National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, June 09, 2008

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.

Hello there

As usual I have had a very interesting and varied past couple of weeks. I attended the 'Closing of the Slave Trades: Transatlantic Perspectives' conference at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland , co-sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. It was attended by museum professionals, public historians, and scholars from a variety of disciplines and institutions.  My talk focused on Phase 2 of the International Slavery Museum and the opening of the Research and Resource centre.

Even though Belfast City Centre is like many other lively European capital cities, with its grand historic buildings and trendy high street shops it is still a deeply divided city in many respects. This was highlighted when we went on a taxi tour of some of the political murals near the Falls Road, which is a largely nationalist and Catholic area. One of the murals depicted the great African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass. I, like many people from the UK, was brought up on news of the ‘Troubles’ and was happy to see the Northern Ireland peace process progress. But the remembrance gardens, the tone of the murals and most shocking for me, the imposing corrugated iron wall, often called the Peace Line, that divides large swathes of Protestant and Catholic Belfast shows there is still a long way to go before the city is free from sectarianism and intolerance.

There is also a big link, in fact a Titanic one (I could not resist!), between Belfast and Liverpool.  The Titanic was built at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast and even though she never berthed at Liverpool she was owned by White Star Line of Liverpool. Visit the Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Museum for more information.

Another important aspect of my job is that of supporting local organizations in various campaigns against forms of injustice, inequality and indeed intolerance.  Along with a colleague I attended the Anthony Walker Foundation Festival 2008 event at Hope University. The International Slavery Museum had a stand there with information about the museum.  It was a lively and indeed poignant event. I watched a number of rappers perform very loud (do I sound old?) but meaningful performances. The aim of the event was to bring young people together from all backgrounds and to focus on positive messages. I only have the utmost respect for the Walker family, who out of the tragic loss of a son and brother has managed to start a movement which promotes togetherness rather than division.  Truly admirable.

Watch this space.

Here's some news from antiquities curator Carolyn Routledge, who has temporarily left her desk at World Museum Liverpool to work at an excavation in Egypt.

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"My time so far in Egypt has been fantastic! We flew into Cairo on 26 May very early in the morning and then set out by car on 28 May for the excavation. It was a 10 hour trip through the desert. It felt like a very long journey as taking the desert road meant the scenery didn't change much. Luckily we had air conditioning in the car. We don't have such luxuries where we are living at Abydos. We are staying in the American dig house set back in the desert along the ancient road that led to the tombs of the First Dynasty kings. The weather is very hot, reaching the low 40s Celsius.  Thank goodness we have fans!

We finally arrived at the dig house very late at night and very tired. The next day it was right to work setting up our desks and getting the objects organised to draw. I am working on the South Abydos project directed by Josef Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania. He is excavating the earliest known hidden subterranean royal tomb, which belonged to the pharaoh Senwosret III of the Middle Kingdom (approx 1850 BC).  Jen Wegner and I are drawing the objects that come from the tomb and the surrounding area.

It is early days yet, so not much has come from the tomb itself. This week we are drawing the mud sealings that were found near the entrance.  These are very small and can be very hard to read. The ancient Egyptians liked to 'lock' their things by tying them up and putting mud on cords marked with a seal, often a scarab seal. This is a lot like sealing a letter with sealing wax. On Thursday we went out to the tomb. I overcame slight feelings of claustrophobia to go down in the tomb and was able to go all the way to the burial chamber.  It was exhilarating to be sitting beside the sarcophagus of the king. 

The other reason it is great being here is that a number of the objects we are preparing for the new Egypt gallery opening in September come from Abydos. I can look out my window and see the area where John Garstang had his house and played golf among the dunes that hide the many ancient Egyptian tombs where he found some of our objects."

Claire Olson summarises National Volunteers Week, and thanks all the willing souls who help out here.

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Last week the Volunteers Team were out and about at different venues and events in the North West promoting volunteering opportunities at NML.

