:00:07. > :00:10.Hello from Matlock Bath in Derbyshire. Tonight Inside Out
:00:10. > :00:18.poets can drink to the test. The which of our council spends the
:00:18. > :00:27.most and is it worth it? What do need a twin town for? You
:00:27. > :00:31.are never going to go there. Also tonight, a museum makeover. Geoff
:00:31. > :00:38.Burch told staff. A looks as something out of East Germany
:00:39. > :00:43.before the ball came down. Observing the past, or hidden gems
:00:43. > :00:49.in the Magic Attic. It is amazing what things people have got out of
:00:49. > :00:59.their garden sheds and attics. I am Marie Ashby and this is Inside
:00:59. > :01:06.
:01:07. > :01:10.You can spot the clues on signs all around the East Midlands. We have
:01:10. > :01:15.got towns twinned with places in France, Germany, Poland and even
:01:15. > :01:18.Nicaragua. What are the benefits to being.? Should our councils really
:01:18. > :01:27.be spending tens of thousands of pounds each year on the trimmings
:01:27. > :01:32.that go with Poynings? -- twinnings.
:01:32. > :01:35.Town planning, it all started after the Second World War. Instead of
:01:35. > :01:41.fighting one another, European towns were encouraged to join
:01:41. > :01:45.together in peace and harmony. Today, there are more than 22,000.
:01:45. > :01:48.Towns around the world with over 2500 in the UK. It is something we
:01:48. > :01:53.have embraced in a big way in the East Midlands.
:01:53. > :01:55.Today, when the future of the euro is uncertain and international
:01:55. > :02:05.relationships are strained, is pound winning more important than
:02:05. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:16.ever? British cuisine. I really enjoy it. Or is it simply a waste
:02:16. > :02:19.of time? The argument that businesses make that businesses
:02:19. > :02:22.twinned with Maromme can have economic benefit, I cannot see that.
:02:22. > :02:25.Despite the arguments for and against, for most of us, small
:02:25. > :02:33.towns in France and Germany have become our partners. It is this
:02:33. > :02:38.tiny village in Rutland with just 28 houses and a pub that has a
:02:38. > :02:44.bizarre French Connection as it claims to be twinned with Paris.
:02:44. > :02:48.Barbara dinners and wrote to the mayor years ago proposing a link.
:02:48. > :02:52.Whitwell declared itself twinned with Paris and celebrated in style.
:02:52. > :02:57.Not everyone can to such a glamourous partner. For some, the
:02:57. > :03:00.twinning relationship is one might a long-lost relative. I went did
:03:00. > :03:05.three places in a spare, laughter and Derby, all named after their
:03:05. > :03:12.twins, to find out. Have you ever had a German tourist come and have
:03:12. > :03:17.a bacon butty here? Many. They really? Really. What do you need
:03:17. > :03:22.eight Twin Town for? You are never going to go there. Any ideas why
:03:22. > :03:29.this road is called what it is? a clue. Any idea how it got its
:03:29. > :03:34.name? Not a clue. A little later, I will be revealing be three councils
:03:34. > :03:38.who are the biggest spenders as we investigate their town twinning
:03:38. > :03:43.expenses. First, I am going somewhere with a small-budget but a
:03:43. > :03:47.big connection to its French twin. For 50 years, families from
:03:47. > :03:54.Coalville have organised and paid for an exchange visit to their twin
:03:54. > :04:03.town in the south of France. On the surface, these two towns could not
:04:03. > :04:10.be more different. Romans sur Isere and Coalville, they are not
:04:10. > :04:14.identical twins. When people but the towns together, they try to
:04:14. > :04:19.find something that they have in common. The things that these two
:04:19. > :04:29.towns have in common is a shoe- making. The similarities end there?
:04:29. > :04:30.
:04:30. > :04:34.Yes! Twinning was the inexpensive way to go abroad. There were not a
:04:34. > :04:39.package holidays. We always had lots of people but it is harder now
:04:39. > :04:44.to get people to go because for the same amount of money they can have
:04:44. > :04:50.a Hollywood -- holiday abroad with no ties. Before we crossed the
:04:50. > :04:53.Channel, I made a quick visit to meet possibly the UK's only
:04:54. > :04:57.national expert on town planning. There are no formally compart
:04:57. > :05:01.national statistics on how much councils spend and how locals
:05:01. > :05:06.benefit. In your personal opinion, do you think that town twinning is
:05:06. > :05:09.a good thing? Do you think it would be poorer if we did not have it?
