2. A Year in the Life of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Posted
14th October 2024
in 10 year Anniversary, blog, Gaskell House Blogs
Week 2 – 11 October 2024
We are still on a high after the launch of the new Exhibition, and this week it has been lovely getting the feedback from the volunteers seeing it for the first time. But, sadly there’s no time to dwell or chat, this week we need to get it promoted. I sent out the press release last week which resulted in a few online articles and a brief appearance on That’s TV Manchester, this week we made sure it’s listed with all our partners including the Art Pass and Visit Manchester websites. I also sent a few emails to some of the partner organisations to see if they are interested in a story. I received some positive emails back – hurrah -but it’s more things on the to-do list!
Rainy Days
The rain on Wednesday put off nearly all the garden volunteers (and who can blame them), but I was very grateful to see Charlie, who cleared some of the never-ending leaves from the paths and parking areas, before they started blocking the drains and became a slip hazard. Wednesday also saw the arrival of the new printer, it’s surprising what you miss when you don’t have one.
On Thursday I attended the quarterly Oxford Road Corridor Cultural Organisations Meeting, who had kindly asked me to speak about the 10-year anniversary to other members of the group. Everyone loved the before and after images of the House (as seen below). The group has also organised the very first Cultural Welcome Week (14-20 Oct) for students, with special events, offers and activities at the many cultural venues on and around Oxford Road. At Elizabeth Gaskell’s House we are offering free entry on our open days and have a free poetry workshop on 16th October. On Friday I sent some last minute emails to our English contacts at the Universities to see if they can share it with their students. I really hope we get a good turnout.
Like last week we were once again really low on volunteers, but this week we were also without our Volunteer and Collections Manager, Katy. Whenever Katy is on leave I feel very much like Elizabeth Gaskell did when her housekeeper Ann Hearn was away (‘Here is all bustle and confusion..’). The rest of the staff team (that’s just two of us) covered the Tea Room (crumpets, cake and soup were on the menu for most people) and ticket sales, whilst the volunteers zipped between rooms. We survived, but I’ll be so glad when Katy is back.
Behind the Scenes
A box of new book donations for our collection arrived at the start of the week, but I didn’t get a chance even to look at them or complete the paperwork, that’s going to have to wait. It was the closing date for applications for the Young Trustee positions on Friday, so this week has seen a flurry of applications to acknowledge and thank. I’m really pleased at the number of applications, it’s more than I anticipated. I look forward to updating Kids in Museums on our progress in two weeks.
Ellie also shared our new AccessAble access guide for visitors with disabilities, adding it to the website and social media. We were able to pay for this with funding from VisitEngland over the summer and we are proud to share the finished product. If you want to take a look at the results click here.
A Busy Weekend to Finish…
The week finished with a wedding on Friday. Staff and volunteers were out in force and I hear it all went well. The wedding party left by ten and spent very well in the bar (thank you!), but it was a long day for staff and volunteers. On Saturday we had a company hiring the House for some photography, thankfully one of our volunteer key holders was able to cover this, and then it was our Sunday book sale to finish the week. On Monday there were some lovely tweets and photos on X from a visitor who came to the book sale – which is always a nice way to the start the week!
Sally Jastrzebski-Lloyd
Director