Category: TV Feed Main News

  • Our Round 2 Application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund

    Yesterday (Monday 4 February) we hosted The National Lottery Heritage Fund.  The visit forms an important part of their assessment of our £9.4m funding application towards BCLM: Forging Ahead, and if successful, will mean we can start work on the ground in the early summer.

    It was terribly important that our guests from the NLHF met as many people as possible, and I was so delighted that this included staff, volunteers, members of our Community Panels, our friends from Black Country Touring, Museum Trustees, local MPs and representatives from stakeholders, including Ninder Johal from the Local Enterprise Partnership, Peter Knott from Arts Council England, and Sarah Norman Chief Executive from Dudley Council, as well as the Midland Metro Alliance. We even had a video message from West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street.

    From my perspective, the day was a great success and ended with colleagues in the Bottle & Glass and a great sense of pride in what everyone had done, and is doing, to make the Museum a success.

    We now have a seven week wait until a decision is made, although we will continue to take forward preparations, on the assumption that the decision is in our favour.

    I especially want to thank everyone who was at the Museum today and had a role in organising, performing, directing, transporting, cleaning, catering, tech-ing, talking with and answering questions from the NLHF.  You were all terrific and can be very proud of the part you played.

    Thank you.

    Andrew

  • Doo’s Staff Room Now Open

    As of Wed 23 Jan, the staff room above Doo’s will re-open following its refurbishment.

     

  • Road Maintenance Update

    All pot holes in the main Museum road have now been filled and the improvement works to the main car park are progressing well. Stave-con will be back on Monday and Tuesday to complete the works.

    There are also a few small pot holes on the bridge into the village that will also be filled while our contractor is still on site. All works are on schedule to be finished and rubble removed before we open to the public on Wednesday.

    Thank you for your patience.

  • Recent Staff Changes

    The New Year has brought some staff changes.  After many years at the Museum, Kay Reynolds, one of our Receptionists, has left, and in the coming days so too will Katy Price, Development Manager, for a new role with English Heritage in Wiltshire.  Lucy Bennett, Head of HR, has also moved on to pursue new opportunities.

    We wish Kay, Katy and Lucy well and thank them very much for the contribution they made to the success of the Museum.

    Katy will be having a farewell get together on Thursday 17 January in the upstairs of the WI from 4.30pm if you would like to say goodbye.

    We’ll let colleagues know about any interim arrangements we’ll be putting in place over the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, Michaela Fallon-Williams will be taking-on extra responsibility and should be your first contact for any Human Resource-related matters.

  • Calling all Archers fans!

    Archers fans – get your wellies on and join us on a trip to ‘Ambridge’!

    BBC Birmingham Tours at the Mailbox are launching a brand new Archers tour in the spring, but before going live to the public, the BBC are looking for Archers fans to help them give it a proper test run.

    All About The Archers pilot tours are free for BLCM Staff, friends and family; and are happening on:

    • Thursday 31st January at 10.30am and 1.30pm
    • Saturday 2nd February at 3pm
    • Thursday 14th February at 10.30am and 1.30pm
    • Saturday 16th February at 3pm

    Get an exclusive sneak peek around The Archers radio drama studio and the chance to record an iconic Archers scene. Plus find out if you really know your Grundy from your Aldridge, your Bridge from your Brookfield in our special Archers Quiz!

    Interested? Email [email protected] to find out more and to book a tour.

  • Car Park and Road Maintenance

    Pot hole repairs will commence on the morning of Mon 14 Jan. This will affect all roads within the museum to some extent.

    Work will begin on the roads on site, and then move to the main car park. This will include pot hole repairs and some remodelling to gain eight additional parking spaces and the installation of four more lighting columns to provide permanent lighting to the whole car park.

    We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause while we carry out this essential maintenance and improvement work.

  • Staff Social 21st January

    The first 2019 Staff Social is drawing closer and we have a great evening planned for you!

    Live music, prizes, hot food and a bar, all compliments of the Museum to say thank you for your hard work over the last year.

    This year’s event will take place in the WI from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm and we hope as many of you as possible will be able to come along, even if it’s just for a short time.

    Should you have any specific dietary requirements please contact Ben Careless in HR on ext 201 or via email [email protected].

     

  • Last Few Places Left On Training Sessions

    There are still a few places remaining on some of the optional training sessions taking place over the next couple of weeks.

    The following sessions still have spaces, if you are interested in attending then either contact your manager or Lucy Bennett in HR (ext 219).

    Personal Finance – Led by The Money Charity

    Thursday 10th January AM or PM

    These sessions will cover all aspects of personal finance from current accounts to mortgages and pensions and attendees will be able to ask for specific subjects to be covered.

     

    Personal Wellbeing – Led by WEA

    Wednesday 16th January 09:30 am, 11:00 am or 13:30 pm

    These sessions will be led by the Workers Education Association and will be bite-sized 1 hour sessions aimed at improving your wellbeing and looking at techniques you can use to stay healthy both physically and mentally.

     

    Non-Neurotypical Awareness – Led by Signs4Life

    Wednesday 16th January AM

    Thursday 17th January AM

    These sessions aim to increase your awareness of the Autism spectrum or as it is becoming more frequently referred to, Non-Neurotypical awareness. The sessions will be useful for all colleagues as they relate to both visitors and staff.

  • New Year…New Cafe Name

    After the recent staff poll to find a new name for Rolfe St cafe, there were two preferred choices –  Hilltop Foundry and Crown Tubeworks.

    From Wednesday 23 Jan, the cafe will be renamed the Crown Tubeworks Cafe but we’ll keep ‘Hilltop Foundry’ in mind for the cafe that will be located in the new Visitor Centre as part of Forging Ahead.

    Thanks for voting!

  • Thank you to everyone involved in Christmas 2018

    During our Christmas Season between 24 Nov and 24 Dec, we welcomed almost 30,000 visitors across Christmas Evenings, Santa Hunts and our new Christmas daytime offer.

    Many of you will have worked on some or all of these activities to give our visitors a magical Christmas experience – thank you for your sustained enthusiasm and energy!

    We also hit the 350,000 visitor mark on Christmas Eve which is a real milestone for the Museum…watch this space for the full year attendance early in the New Year.