Team of The Year - Crewe Heritage Centre Volunteers Nominated for Tourism Award

The team of volunteers at The Crewe Heritage Centre have been nominated for Team of the Year at Cheshire Awards for Tourism Skills 2008.

The achievements of the completely voluntary team under the guidance of new management as of early 2007 are noteworthy and commendable.

With limited funding and staff, the team have halted and turned around a prolonged period of decline at Crewe Heritage Centre. They are implementing new vision and enthusiasm to celebrate, inform and educate visitors of the world changing history which Crewe has made to the transport world and more.

The Centre's fortunes and outlook have turned around; instead of steady attrition, there is growth and pro-active work to better present the site in terms of gardens, painting, and displays.

The perception of The Crewe Heritage Centre has changed too. Once described as "an understated disappointment" or "Crewe's scrapyard", the centre is now tidy and in improving appearance.

It has formed and is nurturing a new reptutation as an engaging historical attraction not only on railways, but bus rallies and all things Historic Crewe.

The Centre now has displays concerning such variety as Crewe Alexandra Football Club, Bentley Motors, Crewe at War, the social history of the town, and general Railwayana, as well as of course specific Crewe Works and station history. Space is being prepared for further displays and improving the centre for the future.

Without the voluntary team the management would not have the staff available to implement the new vision, or have people to help share and shape vision for the great celebration of Crewe's Heritage - which is what the Centre should be.

The team recognise the economic and cultural benefits which an engaging attraction brings and the quality of life it can add to those who visit.

Not only is it contributing towards its own future as a tourist attraction, it is contributing towards the image of Crewe and benefitting the wider visitor economy of South Cheshire.

It can be said of any town or area that without its history, heritage and culture, there is nothing to see. Crewe, once seen in the Victorian period as a model town, has for too long been a town only to drive through, or change trains at the station.

A nomination brings more publicity in itself, but a win for the team would give wide recognition to their hard work and freely given time thus far, and promote the centre, the town and the area more positively with rewards all round. A win for the team would be a win for Crewe.

Crewe Heritage Centre's team is being represented by the manager, Mike Lenz, at the Awards Ceremony on November 20th.

Friends of Crewe Heritage Centre - Supporting Crewe's Culture, History and Heritage from before the Railways to Today.

www.friendsofcreweheritagecentre.org.uk

Crewe Heritage Centre Paranormal Vigil - Halloween 2008

A sell out charity night for Crewe Heritage Centre saw an evening of excitement and suggestively scarey activity in the name of seeing if there was paranormal activity - real or perceived - at different locations in the centre.

One thing I am keen to stress on paranormal vigils is there is no guarantee of paranomal activity. Most encounters deemed as paranormal happen when folk aren't looking for it. However, vigils take in places, times and stories which often suggest odd encounters - so it is not suprising if some odd things are experienced.

Investigating Crewe Heritage Centre for paranormal activity has been almost like "If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it still make a sound?". To paraphrase it, "If some really odd things happen which may or may not be explainable, and there's no one there to experience it, is there still paranormal activity going on?".

Well, it seems the answer to this question in this instance is "yes". If not, certainly the human mind and suggestion are clearly at work. With little previous history of known strange activity at Crewe Heritage Centre, these have been explorations to discover unknown unknowns at what was once part of one of the world's most noted railway works.

Specific locations are not given espcially where reliant upon human perception so as not to bias future vigils.

Following a tour for familiarisation and safety, we got down down to business by half ten.

Even during the practical site tour one phenomenon previously recorded was encountered by all four people entering that specific area. Others encountered the same experience later in the night with efforts taken not to transmit knowledge of some peoples' perceptions in the intervening period.

In the Exhibition Hall where earlier in the year my EMF reader had done solitary blips which couldn't be accounted for, there were similar anomalous readings as I addressed the group in the old council seats from 1905, later removed from the Municipal Buildings.

In one location not observed earlier in the year, with curtains drawn for half an hour, it really did *appear* like there was a figure moving in the corridor leading to the room. It was after this one large contingent left! One chap had his head in his hands and exclaimed "I'm so scared! I can't believe I'm doing this!". A 'sensitive' in the group felt there was a named person present (only first) with an approximate height given.

Taking into account movement of trains either side, there were times when one room appeared to darken significantly to all without apparent cause.

Not far away from there four folk suddenly and independently felt dizzy and overcome. One had to leave the room. Another had an impression of a person consistent with what has been experienced there before during normal daytime hours.

Our last session was illustrative of the mind's powers to give a convincing scarey experience when there's something quite explainable going on. We became aware of what sounded like a loud aggressive whisper of "Get out! Get out!". Cue lots of goosebumps... in the best tradition of horror films, some brave souls investigated in the direction of the sounds... and lived to tell the tale. I'm not placing the finding here so if future groups hear it, I can see if they work out the source.

So, it does indeed seem there is a core of strange experience - explainable or otherwise - going on at Crewe Heritage Centre which can make for an engaging overnight vigil. Keep watching for details of future vigils... or if you would like to enquire concerning a special booking, do get in touch to discuss arrangements.

Friends of Crewe Heritage Centre - Supporting Crewe's Culture, History and Heritage from before the Railways to Today.

www.friendsofcreweheritagecentre.org.uk