:05:09. > :05:13.There are so many different town twinning relationships and each are
:05:13. > :05:16.different. When you have so many and they are so independent, you
:05:16. > :05:24.see some that to think are wonderful and some that you think
:05:24. > :05:28.are awful. Dr Nick Clarke and his team completed a two year study
:05:28. > :05:33.exploring people's attitudes to town 20 across the UK, the benefits
:05:33. > :05:37.and the problems. -- to town twinning across the UK. There have
:05:37. > :05:45.been occasions when civic did to the trees have gone on trollies as
:05:45. > :05:49.part of the twinning. You cannot see what has come out of it apart
:05:49. > :05:53.from the mayor and their entourage having a good time. But I do not
:05:53. > :05:58.think that happens much any more. The heyday of the exchange visits
:05:58. > :06:05.from Coalville may have passed but for those of them and making the
:06:05. > :06:10.pilgrimage, it is an emotional reunion. It is difficult to say in
:06:10. > :06:16.English but it is a long friendship, you know? Whenever we meet, it is a
:06:16. > :06:22.pleasure. Coalville's visits to France are for friendship, not
:06:22. > :06:25.business. The only financial support is a �500 grant from the
:06:25. > :06:29.district council and the civic dignitary has to pay her way like
:06:29. > :06:33.the rest of the group. These exchanges have been going on for 50
:06:33. > :06:39.years. Why do you think it has been going on for so long? The people
:06:39. > :06:43.are so friendly and back in Coalville. We give a warm welcome
:06:43. > :06:48.and they reciprocate. It has been fantastic. Your twinning
:06:48. > :06:52.Association has got some modest means. But there are big spenders.
:06:52. > :06:58.In tough economic crimes, do think it isn't one of those things that
:06:58. > :07:03.should be cut? -- in tough economic times. We would hope, we have had a
:07:03. > :07:13.good rapport with the officers that the council, they have given a
:07:13. > :07:16.
:07:16. > :07:20.small, modest grant, but I am Besides friendship, some councils
:07:20. > :07:24.claim that town twinning is essential for promoting business
:07:25. > :07:29.links. They spend big money in the process. Back home in Blighty,
:07:29. > :07:33.Inside Out sent a Freedom of Information requests for two local
:07:33. > :07:39.councils to discover the top spenders. Before I reveal who they
:07:39. > :07:42.are, I am off to a place to end with Maromme in France where they
:07:42. > :07:46.have decided to stop spending anything. There are councillors
:07:46. > :07:52.elsewhere in East Midlands who have been sent all over the world all-
:07:52. > :07:56.expenses paid. Would that happen here? No. Why not? It is not a
:07:56. > :08:02.priority of our residents clearly, a few councillors going off to have
:08:02. > :08:07.a pleasant time in Maromme, that does not benefit the residents.
:08:07. > :08:13.Economically, you think town twinning does not stack up?
:08:13. > :08:22.argument that businesses here would mix with the businesses in Maromme
:08:22. > :08:27.and would bring economic benefit, or I cannot see that. That is one
:08:27. > :08:32.that Council match spends nothing. A big contrast to our top reap who
:08:32. > :08:41.spend a bit. They have considerable twinning budgets. Derby East and
:08:41. > :08:49.they did arrive 1000 -- Derby East Benz 85,000, Broxtowe spent some
:08:49. > :08:52.more and it is Leicester that spans of the most, 130,000. There is no
:08:52. > :09:00.bait -- data base to allow us to see how much each council is
:09:00. > :09:05.spending. We cannot know what the national averages. But that looks
:09:05. > :09:10.like the upper end. I am meeting Culdipp Bhatti who is in charge of
:09:10. > :09:17.town twinning in Leicester and the biggest budget we discovered. One
:09:17. > :09:23.of your biggest Spence was one used -- when you sent a format Lord
:09:23. > :09:31.mayor to China. How do you justify the �15,000 expense to taxpayers?
