Chatting Behind the Lines - Curator's tales and musings

So Boris Johnson has now announced that visitors to Museums must start wearing masks, and this will be enforced from Saturday 8 August. To be honest, we did think this was coming. Once people had to start wearing masks in shops, it was only a matter of time before it became mandatory in other enclosed spaces. Last Friday, we put up a sign at reception stating wearing face masks was optional. As the week has progressed, we have noticed more and more people have chosen to wear face coverings.This rise may have been influenced by the decision for shoppers to wear them. Of course, within our Museum collections we have our own style of face coverings - gas masks and respirators - so face coverings are not new to us. From WW1 to modern day. Respirators through the ages. Plus we also do a nice line in NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suits too...just saying.

This evening I am proof reading exhibition panels. Working closely with our designers, we have put together a VJ commemorative exhibition using our photographic collection, quotations and scans of some of our archives. All this is coming together to form an external display to highlight the Forgotten Army. Proof reading can send you stir crazy, as you spend hours pouring over text and double-checking with the original documents. Often, a small comma or hyphen can slip through when initially writing text, but jump out and become a major error when proof reading. Working collaboratively to produce a panel is great fun and this creative process can come together with some excellent ideas. Sometimes, ideas produced at the designers can take on a different view when looking at the artwork 12 hours later. Sharing the proof reading is an excellent way of ensuring that sentences read correctly and that incorrect terminology doesn't slip through the net. But it is a long old process.   When...

Over the last couple of days, I have managed to spend some time looking at our WW2 Burma archives, trying to look at what we can use to commemorate VJ day. Obviously, we are unable to put these on display but hope to photograph some of them and use them virtually or on our planned external display. And what a wonderful collection of items we have! Items are varied and cover the three battalions that were involved in the campaign. An order of the day by Lt-Gen Slim to a Border Regiment songbook - such a variety. Some of these items are very fragile and needed to be handled with care. I gently opened the files and spent several hours reading and photographing items. Items that offer an insight into the Forgotten Army. We have a wonderful collection of archives and it is great when we can incorporate them into exhibitions and activities. Sometimes, we have used them in education sessions especially with university students, highlighting how archives can help illustrate history. It is grea...

I try to bike to work as much as possible. It is great thinking time and (hopefully) is keeping me fit. I also like to vary my journey to and from work. Alot of my journey is through neighbouring countryside before I head into Carlisle towards the Castle. A few of my routes take me past war memorials, a couple are in church yards, one is in the grounds of a village hall and the biggest one is the county memorial in Rickerby Park. This little one on the photo is found in the tiny village of Blackford, in the church grounds, next to the school. This morning I stopped by the side of the road to have a quick look and take this photo. It is obviously still cared for and a focus for remembrance, shown by the wreaths next to it. I checked the Imperial War Museum list of memorials when I got home. The celtic cross style memorial was unveiled on 20 February 1921, the ceremony attended by Mayor Irwin of Justicetown and the Bishop of Carlisle. It has inscriptions for  seven men from the local...

Once again it was a damp day in Carlisle. Heavy downpours dominated the morning, with a breezy afternoon blowing over our signage outside. A wild summer's day in Cumbria didn't stop hardy visitors from embarking on a day out at the Castle and Museum. As we are surrounded by both the Lake District fells and the North Pennines, we are seen as an outdoor location. However, you don't get lakes in the Lakes District without water, and certainly in this area we get plenty of it. Today was one of those days.  For families, wet weather often means looking for indoor activities for the kids. Currently, many of our visitors are holiday makers, people visiting the area from other parts of the UK. It's the school holidays, so these are mainly families and the wet weather means we are an option for a visit. No need for galloshes or wellies when you come to the Museum. Nice and dry and warm, plus a great place to spend some time. So it was lovely to chat to folk clad in waterproofs c...

I like to keep an eye on feedback from our visitors, checking that they have had an enjoyable visit and there were no problems. Several months ago, we introduced a visitors book by the reception desk but unfortunately, that fell victim to the pandemic and had to be removed. We are aware that people like to research before they visit places and the staff are great at keeping an eye on trip advisor. Posts often get the Museum confused with the Castle (understandably) but we like to make sure that we respond to any comments so people know that we are listening to them. At the present time, it is important for us to have an on-line presence with people still a little reticent in venturing out. Comments like this: Fascinating military museum with lots for the whole family, beautifully laid out with very approachable staff. Highly recommended all help to give people an insight into our product. Yes, it is worth visiting Alma Block to see our great little Museum. Our visitor numbers are slowl...

