A random group of people who happened to be in our office at the time chose Linda Reeds' entry as the best caption. Well done to Linda. You can see all the entries here. Another image and another prize in a short while.

All I said was 'Back a bit!'

While I'm here and talking about artwork I'll tell you about the Flickr group we've just started that celebrates the weird and wonderful world of credit crunch art. There's no prize for this one - just the knowledge that you've far too much time on your hands. Pick an artwork from our collection and recreate it using whatever comes to hand - cats, toys, food, your children, your co-workers - the possibilities are as limited as your camera's battery life. Upload them to your Flickr page and add them to our group. Again, please bear in mind that this is a family site!

We're competition crazy round here at the moment, and here's our latest offering - the caption competition! You probably already know the sketch. We show you an image (in this case a painting from our collections) and you come up with an amusing caption. This is the first pic (it's actually called 'What is it?' by Henry Stacy Marks).

Post your entry as a comment (please keep them clean!) We'll pick a winner next week who will receive a book of Cecil Beaton snaps (you can see it on Amazon - it's nicer than the price suggests!) which ties in nicely with the Beaton exhibition currently at the Walker Art Gallery.

A posh pie and a hazlenut latte please!

We're very pleased that the tearoom at Sudley House has now reopened! After its recent refurbishment there is now an extensive new menu, an extra seating area and free wi-fi.

The new menu includes sandwiches, soups and 'posh pies' such as cod and chorizo, steak or spring veg hot pot. For afters you can try homemade cakes, munch on muffins or pastries and enjoy a hazelnut or vanilla latte.

Where else could you eat yummy food in a relaxed Georgian setting, before exploring the work of Turner and Rossetti in a gallery?

The tearoom is open daily from 10am - 4.45pm and you can look at our sample menu to get a taste of what's on offer.

Here's another special report from art historian - and roving reporter - Eleanor Beyer. As you may remember from Eleanor's last review, she works in the British Museum's conservation and science department but has been working with Nicky Lewis in the paper conservation department up here in the National Conservation Centre. During her time at National Museums Liverpool she visited Sudley House. Here's what she thought of it:

"Pitched with an expansive view across Liverpool from one side and all the way down to the docks on the other, Sudley sits in a great position. On approaching the house, I could imagine why this would be an ideal location for a rich shipping merchant. The house was purchased by George Holt, a partner in the shipping firm Lamport and Holt, in 1883 and as Assistant Visitor Services Manager Mark Harris pointed out, he would often have climbed the stairs to the rooftop turret to look out for his ships coming into the harbour.

Inside the ground floor is as close to how it would have been as possible - the painting collection covers the walls - except of course for the large TVs in each corner. But these TVs serve a valuable purpose: they show actors dressed up as Sudley's former residents who talk about life there, bringing the house to life. For example, we hear the scandals and gossip from the owner’s servant. 

Upstairs is more entertaining for children and frequent visitors, with displays on childhood, including a dolls house children can play with, and at the time of my visit, a temporary exhibition of a glorious display of dresses in the Costume room. With the changing exhibitions, including A Sweet Life at the moment, children’s areas with interactive material and interactive interpretation downstairs this makes a great visit for a browse or a more studied investigation of the homes and art collected in the late nineteenth century.

I really enjoyed visiting the house, and hearing about it from Mark. It was good to learn  about how the house had been changed to make it more welcoming and to provide more information about its history. The location away from the cultural centre of Liverpool makes Sudley more of a local museum, though it still attracts plenty of other visitors and was well worth a visit. I am hoping more to bring the house to life will be able to be done."

'George Always I' © Maggi Hambling (2007/2008), courtesy of The Ivy

The late George Melly had a long association with Liverpool's art galleries. This dates back to before the war when as a child he would visit his cousin Emma, who would tell him all about the paintings she owned and read him Beatrix Potter in her library. Cousin Emma just happened to be a certain Emma Holt and her library and painting collection were, and still are, part of Sudley House.

Years later Melly was a familiar figure at the Walker Art Gallery, whether on official duty as a judge of the John Moores 20 exhibition or opening speaker at the Aubrey Beardsley exhibition, or just as a visitor, unmistakable in his loud suits.

It's entirely appropriate then that an exhibition of portraits of 'Good time George' by the distinguished contemporary artist Maggi Hambling, is being shown together for the first time at the Walker. George always, which opens today, is a riot of colour and personality. Melly was a great friend of Hambling's and sat for her many times. After Melly's death in July 2007 she continued to paint a series of portraits from memory and imagination. The most recently completed triptych from this series has not been on public display before.

Calling all part time art and craft students - how would you like to have your artwork displayed in our venues during Adult Learner's Week in May 2009? You could if you win the 'Inspired by...' competition.

Entrants in this year's competition must submit a piece of artwork inspired by the collections, exhibitions or displays in either Sudley House, World Museum Liverpool or the National Conservation Centre. You may submit any art, craft, multi-media, digital work, video or animation. Participants must be over 18 and studying arts or crafts part time. Full entry criteria and downloadable application forms are on the Inspired by... web page.

