Oh, hiya! Series 6 it is then kids.
Sassy Holmes is the Programme Officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in lovely Haworth, so we invited her to come and teach us the wily, windy ways of literature's #1 family. We find out about the objects they have in the museum, including ones found hidden in the walls - we cannot - and hear some frankly cracking ghost stories too.
Sassy also tells us all about their new exhibition, The Brontë's and the Wild, which you can read more about here: https://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/1267/the-brontes-and-the-wild
And, y'know. Go to Haworth guys.
If you've enjoyed listening, then subscribe on all the usual podcast suspects and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Ta very much.
Oh, hiya! Series 6 it is then kids.
Sassy Holmes is the Programme Officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in lovely Haworth, so we invited her to come and teach us the wily, windy ways of literature's #1 family. We find out about the objects they have in the museum, including ones found hidden in the walls - we cannot - and hear some frankly cracking ghost stories too.
Sassy also tells us all about their new exhibition, The Brontë's and the Wild, which you can read more about here: https://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/1267/the-brontes-and-the-wild
And, y'know. Go to Haworth guys.
If you've enjoyed listening, then subscribe on all the usual podcast suspects and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Ta very much.
Moderator1: I've had Kenny Rogers in my head for a week (laughter). What a tune.
Moderator2: What a tune.
Moderator1: Oh, I hope he likes it in there. He's really getting himself comfortable.
Moderator1: Welcome to the Museums n’That podcast, where each episode we have a chinwag and serve you the steaming hot tea on the things museum people love the most. We’re your hosts Meg and Sara, and we get to know the people behind the objects, by asking them the questions that you really want to know.
I had to look up the lyrics, because we were just going (talking over each other 00.12), and I was trying to sing it to Erin, and then she was like, 'I don't think that's it', and then we had to look up the lyrics, and then we were listening to Kenny Rogers, like, on our phones, like you used to do at school, walking down the pavement, except when I was at school, it used to be Fergie, 'Glamorous'.
Moderator2: Oh, yes, no, we didn't listen to Kenny Rogers at school.
Moderator1: What did you use to listen to at school?
Moderator2: Gwen Stefani.
Moderator1: Oh, yes.
Moderator2: I also had a massive, like, emo phase, so a lot of really shouty rock.
Moderator1: I'm actually doing karaoke this evening.
Moderator2: What? It's a Wednesday. What are you doing?
Moderator1: Yes, I know. It's only from 6.00pm until 7.00pm.
Moderator2: That's very specific. What is this, some sort of, like, team-building exercise?
Moderator1: No, it's Count's (ph 00.48) birthday, so it's like, me, Kat, Claire, and Erin. So, I need to think of what song. It's going to be Kenny Rogers. I've got to get him out. Get out of my head, Kenny.
Moderator2: That is fair.
Moderator1: Anyway. Tell me one thing from your week.
Moderator2: I, for the first time, went and got my eyebrows done at the weekend.
Moderator1: Oh, my god, yes, Sara text me about this. They do look good.
Moderator2: Thanks.
Moderator1: Tell me about them. They've got pencil on.
Moderator2: Right, a bit. So, basically, she tinted them, and she, like, draws the shape on that she's going to go for, and then, like, waxes and threads to get rid of all the strays, and basically reshapes them so that they're even and, like, tidier and stuff. Amazing, like, and such a lovely lady. Absolutely hilarious. We talked about how bad Madonna looks-,
Moderator1: Sorry Madonna, if you're listening.
Moderator2: Yes.
Moderator1: I actually love Madonna. I, like, music-wise, great, but you should not look like that when you're in your 60s.
Moderator2: Yes. I was actually having this conversation with my friend Tiff. She was just like, 'Basically, we need to get plastic surgery' (laughter)-,
Moderator1: No.
Moderator2: Yes, and I think that's the only way to age gracefully. There gets to a point where, like, you can have too much money and you take it too far, and I think Madonna is possibly an example of that, but also, love Madonna.
Moderator1: Possibly?
Moderator2: You're really against plastic surgery. Oh, this is a whole podcast. I was telling you what I've done with my week.
Moderator1: I'm kind of against putting plastic in your skin, unless it's for a medical reason.
Moderator2: What about fat? What about your own fat in your own face? Is that what Botox is? I don't really know.
Moderator1: Don't know, honestly. Anyway, this leads me onto talking about my thing for my week. So, I was thinking on the bus, basically, I think I'm in a real funk with my clothes and my outfits, and feeling a bit bad, and then last night I had a dream, this is how pathetic my life, this is my best thing, I had a dream, and the dream was that someone came up to me and said, 'My daughter, who's 13 and all of her friends at school, really like your headband', and I woke up and I was smiling.
Moderator2: That is wonderful. Which headband was it? Is it the Bronte one?
Moderator1: It's the one that looks like Anne Boleyn.
Moderator2: Oh, right, okay.
Moderator1: So, like, padded. Speaking of the Brontes, maybe they did wear padded headbands. I'll ask.
Moderator2: Don't know.
Moderator1: Yes. Who are we interviewing?
Moderator2: I was going to say, 'The Brontes'. No, they're definitely dead. We're interesting Sassy (ph 03.01) Holmes.
Moderator1: I don't think we're interesting (laughter).
Moderator2: No. We're interviewing Sassy Holmes off the Bronte Parsonage, which is really nice. I have a burning question to ask her. It's an obvious one. It has got nothing to do with the Brontes, but wait until she gets here.
Moderator1: Is it, 'Do you like Kenny Rogers?'
Moderator2: No.
Moderator1: Sassy's really lovely, I've met her a couple of times, now, and I think she's fantastic, and also I don't know anything about the Brontes, so this is going to be really fun.
Moderator1: Okay, everyone, have a lovely, lovely lesson to Sassy Holmes's episode of Museums n'That. (Silence 03.40-03.42). Have you discussed Sassy's top?
Moderator2: No, no, but it is incredible.
Moderator1: I like both.
Moderator2: I'm genuinely thinking about, like, ripping it off your back (laughter).
Speaker1: So, it was, like, for a Christmas where they did, like, this E.T. range. So, my mum got, like, dungarees, my dad got a little hat, and my brother got some socks, but, like, everyone refused to wear them all at once, because they wanted like a pic, like a team pic, but oh well, it never happened.
Moderator2: That's literally criminal that you didn't do that.
Moderator1: Also, the bus to Haworth, is it called the Bronte Bus?
Speaker1: It is called the Bronte Bus, and you never know which one you're going to get, Branwell, and (talking over each other 04.18) all like names.
Moderator1: Wait, they're all called different names?
