National Museums Liverpool Blog - Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I'm not holding out too much hope of seeing anything that looks like a Perseid tonight. The Beeb is suggesting a fair amount of cloud cover in the vicinity of my house 

In case you don't know the Perseids are an annual meteor shower that occurs when the Earth passes through dust debris from the comet, Swift-Tuttle. It reaches its peak tonight and should be a good show for people lucky enough to live in an area without too much light pollution or cloud cover. Plus you shouldn't need any fancy equipment to either see or photograph them, just look to the north east after dark.

And if you do get to see and photograph any of the shower you might want to tweet on the Astronomy2009 Twitter page - a 48-hour Twitter marathon being run as part of the International Year of Astronomy.

Rain or shine, getting out on the River Mersey is always a fun trip and Curator of Botany, Geraldine Reid, has taken part in one of this year's Mersey Ferry Discovery Cruises. Here she is to tell us more about them...

Looking at plankton aboard a Mersey ferry. Image courtesy of Jennifer Welch.

Last Friday, with staff from the Clore Natural History Centre and aquarium, I took part in my first Mersey Ferry Discovery Cruise. It was with some trepidation of what to expect on the high seas of the Mersey that I ventured out. The day started over at Seacombe with us getting the plankton nets out and throwing them over the side of the ferry (attached to a long line) to get samples of the water so that we could demonstrate why the estuary is such a haven for birds. These are very fine nets which we pull through the water to catch the microscopic animals (zooplankton) and plants (phytoplankton) that it contains. These tiny organisms are indicators of the health of the estuary. Plankton essentially is anything that cannot swim against the current.

As the ferry headed over to the pier head to pick up the next passengers we got the microscopes set up. We got out specimens from the  World Museum's collection of marine life that had been washed ashore along the shore of the Mersey. These included dolphin and porpoise skulls, a bone from a whale, seaweed, shells and lots more.  The deck also had colourful displays from the RSPB and the Environment Agency. The water samples we’d collected earlier were a great hit, they where teeming with life all brought to light by the video link on the microscope to a computer-screen. The water was full with lots of beautiful plankton - diatoms floating in chains past our eyes with the sudden excitement of barnacle naupli and copepods dashing past the screen followed by the gentle pulsating of sea-gooseberries gliding past.  

In our spare moments we saw a whole array of birds from a peregrine falcon to arctic skua and a whole variety of gulls. There was also a running commentary by the RSBC spotter on what to look out for and in which direction. We even saw a cheeky seal having a nap on a sandbank. The view from the ferry gave you a really unique view of the shoreline along the Mersey out to Formby. It was a great day out for all the family young and old.

The next cruise takes place on Tuesday 18 August 2009 and looks to be another action packed day.

The cruise will pick up passengers from; Seacombe at 11am, Pier Head (Liverpool) at 11.10am and Woodside at 11.20am. The trip will last about three hours. Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children.

For more details, or to book, contact Mersey Ferries on 0151 330 1444 or visit their website.

My view of Trafalgar Square from the Fourth Plinth

It's my first day back in work after a short break today, and I feel that I've returned with a whole new level of understanding of the works of art that I promote on the blog and website. For while I was off I did more than just DIY and sunbathing. I actually experienced what it feels like to be a work of art myself when I spent an hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Antony Gormley's One and Other project. One hour, one plinth, one Sam.

I've spent many hours amongst the crowds in Trafalgar Square but have never had those crowds watching and photographing me before. One man asked if I was going to do anything, which is a bit of a strange thing to ask a sculpture. I've never heard anyone ask any of the figures in the Walker's sculpture gallery if they were going to do anything, our visitors seem quite content to appreciate the sculptures as they are with no expectations of entertainment.

I did do something on the plinth though - I took lots of photos (which you can see in my Fourth Plinth Flickr set), I talked to people, I chased a very persistent pigeon and I waved at a lot of people on open top tour buses. That's something that I miss now that I've returned to ground level - I still wave at the tour buses that go past in Liverpool but nobody on them is remotely interested in waving back to me any more now that I'm just a regular person again.

