Lunchtime Lecture: The Ethnography Collection. Bishop's Stortford Museum.

22nd February 2012.

This lecture gives you a chance to hear about the museum’s fantastic ethnographic collection, from Zulu beadwork to Masai weapons.

The Ethnography Collection

The Rhodes collection at the Bishop’s Stortford Museum is full of wonderful objects from Southern Africa. Come along to this lunchtime lecture and find out more about the collection.

Refreshments are included in the ticket price.

Tickets: £2.50, Call 01279 651746 to book.

2.00pm.

The Gibberd Sculpture Garden Talk. Chelmsford Museum.

23rd February 2012.

Friends of Chelmsford Museum Talk - The Gibberd Sculpture Garden, Harlow

Cost: £4.50 members, £5 non-members

2.30pm to 3.30pm (refreshments from 2pm)

For more information contact Ros Webb, Friends of Chelmsford Museums, on 01245 469362 or email ros.webb49@gmail.com

A House at War in 1944 (Adult History Event). Chelmsford Museum.

23rd February 2012.

As part of our living history week, we present a cast of wartime characters to bring history to life.

It is 1944 and the War has dragged on for many years now. The museum has become a billeting centre so that evacuees can be housed locally away from the bombing in London. Be prepared for the horrors of war-find out what it is like to wear a gas mask, learn how to 'make do and mend' and learn about your identity card and rationing book.

7pm to 9.30pm

Book on 01245 605700 - £6 per person.

To Catch a Smuggler Talk. Havering Museum

23rd February 2012.

Steve Bridle, of HM Revenue and Customs provides an entertaining evening covering the history of smuggling to current day stories of smuggling techniques.

6-7pm.

For a ticket to a lecture it is £3.50.

Lecture price includes admission to the Museum and light refreshments. It is advisable to purchase tickets as soon as possible as tickets are already selling fast. To book call the Museum on 01708 766 571.

Friday Fives. Chelmsford Museum.

24th February 2012.

Friday Fives is for toddlers aged between two and five years old and their carers.

There will be stories and craft activities based around the popular nursery rhyme: Pat a Cake.

Cost is £2 per child, maximum two children per adult

Booking is essential - please contact us on: 01245 605700.

Farmers' Market. Barleylands Farm Park & Craft Village.

11th & 25th February 2012.

Enjoy a morning out wandering round and picking up delicious food for the weekend from our undercover Farmers’ Market.

This is a great opportunity for you to buy all of your fresh, local produce from farmers and growers.

Free entry & free car park

8.30am – 12.30pm

Chappel Winter Beer Festival. East Anglian Railway Museum.

24th & 25th February 2012

For the Third Year the Chappel Winter Beer Festival is back in February 2012. A smaller version of the main Summer Beer Festival, occupying just the Goods Shed, with a selection of about 60 beers to choose from.

This select event runs for two days, Friday & Saturday, with two sessions each day. Numbers are strictly limited, and admission is by pre-purchase ticket only. Late night trains now run on the Marks Tey to Sudbury line allowing you to get home after the event.

The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel & Wakes Colne Station on the Marks Tey to Sudbury branch Line.

Sessions are 11.00am to 5.30pm and 6.00pm to 11.00pm on both days.
Please do not travel to the festival without first buying a ticket, as you will not gain admission.
Tickets cost £5, and once purchased are not refundable. The £5 includes the special Festival glass. Call Museum Office between 10.00am & 4.00pm on 01206 242524

History's Hard Times. Colchester Castle.

25th February 2012.

Journey through time and meet some unhappy characters from the past and hear their stories. Meet characters that include a witch, plague victim, Celt and an air raid warden. You may even bump into the gaoler, watch out … he may invite you to stay for a while.

Drop-in 10am - 4pm

Free event.

Journey to the Podium - The Pride of Essex. Beecroft Art Gallery.

3rd February - 31st March 2012.

This exhibition is a remarkable insight into the world of dedication, focus and sacrifice demanded of aspiring Olympic and Paralympic athletes.