Speaker1: Yes, and they've got, like, facts in the bus, all about the Brontes, which is really cool.
Moderator1: That is cool. Did they ever ride their respective buses?
Moderator2: You do know, like, how old the Brontes are, right?
Moderator1: I actually don't. It's, like, 1700s, right? 1800s?
Speaker1: 1800s, yes.
Moderator2: Still a long time ago, before buses.
Moderator1: Well, you never know.
Moderator2: You do.
Moderator1: I hope they're happy knowing that people ride their buses (laughter). Oh, god.
Moderator2: We didn't think that we'd get that in there, wow. They're great.
Moderator1: So soon.
Moderator2: Yes.
Moderator1: Officially, the first question that we ask our guests is, who the flip are you?
Speaker1: Well, my name's Sassy, and I'm the programme officer at the Bronte Parsonage Museum. So, I run our events and our contemporary arts programme.
Moderator1: How did you get your job?
Speaker1: So, do you want the long story?
Moderator1: I do want the long story, yes, because I can always edit it out in post (laughter).
Speaker1: So, originally, I did drama at University in Manchester. So, I've always been into, like, performing, and engaging with the public, that's my favourite thing, and while I was there I got a job at the Science and Industry Museum. I was an explainer there, and I loved it, it was, like, my favourite thing ever. I was doing, like, shows for the kids all about science. It was really fantastic, and I loved all the people I worked with, but then COVID-19 hit, classic, and just, like, the job role changed quite a lot. I wasn't able to do, like, big shows, but then an opportunity came up at the Railway Museum. So, I moved, during the pandemic, to Leeds, because I knew some people here, and I didn't know anyone in York. So, I originally worked as, this is the longest job title ever, I was associate interactive gallery curator at the Railway Museum. So, I was working on their new wonder lab, which is going to be, like, an interactive engineering gallery. So, I did that for a bit, and then yes, applied for this job at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, and it's really lovely because, kind of, it links with my favourite things, like literature, writing, kind of like theatre and drama, with my work in, like, the heritage as well. So, that's, kind of, how I got to where I am, which is nice, because I can kind of put all my passions into my workplace now.
Moderator2: Sara has a really important question that I don't understand, and I didn't get the reference.
Moderator1: Right. My burning question was, were you named after the cat in Homeward Bound?
Speaker1: No, I'm not, actually. I can tell you name, and I can tell you my full name, if you want to hear it.
Moderator1: Yes.
Speaker1: My full name's Sassy Cha-cha (ph 06.45) Angelita Holmes.
Moderator2: Oh, my name sucks. What?
Moderator1: Wow, wow, we really suck.
Moderator2: Holmes, as well, and now you work in literature? God, it's all coming full circle, well done.
Moderator1: Speaking of the Railway Museum, you worked with Rob Scargill.
Speaker1: I did. Throwback to-,
Moderator1: Series four, yes, Rob came on. It's when you burnt your headphones.
Moderator2: I think we burnt them.
Moderator1: But the actual question that I have written down here is, how much do you love Rob Scargill?
Speaker1: Yes, he is an absolute legend. I play football with him now, actually. Shout-out Republica (ph 07.15).
Moderator1: Who scores more goals, you or Rob Scargill?
Speaker1: Definitely Rob Scargill (laughter). He's on, like, the first men's team, and they're, like, proper, like, 'Yeah, football', whereas, like, I'm on the nines, beginner's league, and we're just, like, the nice team.
Moderator1: Oh, cute.
Speaker1: Yes, it is quite cute.
Moderator1: To be fair, I would like to be on the nice team.
Moderator2: Yes, it is nice.
Moderator1: Shall we talk about the Brontes?
Speaker1: Yes.
Moderator1: Enough about Rob Scargill. Right, we will start with an obvious, a biggie. Who's your favourite?
Speaker1: I think Charlotte Bronte is my favourite. She's the one I identify most with, and I think that's a common thing, like, people come in and they're like, 'Oh, yes, I really like this one', and just, like, Charlotte was, kind of, quite headstrong, she pushed the sisters into publishing their work. Emily and Anne really didn't want to. They, kind of, wrote for themselves, and I think they all wrote for themselves, but Charlotte how important their work was, and how amazing it was, and really pushed for that, and was also quite a motherly figure. So, their mum died when Charlotte was five years old, the other sisters were quite young, and so she, kind of, took on that role, and I think that was quite hard for her, because she was the only one that would remember her mum at all, really, and, I mean, living in Haworth in the early 1800s just sounds horrific. Like, the public health was really bad, obviously they had a lovely house, but they weren't, like, the richest of people in the world. So, I think she did amazingly to suggest to her sisters, 'Yes, let's put these books out here', and I don't think literature would be the way that it was without her. So, I love Charlotte. I think she gets a bad rep some of the time, because there is quite a lot of writing about her, all of her letters, and, like, diary entries, that's how we know quite a lot about the sisters. So, you can really deep dive into her life in ways that I don't think people would want to have (mw 09.00), if you get what I mean.
Moderator1: Does she ever, in her, like, diaries and such, does she ever slag any of the other sisters off?
Speaker1: There's literally this really interesting entry, that's going in our new exhibition, and it's her writing from the perspective of Branwell, her brother, but, like, really slagging off all of her family members. So, it's, kind of, done in jest, because she's writing as if she is Branwell, but obviously it's still coming from her.
Moderator1: Does she slag herself off?
Speaker1: Yes. So, she's actually really harsh about herself. She does little illustrations of her, almost looking quite, like, hobbily and witch-like, and there are some really mean, like, reviews of what she looks like, and saying that she's quite, like, witchy and small-eyed, like she looks like a bird, and I think she really took that to heart, because people were just, kind of, savage, as they are today to celebrities.
Moderator2: I was thinking about that as well, because obviously, being a woman and a writer at that time as well, like, how did they go about just-,
Moderator1: I thought you were calling yourself that. I was (TC 00:10:00) like, 'Obviously, I was thinking about it, being a woman and a writer'.
Moderator2: Yes, yes (laughter). No, no, no, no. But being a female writer in the 1800s, how would you go about publishing?
