Visit to the newly opened Shoemakers Museum in Street

For Friday date day last week, Mr S and I took ourselves off to the Newly opened Clarks Shoe Museum in nearby Street, having booked our tickets on line before we set off.  The tickets for the Shoemakers Museum last a year and we shall certainly be returning.

As my school shoes even in the tropics were Clarks, I was really hoping that they may have a pair of those.

I felt that the finish on this sandal was rather flat, and when I used to go to the shop to get fitted up with a new pair, I always used to favour what I have just come to understand as flat grain. The leather was quite variable but always matched.  This flat grain leather is visible in the pair of red Joydance sandals further down.

My father had what I now realise as high standards and loved his shoes and clothes.  Although when I was living in Mauritius we had staff, he very early on taught me to clean shoes and that was my job first thing each morning to clean the shoes, and always outside if it was not raining.  In the tropics with the humidity at certain times of the year you could get mould grow on the outside as a slight bloom.  I am still the 'chief shoe cleaner' and love cleaning our shoes.  However I do insist Mr S removes the mud from the bottom of his trainers or boots himself!

When I posted the picture of the brown pair of Joydance shoes on my Facebook page, several of my friends from my youth posted memories of our school shoes.  It was interesting to hear that at some stage 

The description of these explained that The Joydance sandal was first introduced in the UK in 1933 for women and children. Later in the 1960s it was also being manufactured in Ghana and went under the name of Achimota sandals, named for the Achimota College in Accra, that led the trend in adopting this sandal as part of their school uniform with many other education establishments following suit.

A couple of my English friends posted that they had red pairs, and then uploaded this pair which I also photographed.

Clarks Red Joydance Sandals

Another local friend posted: 'My father went to Ghana to help set up the Happy Shoe Company as part of the training team back in the 60s . We also had two of the Ghanaian workers stay with us. While they visited Clarks quarters. We have photos somewhere.'

These are just a few of the shoes on display. The displays are well lit and nicely set out, and there were some delightful shoes where the design and quality are really lovely, and if for sale now, I would certainly buy.

For those who are interesting in advertising there were fine examples and this shop interior will no doubt spark memories.

You get a free 4 hrs parking ticket which needs to be collected from the Museum reception entitling one car to be parked in the Shopping outlet car park.

There is a very pleasant cafe in refurbished Old Grange Building. 

The Museum is very well set out, and for our first visit, we went quickly through the introduction taking you through the Clark's original business to the present day, when sadly shoe production is no longer in the UK and the Company is now majority owned by a Chinese company.

We shall certainly be returning, and I hope to go on one their guided tours too. 

Somerset Rural Life Museum - another excellent exhibition ‘Spinning A Yarn’

‘Spinning A Yarn’ is a celebration of British wool and since we are already members of this excellent museum in Glastonbury, we decided to head over on Saturday morning.

The Mapstone Gallery had a few displays about the history of wool through artefacts and oral histories. 

Both Mr S and myself greatly admired these samples of hand weaving by Gladys Dickinson and Norah Biddulph. Having first met int he 1930s Gladys and Norah begun their small spinning and weaving business.  They used locally sourced wool and natural dyes to manufacture woven textiles.  Having been commissioned in 1956 by Mrs Harry Fox to weave a curtain based on the colours of a piece of serpentine rock, they then went on to use coloured stones as an inspiration for their designs.

There was a variety of contemporary artworks of which these caught my eye:

By Jane Ogden, Form  Four Weld

Gladys Paulus

After a short rest with coffee in the sunny barn courtyard, we went into the barn to watch the film by Trevor Pitts.  We sat on benches topped in lovely soft warm wool mats and had wool blankets to keep us warm had we needed them. It was interesting to learn a little more about Fernhill Farm, up on the Mendips. Just now I have found a shop selling yarn from sheep reared there: Lace Knittery.

On the other side of the barn a large installation by Nicola Turner took full advantage of both the height and size of the barn, but was too dark to photograph. (activate to see a picture of it)

I recognised the style as their had been a piece last year when we visited the Wells Art  Contemporary last year. 

Somerset Rural Life Museum first time visit

 Mr S and I thoroughly enjoyed our two hours at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury.  We booked our slot and visited just before half term.  There is ample free parking at the rear of the Museum, with the entrance at the side of the great barn.

Outside in the 'farm yard' a farm horse in old iron stands strong and patient...'Punch' is a life sized sculpture by Artist Harriet Mead.

As a break we enjoyed a drink in the cafe, and how refreshing they had local apple juice!  

