John Holt
My house is your house
The sector would be unable to operate effectively without its front-of-house staff. So why do they feel underpowered and undervalued?
Best in show
Silver trencher plate, 1681-82, made in the workshop of Mary King and owned by diarist Samuel Pepys, Museum of London
Battle lines
Many military museums have a fight on their hands as they face funding troubles or – in some cases – the threat of closure. But they are soldiering on and confronting the additional challenges posed by the British Army’s labyrinthine mergers and a diminishing public appetite for graphic war stories with a charm offensive full of heartwarming tales of ordinary people in very difficult circumstances. John Holt talks to some of those on the front line
Museum of… The Devil’s Porridge Museum, Dumfries and Galloway
John Holt discovers the vital munitions role HM Factory Gretna and its female workers played during the first world war
One small step…
Half a century ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the lunar surface as part of Nasa’s Apollo 11 mission. John Holt talks to curators and scientists about how their institutions are marking the final lap of the space race
The museum gardeners
The gardens of many museums and heritage sites have blossomed into multisensory attractions in their own right. John Holt talks to the skilled people who put the culture into horticulture
The emerging museum professionals
In the run-up to the Museums Association’s Moving on Up event for those in the first five years of their careers, John Holt talks to five up-and-coming museum workers about why they chose to join the sector, their professional goals and the challenges they have overcome