Speaker1: The first thing they did is publish under pseudonyms. So, they thought that if they were to publish under their names, they wouldn't get a shoe in at all, as women. So, their pseudonyms were Currer, Acton, and Ellis Bell. So, they're quite androgynous names, but they're also quite ambiguous names. Like, I don't think you could put a gender on them, and that's what they were going for. So, those were the pen names that they would then submit work to, like, different publishers, and their poems were first put out, and that got an okay reception, and Jane Eyre came out in 1847, and it just, kind of, swept the country away. There was a lot questioning of, 'Who is this writer? Are they male, are they female?' And quite like, 'If they are male, what are they doing writing about these things about women, and if they are female, how dare they talk about those things'. So, they, kind of, couldn't win, in both ways, but in Emily and Anne's lifetime, it was never revealed that it was them. So, they didn't, kind of, get that, sort of, celebrity focus. It was only after they died in 1850 that Charlotte revealed that they were three sisters, and they were women, and they wrote those books. So, I think it was quite a struggle, but it was a lot of determination to be able to publish, to be able to go, actually, like, 'Our stories are worth listening to, and we're going to do it in a way that hopefully society will read it'.
Moderator1: Sorry, just to, like, go back to absolute basics, we've got Charlotte, Anne, and Emily, and then they've got a brother?
Speaker1: Branwell, yes.
Moderator1: Did he write as well? Was he the black sheep?
Speaker1: So, he-, Branwell was bitter.
Moderator1: Is he Rob Kardashian (laughter)?
Moderator2: They also had two other sisters.
Speaker1: They did, yes, and they died. So, they had two-,
Moderator1: Oh, they are the Kardashians (laughter).
Speaker1: The big family, yes. So, the biggest story-,
Moderator2: Please don't let her say that again.
Speaker1: No, 'The Brontes are Kardashians', oh my goodness. Those Bronte Society members, they'll love that comparison (laughter). No, so, they actually had two older siblings, Maria and Elizabeth. So, they were older than Charlotte by a couple of years, and then they were sent a school called Cowan Bridge School, and it was at this school where Maria and Elizabeth fell really ill. So, it's assumed that the school that the school was not looking after their health very well, probably quite dirty, lots of kids in, like, one space, not being fed very well. So, when they fell ill, Patrick, their dad, pulled them all from the school, and unfortunately, Maria and Elizabeth died, which is really sad, to go through that, and they died just after their mum had died. So, they had three deaths quite early on in their lives. Yes, so, there's Charlotte, who's the oldest, Emily, Branwell, and Anne, and those are the siblings. Yes, but Branwell, he was quite, like, a little-, he loved art. So, he did all these paintings, but people never really took him seriously, and also he probably wasn't as invested as people thought he should be. He liked to drink, and he probably liked a little bit of opium as well.
Moderator2: He sounds very interesting.
Speaker1: Yes, he is really cool.
Moderator2: He might be my favourite.
Moderator1: I literally don't know anything about any of them, but he's my favourite so far.
Moderator2: You love a little black horse of the-, black horse? Black sheep.
Moderator1: To be fair, I like a black horse. They're lovely.
Speaker1: Well, actually, his favourite pub to drink in was the Black Bull.
Moderator2: Oh, okay.
Moderator1: Wait, does that still exist?
Speaker1: Yes, it does.
Moderator1: We should go, because we're coming for your exhibitioning thing, right?
Speaker1: Yes.
Moderator1: What is the new exhibition?
Speaker1: So, the new exhibition is called the Brontes in the wild. The wild is a really amazing theme, because there's so much that you can link to it. So, weather, like, animals, just literally the moors itself, but also, like, the feeling of being wild, and also wild women, I love that, and we've got, in one of our rooms, it's usually Charlotte's room, but this year it's kind of like Emily's room, because we've got the dress from the new Emily film, and like the script, and kind of, items all to do with, like, Emily's writing. Because she is probably the most wild Bronte that there is, if we had to, like, categorise it, because she was really in touch with that ferociousness, and Wuthering Heights is very, like, angry, and quite scary, and takes place on these billowing moors. So, yes, wilds are really an exciting theme. We've got really good up-checks.
Moderator1: So, Emily wrote Wuthering Heights, Charlotte wrote?
Speaker1: Jane Eyre.
Moderator1: And then what did Anne write?
Speaker1: So, she wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Agnes Grey. So, Emily only did Wuthering Heights, and she did quite a lot of poetry as well.
Moderator1: To be fair, if you can only do any of them, you might as well just, like, bosh it out and do a really good one.
Speaker1: Do the one that's, like, iconic now, yes. So, and then Charlotte actually wrote quite a few more. So, there's Shirley, Villette, and The Professor, but )whispering) they're not very good (laughter). No, I didn't say that. They're not my favourites. I mean, they're interesting from the point of view, like, Shirley was written after all of the deaths of her siblings, so she was the only one left.
Moderator1: (Mw 15.01).
Speaker1: Yes, and, like, it's a really, like, interesting book to look at the people that lived in Haworth at the time. It's quite social, political, but it's quite a mess of a book, I would say. Sorry, that's so savage. I feel like a can say that, though.
Moderator2: (Talking over each other 15.13), though.
Moderator1: They all, their style of writing and, like, characterisation and stuff, it is hinged on emotions, but not in the way that would have been traditional at the time, and so if she was so badly affected by the death of literally everyone else in her family, it comes through in her writing, but that was because she put everything into her writing, and it's quite an interesting, like you say, it's an interesting book. It may not be very good, from a, like, stylistic point of view, but it really shows how the impact that she put her all into her writing.
Speaker1: Yes, and I think, something one of my colleagues says, Andrew, he says it's like, 'Flourished with purple patches', I love that phrase, because it's a really good, like, feminist novel. There's lots of commentary on, like, women's position in society, and, like, older women as well, which is really interesting as well. What do you become when you're an older woman? What's your role if you don't have a husband? What's your role if you do have a husband? Like, that's really interesting, and also, I really love the fact that she attacks the clergy and really goes in on religion, because she has actually got a dad who is, like, Reverend Patrick Bronte, and he's running all these sermons in Haworth, and the sisters themselves, in all of their works, critique religion and the church, and the men that work for them, and I think at that point in time to do that is so bold. I mean, even people that do it today I think, 'Wow, fair play for actually trying to counter those sorts of things'. So, yes, it is really an interesting book, it's probably not just the most readable, yes.
Moderator1: Yes. With all the books and stuff-, with all the books, do you have, like, all the original stuff, all the original manuscripts and all that stuff?
Speaker1: So, it's quite sad, actually. The Wuthering Heights manuscript, we don't know if it exists. Like, it doesn't exist. No-one has found it. It's, like, potentially it's lost, or was burned maybe. There's quite a lot of-, in adaptations, there's a lovely scenes in, like, a lot of different films or TV series of the Brontes, where, like, the sisters burn Emily's stuff after she dies. So, potentially that could have happened. Obviously, we don't know. The Jane Eyre manuscript, we don't have. It's in the British Library, but it's cool that it exists and we know it exists, and we've got a really good relationship with them, so we can always, like, go down and see it, and I don't think that we have any of the others. It's interesting, because I think about, like, writing a book, and how hefty that must be, but writing a book with a quill, and actually, like, when you make a spelling mistake or something like that, or you go, 'Actually, that's a load of rubbish'-,
Moderator2: It's just long, yes.
