By Andy, Maintenance volunteer (seen on right)
Hear from Andy, our amazing maintenance volunteer, on his experiences with the Museum of Cambridge!
As the second anniversary of my volunteering at the Museum is rapidly approaching, I thought it might be insightful to reflect on the time spent in this wonderful 16th century working environment and my contribution to its day to day running.
My undoubted highlight was the preparation and construction for the wonderful celebration of the Windrush Legacy exhibition on the top floor, in particular the fake wall. Faced with a general lack of straight edges, uneven walls, dodgy ceilings and floors, somehow, we created the fake wall. I was able to enlist the practical experience and tools of my fellow volunteer at the Cambridge Museum of Technology (where I also volunteer), David (Jinks) Jenkins with whom anything is possible. I was able to work with the enthusiastic exhibition curators to make everything yellow and attended the opening to meet with members of the Windrush generation in Cambridge. It was quite an emotional event for all.
Throughout the year Sum Yin, Development, Communications and Retail Officer, has organised various speakers and talks which in return for re-arranging the chairs and tables as we flip the EP room, I have attended and widened my knowledge and understanding of Cambridge. I loved the Halloween event which ran again this year, which sold out early! These talks provide insight beyond the obvious aspects of Cambridge.
More recently I’ve been liaising on behalf of Alex Smaridge, Director, with the various architects, engineers, surveyors, brickies, chippies and painter who have exposed and prodded around the chimney stack of the historic White Horse Inn which houses the Museum, and is central to the building’s stability. I await with bated breath the report that will be eventually forthcoming from the City Council.
Also, I would like to mention the courtyard. The arrival of the benches and the planters and the water feature have transformed the outside amenities of the site. I look forward to the spring and flowering of the various bulbs I earlier in autumn. The battle of removing the weeds from the brickwork and the cobbles is never ending. Feel free to pull up any weeds that you find – I won’t be offended!
Finally, I’m very much looking forward to the next 12 months of Volunteering at the Museum of Cambridge. It’s a wonderful building to be tasked with to maintain, and it has fantastic staff and volunteers to work with.