During the week we met with lots of people who are keen ‘volunteers in the making’ and eager to find out more. We also received lots of positive feedback about our museums, with many families telling us how much they enjoyed visiting! We also welcomed the launch of Mersey v’s; our new Young Persons' Steering Group, who will be championing volunteering across NML.

National Volunteers Week may only come once a year, but we would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers for all their support and hard work throughout the whole year – their positive involvement is much appreciated – as acknowledged by our director, Dr David Fleming:

“I have nothing but praise for volunteers, who devote their own time to helping make museums more popular and accessible. Volunteer effort is often overlooked, but without volunteers most museums would provide an immeasurably poorer public service.”

If you wish to find out more about becoming a volunteer at NML please contact the Volunteer Team on 0151 478 4775 or volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk and keep an eye on the blog for more volunteer updates coming soon!

Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, dropped into World Museum Liverpool recently to announce funding for Find Your Talent, a new Government initiative encouraging children to experience five hours of culture each week.

While he was here Andy caught a rehearsal by members of our youth theatre who are preparing a performance for our next big exhibition The Beat Goes On. The group have created a physical theatre piece that follows the story of Liezah, a character from a song by Wirral band The Coral.

Admitting he was a Coral fan himself, Andy seemed very impressed by the performance and spent a while talking to the young people to find out what they thought of taking part in more cultural activities.

Liverpool city region, led by National Museums Liverpool and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, is one of ten areas around the country to pilot the Government scheme. The programme has been developed in partnership with The Bluecoat, FACT, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Tate Liverpool and the Unity Theatre. Principal partners include Liverpool Culture Company, Creative Partnerships Merseyside, Liverpool City Council, Knowsley MBC and St Helens MBC.

The Beat Goes On runs at World Museum Liverpool from 12 July 2008 and the youth theatre will be performing Liezah and other short pieces throughout the run of the exhibition.

The answer to last week's Name That Object competition was Salem by Sidney Curnow Vosper which hangs in the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Coincidentally, this year sees the centenary of the painting, and this weekend S4C is showing a programme on the painting. It will be broadcast at 8.30pm on Sunday 15 June (in Welsh with English subtitles).

If you don't know the painting it's really quite a strange piece but one which, I'm told, has hung in many a Welsh home after Lord Leverhulme bought the original and then gave away prints with his soap. It's said to show the Devil's face in the folds of the shawl of the central character, Siân Owen. There's more on the programme on the icWales website.

Few things can rival the bliss of enjoying a pint of tea first thing in the morning – real tea, not tea bags, so you get the full taste of the brew.

The recent disastrous fire which badly damaged the legendary Cutty Sark has highlighted the role played by tea clippers in maritime history.

Designed to carry China tea quickly and efficiently, the glamorous era of these fast, slender sailing ships only lasted between 1850 and 1870 but the clippers left an indelible mark on the history of seafaring.

Pioneered by the Americans, the first true clipper was the Rainbow launched in 1845. She completed the journey from New York to Canton in 102 days – clipping more than two weeks off the previous record for that trip.

This may have been how the ships got their name although the word clipper was originally applied to a fast horse, so this may have been the origin.

American and British ships competed to be fastest in the tea trade and this is how international races started from 1852 when British Challenger beat the US clipper Challenge.

New ports opening in China to feed the tea trade fuelled the races. A winning ship’s cargo of tea could earn a premium of sixpence (two and a half pence) per pound weight.

The most famous clipper race was in 1866 when 10 clippers set out for London from Foochow. They were so equally matched that they were often in sight of each other as they sped across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and north across the Atlantic.

The race was declared a dead heat between Taeping and Ariel – one of the most famous clippers - which both came into the Thames estuary neck-and-neck.

At Merseyside Maritime Museum there is a superb model of a typical tea clipper from about 1865, showing the cross section of the hull. The 1:48 scale model depicts a 186 ft-long three-masted wooden ship, with metal fastenings, similar in size and construction to the Ariel built in Greenock.

By the 1860s iron was increasingly being used to strengthen wooden ships so that they could be built to greater lengths.

