Coffee shops and cafés

"How to run a coffee shop" is an excellent  website on setting up and running a coffee shop.  It might be a sales web site for selling courses but there are some really useful nuggets on what you - museum, attraction, heritage site, gallery  or whatever -  should be doing and not doing  - in operations and marketing.

Thoroughly recommended even if you are making a complete success of your catering, tearoom, café etc. Allied with the Association of Independent Museums' pdf download on running Successful Museum Cafés, how can you fail? 

New idea in interpretation

A bird’s eye view on the ‘Green Sunderland’
PICTURE: Sue Clarkson.

A novel and economic way of interpreting and showing the size and shape of a long lost aircraft is on show at Pembroke Dock in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales.

A huge green Sunderland Flying Boat is signposting Pembroke Dock’s very popular Flying Boat Centre Workshop - but only the birds, and the occasional pilot, can really get a grandstand view. But those on the ground will certainly get the 'feel' for the size of the aircraft.

The grassed area alongside the Centre, located inside the walls of the former Royal Dockyard, has been marked out with the exact dimensions of the famous Short Sunderland - length 85 ft and 112 ft wingspan.

Created by members of the Sunderland Trust’s enthusiastic Volunteer Team, the Sunderland’s unique shape stands out because the grass is mowed at two different heights.

This aerial view was taken by Sunderland Trust Volunteer Sue Clarkson from an aircraft flown by husband Graham - also a volunteer. Plans are now being formulated to make best use of the grass Sunderland.

Ground level views of the ‘Green Sunderland’ can be had when visiting the Flying Boat Centre Workshop which is open Tuesdays to Fridays, 10 am to 4 pm. Entry is free.

 

New museum for London

Artist's impression the new Postal Museum in London

A new visitor attraction and museum for London has taken a step forward with the announcement that The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) has received planning approval from the London Borough of Camden for its new home at Calthorpe House, near Mount Pleasant sorting office.

The new Postal Museum will provide access to the BPMA’s collections of 400 years of postal, social and design history, including photographs, posters, vehicles, pillar boxes, employment records of millions of people and a world-class stamp collection.

The BPMA will be able to exhibit objects from its museum collection, which is currently held in storage. The new state-of-the-art premises will also include educational facilities for visiting schools, digitisation facilities and a purpose built Archive repository, built to modern environmental and security standards.

New sustainability initiative by major museum & gallery

Without compromising its artistic and cultural integrity and reflecting the need for continuing sustainability, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, one of the Midland's flagship cultural and heritage venues has launched Herbert Touring. The new initiative brings high quality exhibitions to other venues in the heritage sector, with exhibitions curated by their experienced creative team.

The Herbert prides itself on the broad range of its exhibitions programme and will bring this variety to its touring portfolio. Exhibitions are available to museums with subjects as diverse as the myths surrounding ancient Egypt, to a stark portrayal of canal culture in the 1950s, to the hottest up and coming street artists.

Herbert Touring has been launched with the support of the Arts Council and as pressure continues on museum budgets, the importance of this kind of entrepreneurial activity is likley to become of increasing importance.

See more on Herbert Touring here  

New Museum in London

Plans for a new home for The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) have been announced by the BPMA, Royal Mail Group and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The new Postal Museum will provide access to the BPMA’s unique collections of 400 years of postal, social and design history, including photographs, posters, vehicles, pillar boxes, employment records of millions of people and a world-class stamp collection.

Under a plan endorsed by the Government, the new centre will be established at Calthorpe House, on London’s Mount Pleasant site, where the country’s oldest mail centre is located. It is close to the existing home of the BPMA at Freeling House, which has very limited space for exhibitions and displays.

Royal Mail Group will grant a lease of 999 years for Calthorpe House, a property which will provide a secure foundation for the BPMA once redeveloped and extended. Agreements have been signed with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd for a £6m long term, low interest loan to fund the conversion of Calthorpe House to meet the basic needs of the organisation. In addition, Royal Mail and POL are providing other support, including a £500,000 grant.

A fundraising campaign by the BPMA will be launched shortly to raise the remaining funds required to create a state of the art museum and visitor facility. The BPMA is an independent charity set up in 2004 to care for two significant collections: The Royal Mail Archive and the collections of the former National Postal Museum. It is the BPMA’s mission to increase public access to these collections, making the story they tell of communication, industry and innovation accessible to everyone.