We've just published a cute little pocket guide to many of the fab happenings at NML in 2008. It's good to revisit highlights like Ben Johnson's residency, the Superlambananas, the opening of Seized! and exhibitions like Art In The Age of Steam and The Beat Goes On.

You can download your copy of The Little Book of Big Highlights here (pdf 6mb).

October's 'Name That Object' competition starts today. Here's the first clue with a slightly larger version on the competition page. As ever there'll be another clue every day this week with the answer on Saturday. The first person to mail me the correct answer, using the contact form on the competition page, wins the prize which this month is a copy of the John Moores 25 exhibition catalogue. Lotsa luck.

The clue for day 1

'Waiting for legal advice'

Sorry to those of you who won't have seen the answer to July's Name That Object competition - slight technical hitch. The answer was 'Waiting for Legal Advice' by James Campbell, and the winner of the exhibition catalogue was A Porter of Liverpool. Another competition and another prize next month.

There's just a few days left to submit your application for one of the 10 Creative Apprenticeships on offer. A number of Merseyside-based cultural organisations, including National Museums Liverpool, are involved in a project to foster emerging talent and give young hopefuls a solid grounding in the arts and culture industry.

By the end of the year-long apprenticeship you'll have earned a Level 2 Certificate in Creative and Cultural Practice, and a Level 2 National Award in Community Arts Management, but perhaps more importantly you'll have developed the skills and contacts you'll need for a career in the industry.

More details are available on the Creative Partnerships Liverpool website.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that there wasn't a May Name That Object competition. We were rather busy with the redesign for the main site (check it out if you've not already) and it kind of took a back seat.

Anyway, June's is now up with the first clue available here. As ever you need to figure out which object from our collections (and our website) the detail is from and email us the answer using the contact link on the competition page. There's a new clue every day this week.

We've had lots of enquiries from people wanting to buy the Art In The Age of Steam exhibition catalogue so that's this month's prize. Good luck.

Our trading arm, NML Trading, is holding a Recruitment Open Day on Saturday 10th May. They're looking to recruit Team Leaders, Catering Assistants, Venue Supervisors, Chefs and Banqueting staff. They're looking for people who are passionate about catering for their daytime operation plus occasional evening work. You'll be working in Liverpool’s world class museums, providing high quality food and refreshments to over two million visitors each year.

To find out more about the roles on offer, bring your CV to World Museum Liverpool, William Brown Street, Liverpool between 10.30am and 4.30pm.

Can't believe no one's got this yet - thought it would have gone yesterday. The prize in this month's Name That Object game is still not won and today is the last day. This is today's clue - bit of a give away. All of this week's clues, plus the link to enter the competition, are on the Name That Object page. The prize is the catalogue from the recent Joseph Wright of Derby in Liverpool exhibition.

This month's final clue

The recent refurbishment of Sudley House gave our conservators the opportunity to spend some quality time with the paintings and objects on display there. A new online feature about the conservation of one of Sudley's paintings, Gainsborough's portrait of 'Viscountess Folkestone', reveals some interesting discoveries that conservators have made about the materials and techniques used.

Their analysis has shown that Gainsborough completely changed the composition of the portrait, painting over the initial landscape in the background to move the setting indoors. This may seem quite considerate for the elderly Viscountess, bringing her inside into the warmth (especially on a windy day like today). However, he also abandoned her initial seated pose and made her stand up in the finished painting, which is no way to treat an elderly widow if you ask me.

The study of the painting has also revealed information about the pigments and paint medium used. It's a great example of how conservators use modern techniques to study old objects in the collections and try to piece together information about their past.

Looking for inspiration for writing or for creating your own artwork can sometimes be hard in a busy city, so I tried going out to see the exhibitions at Sudley House, to see if this would help. Having not been at National Museums Liverpool for long, I had never been, even though it is tucked away in leafy Mossley Hill, not far from my house. After getting a brief video 'talk' off a George Holt look-a-like, I started to take in the vast personal collection of work belonging to the man himself. In the Garden Hall, I found what turned out to be my favourite painting in the gallery; Circe and Scylla, by John Melhuish Strudwick.

The painting tells the story of two characters, Circe and Scylla, from the Greek myth as retold by the Roman author Ovid. It is a tale of jealousy and revenge, as the enchantress Circe poisons the water that Scylla is about to bathe in - because Scylla has captured the affections of the man Circe wants. I don't have a degree in fine art or anything like that, but I like the painting because of the mysterious and foreboding feeling it evokes, with the dark and mist and also because of the amazing detail that you can only see if you get up really close. Luckily at Sudley House, you are able to do this!

On the bottom right hand corner you can see the poison dropping into the river, with tiny bubbles and splashes as it hits the surface - I nearly missed the evil looking bat, lurking in the darkness nearby. I think you can tell that Circe is intent on bad things, not only by her expression, but also by the way her hand is clenched at her dress. I think details like these are really great in a painting.

