News Archive
Stories and photos that have previously appeared
on our
News Page can be found here; feel free to browse!
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ARTICLES
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE:
AIM
funding brings accreditation closer (2006)
A second SEWS grant for the Museum
(2006)
Museum
postcard competition (2006)
Easter
2006 Treasure Hunt winners
Music
Night, Spring 2006
Website
expansion - new pages!
Leader article, January 27, 2006
New Curator at Museum (Sept.
2005)
Museum receives grant money (Nov.
2005)
Progress in battle with water ingress
(Winter 2005)
Museum to be on the telly (2005)
Andrew's article (2005)
Goodbye to racing car collection
(2005)
Water
ingress closes cabinets, October 2005
Dr.
Who exhibit now on display, Autumn 2005
The
Royal Visit, November 2004
Junior Members' Party Puppet Panto, December
2004
Open
in Oct 2001 after 3 years of closure
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The
Museum is thrilled to have recently received a generous
grant from AIM, the Association of Independent Museums.
The grant is being used to write a new business plan for the
Museum. Advice from Business Consultant Barry Horner and
Museum Consultant Christine Beresford is included in the
funding, both of which are extremely valuable to the Museum.
Once finished, the new Business Plan will fulfill one of the
remaining requirements for the Museum's Accreditation
Application. The Museum aims to submit an application by the
end of 2006.
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The
Museum has also been successful in attaining another grant from
SEWS. This grant provides for a governance audit and report to
help the Museum's Trustees to assess whether they meet all of
the requirements for Accreditation. The project will be led by
Museum Consultant, Janet A. Bell and will run alongside the business
plan project.
Museum Curator Claire Eden is delighted with the Museum's
recent grant success; help which will give us a real boost in
the difficult task of achieving Accreditation.
The
Museum is especially grateful to Museum Development
Officer Sonia Rasbery for her continuing support and for her guidance
regarding both of the grants.
Illustration
by David Shaw
The
winning drawings have successfully been transformed into
real postcards and can already be found for sale in the Museum
shop. Come admire these attractive packs of eight cards;
one by each of our winners. Each pack costs £3.00 and
proceeds will go towards the day to day running of the Museum.
The Museum wishes to thank everyone who participated.
The
WINNING ILLUSTRATIONS
were done by:
George
Gilliatt
Oscar Forzani-Fawcett
David Shaw
Lily Gould
Jack Macey
Oliver Tritton-Wheeler
Delilah Forzani-Fawcett
Freya Edwardson Stephens
We
would also like to say a big thank you to the eight organisations
and businesses who donated prizes for
this competition.
Brighton
Bead Shop
The Pottery Cafe Trafalgar Street
Sainsburys
Howletts Wildlife Park
Yesterdays World
Fishers Farm
Drusillas
Worthing Craft Shop
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Illustration by Freya Edwardson Stephens
Our first-ever Easter Treasure
Hunt ran throughout the
Easter holiday and attracted submissions from visitors
of all ages.
Winners' names were drawn
by Jason the Dog and
students from a visiting school on Tuesday April 25, 2006.
1st
PRIZE WINNER:
Daisy,
aged 9
2nd
PRIZE WINNER: Amy
Ives, aged 10
3rd
PRIZE WINNER: Ben
Chapman, aged 7
RUNNERS
UP:
Luke
Turley-West,
aged 6 (Museum Junior Friend)
Ella, aged 6
Jamie Kinrade, aged 9
Lily and Amelia Farrington,
aged 6 and 2
Louis Smith, aged 4
Jamie
Forrest, aged 8
Todd Roper, aged 7
Ben Hope, aged 7
Joseph Snazell-Holding, aged
6 (Museum Junior Member)
Katie Sharp, aged 13
Sidney and Donny Woodward,
aged 5 and 3
Ollie Philips, aged 13
Kathryn Sinden, aged 11
Ruby Freeman, aged 7
Joseph Scrace, aged 5
Peter Bath, aged 9
Oliver Turner, aged 8
Jack Macey, aged 12
Many thanks to all that donated the lovely chocolate
Easter eggs to the Museum. We were thrilled to be
able to award so many prizes.
Many claim that it was the best Music Night we've
organised yet!!! Enthusiastic guests packed the Museum on Saturday
April 22 to enjoy a high-energy evening of first-class folk music.
The event raised much-needed funds for the Museum.