:09:31. > :09:36.It was two trips are combined in one. It reduced the cost. One trip
:09:36. > :09:40.went to the north of India and then the Lord mayor along with his
:09:40. > :09:45.secretary went to China from Delhi, instead of making two trips. How
:09:45. > :09:50.did that benefit Leicester? You are developing human relationships. It
:09:50. > :10:00.is a question of you going there and seeing and that is believing.
:10:00. > :10:04.
:10:04. > :10:09.Benefits to local businesses are difficult to quantify with few
:10:09. > :10:14.formal facts available. However, town planning has created thousands
:10:14. > :10:19.of friendships. Children from across the UK have been able to
:10:19. > :10:23.join in international exchanges. And it has certainly played a part
:10:23. > :10:28.in promoting peace and harmony across Europe. Let us not forget,
:10:28. > :10:32.that is why it all began. Lots of children in England are
:10:32. > :10:37.quite insular, they do not realise that there is a big world out there
:10:37. > :10:42.and they do not realise that they are their competitors in the future.
:10:42. > :10:46.We buy them fish and chips and mushy peas and British cuisine. It
:10:46. > :10:51.is a lovely thing to do. I really enjoy it. And you have been doing
:10:51. > :10:59.it for 30 years? Yes. We have good friends, we see them grow up, get
:10:59. > :11:05.married, get divorced and then die! I have not only got a family at
:11:06. > :11:12.home, I have other families over there. They say the French don't
:11:12. > :11:16.like the English, but they do. Times are hard for our museums.
:11:16. > :11:21.Funding is being cut and visitor numbers are down. Not far away from
:11:21. > :11:25.here in Derby that has already meant The Silk Mill being
:11:25. > :11:29.mothballed for two years. In Matlock Bath, there is another
:11:29. > :11:37.small museum that has only been attracting five paying customers in
:11:37. > :11:41.some weeks. Time to call in tough- talking troubleshooter Geoff Burch.
:11:41. > :11:45.My name is Geoff Burch and I am an international business guru, that
:11:45. > :11:50.is a fancy name for a bloke who is called in to help struggling shops
:11:50. > :11:55.and businesses. Last year, I faced the mother of all makeovers when I
:11:55. > :12:03.helped transform a Derby department store stuck in the 70s. Look at
:12:03. > :12:08.that! I would not know where to buy anything like that. It was a big
:12:08. > :12:12.success so I am back for a new challenge. It has never been a
:12:12. > :12:16.tougher time for museums. I am here to talk to the bosses of Britain's
:12:16. > :12:26.biggest museums. I want to show them how to get the visitors coming
:12:26. > :12:27.
:12:27. > :12:31.in and coming back time and time again. Become a showman, becomes
:12:31. > :12:35.sales people... Beside the big boys, this event has attracted some
:12:35. > :12:42.smaller museums and it is one from Matlock Bath in Derbyshire which
:12:42. > :12:46.has asked for my help. It is a very dreary, wet, cold Monday in the
:12:46. > :12:51.middle of January. You would not think that in the summer this place
:12:51. > :12:56.is teeming with visitors. It is literally the last Bagust of
:12:56. > :13:04.Derbyshire. You would think that this would be a brilliant place to
:13:04. > :13:08.open a museum? -- de Las Vegas of Derbyshire.
:13:08. > :13:18.What a grim-looking place. It looks like something out of East Germany
:13:18. > :13:19.
:13:19. > :13:22.before the Wall came down. This is kind of boring. It is just boring.
:13:22. > :13:29.I really kick to the wall when I looked at our bank statement about
:13:29. > :13:35.a year ago. We are a charity and uncertain about the future.
:13:35. > :13:43.It needs to be Bish, bash, wallop. Clearly this little figure has had
:13:43. > :13:48.a stroke and collapsed. The horses are weird. When I spoke to the
:13:48. > :13:52.people running his best, they suggested that there was a peak in
:13:52. > :13:58.1996 when it was rolling along and every year it was making a profit.
