The Exhibition at Enford fair

We have just arrived back from showing the collection at Enford fair, a successful day with lots of nice comments and lots of questions about the Iron age that would have taxed all but the best of curators... ;) Quite an appaling start, Im afraid. We had some issues at Shipton Bellinger with our gazebo, today it was completely flattened by the wind. Fortunately no-one, and no strange old things were damaged in the process. But the day seemed to be a write off. The organisers at Enford sorted us out an indoor spot, however, and I'm so grateful for all their support.

Today we showed the Contemporary Conflict section for the first time, with mixed reactions it has to be said. I am very keen on this section because it's overlooked by many collectors and under studied in comparison to the two world wars. But because people are usually not well informed about the subjects, which include the Korean war, Bosnian war, Cold war and Afghanistan, there was not as much interest as I'd hoped. I think some more information would help matters, maybe a map. All lessons to take forward. Our key lesson now though is this: We need an indoor spot! If I have to spend another weekend bungeeing and tying a rubbish gazebo to my estate, I shall cry like a baby. SO in future, we will have to ask for accomodation indoors. At Enford we were set up next to the cake store, which guaranteed a steady stream of visitors, and a small rise in my blood sugar level, which will likely remain well into next week.

Again, I think the Roman Empire section stole the show. We had our new piece out: A clay brick from Ulpia Oescus, the legionary base of 1st (Italica) Legion during the Dacian wars (c AD 107/8). The brick is stamped with the Legion's mark: 1 LEG ITAL and was by far the most expensive old brick I've ever bought (and yes, I do make a habit of it!) During a visit to Carleon last week I actually pulled two roman tile sherds out of the ground in a public park, nice finds but unfortunately no marks on them. Still, they make a really nice display and certainly catch the eye. Next time we will be bringing out a 1935 Umbro swimming costume: cotton (perhaps not the ideal material!) it was used by a swimmer for the national team of Scotland so it's a very cool item. Ive procrastinated for ages in getting a decent frame (because I'm such a skinflint) but it deserves it.

Thankyou to everyone who visited us, and thank you all for your kind donations. A special thanks to everyone who helped me with the gazebo, as Mother Nature ate it... Next stop Durrington on July 15th; be there AND be square... 

Seeking: Strange Old Things! (Or, how to help the museum by donating items)

How many people reading this blog have an old, unidentified medal sat in a box in a drawer? Or a dusty set of old letters from nineteen-0-something under the stairs?

We are reliant on donations. Our running costs are effectively zero: petrol and thats about it. But we need strange old things to keep the museum going. By donating/lending your old items you can help us keep the museum fresh and relevant. Id love to have a different collection every time we roll out but we just have enough stuff. Give your item to the museum and we can exhibit it for the enjoyment of the whole community. We'll even help you identify your object so it can be displayed and explained properly. A recent spate of donations has allowed us to start a new stand on contemporary conflict (we were kindly given a Japanese Korean war era cigarette case and an original Falklands war 3 PARA post-operational report. Thanks so much to Gloria and Adele!) which looks pretty good.

Leave a message on this blog for more details, or you can tweet us @TheMobileMuseum. If you're on facebook, join our group for details of upcoming events:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/414579935242011/

Thank you

Ben and Meg

The rollout at Shipton Bellinger (or, making a museum mobile)

The first rollout was quite a success, thankyou to everyone who turned up and supported us, especially my wife Meg, who had high winds and stormy tempers to deal with for the first few hours! Thanks also to Jon, who turned up to wish us luck and ended up as buckshee manual labour!

high winds and cheap gazebos do not mix, but after a lot of rope and swearing, we at least erected the shelter. that was really the hardest part. The collection itself travelled quite well, never asking 'are we there yet' and not once kicking me in the back. I was a little bit worried about it, especially some of the Roman pieces. We have three iron nails recovered from the battlefield at teutoberg forest in Germany, AD 9, very unusual to be able to date such non-descript pieces to a specific time like that, and they are deeply fragile. jon wouldnt believe that something that has been buried in the mud for two millenia could be so fragile, maybe im over protective... But all the peices made it in tact and pretty much in the order in which I packed them, which made life a lot easier. We had prepared a number of labels which went down fine, but these were not in order: cue lots and LOTS of faffing and an increasingly exasperated Meg as the opening time approached! placing paper labels behind tiny coins with my fat fingers is like trying to eat a pomegranet with a spade.... Because the gazebo was quite windy, we couldnt put our maps of Roman britain behind the displays, they had to sit outside. But i think theyll stay there, they were drawing people in.

We had a lot of visitors, many of whom were asking questions and I was in hogs heavan talking about the pieces at length... lot of kind donations including a copy of the post-operational report of the Falklands campaign by the 3 pars CO, very interesting stuff, and a perfect way to kick off our new 'contemporary conflict' display about British conflicts post-WW2. favourites seemed to be the Roman artifacts and the modern Britain collection, quiet a few of the older generation being pleased and upset at once to find one of their household items on display! Next stop... no idea yet, Well keep you posted! We are a charity, and were always seeking your unwanted strange old things for display either temporarily or permanently. You can email me at ben_welbourne@hotmail.co.uk for further information or to enquire about how you can help. dont forget to follow us on facebook as well.  

Mobile Museum: Making the Modern World (History of Europe from Medieval to Renaissance)

Now THIS was difficult...

How to compress the history of Europe from the end of Rome to the Renaissance, in 3 pages. An appropriate section of history in theory, Rome's withdrawal and eventual destruction marked the end of high civilisation in Europe, and although much has to be said for 'dark age' culture, it definetly sucked compared to the Romans who, after all, invented Field artillery and the condom. The renaissance was thus named to refer to a 're-birth' of roman culture. But this is a LOOOONG period during which modern europe was cast from clay, and fired into fine pottery, only to be smashed to pieces twice in the same century. But thats for another day... In the mean time, check out the link on our facebook group and see how we have condensed this epic. Suggestion welcomed as always.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/414579935242011/