There is a painting of the Maiden Queen by an unknown Chinese artist. Owned by T & J Brocklebank and employed in the tea trade, she is shown off the coast of China.

A number of Chinese artists worked in Far Eastern ports producing ship portraits for European captains.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

Working on The Beat Goes On MySpace page has been an absolute joy for me, being someone who lives and breaths music – music of any kind, so long as it’s good. What a talented lot you are! Take a bow, Liverpool.

The good news is that inaugural Top Ten for The Beat Goes On is now online so you can share some of the fantastic music Liverpool has to offer, and vote for your favourite.  Yippee!

The winner each month will be added to the digital jukebox in the exhibition at World Museum Liverpool. Over the next week or so I'll give each artist or band a shout-out. Of course, these are purely my ramblings and TBGO will remain completely impartial.

First up is the refreshingly-talented Little Name whose gentle and breezy lounge-pop has a heart-warming summer melancholy about it. Think sunshiny Morrissey (possibly on a sun-lounger with a cocktail), sprinkled with a smidgen of Magic Numbers and Super Furry Animals. (Thanks for the blog, Leebo).

Still in the lounge vein, we welcome Walter Cheapskate, whose retro psychedelia is off-set by super-smiley Scouse rhymes – he’ll have you grooving all day long. I love this rather cheeky vid on XFM.

Finally, there’s the chirpy Joel Morton. His MySpace profile classifies his music as zouk – grime – shoegaze. Personally I’m getting The La’s or Lenny Kravitz’s Mr Cab Driver with a rockabilly lilt. With influences ranging from Elvis Costello to Napalm Death, it is probably best to make your own mind up – whatever it is, he makes it sound effortless.

Anyway – happy listening you lucky people – and don’t forget to vote!

(NB. Please remember these are just my humble opinons, not those of TBGO or National Museums Liverpool, and that we are not responsible for content on other people’s web pages / MySpace pages and / or their songs).

In this week's final post Amina tells us why she enjoys her volunteer role in assisting our Trading staff on the information desk at World Museum Liverpool. Amina is one of our vinvolved youth volunteers - she may even have welcomed you to the museum on your visit!

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Day 5: Amina

Hi, my name is Amina. I am a volunteer at World Museum Liverpool. I have been taking part for over a month now. I love working here because I learn new skills and enjoy working together with the staff. They are friendly, helpful and kind. They always have a smile that lifts up my day.

I would recommend everyone to get involved, you will love it! I know I have and it has changed my life.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Or for more news on youth volunteering opportunities (aged 16 – 25), please contact vinvolved@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4017.

For more information about ‘v, the youth volunteering charity’ and for local volunteering opportunities to match your interests and passions, visit www.vinspired.com

In today's volunteer's tale, Margaret describes the various volunteer opportunities she has enjoyed during her 3 years with NML.

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Day 4: Margaret

I became a volunteer with NML nearly three years ago, when I started my degree course in History of Art and Museum Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, and I love it! To begin with I worked in the staff library, tidying and sorting books and journals, cataloguing and generally looking after the library. After a while I also started helping the Manager of the National Conservation Centre in the office – admin duties such as answering emails and phone queries, using a database to log work, ordering stationery, filing and so on. Every week there is something new and interesting to deal with, from assisting with the delivery of exotic items to be quarantined in the Conservation Centre freezers, to helping design a poster to advertise a series of Sunday dances in the Conservation Centre café.

I found that the volunteering experience was very relevant and beneficial to my degree course and it enhanced an internship module which was part of my second year.  I’m now also helping the art handling team with the John Moores 25 Exhibition which is really exciting. Apart from the pleasure of seeing the competition entries close up I am learning how to handle and transport paintings, which again will give me invaluable practical experience.

Volunteering at NML is a great way to find out more about how galleries and museums really work and what goes on behind the scenes. 

