quexs 2008

as we converged in our set meeting place , the carpark of the QUEX MUSEUM
we all made our way into the foyeu ,where a few more site members had arrived, that had not joined us at the clay shoot or even the meal on the sat night, i think in total about 22 adults and 6 children
now signed in, malcolm took the star role and our journey began
the first hall we entered , silence fell, the wow factor stopped us all, though malcom did his best to catch our attention so he could welcome us all and give eveyone the history of how quexs began,
SORRY malc , i never realy paid to much attention as the scenery had myself captivated as by the looks of it a few others
this was why
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please except my apologies for the dodgy photos as i was not expecting to photo what i did and the glass surround did little to help with my excitement
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from what i recall major powell cotton, who set the museum up went on 27 safaris to africa and also other continents too, where he logged the specific details of each animal he culled then had them shipped back to the uk for taxidermy and present day museum pieces, the one interesting factor i found on this, was, the skins were not treated in a tanning solution , but , stored in arsenic so dna samples are now able to be took along with the logged data of where each species came from , some modern day animals can now be traced back to their origins which would normaly of been lost
now at this stage every one started to disperse to venture from the museum as little groups so the rest of the tour is in my eyes and thoughts
this paticular trophy
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could this be malcs first troll?
this section i think is from khasakstahn again apologies but the glass fronts and light sensitve areas had to be respected
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this was one of my favorites pieces and such a beautifull set up
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and a totaly stunning doorway
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the ivory are 372lbs and the second heaveist recorded shot in the zuga west albert 1906 picture above
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not to sure who these dandy highway men were
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'STAND AND DELIVER YOUR MONEY OR YOUR WIFE'
talking about wives wadas O/H mentioned when was it dinner time
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but it did not mean it was a free for all where the tallest amonst us got the best pickings
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some of the SD motley crew
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the list of memories could go on but i am sure others would like to put their part to this aswell ,so from us all
MANY THANKS to MALC for the superb tour of a most beatiful home and work place


pictures of the clay shoot and sat evening will be posted at a later date
 
Wow! What a place, how much do I wish I could have come. Thanks so much for posting the pics.
 
Well Stone, I know you have asked for no replies, but I am afraid I am going to have to correct you on your post about the museum.

Major Powell - Cotton is the name, not Cotton Powell and he did 27 Safaris to Africa, plus others to Tibet, Baltistan and India. This did not equate to 127 :eek: The tusks were 372lbs combined weight. And the skins are tanned on the mounted specimens, but to preserve them in the field he used suspended arsenic. The skins in store number about 6000 speciemens and because he used suspended arsenic and did not tan them, we are able to use samples to extract DNA from today.

Quex is spelt without an s at the end and Malcolm is spelt with two L's.

Sorry Richard........... it is a nice report of a very good weekend, but I just needed to point the errors out.

Look forward to more in the near future from you.

Cheers

Sikamalc ;)
 
okay a few spelling mistakes and a top curator to help out and put us the straight
can't be bad
thanks malc

this was mean't to be a continuation but hey if frax wants to reply so be it ,every one else join the party thats what this site is about unity among its members
REPLY AWAY
 
Hi Stone, many thanks for putting the Quex trip on the site, sorry if I came across as being a bit picky, didnt mean to.

I was at a store that the BM Nat Hist runs in Wandsworth yeaterday, researching an Okapi that Major Powell-Cotton gave to the country in 1906. We are hoping to get it back to Quex, trouble is it has not been looked after very well, and needs a great deal of conservation work carried out.

BUT while I was in the store I found this.
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It is a Greater Kudu collected and presented by Fredrick Courtney Selous.

A real piece of history :D
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Unfortunatly as you can see the Okapi has not fared so well. There is some major work to be carried out to save this and try and get it back to a reasonable condition. As you have a keen interest in taxidermy Richard I thought you might like to see these piccys. ;)
 
I may have mentioned in another post that I hang onto magazines for far too long. Well perhaps that aint a bad thing, as flicking through a back issue of Shooting Times (2006, I forget which edition exactly) I came across a 4 page article on Sikamalc and the amazing museum he curates!

It certainly looks something special and I hope one day I will get to visit. It was a bit far for me to travel this time around, but who knows in the future.

Keep up the good work Sikamalc

Novice
 
The weekend certainly was a memorable one for all of the right reasons.

I thought that I would add a few of my own photos.

There were a number of things that really impressed me about the exhibits.

The quality of the settings that had been made up to compliment the taxidermy.

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The quality of the taxidermy was second to none. (Especially the shoulder mount of a Greater Kudu but the name of the taxidermist escapes me! :lol: )

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But one thing blew me away more than anything else was the stores. I was not expecting the vast array of specimens that Malc took us to see. This was a real eye opener for me. The organisation was fantastic with drawer upon drawer filled with skeletons, skulls or skins. 1000s of different specimens.

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And I thought that I would include this just to keep Mr. B. warm on a winters night.

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I would like to thank Malc once again for the amazing tour. I think we were all awe struck throughout.

Cheers

Andy
 
You were all very welcome, and I hope to repeat it next year, with maybe a clay layout and BBQ at Quex the day before ;) There is also a camping site only 1 mile away, plus of course the usual watering hole that most of you stayed at.

Thank you Novice for your kind words. i think the article was written by Tony Jackson? This was the second article he has written on the museum, and if any of you get the chance to read Fredrick Walkers book certain Curve of the Horn, about the Giant Sable of Angola, you will also find that the museum is mentioned a few times in there as well.

Thank you to everyone that turned up, and here's to the next time.

Cheers

Sikamalc
 
It sounds like a date! :D Put my name down Malc, I want to see the chimpanzee bones in the little boxes again! Just like Airfix kit monkeys but totally different! :lol:
 
I will make another journey aswell, ;) and will probably take in a bit more info as i think we were all in awe with the wonderful place. Thanks malcom and also to everyone else who made "MY" weekend one to remember. ;)

wadas
 
quex

my troop will attend again just give us a date and time and we will be there may even bring OH this time as she is fed up of listening how good it was last time
 
Quex House

Put our names down too. Looking forward to seeing you all and the fantastic exhibits again. Clay shooting sounds a great idea.
Cheers, Robin
 
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