today is THE day! we reopen in twenty minutes' time. while it's true that we cannot wait, we have also been waiting for almost six months, and at this point in time the Museum feels extremely talented at the activity of simply waiting

EIGHTEEN MINUTES

slow this down sufficiently so that it hits the fanfare in precisely seventeen minutes

they do move in herds

we are SO GOOD at waiting and yet these FOURTEEN MINUTES will not go any faster https://twitter.com/TheMERL/status/1303244841745362945

speed it up, time!

WE ARE BAACK!!!

9:53am update now with added JAM, all locally made by the wonderful @CavJamLady

we can confirm this is TRUE

we didn't get Lionel Messi but we did gain an entire museum. and if we could only choose one of the two to help us continue chronicling the diverse history of England's rural contexts, we know which it would be

however unfortunately Leo's decision seems final and our second choice is more than up to the task anyways

the last time we were open:
• Animal Crossing was still on preorder
• Folklore was a glimmer in Taylor Swift's eye
• and Lionel Messi was not considered a realistic transfer target for The Museum of English Rural Life's nonexistent footballing franchise

despite rumours to the contrary, we would like to confirm that this earthquake was not related to the reopening of The Museum of English Rural Life https://twitter.com/i/events/1303260906395107330

us looking at our visitors looking at our brand new signs

how good is it to be back

looks like really good is taking the lead

also a reminder that we have a new booking system and we politely ask all visitors to book ahead! this helps us control numbers and ensure the museum is safe and enjoyable for everyone!

also the booking system really likes it when people use it http://merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/ 

if you like books, museums, and systems, well we think you are going to absolutely love our brand new museum booking system

this is why we have the booking system and we couldn't have put it any better https://twitter.com/ianandy62/status/1303338362703675393?s=19