Textile museum tells a story that younger generations need to hear
IT seems like ages ago that we were worried about the future of Helmshore Textile Museum.
In fact, it was only about three months ago.
Lancashire county council had the museum on the list of a number of services it intended to shut after the new Conservative government turned the screw even tighter on council funding.
A reprieve did, however, follow when LCC was told other organisations were interested in running the museum, and that reprieve lasts until the end of September.
Thousands of people signed the petition to keep the museum open.
According to campaigners, council leader Jenny Mein was sympathetic to the plight of the museum, which is perhaps the very least you should expect from a council leader in a county which was essentially built during the industrial revolution about a museum which is about celebrating the industrial revolution.
Since then, save for some reference to discussions ongoing with various heritage organisations, it’s all gone a little bit quiet.
But at the weekend, I did spot a notice in a supermarket reminding us that the museum would be open throughout the summer.
And with the summer holidays coming up, is it too much to suggest that as many of us as possible find a day to go and explore the museum, and encourage others to do so too?
I know the last thing LCC really wants to do is close the museum.
But at the same time, it could have tried harder before announcing possible closure – perhaps by actively looking for people prior to even saying it might have to close it.
I understand the discussions over who could run the museum are ongoing, and the one thing we can all do to influence those discussions is to actually use the museum. Use it or lose it? It’s a well-worn saying in these austerity Britain times, but the use here couldn’t be more relevant.
Like so many things, we often only realise the things we treasure when we are in danger of losing them.
Up until a few weeks ago, the last time I’d been to the museum was when I was at school.
It is a great way to spend a few hours.
And it’s also telling a story which younger generations need to hear.
When you hear that only 35 per cent of under 25s bothered to vote in the European Referendum, perhaps a reminder of what life was like for youngsters 150 years ago really is in order.
It isn’t the only attraction which we need to use to reduce the risk of it closing.
LCC also plans to reduce the number of libraries we have in the area.
The likelihood of other bodies taking over those libraries surely increases if more people are using them.
Friends of mine often complain about how expensive it is to keep young people occupied during the summer holidays.
The library doesn’t need to cost a penny – and can provide hours of entertainment.
So that’s my call to arms this week.
Lets make it as hard as possible for the museum and libraries in our area to be closed... not because we signed a petition, but because we actually got out there and used them while we still could.