Does anyone work in museum interpretation? How's it been affected by social media and short-form content basically rewiring our brains? Are labels still in? Do we need to radically rethink things? I'm thinking of writing something.
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)
@themerl.bsky.social
We explore the history of the English countryside and its people. Chaotic Good. https://merl.reading.ac.uk/
so if Interview with the Vampire is canonically set in our universe, you're telling us there's a chance that Lestat de Lioncourt *did* visit The Museum of English Rural Life
really glad to be finally talking about the critical issues facing rural heritage studies: the vague permanent retrofuturism of holograms
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 6d agoAbsolute Units returns! This week we bring our rural history heads to a bunch of related topics. Like: - Bad Bunny - Stardew Valley - Star Wars - Martin Ødegaard - John Maynard Keynes - The Bloomsbury Group - Holograms Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
A diverse range of topics on the latest Absolute Units podcast from @themerl.bsky.social. The heat isn’t getting to us. Or is it?!
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 6d agoAbsolute Units returns! This week we bring our rural history heads to a bunch of related topics. Like: - Bad Bunny - Stardew Valley - Star Wars - Martin Ødegaard - John Maynard Keynes - The Bloomsbury Group - Holograms Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units returns! This week we bring our rural history heads to a bunch of related topics. Like: - Bad Bunny - Stardew Valley - Star Wars - Martin Ødegaard - John Maynard Keynes - The Bloomsbury Group - Holograms Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units podcast - The Museum of English Rural Life
Come for the big sheep. Stay for the history of rural England and its people.
merl.reading.ac.uk
Favourite diagram from billhooks.co.uk - every area of England has its own distinctive billhook shape What shape is your local billhook? (Questions you didn’t think you’d be asking today)
we're recording the next episode of our podcast this afternoon – a check-in of what we've been up to and what's coming up. we really enjoyed taking listener questions a few months back. so: do you have any questions about rural history or our museum? let us know! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units podcast - The Museum of English Rural Life
Come for the big sheep. Stay for the history of rural England and its people.
merl.reading.ac.uk
another win for our Billhook Awareness and Strategic Engagement Department (based)
Anand@calmerfuture.bsky.social · last wk.so I'm talking to someone about regional billhook variations over breakfast @themerl.bsky.social what have you done to me?
[Ariana Grande voice] one taught me love one taught me patience one taught me the impact of post-war modernisation on the retention of agricultural wagons
searched for Jimothy in our collection
I was not prepared for the amount of delights in this thread about a plant sale.
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 2w agohands up if you're a rural history museum who's also running a plant sale
Sorry pal, you're not going to dox me that easily
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 2w agohands up if you're a rural history museum who's also running a plant sale
hands up if you're a rural history museum who's also running a plant sale
Our @olliedouglas.bsky.social was on BBC R4 yesterday! Have a listen:
Ollie Douglas@olliedouglas.bsky.social · 3w agoFun to be part of Neil MacGregor's series on legacies of the Festival of Britain. He visited @themerl.bsky.social to see collections linked to CPRE in the 1930s and to the 1951 Festival. It was broadcast yesterday morning on BBC R4. Listen again here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
thanks to whoever left this awesome giant sheep outside the museum! we're sure nothing bad is going to happen
One of the few good things about living in Reading, is knowing that you have the best Museum in the country for light-hearted shitposting. They also have an exhibit which looks like a small horse gimp suit, so 10/10 all the way down.
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3w agoyes the Odyssey is getting 5* reviews but does it have one of the UK's top 50 museum cafés and free parking? your move, Matt Damon
Latest episode. It’s a deep one. Enjoy!
The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3w agoAbsolute Units returns! We're back with the @uniofreading.bsky.social's Tom Oliver and Marzia Briel, talking about how we can rethink and rebuild humanity's relationship with nature. Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Wonderful to see @readingmuseum.bsky.social's replica Bayeux Tapestry get a mention by @theguardian.com! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Forget the lions: five fun things to do or see to take your mind off the football
From cheetah cubs to uplifting sport to come, put England’s World Cup exit behind you with these suggestions
theguardian.com
yes the Odyssey is getting 5* reviews but does it have one of the UK's top 50 museum cafés and free parking? your move, Matt Damon
Absolute Units returns! We're back with the @uniofreading.bsky.social's Tom Oliver and Marzia Briel, talking about how we can rethink and rebuild humanity's relationship with nature. Listen wherever you get your podcasts! merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...
Absolute Units podcast - The Museum of English Rural Life
Come for the big sheep. Stay for the history of rural England and its people.
merl.reading.ac.uk
There's a lot we can learn from museums. For example: imagine how much better England would have been last night if there had been a dry-stone wall in front of Pickford's goal.
do you think of us as MERL or The MERL
