Coming Soon to a Club Near You...

The final design of the flyer going out to promote
the widely-anticipated exhibition.

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

The planning for the local event of this year is now reaching its final stages and the celebration of county youth clubs is about to begin.

So, why not let your own nostalgic memories of youth clubs' past take you back down memory lane? And let children come and see the excitement of youth service past and present.

From Hiking to Hotpants, Tents to Twister is the grand title of our collective research and from July 14th until this October the exhibition will be available for all to see. It will be a day to remember as the doors finally open to the culmination of this challenging, but rewarding exploration.

There will additionally be a celebration in September. More to follow...

Hiking to Hotpants, Tents to Twister from the Dorset Young Remembers will officially open at the Dorset County Museum from Saturday July 14th. Make a date with local youth clubs' past NOW!
 

Fun & Friendship with Our Neighbours

By Jack Welch, Volunteer press Officer

From left: Phillipa Dowdeswell, Edward Trist,
Katherine-Anne Crabb and Amy Davy
surveying the fruits of their labour.

As the compilation of the final museum display boards takes place with volunteers collapsing on sofas with exhaustion and an encroaching deadline, the team here at DYR were thankful for the additional group adrenaline, courtesy of the Dorset County Museum. Under the superb guidance of our Geocaching Co-ordinator and Graphics Designer, Edward Trist, three young members came in to support the largest presentation of a scrapbook yet! The Fun & Friendship/Activities board was the task. Katherine-Anne Crabb, Amy Davy, who is currently undertaking an MA in Museum Studies, and Phillipa Dowdeswell gave a refreshing boost in checking the content of the board, whilst keeping in check some of our group's excessive 'creative energies'. Their expertise on what works in a museum environment ensured we edited down the photographs and words to a number manageable for a museum visitor.

Not only that, but the girls who attended also learned a lot about the new system adopted for our Mac computer, known as 'Comic Life'. As they twisted, teased and scaled images to suit the template we are working with, they too learned the necessary technical skills, which up till now they had only reviewed. As they left to return to the museum, the group were very pleased with the efforts made by our young volunteers and are very excited to introduce the innovative and colourful display to the general public soon.

Our latest geocache is live!

By Edward Trist, volunteer geocaching co-ordinator

Our latest geocache at the Keep Military Museum was published yesterday. This is the second of five geocaches to be placed in our Dorchester trail of historic hotspots. Our first, along the River Frome, has attracted over 60 geocachers since it was placed in November!

Recently, we introduced our new mascot Sid (the oldest spider in the world!) to our geocaches, along with new historical information cards in which Sid tells you all about each location's history. We hope this will encourage young people to learn about the history of their local area through geocaching.

Our new geocache has already had some great feedback from geocachers who found it within hours of it being put online!

We also had some great support from Colin Parr at the Keep Military Museum, who generously gave us his assistance placing the geocache.

Try it for yourself at http://coord.info/GC3MGNF and watch this space for our next geocache!

Raincoats and Brollies...These are a few of our favourite things!

Open For Business!

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

With the gathering momentum of the upcoming exhibition this July, DYR took their publicity campaign one step further into Dorchester Borough Gardens to drum up excitement  during the the final day of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. With a barrel-load of goody bags and armed with a shop supply of crisps and coke, the enthusiastic group were ready to sell a range of treats in a vintage Tuck Shop, dressed in a variety of clothes in the Queen's decades gone by. However, little did we suspect when the clouds decided to unleash an unremitting downpour of showers as the event got underway! Thankfully, the group were not to be deterred by such circumstances and bravely stepped outside to set-up the stall for an afternoon of entertainment. As the author G.K. Chesterton once quoted, "And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."

New Dorchester Mayor, Andy Canning, poses for
a photograph to mark the occasion.

Time to Boogie!

As the afternoon got into full swing, volunteers Charlotte, Lee and Jenny ventured into the crowd to sell the tuck shop wares and hand out leaflets about our exhibition, whilst getting incredibly damp in the meantime. A live band played to liven up the spirits of those visitors who made an effort to visit the garden and partake in some of the day's festivities. At one point the female singer praised Jenny's sensational gold boots as she was one of  the first to step outside and dance. By interacting with public figures such as the town Mayor and the event organisers of the day, the group felt they had a great success despite the mitigating factors. The group raised a surprising sum of over £21.00.  Project Worker Lorna Johnson praised the very cold and tired volunteers for their resilience and the effort that they made on such a dismal day. It was all in a day's work to ensure that as many members of the public know about the exhibition celebrating local youth clubs coming soon.