Speaker1: Yes, it must be really long. So, yes, the thing is, is we have the most Bronte collection items and objects in the world, but there's still so much out there that we're, like, we don't know where that would be, or what could have existed, because at the time, they didn't really know how famous and influential they were going to be, and a lot of the material that we have is things, like, post their death was sold off to private collectors all around the world. So, a lot of the work that the Society do is making sure that we, like, try and find it and bring it back home, because we want it to be able that the public can see it, and bring it back to Bronte lovers.
Moderator2: Kind of like a Yorkshire Indiana Jones (talking over each other 18.31) (laughter), apart from it was real.
Speaker1: Yes.
Moderator1: Of the objects that you have, what's your best one?
Speaker1: Oh, that's a hard one. I think the sofa is the actual sofa where Emily Bronte died.
Moderator1: Oh.
Speaker1: Yes. So, it's quite, like, 'Wow', when you walk into, like, the dining room, and you see it, and you're like, 'Oh my goodness, she actually died on this sofa', and like, you look at it, and it doesn't look like a worn down sofa. It's just like a kind of leathery, bluey-black sofa. So, that's quite, like, 'Oh my goodness, she actually died right there'.
Moderator1: How do you know it was that one?
Speaker1: Just from, like, descriptions in her diary papers, and things like that. So, yes, that's really interesting. I think one of my personal favourite items we have are Anne Bronte's pebbles.
Moderator2: Pebbles?
Speaker1: Yes. So, she died in Scarborough at the beach, because she thought, like, taking her to the seaside would, like, bring her fresh air and she might get better, but she didn't, unfortunately.
Moderator1: 'Take the air', that's what they said, didn't they?
Speaker1: Yes. So, actually, if you go to Scarborough, her grave is there, and it's actually really lovely. It's, like, on the cliff, and it looks out over the beach.
Moderator1: Did they get on?
Speaker1: The sisters?
Moderator1: Yes. Like, who were the besties, and who, like, did they hate? Three is a crowd.
Speaker1: So, Emily and Branwell were pretty close. They had quite, like, a wild energy, where they were quite-, they think they were close as siblings. Charlotte and Emily used to fight quite a lot, we can tell from, like, the things that they wrote in their diary papers, and Emily was quite reserved. So, they all went through stints of, like, teaching, or being (TC 00:20:00) governesses, and Charlotte really took to it. They both went to Brussels, Emily and Charlotte, but it wasn't Emily's bag at all. I think she said that she preferred the school dog than she did the actual children there.
Moderator1: That's fair enough, to be fair (laughter).
Moderator2: That's not a bad shout.
Moderator1: In Haworth, like, is it weird to just be living, or, like, working at a house as a museum, and then, like, all these other places that still exist around the town, you can go and visit, and be like, 'Right, I can literally have the day that the Brontes had'?
Speaker1: Yes. I mean, I think that's what's really amazing about, like, historical homes, and, like, houses, is you forget these people actually lived here, and they would do the walks that we're doing, and it's quite beautiful, actually, I really love it as a place of work, but places, like, nearby like Ponden Hall (ph 20.48), or just even the walks on top of the moors to, like, the Bronte waterfall-, I mean, it wasn't called the Bronte waterfall at the time they were alive (laughter).
Moderator2: There's a waterfall nearby?
Speaker1: Yes, so, if you walk for, like, two miles, there's a waterfall, and Charlotte writes about it in some of her diary papers, and they just talk about how they would go and sit and write there. So, you can walk to it from the museum. It's lovely, it's so lovely, if it's, like, a really nice, sunny day. Actually, if it's a rainy day as well, it kind of captures that Bronte, like, spirit, so that's nice. Then, if you continue walking, you get to Top Withens, which is where, like, Wuthering Heights is, kind of, set, basically. It's inspired by those moors there, and there's, kind of, like, a little broken down building, and it says, like, oh, 'This is where Wuthering Heights is said to take place.'
Moderator2: Do you think that because, like, that, you know, enduring, sort of, popularity of them, and I would argue it has increased over time, it's more relatable as, like, a living house and a living village, and especially with that, because they were so in tune with nature and the moors, and how they haven't changed-, I mean, climate change, but they haven't changed that much, relatively. Do you think that that's why it's still so popular now? People can, kind of, feel a bit more in touch with it.
Speaker1: Yes, I think people make absolute pilgrimage to come to Haworth, to come to the museum. We have people who have, like, basically saved up their entire lives, and they've been wanting to do this journey forever because they read Wuthering Heights when they were, like, twelve years old, and it has been kind of, like, the book that spoke to them. I think that's the thing, is that if you read any of their novels, their lives are kind of really embedded in them, but also the landscape is. So, coming to the place where they wrote those, you can almost feel, like, 'I can see exactly why they were writing these things, and I can see where they got their inspiration from', and you can feel it, as well. I think that's what's really special about Haworth, is that, it feels like it's, kind of, stuck in time, even though it's not, yes.
Moderator1: Do you think people Haworth love or hate the Brontes? Because you know in Padstow, everyone hates Rick Stein (laughter). No, you have to play Padstein bingo.
Moderator2: What's that?
Moderator1: Padstein bingo is when Rick Stein is on a TV program, you have to guess how many seconds it is before he mentions how great Padstow is, and then you have to count every time he says 'Padstow', and do whatever you want, (talking over each other 23.04) chocolate-,
Moderator2: Every (talking over each other 23.07) sweat that drips down his little lovely head.
Moderator1: Salty, Padstow sweat. Yes, you have to, you know, have a drink, or piece of chocolate, whatever your poison, but yes, I find it hilarious.
Moderator2: Padstein?
Moderator1: Padstein.
Moderator2: I actually love Rick Stein so much. Like, I during lockdown, I would just watch Rick Stein all the time. I just find him such a comforting man.
Speaker1: Really?
Moderator2: A sweaty, comforting man.
Moderator1: Yes. His son does Steph's Packed Lunch all the time, which is filmed, like, just there. So, sometimes I think, 'Hmm, I could go and say hi', and then we would fall in love, and then get married, and then I would get to meet Rick Stein.
Moderator2: Your brain is incredible.
Moderator1: Or I could just ask him if I could meet his dad. Anyway.
Moderator2: Why did you bring up Rick Stein?
Moderator1: Sorry. Do people, in Haworth, do you think they love or hate them?
