Val is a tiny place with a big history. It has a permanent population of eight. The Easter weekend was chosen for the 2024 Boer and Brit Day festivities. This annual cultural festival of all things Boer and British circa 1900 is the brainchild of Rita Britz who owns the Val Hotel and most other old properties in the small town.
Parallel experiences and narratives in the histories of South Africa and of Ireland, and the ways in which the stories of pain and of hope are shared by storytellers who guide visitors in museums and heritage sites in each context, make for an important and timely comparison. The authors reflect, in the closing pages of this book, on the relevance of museums in the twenty-first century.
Filled with memorabilia amassed by generations of women, the museum was founded by Katharine Love from a family collection of Victorian and Edwardian furniture, household and decorative items typical of middle class professional people of the time. The collection is housed in a 1910 residence from the Herbert Baker school of architecture, with additions by A.J.
