Ryedale Calling Ecuador

Ryedale Calling Ecuador was an evening event held at the museum as part of the current family learning project. A live Skype-Video weblink was established allowing families from Ryedale to communicate directly with families from Ecuador. This was an opportunity to learn about the differences and similarities between our cultures. We discovered we share many traditions such as Christmas Carols and a similar Father Christmas tradition. There were also many differences such as national dress, food, wildlife and schooling among others. For some highlights of the night click on the videos below.

One of the participants, Declan, was kind enough to bring his guitar and played some Christmas songs to those in Ecuador. The video below is of an improvised version of 'silent night', a song the Ecuador families knew in Spanish. To end the night the families in Ryedale and the families in Ecuador joined together to sing a few verses of 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas' led by Declan on the guitar.

Some photographs were sent from Ecuador to educate Ryedale families about life in South America. Some photographs of local life in Ryedale and from the museums collection, were sent to Ecuador in exchange. See the Ecuador photographs below, including some drawings that children in Ecuador drew for us.





Carrie Gough

Christmas Weekend a Huge Success!

Last weekend was the museum's free christmas weekend event. There were raffles, tombolas, medieval re-enactors, cakes, biscuits, book stalls, crafts, cooking, mulled wine, live music and more! The weekend was a huge success and we had over 1000 people through the doors over the 2 days. Some photographs of the event can be seen below. A big thank you to everyone who helped during the weekend, including staff and volunteers!



Carrie (Photos by Pete Gough)

Blog Training Ryedale Folk Museum

Purpose of BLOG TRAINING is to give volunteers guidance on creating blogs that will explain to people using the internet the variety of work that the volunteers are carrying out at the Museum.

On Thursday, 26 November, in Fat Betty's (warm seating area) John, Peter, and Albert enjoyed a day's tuition on blogging from Carrie and Jonathan. The training was one-to-one and enabled the trainees to create and post RFM blogs. The trainees found blogging interesting and they hope to update and add to their blogs so that the progress of the on-going work at the Museum can be recorded, monitored and given wider publicity. Watch this blog!

AE

D.I.Y. Wheelwright

Our Marshall Threshing machine, similar to the one seen in the Tess of the D’Urbervilles film, had rotted wheels. It has been limping along for demonstration days on modified Land Rover wheels but Traditional wooded wheels were needed.
Armed with texts from the museum library, Albert and Peter set about building replacements using traditional materials and techniques. The Wheelwright shop at the museum provided original tools which we supplemented with a modern lathe, band-saw and planer.


Traditional Timbers were selected , Oak spokes, Ash felloes. The original hubs, cast iron (Artillery hubs) were retained .
Crucial to the success, was drawing the wheel, full size on a plywood base. We built the wheel on to this, checking angles and sizes as we worked.
When the wooden wheel was completed Steve measured it’s circumference calculated the size for the steel tyre to allow for contraction after heating to fit. He cut and welded the original tyre to fit each wheel.
The tyres are heated to bright red to cause expansion, quickly dropped over the wheel, then cooled to cause it to shrink and grip the whole structure together.

Illustrations of stages in making the wheel.

Turned spoke end joint to the fellies

















Hooping Plate used when fitting the rim.


Peter Ives

Wheelwrighting

The Museum has a c. 1870s Marshall thresher dating from the second half of the 19th century. The thresher is used once a year Its wooden wheels are absolutely rotten and can not be renovated. We are attempting to make new wheels to the old pattern. We have recovered the tyres and metal stocks from the old wheels and these will be used built into the new wheels.

The spokes are oak (x12 per wheel - for strength and load bearing) and the felloes (pronounced 'fellies') are made of ash (the six outer sections of the wheel - ash for springiness and resilience). If the stock (centre hub) was to be in wood, this would be made from elm because of its curly grain to give strength and resistance to splitting. We have cast metal or 'military' stocks or naves.

The finished wheels will be hooped with metal tyres or 'hoops' that will be fitted 'hot' and allowed to shrink or 'nip' on to the felloes. The wheel will then be painted.

Albert Elliot