Life, the Universe and Everything



It's been a contemplative sort of day today. From the comfort of my own hammock, I have been doing quite alot of thinking. Not 'I wonder if we will get a vaccine for covid-19' sort of thinking, more an assessment of life, the universe and everything (in the words of Douglas Adams).

I suppose it was the opportunity to relax in the shade with just the background bird noises and gentle breeze rustling the tree branches that got me thinking. I started to ponder - funny old thing is life. The people that I have met and the things that have happened over the years. You can see I was going straight in for deep and meaningful here. I started to think about work and how my employment had changed since my first flirtation with work, on a paper-round aged 13 to where I am now, Museum Manager. At 13, I didn't really have a definate idea of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go. So here I am many years later, in my garden on the edge of Carlisle in sunny Cumbria, contemplating.

I have always loved history, from exploring Welsh Castles to a study of the history of London whilst at school there. At secondary, my favourite lesson was always history, from the industrial revolution to Tudors, I just loved it all. It took me a few years to work out that I wanted to incorporate my passion into a full-time career, but that was easier said than done. Breaking into the heritage sector can be difficult, it is very competitive, but somehow I managed it and twenty five years later I am still working within it and still loving the past and all its associated stories.

It was that love of history that brought me northwards to Carlisle. Securing the job of Learning and Access Manager at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery saw myself and the family up-sticks and travel up the M6 to our new home. I had to learn a new 'history' of the area in which I now both lived and worked. From Romans to Border Reivers, Railways to Munition factories I avidly digested the local stories. Fitting it into the nation's wider history thus giving it all the bigger context has been fun. Bringing it alive for locals and visitors alike has been the icing on the cake. 

Of course my love of the past has opened many interesting doors. A brief placement at Warwick Castle, having dinner on HMS Victory sitting next to the Captain (I did have to muscle others out of the way for this seat of honour!), attending the commemorative service at Westminster Abbey for the centenary of the end of the First World War. And my passion for history has structured many a holiday or day out from crawling round the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam to visiting Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow. I've loved it all and wouldn't have it any other way.

So gently swaying in my hammock, I wonder if I would or could have done anything else with my life? Unlikely. Traipsing round Roman villas and visiting the Tower of London as a child set me on this path. And on a beautiful summer's day, as I think about going back to work, I can't wait to return to the Museum and the Castle. No, I definately made the right career choice all those years ago.

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