Westminster archives

our class went on a trip to Westminster archives on the 17th march. as we left the school the temperate plummeted down so on our journey we were freezing. when we entered the archives we were relieved  that it was warm, firstly we went upstairs to one of the preserving rooms it had loads of acquiesce books,maps,photographs and documents that went up to 800 years old! we then went to another preserving room and looked at a range of important documents from world war II. the room was crammed as people pay lots of money to put their stuff there in the vain hope that they will be famous for their possessions that are put in the archives. we then went up to the 5th floor that via the stairs is only for staff the general public have to go in the lift which will take them straight up to the 5th floor they are only allowed on the 1st floor with a exception of the cafe. to look at something from the preserving rooms you have to look through a catalog to find what you are looking for then you have to write down the reference and give it to an archivist and they will get the item you are looking for from the preserving rooms. an archivist took out some old photos and gave them to us to find out what year they are from we looked for hidden clues for example the color of the photograph,the hairstyles and the clothes they were wearing. we then discuss why they were from that time and if our assumptions  were correct. we had a great and inspiring day.

ISABELLA Hill loureiro    

Pollocks Toy Museum

Our class went to Pollocks Toy Museum. When we saw it we just asked our teacher; is this really it? It looks tiny!  Aren’t all museums in some place obvious so people go there and admire the exhibits and the building? However, it turned out that it definitely wasn’t tiny at all! The rooms went six floors up and it was in a building with creaky brown, almost uneven floorboards, with the walls painted white with smooth red carpets on the stairs. In some rooms, it had embroidered rugs too, it really completed the 1950’s look! It was one of the best trips ever! We saw the original Sooty, Sweep and Soo  their TV show is still going on CITV! We also saw Punch and Judy, probably one of the most successful puppets ever. There were Punch and Judy shows all over beaches from the 1950’s, there are not many beach shows with them now. Though the shows are not completely finished and you might see them today… One of the most popular games for boys were Jack in the boxes, which were invented in 1956. We saw the first ever one! They also played with spinning tops and Scalextrics, which were a particular favorite. Girls tended to play with colossal Victorian houses with mini porcelain dolls dressed in frocks and outfits usually handmade. If they did not have the money, they would make handmade knitted dolls, with cut hair from old wigs, and have wooden heads. The houses were made of cardboard or wooden fruit crates, they also made their own teddy bears (there wasn’t much difference between them and the bought dolls are really creepy anyway)

If you go there, you will love it!