On Landguard Point- Scarecrow making workshop

As part of the week of activities we're hosting in conjunction with On Landguard Point http://www.onlandguardpoint.com/ there's been some Scarecrow making going on, its proving to be a fantastic family activity and we've already had some funky scarecrows made.

Some examples of the great creations from our visitors!

We've still got lots of scarecrows to make, so come along and have a go, we've got bags of clothes and the guys from On Landguard Point, as well as our own Volunteers to show you how to make them. All the scarecrows made are going to be put onto stakes and displayed as part of the On Landguard Point event.

Some well dressed scarecrows

The Scarecrow making workshops are running until Saturday, 10am-5pm, as well as our very own Victorian wash day which is kicking off our own programme of Summer Holiday Activities http://eastanglianlife.org.uk/2011/07/summer-holidays-at-the-museum/ 

Fabulous Scarecrow hair

The Museum of East Anglian Life is the perfect place to be this summer, with activities on regularly over the 6 week period, as well as the Museum itself to check out, a safe play area for children and lots of animals for the kids to enjoy. 

Traditional Basket Making

We are currently running a number of Skills for the Future projects, including our three month taster course of which we have six participants. Learning a number of traditional crafts and heritage skills, today saw them learning traditional basket making under the tutelage of Joanne Hammond.

Our trainees listening to Joanne

"Joanne Hammond originally studied Fine Art but always felt drawn to craftwork, particularly traditional rural skills. Then about fifteen years ago she began collecting and weaving twigs and climbers from a local woodland. Jo’s basket training has been informal; starting with short courses, learning from books and absorbing information from the Basket Makers Association newsletter, but mostly through trial and error.

The thread to all her work is a love of the beauty of the materials, and a wonderment of what can be done with a bunch of twigs. She prefers to use the willow rods in their natural state – with the bark on- displaying a variety of colours and textures. Jo designs and makes practical, functional baskets, light-hearted decorative pieces, and willow sculptures."

Joanne and Hannah

Here at the Museum we believe in the preservation of traditional craft skills, something which we demonstrate regularly, and showcase at our annual Steam and Crafts event http://eastanglianlife.org.uk/2011/06/steam-and-crafts-weekend-2011/ and through our Skills For The Future programme, we are making sure those skills are being transferred and continually practised in heritage organisations.

Materials for the basket making

Now if you're looking at this and thinking you'd like to give it a go, why don't you look out for one of our Leisure Courses that we run here at the Museum http://eastanglianlife.org.uk/learning-2/leisure-learning/ or contact our training officer Paul Palmer on 01449 612229 or email:  paul.palmer@eastanglianlife.org.uk

15th Festival of Beer and Brewing

Phew! What a busy weekend we've had here at MEAL, such a fantastic atmosphere as hundreds of people enjoyed the 60 beers and ciders on offer, enjoyed live music on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday and devoured the food provided by on site cafe The Osier.

Enjoying the beer!

The festival is our biggest celebrated event, and our largest fundraiser so all the support is so gratefully received, and what better way to help out your favourite museum than by drinking beer?! 

Pulling a pint

Music was provided on the Thursday by East Anglian Traditional Music Trust, who did a fantastic job of recapturing the spirit of days gone by, providing the perfect backdrop to enjoying a traditional pint of real ale. Friday had Rockabilly spirit from The Vagaband and friday carried on rocking with great tunes from Zoom Club. 

The Vagaband

Such a fantastic atmosphere, that even carried on through to a much calmer Sunday where we were helped to finish off the last of the beer. Such a massive thank you to everyone who came and sampled the beers and to the volunteers that helped us run it. 

A Running Mill once again

Recent visitors may be aware that recently we were unable to offer a working demonstration of our watermill. The Alton Watermill was moved from its original location, west of Ipswich, in the 1970’s to enable the construction of a new Reservoir. After a period of 7 years, the Mill was reconstructed here at the Museum, and we've been running bi-daily demonstrations as well as a guided mill talk. Recently we encountered problems due to the Mill wheel shifting on its axis, and were unable to run the mill for a period of about 2 weeks.

Alton Watermill

Thankfully we can now say that our Mill is running once again! After some clever work by our Estate team, we can once again show the process of how the Mill works, how we pump water from the mill, and the fantastic demonstration of seeing that water wheel turning! Once again we should be running the mill twice a day, so check with our Whats On board as you come into the museum to see what those times are.

Animal location changes

We know how much everyone loves to see our animals, so an important update regarding the location of the horses and donkeys. Major and Tyson have moved from their paddock, to the field behind the wind pump, there's plenty of grass for them to eat, and loads of space for them to enjoy!

Tyson

Major

Our donkeys have also had a move! The three donkeys can now be found just in front of the wind pump, and the five have been put into the field where Tyson and Major used to be. Lots of happy animals, now with plenty of grass to enjoy.

Alan

New Life at the Museum

Here at the Museum we do love something small, cute and fluffy and as you can see below, our little chicks fulfil the criteria perfectly!

Our new arrivals!

What's even more special about these chicks is their breed, the Mantes is an old French breed that was extinct for 50 years, but which was recreated in around 1960. Originally developed through crossing Houdans with Brahmas.

As you can see from the chicks, they have a black patch, as the plumage will eventually be black with white mottling.

The chicks are located next to the allotment, and are very cute and growing fast, so make sure you come and have a look at them.

(Thanks to the feathersite.com for information on the Mantes breed)

Fun and games the Victorian Way!

Hannah in full Victorian gear, demonstrating the hoop and stick!

Today we had our annual Victorian fun and games day, and what fantastic weather for it! Children had the opportunity to step back in time this half term and join in with some traditional games such as croquet, cricket and the potato race. There was also Ludo, Snakes and Ladders and Draughts and they could try out some Victorian toys such as the hoop and stick. As well as making ‘East Anglian’ paper dolls and discovering the art of decoupage.

Little one trying out the hoopla!

A giant size game of draughts! 

Discovering what toys used to be like