National Museums Liverpool Blog - Friday, August 26, 2011

As the video replayed images of football fans flying to far flung fields, Jamie Carragher was laughing his head off: “We know that lad!”

The Kop legend and family were among the hordes of visitors enjoying the Museum of Liverpool on the eve of the new football season.

Team Carragher were recognising fans in the Kicking and Screaming film in the Wondrous Place gallery.

It wasn’t long before people were soon recognising the football player in their midst. A few visitors did a double take when they spotted Jamie. One fan from Ireland was all at sea in Global City: “Jamie you are my hero. Can I have my photograph with you?”

Jamie was stopped and asked for autographs and photos around a dozen times and he obliged for every single fan. 

For me it was a bit surreal showing someone around the museum who I’d spent years watching from the stands at Anfield. I remember watching Jamie’s full league debut 15-years-ago at home to West Ham (he scored!). 

My favourite Carra moment was Istanbul – the greatest match in the history of Liverpool FC. He played on with agonising cramp in the European Cup comeback of the century.

The Kicking and Screaming film shows the scenes of jubilation as the Kop heroes returned to the city with the cup from Turkey. It’s great footage – tens of thousands of Liverpool fans going crazy amid flags and flashlights.

It’s my favourite part of the film. I never witnessed those scenes first hand during that balmy May night. Like a couple of thousand other Liverpool supporters I was stranded in Istanbul as flights home were delayed by hours.

What a high it must have been to see the team bring home the cup. But not as good as actually being in the Ataturk to witness history!

You can relive all the magic of Istanbul and what it means to be Red or Blue at the Museum of Liverpool. The Wondrous Place gallery contains artefacts and stories from all three Merseyside clubs.

To see photographs of Jamie at the museum go to our Flickr set here.

On Tuesday 23 August interns funded through the Icon-HLF scheme travelled from far and wide to attend a visit to National Museums Liverpool’s (NML’s) conservation studios.  There are three current conservation interns at NML funded through the Icon-HLF scheme.  Gemma Thorns and Robin Gibson are undertaking Internships in Ships and Historic Models Conservation, and myself; Ellie Baumber, is undertaking an Internship in Objects Conservation and Public Engagement.  We arranged the visit to provide fellow interns with the opportunity to see some of the fantastic projects that we have been working on during our time at NML.

With so much to see, Tuesday’s visit centred around just four of the many conservation sections based in the Midland Railway Building.  Visits were made to the Historic Models, Ceramics, Metals and Organics conservation departments, providing the opportunity for interns to see and discuss some of the objects currently undergoing conservation treatment.  Many of these objects will be exhibited in the Museum of Liverpool later this year and include a seat from Liverpool’s Overhead Railway, as well as a headless dog skeleton!  In the afternoon we visited the National Conservation Centre’s former public exhibition ‘Reveal’, which closed due to government spending cuts in December 2010.  Here we were able to share our experiences regarding the public face of conservation and also the effects of recent government spending cuts upon the sector. 

The day concluded with a sunny walk down to the new Museum of Liverpool where we were able to have a look around and discuss conservation work carried out on some of the objects on display.  We even found time for a quick viewing of the Beatles show! 

The visit proved to be a fantastic opportunity to share some of our internship experiences.  Thank you to all those conservation staff involved in the visit and we hope that everyone attending enjoyed it as much as we did! 

The riots of recent weeks got me thinking about news reporting and how well-connected we have become. Many of us sat up late into the night watching the chaotic scenes unfold on TV and footage filmed on mobile phones, while scanning online for live updates on the local situation. Social networks were used to source and spread the most up to the minute news, with broadcasters and reporters confirming the stories afterwards.

The downside is that social networks can also be used to spread inaccuracies, gossip and deliberately misleading information. (Reports of Torres leaving Liverpool on a magic carpet during the transfer season spring to mind). During the riots, there were frustrated pleas of ‘pictures please!’ wherever there was a report of an incident, as no one was quite sure what to believe. Pictures gave the reports authority. 

 Art in Revolution: Liverpool 1911 includes footage from the British Pathé archive

It is hard to imagine the visual impact that moving images and news reports would have had on the public when they were first broadcast. The first newsreels in Britain were shown in cinemas by Pathé, from June 1910, according to this excellent documentary series, 'The Story of British Pathé'. It was Charles Pathé that pioneered the development of the moving image in the 1890s. You can watch episode one again on BBC iplayer. (Please note that it comes with a warning due to the nature of the news broadcasts included).

We’re very lucky to have traced this Pathé film of the 1911 riots in Liverpool in support of the Art in Revolution: Liverpool 1911 exhibition so early in British Pathé’s history. It makes fascinating viewing - although the images are very different to the riots scenes that bombarded our screens earlier this month. Without being filmed, the events would quite literally have been confined to 'history books'.  

The age of the newsreel heralded a true revolution in reporting. Now mobile technology has taken that to a whole new level, and we are seeing ‘citizen journalists’ capturing events of national and international significance as they unfold.

The next episode of 'The Story of British Pathé' is broadcast on BBC 4 at 11pm on Wednesday 24 August. You can see ‘Art in Revolution’ at the Walker Art Gallery until 25 September.

