Souvenirs: Stickers from The SeaCity Museum, Southampton, and The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, 2012.

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Bournemouth, diary, Museums, Museums and Galleries, Russel-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, SeaCity Museum, Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, Southampton, Souvenir, Souvenirs, Stickers, Ted, Titanic

Wearing a sticker, having gained admittance to a museum or gallery, must have been the in thing in 2012, but they are difficult souvenirs to keep. These two examples have survived because I must have peeled them off my coat, shirt or hat and stuck them to the back of my pocket diary for 2012.

The SeaCity Museum, which forms part of Southampton’s very striking Grade II listed civic centre, is home to a very interesting permanent exhibition about Southampton’s links to the Titanic. According to the museum’s website, “more than 500 households lost a family member“, when the ship sank on the 15th April 1912. I seem to remember that the Titanic arrived in Southampton during a peak in unemployment, so an unusually large proportion of Southampton’s residents went to sign on as members of the crew and service staff, but don’t quote me on that.

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum sits on top of East Cliff in Bournemouth and was the brain child of Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, owner of the Royal Bath Hotel, fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Mayor of Bournemouth (1894 – 1895), who built the villa as a birthday present for his wife, Annie. The pair travelled widely, buying things they liked and filling the house with them, until 1907, when they announced they wonted to give the house and contents to the people of Bournemouth as the foundation of an art gallery and museum.

Souvenirs: A Copy of “Dorset Society” Magazine With Notes, Wimborne Minster, August 2012.

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air show, Bournemouth, Bournemouth Air Festival, Dorset, Dorset Society Magazine, next year, post-it notes, Property, RAF, Red Arrows, Royal Air Force, Sandbanks, Souvenirs

Mrs. W, my advisor in all things relating to the Counties of Dorset and Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight) sent me this publication in the post following a very pleasant holiday with her family in the Wimborne Minster area of Dorset. The note on the front reads, “How to live at Sandbanks!” That summer we had a picnic on the beach at Sandbanks, which is a very well-to-do area; so I’ve been told. The magazine also contains a number of labels that read, “Next year”, including one next to a “New England Waterfront Property” on the market for £7,750, 000 freehold [needless to say I spent my 2013 Summer holiday in Dorset billeted in more modest accommodation]. Another “Next year” appears on page 6, next to an article about the Bournemouth Air Festival and we did [after years of talking about it] pay a visit to Bournemouth on the first day of the air show, which was great.

The Red Arrows over Bournemouth Pier.

Perhaps one day I will be watching the Red Arrows fly over Bournemouth from the comfort of The Cumberland Hotel, as featured on the cover of “Dorset Society” magazine.

You can see more of my photographs of the Red Arrows here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121480122@N04/sets/72157650595265707/