:13:58. > :14:05.Yet they have kind of sat back and watched the steady decline. This is
:14:05. > :14:08.the entrance to the mind. Visiting what appears to be what is a Surrey
:14:08. > :14:12.-- what appears to be a semi derelict building is only the part
:14:12. > :14:22.of it. The numbers have been disappointing? Very disappointing.
:14:22. > :14:24.
:14:24. > :14:31.This last week, probably about four. Four?! I cannot believe you do not
:14:31. > :14:35.get more visitors. It is amazing. A proper adventure place. Are you
:14:35. > :14:41.were told concerned about the way things are going? I really am.
:14:41. > :14:47.does the future hold, do you think? Unless we get more visitors, it is
:14:47. > :14:51.going to be very grim. I have absolutely no idea what I am going
:14:51. > :14:54.to do with this place. So many things need changing us up the
:14:54. > :14:57.budget is tight. I have four weeks to think about it was up if I do
:14:57. > :15:04.not come up with a good idea, I found this in the mind, I'm going
:15:04. > :15:08.to like it and stick it through their letterbox. Four weeks on, I
:15:08. > :15:12.have come up with an action plan. With Maxine and Robin's budget
:15:12. > :15:17.tight and visitor numbers on the decline, my ideas have to be easy
:15:17. > :15:21.to implement and target tourists fast. I have tracked Maxine and
:15:21. > :15:27.Robin all the way from Derbyshire to Buckingham shirt to see this, it
:15:27. > :15:32.is the Roald Dahl story centre and it is about the most exciting small,
:15:32. > :15:36.independent museum in the whole country. Hopefully, this place will
:15:36. > :15:46.give the pair a much needed 90 to kick-start their own museum
:15:46. > :15:47.
:15:47. > :15:54.makeover. -- a much needed a nudge. This museum is about an old guy who
:15:54. > :16:02.wrote lots of books and they have built a whole museum around it.
:16:02. > :16:09.These people have got a tunnel that kids can clamber down and they can
:16:09. > :16:16.also pan for gold. They can then take away their own bottles of golf.
:16:16. > :16:21.-- gold. I have come up with five or six really taught ideas that I
:16:21. > :16:25.want you to take on. The first want is what you look like, the
:16:25. > :16:31.appearance. I have managed to twist the arm of a brilliant graphic
:16:31. > :16:36.designer who has helped me to develop a new logo for you. I like
:16:36. > :16:41.that. There is activity in there. We need that impact. That has got
:16:41. > :16:48.to start outside. Until we do that, we are not going to get any further
:16:48. > :16:51.This meeting went on a bit so to sum up. We need to borrow the best
:16:51. > :16:56.ideas from this place. Robin needs to tackle first impressions on the
:16:56. > :17:01.outside and give his museum some real pizzazz on the inside. Make
:17:01. > :17:04.more of their mine. This is a hidden gem. And finally, school
:17:04. > :17:14.visits are big business so work hard to get some bookings with a
:17:14. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:21.new teacher's pack. It's tough love but it's all long overdue. We will
:17:21. > :17:25.take it very seriously. We need to, to survive. The ideas are very good
:17:25. > :17:28.and practically, we can do them. It's now summer, over six months
:17:28. > :17:35.since my first visit and despite the tough talking, things have
:17:35. > :17:38.slipped and visitor numbers are still in free-fall. We have had a
:17:39. > :17:44.disappointing trading period, unfortunately. With the exception
:17:44. > :17:48.of one week, every week has probably been around �400 down.
:17:48. > :17:54.This is all very worrying. I just hope they pull it off. But better
:17:54. > :18:02.late than never. Maxine and a mate of the museum are heading to the
:18:02. > :18:10.high street to try to drum up some business. I am interested in it but
:18:10. > :18:18.I am a bit of a geek! I have never actually been in. It's worries me
:18:18. > :18:22.that it has a place where people visit but we are not getting them
:18:22. > :18:25.through your door. We were walking down the street in Matlock Bath and
:18:25. > :18:30.somebody stopped us and told us about it. A lot of things could
:18:30. > :18:36.benefit from being highlighted more. It has been 10 months since we
:18:36. > :18:42.visited the Peak District Mining Museum. It is now branded again as
:18:42. > :18:45.Last and they are fighting to win it new customers. It is the day of
:18:45. > :18:54.the elimination as today, one of the busiest periods. If they cannot
:18:54. > :18:59.pick it up today, what chance have Hello, Robin. Good to see you again.
