³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Welcome to another Curator's Pick, where we are ask a curator to take a look around the site and pick out a few objects that appeal to them or remind them of other objects and stories.

Michael McGinnes, although a geologist by training, has been a curator for over 30 years and is the Collections Manager at the .

Michael sees his job as helping each visitor find a unique connection between themselves and an object.

Every visitor to the museum has an opinion on what they like and it's our job as curators to guide visitors to enjoy objects that they would otherwise not consider.Ìý Every object has a story and regardless of what culture or age it may be.

I remember in the 1980s an old lady came to see an exhibition of our paintings and sat in front of one of them crying.Ìý It was not the quality of the work or the importance of the artist.Ìý She had sat beside the artist 80 years before, as a young girl, while he painted the work. It reminded her of her happy childhood.Ìý The old lady had a terminal illness and a matter of days to live. As she said, "This will be my last memory and I can die happy."Ìý

That was a lesson I have never forgotten. It's the story and the connections that count.

The first two objects that Michael has chosen from the site are simple, quite everyday objects - a sewing machine and a mug - but illustrate that idea of personal connections.

When I was young the sewing machine was the centre of the house. It made the curtains and my mother's and sisters dresses. It repaired the bed sheets. It made sure everything lasted 10 years. It was my job to do the sewing after my mother had done the clever measuring and cutting out.

Probably it was partly to keep me out of trouble and partly because I was more adept, and had more time, to sort out the mess when the machine stuck (a regular occurrence).Ìý This is one of the strongest memories of my childhood, and my mother, and that is the basis of museums.

This is one of the most common objects in British Museums. We have to 're-direct' potential donations on a weekly basis. Ìý

Unlike many families in this country, I have no direct connection with World War I. None of my family fought in it as they were all miners and my father was too young. I have a general interest, having grown up with war comics and movies.

However this object is not about fighting, about weapons, about tactics. It's a tea cup. It's about everyday life that the soldiers tried to live despite the conditions. Ultimately it's about luck. The luck that says whether you are the one to come home. The luck that carries a burden of guilt because they often left so many friends behind. This little mug gets to the point. It's about life and death.

Michael's final object is still about life and death, but is a little more unusual - a that was intended for use following a nuclear attack. Not the digital microchip and mouse type of computer but something altogether more analogue and more chilling.

This may seem an odd object to choose but we have recently received collections of material from the observer corps: a secret organization that everyone knew existed but had no idea why.

The computer would have told the observers that their friends and families were dying while they were safe in their bunker. A hideous thought.

This little object says so much about the politics and thinking of the period after World War II when there was still a certain naïveté about the use of nuclear weapons and the idea that we could actually survive such an attack. This is why museums and archives are so important. We must not forget the lesson of history.

So that's Michael's choice of items from the site. You can also check out the objects from his museum, the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, including a Murdoch Steam Engine and the world's oldest football.