Greetings all
apologies for the gap in transmission
I have been in NY for a week or so and have not been able to blog. On my list of things to do was to get along to the Witchcraft Museum in Salem but managed to arrive just as it was closing, so I've still not seen inside. Managed to meet some other interesting people there though so not a total waste of a trip.
The museum here has been quieter than we would have hoped. Numbers are down on last year so we definitely need more visitors!! We have been very busy in the library, however. Dave Evans has been helping us collate and catalogue quite a bit of Alex Sanders' material. The archive includes manuscripts, loose documents, and material which Derek Taylor (Alex's scribe) had accumulated. Some of it we are putting together in book form/folders for the library.
We were happy to have a visit from Oliver (a regular visitor and fan of the museum) and his family and friends recently. He had painted a wizard on a stone for us a year or so ago, and contacted us to see if it had survived after the flood. We feared it had been lost but luckily I found it in about three feet of mud and it now sits in our shrine with other special objects.
On the subject of things found in the mud (just to clarify), the owls I mentioned in a previous update which we found after the flood were actually toys, clay figures, obsidian carvings and happily NOT the bodies of real owls. Although we did find the body of a real rainbow trout in the safe!
We are getting some great comments so keep them coming. More news soon.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Bad photo of muddy wizard
aquatically fuzzy photo of Oliver's painted wizard stone found in the flood
Wizard stone artist visits museum
Graham with Oliver who painted the wizard stone which we were happy to find in the mud after the flood
Monday, June 13, 2005
Thanks for all the messages that have been coming through. It's great to know people are reading and following our progress.
Business has been pretty slow since our excellent opening to June. The council are relaying the tarmac in the carpark so available spaces have been halved hence the reduction in numbers. Our second hand books and the museum t shirts are continuing to sell well, all contributing to our refurbishment funds.
We've installed the whizz bang humidity detectors and we've had some interesting results already. We can plot the results for each area of the museum on our computer and we've discovered the inside of cabinets are wetter than outside in some cases. More silica gel needed and we may need to open cases overnight to allow for better air circulation.
For Australian and NZ readers, Graham & I have just finished an interview with Australian magazine "Witchcraft" so an article should be coming up in a future issue. Don't know which one but will let you know when I find out. I've also been told that "Prediction" magazine is doing a small piece on the museum in an upcoming issue. Again, will let you know which one when I find out.
A Bit of Boscastle news:
Many of our visitors have stayed at the Riverside Hotel in the past. Work has been at fever pitch over the past couple of weeks to get ready for their target opening day of July 1st. Peter says they're on track & unless some disaster happens they'll be ready.
Work continues at the back of the Otherworld Gallery to rebuild walls destroyed after the flood, and foundations have been laid at the site of Clovelly Clothing.
Until next time.....
Business has been pretty slow since our excellent opening to June. The council are relaying the tarmac in the carpark so available spaces have been halved hence the reduction in numbers. Our second hand books and the museum t shirts are continuing to sell well, all contributing to our refurbishment funds.
We've installed the whizz bang humidity detectors and we've had some interesting results already. We can plot the results for each area of the museum on our computer and we've discovered the inside of cabinets are wetter than outside in some cases. More silica gel needed and we may need to open cases overnight to allow for better air circulation.
For Australian and NZ readers, Graham & I have just finished an interview with Australian magazine "Witchcraft" so an article should be coming up in a future issue. Don't know which one but will let you know when I find out. I've also been told that "Prediction" magazine is doing a small piece on the museum in an upcoming issue. Again, will let you know which one when I find out.
A Bit of Boscastle news:
Many of our visitors have stayed at the Riverside Hotel in the past. Work has been at fever pitch over the past couple of weeks to get ready for their target opening day of July 1st. Peter says they're on track & unless some disaster happens they'll be ready.
Work continues at the back of the Otherworld Gallery to rebuild walls destroyed after the flood, and foundations have been laid at the site of Clovelly Clothing.
Until next time.....
Sunday, June 05, 2005
June Begins
Thanks to those of you who have left comments on the site. It's great to know we can keep people up to date who are unable to make it here personally. We're hearing from those of you from elsewhere in the UK and from as far away as Australia (where I'm from) who obviously care a lot about the museum. Here's the latest news.
After a fairly slow month in May, June has started well with a couple of extremely busy days. Many tourists are coming to check on Boscastle's progress and support the regeneration of the village by visiting us, eating in the local restaurants and buying goodies from the local shops. Most seem to be day visitors which is causing a bit of a problem for B & Bs and some of the hotels but we're hoping this will change soon when word gets around that the village is getting (somewhat) back to normal.
Our second hand books (duplicates form the library) are selling well so if you are coming to visit make sure you check them out. We have some real gems.
Our main focus at present is environmental control i.e. controlling humidity and sorting our walls out. Graham is about to install new humidity and temperature monitors, the recordings of which can be uploaded on to the computer so we can keep an ongoing tally of the readings for each part of the museum.
We have tried to disguise the dehumidifiers by boxing them in but this has impeded air flow so we are trying new locations for them. The modern look of the machines does not look fabulous against the old world ambience we are trying to create but we need to keep the damp under control. Currently readings are sitting around 59 to 62% which is pretty good.
Some walls are extremely damp which is causing the paint to flake off. We need to let the walls breathe so it is not a good idea to paint them with sealants. It all takes time but we'll get there in the end!!
By the way, for the person who suggested the web cam, one is in development stages and should be up and running this year. I'll keep you posted.
After a fairly slow month in May, June has started well with a couple of extremely busy days. Many tourists are coming to check on Boscastle's progress and support the regeneration of the village by visiting us, eating in the local restaurants and buying goodies from the local shops. Most seem to be day visitors which is causing a bit of a problem for B & Bs and some of the hotels but we're hoping this will change soon when word gets around that the village is getting (somewhat) back to normal.
Our second hand books (duplicates form the library) are selling well so if you are coming to visit make sure you check them out. We have some real gems.
Our main focus at present is environmental control i.e. controlling humidity and sorting our walls out. Graham is about to install new humidity and temperature monitors, the recordings of which can be uploaded on to the computer so we can keep an ongoing tally of the readings for each part of the museum.
We have tried to disguise the dehumidifiers by boxing them in but this has impeded air flow so we are trying new locations for them. The modern look of the machines does not look fabulous against the old world ambience we are trying to create but we need to keep the damp under control. Currently readings are sitting around 59 to 62% which is pretty good.
Some walls are extremely damp which is causing the paint to flake off. We need to let the walls breathe so it is not a good idea to paint them with sealants. It all takes time but we'll get there in the end!!
By the way, for the person who suggested the web cam, one is in development stages and should be up and running this year. I'll keep you posted.
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