The great line-up included:
- Recognised as one of the finest guitarists
on the folk scene. Eight albums with bands, three highly acclaimed
solo albums and over one hundred and fifty session credits have
still left time for Paul to play every concert venue, theatre
and festival in Britain, plus many tours in the USA and Europe
with, among others, Pete Seeger. "Wonderful...Magnificent
throughout," said Melody Maker.
has been a giant of the local folk scene
for over three decades. His wonderful ballad singing will leave
you in no doubt why.
- While he was resident of the famous Boggery
Folk Club in Birmingham it was Alan who gave Jasper Carrott his
first break and they remain close friends. Alan toured the folk
circuit extensively with his riotous comedy act and recorded two
albums. A rare chance to see him performing locally.
Among the other artists appearing were the multi-instrumental
duo
of .
Special thanks to the musicians
and to our generous sponsors:
- New pages keep
appearing on this website! Check out our brand new Jason's
Page, the virtual
Gallery, which features some stunning
artwork sent to us by schools, our Links
page, and the greatly expanded Education
page, which now includes comprehensive teacher downloads...
We've also added a slot called 'Andrew's
Column' further down on this page to help visitors and schools
keep up with our busy Education Officer.
Click
Sooty to visit our new online Gallery
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Article featuring a photo of Claire Eden, our
new Curator
on front page! Click to read article
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In September Claire Eden took over as the Curator.
She replaces Andrew Woodfield who resigned as
Manager to concentrate on the Museum's education
programme. He is now the Education Officer. It is hoped
that these new postings will help move the Museum
towards its accreditation goal. Claire says, " The next
12 months will be a crucial time for the Museum and it will
be a lot of hard work, but we have a great team who I'm
sure are more than capable of this challenge."
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At the beginning of November 2005 the
Museum received
the great news that we had been granted £1,594.70 from
the SEWs Museum Development Fund. This was due to a
grant application for funding to buy the database and
computer equipment needed to document our collection. As
you all know we need to document the Museum's collection
as part of our bid to become an accredited museum. The
new computer will store the database, which will hold the
details of every single item in the collection. The Curator
has said that "the grant is great news and although Christmas
is a very busy time we hope to get started on the database
before then." Getting the grant also shows the support
that
we are now receiving from local museum organisations. We
will keep you informed on how the database is coming along.
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2006 has brought significant progress
towards remedying the
crisis caused by water ingress during Autumn/Winter 2005.
Despite the seriousness of the leakage suffered, the Museum
has managed to remain open normally. It appears that leaking
pipes below the taxi rank have now been repaired. Restorative
work on the damaged interior walls is now underway. We
wish to apologise to our visitors for any inconvenience this
may
have caused over the last several months. Fingers crossed for
2006!
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Look out for the Brighton Toy & Model
Museum on the telly.
On the Car Booty programme our very own Peter Palmer and Museum
are featured. They should be on our screens in March
on the BBC.
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November was a very busy month for me.
There were visits
from a large number of schools, some old friends and others
visiting the museum for the first time. Coulsdon C.E. Primary
School visited on my birthday and presented me with a lovely
card and sang "Happy Birthday". I was quite surprised
by this
and it really made my birthday special. I am also busy writing
the panto for our Junior Members party. I played the Dame with
my theatre company in Sheffield in 1976 when they presented
"Red Riding Hood". It is this panto script that I
am adapting for
the puppets to perform and I am keeping secret about some
special surprises!!!
I would like to thank all the people who have wished me well
since moving into my new home. I now have a bus journey of
over an hour to come to the museum (it's a 6am start when we
have a school party!). But I am thoroughly enjoying life in
the countryside. Some of the Junior Members have been enquiring
where I have been - well I am still here at the museum, mainly
in the mornings when we have a school but I do the occasional
Saturday. Please ask for the times if you want to see me!
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The Racing Car collection has recently
been removed to
help make way for future exhibits. The Museum would
like to thank the Collector for loaning us this exhibit
for such a long time.
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Items from the Dr. Who collection on display
in the
arch cabinet have been put in temporary storage due
to emergency maintenance. The Museum apologises
for any inconvenience this may cause. The rest of the
Dr. Who exhibit is still on display in our floor cabinet.
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"Is There A Doctor
In The House?"….. "Yes There Is!"
Those of you lucky enough to have visited the
museum
this summer will have seen our latest exhibition: a wonderful
display of Dr Who Memorabilia.
Following a surprise phone call from The Brighton Pier,
who explained to us that the sheer quantity of items destined
for inclusion in THEIR Dr Who Exhibition was too large for the
available space, it was mutually agreed that the remaining
exhibits should come to us.