:18:59. > :19:06.Looking good. I like the new signs. They have been accepted by the
:19:06. > :19:12.locals. One or two have been down and spoken about them. Where is the
:19:12. > :19:15.banner? We have not achieved that. When I work with businesses, it is
:19:15. > :19:21.usually to bring about some radical change, some sort of impact that
:19:21. > :19:28.changes things. I cannot see any dramatic change. I was worried that
:19:28. > :19:36.he will not be able to survive. I can see any way improve the
:19:36. > :19:40.visitor in -- visitor attendance, I will do it. By except some of the
:19:40. > :19:43.suggestions that we have adopted and we may have adopted them in a
:19:43. > :19:53.piecemeal way because at the end of the day in the main, it comes down
:19:53. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :20:04.to me. You do it all. I think you are more of a mine enthusiast
:20:04. > :20:06.
:20:06. > :20:09.rather than a PT Barnum. You have I think he would be brilliant. But
:20:09. > :20:12.you have got to get people in. The Illuminations certainly pulled
:20:12. > :20:16.in the punters but few were parting with their cash, most were opting
:20:16. > :20:19.for a coffee rather than taking a tour. On the upside, Robin and
:20:19. > :20:22.Maxine have designed a new schools' pack and got their first booking.
:20:22. > :20:32.They've built a new museum mine entrance to attract trade, and
:20:32. > :20:34.
:20:34. > :20:38.they're carrying on street selling He has changed the signs and bits
:20:38. > :20:45.and pieces but in these tough times, small businesses need to really
:20:45. > :20:50.work hard, he needs to dress up, be a showman, all those visitors in to
:20:50. > :20:55.make it work. But as the lights go on in Matlock Bath, I wonder if the
:20:55. > :21:05.light will stay on in the new elite-renamed Blast. I have my
:21:05. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:08.doubts. -- the newly renamed. For 25 years, volunteers in one
:21:08. > :21:11.Derbyshire town have been running an historical archive that's now
:21:11. > :21:21.become one of the biggest in the country. Historian Richard Gill
:21:21. > :21:23.
:21:23. > :21:30.couldn't resist a rummage through I've been fascinated with local
:21:30. > :21:33.history for as long as I can remember. Particularly the local
:21:34. > :21:39.past. And my attic has become something of a shrine to my
:21:39. > :21:42.interests. I'm off to meet a group who's created possibly the biggest
:21:42. > :21:52.and best independent archive in the country. This unique collection of
:21:52. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :22:02.local history is known as The Magic Attic. Sounds intriguing! I have
:22:02. > :22:07.never come across anything like it before. I will be 82 this year and
:22:07. > :22:14.it extends your life to get into something like this. It is
:22:14. > :22:20.unbelievable. What people have turned out of their gardens sheds
:22:20. > :22:24.or whatever. I would recommend anybody to look at it.
:22:24. > :22:29.historical of letters and bits of bombs that have fallen on the town.
:22:29. > :22:32.It is in its 25th year and volunteers have amassed a great
:22:32. > :22:37.collection of local history. Before I meet one of the people who
:22:37. > :22:42.started it all, I am exploring their latest project which involves
:22:42. > :22:47.thousands of historic football photographs. All East Midlands
:22:47. > :22:51.teams and collected by one man. Phil, you have a selection of what
:22:51. > :22:56.may be the biggest collection of football photographs in the country.
