FoJMB Newsletter 2010 04

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Newsletter No. 13, April 2010

Dear Friends,

It has been a quiet few weeks for me, although the storms at the end of

March brought home John Muirs quote ofThe dark and stormy

North Sea. The sight of the huge waves pounding the harbour wall

and the shoreline was tremendous and frightening.

We are promised a hot summer. Well, they did last year too and we

know what happened, but this forecast came from a company in Waleswho got last years summer and winter right, so heres hoping that our

summer events will be even more enjoyable.

We start off on the anniversary of John Muirs birth on 21st

April with

the launch of Robert Russells wee book on the John Muir Way.

Please do come and join us at the Birthplace for the launch.

As usual the Newsletter ends with the Walks and Talks Programmefor the next three months and I hope youll be able to join us at these

events. We would also like to hear your ideas for future events so

please do let us know.

Sincerely,

Jim Thompson


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Visitors at the Birthplace

The first three months of 2010 have been very quiet with visitor numbers down

to a trickle but there are clear signs of the green shoots of recovery. January

and February are generally slow months but the snow and low temperatureshave had a marked effect. Among the visitors who have made it to the

Birthplace were two folk from other small museums:

Jeff Cowton is curator for the Wordsworth Trust and among his responsibilities

is Dove Cottage, Grasmere, which was the home of William and Dorothy

Wordsworth from 1799 to 1808. Jeff was intrigued to learn of John Muirs

love of poetry and high regard for Wordsworth. Muir visited Grasmere during

his homecoming in 1893 and recorded in his journal his emotions while

standing at the poets grave. The headstones, he wrote, were plain whilemaple, yew, pine and ash hold boughs over them. A robin came and sang on

the maple as I stood with damp eyes and a lump in my throat. He picked some

leaves from the branches and mailed them to Louie with his next letter.

Pauline Smeed later received a lengthy e-mail from Jeff in which he thanked

the Birthplace staff for a wonderful visit when he was made to feel so

welcome. I felt almost as if I was in the Wordsworth Museum, surrounded by

very similar ideas. He is keen to develop links between the WordsworthTrust and the Birthplace and has extended a warm welcome to anyone

connected with the John Muir [Birthplace] Trust who may be visiting this part

of the world.

Caroline Boyce is chairman of the Friends of Dollar Museum, an independent

local museum dedicated to the history and heritage of the town. It was set up

in 1988 in a 19th century woolen mill and was runner-up in the 1994 Scottish

Museum of the Year Awards. Since then it has received a Museum of the Year

award for Community Involvement in 2000 and, a year later, was visited by

Princess Anne. Caroline and her husband Paul began their Dunbar visit with a

guided walk around the harbour area before touring the Birthplace. A bar

lunch was followed by a bracing walk along the clifftop trail.

Birthplace manager Jo Moulin spoke to both Jeff Cowton and Caroline Boyce

and it is likely that one or other of the Birthplaces recent exhibitions on Muirs

homecoming and the influence on him of Burns writings will be on display in

Grasmere and Dollar in the near future.


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John Muir Birthplace Trust - News

A recent meeting of the John Muir Birthplace Trust discussed a wide range of

issues and illustrated again the diversity of our interests and challenges! The

100th anniversary of Muirs death will be marked in 2014 and presents a wider

opportunity to celebrate his remarkable achievements and legacy. A John Muir

Strategy group has been established in conjunction with East Lothian Council

and is exploring how to gain greater recognition of Muir in a national context

and to develop the potential of his name. We discussed the naming of the new

primary school campus and would very much like to see Dunbar have the first

John Muir School in the UK. At the last count, there were around thirty schools

in the USA named after Muir, most but by no means all, in California. We also

look forward to a forthcoming significant anniversary of the twinning of

Dunbar and Martinez, though there is debate about the actual date! As ever, we

are grateful for the active support of the Friends and Birthplace staff whose

knowledge, hard work and enthusiasm are evident in the continuing success of

the Birthplace.

Liz McLean

Chair, John Muir Birthplace Trust

John Muirs Birthplace Museum - NewsPortraits in Nature

Photographs by local artist James PageWednesday 17th March - Sunday 11th April

An exhibition of photographic images exploring patterns and images in nature

such as faces in clouds and rocks has recently opened at the Birthplace. The

exhibition is already proving very popular, with over 50 visitors specifically

for the exhibition in the first two days.

James wants to encourage people to watch the natural world around them and

will be running a workshop for older primary pupils as part of the regular

Friday afternoon childrens workshop programme at the Birthplace.

Friday Afternoon Childrens WorkshopsDue to growing popularity we are now running workshops every week

alternating between older and younger primary aged children. At one of the

recent workshops the Birthplace was turned into a wildlife crime scene withlots of evidence for the children to investigate.


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Summer Opening HoursThe Birthplace changed to summer opening hours from the 1st April, namely:

Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm.

