Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.
Each month they release a “Monthly Action Calendar” which are packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.
This month’s theme is Optimistic October.
Especially when things are feeling a bit tough, it can help to set some goals. Making goals achievable and ensuring that you have a few short term as well as longer term, more ambitious goals helps us feel we’re making progress. It doesn’t matter if your goal for the day is something really small, the important thing is to give yourself the opportunity to feel like you’ve achieved something and to celebrate that! This month’s calendar is full of ideas to help you think about how you can put this into practice.
Let’s all use their calendar below, or the Action for Happiness App, to celebrate our achievements no matter how small.
Find out more about Action for Happiness and view their previous monthly action calendars.
We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Paul Crofts as the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer. Paul formally joins on 18 October 21, but is visiting the Museum on a weekly basis to get an early understanding of how the Museum works and meet new colleagues ahead of his ‘official’ start date.
Paul brings a wealth of senior commercial and operational experience from the rail industry, where he currently holds the post of General Manager for Avanti and is responsible for all aspects of the customer experience. During the pandemic he has been instrumental in supporting Avanti’s recovery and sustainability strategy having worked closely with the Department for Transport and other key stakeholders. Paul’s experience mirrors the complexity of challenges here at BCLM and we look forward to him being part of our Leadership Team.
How heartening it was to see the crowds return over the summer holidays, and for the Museum to offer such an enthusiastic welcome. There will be anxious times ahead, I have no doubt, but considering what we have all come through, I think we can be very proud. So a big thank you from me to everyone for your resilience and the continued strong desire to do the best for the Museum and our visitors.
That display of doing what is best for the Museum was very much in evidence during our first Peaky Blinder evenings, when every aspect of our operation is tested to destruction! I came along on Saturday night and was mightily impressed by the programme, quality of service and when I sneakily listened-in on what visitors had to say. Those two evening events and the strength of our appeal is reflected in how well we have bounced back after reopening. Since 17 May, when we reopened, we have achieved 72% of pre-COVID attendance, and during the month of August this was an astounding 94%. That kind of resilience gives me a level of confidence in our future not thought possible this time last year.
We are hoping to arrange a staff event in late September to celebrate our future, and I very much hope you’ll be able to join colleagues.
With my appreciation and thanks.
Andrew
For an Express and Star report and pictures from last weekend’s Peaky Blinders Nights, click here
Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society.
Each month they release a “Monthly Action Calendar” which are packed with actions you can take to help create a happier and kinder world.
This month’s theme is Self Care September. This month we’re encouraging everyone to be kinder to themselves (as well as others), especially when things go wrong.
Let’s all use their calendar below, or the Action for Happiness App, to increase our resilience and get more out of life.
Find out more about Action for Happiness and view their previous monthly action calendars.
We’re due to launch on-sale for our winter events on Wed 1 Sep for BCLM Members, followed by general public access on Wed 8 Sep.
This year’s programme is a great combination of old and new that we’re sure will appeal to a wide spectrum of our visitors. Here’s a preview:
Halloween Nights – Monsters and Aliens (Fri 22/Sat 23/Fri 29/Sat 30 Oct)
Visitors will experience a frenzy of fun as monsters and aliens invade the Museum for our spectacular Halloween Nights!
Alongside the familiar favourites like trick-or-treat and the costume parade. we’ll also have mighty tree creatures and a steambuster robot to entertain families as they roam the Museum after dark…
An Enchanted Christmas – special ticketed daytime event (Sat 11/Sun 12/Sat 18/Sun 19 Dec)
Last year’s cancelled event has been brought back to life and updated for 2021.
Santa and his elves are getting ready for the big day. The presents are being mined, the Christmas trees are being planted and the Sugarplum Fairies are busy making delicious treats. But mischief is afoot – the Rat King and his army are trying to ruin Christmas! Santa has called in the Nutcracker General and his friends to keep the Rat King and his pesky partners at bay. Visitors will have the chance to step into this magical world to help save Christmas!
Santa Hunts
Santa is making a welcome return to the Museum this Christmas, with a brand new storyline for Santa Hunts for 2021. (Sat 26/Sun 27 Nov, Sat 4/Sun 5/Mon 20/Tue 21/Wed 22/Thu 23/Fri 24 Dec)
With the help of Santa’s elves, visitors will explore the Museum to hunt down festive ingredients to help wake up jolly old Saint Nick from his slumber by seeking out the smells, sounds and tastes of Christmas to bring Santa back to his old festive self. Children will of course receive a gift and a special memento from the man himself.
Christmas evening event
We’re planning on hosting a Christmas evening event on Fri 3 and Sat 4 Dec. The programme is currently being developed and will launch for on-sale soon. We’ll update you ahead of the public launch.
Colleague special event tickets
As ever, colleague tickets will be available for our special events. Evening events and An Enchanted Christmas will have an allocation of tickets at a 50% for colleagues to purchase. These will be available from Fri 3 Sep via the Sales & Ticketing team. Please note that discount tickets are not offered for Santa Hunts.
Daytime programme – October half-term and Christmas holidays
We’re working on a sci-fi themed October half-term and developing ‘Unwrapping Christmas’ for daytimes during the Christmas season. Look out for an update on this soon!
We need you! Do you have any old Newspapers that could be used for set up and use of braziers across site for events?
If you do we would be very grateful of them, and ask that they be dropped off to the Guide Hut.
