I got appointed Head Curator (or HC if ya feelin' dangerous) at the Fife Museum -- from now on I will call it FFM-- in Ceres, Scotland. It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride there for a while and I wasn't sure how it would work out, but now that the dust has settled I am happy to say that I have an office with my name on the door! Well, maybe not; but it definitely has a door. And a copy machine.
I went to my first meeting as HC on Wednesday where I met with the volunteer pool and spent some time brainstorming with the trustees. Brainstorming! I love it! Especially when I get to say things like "What about having a booth at the Ceres Highland Games? It could be oat-themed and we could contact Quaker Oats in Cupar to see if they would donate some products for a raffle!" I've got a summer concert series and an exhibit on vernacular chairs in the works as well. My enthusiasm is boundless.
I feel like I should backtrack a little: for the record, I have decided to live in Cupar, Scotland this summer and work full time at the museum until I move to London in September. I'm not sure where I will be living just yet, but my furniture professor has been kind enough to offer me the top floor apartment in his house. There is an ancient foot path from Cupar to Ceres (the even smaller village where the museum is) which I can take to work that winds across the Ceres Moor. Um, Wuthering Heights? Yes please. Here is a map of Fife so you can get an idea of the geography:
Ceres has a population of just over 1000. It is located in a small valley approximately 2 miles over the Ceres Moor from Cupar and 7 miles from St Andrews. It is one of the most historic and picturesque villages in Scotland and boasts a beautiful village green -- one of the few remaining of its kind in Scotland. You should probably read the little page on Ceres from Undiscovered Scotland by clicking here. (It tells you all kinds of fun facts and has loads of pictures.)Now for the freaky bit: I was standing outside the museum yesterday chatting with one of the trustees while looking out over the village green and it HIT ME -- "I've been here before!" I exclaimed. When I first traveled to Scotland (and fell in love with it) in the summer of 2005, I spent a day watching the highland games and laughing with my new Australian friends in a field in the center of a small town. I had completely forgotten about it until that moment; it was like someone pulled away a veil and I saw it all: the beer tent, the men in kilts, the caber tossing. That warm day in June was one of my favorite from the trip, and I remember looking around at all the people and thinking "I'm going to live here one day." How strangely right I was... it gives the heebies just thinking about it. I looked back at my photos from that day and you can see the museum in the background in a few. Can I just say one more time that this FREAKS ME OUT?
Ok, the museum. It's amazing. Read a little about it by clicking here.
I have to get to bed, I have work in the morning -- 9 to 5! I will take pictures of the new digs and post them as soon as I am able to take pictures without anyone seeing me and thinking I'm crazy. Send me good thoughts tomorrow as I pretend to know what I'm doing...
love
