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Category: General News

  • Deaf Awareness Day at BCLM

    Deaf Awareness Day 2017 will be taking place on Monday 8 May, and will give staff and volunteers a chance to show off their skills and put their British Sign Language into practice.

    As part of the Audience Development strategic plan we aim to transform the visitor’s journey and increase visitor attendance by working in partnership with local organisations across the Black Country to develop projects and opportunities to better engage with Black Country stories and its heritage.

    Deaf Awareness Day brings together such a partnership where Walsall Deaf People Centre, Sandwell Deaf Community Association and Queens Cross Network, all members of our Community Access Advisory Panel, and will be working with our demonstrators to deliver fingerspelling, lip-reading taster sessions and BSL timed tours.

    BSL practice sessions continue to take place on the last Saturday of every month at 2.00-3.30pm, where Emma Cartwright takes us through simple BSL conversations in a fun and informal, giving us the skills we need to connect with deaf and hard of hearing visitors. Watch this video to learn how to sign Welcome to BCLM

    If you would like to find out more about community engagement activities, please contact Glenis Williams, Strategic Audience Development Manager

    Phone: Mon – Thurs on 0121 521 5697

    Email: [email protected]

  • Firewalk Raises £2.7k for School

    BCLM played host to a Charity Firewalk on 20 April 2017, a fundraising event in partnership with Acorns Children’s Hospice. The Museum welcomed over 200 people on the evening and visitors enjoyed exploring site after hours, our delicious food & drink offer, craft activities, a 16-piece ukulele band and of course – a fiery grand finale.

    56 brave individuals took part, including 19 BCLM participants who have collectively raised over £2,700 for a new learning space in St James’ School for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Thank you to our very own Lisa Cowley, Janet Brennan, Katy Price and trustee Nick Loveland for braving the heat and raising money for this worthy project.

    The Learning Team are delighted with the result and hope to begin refurbishment on the learning space very soon. We’ll keep you updated with the progress.

    On behalf of BCLM and Acorns Children’s Hospice, we would like to say a big thank you to all staff who supported the event, and in particular to our costumed demonstrators and volunteers who made the evening extra special for the participants, their friends and family.

    We hope to build on the success of this event with more exciting community fundraising activities in the future. If you have an idea for a fundraising challenge then please get in touch with Katy Price, Development Manager (Projects) via [email protected]

  • £1000 Available for John Hughes Award

    As you may be aware, funding has kindly been made available by former Chairman John Hughes to assist staff in their professional and personal development, through funding for qualifications, conferences, workshops, short courses and research trips. 

    The award is open to all permanent staff who have worked at BCLM for a minimum of 6 months.

    The maximum award available each year, from 2016-2021, is £1,000, and can be awarded to one or multiple staff members. You can find full details of the award and eligibility criteria here: John Hughes Award 2017

  • Policy update: Food and Drink

    Please find a recently updated copy of the Museum’s food & drink policy here: BCLM – Food & Drink Policy

    It includes some changes to bring it in line with the Museum’s strategic plan which states that ‘delivering a compelling visitor experience, day-in-day-out, is the most critical and challenging thing the Museum does. It goes to the heart of what we are here for, and it is essential to our success, financial sustainability and continued growth.’

    As you know, our food & drink offer is an inherent part of that experience and therefore our visitors should be able to take food and drink that has been purchased at the Museum into any areas of the site – be that in any of the Museum buildings or on our vehicles. The only exception is the exclusion of alcoholic drinks in the Chapel.

    If you are ever concerned that an item of food or drink will damage an item of the collection, an inclusive way to show your concern would be to offer the visitor a mat or a coaster rather than tell them that they are not allowed entry, for example.

    Please remember, you can find this and other up-to-date policies in the documents tab above. If you have any questions about this please raise them in the first instance via your line manager.

    Lisa Cowley, Deputy Chief Executive (Visitor Engagement & Operations)

  • Visitor attendance update: a cracking Easter for the Museum

    If you were thinking that the Museum felt a little busier over the Easter break – you were right! We welcomed over 24,000 visitors for our ‘Egg-citing Easter Activities’ (Sat 8 – Sun 23 April). That’s an increase of 5% on 2016 and one of the the best Easters we’ve had in over a decade.

    “With Easter being the first real peak season of the calender year this is hopefully a good indication of things to come for the rest of 2017,” says Andrew.

    Thank you to all staff and volunteers who have developed and delivered activities over this period, many of which brought new areas of the Museum to life. The Museum’s Board of Trustees would also like to pass on their thanks to all members of the team for their contributions during the period which has led to some extremely positive feedback from visitors.