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Today, as part of National Volunteers week, Adam explains his volunteer role within the Weston Discovery Centre at World Museum Liverpool. Adam originally contacted the Volunteer Team to arrange a work placement for his university course, however he has enjoyed his time here so much he has stayed on as a volunteer.

Day 3: Adam
I started volunteering at National Museums Liverpool in January 2008. As a student at John Moores University, I completed a work placement in the Weston Discovery Centre in World Museum Liverpool. After finishing my placement I really wanted to continue to volunteer my time in the Discovery Centre. Since working in the museum I have discovered a love for Palaeoanthroplogy and in particular human evolution. I have been able to develop my own ideas and at the moment I am developing a Key Stage 4 school session in human evolution. In order to do this I have spent time researching the topic and working with museum curators. My background is in Art History and Museums Studies but since volunteering in the museum and finding a new passion I have now decided to work towards a Masters degree in Archaeology.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Each day this week to celebrate National Volunteers Week we will be handing the blog over to our fabulous volunteers, as they tell us about their different volunteer roles at NML. Today, Gerard tells us about his volunteer role within our Office Services department.

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Day 2: Gerard

My name is Gerard and I have been working at NML for four weeks on a volunteer work placement. I am working in the Typing and Office Services department and also in the post room. I have learned many new skills and tasks and have met a lot of new colleagues. Everyone has made me feel very welcome and I hope to set a good example for future volunteers.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Hello there
As I said in my previous blog I recently attended the Commonwealth Association of Museums conference in Guyana where I was fortunate enough to meet a number of museum professionals from Africa and the Caribbean.   One of them, Terry Nyambe, Assistant Keeper of Ichthyology at the Livingstone Museum in Zambia sent me the attached picture.   Terry was constantly telling us all how beautiful Zambia was and looking at the following website I agree:  http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/places/museum.htm.

The picture also proves two things.  One that I did actually visit the rainforest and two that I am a Leeds United fan!   Not something that everyone normally brags about but to me it is more than just shouting at a group of overpaid men running around a field.  No, it is about passion, belonging and indeed heritage.  You might think these are bold statements but let me expand.  

My family history is something I am both interested in and proud.   My Guyanese and Yorkshire parents, my friends, my hometown and the environment I grew up in have shaped to a great degree my view of the world. My brother and most of my friends were Leeds fans, so it was natural for me to follow in their footsteps; it made me feel part of a larger group with a shared passion.  But Leeds United’s ground, Elland Road, in the early 80s in particular was a haven of racist abuse and bigotry, often aimed at opposing Black and Asian players and fans: http://www.kickitout.org/.  

Sometimes I would feel very uncomfortable when hundreds of people all chanted something racist but at the same time I refused to leave or walk away.   I am a firm believer that there is no place that Black and minority ethnic individuals should not be.  There are no enclaves which we should not share.   I am proud to be a Yorkshireman, and even though we were rubbish in the recent League One play offs at Wembley, I am a loyal Leeds fan.   It is part of my very rich and diverse heritage.  

It has also been very satisfying that at the very core of Leeds United teams in the past few years have been a number of Black players.  For instance, the South African player Lucas Radebe is still idolized at Leeds even though he stopped playing several years ago.   Interestingly he used to play for a team called Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa, a name I am sure is well known by many music aficionados (the band really are Leeds United supporters!). What is an uncomfortable juxtaposition though is how some people chant his name but might also come out with a racist comment.   I have not yet quite managed to get to grips with this concept.

The International Slavery Museum looks to show how people of the African Diaspora, including footballers, have shaped the world and achieved in all sorts of fields and disciplines: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/black_achievers_wall.asp. 

For me, however illogical and infuriating it can be, watching a game of football and feeling like I have as much right to be there as anyone else, is part of that.   

Watch this space.

Each day this week we will be handing the blog over to our fabulous volunteers as they tell us about their different volunteer roles at NML.

Today, Harriet talks us through her time volunteering on the Ben Johnson residency earlier this year at the Walker Art Gallery. Harriet is also a member of Mersey v’s.

