Slow Work: a day at the museum
Grand Hall du Musée d
I’m writing this as I stand on the balcony overlooking the central hall in the Natural History Museum. Down below, scores of families and school kids are milling about, staring up in wonder at the giant dinosaur skeleton that inhabits the space.
I am positioned here for half an hour, before I wander to my next duty, which is to stand on another balcony overlooking the Earth Hall.
This is the nature of being a Visitor Assistant at the Natural History Museum. And the fact that I’m able to write this, while working, says a lot about the ethic of the place. Indeed, to even call it ‘working’ could be misleading.
The official role of the job is to patrol the galleries of the Museum, answering queries from members of the public and ensuring that they get the most out of their visit. But in reality, it mainly involves standing around for long periods of time and having a chat. If there are any demands of the job, it is probably the leg work and a degree of resilience to stop you going a little stir crazy as you stare at the same exhibits day after day.
Thankfully then, an eclectic array of staff are on hand to help you cope with this. Artists, musicians and plain-old unusual characters are all employed here, meaning that conversation is rarely in short supply.
I often stop and have a chat with David, an Italian in his late 30s who sells souvenir guides in the central hall. He is a self-confessed idler who doesn’t want to do too much of anything in life, especially work. But he is full of ideas and we often share some philosophical musings about life in general.
Then there is the Nigerian security guard who provides me with weekly instalments of the story of Moses, and a Greek-Canadian actor who is teaching me various physical techniques for increasing your self-awareness.
It’s things like this that make the job worthwhile, even if it is for an awful wage. And as far as stop gaps go, it’s not too bad at all. I just have to get round to looking for a ‘proper’ job. Soon.
Alex Rankin
Image courtesy of Nacara via flickr.com
