Museum of Brands - London, UK
The first thing I want to say is that the Museum of Brands is perhaps not what you think it is. Going by the name alone, I imagined that the museum would tell us the story of some of today’s best-known brands: how they came into being, old posters, slogans, TV and radio adverts, etc.
The name of the permanent exhibition, The Time Tunnel, gives a better indication of what to expect. I’d describe it as the story of everyday life in England over the last two centuries, as told by everyday objects including those specially made for important events. As such, I think it’s a brilliant way to bring history lessons to life for schoolchildren.
The hamlet of Purton, located about 4 miles from Swindon, held a day of festivities to celebrate the end of the Crimean War↗
Some Valentine’s cards from the 1860s.
Modern Valentine’s cards are frankly a bit rubbish in comparison!
Bovril↗ is a beef extract that was launched in the 1870s — think of it as a gravy drink.
I would not have thought of it as a Health and Beauty product!
Two issues of Radio Times (23/DEC/1927 and 2/AUG/1929).
Radio Times was launched in 1923 by the BBC. It was the first listings guide for radio in the world.
As a word nerd, I was struck by two things:
The use of the word ‘number’ where today we’d say ‘issue’ or ‘edition’. Presumably this was a Latin or French influence, given that modern French still uses the word numéro in the senses ‘issue’ and ‘number’.
The American date format.
The 11 December 1936 issue of the Daily Mirror announcing the coronation of King George VI↗.
1970s products
Chocs galore! (Late 1930s)
It turns out that Aero — one of my favourite chocolates — is a lot older than I thought! It was launched in 1935.
Incidentally, another blockbuster product was launched in the same year: Chocolate Crisp, renamed KitKat two years later. Good move!
Drugs and cosmetics from the 1950s(?).
I’m very fond of these old-style railway posters. Here are some more↗ from the same railway company.
A display of wares from a traditional grocer’s shop in the 1950s.
Over this decade the counter-service format was dying out, giving way to self-service shops (and eventually supermarkets).
Chocs galore! (1950s)
How many do you recognise?
A referendum↗ was held on 5 June 1975 on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Economic Community aka the Common Market.
The toy and games section was quite the nostalgia fest for me. I used to be the proud owner of the spirostart drawing device and the Scramble electronic game.
1980s
More information
Website:
Worth knowing:
If you’re visiting on a weekday and you want to avoid hordes of schoolchildren, it might be a good idea to visit at the opening time or shortly before closing.
Tickets are reusable for one year from your date of visit – this includes whichever temporary exhibition is being held over that period.
Local map (by Transport for London):
The museum is less than 5 minutes’ walk from Ladbroke Grove underground station on the Circle (yellow) line and the Hammersmith & City (pink) line.
medical text matters
Your medical expert for language services
Please note that this is an extremely slimmed-down version of my website for smartphone screens. For the full version, please visit my website on a larger screen on a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
SquareSpace’s Fluid Editor broke my soul.
Services
Translation
I can take on most translation projects in the medical field in the following language combinations:
French to English,
Greek to English,
Spanish to English.
Editing services
If you have a text that is already in English, I can — depending on how finalised it is — either proofread it or edit it to make it publication-ready. Editing is for texts that still need substantial changes to become publication-ready. Proofreading should be the very last check before a text is published. As a proofreader, I check for errors at the level of individual characters and words such as missing punctuation or misspelt words.
If you’re not sure whether your document requires editing or proofreading, send it to me so I can evaluate it — I’ll also provide a quote and delivery date at no cost and no obligation to you.
Other services
As a freelancer, I’m not boxed in by rigid or narrowly defined job descriptions. This means that in addition to the language services mentioned above, I have done other types of work, including subtitling, copywriting, writing scientific article abstracts and, in relation to scientific conferences, reviewing slideshows and designing posters.
Experience (as freelancer)
FIELDS: Medicine | Surgery | Nursing.
PRODUCTS: Traditional small-molecule drugs | Biologicals | Blood-derived products | Medical devices | Imaging devices.
THERAPEUTIC FIELDS: Oncology | Cardiovascular diseases | Endocrinology esp. diabetes and obesity | Haematology | Genetics and rare diseases.
Experience (as employee)
Journalist covering the pharmaceutical sector (2y).
Proofreader / editorial coordinator for a medical publisher (3y).
Writer / editor for a European portal on rare diseases (1y).
Medical writer / translator for a pharmaceutical industry service provider (3y).
Technical writer for a vendor of preclinical research tools (3y).
Let’s talk!
Contact me to discuss your project or to get a free quote.
I can be contacted via:
● the contact form on this website,
● email at either of these addresses:
andytheo.mtm (aτ) gmail.com
contact (aτ) medical-text-matters.com