At the Booth

I don't know if you have ever visited this amazing museum, because if you haven't, then you surely should. The Booth Museum in Hove, Brighton is a natural history museum of the old school. Founded by Edward Booth in 1874 the museum is all about birds, butterflies, fossils, bones and skeletons. He donated the museum to the city in 1890, and it continues to feature Victorian-style dioramas of British birds in their habitat settings together with a huge collection of insects and other interesting exhibits.

From floor to ceiling, the museum contains glass case after glass case with a bewildering array of birds posing in their natural setting. Although fascinating to see, I am glad that this bird collecting isn't happening now, I don't know how our dwindling wildlife would cope. A little girl of no more than 4 years old, looked perplexed at an interactive display that I was helping her to read, and said very seriously 'It's sad - all these dead animals', bless her!

Walking around looking at all these different species of mainly British birds, it occurred to me that really on a day to day basis we rarely notice but a fraction of these wonderful species.

There was also this little unusual display, a Merboy!

Ben really enjoyed seeing all these Victorian displays, many over 150 years old.

A reproduction of Edward Booth's study

Over half a million specimens and natural history literature and data extending back over three centuries are housed in this fascinating museum. Specimens have been collected from around the world.

I do like birds eggs, there is something quite special about them. I love looking at collections of eggs in old antique books too. I made a display featuring British birds eggs a while back, which still hangs on the wall in the hall.

I have never seen quite such a display of skeletons in a compact area like this. All sorts of creatures:  human, birds, whales and many other animals.

Ben's new friend Fred!

Handsome chap, isn't he? Nice smile!

There are some spectacularly old specimens such as shells from the bottom of a 55 million year old Mediterranean lagoon, and a collection of dinosaur bones too.

All in all, a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day. Entrance is free, although a donation is always welcome. There is a small gift shop too. The afternoon ended with a well-deserved hot chocolate in the cafe on the opposite side of the road, before heading back home in the approaching dusk.

The Egg Box

I love spring, the promise of warmer, sunnier days, although this year they have been somewhat absent, but we live in hope that spring is surely just around the corner.

And one of the nice things about spring is the enthusiasm with which this time of the year is greeted by our twittering feathered friends. Their optimism inspired me to make a little display made from an old box which has been languishing in the loft, broken and unloved. It previously had semi-precious gemstones and pretty rocks in, and was in desperate need of a little TLC.

I started by taking the box to pieces before painting it with several coats of white emulsion. I then decided to splatter the box with darker blotches to imitate the spottiness of eggs, so out came the box of acrylic paints!

And using the bristles of a paint brush I flickered paint onto the wood, and finished the woodwork off with a couple of light coats of varnish, and then assembled the box.

An old book on birds' nests and eggs (I love these kind of books), painted to scale, provided the perfect picture to scan and print onto computer watercolour (slightly textured) paper. Then it was just a case of carefully cutting around the eggs and the names of the corresponding bird, and arrange all the pieces on the backing board, which I had wrapped in handmade paper.

Using tiny foam pads (from a packet of 200 obtained from a stationers) acting not only to attach the egg to the backing board, but also to raise the individual eggs slightly to give them a three dimensional effect. Since it has been illegal to take the eggs of most wild birds since the Protection of Birds Act 1954 and it is illegal to be in the possession of any wild birds' eggs taken since that time under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, this is the closest I'll get to having my own collection of eggs. I love all the colour variations.

And it sits nicely in a spring display!

I have since seen a photo in a life style magazine showing a framed picture of another egg 'collection' where the artist had made the eggs by cutting them out of old maps. It's a nice picture, although I wouldn't spend £600 on it, and actually I think I prefer my own creation :o)

Happy Sunday to you!