august-2010

WEIRD MUSEUMS
4 British Lawnmower
Museum, Southport
“One of the world’s leading authorities!” goes the
unnecessarily self-deprecating blurb to Southport’s
strangest tourist draw (just 40km to the west of
Manchester), but frankly you’ll struggle to find
a more thorough tribute to Edwin Beard Budding’s
1830 invention. Featuring more than 200 models,
from the Victorian era right up to today’s, ahem,
cutting edge, its own country-and-western theme
song (amazing – check the website), plus sections
devoted to mower racing and mowers of the rich and d
famous (Prince Charles, Brian May, Joe Pasquale!),
it’s the perfect day out for horticulturists, ageing
Top Gear fans and those who really, really hate grass. .
lawnmowerworld.co.uk
Purgatory Museum,
Rome
Although museums dedicated to abstract concepts
are often a bit of a swizz (how do you exhibit
something that might not exist? Why would you
bother?) Rome’s tiny but terrifying Piccolo Museo
del Purgatorio (at Lungotevere Prati 12) bucks the
64JetAway
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