Art In Mind stowmarket PDF 2012

For further details or to book a place visit the Inside Out Community Arts in Mental Health website or email juliet@insideoutcommunity.com 07847 894602

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During the winter, the Smythe seed drill has been put into working condition, although sadly not as yet into action. Our traction engine, the Empress of Britain has passed its major hydraulic test and is now back in steam, the first time for two years. This test involved the removal of the casing to the boiler, the insulating wood and then completely filling the engine with water, including the cylinders. This is no mean feat as the engine itself is designed to be full of steam, not water! The whole idea is to remove all the air, replace it with water, which cannot be compressed, and then pump the whole thing up to high pressure to make sure the vessels can take the pressure without leaking. After a huge amount of work, the old girl passed with flying colours, and is now reassembled and ready for work.

On the museum opening day we had two tractions engines chuffing round. We also managed to pull down the previously ploughed land, making a seed bed for this years’ barley crop. After a good cultivating and harrowing a half decent seed bed was established. We had hoped to use the Smythe drill for the sowing but this lovely old machine couldn’t handle the lumpiness of our heavy clay land! We broadcast the seed by hand the old way and harrowed it in. We hope to get the Smythe into action this autumn.

An added feature on opening day was the cutting of chaff using our Innes and King chaff cutter. We restored this 100 year-old machine a couple of years ago and it can sometimes be a bit troublesome; this year it worked faultlessly being driven by one of our Walsh and Clark Victoria ploughing engines. This combination would have been seen working together locally up until the late 1940s, chopping straw for cattle feed. We chopped about a third of our wheat straw crop; we’ll do some more later in the summer because the machines make a good display for visitors.

We have long term project restoring a Fordson Major Tractor into working order. This has been a frustratingly long job. However, we now seem to be able to get the engine to run for about 30 seconds before conking out. We think we have got everything about right but the carburation is clearly still in need of some more fiddling. We are hopeful of having the tractor running about the museum site quite soon.

Some of our machinery has been entered into the Woolpit Steam Rally and may also be seen at regular weekend displays at the museum.  We expect another busy summer.

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We’ll have lots going on to keep all the family amused this easter, with an Easter egg hunt and lots of art activities and games on Sunday 8th April. Our newly refurbished Activities Room will be open and bustling with Easter fun. Try your hand at the Egg Shy or see if you can beat your family at an egg and spoon race. Have a go at designing an Easter egg and solve the Easter Hunt clues to claim your eggy prize!

Families can also get back to nature. This Easter people of all ages can plant a seed for spring at our seed workshop. The nature trail will also be open – keep an eye out for White Egrets, Herons, Ducks and, if you are very lucky, Otters.

Food and refreshments are available in our on-site cafe The Osier or you are welcome to bring a picnic to eat enjoying the wonderful views across the museum’s 80 acre site.

Enquiries to:     enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk  or Tel: 01449 612229

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The Museum of East Anglian Life opens for the 2012 season with its annual free Stowmarket day on the 25^th March, with a special 25% discount on all Season Tickets.

With Historic traction engines in steam, family activities and demonstrations of 19^th Century printing, Stowmarket day provides the perfect opportunity for locals to see the Museum come alive and check out what’s new around the Museum.

This year will be very special one in the life of the Museum as it finally sees the opening of Abbots Hall just a few short weeks after Open Day. The £3m restoration project of the beautiful Queen Anne House, Abbots Hall, has seen the creation of a 9 room exhibition centre, a working walled garden and the restoration of two derelict workers cottages giving a snapshot into the home life of a rural worker. Museum Director Tony Butler says “this is probably the Museum’s most important development for 30 years. Displays in the Hall will explore the ideas of home and belonging in East Anglia. We’ll also have a new temporary exhibition programme which will host a series of new displays kicking off with Simon Costin’s Museum of British Folklore.

“The Abbot’s Hall really raises the standard of all our other activities around the museum. We’ve also re-equipped facilities for schools and we also plan to have more people demonstrating crafts on site and more activities for families.

