By Lesley Harris, Marketing Volunteer & Event Organiser
Sunday 8th October saw the ‘Fun Palaces’ movement arrive at Bodmin Keep. Conceived as a way to get people involved with the arts and sciences, the Fun Palaces movement has seen hundreds of thousands of people come together to try something new, and explore the places they would never normally go.
The Museum’s ‘Music & Making – Poppy Creation Workshop’ used this have-a-go philosophy to help with their plans to create a handmade tribute to the fallen soldiers of the DCLI, and the day was a fantastic success!
Keen crafters and amateurs alike gathered at the museum to knit, stitch, felt, cut and glue their poppies. It was a great chance for people to try out a new skill, and we had a team of fantastic ‘Making Mentors’, talented craftspeople from the community, to help keep everyone on track.
Visitors on the day were entertained by two fabulous local musical acts – the vocal group Songbirds and Moor Harmony, a women’s barbershop chorus from Wadebridge. Crafters, makers and mentors were supplied with tea and cakes thanks to the museum’s pop-up café.
We were supported by groups from all over Cornwall, and would like to extend special thanks to the following – Needle & Thread in Camelford, Truro Wool, Bodmin Railway, Bodmin Inner Wheel, Bodmin Funeral Services, Bodmin Gaolbirds, Carrick U3A Craft Group, Trevanion House Holidays, Bodmin WI and Little Harbour Children’s Hospice who all contributed to the day’s success.
We would also like to say a huge thank you to everybody who came in on the day and supported us, to everyone who donated their incredible poppies, and to anyone who has brought in or sent us poppies so far – we have received poppies from as far away as Newcastle and even America! We appreciate every single one, so keep up the good work!
The poppies created and donated on the day are joining many already sent to the museum, some of which have been especially dedicated to a particular soldier, to become part of a special display at the museum next year. In 2018 the museum will be commemorating the centenary of the end of the First World War, and 4,282 handmade poppies will form part of the tribute, each one representing one of the soldiers of the DCLI who fell during WW1 (Find out more here).
We will still be accepting handmade poppies until September 2018, so if you’d like to create and donate one or more poppies to our cause, find out more on our WW1 Handmade Tribute page, or find out other ways to support the museum.
We are well on our way to meeting our poppy target, so stay tuned to the museum’s Facebook page for the final tally!
You can find out more about the Fun Palaces movement on their website.