Speaker1: I think it depends, because there's actually really interesting, like, 30-minute documentary on BBC. So, when I started the job, I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to watch everything Bronte'. There's not actually that much, like, on streaming services. There's this really odd documentary which looks at, like, Haworth as a place, and whether, like, I think it's in the 1970s or 1980s, whether the people of Haworth like the Brontes, and the majority of them are like, 'Get that tat out of here. All these postcards and tea towels, we don't want it here'. Okay, so I understand that maybe it's a bit much and it's quite touristy, but also it's what brings people to Haworth, and it makes it special.
Moderator2: No offence, but your village might not exist without them.
Speaker1: Exactly, right.
Moderator2: This is Yorkshire, you're famously tight. Let people bring money in.
Moderator1: And Haworth is, like, just for anyone who doesn't know, because we have some international listeners, it's, like, what you imagine a pretty Yorkshire village. Haworth's just, like, god, you did not do a stress test then, did you? But it is beautiful, and it's, like, very, very rustic.
Speaker1: You know on, like, Instagram reels, or like TikTok, where they're like, 'Five places you must visit in the UK'. On one the other day, it was like, 'Haworth', and it was like the main street, because it's like the most picturesque place in the UK, and I was like, 'You know what, it does deserve to be there, it is beautiful'.
Moderator2: Did they pronounce it correctly? Did they call it 'Hor-warth'.
Speaker1: No, I don't think there was any sound on the video, it just said 'Haworth', but they spelled it correctly, which is good.
Moderator1: When I first came to Yorkshire, I thought that it was pronounced 'Hay-worth'. An absolute mug.
Moderator2: God, you're such a southerner.
Moderator1: Yes, I know.
Moderator2: How did you pronounce Keighley?
Moderator1: We've been through this before, but-,
Moderator2: I think 'Keeley' (ph 25.20).
Moderator1: Yes. Outside the pubs and stuff, is it like, 'Anne's favourite place to get a pint' (laughter).
Moderator2: Anne loved a port and lemonade.
Moderator1: 'This is where she sat'.
Speaker1: In the Black Bull, they've, kind of, got a fake chair, because we own the chair in our collection, but they've got like a chair which is where Branwell would sit.
Moderator1: Oh, of course it's Branwell in the blood pub, isn't it?
Speaker1: Yes, it's like, his pub, but other than that, they kind of kept to their house, to be honest. Like, they would go to the Post Office, which is now a little shop called, like, Cabinet of Curiosities, but there's not really any plaques anywhere, like, 'They did this'. It has kind of all come after they left, and had died. There's, like, Bronte everything in Haworth, like Bronte Curry House, Bronte Taxi Service.
Moderator2: Do you think they would have liked a curry?
Speaker1: Maybe.
Moderator2: Charlotte, she would have been up for it.
Speaker1: Yes, I think so. Maybe Anne and Emily might have just (talking over each other 26.13).
Moderator2: What curries do you think they would have eaten? If the Bronte sisters were a curry?
Moderator1: You've not done much talking about Anne, to be honest. You've given me, like, weak energy from Anne. So, I reckon is a korma girl.
Speaker1: Korma, I was going to say, yes, Anne's probably a korma. Maybe, like, Branwell is a jalfrezi.
Moderator1: Man would like a jalfrezi, yes.
Speaker1: Yes, yes, and then Charlotte might be-,
Moderator1: I think Charlotte is, like, chef's special, if you know what that is.
Speaker1: Okay, yes, and then, like, Emily will be like a prawn, like, bhuna, or something like that (laughter).
Moderator1: Yes, I like it, that's really good. Next exhibition idea.
Speaker1: Yes, bring them in it. It would be really cool. I was thinking it would be really cool to, like, partner with one of the, like, Bronte curry houses, and do, like, an evening of, like, food. I would love to do that.
Moderator1: Oh, you should do that, that would be amazing.
Speaker1: Yes, yes, it would be really cool. It's in my bank of ideas.
Moderator1: When visitors actually come to the house, what's the thing that they connect with the most? Like, do you ever get anyone crying over something?
Speaker1: I think the house itself is something that makes people quite emotional, because it's literally the walls and the rooms that they would be in, but I think the thing that I've seen visitors, like, really engage with the most recently are the little books. So, these are, like, what they would write in when they were, like, children, and they're, like, these tiny little books, probably, like, I don't know, just of size of your index finger, and they would write poems, or, like, little newspaper articles, or even, like, little stories in these books, for their toy soldiers, and they're just so tiny. Like, the way that they wrote them, you can't-, like, even with a magnifying glass, it's really difficult to see, and it's actually quite interesting, because they did that on purpose, because they didn't want their dad to read them, so they kind of made them tiny as, like, a little secret thing.
Moderator1: My handwriting is terrible.
Speaker1: Yes, same, so is mine.
Moderator1: Like, really big and scrawly.
Moderator2: Mine's beautiful (laughter).
Moderator1: You are on one today, mate.
Moderator2: Yes, I know, I know.
Speaker1: But yes, no. But they all had really, kind of, scrawly, bad handwriting. I think it's a sign of creativity. So, Meg.
Moderator2: Yes, you're out, I'm a bore (laughter).
Speaker1: So, yes, I think the little books, it's really exciting because, over the last couple of years, we've actually acquired quite a lot. So, there was a big campaign to save the Honresfield Library, and the friends of the National Library raised loads of money to bring, kind of, these historic items back to their places of home. So, lots went to, like, the British Library, and to Jane Austen's house, but we got the little books back, and then, at the same time, there was a private auction for one of, like, the Book of Rhymes, which is like these poems that Charlotte Bronte wrote that no-one has ever seen, and they're these little poems by her when she was really young in this tiny book. Yes, and we got that back as well. So, from what we know, all of these little books are out of the hands of private collectors now, and they're either back with us, or there's some in New York, I think, and in the British Library, which is pretty amazing.
Moderator1: Yes.
Speaker1: Yes. We do, like, little workshops where you can make little books, it's pretty cute.
Moderator2: That's really cute.
Speaker1: Yes.
Moderator1: I was going to ask about, like, acquisitions of things. Is there stuff that you're still finding, like, the Bronte Parsonage I imagine it has been thoroughly looked through, but is there stuff that you keep finding, or stuff that you're missing that you would love to have?
Speaker1: So, like, I think the last time that they found something was in the 1960s, and then it was, like, in the walls, they found this box-,
Moderator1: Meg's favourite thing.
Moderator2: I'm literally dying right now, go on.
