ONE of the best parts of my day is arriving in the morning when there’s only myself and Sandra, our marvellous cleaner, in the museum, writes Ceredigion Museum curator Carrie Canham.

After five years in post I still feel privileged to work in such a beautiful building crammed with history and memories, and early in the morning Sandra and I have it all to ourselves, when it’s nice and peaceful.

Like most people my working day usually starts with opening my e-mails.

Anything might be waiting for me in the inbox; recent e-mails have included a request for help in identifying a mystery object, an offer of a stuffed otter, and a bill for the restoration of an oil painting that needed expert cleaning.

I can honestly say that no two days are alike in the museum.

We might be preparing for a new exhibition, looking after the collections, welcoming a school group or getting ready for one of our evening events, and sometimes all of these things at the same time!

The other museum staff deliver the activities and I make sure they’ve got everything they need and keep an eye on the budget.

Like all local authority organisations we are working hard to help the council meet their savings targets.

With no slack in our budget, our aim is to get the museum to generate some of its own income while staying true to our commitment to keep access to the collections free for everybody.

To this end we are working on our Heritage Lottery Funded ‘New Approaches’ redevelopment project which will enable us to improve access for visitors, merge with the tourist information centre and benefit from a new shop, café and auditorium facilities.

Read Carrie’s thoughts in full in this week’s south editions, in shops and online now