If you have children visiting over the Easter break, dont forget that there are

always free drop-in activities available at the Birthplace at weekends and whenthe schools are on holiday.

Interesting Requests and ContactsStaff at the Birthplace have welcomed many interesting visitors and have

responded to a number of interesting enquiries recently. These have included:

A visit by Jeff Cowton, the Curator of Dove Cottage, The Wordsworth

Museum and Art Gallery, Cumbria. We are discussing the loan of theScotchman Comes Home Exhibition which will provide a great link to

Muirs brief visit to Cumbria in 1893 and exploring the possibility of

someone from the Birthplace attending the conference of curators and staff

from literary house museums in October.

A visit from Caroline Boyce from Dollar Museum following a request to theBirthplace for a speaker. Will Collin will be giving two talks over the next

few months and temporary exhibition loans are also being explored.

Longniddry Primary School teachers Karen Hood, Mellony Bertram andHilary Anderson brought Head Teacher Mr Pedro and teacher Mrs Jackson

of Oranje Diamant Primary School, Hopetown, South Africa. Oranje

Diamant School is twinned with Longniddry Primary School. Mr Pedro and

Mrs Jackson left having bought some books to take back to South Africa as

they are working towards a John Muir Award.

A request for resources to support the John Muir Award from the educationunit at a prison near Aberdeen.

An outreach request from Dunbar Primary School P1s for a session onWhy do people visit Scotland? Jo Moulin trundled into school with a

suitcase full of props that prompted discussions about Scottish history,

landscape, places to visit, food, famous people and miming playing the

bagpipes and fiddle!

An outreach request from Stenton Primary School for a session on JohnMuir and Native Americans.

An outreach request from Cockburnspath and Stenton Primary Schools for

Waste Free Lunch sessions.


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Big Picnic Birthday Celebration 2010

Last year schools and groups

from East Lothian, Edinburgh

and Moray celebrated John

Muir's birthday with a BigPicnic event in their local

community. John Muir (Dan

Cairney) and President

Roosevelt (Jim Thompson) were

seen picnicking at the Glebe

with a group of pupils from

Dunbar Primary School [photo].

Athelstaneford Primary Schooltook a picnic to the special place that they had created as part of a John Muir

Award Project. East Linton Primary Schools John Muir Award Family Group

took their picnic to the park and used some of the environmental activities from

the resource pack on the birthplace website. Everyone joined in the

environmental games and activities and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

We currently have twenty-one organisations registered for 2010, with requests

from East Lothian, Scottish Borders, Edinburgh, Perthshire, Inverness and

Cheshire! For more information, or to register a group, please go to

www.jmbt.org.uk.

Science Week Workshop

The 12th to the 21st of March was

the National Science and

Engineering Week. The

Birthplace took part by holdingdrop-in workshops with the

theme of Lets make weather.

Children who took part followed

in John Muirs footsteps by

studying glaciers, sorting

sediments and making rain and

clouds.


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Friends of John Muirs Birthplace - News

Innerwick Primary School embark on John Muir Award

From now to the end of the school year will see a

considerable increase in school visits. Amongrecent visitors were schoolchildren from Falkirk,

like many others working to complete a John Muir

Award.

One local class setting out on the journey is primary

6/7 at Innerwick. To start them off, Will Collin

gave them a talk on 1st March when he focused

mainly on Muirs boyhood in Dunbar and his youthon the family farms in Wisconsin. Favourite parts

were the stories of Muirs inventions and the

adventure he and David had on the roof of their

Dunbar home.

Will received an enthusiastic reception and fielded

numerous questions on Muirs life. One, on

Muirs temporary blindness as a result of an

industrial accident, brought an answer that was

not for the squeamish but the questioner has since

thanked Will for his talk and his answer, even

though it was gruesome.

Each of the class has sent Will a thank you letter

and all are looking forward to their forthcoming

visit to the Birthplace.

[Drawings by Caitlin Letch from her thank you letter.]

Far Flung Friends

If you plan to visit John Muirs Birthplace and you are from out with the local

area, please let us know in advance as we would love to welcome you! Friends

volunteers would like to meet you for a coffee and even show you around

Dunbar. Please leave your name and contact details at JMB 01368 865899 tobe passed on to Susan, Will or Jim.


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Launch ofWalking the John Muir Way

As reported in the last Newsletter, Friends member Robert Russel - a retired

teacher, keen walker and trustee of the John Muir Birthplace Trust - had

volunteered to write a wee book about the John Muir Way. With contributions

to the cost of production of the book from Scottish Natural Heritage, East

Lothian Council and a number of Community Councils, we are delighted to be

able to invite Friends to the launch of the latest addition to our growing library.

You are invited to the book launch of

Walking the John Muir Wayby Robert Russel

Wednesday 21st April4-5pm

John Muirs Birthplace, 126 High Street, Dunbar

East Lothian EH42 1JJ Tel:01368 865899


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PostcardsFriends have ordered two new postcards. One is a portrait of John Muir along

with the quote: When we try to pick out anything by itself, and the second is

an image of the Birthplace with the quote: When I was a boy in Dunbar.

