The People's Story Museum

[Pretty Boy]

I was sad to read recently that the People's Story Museum is to close until further notice, and quite possibly for good, due to council budget cuts.

It was a place I have fond memories of visiting as a child, on a school trip and also on more than one occasion with my Grandparents. Along with the Museum of Childhood it felt different to other museums, there was a personal air to both and I enjoyed both of my grandparents being able to expand on the stories told with their own personal experiences. I visited the People's Story again fairly recently and it was a welcome relief from the ghost stories, Harry Potter, friendly wee dogs and royal visits that seem to dominate every other tour and attraction on the Royal Mile and beyond. Stories about Scottish solidarity with the oppressed in apartheid South Africa, the poll tax riots, the suffragette movement in Scotland, the cooperative movement, Irish immigration, the trade union movement, how ordinary people made ends meet in times of grinding poverty and much more.

It would be a shame to lose such a resource in the city and all for the sake of a pretty paltry amount of money (£205K is the saving it will generate I believe). For me these stories are too important to be lost to the passage of time and with the ongoing gentrification of the city and ensuing displacement of so many locals then without a permanent home for their preservation then they will be lost. At a time when the People's Palace in Glasgow is undergoing a huge renovation project thanks to lottery funding to ensure it's long term survival it is shameful that a social history museum in our capital city dedicated to the working classes of Edinburgh and further afield in Scotland is to be mothballed and likely lost forever.

[Trinity Hibee]

I didn’t realise it was indefinite. I had read something a few weeks ago which suggested it would close for the “winter season” as numbers were low which I could understand.

As you say not a massive amount saved by closing it.

[Jack]

I never quite worked out how these museums and other council type attractions, gyms and the like can temporarily close and save so much money.

The biggest ongoing costs for them will be staff wages and a fair bit behind that utilities.

Surely the employees still need to be paid. Unless of course they're on zero hour contracts and if that's the case shame on the council and all those that led it over the years and not given them proper contracts with the protection they come with.

The 'tourist tax' can't cover everything I'd like it to 😆 but keeping stuff like this going full time for the benefit of the locals, instead of just the tourists in the summer, should be high of the list of priorities.

[Keith_M]

This might be a controversial view but I feel that Musuems should start charging visitors.

I understand that a lot of people would struggle to pay if the entrance fee was really high (which used to be the case), but why not just make it a more affordable price, like a fiver for adults and maybe £2 for kids?

Surely that would be a lot better than just closing them down due to lack of funding.

:dunno:

[Stairway 2 7]

This might be a controversial view but I feel that Musuems should start charging visitors.

I understand that a lot of people would struggle to pay if the entrance fee was really high (which used to be the case), but why not just make it a more affordable price, like a fiver for adults and maybe £2 for kids?

Surely that would be a lot better than just closing them down due to lack of funding.

:dunno:

I've seen in hundreds of museums and historical sites from south America, far east all over Europe a two price system, dirt cheap for locals and much dearer for tourists. I've never been bothered by paying more and the locals getting in cheap of free in some places as it is theirs. Always thought it was ridiculous Edinburgh castle had a extortionate flat rate which is too expensive for many locals

[Pretty Boy]

I've seen in hundreds of museums and historical sites from south America, far east all over Europe a two price system, dirt cheap for locals and much dearer for tourists. I've never been bothered by paying more and the locals getting in cheap of free in some places as it is theirs. Always thought it was ridiculous Edinburgh castle had a extortionate flat rate which is too expensive for many locals

I pay £8.40 a month to Historic Scotland by direct debit for a family membership that grants access to all their sites for 2 adults and up to 4 kids. Go to Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Linlithgow Palace and you are already up. That's a decent value membership but it's not for everyone and I agree somewhere like Edinburgh Castle has priced out a lot of families (and it's so boring into the bargain, far too dry for kids compared to other sites).

When it comes to paying for entry to some museums I'm of the opinion that a lot of the stuff on display is ours and it shouldn't be cost prohibitive to view. I take the kids to the national museum fairly regularly and always make a decent donation. I'd use it less and thus pay less if they started to charge.

Even venues in Edinburgh that do charge are struggling thanks to the incompetence of those in charge. My daughter goes to gymnastics classes at an Edinburgh Leisure venue. They had a recruitment pause a while back to save money and a few weeks ago 70% of gymnastics classes were paused because of a lack of coaches. Now they are desperately trying to recruit to restart some of these classes, all those not currently able to attend aren't paying so the lack of funding becomes cyclical. EL is arms length from the council but there is a fair bit of crossover in terms of personnel and strategy.