was designed by local architect, Stanley Beach and built by a local contractor, Mr Tate.

     

    Why the Co-op, and why this Co-op?

    Co-op shops were popular in the Black Country, stocking household names as well as their own Co-op brands, such as Pelaw Polish, Lutona Cocoa and Silvox beef extract.  Phyllis Taylor, who shopped at the Wollescote branch and later worked at the Colley Gate shop, recalls “They did all their own stuff, Co-op soup and Co-op rice pudding, it was lovely, and it was always a couple of pence cheaper… 99 tea, it was the biggest brand going, we used to sell boxes and boxes.”

    Like all shops, the Co-op was affected by wartime rationing, yet in this period the Co-operative nationally were at the forefront of introducing self-service shopping for the first time. Their first self-service store opened in 1942. The Halesowen & Hasbury Society experimented with self-service in three shops in 1949, one being the Hawne branch. It was promoted as a modern service, customers choosing their own products and not having to wait to be served.  There was some resistance from customers however. George Bishop, manager from 1958 at the Whiteheath, Oldbury branch, part of the Halesowen and Hasbury Society, said “People complained about the loss of personal contact with the introduction of self-service, but they soon got used to it.”

     

  • Your Museum needs you! Can you help with The Big Give Christmas Challenge?

    Your Museum needs you! Can you help with The Big Give Christmas Challenge?

    We are planning to film a short video on Sun 25 Nov to raise money for BCLM: Forging Ahead as part of the Big Give Christmas Challenge.

    The Big Give Christmas Challenge is a national fundraising campaign in which we have taken part previously to raise money for Racecourse Colliery.  The Big Give is a great campaign as it enables us to potentially double any donations made that week with match-funding.

    As the 1940s features prominently as part of our Forging Ahead story, we’d like to film 3 children between the ages of 5-12 years old tasting wartime food and capture their reactions. The video will be used throughout the week of the Big Give campaign to prompt people for donations.

    How can you help?

    If anybody is interested in having a go at preparing some wartime food we can use in the video, we would really appreciate the help! The Collections team have donated some recipes  that we can share with you – apparently potato chocolate spread is a must!

    Also we are looking for anyone who would be happy for their children to take part in the food-tasting and appear in the video.  Participants would need to be available for filming on Sun 25 Nov.

    Please get in touch if you are interested in getting involved in any way.  Email [email protected], extension number 242, or pop in to the Development team above Morralls.

    Many thanks

    Fi Howell

  • Professional Exchange: Visitor Services Knowledge Circle

    Applications for the Visitor Services Knowledge Circle 2018 close at 5 pm on Wednesday 28th November. Have you applied?

    This fantastic opportunity which is fully funded to include travel and accommodation, gives two BCLM colleagues, in a visitor facing role, the chance to spend 5 days with one of our partner Museums which include The British Museum, National Trust and Leeds Museums to name a few.  The aim of the programme is to enable colleagues to gain knowledge and insight which they can bring back and apply to their role.

    Interested? You can apply by filling out an application form and sending it to Lucy Bennett, Head of Human Resource Development. Find out more on the Intranet at Documents/Useful Contacts & Support/HR/Training & Development/Secondments.

  • All-Team Briefing Follow-up

    All-Team Briefing Follow-up

    Thanks to those who attended one of the all-team briefing sessions; there were some good questions posed at the end.

    The majority of questions related to BCLM: Forging Ahead and so answers to those have now been posted in the Documents section of the intranet (About Us – Strategy & Governance – Forging Ahead – Project Overview – FAQs).

    There was also a question about car park security relating to some recent incidents involving damage to & theft from cars in the car park. I’d like to assure you that these incidents have been reported to the police, that CCTV is in place and that the barriers will be improved to ensure no vehicles can get around them. But, please do remember not to leave valuables on view, ensure your vehicles are locked & use anti-theft devices if you have them.

    Andrew

  • Doo’s staff & volunteer rooms refurbishment

    The staff and volunteer rooms above Emile Doo’s Chemist Shop are being refurbished from Monday 5 to Friday 30 November. This will improve the facilities for all colleagues and will include a second kitchenette, new toilets, improved heating and new furniture.

    Staff and volunteers will need to remove all personal items from the rooms by the end of the day on Sunday 4 November. Lunch and break spaces will be a little tight during the refurbishments, so please be considerate of others and, where possible, take items home rather than leaving them at the Museum.

    Spaces have been allocated according to the building you are based in each day, please do use the rooms allocated to you otherwise we will not have sufficient space for everyone:

    Guide Hut/Mine Office for:

    Cast Iron

    Colliery

    Toll House

    Jerushah

    Morralls Ground Floor Office using kitchen upstairs for:

    Hartills

    Morralls

    Gregorys

    WI

    School

    Upstairs staff room and kitchen of the pub for:

    Anchor Makers

    Doos

    Nash’s

    Street Games

    Back to Back

    Level Street* for:

    Boat Dock

    Metal Workers

    Volunteers, Street Characters and Learning Assistants can use any of these spaces taking account of availability of space.

    *N.B Level St will not be accessible to staff and volunteers between Tuesday 6 and Friday 16 November. During these dates, please use the pub instead.

  • BCLM ’40 years’ feature in the paper

    Did you spot some familiar faces in the Express & Star on Saturday?

    A double page spread showcased 40 years of Museum life, peppered with interviews from Museum staff and volunteers.

    Thanks to everyone who took part in making such a great feature!

    If you missed it, it’s available on the Express & Star website 

     

  • Free flu vaccination

    This winter, the Museum is offering all staff the chance to get a free flu vaccination from Boots.  Please contact HR between 31 Oct and 31 Dec 2018 to receive your vaccination voucher.

    Please note certain groups are eligible or a free flu jab from your GP or local participating outlet.

    Therefore, we would also advise you to check the NHS website to find out whether you automatically qualify for a free jab via your GP/local provider: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/who-should-have-flu-vaccine/