The Hastings Museum

What else did we see yesterday?

A room devoted to Logie Baird (one time resident of Hastings) and the early history of television

A room devoted to Objibway writer and conservationist Grey Owl- who was born in Hastings and spent his early years going by the name of Archie Belaney (I'm not making mock; I admire the man)

A case full of puppets belonging to the Hastings Puppet Theatre- a family business that operated from the 1860s to the outbreak of WWII. Here's one of them, Isn't it just the essence of spook?



The Durbar Hall- an exquisite space of carved sandalwood (which smells lovely) originally built for The Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886 as a showcase for Indian art, purchased by Lord Brassey for use as a smoking room and now available for weddings.

The Brassey collection of ethnology- put together by Annie Brassey- late Victorian world traveller, writer and indefatigable collector of stuff. Here's one of her pieces- a Tibetan bodhisattva



And then there was a room foll of seascapes and a room full of pottery- including what is reputed to be the largest 16th century majolica dish in existence- and a corner remembering the time the Mods and Rockers came to Hastings and- inevitably- a room full of stuffed animals and...well,,, you get the picture. It's a typical local Museum; there's a randomness to it; its holdings depend on what local people who collected things have been prepared to donate. It has treasures and it has tat and it's all so very interesting

I love local museums. You never know what you're going to find...

Paul And Al

We're listening to Al Stewart's Love Chronicles (1969)

I say, "How come Paul Simon's very famous and Al's only a little bit famous? They've both got great melodies and intelligent bittersweet lyrics, where's the difference?"

And Ailz says, "The difference is Art Garfunkel."