The new centre will allow the BPMA to exhibit objects from its fascinating museum collection, which is currently held in storage. It will also include educational facilities for visiting schools.

Donald Brydon, Royal Mail Group’s Chairman said:  “These plans will give our postal heritage a world-class home. The history of Royal Mail is a key part of the history of postal services worldwide. I am delighted, therefore, the Group’s Board has agreed to support the BPMA’s ambitious plan to provide a new, permanent home for its unique collection of postal artefacts, stamps and equipment, as well as allowing greater access to the archive”

Dr Adrian Steel, Director of the BPMA, said:  “We are aiming to create a state-of-the-art, sustainable home for a unique part of our national heritage. The new centre will showcase the UK’s pioneering role in developing postal communications, which has shaped the world we live in.”

Norman Lamb, Postal Affairs Minister, said: "This exciting new home for the British Postal Museum and Archive is a great initiative, to which I hope people will lend their support. Celebrating the history of Royal Mail in this way will bring to life a key part of our nation's cultural heritage. The many and varied items in the archives will show how Royal Mail has been at the heart of British life for centuries, and it is great news that the museum will contain an educational facility to allow young people to engage with the history of our postal services in an innovative way."

Museum Volunteering - Archive Crew have history on their hands

A vigorous volunteers' programme is a sine qua non for most small attractions and museums. The Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust that set up and run the Flying Boat Centre in Pembrokeshire is a good example as a recent press release demonstrates.

Pembroke Dock’s 200 years of history is in excellent hands. For the past 12 months a dedicated team has been cataloguing, recording and conserving a remarkable and wide ranging collection - covering so many facets of a community with a proud military and social history. They are members of the ‘Archive Crew’ at the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust’s Archive Centre, currently located in the town’s historic Market Building.
Under the guidance of Archive Manager and Curator Dave Pring they have, in the first year of operation, worked on over 12,000 items, from photographs and documents to uniforms, aircraft equipment and ships models. Items from the Haven Sunderland flying boat, serial T9044, are among the artefacts.

“It is a remarkable collection and we have only really scratched the surface,” said Dave, an IT specialist and qualified trainer. “The Pembroke Dock Collection includes important individual collections and those from service organisations and the town’s Museum Trust. It is hugely significant nationally and internationally as well, as we are constantly reminded as we receive many enquiries and requests from all over the world. Tracing family history is a major area of interest here.”

Dave and his team of 12 volunteers estimate that they have a 20 year project ahead of them, as new artefacts and material come to the Centre all the time. The archiving and recording work being carried for the Sunderland Trust is recognised as achieving the highest standards in Wales and the skills being taught to the band of volunteers is likewise of the top order.
“The team is hugely enthusiastic and developing so many skills,” added Dave. “Some of the team also volunteer at the very popular Flying Boat Centre and the Trust is fortunate to have so many committed volunteers.”

* New volunteers are welcome and should get in contact with the Sunderland Trust (01646 623425) or PAVS.

The Sunderland Trust Archive Crew came together to mark the first successful year of operation. Pictured are, left to right: Back row: Judith Davies and Glynnis Iles (Sunderland Trust Project Team); Iona Thomas, Trish Pritchard, Mary Meldrum, Barry Clark, Kay Hancock, Margaret Clark, Pari Taheran, Chris Howell. Front row: Malcolm Miles, Tony Craney, Dave Pring and Colin Hancock.


PICTURE: Sunderland Trust.

Refreshing the offer - Coming Of Age at the Ace Café



The Ace Cafe Exhibition - Coventry 



A good time was had by Attract at the launch of Coventry Transport Museum's new visiting exhibition - 'the story of the fashion, the bikes and the music that defined a generation' and (that) 'takes you on a journey through the history of the iconic Ace Café, its customers and what it meant to be a British teenager in the 1950s and 60s'.

It was opened by Dudley Sutton one of the stars of the film The Leather Boys and the evening featured live music from The Zodiacs Rock n Roll band, Rock n Roll dancing , the Antelope Motorcycle Club and the owner of the Ace Café Mark Wilsmore. We enjoyed Cafe-style dinner and drinks.

The exhibition is another simple example of how a museum can develop, target and appeal both to the older generation who may remember the Ace Café and tell a story that will appeal to a younger audience and bring in people who might otherwise not have visited the museum . There were certainly all sorts there on a June Thursday evening!

Coming of Age in Coventry