Look out for them in the JMB shop very soon!

Walks and Talks Programme Past Events

Dunbar Community Woodland Group February 2010In February, Isobel Knox, Convenor of Dunbar Community Woodland Group

gave an interesting illustrated talk about the history of Lochend Woods and the

development and work of the Woodland Group. New members and volunteers

are always welcome! To support your local woodland and to keep up to datewith current woodland management please visit www.dunbarwoods.org

John Muir and Faith March 2010In March, local historian David Anderson gave a very informative, illustrated,

talk about John Muir and Faith. This was a well-attended talk that attracted a

diverse, and appreciative, audience to Our Lady of the Waves church hall.

David talked about his research into Muirs books and letters in order to gain

an insight into Muirs beliefs and opinions about Faith. During the presentationfacts about Muirs life, quotations from his writings, and images from the likes

of Yosemite, provided the audience with much entertainment and a deeper

appreciation of Muirs background and his love of nature and the effect these

influences had on his faith.

Walks and Talks Programme Forthcoming Events

Wed 21st April, 4-5pm in JMB - Launch of Walking the John Muir WayRefreshments include John Muir birthday cake!

Wed 5th May, 6.30pm - Walk along new Skateraw Nature Trail.Meet at Skateraw Barn. Booking essential.Please phone 01368 865899 for further details.

Wed 2nd June, 6.30pm - Geowalk with Angus Miller at Barns Ness.

Small charge. Meet at Whitesands. Booking essential.Please phone 01368 865899 for further details.


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Future Programmes - Survey

Please let the Friends Council know which walks, talks and events you are

enjoying. Do evening meetings suit you? Would you rather have meetings

during the daytime or at weekends? Would you like to try something new?

Please take time to fill in the small questionnaire enclosed and hand/send it to:

Susan Panton, John Muirs Birthplace, 126 High St, Dunbar, East Lothian,

EH42 1JJ

Alternatively, email your comments/suggestions to [email protected]

Other Items of Interest

Spirit by John G MooreOver the course of Spring 2008-Autumn 2009, Scottish photographer John G

Moore travelled along the 211 mile John Muir Trail through California's Sierra

Nevada Mountains photographing his journey along the way. Starting at

Yosemite Valley, John travelled south, ending his journey at the highest peak

in contiguous USA, Mount Whitney.

A fine art landscape photography book documenting the journey is now on

release. A percentage of sales proceeds from the book will be donated to the

following charities: Yorkhill Childrens Foundation in Glasgow and Access

Adventure in Fairfield, California.

"The publication of Spirit and the critical acclaim with which it is being

received is a wonderful achievement for John Moore. What is even more

wonderful is that sick children and babies from throughout Scotland who aretreated within Greater Glasgow and Clyde will benefit from the proceeds of

this book. We are extremely grateful to John Moore for his support."

Shona Cardle

Chief Executive - Yorkhill Childrens Foundation

Access Adventure is a California-based group that seeks to widen the

opportunities of disabled people. Its director Michael Muir is the great-

grandson of John Muir.


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John Moore has captured the wild spirit of Scotlands native son John Muir.

We are deeply grateful that sales of this book will benefit Access Adventure,

and the legacy of my great-grandfather. Every life is enriched by a powerful

connection to the infinite storm of beauty in our wild and natural world, and

John Moores photography encapsulates this perfectly.

Michael Muir

Further details of the book are available on John G Moores website [see

] and, in February, STV News ran

the story John Muir Trail: Amazing pictures from a Scots journey in the

wilderness [see ].

Adult Education Archaeological Certification CourseThe Department of Adult Continuing Education at the University of Glasgow

has run a 2-year field archaeology certification course for a number of years.

Biddy Simpson, ELC Heritage Officer, and Dr Chris Bowles, Scottish Borders

Council Archaeologist, have spoken with Dr Alan Leslie who runs the course

in Glasgow about the exciting possibility of creating an extension course for

the south-east. Before such a decision is made, feedback on possible uptake of

the course is required. If you are interested please contact

[email protected] as soon as possible with your details and location.

For further information about the course taught in Glasgow go tohttp://www.gla.ac.uk/dace/certHE/PDF%20Files/2009/CFA%20Overview%20Sept10.pdf

FRIENDS CONTACTS

Official address: Friends of John Muirs Birthplace, John Muirs Birthplace,126 High Street, Dunbar EH42 1JJ: tel: 01368 865899

Friends Website: www.muirbirthplacefriends.org.uk

Birthplace Email: [email protected] Website: www.jmbt.org.uk

Convener: Jim Thompson, Secretary: Susan Panton, Membership Sec: Duncan

Smeed, Treasurer: Will Collin. All can be contacted through the Birthplace.

FoJMB Newsletter 2010 04

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