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[norbold]

We had a Museum Committe meeting yesterday. Here are a few of the "highlights":

 

1. We are proposing to change the Museum logo as it was felt that the current logo showing Peter Craven in Belle Vue colours does not give the Museum enough of a universal appeal. Popular though Peter undoubtedly is, it was felt that any rider and body colours used should be non-specific.

 

2. We have appointed a professional curatorial adviser. He will advise on all aspects of collecting, display, documentation, conservation, education, etc. His name is Stuart Warburton and he is the Museums adviser for all Essex museums. Yes, I know the Speedway Museum is in Hertfordshire but his background is in transport and industrial museums and he is personally very keen to help out. He has been a curator for 17 years and, best of all, he is providing his services for free.

 

3. With Stuart's help we will be trying to gain official museum accreditation. Once gained, this allows the Museum to tap in to all sorts of funds from grant giving bodies who only give money to accredited museums.

 

3. We are looking in to forming a Friends of the Speedway Museum organisation which will help with fund raising and any volunteer work that might need doing.

 

4. We are part organising (with Andy Griggs) next year's High Beech event and are looking for a high profile guest to open the event as it is the 80th anniversary of the first meeting at high Beech.

 

5. We are hoping to produce a small booklet for sale at High Beech, and then in the Museum itself, giving a brief outline of the sport's first 80 years in Great Britain.

 

6. Following on from that we are also hoping to produce a guide book for the Museum itself to be ready for next Spring.

 

7. The Museum recently bought a complete bound set of Speedway Stars from 1950 - 2005. The money for the purchase was kindly donated by Paradise Wildlife Park.

 

8. The new Museum website should be up and running in a couple of weeks.

 

In addition, I would like to add that I have to admit that this is the first time I have visited the Museum for about two months and I was very impressed by the changes that have been made to the displays by the new manager, Elaine MacDougall. It is starting to look really professional and the displays are much less cluttered than the were at the start and the object labels more uniform and with less mistakes! New backgrounds and cases have helped enormously. Elaine is about half way round the exhibition at the moment and I think it will be really very impressive once she's got round the whole lot. By the start of next season it will be a Museum we can all be even more proud of than we are now.

[scarletrider]

Who are the committee members ?

[Sandie]

We had a Museum Committe meeting yesterday. Here are a few of the "highlights":

 

 

2. We have appointed a professional curatorial adviser. He will advise on all aspects of collecting, display, documentation, conservation, education, etc. His name is Stuart Warburton

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Here's hoping he makes a load of bread for the museum!!!!

Sorry couldnt resist, especially as he is working with Ms McDougal!!!

 

 

Seriously - sounds like things are coming on a treat. The future looks very good for the museum.

Long may it continue

Edited November 1, 2007 by Sandie

[norbold]

Who are the committee members ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The committee consists of the following:

 

Peter Sampson (Trustee & Chairman), Steve Sampson (Director), Elaine McDougall (Secretary and Museum Manager) Terry Stone (Member), Dingle Brown (Trustee), Bert Harkins (Trustee), Pete Saunders (Trustee), Mick Lewis (Trustee), Mac McDougall (Member), Sue Jackson-Scott (Accountant), Stuart Towner (Member), Tony MacDonald (Publicity), Stuart Warburton (Curatorial Adviser) and Norman Jacobs (Archivist)

[scarletrider]

The committee consists of the following:

 

Peter Sampson (Trustee & Chairman), Steve Sampson (Director), Elaine McDougall (Secretary and Museum Manager) Terry Stone (Member), Dingle Brown (Trustee), Bert Harkins (Trustee), Pete Saunders (Trustee), Mick Lewis (Trustee), Mac McDougall (Member), Sue Jackson-Scott (Accountant), Stuart Towner (Member), Tony MacDonald (Publicity), Stuart Warburton (Curatorial Adviser) and Norman Jacobs (Archivist)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Cheers !

[drewster]

change the logo ,,,shocking...he was a real master,and you should be honored to use it......the more and more it is seen ,people can link to it ,so what if its got a belle vue body colour on it...you should be honored again as belle vue speedway is the most famous club in the world and always will...keep the logo as it is and dont be so stupid

[scarletrider]

Spot on, I fully agree with you, they appear to be tinkering with the product that George and Linda Barclay worked so hard to bring to fruition, and the museum is less than a year old! Is this the thanks that they get?

