Working for Archives+ is never boring, every day is different and working in such a beautiful building is a pleasure. Some days are even better than others, though, and Saturday the 26th of July was something I’ll never forget.
Joey the War Horse from the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of Michael Morpurgo’s book came to Manchester Central Library. In the run up to the event we were so busy planning that I hadn’t stopped to think what it would actually be like on the day to see a life-size horse walking through Central Library.
I was a little taken aback by just how big Joey is and how realistic. The sounds, the fact that he breathes and the way he is handled mean it’s very easy to forget that he isn’t a real horse. It was obvious to see who was familiar with Joey’s story as there were quite a few tears amongst the crowd but there were also lots of smiles.
As you can see from the above picture lots of people came to Central Library to get a glimpse of Joey and to take part in the free activities taking place all day including puppet making, drama workshops and film making as well as the chance to meet Tommy Atkins and handle real First World War archives and kit.
On the 13th of August the Archives+ team are attending a WWI commemoration event at The Lowry, aimed at families but open to all and I think there’s a good chance Joey will make an appearance. There are more details here. After seeing him on Saturday I’m looking forward to the event and I am definitely going to go and see the play.
