Helpdesk

Iplicit

FuseMetrix

Planday

My ePayWindow

Intranet

Category: TV Feed Main News

  • ‘A Cracking Easter’ Holiday Programme: Staff Survey 2022

    As you may be aware, our 2022 Cracking Easter programme saw the most successful Easter at the Museum to date, welcoming over 24,000 visitors! As staff members working in direct contact with guests, our frontline staff are key to our understanding of how visitors experience our public programmes and events. They are also key to their success.

    To better gauge the public (and frontline staff) response to this programme, we are asking for your help in providing some feedback. Your valuable insight will inform how we plan programmes going forward and ensure that you have the tools and training to support you to deliver the very best visitor experience.

    Please see the following link to access the survey:

    https://tinyurl.com/3ued373h

     

  • Event Update: “Back Home” – a 1940s Event

    Event Update: “Back Home” – a 1940s Event

    You will be familiar with the Museum’s 1940’s event. We have decided to shift the focus of the event this year to better reflect the domestic Black Country experience. The event, which will be called “Back Home”, will explore civilian life and stories of life in the Black Country and the wider region during the 1940s.

    Visitors will discover stories of how the people of the Black Country came together against difficult odds, and will commemorate the huge efforts of those at home during this pivotal period of history. Stories of the home guard, reserve occupations, make do & mend and dig for victory will be the key focus for the weekend.

    We appreciate that this may be different to what you may have expected. In order to support any questions you may have or may be asked by members of the public or re-enactor groups, someone from the Programming Team will be attending briefings over the course of the next week to answer your queries. A Q&A will be published based on the questions raised in these sessions.

    As we are yet to publicise the event and may not yet have informed re-enactors and traders at the time of publishing this update, please consider this information as confidential until such time as our event details have been made public via our website and social media. If you have any comment or question about the above we appreciate your discretion in bringing it to Team Managers or to the Programming team.

    In the event that you come across comments about this event on social media, please can we ask that these are directed to our Audiences & Communications team, who can be contacted via [email protected], and not addressed directly by yourselves. A copy of our social media policy can be found for your reference in the intranet documents file here. 

    Thank you for your cooperation.

     

  • Record Breaking Easter!

    Following the end of the Easter holidays, the Museum enjoyed fantastic success and welcomed more visitors for this holiday period than ever before, with 24,626 visitors joining us to celebrate A Cracking Easter, smashing the budgeted target of 23,000. This puts us in a strong  position as we move into our busiest periods. We are excited to continue this trend with our Marvellous Machines Bank Holiday this weekend and our May half term Jubilee-themed week at the end of next month. Plans are currently being made for Summer too, with updates on our programme to follow.

    Just some of our excellent feedback from our visitors for Easter:

    Anjan, Google Review: “An amazing place that offer something for everyone, especially kids. It takes you back in time and the visit never feels rushed so that you can enjoy the variety on offer. A must visit”

    Daltonspencer, TripAdvisor Review: “This is a fantastic museum. Be prepared to spend a full day there if you want to experience as much as possible.

    It really is a living experience where you can get right into the history and appreciate what life must have been like back then. The museum caters for all ages & is easily accessible. The staff are fantastic & really make the day even better. If you like Fish and Chips then I recommend trying the ones on site. It is a treat in itself!”

    We’d just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their input and hard work to deliver an excellent programme and visitor experience for all of our visitors during the Easter holidays.

  • Andrew discusses Peaky Blinders with BBCR4 Today programme

    Following the season finale of the last ever series of Peaky Blinders airing on Sunday night on BBC One, Andrew Lovett appeared on BBC Radio 4’s the Today programme to discuss the impact of the show on the Museum as well as the wider West Midlands.

    To listen to the interview in full, use the media player below:

  • Winners at the West Midlands Tourism Awards!

    On Thursday 31 March, Black Country Living Museum were thrilled to be crowned with the Resilience and Innovation Award at the 2022 West Midlands Tourism Awards.

    This was a newly created category for this year, which sought to recognise how organisations in the tourism sector adapted when faced with the difficult circumstances that Covid-19 presented.

    The Museum was recognised for the many ways that it was able to connect with audiences during the difficult year it faced in 2021. This included being able to provide a space for the NHS to distribute vaccines to the local community, connecting with worldwide audiences through TikTok, and hosting the production of a number of high profile filming projects.

    Andrew Lovett, CEO, said: “I would like to extend my thanks to everyone here at the Museum for their combined efforts over what has been a trying year for us all. The award for which we were nominated was highly competitive with a number of excellent organisations in the running, so it brings me great joy to see us recognised as winners in this category. This award reaffirms our collective resilience and creativity during 2021 in the face of difficult circumstances.”