With so many distractions the hour passed very quickly. I really enjoyed my time on the plinth but don't think I could handle that level of attention and public scrutiny every day. I'll try to be kinder and less critical of any sculptures I see in the future, now that I know the kind of pressures they face being viewed each day, some of them patiently sitting outside in all weathers for the public's enjoyment.

As usual, when I was down in the capital I caught up with a few familiar faces, in this case 'Echo and Narcissus', who appear in the Walker Art Gallery painting that is currently on loan to the Waterhouse exhibition at the Royal Academy. It's a fantastic exhibition which also features 'The Decameron' from the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

The Hawkhurst Gang. The text beneath the image reads: Galley and Chater falling off their Horse at Woodash, draggs thier Heads on the Ground, while the Horse kicks them as he goes; the Smugglers still continuing thier brutish usage.

When I was at primary school in the 1950s we used to enjoy singing the popular Smugglers’ Song with words by Rudyard Kipling:

Five and twenty ponies
Trotting through the dark –
Brandy for the Parson,
Tobacco for the Clerk:
Laces for a lady; letters for a spy,
And watch the wall my darling, while the Gentlemen go by!

Running round the woodpile if you chance to find
Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy wine;
Don’t you shout to come and look, nor take them for your play;
Put the brushwood back again – and they’ll be gone next day!

It is a song that races along but embraces a popular myth masking the brutal reality behind smuggling. It is true that gangs of smugglers operated right along the coast with whole communities involved.

However, sickening violence could be used by smugglers driven by greed, poverty and lack of employment. Customs men often assisted by soldiers, used counter-measures which were both brutal and harsh, including the death penalty.

It was not until the 1840s with the introduction of free trade and the reduction of excise duties that smuggling was reduced.

The Hawkhurst Gang of Sussex smugglers was notoriously violent in the era of highwaymen and pirates. In 1748 gang member Daniel Chater was arrested by Customs officer William Galley and turned informer.

When both men were captured by other members of the gang Galley was beaten, tied to his horse and had his nose cut off. Chater was hung down a well and stoned to death.

The stark reality of the lives of smugglers past and present is revealed in the new Merseyside Maritime Museum gallery Seized: Revenue & Customs Uncovered.

On display in Seized is a contemporary print showing the two men hung upside down while they are whipped by gang members. Another shows Chater being thrust down the well.

In 1785 it was discovered that most of the fishing fleet in Deal, Kent, was involved in smuggling. The fishermen were desperate to earn a living. Every vessel was burnt to ashes on the orders of the Prime Minister William Pitt, who was just 26.

Exhibits include weapons used by smugglers and Customs officers – a blunderbuss, musket, pistols, swords and cutlasses. You can see some of them here.

A smugglers’ lantern has a spout which directed a beam of light to avoid detection. A sinking stone was used to secure smuggled casks to the seabed while a grappling hook was used by smugglers to retrieve their contraband. 

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

The International Slavery Museum

The momentum is really building now for the International Slavery Museum and our bid to win Best Heritage Project in the National Lottery Awards - which we still need your votes for! This week the head of the museum, Richard Benjamin, was interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside about why the museum should win the award and also talking about the latest exhibition; 'Black Brittania'.

You can hear Richard's interview on the Claire Hamilton show here - listen from the 6pm mark onwards!

Check out our curators on the live webcam at BBC Radio Merseyside.

They're there all day until 5pm talking to people about their memories of Speke Airport for the Museum of Liverpool, so why not pop down and have a chat?

Or, if you're a bit of a whizz at making paper aeroplanes, go along and see if you can make a winner in our longest flight competition!

With holiday season well and truly upon us, some of our curators are putting their minds to memories of past holidays, and need your help researching those with a local angle.

We are inviting seasoned Liverpool holiday-makers to help us by sharing memories, photographs and souvenirs associated with Speke Airport in order to research a community display bound for the new Museum of Liverpool opening in 2010 / 11.

Come Fly With Me – A People’s History of Liverpool Airport will uncover people’s experiences and memories from the 1930s to today, using their souvenirs, photographs and personal accounts to tell the story of the airport.

Come along to one of our drop-in sessions to speak to curators about how you can get involved in contributing to the display from 10am - 5pm on Thursday 6 August at BBC Radio Merseyside, or Friday 7 August at Liverpool John Lennon Airport on the upper floor of the terminal building before security control.