“A season ticket enables unlimted access to the site during opening hours for a whole year, a £25 for an adult and £55 for a family we think this offers great value, especially if you take advantage of the 25% discount period at the end of March.  There has never been a better time to be a Season Ticket holder.”

The Museum will also hold its popular events programme. After the success of last year’s Blues Festival, we will once again be playing host to this fantastic live music event, complete with a Real Ale bar, as well as our ever popular Easter Fun Day, Beer Festival, Traditional Music Day, Bonfire Night and a range of family and children’s activities throughout the year.

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Become a Season ticket holder in 2012

We’re getting ready to open for a very exciting 2012 season here at the Museum of East Anglian Life. Be a part of all the action with one of our great value season tickets!

Why should you become a MEAL Season ticket holder…

Our season ticket is cheaper than….

A gym membership… You can get fit in the fresh air walking round our nature trail with the whole family.

1 trip to a theme park would buy you 3 family season tickets – that’s enough for 15 people to visit as many times as they liked for a whole year!

And you get access to all of these great family activities

Easter Fun Day… Easter egg hunt, easter games and more!

Victorian Fun and Games

A safe place to run off some steam

Mud, Bugs and Baking…summer holidays at the museum

Early Years Storytime

New Family activities every year

October Family Film showings in the Barn

Animals to visit

Family Fun together

Great value for money

We offer a range of season tickets to fit every individual or family. As a MEAL season ticket holder, you’ll have unlimited in season access to all of our site and historic buildings for the entire 2012 season. You’ll have access 7 days a week during the season to our beautiful 75 acre site, including nature trail, meaning we’re the perfect place for walks. With animals, play areas and educational activities, we provide a safe environment for children to play and learn.

Prices for this year are as follows

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And, if you want to capture the true Christmas spirit, a plastic tree just won’t do it!   Nothing says Christmas quite like that authentic Christmas tree smell when you walk through your front door, we have a fine selection of trees for sale for you to choose.

Christmas trees will be on sale alongside Santa’s grotto, again on Saturdays during December.

Santa’s grotto will cost £2 and will include a small gift

For more details Tel: 01449 612229

Website: www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Email: enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk

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On Friday 25^th November from 12pm until 7pm, the Museum of East Anglian life will be getting in the Christmas spirit with our Christmas Event, including a Christmas craft fayre, Santas grotto and as always our beautiful Christmas trees on sale.

With our craft fayre, we will have a selection of quality craft stalls, selling a variety of goods that will make interesting and original Christmas gifts. Held within our beautiful thirteenth century tithe barn, and with free entry, it truly is worth popping in and seeing what’s on offer.

Old Saint Nick is waiting for you to pay him a visit! Santa and his faithful elf will be here to add a bit of Christmas magic into you and your children’s lives. Santa will be available on the 25^th November, and subsequently on every Saturday up until Christmas

If you want to capture the true Christmas spirit, a plastic tree just won’t do it! Nothing says Christmas quite like that authentic Christmas tree smell when you walk through your front door, so come along and check out our fine selection of trees for sale. Christmas trees will be on sale alongside Santa’s grotto.

With just one month till the day itself, the Museum of East Anglian life’s Christmas craft fayre is the perfect place to find some of your Christmas essentials, as well as joining us in a bit of Christmas spirit and celebration.

Entry to the Craft fayre is free of charge.

Santas grotto will cost £2 and will include a small gift

For more details Tel: 01449 612229

Website: www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Email: enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk

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Our trainer for the course is Jim Kemp who is an occupational therapist instructor in Ipswich.  He has been teaching in this capacity for the last 12 years and through this he has qualified as an art instructor.  He has been teaching art in many mediums for the past 7 years.  Prior to his teaching experience he has been an amateur painter for over 40 years specialising in watercolour landscapes.  He has worked professionally with various well known artists in Suffolk.

Jim is very enthusiastic and especially likes teaching beginners; he almost always helps them see their potential even when they lack confidence.

For a full schedule of what the course will include you can access our outline here Watercolour Course Level 1 INFO

The course will cost £115, for more details contact Paul Palmer either by phone 01449 612229, or by email enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk

Details of further courses will be added when they become available

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Come along to two grand days out at the Museum of East Anglian Life this half term!

