Happy Yule

After a fabulous Friends' meeting the museum is now well & truly closed for the season. We will open again at Easter next year. Our membership has already outstripped last year's & Graham has already ordered the new lighting, the funds for which were handed over by Friends at the AGM.

Our membership dates have changed to coincide with the opening of the museum so new members will get a few extra months free as this year's lasts till April 2011. We have already reached half our target membership for the year so if you want to help spur it along by becoming a Friend or promoting it at your Moot please contact Deborah our membership secretary at friendsbmw@googlemail.com & she can help you with both joining & getting hold of application forms.

Hannah is ably holding the fort at both the museum & The Occult Art Company while we take a short break in Brittany. I'll aim to keep the blog up to date while away - WiFi permitting.

Happy Yule fest to you all.

Friends Meeting 2009

From the feedback we've had so far the Friends Get Together & AGM was one of our best yet! Over 60 people attended the event to see Simon Costin speak on the development of his project the Museum of British Folklore and Helen Cornish talk on Joan Wytte: The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin. Unfortunately Geraldine Beskin was unable to attend so Levannah Morgan gallantly stepped in at very short notice and spoke on Spirit Contact the Cecil Williamson Way. Geraldine has kindly offered to speak next year. We all raised a glass to our Honorary President Adrian Bryn-Evans & his wife Anne who, unfortunately, were unable to join us.

The whole day had a distinct feeling of Folklore & traditions and the evening event was full of lively folk singing with the very first public appearance of Graham King & Kerriann Godwin singing The Chase Song from the museum's CD 'Songs of Witchcraft & Magic'.

At the AGM we welcomed our new treasurer Martin Shepheard & it was a great pleasure to hand over a large cheque to Graham for a project he will be undertaking in February. All the lighting in the museum will be transferred over to lower voltage, more cost effective bulbs & tracking. This will ensure a long term saving on electricity bills for the museum and will be a much greener option than the current bulbs used. A softer illumination is given which is beneficial to the artifacts as well.

Membership has already overtaken last year's figures thanks to the hard work of membership secretary Deborah Westmancoat, and we're already putting together a programme for next year's meeting. I think it may have a more Ritual Magic feel but more of that later.

The following morning a few stalwarts made the annual pilgrimage to Joan's headstone up near Minster Church while others visited the museum. Thanks to The Wellington Hotel who hosted the event & being as helpful as ever. Hopefully we'll see more of you next year. I had to include this fabulous photo of Ray looking gorgeous & amusing.

Friends meeting Dec 5

The Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft meeting is on next weekend Dec 5 at The Wellington Hotel 1030 to 1700. speakers include Geraldine Beskin, Simon Costin & Helen Cornish. Free entrance to Friends or those wishing to join on the day. A walk to the Joan Wytte memorial stone on Sunday 6th. Hope to see you there.

'Harry' Takes a Break in Bournemouth

A visit to the museum this summer by Dr Martin Smith of Bournemouth University has started the ball rolling for a tantalising research project regarding our beloved tarred head known affectionately as 'Harry'. Martin is an osteoarchaeologist and was excited to come across 'Harry' in the cabinets as it turns out he/she could be one of only three such specimens known to exist in the UK.

Today he came to pick up 'Harry' and transport him/her to Bournemouth for some tests which we hope will give us a lot more information than we currently have. From Cecil Williamson's notes it appears 'Harry' was found in a box (which we still have) in a bombed out church in London during WWII. Martin and his colleagues will be performing a CT Scan and various other tests to try to narrow down when he/she was alive, where he/she came from and other information as yet unknown to us. We've always presumed he was a man but there is evidence already to show she may be a woman.

'Harry' is one of our favourite exhibits and we always say hello and have a chat when we do the morning cleaning every day. It will be great to have more information on him/her. We'll keep you updated via the Friends newsletter and future posts. I've attached a photo of Martin delicately placing 'Harry' into the transport box.

Luckily Sarah Ransome from the BBC was here doing an interview with Graham for Radio 4 about businesses recovering after disasters and she managed to do a piece with Martin which we think will be on Radio Cornwall shortly. If we hear anything about when this will be on on mention it on the Twitter site. Here is a picture of Graham being interviewed by Sarah with Martin in the background.

Grey Chapel Gallery

We had a lovely time up in Glastonbury a couple of weeks ago and while we were there we popped in to see Sylvia Wolfe in her recently opened business 'The Grey Chapel Gallery'. It's sort of across the road from the entrance to The Chalice Well so easy enough to find & Sylvia mainly sells artworks with an esoteric theme & some really unique pieces ranging from handmade staffs to snakeskin walking sticks, tribal masks and bronze phalluses. If you're after something different this could be the place for you. I think its been running for about 3 months so is still quite new. Sylvia is German originally and is passionate about her business as well as being one of the friendliest people we've met. There is an exhibition of Ann Sudworth paintings on at the moment. For details have a look at the website www.greychapel.com . Here is a photo of Graham, Sylvia & her partner Peter.

Cleaning Frenzy

Had a bit of a whizz around the museum last Thursday cleaning for the end of the season....so much dust accumulates so quickly, especially in the library. Having the new roof put on earlier in the season meant that dust got to places we didn't know were places!!! All beautiful now though....we'll be working on a couple of new exhibits while the museum is closed over winter so there'll be something fresh for all our repeat visitors to see when they come back next year. We try to change or update things every year to keep it exciting for everyone. A new window display is being worked on as well.

By the way, there's an interesting art exhibit at Tate St ives called 'The Dark Monarch - Magic & Modernity in British Art'. Worth a look if you're in the area, some Ithell Colquhoun, Osman Spare, Henry Moore et al. There's a rather nice unicorn from Damien Hirst to greet you as you walk in.

V & A Talk a Success

A fab night was had by all at the V & A Halloween Late Night last Friday night. Simon Costin performed his Dine with Death painted head to toe in red surrounded by others in High Victorian garb. He arrived in a rather fabulous hearse. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it in person as Joyce & I were doing a talk in the Arts Library. Joyce is writing a new book on magic in the Middle Ages called 'Wicked Enchantments' and she was asked to speak on this subject at this event. I read out the spells in my best Medieval Australian accent. Apparently the talk was 'sold out' within 5 mins of the tickets being released. Joyce did a great job & the reaction from the audience was very popular. Interestingly one of the questions was 'where is the Museum of Witchcraft?' Clearly we neeed to do some more promotion as there are still people out there who don't know we exist.

Notification of Painting For Sale

We don't normally mention these types of things on the blog but we've been informed of an oil painting for sale in the USA featuring a witch on a bat & thought we'd let people know in case anyone was interested. Please note the museum is not selling the painting & we are not taking any agent's fees for putting this notice on the blog. Following is an excerpt from the email regarding the painting and some photos. If you would like to be put in touch with the seller please email the museum on museumwitchcraft@aol.com.

These subjects in art are extremely rare to come by. My client is asking $5,000 US, and I think this is an excellent opportunity and investment. It has a few old repairs, but in good condition for age and rarity. I can find no other paintings from this time period and subject matter anywhere. Please let me know if you have a buyer for this excellent piece. It measures 34 x 62 inches, and has its original period frame from 1899. Shipping would be absorbed by potential buyer. Thank you, Michael K.

The Occult Reliquary Notice of Publication

March 2010 will see the publication of The Occult Reliquary by a very high quality US publisher Three Hands Press which is run by Daniel Schulke. Many of you will be aware of Daniel through his other publishing house Xoanon which is responsible for the Chumbley works Azoetia and Qutub among others, as well as his own Ars Philtron.

The Occult Reliquary showcases the Richel-Eldermans Collection which is an occult archive of over 2000 images and artifacts housed in the Museum of Witchcraft. 'Situated at the crossroads of erotic magic, ceremonial angelic conjuration, and witchcraft, the images comprise, in part, a veiled pictorial cipher of the practices of several European Occult Orders operating in the Netherlands in the early 20th Century. Among these are Ars Amatoria, a magical order using sex magic and the lesser known M.M ...............

The Reliquary presents for the first time a selection of these magical images reproduced at full scale, & bound with the highest quality materials. The book is 216 pages, with over 200 illustrations, 80 of which are in full colour, & includes an introduction by curator Graham King.'

The book is available in three editions as follows with UK prices:

Special Edition - gilt stamped full leather with felt lined slipcase, limited to 100 copies - £200.00

Delux Edition - gilt stamped & quarter-bonded in leather, limited to 250 copies - £130.00

Standard Edition - casebound in cloth with gilt stamping, limited to 700 copies - £65.00

For information on Pre-ordering contact the museum's official retail outlet The Occult Art Company on kg@theoccultartcompany.co.uk

666 on Facebook

Very excited to note that the membership for the Museum of Witchcraft Fans Facebook site has reached 666 members!! How devilish!!

If you haven't checked it out yet follow the link http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=4238981379&ref=ts and join up. There are some really interesting videos on there which have been posted by members. Please feel free to add interesting content yourselves. Our next target is 1000 members!!

Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft membership is also doing really well. We have surpassed last year's numbers year to date. We have purchased books for the library and are hoping to make a major contribution toward the lighting within the museum - more cost effective, low heat output which is better for the artifacts, and of course more environmentally friendly. If you want to join go to http://www.friendsbmw.org.uk/ and join online or pick up an application form from the museum itself.

Joyce Froome at V & A Oct 30

The V & A is having an 'In The Dead of Night' themed Late Night event on Oct 30 & our very own Joyce Froome will be speaking on the Witch Hunts (which is based on her upcoming book)assisted in a minor role by my good self. Simon Costin is also on the bill performing his 'Dine with Death' promenade performance, along with Karen Rubens who is creating Japanese lanterns. It kicks off at 1830hrs and finishes at 2200hrs. Admission is free so come along and enjoy some rather different entertainment and say hi to us museum dudes.

Simon Costin Write Up in Telegraph

You may know something of Simon Costin & his Museum of British Folklore from his touring caravan & other mentions on this blog. He's been featured in the Telegraph (follow the link below) and mentions a couple of the items loaned to him by the Museum of Witchcraft. Nice to get a plug in the Telegraph now and then. It all seems to be going ewll for his project at the moment and we wish him well in his venture.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/6365018/The-caravan-of-folklore.html?state=target#postacomment&postingId=6385367

Dragons Visit the Museum

It was so cool to have a visit from some dragons earlier in the week - Friendly ones of course!! The dudes from Friendly Dragon up in Halifax popped in to check out the museum & pick up some stock to sell in their store. They picked up some besoms, our recycled glass chalices and some of Graham's personally designed ouija boards. They were also kind enough to give a donation to the museum while they were here. If you're in the Halifax area please pop in and say hi. Dickie is in the background.

Richel Collection Prints

I have had quite a few queries lately about reintroducing the prints from the Richel Collection. If you have looked on the museum's official retail website www.theoccultartcompany.co.uk you will have noticed we are out of stock of many of the prints. This is due to my local printer moving away and I am in the process of finding a new person who can do prints of equal quality. We like to use local businesses where possible. I am having talks with someone this week who may be able to help so watch this space. I will be introducing some new prints as well as keeping our most popular ones, in particular, the Richel Witch, the Serpent and the mandrakes. Hopefully if we can overcome space limitations you will be able to buy them in the museum shop itself next year.

I have introduced a new line of Greetings Cards featuring some of the Richel images as well as others which are doing really well so I hope to get most of these onto the website in the next few weeks.

Friends AGM programme Set

It's looking like another fab Friends of the Museum Annual General Meeting and Get Together has been organised for the Weekend of December 5th this year. Speakers are : Simon Costin - he Museum of British Folklore; Geraldine Beskin from Atlantis Bookstore on 'Women of the Golden Dawn'; Helen Cornish on Joan Wytte; and Julian Vayne on his stint as Baphomet on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

The Wellington Hotel has a special deals of £25.00 per person per night and Pencarmol and other B & Bs in Boscastle have very good rates at this time of year. All Friends are welcome as are non Friends who are keen to join on the day.

This year's Friends subscription will run until April 2010 as we are changing the dates of membership. More news regarding this at the AGM.

Thanks to donors

Just wanted to say a big thank you to supporters of the museum who have donated online - there were £95.00 in donations via the paypal link on the website during August.

Baphomet Atop the Plinth

Had a great time in London on the weekend culminating in the appearance of Julian Vayne (one of our Friends' trustees) appearing on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. He is one of the more interesting performers who have performed on the plinth and was resplendent in full Baphomet costume (well not quite full - the 'cod piece' was deemed a tad too risque) with an amazing leather mask made by a very talented chap called Peter who was in the immediate audience. Julian used the experience to promote the museum and banners were placed on the plinth. He also performed a ritual, had a bubble machine & a punching bag-esque Axis Mundi (seen left in red) which the crew asked to keep. I have a couple of pics but Simon Costin took some excellent ones so when I get a copy of these I'll put them up. Thanks Julian for doing a fab job on the day - not something the tourists were expecting methinks!!

Thanks Exmoor Pagan Camp

Friends has received a lovely donation of £65.60p from the raffle at the Exmoor Harvest Pagan Camp. This is fab considering there were only around 50 attendees. Thanks to Yarrow for organising the camp. We are also able to claim Gift Aid on the donation which add to the total.