Today I have spent some time going through a box of Burma related material. It was great to spend some time with archives and objects, unwrapping and reading them then photographing them. As I opened each envelope, it was like unwrapping presents at Christmas.  This is part of the preparation for our VJ commemorations. I am keen to check what we hold in our collections so that we can use some of the material. Envelope after envelope opened up its secrets for me to view. A variety of items that gave an insight into the Far Eastern campaign of the Second World War. A great way to spend a Saturday morning. The photograph on my blog today is of the contents inside one of the envelopes. It is an escape map made of rayon of Burma, Siam (now Thailand) and French Indo-China (now Vietnam). Made in 1944, the map was produced by MI9 who replicated the idea of the 1943 European escape maps. The eight South East Asia maps are based on the International Map of the World sheets, each identified b...

My dining room table is proving a useful workspace for planning our forthcoming VJ display. Thanks to a kind donation, we are able to put together an external display utilising some of our photographs with quotes from the Border Regiment soldiers involved in the Burma campaign. We are working with a local design company to build the exhibition frames, and put together the exhibition content ready for August. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, plans to commemorate VJ have had to change. Our small external display will enable visitors to the Castle to gain an insight into the 'Forgotten War.' One of the group of University of Leicester students, who are currently working with us, will be complimenting the VJ display by putting together virtual content. Both Matt and I met two of the students on-line this afternoon to discuss ideas and explain our plans. As a Museum, this is something new that we have not done before so we look forward to the outdoor exhibition and its virtual count...

I am currently putting together a display to commemorate VJ day in August. Whilst on furlough, I have been reading various autobiographies and regimental histories to give me some background. More recently, I have been writing panels for the display to give it some context. One of the panels shows the link between the Regiment with the Castle. Carlisle Castle was the depot of the Border Regiment until 1959 and as this display will be put together outside the Museum building, it is important to make the connection with why we are putting on this commemorative display at the Castle. I returned to the Castle exhibition that was displayed at the Museum a few years ago. This showed a range of photos and resources that provided source material for this exhibition and I wanted to use some of it for this exhibition. Imagine the excitement when I saw the scan of this document, a 1950s pamphlet for an open day at the Castle. What it highlighted was the various uses of the buildings within the Ca...

It's Wednesday, and another of our holiday workshops has been posted onto our website. Arts Council funding has enabled us to work with local creative practitioners to produce ten online workshops throughout the summer and for October half term. The criteria of the workshop - it has to fit with our collections. We are lucky to have worked with many clever and creative people over the years, producing fantastic workshops to support our family offer. We always run these on a Wednesday (hence Wednesday workshop), sometimes overseen by a member of staff, a volunteer and even members of our young people's group. Occasionally, we have funding to employ a creative practitioner to plan and run the workshop, as we have now. Our workshops have included drawing, making hard tack biscuits, trying on uniforms and making peg doll soldiers. All a bit of fun for families. We often find that when attending our workshops that the adults are keen to undertake the activity too! This year things ar...

I noticed on the work's calendar that today was a significant date in our Regiment's history. On 21 July 1842, the 55th (Westmoreland) Regiment of Foot captured the town of Tching-Kiang-Fu (Chinkiang), during the first Opium War. Our work diary has numerous significant dates littered throughout the year. From Acton and Smith's VCs in December, Arroyo day in October and Fontenoy in May, the Regiment and its antecedents have many a notable occasion to remember and commemorate. Sometimes, like Arnhem and Alma, the dates are shared by several key battles. And like many Regiments, their battle honours are listed on their colours which were proudly carried during campaigns and conflict. Some of which, often very fragile items, are carefully preserved in our collections. So what of the Opium (or First China) War?  Like many disputes, the origins of this war started as a trade  dispute between the British and the Chinese, which led to British merchants illegally smuggling Indian ...

We are currently putting together final details of two projects for our virtual Museum Studies placements from the University of Leicester. Earlier this year, pre-virus, I submitted a form to host a placement at the Museum this summer focussing on our website and social media. Utilising their enthusiasm and up-to-date knowledge to work with us, whilst gaining an insight into working in a Museum. Sadly, plans had to change and the opportunities for placement were cancelled. The University contacted me and asked if we would resubmit an application to host students virtually, so I hastily re-wrote the form, and an additional application, on the off-chance we might be successful. And we were. Infact both applications secured three placements for each project - a total of six students.  The University of Leicester MA in Museums Studies course is world renowned and the course hosts students from across the world. In previous jobs, I have been priviledged to host two American students (at...