On Monday 24th of October from 10am ‘til 1pm, see Wallace & Gromit in their cracking film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)! The film follows Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, as they set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.

Alongside the film showing there will be two Were-Rabbit Walks and a Gromit Aeroplane Art workshop. The walks will involve surprise and humour, strange vegetables, and tactile touchy things ….all linked to the Were-Rabbit! Children who join us in the hunt will be given a map and an Anti-Pesto Rabbit Round-up Bag to help catch the crafty carrot cruncher.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit will be screened in Abbots Hall Barn from 10.45am-12.00am, with walks taking place at 10.00am-10.30am and 12.15am-12.45pm. There are only 25 children’s places per walk so please book in advance through the Tourist Information Centre in Stowmarket on 01449 676800. This event is part of Film Flurry – a Suffolk-wide, two week event celebrating children’s films, cartoons and animation.

Get your pencils at the ready on Thursday the 27^th of October when the museum will be holding its annual Big Read, Big Draw in the BIG Barn, 10am – 3pm. This year children’s author and illustrator Lorna Murphy and artist Laura Haines will be running art workshops in Abbot’s Hall Barn based around the book ‘Maisie’s Mountain’ by Lorna Murphy.

‘Maisie’s Mountain’ tells the story of Maisie, a little girl who can’t stop collecting things and never, ever, throws anything away. In fact she collects so much that she creates a mountain of objects that stick out of the roof of her house!

Visitors will be able to hear Maisie’s story, meet the author, create their own characters and add drawings of their favourite things to a 3-D Maisie’s mountain. The Big Read, Big Draw is part of a nationwide event taking place throughout October by The Campaign For Drawing.

For all of October half term, fantastic free entry for children with a paying adult!

Admission £6.50 for adults, children age 6 –14 yrs FREE for October Half Term (no more than 3 children per adult). There is no extra charge for the activities.

For more details Tel: 01449 612229

Website: www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Email: enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk

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The land in use has had a chequered past; sometimes it has been an arable field, at other times a meadow and also a car-park. All these activities have involved considerable stress to the soil which needs some revival from time to time. Our land is good but its strong clay base means the fine soil grains get very compacted with use. During the ploughing over the last couple of years it has become clear that we have developed a ‘pan’; in other words the soil below the vintage plough depth has been well hammered down, forming a crust. This prevents good cultivation and stops nutrients and moisture moving in the soil.

The first task then is to break up the pan. To do this we deployed my recently restored sub-soiler. This is a simple piece of kit which fits onto the three point linkage of the tractor. It consists of a frame carrying a single tine, or leg, which is pulled through the soil down to a depth of about 17 inches. A modern sub-soiler often has seven legs and is pulled by a four wheel drive tractor with a 200 horse power engine but we are operating in a gentler age! My one leg sub-soiler is pulled by my 60 year-old David Brown Cropmaster with only 35 horse power available. It is a slow old job and once the sub-soiler gets down to working depth it is like driving a subterranean ice breaker. You can see the land moving some distance from the implement as the underground crust is broken up. The size of some of the lumps pulled up by the tackle shows just how hard the underlying soil has become.

Once the land is loosened, it was time to make a seedbed for next years’ wheat. A pull through with the duck-foot harrows soon knocked the lumps out of the soil, levelling things off to resemble a half decent field. Our newly acquired Smythe drill is not yet ready for action  so, as in previous years, we did the sowing the traditional way, broadcasting the seed by hand. Another harrowing followed and finally a slow rib rolling put the seed in contact with the soil leaving a smooth surface for the binder next summer. We’ve become quite good at these jobs and are hoping for a decent crop next year.

We are really looking forward to getting the Smythe seed drill working for the barley and turnip sowing in the spring which will complete our crop rotation.

As we packed up for the day, we started putting a list of jobs onto the blackboard ready for our winter labours. It’s a fairly long list, we are in for a busy time!

As I drove home past the day’s cultivations, a small squadron of rooks had already landed to check out the new menu – twas ever thus.

Peter Gibbs – Steam Team Member

October 2011

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