There's a new reason to go to the Shetland Museum and Archives for a yarn from Tuesday 13th March. The Museum and Archives will be holding a free monthly Sheeksin session, to be held on the second Tuesday of every month at 2.30pm.
Kirsty Clark, Lifelong Learning Officer, explained “We're constantly thinking about how to let everyone know more about the objects and archival papers we look after, the conservation and restoration work we do and the new objects that are donated. We realised that for a lot of what we do there's no better way than having a cup of tea and a sheeks about them.”
These informal sessions will be held in the learning room and will consist of a member of staff or a community museum volunteer bringing one or a few objects they've been working with and explaining what's known about them and answering questions. Kirsty Clark describes it as “more like a conversation, than a formal talk. Sheeksin is the dialect word for chatting, and describes the sessions perfectly.”
The first one will be Eric Erasmuson and Sonny Morrison, explaining the work they've done to restore the Gig currently on display in the foyer. Eric explained “Nearly everyone I meet is asking me questions about the work we did on the gig. We took photos throughout the project, so we'll be showing them and it'll be good to sit with interested folk and have a yarn about it.”
The dates and topics for the next few months are:
Tuesday 13th March Restoring the Gig, with Eric Erasmuson and Sonny Morrison
Tuesday 10th April New donations, with Dr. Ian Tait
Tuesday 8th May Billy Moncrieff's photo collection, with Steven Christie