Stirling

We arrived in Glasgow on Friday evening. On Saturday morning we took the train to Stirling, the first stop being The Engine Shed which is part of an old military depot. It was used as a warehouse to repair engines but has since been converted into a Conservation Centre, particularly focusing on traditional building materials. We watched an interesting video on 3D digital documentation - creating digital records of the sites for archival purposes and restoring of cultural heritage. One way they use the technology is to create virtual tours through 3D scanning. The Museum space had panels on each traditional material used in building, along with a large scale map of Scotland with iPads which highlight certain buildings within Scotland when pointed at the map. It also had fun interactive exhibits for kids.

We walked up the hill to Stirling Castle where we were met by the Learning Officer who took us round on a quick a bit unorganised tour, including the Learning Spaces, the Great Hall, the Great Kitchens, and the Castle itself. There was a lot of information to take in in a short space of time.
The Castle was built by James V for his first wife Madeleine of Valois, and his second wife Marie de Guise had it finished. Mary Queen of Scots lived here with her mother Marie up until the age of 5. Upon entering the Castle, I couldn’t help but notice how vibrant everything was and then we were informed that it is full of replicas (the tapestries for example) and also the ceiling of 34 Stirling Heads which were recarved and painted in 2009.

After lunch we headed down to the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum. It contains the collection of artist Thomas Stuart Smith and is known for having on display the World’s Oldest Football and the oldest curling stone. The World’s Oldest Football was discovered by accident behind wooden panels above the Queen’s Bed Chamber in Stirling Castle during the late 1970s. The football is dated to 1540. The museum also has a cute cat named Oswald.

Half of the collection was damaged after a hurricane in 1968 which took the roof off and caused water damage.
Upon arrival the Collections Manager gave a talk and also a task for us to complete. He had an array of controversial, also disturbing, objects which came into the possession of the Museum and had been catalogued but were not publicly accessible. He gave us information on the objects and in groups we provided feedback as to whether these should be on public display and whether they should be sent to another Museum or institution which was more properly fitting in terms of context. There were ethical issues to be considered as it was dealing with human remains which could easily cause offence to a particular tribe or culture.
Then he took us into the Museum Store where the objects which aren’t on display are housed.

On Saturday night a small group of us went to a bar in Glasgow and did some Ceilidh dancing which was really fun. I found it a bit similar to square dancing or country dancing but with Scottish music.