:22:56. > :23:04.Over 3,000. And also what may be the oldest. He has, I think this is
:23:05. > :23:11.probably the oldest photograph that exists, 1872. I would challenge
:23:11. > :23:14.anybody to find one before that. Your father gathered most of this
:23:14. > :23:23.material or it was sent to him. When he died, what was the next
:23:23. > :23:29.step for you? Before he died, he was concerned that the photographs
:23:29. > :23:35.did not just get abandoned or thrown in a skip. I was assisting
:23:35. > :23:40.him to try to find a home for them. We made various attempts for
:23:40. > :23:43.museums to take the collection. I even wrote to the secretary of the
:23:43. > :23:47.Football League but did not even get a reply from them. They did not
:23:47. > :23:51.seem interested at that point and then the opportunity came when we
:23:51. > :23:56.heard about the Magic Attic. presume they will not just be stuck
:23:56. > :24:01.in a box, they will become interactive? Yeah, from my father's
:24:01. > :24:06.perspective, that would be really appealing to him. All the names of
:24:06. > :24:10.the players on the photographs will be recorded. My great grandfather
:24:10. > :24:18.played for a Sunday school team, something like that, you can find
:24:19. > :24:23.him? Yes. With his arms folded probably. And the Magic Attic,
:24:24. > :24:29.wedding albums have pride of place and there are hundreds. Many were
:24:29. > :24:35.salvaged from house clearances and so the identities of the bride and
:24:35. > :24:42.groom may never be found out. Weddings were not huge occasions,
:24:42. > :24:46.there was no wedding industry but where the photograph is taken his -
:24:46. > :24:51.- is interesting. There is quite a large party here in a back garden.
:24:51. > :24:57.What they have done his gone to the Church or Chapel, come back, posed
:24:57. > :25:07.themselves along with the flowers and the fence and along here, a
:25:07. > :25:08.
:25:08. > :25:14.smart group with top hats, but they I have heard people say that it
:25:14. > :25:24.could only happen in Swadlincote. Perhaps they are right. Funny
:25:24. > :25:29.things do happen here! Around here is the buzz of activity, but how
:25:29. > :25:35.did it happen? IT started around a pub table when a group of us
:25:35. > :25:40.decided certain items, documents, maps, newspapers should be saved.
:25:40. > :25:43.It looked like they would be lost. Not many weeks after we had moved
:25:43. > :25:48.into an attic above the snooker club, a gentleman turned up to do
:25:48. > :25:52.some research and study at the top of the stairs and looked up and
:25:52. > :26:00.down the place and said "this is the Magic Attic" and that is where
:26:00. > :26:10.it came from. And he was right. To end my day at the attic, I am
:26:10. > :26:14.
:26:14. > :26:19.meeting a researcher John Redfern We have had a look through the
:26:19. > :26:27.Derby Mercury and as far as I can see, there is no record of murder,
:26:27. > :26:32.great robbery that was suggested that Plean to Canada was a good
:26:32. > :26:35.idea of. One of his relatives left Derbyshire and a cloud and is
:26:35. > :26:42.rarely talked about now. It was only when his father died but they
:26:42. > :26:47.found a box stuffed full of letters, war medals and small nuggets of
:26:47. > :26:53.gold sent from all corners of the globe. Why did he fully written?
:26:53. > :26:59.And can the Magic Attic help solve the mystery -- why did he escape
:26:59. > :27:04.Britain? Why it leave England at 16? He said
:27:04. > :27:11.tell my anti- that I will one day make the wrong right. All you have
:27:11. > :27:21.got is these tantalising whispers. He was seldom -- Sending My grandad
:27:21. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:27.�800. Which as we used to say in Exploring the family tree has
:27:27. > :27:32.become a kind of minor cottage industry in this country. When you
:27:32. > :27:38.get a case such as Barry's, does it differ very much from the other
:27:38. > :27:42.inquiries you get? I have certainly never come across something as
:27:42. > :27:46.complicated or mysterious or challenging as this. I am
:27:46. > :27:55.determined to find out more about it but quite what that will be,
:27:55. > :27:59.heaven alone knows. So with the help of census records, and other
:27:59. > :28:03.details, it will hopefully sold one of the family mistress. It is one
:28:03. > :28:08.of hundreds of ongoing quests and to think it is only possible to two
:28:08. > :28:17.large numbers of volunteers all with a real passion of preserving
:28:17. > :28:21.our past. In my opinion, places like this really are... Magic.
:28:21. > :28:24.Isn't that brilliant? And banks to those volunteers, some of the local
:28:24. > :28:31.history has been saved from the skip. From Matlock Bath, that is it
:28:31. > :28:36.for this week. See you next week. Next week, Brown 10 revealed, and
:28:36. > :28:41.Inside Out exclusive. I stabbed him quite a number of times, slashed