Speaker1: In the walls, they found a box that just said 'Bronte' on it, and it was loads of clothes, and they're quite lavish clothes. So, it has taken a while to actually, kind of, do lots of research on it, but our exhibition for last year, it was called 'Defying Expectations: Inside Charlotte Bronte's Wardrobe'. So, in this box, we actually found this amazing dress, which was, like, blue (TC 00:30:00) and pinstriped, and it had frills, and lace, and all of these, like, extra bits, and I think people think that Charlotte Bronte would dress kind of like maybe Jane Eyre would, or her character is quite, like, plain and grey, but this dress, kind of, said to us, 'Wow, is this how she dressed?' So, our researcher, Dr. Eleanor Houghton worked with our lead curator Ann Dinsdale, and they spent quite a lot of time, and they've figured out, basically, that it was her dress, and she used to wear it to, like, the opera, when she kind of got in that celebrity status after it was revealed that she wrote Jane Eyre. That's amazing that that was found, like, in the wall, in a little box, like, and they were like, 'Surely that's not her dress', like, that is crazy. Then, I think, at the same time, under the floorboards, they found loads of little toys that they used to have. So, like, juvenilia pieces, which is really lovely, but that was the last time there was, like, a big refurbishment, and we're pretty sure the majority of stuff is, kind of like, from the house, is found now. It will just be things that crop up that we don't know exist from around the world, because I think all of their stuff was just at that time, where they reached peak celebrity, so maybe like the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s, there was just stuff being sold for so much money, and you just lost track of where everything went. Even things like, I find this incredible, Charlotte had kind of this-, she had, like, a love interest with a man called Monsieur Heger in Brussels. So, that's where they went to, like, learn to teach and teach. He didn't really have any interest in her, and he also had a wife, but it was when she came back to Haworth, she would write letters to him, quite, like, revealing, like, soppy letters that I don't think she would want anyone to see, and they were torn up into, like, little pieces, but someone must have saved those, and then they put them back together. Yes, we actually have one in our collection. I don't know, I feel like that's a bit too much, like-,
Moderator2: Yes, she didn't want anyone to read them.
Speaker1: No, she probably just wanted him to read them, and I don't even know if he ever did.
Moderator1: Are there any ghost stories?
Speaker1: So, we get asked that quite a lot. So, we get people quite a lot come in and say that they can, like, feel presences. I'm not sure. I've not felt a presence myself, but one of the most recent stories, and this is really haunting, is that-, So, like, I think it was maybe five or six years ago, the dining table came back into our collection. So, it's the actual dining table that they would write at and write their stories on. That's amazing, because we know from their papers and diary entries and letters that that is where they would all sit as a family and, kind of like, feverishly write together. So, that's quite cool. But before we acquired it, it was owned by a family, and their grandson worked for the British Library, and at the time, he was doing something with the Jane Eyre manuscript, and he had it on himself, and he said came off the train, and he got in a taxi with it, and at the end of the taxi ride, the taxi man, he paid the taxi man, and the taxi man said, 'Where's that small woman that with you?' Yes, and he was like, 'What?' And he was like, 'Yes, the small woman in, like, a grey dress. She was, like, I don't know, four foot something'-,
Moderator1: (Talking over each other 33.12).
Speaker1: Yes, yes. 'She was with you the whole time', and he was apparently like, 'What?' Because he know that they, because they have the table, and the Jane Eyre manuscript. So, I like to think that maybe, like, Charlotte was making sure that the manuscript was looked after the whole time.
Moderator1: Wow.
Moderator2: (Talking over each other 33.27), that's a good story.
Speaker1: That's pretty cool, right? But Haworth has, kind of like, lots of haunted rumours, and actually, this isn't about ghosts, but it kind of links into it, there is a rumour that there are tunnels under the whole of Haworth that, like, link to different places. So, her, Emily, and Charlotte used to, like, go in one of the tunnels to the Black Bull and get Branwell out and bring him back into the Parsonage, so they didn't embarrass themselves when he was really drunk. I mean, I think that has been disproved, but I like to still think that there are some tunnels we've not found, it's pretty cool.
Moderator2: That's funny.
Moderator1: You know, right, this is just my own brain, but like, I always think, when you're thinking about, 'Oh, there might be hidden tunnels', or, 'Have you discovered everything from the house?' Why hasn't someone invented, like, a massive scanner that you could just, like, from a helicopter, just scan-,
Moderator2: I think those things exist, but I think the-,
Moderator1: In, like, the army?
Moderator2: The overriding issue we have is that they're really expensive, and no-one's willing to fund that, Meg. It's a bit simplistic (ph 34.22).
Moderator1: It's a whole other ball game. Right, I have a small issue with the ghost story, in that, if it was Charlotte, why was she not immediately terrified about the fact that she was in a moving motor vehicle?
Moderator2: Also, she wouldn't have got a seat on the bloody train.
Moderator1: No, she would not, not in that big dress.
Speaker1: Maybe she has, like, seen the world change.
Moderator2: Maybe she has, maybe she has.
Moderator1: So, you know you said about the dress, do they know that that was Charlotte's dress because of-, like, do you just have their DNA just bottled up for each of them, and then they cross-reference stuff?
Speaker1: No (laughter).
Moderator1: How do they know whose it is?
Speaker1: So, it will be to do with, like, sizing. So, like, we know, from the dresses that we know are Charlotte's based on things written in diaries and things like that, this is Charlotte's dress, or that it was labelled, I'm not really sure. From there, then they'll be like, 'We know the measurements of Charlotte's waist and her height', and stuff. So, that dress fits her proportions, but because it was so, like, audacious, people were like, 'Surely that's not hers'. Then it will be to do with dating as well, so people can date the materials back to a certain time, and does that fit with their timeline of, like, age? Also, like, materials, so where did those materials come from? I think you can do lots of, like, textiles deep dive work in terms of, like, where that piece of cloth came from, or like, it wasn't local to where they were living, and things like that. So, I think that's it, but no DNA is involved.
Moderator1: You're going to have an issue, though, like Meg, when, in 200 years time, someone's looking at your clothes, because you love a baggy clothing.
Moderator2: Oh, I love baggy clothes.
Moderator1: So, they're going to go, 'This person must have been this size, based on their clothing' (laughter).
Moderator2: Yes, absolute nightmare.
Moderator1: Maybe you need to start putting little pockets of DNA in your clothes.
Moderator2: Well, it's all over the place.
Speaker1: Or little labels, just saying your names, like you're in primary school.
Moderator2: Pease don't (talking over each other 36.15) DNA samples.
Moderator1: Okay, like, museumy question, though. So, when you've got, like, a dress, and you've got the sofa that Emily died on, what's the museum's policy on conservation? What do you do, do you do clean that dress, do you leave it, like, is that something that the Society decides? How does that work?
Speaker1: So, this isn't my expertise, but what I know is that, we're currently in a period of conservation right now. So, we always use January, we're closed to the public, and everything is, kind of, looked after. So, dusted. I don't know how dresses and materials are, like, looked after, because I think it's a really difficult, different process, because of like the way materials deteriorate, and also we don't always have all of the clothes on show at once. So, I'll get Ann Dinsdale to get back to you on that one.
Moderator1: I just find it mind-blowing. It's literally just wild. I can't get my head round it, and this is why I literally work in museums, because I'm kind of like, it's mad that like, she died on that sofa, and then you're just, like, walking past the sofa, just trying to get people to engage with her story, but it's literally just there, on the sofa.
Speaker1: Yes. That's what I think about museums, like, I feel like you can be a bit distanced from it, even though you're working right there, because that is their actual object, like, they would hold that thing in their hands, and they owned it. So, like, sometimes I have to double take and think about that again, because yes, those are things that they were actually their items that they would write and do. By putting it in a museum, you kind of like, create that sort of separation, even with that, kind of, like a glass case, obviously. Interesting.
Moderator1: Yes. Before we get onto our last questions, just got to give a shout-out to Bradford 2025, am I right?
Speaker1: Yes.
Moderator1: Tell us about it.
Speaker1: Yes, so Bradford won City of Culture for 2025, which is really exciting, because it means that there's going to be lots of funding opportunities, and it just means there's going to be kind of like a spotlight on the city and the district, and we're in Bradford. It's amazing, I think it's really exciting. So, yes, hopefully we'll be doing I don't know what yet, but we're planning some really exciting, like, artists's installations and events all around that year. I'm hoping that the city will be able to be a bit more accessible. But yes, it's going to be really exciting, so watch out Leeds, because Bradford's coming.
Moderator1: Yes. I've actually just thought of one other question I really wanted to ask you. Do you get famous people coming? Who's your best famous person that you've had?
Speaker1: Well, I mean, like, Judy Dench is our patron, I think.
Moderator1: Really?
Speaker1: Yes, but I've never met her. Well, we worked with-, I did an event with Frances O'Connor, who's the director who did Emily last year. She was really lovely. But like Simon Armitage has done loads of works for us. Patience Agbabi, she's amazing. Sally Wainwright, who wrote Happy Valley, yes.
Moderator2: God, such good telly.
Speaker1: Yes, yes. So, there's quite a lot of, like, famous people that get involved. I'm yet to meet any of them, but I'm hoping that we can do some events-,
Moderator2: Well, invite Judy for the opening, she might come.
Moderator1: When there's, like, a director, are you, with a drama background, around you just like, (TC 00:40:00) 'Hello, it's me, please cast me in your films'.
Speaker1: I just, like pass them a screenplay that I've written over the table, like, I give them a wink (laughter).
Moderator1: 'I'll let you sit at the table if you do this'.
Speaker1: Yes, but a lot of my work is, kind of like, up and coming artists, which I really like working with. So, people that maybe we don't know of yet, or, like, are kind of starting out, and that's really exciting, because just giving a platform to kind of like new and upcoming writers to give them a space to be inspired by the Brontes, that's probably one of my favourite things about the job.
Moderator1: Okay, so, Sassy, you're a listener, so you know what's coming, and also, I think I emailed you these questions beforehand (laughter). The first question we always ask our guests is, what has been your favourite day at work?
Speaker1: Oh, I've kind of got two, but I think the stand-out one-, I'll do the lesser one first. So, I run events called Bronte Babies, which is really cute, and it's like an early years audience, so usually it's from, like, three months old to maybe one and a half, and I've written stories that are kind of like about the Brontes, but for little babies, and do Makaton, which is like, a, yes, little signing aid to speech and language for young children who maybe are non-verbal. So, we do that with it, and I've created like a sensory environment that is inspired by the Brontes. So, we have, like, a little beach scene, and a little wildlife scene, and lots of objects that smell nice, or, like, feel nice, and that's really sweet. So, I really nervous to do the first one, because we do it with South Square Centre, which is in Thornton, they're a really lovely art gallery, so they've got a beautiful space, and then I kind of lead it, and I was so worried that the babies would just, like, not care about my story.
Moderator1: You know what, those babies are judgy.
Speaker1: Yes, they're so judgy, but they were all, like-,
Moderator2: Just a room full of tiny Megs.
Speaker1: Yes (laughter). Looking at me, like, 'Is this worth it?' (talking over each other 41.43). They just, like, stared at me while I died, while I was doing it, and kind of got involved, so that was really sweet. Then, my favourite stand-out day is, so, one of the, like, biggest parts of my role is that I run the Bronte Festival of Women's Writing at the end of September. So, it's three days of events, all contemporary artists and writers, with, like, workshops and talks and Q&As, and I've only been at the Parsonage for a year. So, last year was my first one. So, it was a very crazy weekend of just, like, working from 9.00am until, like, 10.00pm, and running around, but the evening on the Saturday, we got a group of women who, they did the soundtrack for the 2020 Royal Exchange Wuthering Heights production, and they played music live on stage. We did it in, like, an old little church, and they played the soundtrack in full, and it was beautiful. We had, like, lights, and there was an organ behind them, and I got chills, and I was just like, 'Ah, this is why I do my job'. It's really exciting. So, I think yes, that was probably my favourite day where I felt like-, it was a lot of work to be put in for it, but it felt, like, really rewarding, and everyone had a great time.
Moderator1: Wonderful.
Moderator2: Lovely.
Moderator1: And our last question is two-fold. From everything that we've talked about today, what would be your takeaway for our listeners? Then, what is your favourite takeaway?
Speaker1: So, I think the takeaway for listeners is that, the Brontes are really cool, and don't let maybe reading them at, like, GCSE or A-level put you off, because I definitely was, and to the point where I'm at now, they were such influential women, and their stories, they're not, kind of like, dainty stories. There's loads of, like, meat and grittiness to it, and I just think, kind of, subverting that, for young people, is, like, the main takeaway for me. Trying to get, like, 16-25 year olds involved and engaged with the museum and the Bronte story, and membership for 16-25 year olds is only £5 for a year, and that gets you into the museum whenever you want for free, and you get to, like, come to our events discounted. Yes, it's just a really good opportunity to, kind of, get involved in that story, especially if you're from Yorkshire, or if you live, I guess, Haworth is quite, like, hard to get to, but we do online events as well. I just their story, as women, if you're a female writer, if you're a young woman looking to, kind of like, get into reading or literature or the book world, the Brontes are really cool, and their stories are great.
