Brum and an odd collection of stuff

Brum - nickname for Birmingham

Brummie - nickname for someone from Birmingham.

I took the train from Olton into Brum and then walked along a huge area of construction where a new high-speed rail line is being built. Finally I got to a slightly prettier area which passed the Thinktank museum (basically it's a children's science museum) then more construction, then into a warehouse/manufacturing area and, at last to the Museum Collection Center. I'm not entirely sure what attracted me to this place. Possibly it was that in Aston Manor, many of the signs said that furnishings were provided by the Museum Collection Center. Or it could have been the fact that it's only open to the public two hours per week and I found that intriguing. Anyway, I arrived about 45 minutes too early so I sat in the courtyard. About 15 minutes before my entry time a nice fellow, Derrick, walked out to tell me that I was in the wrong place and that the entry was on the other side of the building. "Never mind," he said. "I'll take you around." We walked through a maze of corridors and finally arrived in the entry area.

A couple arrived at the proper time & we were given the orientation: here's the loo, don't touch anything, and ask me any questions you have about what you see. Then we were let loose amongst the collection.

The articles are arranged in no particular order: a phone booth next to a marble statue next to a computer punch card machine, etc. Later, when I was chatting with Derrick he told me that that was by design. It's hard to know what photos to add to this post, since the articles were so random. Here are some things I found interesting.

A 1920s Fish & Chip fryer, made by the Birmingham firm Walker & Husler:

A sewing machine made in 1867:

Bust of John Locke who was the tenor in Mendelssohn's oratoria "Elijah" which had its premier in Birmingham:

Snowy Owl taxidermy:

A row of statuary:

A boneshaker bicycle, so called because the iron frame, wooden wheels and uncomfortable seat would have provided minimal protection against the rough 19th century roads.

This guy intrigued me. There were a number of these throughout the collection.

I sought out Derrick who told me that they were some sort of decorative brace that came from a pumping station. They would have been gilded originally. They're an odd combination of bird and reptile or fish

with ears like a dog or squirrel

and human hands.

Creepy, but cool.

There were all manner of music boxes from the 19th century,

a skeleton of a zebu (a type of humped cattle)

and a figurehead from an old (unidentified) ship.

Derrick was particularly annoyed that he couldn't find more information about it in his database. We then walked into an adjoining building where there were lots of old vehicles.

There was even an old Brum garbage truck.

In that same building there was a sculpture by Birmingham native Raymond Mason, OBE, called "A Tragedy in the North: Winter, Rain & Tears."

It depicts a mining disaster in the north of France. Apparently, although he is a Brummie, his art is better known in France. Derrick told me about a famous incident regarding one of Mason's sculptures. He had created a resin and steel sculpture called "Forward", which is the motto of Birmingham, featuring famous Brummies of the past. Shortly before Queen Elizabeth was to do the official unveiling, it was tagged with graffiti. The damage was repaired, the unveiling took place and although it wasn't an altogether popular piece, it stood in the city center and children used to climb on it to play. That is, until one day in 2003 when some children were playing with matches in front of it and it went up in flames. The resin rapidly melted and all that was left was a pile of smoking ooze. Oops.

There is also a piece by Patrick Hughes, an artist famous for "reverspective," an optical illusion on a three-dimensional surface where the parts of the picture which seem farthest away are actually physically the nearest. (The white lines are actually bits of string holding the box together.)

There's a logboat which dates to between 1600 and 1000 BC.

It's just sitting there out in the open next to trucks and old signs and a 5-ton steam tractor of a type called "Busy Bee", made in 1924 by C Burrell & Sons, Thetford, Norfolk.

It was a fascinating afternoon and Derrick was a most wonderful guide.