Rural reads review #2 – The Worm Forgives the Plough by John Stewart Collis
Rob Davies reviews the book discussed at MERL’s Rural Reads book club this month… This month we read The Worm Forgives the Plough by John Stewart Collis. The book is comprised of two novels: While Following the Plough and Down to Earth, published as whole in 1973. It is an autobiographical account of Collis’s time […]
Volunteers' Voice #5 – Gardening at MERL
In this month’s Volunteers’ Voice, Volunteer Co-ordinator Rob Davies gives some background on some gardening at MERL and enlists the help of our two of our gardening volunteers to explain how they have helped create bee-friendly habitats in the MERL gardens… We have an outstanding volunteer gardening team who come, rain or shine, to tend […]
New exhibition: 'Collecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures'
The new temporary exhibition at MERL is now open to the public. Collecting the countryside: 20th century rural cultures is largely comprised of objects drawn from the Museum’s recent Collecting Cultures project. This ran from 2008 until earlier this year and involved the Museum’s curatorial team selecting items that connected in some meaningful way with the twentieth century countryside […]
Picture of the month #4: Picking up the last of the Harvest
As our Photographic Assistant is on leave this week, I thought I would try and use our database to find a suitable harvest image. I have to admit I usually run straight to my colleagues in the reading room when I need something from the archives, so I was really pleased that the terms I […]
Focus on Collections #3 – Baskets
written by Greta Bertram, Project Officer. Anybody who’s been following the MERL Projects Blog over the past eighteen months will know that I love all things basket-related. My obsession began three years ago when I was writing my dissertation about craft as heritage, and needed to choose one craft to use as a case study. […]
Rural Reads review #1 – Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
MERL’s book club, Rural Reads, has been running for three years. We have read an incredible range of novels, poetry and non-fiction, all with either a rural setting or related to the countryside. In this new feature, Rural Reads regular, Rob Davies, will share his personal views and the group’s reactions to the book they […]
Research Tip #3: Easy as A, B, C
written by Hayley Whiting, Reading Connections Digital Content/Online Engagement Officer Finding out about what is held in the MERL Archive just got a whole lot easier! The A-Z index of archive collections is now available. This is an extremely valuable resource for users looking for information on specific collections and a great way to gain an […]
Picture of the Month #3: Steam-powered buses
written by Caroline Benson, Photographic Asssistant Anyone who has experienced public transport during the hot summer months may like these two photographs where air conditioning is readily available. They are both from an album in the archive of Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Ltd held here at MERL. Both date from the early 1870s and show […]
"Strictly Fab" – Len Goodman joins MERL for Farmyard Fun
written by Guy Baxter, Archivist. Last Thursday was quite a day at MERL, with over 500 visitors enjoying Farmyard Fun with Miller’s Ark, who brought us their sheep, goats, pigs, geese, ducks (with their own paddling pool!) and colourful rare-breed chickens. It was also great to see so many visitors having fun with the animals […]
Volunteers' Voice #4: Summer Volunteers
written by Rob Davies, Volunteer Coordinator. It’s summer and for us at MERL it is a very busy time for us. Our varied host of family activities means that we are very busy with a large footfall of visitors who would otherwise be at school. This is an excellent opportunity for younger visitors to explore […]