The exhibits in question are in fact the renowned
private
collection of David Howe, a long term fan of all things Doctor
Who and an author and publisher of several authoritative
books on the subject including Transcendental Toybox (the complete
guide to Doctor Who memorabilia). They are
professionally displayed in two showcases which formerly
housed our Brighton seaside-themed display and Britains
garden models. They range from the expected Dr Who
related books, posters, jigsaw puzzles, games, badges and
figures right through to the more obscure items such as
frisbees, watches, yoyos, painting sets, slide-projectors,
bubble bath and even pants… no, you're not seeing things,
pants. And naturally, there are quite a few of our old friends
the Daleks.
But WHO has come to the display (if you'll excuse
the pun)?
Well, our volunteers have booked in a vast array of visitors
who have come specifically to see the exhibition. We've
seen everyone from young children and their families
recently acquainted with the Doctor through the new
television series, to people wanting to re-live their memories
of the original television programmes from the 1960's and
1970's, and last but not least the die-hard Dr Who fans,
often wearing their prized Dr Who T-shirts and badges.
The exhibition will remain in place until
the end of January
2006, so there's still plenty of time to catch the Doctor
and his memorabilia. Don't leave it too late though as the
Tardis never stays in one place for too long!
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H.R.H. Duke of Gloucester paid a special visit
to the Museum
in early November, 2004.
H.R.H. Duke of Gloucester on central layout
The Duke reveals a commemorative
plaque
The Duke with Museum Director,
Chris Littledale
Museum Manager, Andrew Woodfield
with the Duke
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Our JUNIOR MEMBERS' CLUB had a party which featured
an
original puppet panto, entirely written and performed by staff.
Everyone had a fantastic time at our Junior Members'
Party,
held in January 2005. There were games, refreshments and a
very special puppet panto, written and performed by Museum
staff. Trains were run on the central layout and Chris additionally
performed a sound effect show, replicating the sounds of trains.
Full story follows below pictures... read all about it!
Madame Hiccup and Jason the Dog
give it their all
Trevor at the
keyboard, providing live accompaniment
Our singing, dancing, performing
Staff take their bows
after the panto...
Sunday January 9th, 2005, saw
the museum hold its Junior Members' Christmas Party. Advertised
many weeks in advance,
this event drew in an excellent attendance of 21 adults and 23
children who, together with a selection of museum staff, helped
make for a wonderfully festive and enjoyable afternoon.
The Junior Members and their accompanying
family members,
many of whom are frequent visitors to the museum, were free
to play and view our many exhibits while acquainting themselves
with their fellow peers. Indeed, this was the first member-specific
event that we have held to date, and such an opportunity for
them to socialise was clearly appreciated.
Soon the children were invited
to join in with the party games
of (musical chairs, musical statues etc.) lead by museum
manager Andrew Woodfield and accompanied by Trevor
Littledale on our recently acquired electric keyboard. The
games were eagerly contested by all, but everyone ended up
with a pack of goodies to take home or consume then and
there. It was a pleasure for the museum staff to witness the children
so clearly enjoying themselves.
Later, it was the turn of the
museum staff to perform, and this
they did in style. Written and directed by ex-actor Andrew Woodfield,
the Pantomime / Puppet Show "Babes in Toyland" depicted
the valiant struggle against the wicked Squire
Squeezem by Jason the dog, Dame Hiccup and Fairy Fortune.
Set against the backdrops of their poor country cottage, a
ghostly fairy dell (both produced by volunteer graphics
assistant, Lawrence Watts), a vintage bus and finally
Toyland itself, they managed to counter the Squire's
attempts to evict them from their humble abode.
Featuring songs, high drama, gripping
dialogue and quite a
few hilarious props, the pantomime was ably accompanied by
Trevor Littledale on the electric keyboard. And naturally,
audience participation was a key aspect in the show's
success. Clear relief was visible on the faces of the staff
involved, for two hurried rehearsals was all they had to
prepare for the moment of truth.
The grand finale of the party
was Museum Director Chris
Littledale operating our superb OO-gauge railway layout. The
event reached its conclusion with the serving of further refreshments
and, for many, a last look around the museum
for that particular day. A good time was had by all and the
Junior Members finally set off home with their parents, no
doubt destined to sleep very soundly following an afternoon
of great enjoyment. As for the museum staff, we were
inspired to repeat this event-format in the future.
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