Edited December 4, 2007 by scarletrider

[star ghost]

If need be change the team colour to the "Globe type" used for World Championships in the late 40s/early 50s

[norbold]

change the logo ,,,shocking...he was a real master,and you should be honored to use it......the more and more it is seen ,people can link to it ,so what if its got a belle vue body colour on it...you should be honored again as belle vue speedway is the most famous club in the world and always will...keep the logo as it is and dont be so stupid

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem is that different people have different ideas about who the REAL master was. This is a Speedway Museum with an international dimension. For that reason I think it is absolutely right not to honour one rider and one club. At the moment what we do have in the Museum is a corner devoted solely to Peter Craven and that's probably the right way to honour him.

 

 

Spot on, I fully agree with you, they appear to be tinkering with the product that George and Linda Barclay worked so hard to bring to fruition, and the museum is less than a year old!  Is this the thanks that they get?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is not tinkering, it is adopting a more professional approach. George and Linda

were always the first to say they knew very little about museum presentation. Of course we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to them for bringing the museum about, but it seems to me that by making the museum the best we can possibly make it is honouring them far more than just letting it stay static and not trying to improve it.

Edited December 5, 2007 by norbold

[ianmartin]

The problem is that different people have different ideas about who the REAL master was. This is a Speedway Museum with an international dimension. For that reason I think it is absolutely right not to honour one rider and one club. At the moment what we do have in the Museum is a corner devoted solely to Peter Craven and that's probably the right way to honour him.

It is not tinkering, it is adopting a more professional approach. George and Linda

were always the first to say they knew very little about museum presentation. Of course we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to them for bringing the museum about, but it seems to me that by making the museum the best we can possibly make it is honouring them far more than just letting it stay static and not trying to improve it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am horrified - as a Speedway Supporter of over 40 years I fail to understand the reasoning behind the decision to change the LOGO. Peter Craven epitomises all that is good about British Speedway. The Team I supported was Sunderland Saints/ Stars/Gladiators. We ran one of our Reunions to help towards funding for the Museum - apparently our Track (which has not run since 1974) raised as much if not more than some current Tracks which are running at present. Do we not have any say in this. We provided what we did so that a lasting Tribute to all who have ridden a Speedway bike would be brought into being.

The people who were most responsible for this - George and Linda - selected the LOGO that they thought most appropriate - so do I. Why are these new people coming in and changing everything already. Without George and Linda there would be NO Speedway Museum for you to mess about with. To close - we were told that there would be 'something' at the Museum for every Club that had ever existed - what is there to mark the existance of Sunderland?

Edited December 7, 2007 by ianmartin

[norbold]

I'm sorry you feel like that about it, Ian, but I have explained why it was felt there should be a change in the logo.

 

"These people" have not just come in and changed everything. Most, if not ALL, of "these people" have been involved with the Museum for almost as long as - in many cases AS long as - George and Linda and without them there wouldn't be a Museum either.

 

You complain that you have not had a say in changing the logo. Did you have a say in choosing it in the first place then?

[ianmartin]

I'm sorry you feel like that about it, Ian, but I have explained why it was felt there should be a change in the logo.

 

"These people" have not just come in and changed everything. Most, if not ALL, of "these people" have been involved with the Museum for almost as long as - in many cases AS long as - George and Linda and without them there wouldn't be a Museum either.

 

You complain that you have not had a say in changing the logo. Did you have a say in choosing it in the first place then?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No I did not - however I was very happy with the LOGO of Peter Craven. Do I now have to replace my Polo/Sweat Shirts as they bear the incorrect LOGO. Regarding "most of these people" - where were they when the Barclays were going from place to place, Track to Track to raise funds. I would also like to know why the Barclays are conspicuous by their absence on the list of Trustees. I would have thought that those who had done the most work would at least have an input. George as you say in an earlier Post may not have known a lot about Museum presentation but I do not doubt that the Museum would NOT have been built at all without George and Linda.

As I said in an earlier Post - Peter Craven is the essence of British Speedway and as another Poster has stated "it should be an HONOUR for the Museum to have Peter Craven as the LOGO"

How about answering my other points???

[ianmartin]

No I did not - however I was very happy with the LOGO of Peter Craven. Do I now have to replace my Polo/Sweat Shirts as they bear the incorrect LOGO. Regarding "most of these people" - where were they when the Barclays were going from place to place, Track to Track to raise funds. I would also like to know why the Barclays are conspicuous by their absence on the list of Trustees. I would have thought that those who had done the most work would at least have an input. George as you say in an earlier Post may not have known a lot about Museum presentation but I do not doubt that the Museum would NOT have been built at all without George and Linda.