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Day 1: Harriet

Volunteering on the Ben Johnson Cityscape project was a real privilege.  I was lucky enough to get to engage with the visitors and also work with Ben and the team on the practical side. As I talked to the public about the piece I met some brilliant characters with lots of interesting tales to tell about their city. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to do the hands on part too; I will always be able to point out which little bit I helped make the stencils for or try to guess where the paint I mixed was used!

Youth volunteer officer, Claire Olson, reports on the first meeting of the young volunteers group

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To really get National Volunteers Week off to an exciting start, our new Young Persons Steering Group met for the first time yesterday at World Museum Liverpool.

The founding five members are all aged 16-25 and whilst some have volunteered before, for others volunteering is a brand new experience!

The group talked about their interests and why they want to be involved with the v-involved Youth Volunteering programme at NML. They also toured World Museum Liverpool to think about existing and future volunteering opportunities that could be developed. We will be keeping the blog posted on any new developments.

Breaking News: 'Mersey v’s', it is!

Most importantly, the group now have a less formal name than Young Persons Steering Group, having unanimously chosen as their new name: Mersey v’s. The v standing for ‘volunteer’ and also a nod to ‘v, the youth volunteering charity’ who have funded the 3 year youth volunteering programme at NML.

Mersey v’s will meet once a month to champion the v-involved Youth Volunteering programme across NML; meeting with staff to develop new ideas and projects and also visiting other museums to meet with their volunteers.

If you are aged 16-25 and would like to find out more about youth volunteering and v-involved at National Museums Liverpool, or how you can become a member of Mersey v’s, please contact vinvolved@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775.

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.

I was taken aback recently to learn that one of my relatives still has a teddy at the age of 19. He takes comfort having it near as have countless other people – including our own royal family. However, it didn’t appeal to me after the age of about three.

Countless thousands of children have travelled on passenger ships but very little has been recorded about their experiences unless by adults.

At Merseyside Maritime Museum there is a collection of material linked to a young girl who sailed across the Atlantic with her mother and brother during the First World War. She was Nancy Mildon, aged eight, who sailed on the Cunard liner Alaunia from New York to Plymouth in July 1916. Nancy and her family were returning to England after spending six years in Canada. The crossing was frightening because of the threat of attacks by German U-boats.

Nancy had her toy lion Fido to hug for comfort during the voyage. She called him Fido because at first she thought he was a toy dog. Nancy (later Mrs Hall) kept Fido until she was almost 90 years old, when she gave him to the museum. During the voyage, Nancy was upset when her mother lent Fido to passenger Ruth Merrington who wrote an ode starting:

A British lion watch do keep
O’er a little bunk
Where I tried to sleep.
He rolled his eyes and he wagged his tail
When spooky sounds my cheek did pale.

Family photos (including this one) record Nancy on the voyage – one with her sailor-suited brother and other child passengers and crew members.

From an earlier era is The Big Ship (Great Eastern) Alphabet. The front cover shows Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s huge ship with its churning paddle wheels. Other illustrations on display show a children’s race on board the Andes in the 1930s. There are two from the 1950s - playroom on a passenger liner and bedtime stories on the Ivernia.

Many souvenirs could be bought - one is a “take to pieces” model of the Queen Mary dating from 1936.

A sailor boy doll dressed in bell-bottomed trousers wears a cap carrying the name Lancastria. This pre-war souvenir is a poignant reminder that many children were among up to 5,000 people who died when the liner was sunk by the Germans off France, in June 1940. It was the worst-ever loss of life on a British ship. 

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

Alex Shears has had another busy day at the Aigburth Family Centre, who started making their own Liverpool cityscape yesterday. Here's her update on their very own work of art:

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"The second day at Aigburth Family Centre began with tons of excitement as we met Chris; a brilliant cartoon artist who helped the children to draw pictures of each other (not to mention power rangers!) We stuck on lots of cartoons and photos of the children’s faces but made sure to leave room fo children who come to the centre in the future. In the afternoon we came up with a name for the picture and made a big sign so everyone could see what it is called... 'My Liverpool'.