I like to look at paintings before reading about them, to decide what I think the painting is about - my guess was something representing heaven and hell, you can probably see why I thought that. The other thing I like is that Scylla reminds me of Boticelli's Venus as well, with those robes and flowing hair.

It definitely inspired me to look up the myth, to see what happens next - Scylla is supposed to turn into a sea monster! I'd recommend going to have a look as you can't really appreciate it from a photograph and it is really good being able to go to a gallery and see such interesting paintings up close.

Clare Hamilton's Sunday programme came from the newly-reopened Sudley House. You can catch it on BBC Radio Merseyside's 'listen again' facility. Featured are decorative arts curator Robin Emmerson, talking about the history of the house and the Merchant Palaces exhibition, and George Holt (aka Paul O'Keefe) taking about his life and collection.

Blue Funnel Line poster. Image courtesy Liverpool Daily Post & Echo.

Since childhood I, Stephen Guy, have loved visiting Sudley House, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, which reopens this Saturday 26 May following a £1 million refurbishment.

It is the former home of George Holt, a member of the Victorian shipping family dynasty. When he retired from his company, Lamport and Holt, he extended Sudley to house his magnificent art collection where it remains to this day.

One of his brothers was Alfred Holt, founder of the legendary Blue Funnel Line. Alfred aimed to build safe, reliable and economic ships and achieved this with great distinction. From the 1890s his vessels were of such high quality that the term Holts’ Class was used to describe such excellence. The technical distinction of Holt ships became a great source of pride within the company.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 was a major boost to Blue Funnel because it shortened the UK to China route by 3,300 miles. From the 1890s it had a worldwide network covering Java, Australia, USA and across the Pacific Ocean. However, the China and Far East trade remained Blue Funnel’s core business until the early 1970s. Blue Funnel later became the Ocean Group, ceasing to own ships in the late 1980s.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum has many Blue Funnel-related items in its collections. The ship models include the motor vessel Priam of 1966, among the last conventional cargo liners to be built for the company. In just a few years she became outdated due to the advent of huge container ships.

Another model is one such container ship - the 58,000 ton Liverpool Bay of 1971 built for Overseas Containers Ltd (OCL), of which the Ocean Group was a founder member.

A fascinating map shows where 41 Blue Funnel ships were sunk in the Second World War. A total of 324 of the company’s seafarers lost their lives. There is a builder’s half-model of one of these unfortunate ships – the Cyclops of 1906. She was sunk by the U-23 submarine in the north Atlantic in 1942 with the loss of 87 lives.

There is the ship’s bell from the Demodocus (1912) which hung for many years in the old Liverpool Institute (now Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts). It was presented by Lawrence Durning Holt, chairman of the school governors, in the early 1950s.
 
A new Maritime Tale appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.
 

A couple of programmes to catch over the next couple of weeks. On Wednesday 16 May at 7pm on BBC2, Jonathan Meades: Abroad Again will be looking at urban regeneration, and visits Liverpool when he'll be checking out the Art and the Sea gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Then, 26 May sees the reopening of Sudley House. BBC Radio Merseyside are marking the occassion on the Sunday (27 May) at 1-3pm with a mix of pre-recorded and live interviews from the gallery. 

See this painting at the Stubbs exhibition at Tate Britain

They say that wherever you go in the world you'll meet a scouser. I'm not sure if paintings and other items from scouse collections count, but I certainly encountered a lot when I was down in London at the weekend. It was starting to feel like a home away from home.

I saw a familiar pair of cheeks at the Hockney exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, which features Peter getting out of Nick's pool from the Walker. If you go then have a look at the painting from the gallery opposite, as it's beautifully framed by the arched doorways - a really nice touch I thought. Next door the National Gallery are featuring another Walker painting, The Murder, in their Cézanne in Britain exhibition.

There are no less than 9 (count them!) works from the Walker and Lady Lever Art Gallery in George Stubbs: A celebration at Tate Britain, an exhibition that you may have seen at the Walker earlier this year. Another popular painting, the Walker's Henry VIII, is also there in the Holbein in England exhibition.

In the Imperial War Museum you can read the story of canine hero Jet and see a painting of him from our collections in the exhibition The Animals' War. The beautiful sculpture Danaid that visitors to Sudley House will remember is currently on show in the Royal Academy's Rodin exhibition. 

It's not just works of art that have made it down to London either. The exhibition The Great White Bear at the Horniman Museum includes photographs of every taxidermied polar bear in UK collections, which were taken by artists Bryndís Snaebjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson as part of the project nanoq: flat out and bluesome. Our polar bear is featured, although its circumstances have changed since the artists photographed it in storage a couple of years ago. Since then it has been conserved at the National Conservation Centre and is now back out on display again at World Museum Liverpool.

The good news is that there's still lots to see in our galleries in Liverpool - well we are the capital of culture for 2008 after all! With such an embarrassment of riches up here it's only fair that we share them with the Londoners when we can.