    Paul Crofts, COO, added: “A huge, huge well done to everyone across the teams in your effort, professionalism, innovation and work in once again seeing the museum recognised.”

    Following  success in the regional awards, the Museum will be put forward for the same category in the national awards.

  • Forging Ahead: Additional funding boost from WMCA

    Forging Ahead: Additional funding boost from WMCA

    Black Country Living Museum receives additional funding boost from the West Midlands Combined Authority toward their brand-new capital development, BCLM: Forging Ahead

    Following the successful application for an additional funding boost, the development is well underway. The Museum is looking to open the first of the historic buildings this summer, a replica of the Elephant and Castle pub from Wolverhampton, as well as its brand-new Visitor Centre.

    The project has been made successful by the contributions toward its £30m budget from a variety of major funders, with significant investment from the Department of Culture Media and Sport’s Capital Kickstart Fund via the Culture Recovery Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, Arts Council England, and the West Midlands Combined Authority, as well as from several other supporters and generous donors.

    This recent additional funding boost allows for the Museum to complete additional ground clearance works alongside the continuing development works. The investment comes via the WCMA’s funding plan which is committing devolved housing and land investment, to fund the clean-up.

    Andrew Lovett, chief executive officer at Black Country Living Museum, said: “Forging Ahead is now more important than ever to the future of the Museum and our region. It provides added momentum to thrive once again for our community following the unprecedented challenge of the pandemic.

    “The modern Black Country, with its rich global connections and diversity of people is the enduring legacy of the 1940s-60s. It is a legacy to be proud of. Forging Ahead provides a new stage upon which we can share new stories and celebrate the contribution of everyone who came to call the Black Country home during this period of history.

    “I believe this vision is the will of the people we serve. We’re hugely grateful for the WMCA’s support and investment at a critical stage in our project.”

    Cllr Mike Bird, WMCA portfolio holder for housing and land and leader of Walsall Council, said: “Supporting the museum in this way would yet again show how the WMCA is using the money it has secured from government to open up brownfield sites to recharge our industrial history, build new homes, grow our business and tourism sector and protect our green belt from unnecessary development.”

     

     

  • Staff survey – Fiendish Felons

    In order to help us shape and improve our programmes for the future, we are asking for all front line staff to complete a survey about their experience of working during our Fiendish Felons themed February half term.

    “As a member of frontline staff in direct contact with the visitors, you are key to our understanding of how visitors experience our public programmes and events. You are also key to their success. Your valuable feedback will inform how we plan programmes going forward and ensure that you have the tools and training to support you to deliver the very best visitor experience.”

    We are asking that all front line staff complete the survey by 10am on March 28th. Please click here to access the survey.

     

  • National Lottery Open Days at BCLM

    This March, the National Lottery are inviting organisations to take part in National Lottery Open Week.

    National Lottery Heritage Fund have made a significant investment in our brand new 1940s-60s development BCLM Forging Ahead. As our way of saying a big “Thank You” to our visitors and supporters, we are giving National Lottery players the opportunity to visit the Museum for free with two free entry days* on Sun 20 and Fri 25 March.

    As well as our open dates, the People & Culture team are organising a recruitment fair on the afternoon of each of our free days, to help us spread awareness of future employment opportunities at the Museum as part of the new development. Colleges and local community groups have been invited to attend the fair (recruitment fair invitees have been sent special tickets) but anyone who is booked to visit on the day is welcome to drop in.

    To find out more about other organisations who are taking part, visit the Lottery Good Causes website.

    Tickets for the National Lottery Open Days must be pre-booked in advance via our website. Visitors simply need to show their valid National Lottery play (either an in-app play, scratch card or Lottery play) along with their timed entry booking slot on arrival. 

     

  • BCLM Welcomes VIP Visitors – a thank you from Andrew

    Yesterday we hosted a visit from the High Commissioners of Grenada and Malawi and the Economic Attaché of South Africa.  They had chosen to visit the Museum because of our contribution to the success of the creative industries of the United Kingdom.  We offered an unusual example of how film and TV production, animation and social media channels have an outlet in a regional heritage setting, and are capable of worldwide reach.

    The visit was a great success, and I want to thank you for your contribution.  It was also hugely appreciated by our special guests.

    With my thanks,

    Andrew

    Our visitors went away with “Peaky” caps which they proudly wore later that day!

  • Action for Happiness: Mindful March

    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 Mindful March. Let’s pause, breathe and really take in what’s all around us.

    Let’s all use their calendar below, or the Action for Happiness App, to do more good this month.