The picture is going to go on display in the entrance to Aigburth family centre to welcome everyone in."

Our roving work experience reporter Isobel paid a visit to see Ben Johnson's Liverpool Cityscape 2008 and the World Panorama Series, here's Isobel's verdict on the Walker's latest offering:  

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I was lucky enough to be able to visit the opening event and preview of the new Ben Johnson painting of Liverpool. It is hanging in the Walker Art Gallery alongside the other completed paintings of the cities of Zurich, Jerusalem and Hong Kong.

The Liverpool painting is not what I expected it to be. I was anticipating a long, narrow panoramic view of the waterfront but I was greeted with a large rectangular view of the city reaching right back to Fiddler’s Ferry. It’s hard to predict what time of day the painting is supposed to be and it is strange to see a waterfront with buildings not yet constructed. However there is a feeling of pride amongst the people of Liverpool at having their city amongst these impressive paintings.

I do have some reservations about the painting though. It is not the Liverpool I know. It does not show the culture and the people and seems a little bit like a computer made image… leading onto the fact that Ben Johnson did not solely create this image of Liverpool! I had notions of an artist stood traditionally drawing out an image, pencil in hand. That was not the creation process however, behind the scenes lay a team of people working to create stencils (yes, stencils!) for the artist to use.

The sheer detail of the painting is very astonishing though - from the hands of the clock to the lettering of the Radio City tower. A lot of thought and consideration has evidently been put into this painting. It is the main focus of the room, commanding a whole wall, as well as being the largest. The glossy book that partners it tells an impressive story too.

The Jerusalem painting was a favourite of mine with its dusty dusk light. Unlike the image of Liverpool it does have an element of life, a historic settlement with a story to tell. Hong Kong was also eye-catching. The vibrancy of the trees caught in the corner shows something deep within the painting, the light shining from an individual window of a tower block deep in the hillside of a mountain is something special. The final painting is of a city I have never laid eyes on, so in some ways the painting holds a responsibility to show it off, and that it certainly does. The painting gives a glimpse of a romantic city bordering a river - it entices me.

I think the painting of Liverpool is special in its own right and commands attention to finite detail. It is definitely worth a visit, even to just see what it looks like. Take some time out to seek where you live, or find a place only you know then walk away knowing this archive will remain for generations to come to see the place you lived and the Liverpool before the city undergoes another era of transformation.

The week beginning 1 June sees the Volunteers Team out and about as part of National Volunteers Week, promoting the diverse range of opportunities and projects  volunteers can take part in across each of our venues and departments.

You can meet them and find out more about volunteering on Wednesday 4 June, 12.30-4pm at World Museum Liverpool or on Thursday 5 June, 12.30-4pm at Merseyside Maritime Museum. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about our new v-involved Youth Volunteering programme, aimed specifically at 16-25 year olds.

Here's some more information and a few fascinating facts from our youth volunteer officer Claire Olson.

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"Did you know that:

- In the past year we have had 361 brilliant volunteers working on a multitude of different projects and placements.

- People regularly travel from as far away as Anglesey, Isle of Man and Yorkshire to volunteer at National Museums Liverpool.

- Volunteers have been an integral part of many successful and unique projects; for example we recently had 30 volunteers who facilitated on gallery during the recent Ben Johnson residency at the Walker Art Gallery. Not only did they work closely with a world renowned artist but they helped directly in the completion of the Liverpool Cityscape. (Photo of Ben Johnson vols)

- In October 2007, one of our Big Art volunteers David Whitby was a finalist in the Unsung Hero category for the Art 07 (Arts Council Northwest) Awards. David didn't win the on the night, but it was a huge achievement for him to be one of the four finalists and his presence is very much appreciated on the gallery.

Look out for more volunteer news and stories all next week on the blog, starting on Monday with a report from the launch of the Young Persons Steering Group on Sunday 1 June. The group consists of young volunteers (aged 16-25) who will meet monthly to discuss all things relating to Youth Volunteering and its role at NML. We'll give you all the breaking news on their new name!