                                        I was up and out on my bike in the morning sunshine today, venturing round the lanes of North Cumbria. I decided to head towards the coast, cycling towards Burgh by Sands, just outside Carlisle, a village with a royal link. I quite fancied heading out to see the monument to Edward I. Located on Burgh marsh next to the Solway Firth, just outside the village, I had to walk the last little bit to the monument. Remote as it is, it must have been a bleak day in July 1307 when the King died. The monument, built in 1885, is said to mark the actual spot where he died of dysentry. Edward was on his way to Scotland to sort out Robert the Bruce. I am part of a facebook group that has been campaigning to save the Northampton Queen Eleanor Cross, located on the edge of the town. One of the few remaining original crosses that Edward commissioned, there were origi...

Twenty three years ago today I embarked on a fantastic trip, with over fifty others, to Uganda. This was a trip organised by Northamptonshire Scouts who had set up a link with a school in Bwaise near Kampala. A few of the senior leadership team had travelled out several times to establish and strengthen the link with the school and prepare for this trip of a lifetime. I was lucky enough to be selected to lead one of the teams of young people. For many of the young people on the trip this was the first time outside of Europe. This was a three week trip which would see us helping out at the school and travelling around various locations within Uganda. A wonderful opportunity for us all. We took our own tents and camped by the Nile, with other Scouts and took our mosquito nets to sleep out under the stars on a Scout campsite on the banks of Lake Victoria. What an eye-opener this was for many on the trip. Bartering in the local markets, impromptu singing and dancing with Ugandan Scouts, he...

One casualty of the pandemic has been the cancellation of all our activities and events. Due to coronavirus, we are currently operating on a skeleton staff. Numbers of visitors are restricted on site and we have to limit what we can do at the moment. But we are starting to think about the future and our events and activities, from the autumn. I was looking for a photograph to compliment this blog post today and came across this picture from an English Heritage event a couple of years ago. A small military encampment was based in the outer ward and this 'tanks are weak' performance was certainly a highlight. The Castle lends itself to these events and it will be great when they can be reinstated. The Museum hopes to put something together for VJ day in August but this is all in the planning stage at the moment. We are conscious of visitor safety and social distancing, which will limit anything we can do. We also look forward to restarting the veterans lunches and our talks progr...

Today we introduced our all new family friendly characters - the lion and the dragon. Designed by the talented illustrator Evelyn Sinclair, these two little cuties will be making more appearances over the summer holidays. Today was their first time in the big wide world. Funded by Arts Council England, these two characters are part of our on-line development, to help engage families over the summer holidays and beyond. The two are significant to our Regimental history and tie in nicely to our collections. Their background will be shared in future social media posts. We also hope that they will be more than just our on-line characters and look forward to incorporating them more into all our family-friendly activities throughout the Museum. We are also taking part in the University of Leicester on-line placement scheme as part of the Museums Studies degree course. An element of the students placement will be to nuture the lion and dragon and give them more of a voice over the weeks. Exci...

Yesterday we had a visit from Kate at ITV Border. She came to the Museum to interview me about our first week of opening. Beforehand, she wondered round the Museum as I pointed out the precautions we had put in place, from the social distancing floor stickers to the hand sanitiser stations.  After the initial gallery shots and atmospheric covid-precaution camera angles, it was time for the interview. Thankfully I had had a haircut so didn't look too ruffled and fluffy for the discussion. She asked how our first week had been, what precautions we had put into place, and how we deal with donations of objects when they come into the Museum. She was fascinated with us 'quaranting' the donation objects for 72 hours. Another precaution we have put into place during the current situation. It is great that the media are supporting us during these tough times. Infact, this evening I am being interviewed on Radio Cumbria. We need to get the message out there that we are open and it i...

Today is Bastille Day. A national holiday in France named after a prison in Paris. The storming of the Bastille in 1789, started 'The Reign of Terror' when many aristocrats were executed. At the time of its storming, the Bastille only held seven prisoners. Not bad for someone who studied the French Revolution at 'A' level several decades ago. Of course, I was wondering how we could commemorate this day at the Museum, using our Collections. Perhaps we could focus on our one and only Waterloo medal? Not sure that would work. Okay, perhaps we should focus on the Arroyo drums? That sounds more like a good connection. Why not? The Bastille Day celebrations in Paris include the Military parade along the Champs Elysees, the oldest military parade in the world, so I am sure that this military connection is enough to warrant a blog post... The link with all this is of course Napoleon Bonaparte, french statesman and military leader, who became Emperor of France. One of the storie...