We want to chat to people who have used the airport any time from the 1930s onwards in order to build up a display of objects and memories taken from the local community. So if you have a 'straw donkey' souvenir knocking about in the loft that you'd like to appear on display, we'd love to hear from you!

You needn't bring objects along with you to the drop-in sessions, as we can arrange to loan the items at a later date, but if you want to bring holiday snaps with you, our curators can scan these during the sessions.

Both drop-in sessions will include craft workshops where people can make their own aerodynamic creations, and the aeroplane that covers the greatest distance over the course of each session will win a prize!

If you are unable to attend one of the drop-in sessions, but would like to discuss opportunities to provide objects for display in the exhibition, please contact Victoria Newberry on 0151 478 4067 or email victoria.newberry@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Further to my previous post about International Slavery Museum getting to the final of the National Lottery awards, the Lottery have commissioned this promotional video about the museum and why it should win. You can also see it on our main site.

Remember that you can vote online on the National Lottery Good Causes website, or by calling 0844 686 6957.

Update 04/08/09: This video now has a transcript which can be viewed on our main site.

Model of the SS Gallia. Image courtesy Liverpool Daily Post and Echo

One of my older relatives used to joke that you should not bathe too often because hot water removes the skin’s natural oils. I’m all for keeping clean but some people overdo it and this can be very wasteful in a world that needs water.

However, I would not like to go on a long journey without having the opportunity to bathe but this was hardly the situation on most passenger ships in Victorian times, for example.

Competition to capture business during the emigration boom through Liverpool spurred shipping companies to create better facilities for travellers.

The arrival of large steam liners meant that services could keep to publicised timetables and schedules. This was a huge improvement on sailing ships which were at the mercy of wind and weather.

Cunard’s transatlantic passenger liner Gallia of 1879 was a beautiful ship built during the transitory period when steam was still supplemented by sail.

There is a superb builder’s-style model of the Gallia in the new emigrants’ gallery in Merseyside Maritime Museum (pictured).

The 430-foot long Gallia was one of the steamships that brought new standards of safety and comfort to the North Atlantic emigrant trade. She spent most of her career on the Liverpool to New York and Boston run.

Gallia could carry 300 first class passengers in luxurious (for the time) two-berth cabins plus 1,200 steerage (third class) passengers along with 2,000 tons of cargo.

She had both engines and sails and her captain used sail whenever possible. Two new features were an improved main saloon which took up the full 42 feet of the ship’s width along with steam-powered steering.

Despite all these luxuries and improvements, Gallia was fitted with only two baths for the entire ship. You can read more on SS Gallia on our main site.

About nine million people emigrated through Liverpool in the period 1830 to 1930 making it probably the biggest emigration port in world history.

Few of these emigrants, who came from many parts of northern Europe including Russia, recorded their experiences in Liverpool.

Dirk van den Bergh and his large family emigrated from Holland, via Liverpool, to Canada in 1906. He wrote a diary about his journey - audio extracts are available for museum visitors to listen to, or you can listen to some here.

• Windows Media Format [48kps, 733Kb]
• MP3 Format [40kps, 592Kb]
• Transcript

Dirk writes: “We went into the centre of Liverpool – what a busy place and what traffic! If you could imagine Liverpool without fog and smoke it would be really impressive city. It streams with many emigrants.”

There is more on the emigrant experience in our Leaving From Liverpool online feature.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

Excellent news. Thanks to your votes the International Slavery Museum has made it through to the finals of the National Lottery awards. We're up against two other venues in the Best Heritage Project category.

Votes aren't carried over into the final so we need you to vote again. You can vote online on the National Lottery Good Causes website. Alternatively you can call 0844 686 6957 to register your phone vote.

As we've said before this isn't just about winning an award (although obviously that's a nice thing) or a thumbs up for a good museum. As Richard said in his 'It could be us' post a few weeks ago, this is a major opportunity to raise awareness about the issues that the museum champions - it's about tackling human rights abuses. So, please vote, and ask people you know to vote as well.

Then tune into the National Lottery programme (we'll let you know when) to see Richard in his fabled Homer Simpson tie!