THE SCHOOL holidays have finally drawn to a close, so our wonderful front-of-house team are recovering after one of our busiest Augusts in recent years.

The new children’s trail, written by our Museum Assistant Victoria, was really popular, as were the Wednesday workshops; we’re now planning for October half-term!

I mentioned our collaboration with West Yorkshire Playhouse in my last piece – whereby visitors to the museum can enjoy listening to a short contemporary drama written by Emma Adams, entitled Tiny Shoes.

I had a listen in the graveyard and urge you to do the same; it was incredibly evocative.

For those wanting to learn a little more about the origins of the project, we have a late night Thursday tonight, and are delighted to be hosting a Meet the Artist evening with Emma Adams.

If you want to chat with Emma about her Tiny Shoes piece, just turn up to the museum shop.

On the final day of the month, September 30, we have our special Parsonage Unwrapped evening.

This month’s theme is Charlotte and her Travels, and our brilliant young curatorial assistant Amy – who spends all her days ensconced in the museum library – will be talking about Charlotte Brontë’s visits to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Belgium, not to mention her five trips to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851!

The talk will take place in the intimacy of the library, and will feature precious objects from the museum’s collection.

As usual, guests are greeted with a glass of something bubbly when they arrive (or non-bubbly if you prefer!), and there’s an opportunity afterwards to have a look around the museum, which you practically have to yourselves!

On October 4 we have another of our very popular free Tuesday talks; this one is entitled Persons of Significance and focuses on Charlotte’s father Patrick Brontë.

His rags-to-riches story is a fascinating one, and visitors are always keen to learn more about the father of three literary geniuses, so do come along if you fancy learning more.

The talk is free with admission to the museum, but make sure you arrive in plenty of time, as they have become increasingly popular and it can be a squeeze in the cellar!

And speaking of talks, when next I write, I will have delivered my first-ever talk outside of the museum. If people can’t get to the Brontës, we do our best to take the Brontës out to the world – well, West Yorkshire in this case…

And finally, I must say I enjoyed seeing the Parsonage on TV last week – the very lovely Timothy West and Prunella Scales called in during filming of Great Canal Journeys. I hadn’t realised until I watched the programme that the pair are Yorkshire born – and very proud of it too!

Catch the episode on 4OD if you missed it.

Call the museum on 01535 640192 for info about any of the events or email me at diane.fare@bronte.org.uk.