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A visit to museum on prescription for lonely
LONELY old people are being pre- scribed a trip to Maidstone Mu- seum to get them out and about and meeting new friends. Museums on Prescription (MoP)
is a three-year research project being carried out by University College London (UCL), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. It aims to connect lonely older people at risk of social isola- tion with museums in central Lon- don and Kent. The research team has been look-
ing at the role of museums in im- proving health and wellbeing for several years, with a focus on the benefits of touch and object-han- dling, for people in hospitals and healthcare settings. The study fol- lows a similar project, Heritage in Hospitals. The team plans to bring groups
of elderly and housebound people to Maidstone Museum to investi- gate the value of heritage encoun- ters in “social prescribing” – linking people to sources of com- munity support to improve their health andwell-being.
Maidstone museum is taking part in a project looking at how visits to
exhibitions can improve the wellbeing of older people
Similar projects already operate
inAustralia,NewZealand, Canada and the United States. The research teamwants to com-
pare how schemes work in an urban setting – London – and a re- gional setting – Maidstone. They alsowant to look at the value of an MoP scheme in a small museum and a large museum, such as the British Museum. The project is headed by Dr
Helen Chatterjee at UCL’s School of Life and Medical Science, as- sisted by Dr Linda Thomson, cog- nitive psychologist at UCL; Professor Paul Camic, professor of psychology and public health and
research director at Canterbury Christ Church University; Dr Brid- get Lockyer, postdoctoral research fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University; and Dr Theo Stickley, professor of mental health at Not- tingham University. Curators at Maidstone Museum
are looking at a range of sessions that could benefit the elderly, in- cluding painting on parchment, clay oil lamp-making, vase-paint- ing and corsage-making. As well as the main museum,
local and natural history exhibits and tours could also take place in the Carriage Museum in Mill Street.
News Shed must go
WHEN is a tree house not a tree house? When it’s a shed on stilts, according to its owner who claimed he needed it to store tools for clear- ing undergrowth in woodland near Blue Bell Hill village. But Tonbridge and Malling Council insisted the structure, north of the village sports field, had been built without its approval and must be removed. An officer’s report said: “It is
clear that it amounts to operational development which requires the benefit of planning permission.” Councillors heard the owner “claimed that the building was not a tree house but a shed constructed on stilts.” While buildings of this nature are allowed for such uses as forestry, the report said this did not apply to “hobbyist activities”.
Business stays AN INDEPENDENT retail and business postal service has outlined its commitment to Kings Hill. Post and Packing is run by Hugh Furness and Martyn Filby who bought the business from its previ- ous owners three years ago. The company has extended its
lease on its Liberty Square premises for a further five years and, having already acquired five outlets in the past three years, is looking to ex- pand further.
7 WIND
DOUBLE GL- RA ANY S E AN
GLAZELAZ ED - A--RA RAT £2600
7 WINDOWS £26
ANY SIZE- - ANY NUMB ER OF OP OF OPENERS
ATED-I - WH TEWHI TE UPVC RS
Malling March 2016 21
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