Menoogling; Art And History

On the 19th of July, I took Mac1 in The Grey down to the town of Biggar. This is not very far from where Little Sparta is, and in the town's museum, there was one room dedicated to some fine art pieces in which the collaborations between Ian Hamilton Finlay and other artists, notably through the medium of print and ceramics, were displayed. Needless to say, my sister had a strong part to play in that set-up. She wanted me to see it, but also needed to attend to one or two minor details. Apart from that, she also wanted to look around the main body of the museum, which I was more than happy to do also. 

I have been discovering that a lot of the wee local museums in this Bonny Land are kept going by community pride, mainly volunteers, and with some flair. Some of them manage to obtain funds from the area councils, and/or things like the Lottery Fund and donations. 

I will say that we were immensely glad to obtain a parking spot only 20 yards from the door (not a given, for Biggar is a very busy market town), because as we arrived, the heavens opened. Monsoon-style evacuation. Perfect museum visiting weather.

It is not a large establishment, but it has been very thoughtfully laid out. On entering beyond the exhibition space, one is met first with the geology... come back tomorrow for that little bit, as it will cover my Nature Friday/FFF spot.

Image screen captured from Biggar Museum Website

Beyond the rocks is a section showing all the finds from archaeological sites in the Lanarkshire area. What was great fun was the touchy-feely bits. Replica items left out to pick and get a feel for the tools. I confess I was so engrossed with the exhibits that I didn't get any photos of that bit. Thus, I grabbed the screenshot above to show a little of the quality and variety of beads, metal works, and weaponry points, ranging in size from head-sized axes to finger-nail-sized arrowheads. There were many amazing diorama models created by a local man, recreating the various settlements and fortifications of the early inhabitants, as well as the Roman groundworks and later fortifications, which recognised the strategic location of Biggar. 

Then there was the section dedicated to the exiled Polish soldiers, a great many of whom were barracked and trained in the area. Also, quite a few local lads had been out in the Crimean conflict. There was some interesting needlework related to that...

A little difficult to photograph as they were behind glass and there was a great deal of light reflection. The works were also huge, and there wasn't really enough space to stand back from them. The council did well preserving these - and, consequently, the memory of Menzies Moffat and his skill.

There was a whole section of the museum set up as a 'street', with shops to enter and get nostalgic about.

The telephone exchange was fun... yes, one could play with it! There was a section set up to link with a receiver in the shop over the 'street' and another in the cobbler's... so one needed three people to go through the full connection process. And what about that thumping great printing press??! 

There was a four-poster in the Covenanter's section that would suit me fine... known as the Levingstoun bed, someone famous slept in it - but I failed to take proper note!

To round off today's post, have fun reading this notice. Caeser was a busy boy!!!