     

    Brilliant and worth every penny! Me and my partner both loved this place! There’s so much to see and do. We really enjoyed the tour of the mine and that’s included in the price. The old shops/village was lovely and the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. The transport was excellent having two rides on two different buses. The Fish and Chips were lovely. The sweet shop had a fair amount of choice as did the cake and biscuit shop. For £17.50 with free return within 12 months we thought it was excellent and will be visiting again! – Katie G

     

  • HLF Major Grant Update

    Heritage Lottery Fund’s National committee is meeting this week to consider all Major Grant Applications (£5m+), of which BCLM: Forging Ahead is one.

    Whilst we are all crossing our fingers that we will be successful in our application for £10m, I wanted to inform you that due to the Restricted Period ahead of the General Election on 8 June, HLF will be under media restrictions until 9 June. This means that regardless of the outcome of the decisions, neither successful nor unsuccessful applications will be announced until sometime after 12 June.

    The wait continues… thank you for your patience.

    Andrew

  • Ticket swap is now open to all staff

    It’s that time of year again! We’re swapping BCLM tickets for some of the best attractions in the country including Beamish, Twycross Zoo, Ironbridge, West Midland’s Safari Park, Bletchley Park, Wookey Hole and more. All you have to do to be in with a chance to get one of these tickets is fill out a form (available from the Museum’s welcome desk) – it’s that simple. Limited tickets are available and they’ll be drawn at random on Mon 15 May. Your tickets will be distributed through your line manager.

    If you’re looking to save a bit of money on days out, don’t forget that we’re part of the NMDC scheme which entitles you to free entry for a number of paid attractions all year round. You’ll need to pre-arrange any visits beforehand however.

  • Helpers needed for Antiques Roadshow

    Help Antiques Roadshow Spread the Word

    As you know, The Antiques Roadshow is being filmed at BCLM on Wednesday 21 June and the BBC have asked us to help spread the word!

    They are looking for two people for two days during week commencing 22 May and week commencing 5 June to distribute flyers and posters. Read on for more information about what’s entailed, the rates of pay and what you need to do if you’re interested:

    What you’ll be doing

    You will be visiting pre-agreed busy towns and shopping areas around the Museum. You will be engaging with businesses and members of the public, asking whether the businesses (shops, community centres, pubs, restaurants, leisure clubs, gyms etc) would be willing to display a poster and/or flyers.  You will also be talking and giving out flyers to members of the public and letting them know that Antiques Roadshow is coming and everyone is welcome to come along, that it is free and no pre-registration is required – all visitors need to do is show up on the day between 9.30am-4.30pm with their family treasures, car boot sale finds etc.

    The BBC will send you everything you need – 5000 DL leaflets, 3000 A5 flyers and 200 posters, blue-tack, sellotape etc.

    Rates of pay

    The rate of pay is £10 per hour.  You will normally be contracted to work 7 hour days (approx. 9am-5.00pm with one hour lunch break).

    If you choose to use your vehicle, the BBC will pay mileage at 45p per mile

    If you are interested and want to know more, please contact Jan Waldron at the BBC on 0117 974 7507 to register your interest. Or email [email protected]

  • West Midlands Mayoral Candidates Visit BCLM

    As you may know, our Workers Institute staged the first West Midlands Mayoral debate in March which saw around 150 people pose almost 100 questions to the 5 candidates.

    The idea of a mayor for the West Midlands Combined Authority area (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton) is to provide a strong voice for the region. They will also be an ambassador for the area, selling it on the global stage. They will be the point of contact when the Government wants to speak to ‘the West Midlands’ and be responsible for driving the Devolution Agreement within government and the region.

    The Mayoral election will be the first election for a governing body covering the entire West Midlands since the 1981 West Midlands County Council election.

    Since the debate, we have invited each of the candidates to visit the Museum to find out about what we do and our plans for the future. So far, both Andy Street, Conservative candidate and UKIP candidate, Pete Durnell have taken us up on our invite and have met with Andrew and Lowell.

    The election for a mayor is set to be held on 4 May 2017 and the successful candidate will run for an initial three year term.  Subsequent elections will take place every four years.

    How to vote

    If you’re registered to vote, you should receive a polling card through the post at your home address.

    You are then ready to cast your vote in person on 4 May 2017 at your local polling station, which is identified on your polling card.

    Polling stations open from 7am to 10pm.

  • Sign up for Deaf Cafe

    British Sign Language practice sessions will continue to take place on the last Saturday of every month between 2-3.30pm.

    Emma Cartwright will take those attending through simple BSL conversations in a fun and informal way with the aim of giving you the skills you need to connect with our deaf and hard of hearing visitors. The next session is on Sat 29 April at 2pm and will last for approximately an hour and a half.

    If you’re interested in taking part, please contact Glenis Williams on 0121 521 5697 or email [email protected]