As I said in an earlier Post - Peter Craven is the essence of British Speedway and as another Poster has stated "it should be an HONOUR for the Museum to have Peter Craven as the LOGO"

How about answering my other points???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AGAIN - who elected the Committee please - surely the contributers have a right to know that.....

[norbold]

It was George and Linda's choice to withdraw from the Museum now it has been set up and running.

 

There was no vote for the committee. It is composed mainly of people who, as I have said, have been involved with the setting up and running of the Museum since the idea was first mooted. Yes, George and Linda did do a tremendous amount of work and you are probably right that we would not yet have a museum without them, but I could name a number of other people involved in its set up without whom we wouldn't have the museum either.

 

I am not sure how you could possibly organise a vote for the committee. Who would be eligible to vote? I don't know of any other museum in the country that has a vote for its committee.

[scarletrider]

It was George and Linda's choice to withdraw from the Museum now it has been set up and running.

 

There was no vote for the committee. It is composed mainly of people who, as I have said, have been involved with the setting up and running of the Museum since the idea was first mooted. Yes, George and Linda did do a tremendous amount of work and you are probably right that we would not yet have a museum without them, but I could name a number of other people involved in its set up without whom we wouldn't have the museum either.

 

I am not sure how you could possibly organise a vote for the committee. Who would be eligible to vote? I don't know of any other museum in the country that has a vote for its committee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

So it was self appointed then?...............no nominations?

[norbold]

I don't understand what you mean really. Who would make nominations? What you need to run a museum are people with the expertise in the necessary areas. Who would be qualified to make such nominations and who would be qualified to vote on the right people?

[star ghost]

From a personal point of view ...................

I think that if there was anyone who could "do a job" for the Museum then they would be able to contact the present "Committee" and offer their services for it.

It would be impossible to "Elect" a Committee to run the museum from all the people who are interested in the place. It would mean an untold cost being made to organise such an exercise.

George & Linda have moved on from this project as I understand and will take with them the grateful thanks of all in Speedway, past, present and future, for their efforts which brought the Museum to fruition.

As years pass there will be changes made by other people, unknown to us at present, anyhow.

The good thing is that the present Organisers are keeping everyone informed of what they are thinking, no back door moves are being instigated.

As I said before I think the "World Championship Globe" colours would be appropriate for the team colours if a change is made at all.

(I would prefer Ove to be the rider pictured if I had the choice, but can live with P C as I did not have have the choice anyhow)

[norbold]

Absolutely right, star ghost. I made my original post exactly in that spirit so that everyone would know what is happening and it's not all kept secret.

 

The people currently on the committee are those who volunteered to work for the museum and to put a lot of their own time and, in some cases, a lot of their own money, in to making it a success. I'm sure if ianmartin and scarletrider wish to join us and have some area of expertise we can use and are prepared to put the time in, we can invite them on to the committee.

Edited December 8, 2007 by norbold

[ianmartin]

Absolutely right, star ghost. I made my original post exactly in that spirit so that everyone would know what is happening and it's not all kept secret.

 

The people currently on the committee are those who volunteered to work for the museum and to put a lot of their own time and, in some cases, a lot of their own money, in to making it a success. I'm sure if ianmartin and scarletrider wish to join us and have some area of expertise we can use and are prepared to put the time in, we can invite them on to the committee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a BRITISH Speedway Museum - I am aware that other countries will be part of it - and - as I say Peter Craven is the ESSENCE of that. Other countries Scotland/Australia will have their Museums and MAY call them after the rider who epitomises THEIR country - Sweden - O. Fundin.

I propose to end this now. I would be extremely happy to have kept the Peter Craven emblem. I bow to the committee and accept their actions - however - I have not changed my views and IF there was any vote - mine would be Peter Craven as would a lot of others. Thank you for at least taking the time to answer some of my concerns. Has anybody other than the committee been consulted about the LOGO. Is there ANYTHING in the Museum regarding Sunderland Speedway?

[norbold]

Well, it's not really just a British Speedway Museum. We have special boards devoted to Ivan Mauger, Tony Rickardsson, Jason Crump amongst others as well as a section on Ice Racing.

 

In view of the opinions expressed on here I will take up the question of the logo at the next Committee Meeting, which is on 18 December.

 

I can't answer your question about Sunderland off-hand. I will have to check and see what we have. When I go on the 18 December I will have a look and then let you know.