If you have any queries or what to find out more please visit the volunteer section on the website, ring the Volunteers Team on 0151 478 4775 or send the volunteer team an email.

Finally, a big thank you to all our volunteers and staff working with volunteers for their hard work. I hope they know how great we think they are!"

Here Michelle O'Callaghan, our youth arts officer, talks to two young people about fruit!

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Two weeks ago I made a visit to the Bridewell Studios on London Road to witness the ceremonial first brushstroke on the Superfiveadaybanana which will be installed in the Walker Art Gallery in June as part of the Go Superlambananas Project.

NACRO Kensington Junior Youth Inclusion Project was the lucky group selected with their winning ‘Superfiveaday’ fruit and vegetable themed ‘Lambanana. Working with professional artist Vince, the group will be working hard over the next three weeks to ripen their ‘Lambanana and bring him to life! During the session I took two of the young participants, Jessica and Ashleigh aside for a quick interview about their initial experiences of the project so far and this is what they had to say…

“Today was our first session with our ‘Lambanana and five of our group came to get started. ‘Lambanana started off purple – which was weird! We expected it to be white or cream.

The boys worked on painting the orange, the broccoli and the banana and we (the girls) worked on painting the strawberry – the 'Lambanana’s head. It felt boss painting the first bit on the ‘Lambanana, actually it was just boss painting it full stop! The best bit about today has been the actual painting, getting started and having fun!

We can’t wait to come down to the Walker Art Gallery when it’s finished to see what it looks like when it’s properly done. There is the proper space set out for it in the Walker and it’s going to be filled with our work - something we’ve done!

Working with Vince the artist has been boss, we didn’t know he was a professional artist at first but when we found out the session just kept on getting better and better. We really like painting and arts, so this is brilliant to be able to do this.

We’re going to be dead proud when we go into the Walker and see our ‘Lambanana, and people say “did you see that Superfiveadaybanana?” and ask us “wow, are you the one’s who did that?” We think that people will be surprised when they find out it is kids that have painted this ‘Lambanana! They might think that kids have designed it, but that it’s been painted by professionals, but when they find out it’s us kids that have done the painting, with a little help from Vince, I think they’ll be shocked!

Our ‘Lambanana will have different textures, details and effects and hopefully people will be able to stroke it. There should be some information next to it at the walker that can tell people about healthy eating and ‘five a day’ and tell people what to eat and where to get it from. So our ‘Lambanana not only looks good, but has a purpose too! The normal Superlambanana is just yellow but ours is dead bright and colourful!”

The next session will see the group adding more layers of paint onto the Superfiveadaybanana and starting to add textures to the fruit. A different group of young people from Kensington Junior Youth Inclusion Project will be coming along to work on the ‘Lambanana next time so more images, interviews and news on progress to follow… keep those eyes and those bananas peeled…

Anne Gleave, our curator of photographic archives, has had an interesting phonecall from a sharp-eyed lady, who discovered a mysterious presence in the Stewart Bale photograph of the Anglican Cathedral under construction from the current Metropolis exhibition.

In the middle of the photograph there is a figure walking along the street, but only their legs are visible. Anne says this is probably the result of somebody walking past during a long exposure photograph.

Update 23/06/2008: After further examination of the image Anne has this update: "It could be that the figure was standing approximately in one place with the top half moving more than the lower half and a slightly long exposure only captured the lower half as the legs were more still. It is also possible that a dye may have been used on the negative to obscure a figure that was not wanted in the photograph; however, examination of the negative does not show any obvious signs of dye use. The detail of the image on the website does indicate a certain change of tone, as if a dye may have been used to remove the top half of the figure but then the question is if a dye was used, why wasn't it used to remove the feet; it does seem to be a bit of a mystery."

However there could be a more eerie explanation - after all, the mysterious figure is walking past the graveyard...

See what you think in this picture.