Karl Mercer

A colourful waistcoat shimmers in gold and purple with a bold paisley-style pattern. In the black, silky pocket section a daffodil pin is poking out, green beads of the stem lead up to a two-tone yellow flower made of plastic or resin. The collar of the waistcoat is raised.

It's been over 3 years since I last put on a display or exhibition.

Think I'm about overdue for a revival, right?

We do enjoy these beautiful posts from @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social showing the work of Anne Pratt. Anne Pratt was a botanical illustrator and author who produced most of her works, including the one featured, while living in #Dover in the mid-19th Century.

Deal Man is an 18cm carved chalk figurine from Dover Museum's display. Here he has taken a selfie with a pair of aviator sunglasses. He at the beach on a sunny day in front of Dover Harbour with yachts in the background.

National sunglasses day is a compulsory call to put sunglasses on museum collections, and frankly Deal Man rocks a pair of aviators. #NationalSunglassesDay #sunglassesday #sunglasses #museum #collections #Deal #Dover #beach

People who don't enjoy "The Hundred" are the same people who espouse the values of cultural heritage but consistently under-fund museums.

Just saying.

Image shows Deal Man (a carved chalk votive figurine from Dover museum's display) wearing a Virtual Reality headset. The background is a black and orange strobe pattern and headed with Dover Museum and Curating Visibility. Text reads: Volunteers wanted! To facilitate the exciting, upcoming Curating Visibility VR exhibition.

! Calling for #volunteers !
Production of our exciting Curating Visibility exhibition is now in full-swing.
We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to facilitate the virtual reality experience.
See link below to find out more ⬇️
www.dovermuseum.co.uk/Exhibitions/...

@accentuateuk.bsky.social

A sepia ink outline drawing of St James' church, Dover. The facade and the battlement feature of the church can be seen behind a wall and trees.

A colour photograph of the remaining façade of the West entrance to St James' church Dover. In the foreground is the White Horse Pub, and in the background is a carpark and block of flats.

Sepia ink drawing of the outline of the interior of the view of St James' church, including features of rib vaulting, a pulpit and a stained glass window at the far end.

A colour photograph of the West entrance to St James' church Dover. The photo shows the arch to the doorway with Norman chevron "zig-zag" patterns. The picture shows the aisle leading to the far end with remains of the internal walls. Either side of the aisle is surrounded by grass.

Pictured are #sketches of the 12th century #church of St. James the Apostle in #Dover from a sketch book of sepia ink drawings in Dover Museum's #archive. The artist is unknown, but a note at the back dates the drawings to c.1830. Alongside the drawings are photos of the site today.

We will have to find you a catastrophe box.

No hurry at all. At this point it might be the one thing too much that causes the whole pile of moved crap to topple over! So much stuff!

If you open up that box it's just my life in there.

We 'herd' that is #CowAppreciationDay today, so here's a repost of John Lewis Roget's drawing of Appleton Farm, Martin #Dover.

Being forced to move house is brilliant. So far I've paid a month's rent on somewhere I can't even live yet due to the water pressure being so bad the boiler and shower don't work, and my £2000 flooring being delayed.

But at least I got all this free cortisol.

Today is #NationalPigeonDay!

To celebrate the #pigeon we thought we'd look to the museum's taxidermy First World War carrier pigeon.

This pigeon was carefully cleaned and repaired by #Dover Museum’s Collections Assistant, Kayleigh. Find out more in our post from earlier in the year ⬇️

Excuse the audio - it's the sound of a pigeon pecking me in order to get me to do this...

He's back, in 3D model form!

An illustration of Dover Museum's façade with four seagulls on the roof. The façade is cream and white and features archways and columns. It also features black, orange and white Dover Museum Entry signs. There are illustrations of clouds on a dusky blue background. A larger illustration of seagull is perched on the title 'Museum in miniature'

New #Exhibition coming soon: Museum in miniature.
An exploration of #miniature versions of things from life that people have produced and enjoyed.
📅Open June 10th 2025-April 2026
📍Special Exhibitions Gallery, #Dover #Museum.

I'm not saying it's all fun and games at @romanpalace.bsky.social, but this is how I imagine the role of 'Head of Operations' there...

The autistic experience of being tired of people telling you how you feel and what's good for you.

Thank you. Taking things one day at a time at the moment.

In Memory of Rose Mercer for Multiple System Atrophy Trust Help Vicki Mercer raise money to support Multiple System Atrophy Trust

In memory of my mum, who sadly died last Tuesday, my family and I are running a campaign to raise money for MSA Trust.

While not many of you knew my mum, many of you do know me and how hard the last few years of dealing with my mum's condition has been.

www.justgiving.com/page/vicki-m...

It's such a worthy cause, and I would like to ensure there is some legacy for a woman who always worked tirelessly for others.

Such a rare condition means there's so little knowledge, support, or research funding. And families in the UK affected only really have one source of support - The MSA trust.

They were excellent, even training the nurses in my mum's care home in how best to manage her and the complications of MSA.

MSA - multiple system atrophy - is a rare, progressive neurological disorder. Only around 3,500 in the UK have it.

It causes atrophy of your nerve cells affecting mobility, cognition, and even things like blood pressure and bladder and bowel control.

It hit my mum hard!

Until only a couple of years ago my mum was an unbreakable rock. A relentless working-class machine who had been through so much and came out the other end with a smile. She's been through troubled relationships, family tragedies and cancer and always stayed on her own two feet.

MSA stopped that.

In Memory of Rose Mercer for Multiple System Atrophy Trust Help Vicki Mercer raise money to support Multiple System Atrophy Trust

In memory of my mum, who sadly died last Tuesday, my family and I are running a campaign to raise money for MSA Trust.

While not many of you knew my mum, many of you do know me and how hard the last few years of dealing with my mum's condition has been.

www.justgiving.com/page/vicki-m...

🔍 Object of the Week: Bartholomew Fair by B.R. Haydon (1786–1846) features rare early depictions of disabled figures, including someone using crutches and a small Black figure, possibly a child or person living with achondroplasia.

📍 @dovermuseum.bsky.social
Curated by @karlantmercer.bsky.social

A colourful poster, the background is green at the top, with orange/red flower motifs, divided with a rounded, cloud-like line with light blue at the bottom. In the centre is a purple-collired image of me with a guitar. The words say "Exposure Open Mic - Karolus Rex - Waterstones, Canterbury - free to attend - 11th April 19:00"

World getting you down? Work full on? Personal life a mess?

There's always time for a song or a poem.

Come along to Exposure Open Mic in Waterstones, Canterbury tomorrow to see some amazing artists perform - oh and me!

Here’s how to create a more nature-literate society Nature literacy has inspired creativity and innovation for thousands of years.

How to create a #nature-literate society.
My latest article @theconversation.com

Revaluing naturalists' skills is essential for a future where we work with, not against, nature.
Notice
Name
Nurture
#GreenJobs

theconversation.com/heres-how-to...
@uclnews.bsky.social @curlewaction.bsky.social

I am going to engage in domestic archaeology today.

Over there they probably call him "Hank Hog" or something...

"The traditional, medicalised view of autism leads people to overlook any possible advantages and look in the wrong places for possible solutions to problems. It is no wonder that so many autistic people (and families, and professionals) are sick of it."

Of course!