Lots to see, to read, and well worth revisiting with our annual passes...

Butter moulds...

my favourite...

The dairy industry and reputation of milk and cheese producers is without equal..."by 1950 Somerset had become the leading producer milk producer in England". 

The farmhouse kitchen set out as it would have been in the mid 1940's was filled with interesting pieces...and opened at just the right page for me, I have a Rhubarb and Fig preserve recipe!

And just as then, so we find Somerset people a friendly bunch, but not unpolished....

Ancient History at Knossos and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

On a trip to Heraklion we spent all of our time in the Archaeological Museum.  This is a really fabulous Museum and the artifacts superb.  I'm only showing and mentioning a fraction of the wonderful things on show.

Firstly this little needle case carved from soapstone...

This grouping of intricately carved boxes with lids shows two of them with similar carved dogs as handles....I wonder whether people had dogs as pets or just for hunting over four and a thousand years ago in Crete.

From Vasiliki, pots with spouts about 4 thousand years old....

I loved the Octopus decorations of these 'Marine Style' rhyta and flasks

A whole cabinet of Poppy Goddess figurines

Glass from the Roman period was on show

These glass scent bottles have wavy coloured and gold patterns and were made during the Hellenic period 3-2 Century bc.

I didn't think I would be finding any angels...and perhaps this little cupid figurine, again from the Hellenic period, could stand in for them.  They were offerings placed in Children's graves, and still carry traces of gilding, and blue and red paint.  It is thought they carried ribbons or a little harp in their hands.

The following day we had a visit to Knossos...

A short walk to Lychnostatis Folklore Museum

I do like Ethnographic Museums, and usually find plenty to enthrall me.  A short walk down the hill and along the seashore from our Hotel in Hersonisos, is the Lychostatis Outdoor Folklore Museum.  (This link gives views of the Museum.)

There is an entrance just off the sand, and with the main entrance on the road side. By the entrance booth, there is a pretty shaded garden with local fruit trees and plants.  We stopped to watch a film about the Museum, in itself quite a period piece and worth sitting through.

In one area of the grounds is a large carob processing machine.  The trees flourish in many parts of the island.  I started to take an interest in carob when we first visited Cyprus, and have enjoyed it on our Mediterranean, Morocan,  Madeira and La Gomera Holidays.  I love the syrup, and during a coffee and cake break at the Museum, Mr S opted for a cup of 'Carob coffee', and he had already made himself some back home with a packet brought in Museum Shop.

Most interesting was the typical small farm house.  I'm sure the wall at the back of the hearth would have been blackened, however the pots and pans, irons etc had been well used.

I liked the sleeping arrangements...up some steps with the area underneath filled with a weaving loom.

The roof was packed with prickly bushes to stop mice, and foodstuffs such as this cheese balance on a cool airy suspended shelf.

Bottles protected with woven straw

And running water too, what a luxury...but first you have to fill the tank from the well.....

Up the stairs by the fireplace there is a room set out as a Cretan middleclass home with some wonderful handicrafts.  It is set out as an upper chamber with bed and lots of lovingly made items.

Its with great pride that Cretan parents provide each their daughters with trousseaus of hand made items for her new home.  As explained to us during a culture talk at the hotel, mothers spend years preparing for this.  I wonder whether these two beautiful blouses from 1910, were ever worn, or just kept as heirlooms.

The embroidery details on the circular cloth were simple, yet so elegant and stylistic.

There are ample examples of the fine work as shown by these cushions.

This wonderful example of weaving from 1875 still strong colours, shows many patterns.  I could not help taking lots of close up details..and will not doubt be inspired at some later date to incorporate some into an embroidery or knitting project.

Every aspect of making yarns, from silk to wool seems to have been undertaken in Crete

There were some really beautiful throws and blankets in Elani's weaving and plant-dyeing workshop.

Another area which was well presented was the Herbarium.  Crete is certainly blessed with a multitude of important aromatic herbs.  It was obvious on entry that all the herbs had been recently collected in season and were hanging up to dry.  The little building was cool and airy but still dark when the door was shut.

I'm not sure what this gate taken somewhere else in the Museum grounds would keep out?  Its a lovely collection of old worn timbers, and a rusty old hand made lock.  Nice installation!

Threshing floor...we found several up in the mountains built on passes where the winds would help with the winnowing.

And of course an old olive press

There were other interesting areas...to fit it all in, arrival at opening time is a must!  However there are other excellent museums on Crete...