I left work a little later this evening, after visiting a local Italian restaurant with a friend for our first catch up after lockdown. Leaving the Castle around 9.30pm, I noticed the beautiful light shining down on the red sandstone which produced an illuminated shadow across the top half of the Castle. Beautiful. It made me smile as I got on my bike to cycle home, as I remembered some of the comments that have been made about the Castle. This rugged frontier fortress may not be the chocolate box image that people associate with castles, but it has a beauty in its own right. We have had international visitors in the Museum who come to reception and asked where the Castle is. I remember once taking a couple back outside the front of the Museum and pointing to the Keep 'Over there' I explained. Not quite sure what they expected. But one of the best comments was by an Australian visitor who left a message about the Castle on Trip Advisor. An observation that Carlisle wasn't r...

History is all around us and the evidence is often so obvious that we don't really take it in, we don't realise it's there. From the ridge and furrow in the fields to the farm cottages near our house, they all tell of times past. I am still out on my bike, cycling to work along the lanes of North Cumbria. Whilst out recently, I noticed that a nearby black and white finger post had been dismantled and the directional arms of the post had been taken away. The next time I went past, the main post had been painted and I noticed the lettering down the post 'Cumberland County Council', a county name long since gone. Red tape cordened off the area around the post for a few weeks as I waited for the return of the directional arms. It seemed to take ages, and to be honest I started to lose interest and forget about it. But on my way home from work last week, I sailed down the hill and to my surprise, the post was complete. It looked glorious in the sunshine with its new coat...

We have now been open a week and all the staff are getting used to a new way of operating. All our visitors have been great, understanding the introduction of social distancing and the one-way system around the Museum. Our interactives are currently out of use, there is no children's trail at the reception desk and bottles of hand sanitiser are evident. But it is good to get the Museum back open. Even though my focus has now changed. Yes, my days are filled with cleaning. I don my gloves, pick up the cleaning bucket and head down to the gallery to polish the door handles and wipe hard surfaces with anti-bacteria spray. Although today I seem to have spent most of my time cleaning the toilets. I noticed that my purple signature was working its way down the checksheet as I wiped down the sink and the taps. Note to self - must remember the cloths are pink for sink and blue for loo. We are hitting the toilet cleaner hard so need to purchase a few more bottles next week. Floor cleaned, s...

Whilst on furlough, I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading. I reread  Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser, his recollections of his experience of the War in Burma. The connection between this book and the Border Regiment was highlighted when I started work at the Museum. So it was good to re-acquaint myself with the memoir. GMF served with the 9th Battalion of The Border Regiment, whose Collections we look after at the Museum. I am currently reading Ken Cooper's The Little Men. Cooper was in the 2nd Battalion of The Border Regiment and gives a very personal view of Burma. Both men give us an insight into the Forgotten War, a part of World War Two that was often overlooked by the contemporary press who focussed more on the war closer to home. I have a few more books to dip into before I start pulling together our first temporary exhibition post-opening. Due to limitations, this will not be in Alma but hopefully outside, complimented by some virtual content...

77 years ago today the Allied Invasion of Sicily began with Operation Ladbroke, with the first mass use of glider troops by Allied forces. Op Ladbroke (part of the bigger Operation Husky) involved the 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment. As part of the A irborne contingent, they set off in WACO gliders, but many of these were released too early and crash landed in the sea costing the lives of many men. Earlier this week we had our first donation to the Museum since lockdown. A lovely lady came into Alma bringing memorabilia that belonged to her father-in-law who had served with the 1st Battalion during the Second World War. It included an accompanying letter from the War Office, dated November 1943, which told of his fate. 'A statement had been received from a member of your husband's unit that, during operations in Sicily, the glider in which he was travelling crashed into the sea. It is known that your husband, with the remainder of the crew, evacuated the glider and commen...

Day five of opening. It's been a slow start but as people feel more confident, visitor footfall should increase. Our new way of operating is going well. Social distancing, regular cleaning, our reception screen...all our hard work has paid off and gives people confidence when they visit. But we know that we need to encourage people to come to the Castle. We were visited last week by the City Council who are producing short videos about aspects of the City to encourage people to visit Carlisle. Both myself and John, the site manager, were interviewed for the film but after three months of furlough, we both found it difficult to be interviewed! Having to think and talk at the same time was a skill that I struggled with but we both did our best and hope it gives a little insight to the site. Hardly Shakespeare, but I managed to string a couple of sentences together... Want to have a quick look yourselves? Follow the link below and have a wee look! https://www.facebook.com/discovercarl...

