A Special Day at The Storehouse

a private showing curated by our son, Brendan

One of the unique features at the V&A Storehouse is the private showing of items that members of the public can request to see up close. You simply go into the on-line catalogue of items stored in The Storehouse and choose up to five items that you would like to see. There is about a two week wait so you have to book in advance.

Brendan curated our pieces for us based on our interests and family history. Last Friday we arrived at the Study Room, washed our hands, donned purple gloves and read the rules for handling our chosen items.

Kevin’s items came up first. The first item was a silk screened poster from 60s of the band Buffalo Springfield, the second a 1970s Canadian made telephone, the third a pair of trainers made on the 70s for Marks and Spencer’s, the fourth a 400 year old celestial globe made in Iran and the final item was an Irish bracelet made in the 1800s from horsehair.

My items included a theatre poster from a child’s puppet show held in the town of Magdeburg, where my mother came from, a bohemian glass vessel made in Schlesinger where my father was born, a pewter coffee pot made in Frankfurt, Germany where I was born, an 800 year old beaded banner made in Germany and one of the first pieces ever housed by the V&A over 150 years ago. My final piece was a large roll of screened fabric for household items made in Germany in the year I was born, 1952.

If you are planning a trip to the Storehouse I would highly recommend that you do some research in advance and book one of these free showings.

A Quick Stroll After the Rain

….walking through the neighbourhood streets

It didn’t look like I was going to get a walk in today but the rain was short lived. When the showers subsided I decided to take a quick stroll along some of the streets in my neighbourhood. The gardens are really starting to come together and the colours are wonderful. I’ve noticed that there is a campaign against hate and some lawns have signs denouncing hate and a number of windows have neon hearts prominently displayed where passersby can see them.

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D03-F2877-E14-D-4-CE1-BC6-B-573-EF20-BC012
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Book Fair Mania!

….it’s that time of year again

You would have thought it was Christmas at our school today.

Just before lunch today the book company delivered 7 large cases of books and numerous boxes of more books and accessories. As the children passed the library they let out shouts of joy. Many wanted to come in and start spending money they didn’t have.

I have numerous student volunteers for the library this year. Many join just so they can help out with the book fair. The steel book cases, however, are so large and awkward that I move them and position them on my own or with the help of another adult. I let the students open the smaller boxes but they get so excited that they want to open everything, even though many of the items are duplicated and don’t need to come out right away.

Sometimes I think it’s more work for me to delegate jobs for my eager workers but they love it and in the end they do get the job done. I think I’m going to have to make a schedule and assign specific days and times for my volunteers, otherwise I will have 20 bodies at my door every day asking if they can help and there won’t be any room for our paying customers.

For the next 7 school days our somewhat quiet library will become a bustling hive of activity with children and parents looking to purchase one or two special books, posters and accessories from the boutique case. The benefit of doing a book fair, of course, is that a sizeable percentage of the sales comes back into the library in the form of new books and classrooms also receive books and teaching aids. It’s a great community activity that brings people together and promotes reading.ImageImageImageImage