What does one do with old reduntant buildings in Linton now that the CFA has moved to their spacious new lodgings just South of town.
Well, something we don’t have is a proper Museum. The Historical Society has a small museum with a limited collection of artifacts related to the town but these societies are plentiful in the general scheme of things and too be honest, although of great interest, has all the excitement of a carpet remnant showroom.
No. We need something totally unique.
In Australia we have so many ‘World Of …..’ . Every possible object or idea has been thought about it is hard to find something totally different. In in all my research however I have yet to find a ‘World of Corks’. That’s right, new ones, old ones, used ones and artwork made from them. In this day and age of screwtops, ring pulls and poppers the use of corks is becoming less common. Only in the rarified atmosphere of the best wines and champagnes - those that average around $2 per.grape - are corks still in vogue,
The idea that Linton could be the central suppository of all things cork is a valid one. As time progresses the younger generation will appreciate the wonder of this natural product and a suggestion that a Cork Tree actually be planted with the collection. The museum proper could display corks from bottles and some that still intact as a demonstration of their flexibility. Other exhibitions could demonstrate cork flooring, walls and ceilings, cork boards with pins, and duck bird corks the type used to prevent ducks from sinking. We might even be able to demonstrate the use of burnt corks in a daily Black and White Minstrel Show. A demonstration of removing corks from bottles with cutlasses and teeth, the possibilities are endless.
This idea has so much potential that the Astonisher has already started by donating 736 different used corks from red wine bottles and 201 from sparkling wine including Champagne and Porphry Pearl. So with nearly a thousand bottle corks we are almost ready to start putting them on display.
We are now looking to recruit several of the towns artistic community capable of creating unique works of art from cork. Any volunteers?
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