Or Review, Recognise, Reward. This evening was scheduled our monthly talk. July's talk was to be on Cumbrian Bravery Medals and to be delivered by two of our wonderful volunteers and medal enthusiasts, Alec and Graham. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, they found that they were unable to do all the research that was required for the talk. Also, the Museum has had to suspend its events programme and cancel all activity until the beginning of September. Now, I am no expert on medals and can just about identify 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred' but we have many in our Collections. From a Waterloo medal to Victoria Crosses, we have drawer cabinets full of them, lovingly laid out by Graham under the guidance of Stuart, our recently retired Curator. Each of these medals have a connection to a person and we are priviledged to look after them. Whether gallantry medals or service medals, each one has its own story to tell. I am lucky enough to have my dad's medals at home with me. But...

Today was the day. No, I haven't won the lottery or was able to go on holiday. Today was the day for the first haircut in as many months. To say I was looking forward to the occasion is probably an understatement. Infact, the whole family were looking forward to the visit. After sixteen weeks, I was about to lose the mop on my head and feel several stone lighter. Obviously, precautions were in place and the lovely Anne rocked up at our house in visor and disposable apron, more surgeon than hairdresser. We also offered her the opportunity to cut our hair in the garden. Nice idea, but it was a little chilly so after I had lost the lockdown locks she migrated to our kitchen. The trouble is I have started to get used to my wild mop of hair, and restrained from having my normal short back and sides. I am also getting used to my natural colour, 'steel grey' as Anne called it. Nice. So I have come to a compromise. Keep the slightly longer hair and my pale and interesting look for ...

The good news is that we are back off furlough, well almost. The Museum will be operating the flexi-furlough scheme to help us through the next couple of months, so my working week will be interesting over the next few weeks. The Museum will be run on a skeleton staff, with only two members of staff on-site for the foreseeable future. This limits what the Museum team can do. At the moment, it is open the doors and regular cleaning with a few other smaller jobs in-between. Not ideal, but it is about survival. Like most Museums, opening the doors took some serious thought. We want visitors through the door, to see our Collections, learn about the local history and enjoy their time in the Museum. But the reality is that even opening the doors comes with a cost. Visitor income is crucial to our survival. And once we take staff off furlough, you can throw in staff wages that have to be covered too. It is a gamble. Will people actually step outside their front doors and visit heritage sites?...

It's Super Saturday with pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopening. The local news has been dominated by this next phase in England's road to recovery, but hiding away in there is the reopening of many cultural institutions...including us! After 15 and a half weeks, we finally threw open the doors and welcomed visitors into the Museum. I started the day with a radio interview highlighting our preparations with English Heritage, followed by the pre-opening coffee. Then catching up with the Castle staff and making sure we had radio communication between us. All we had to do was wait for the visitors to come through our doors. A slow start but then a steady stream. It was good to see people in the Museum, chat to them and see them enjoying time out. The weather kept dry and we had no need for our 'Please wait here' sign as visitors seemed to be spread over the whole site and we had no social distancing issues in Alma.  So this evening, as I recover from mopping the gall...

As part of preparations for opening the Museum staff volunteered to go round the Castle to check out preparations for opening tomorrow.  Not everywhere on the site can be open (medieval castles are not known for social distancing) but one area that could prove interesting will be the dungeons in the Keep. These rooms are all the more fascinating as they are home to the infamous 'licking stones.' I was once asked by a friend to help with her infant class on a visit to the Castle. Obviously, they got all the spiel spiced with kiddie-friendly humour and when we entered to dungeons, I built up the tension and relayed the Jacobite 'licking stone' story. 'Errr' many of the kids commented when I shared the licking stone story 'that's horrible!' which why it was more surprising when one of the wee kids said to me 'Miss, miss. I've just licked the stones!' Joy, oh joy. Not sure that was on any risk assessment. Now I am not actively encouraging vis...

There are times in your Museum career when you do something that you absolutely love and are incredibly proud of. This was the case in 2016, when we decided to embark on an ambitious project to commemorate the Border Regiment's contribution to the Battle of the Somme. We were keen to look at the Battle of the Somme in more detail and wanted to highlight it was more than the 1st July. Infact, it was 141 days long, finishing in November 1916 when the Germans withdrew to consolidate their position. Plus we wanted to show just how many men from the Border Regiment lost their lives during this period.  The seeds of an idea continued to develop. I wanted to involv e the community and produce a public piece of art that was visual, that created a memorial that had an immediate impact.  The poppy project was born, now all I had to do was secure funding and get some community involvement.  Funding from Carlisle City Council enabled a creative practitioner to produce two easy to fol...