Our Fundraising and Membership Officer Matt Dunn writes:

We were delighted that people visited our table to sign up as members, and were especially pleased that this included lots of families taking advantage of our special rate of £20. This price includes free, unlimited visits to the upcoming Age of the Dinosaur exhibition at World Museum opening on 22 October, featuring six life-like animatronic dinosaurs! A family ticket will normally cost £14 per visit so it really is a top deal but don’t worry if you missed us – visit our membership page and you can still sign up.

It was great to talk to so many people and explain how membership works and why it’s important. Whilst entry to our eight venues is free, the money we make from membership fees helps support a specific area of National Museums Liverpool’s work each year.

In return for their support, we try to make members feel closer to the museums and galleries by offering special benefits and recently we gave 250 members the opportunity to explore the new Museum of Liverpool outside of normal opening hours. Around 6 to 7,000 visitors have been visiting per day, so the museum is unlikely to feel that quiet again!

A membership event was recently held for 250 members at the new Museum of Liverpool

Keep an eye out on our membership page for upcoming promotions starting on 1 September or give me a call on 0151 478 4157 to find out more!

After 60 years absence, the beautiful gates from Liverpool Sailors' Home have been returned to the city where they now act as a gateway to Liverpool ONE and the World Heritage Site.

The large gates feature the same mermaid design as this railing which you can see on display in The People’s Republic gallery, Museum of Liverpool. 

These railings from the interior balconies were made specially for the Home, which opened in Canning Place in 1850. The Home was a safe place for seafarers to stay while in port. Other items from the Sailors' Home on display in the Museum of Liverpool include an original enamel sign and a Seaman's Register 1966–68.

If you go to Sudley House, you’re sure of a big surprise. This Saturday 20 August from 11am – 4pm the venue is hosting a teddy bears’ picnic.

So why not bring your favourite teddy bear, a rug and a picnic, and join staff for a day of free teddy bear themed fun.

During the day there will be craft activities including mask making, colouring and playing with Play-Doh. There will also be hourly, ticketed storytelling sessions and Katrina Riozzi from Small Stories Theatre Company will also be encouraging children to become explorers and go on a 'bear hunt' in the grounds.

Bring your teddy bear and join in the fun.

Which country do you think is the most stylish? France? Italy? Japan? We reckon that Spain should be giving the rest of the world some pointers after seeing this fashionable crew of students who recently came to visit our Finishing Touch exhibition!

They would fit right in at the races, wouldn't they?

The group visits Liverpool and the surrounding area every year and they decided to really get in the spirit of the exhibition by trying on the hats that are in the exhibition's resource area. We think they look fab!

They were staying in the region for a month as part of an English language program and cultural experience and told our Curator of Decorative Arts, Alyson Pollard, that they thoroughly enjoyed their visit and are looking forward to coming back again soon.

Silver porringer. Accession number MMM.2003.280

This silver porringer was presented to Percy R Agnew for services rendered as a special constable at the Liverpool branch of the Bank of England, Castle Street during the 1911 Liverpool General Transport Strike.

Despite the massive police presence in the city, they were under such pressure that many men acted as special constables, 40 of whom were from the Bank’s Liverpool branch. Due to the mass rallies of Liverpool people who came out in support of the strike, reinforcements had to be sent from other parts of the country.

After the riots, these 40 special constables were presented with these bowls (and 3 porters received match boxes).

Percy was son of Frederick Agnew, who was a Bank of England Agent and also founder of the Liverpool Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

You can see the porringer on display in 'Voice of the workforce', in The People’s Republic gallery at the Museum of Liverpool, where we explore 200 years of protest and the continuing fight for workers’ rights and social justice.

The 1911 riots are also explored in the Art in Revolution exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, which runs until 25 September 2011.

A Centennial Commemoration 'Liverpool's Bloody Tuesday' organised by the North West TUC will take place on Monday 15 August. For more details see the North West TUC website.

City of Chicago, Inman Line, built 1873 (reference McR/39/312)

A lycra-clad cyclist came into the Maritime Archives & Library last week wanting to know where someone arriving in Liverpool from New York in 1885 would have landed.  We pointed him in the direction of the Princes Landing Stage and the Pier Head. The reason for his interest was that he was about to start cycling around the world, attempting to follow the route of Thomas Stevens' 1884-1887 journey that made him the first man to cycle around the world. 

According to my quick internet research Stevens arrived in Liverpool on the Inman Line's City of Chicago, which is the ship in this photograph.  We wish his intrepid follower well, you can follow his attempt on his blog at anordinarypursuit.blogspot.com.

Lovely 1970s gear!

Ah flares. Make mine high-waisted in a dark blue denim please, with sailor-style buttons! (I still can't quite say goodbye to my skinny jeans though.) Our upcoming exhibition at the Walker, 'Feather cuts and flares', will also be embracing 70s fashion by showing costume including bohemian pieces and shimmering glam rock platforms.

The clothes are ready to go on show but Dave Moffat, our Assistant Curator of Decorative Art, is on the look out for images to be used in the exhibition.

He’s looking for images showing fashion in a classic 1970s style - flares, massive collars, tank-tops in brown and orange, platforms and also some of the more subtle trends like the Laura Ashley 'country look' and the bohemian look.

They need to be; clear shots (not someone standing in the distance please!) your own personal photographs and copyright free.

If you are interested in getting involved, please scan and email your pictures to:  david.moffat@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk