Remember the rubix cube? Or how about the first ever mobile phone? Do you have any items from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s or early 1980s lurking in your attic?

Exciting new plans are now in the pipeline to build a major new exhibition centre at Yesterday's World and we're appealing to the public to help! We are looking for artefacts from household items or pieces of furniture to garments, toys and children's games from the 1950s - the early 1980s to complement the 100,000+ 1850s-1950s exhibits already on display. One artefact which touches the heart of many of visitor to the museum is 'Lorraine's Cottage'; a beautifully hand-painted and much-loved 1960s dolls house, which was donated to the museum in August 2004. We are eager to take on more articles like this from the 1960s, as well as the 1970s and early 1980s for our new display. If you have anything from these eras sitting in your attic that you would like to find a home for, we would love to hear from you.

We are interested in everything from singular items to entire collections and depending on where you live, we may be able to arrange transportation in some cases. Please contact 01424 893938 for more details.
 

Young and old alike got into the Christmas spirit for Battle's Annual Gala Night on Thursday 8 December. In keeping with the tradition of the event, High Street traders dressed up in fancy dress to compete for the coveted Battle Town Council shield for Best Dressed Business. The theme here at Yesterday's World was 1960s and 1970s disco to tie in with our ongoing appeal to the public for sixties and seventies artefacts for display in our new exhibition centre.

We are pleased to announce that we raised the grand total of £92.50 from our outdoor sweet and refreshment stand in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Photos of the event
 

A 13ft cannon from London has found a home in the Yesterday's World Bygone Play Village. Museum bosses purchased the mock canon, which is seated on a mahogany timber base and is a replica of one from Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship, from a display commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

It is the latest addition to the popular children’s play area, which was gutted by fire following an arson attack earlier this year. Another welcome new feature is the blacksmith’s forge, complete with stables and a replica furnace, which is already proving to be very popular among the museum’s younger visitors.
 

Some of the Yesterday's World team travelled up to London's Guildhall to attend a Blitz Exhibition held by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters last week. The special 3 day public event marked the role which firefighters played during the Blitz and included displays from St John's Ambulance and Doctor Johnson's house, as well as an ARP station and archive footage from the period.

Our stand on food packaging and rationing from the war brought back fond memories for a lot of visitors who attended the event, many of whom had been evacuated as children during the war. HRH Princess Anne, attended a private viewing of the exhibition on the Monday evening and was particularly interested in our special Aintree edition box of Jacob's cream crackers, which had a drawing of a racehorse on the front.

All the artefacts on the stand, which included articles such as Rinso powder, Oxydol, Sunlight Soap, spray dried egg powder and Welgar Shredded Wheat, are available to view in the 1930s grocers and war cabinet display at Yesterday's World.

Photos of the event

If you have any articles, particularly from the 1960s, '70s & '80s, which you would like to display at Yesterday's World, please contact 01424 893938.
 

The museum received an unusual gift this month after a surprise discovery was made in a storage room. Whilst clearing out the store room at Folkestone Bus Station, Stagecoach Operations Manager, Sam Wigley and her team discovered more than 100 old-style sweet containers - believed to be at least 45 years old. Many were in good condition and unopened with the historic sweets still inside!

The sweets are thought to be from stock left behind by a former shop at the bus station, which celebrated its 50th year of operations in March. Familiar brands were found including Quality Street, Lucozade, and Cadbury's Roses along with names from a bygone age such as Dulcet Pastille Fruits and Jelly Fish, Pascal Fruit Bon Bons, Lyon's Double Hit and various brands from Bellamys the confectioners. All had price tickets attached showing pounds, shillings and pence.

Keen to ensure the discovery can be appreciated and bring back sweet memories to the public for years to come, Stagecoach staff contacted us at Yesterday's World to give the artefacts a new home, in return for a donation to the Sittingbourne-based charity, Demelza House Hospice for Children. We are hoping to display some of items in our Victorian Sweet Shop and in Mrs Bumble's Chocolate Shop once they've had a bit of a clean-up.
 

The centre-piece of our popular children's bygone play village, the Children's Castle, reopened this week to the delight of staff and visitors alike. Work to rebuild the site and boundary wall has been ongoing since March when the building was completed gutted in an arson attack. Bigger and more colourful than before, the beautifully hand-painted miniature replica also has its very own dungeon, fireman's pole & slide and a secret vault!