Moderator2: The Brontes are really cool, (talking over each other 44.14).
Speaker1: Yes. Oh, and then my favourite takeaway.
Moderator1: Oh, yes, go on.
Speaker1: It's going to be Wawin, which is like a little Leeds takeaway, yes.
Moderator2: I have never heard of that.
Speaker1: Have you not heard of it, you've never had it? Oh my god. So, it's Wawin, it's a vegan Chinese takeaway in Leeds, and when I moved here, I was like, 'Oh my god, this is brilliant, vegan Chinese takeaway'. They do every meat you can think of in a vegan version. So, like, chicken, lamb, ham, fish, prawn, like, all these different vegan meats that you think, 'There's no way you can make that vegan', and then they have all the different, like, versions of the Chinese curries that you would want, ever, and then they have amazing starters. It's, like, going just to a normal Chinese takeaway, and having even more options than you thought you could have, and everything is vegan, it's amazing.
Moderator1: I have a question about the vegan ham.
Speaker1: Yes?
Moderator1: What are they doing with vegan ham? What is a ham dish (laughter)?
Speaker1: I mean, it's like, in their special fried rice, or (talking over each other 45.12), yes, yes, yes.
Moderator2: (Talking over each other 45.12) little pink bits.
Speaker1: Yes, yes, or they do like a-,
Moderator1: The ham, yes, the hammies (laughter).
Moderator2: Those pig bits, also known as ham.
Speaker1: You can get it as a separate curry, I've just never ordered that.
Moderator1: Ham curry?
Speaker1: Yes, you can have, like, a vegan ham, like, sate (ph 45.25), yes.
Moderator1: That would be Branwell (laughter).
Moderator2: She's going to run through the whole venue.
Moderator1: No, I'm not. Have you ever had the vegan chicken drumsticks in sauce?
Speaker1: Yes, yes. They're alright.
Moderator1: Wait, what is the-, how do you hold it?
Speaker1: It's like a little wooden stick, almost like it's a Magnum, like a lollipop.
Moderator2: Ah, that's cute. Wow, I'm going to get this.
Speaker1: The duck is really good, as well. That just tastes-, it's incredible. Also, like, the meats looks all, like, the same. Maybe there's going to be, like, a Panorama where it comes out and it's actually meat, yes, and I've just been duped this whole time. But no, it is really impressive. So, if you've never had it, you've got to get it.
Moderator2: Got to get it.
Moderator1: Okay, great. Oh, and also, can you just tell everyone when the exhibition is opening?
Speaker1: Oh, yes. So, the exhibition opens on the 1st February, and it runs for the whole of 2023. So, we're open Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00am until 5.00pm.
Moderator2: Sassy, thank you so much for coming on the pod with us.
Moderator1: Oh, yes, so wonderful.
Speaker1: Thanks for having me.
Moderator1: I've learned a lot. I think I might go and read Wuthering Heights, or at least listen to Kate Bush.
Speaker1: Yes, okay. You can have that as a second, yes (laughter).
Moderator2: (Silence 46.24-46-30). Okay, what was your favourite thing that we talked about?
Moderator1: I liked obviously her talking about the thing that she found in the walls. I don't think she found that, actually, I'm crediting her for finding and making that discovery-,
Moderator2: In the 1960s?
Moderator1: Yes, yes. It was the ghost. That's amazing, that's always my favourite thing, that's the only thing (ph 46.47) that's actually incredible, but I think my favourite thing was the E.T. top she was wearing (laughter). I don't know if I'm going to leave that in in the edit, but just so you know, anyone listening, Sassy came in, took off her coat, and she was wearing, like, this polar neck, and it had, like, a print, like, a repeated print of a picture of E.T. Yes.
Moderator2: That was the best thing from the podcast about the Bronte Parsonage?
Moderator1: E.T. I think the Brontes would have liked E.T.
Moderator2: Yes, but, important question, do you think the Brontes are boring, still?
Moderator1: I don't, actually.
Moderator2: Okay, that's good to know.
Moderator1: I don't-,
Moderator2: But you did identify with Branwell the most, which is an interesting take.
Moderator1: Yes, I think he sounds like an absolute lege. Do you want to go to the pub that he went to, before we go to the opening?
Moderator2: Absolutely, yes, yes. I think, for me, what I find fascinating is, it's so close to home-,
Moderator1: Literally.
Moderator2: Like, yes, and these three women, like, really paved the way for literature. They didn't write a great deal in terms of published items, but, like, they really went all out with the topics that they were talking about, and you could tell, like, Sassy was really passionate about it, and specifically how different they all were, and I think that's really interesting, from a museum point of view, to have, like, that social history with the literary aspect. I don't know, I'm personally interested in it. So, I like the fact that she talked about those tiny little books, and how, sort of, they resonate with people, and it's funny how people obsess with really tiny things, aren't they?
Moderator1: I don't care about tiny things.
Moderator2: Why not?
Moderator1: I just rather-,
Moderator2: You like big things? Big and showy.
Moderator1: I like big things.
Moderator2: Yes. I just think that's fascinating, though, that they essentially created, like, a little secret code to hide it from their dad.
Moderator1: What were they writing? Should have asked. I just burped a little bit of boiled egg.
Moderator2: Oh, gosh, you are filthy. I can't believe you bought boiled egg in a packet, today.
Moderator1: They tasted like they were from a packet as well. It was a really bad choice.
Moderator2: I don't know what you were expecting.
Moderator1: I just felt like I had tummy ache, and I didn't want to-,
Moderator2: So, what you thought we would do is, an egg rolled in plastic.
Moderator1: Two plastic boiled eggs would really do it.
Moderator2: Was it two?
Moderator1: Two.
Moderator2: Oh, right. To be fair, one boiled egg-,
Moderator1: That's my usual breakfast, though, two boiled eggs with a bit of salt and pepper.
Moderator2: Yes. Yes, yes. But not out of a packet.
Moderator1: I gave that my friend, once.
Moderator2: You also, like, over-boil your eggs.
Moderator1: You over-boil your eggs.
Moderator2: I don't.
Moderator1: Anyway, enough about eggs. Speaking of eggs, we need to thank-,
Moderator2: Good eggs.
Moderator1: The two good eggs that helped us do this podcast, which are Tim Bentley, who did our theme music, and Alex Finney, who did our cover artwork. Transcripts are on the website alongside the pod.
Moderator2: Leave us a review if you would like to. Send us a postcard if you're in somewhere nearly as pretty as Haworth. Or not.
Moderator1: Okay. Let's go get lunch.
Moderator2: Have a great time, bye.
Moderator1: Okay, bye.