What can I find in the BBM&L news, events and featured object sections?

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) uses these three sections for different purposes: Latest News and Events carries short posts about people, balloons and airships plus event details as they become available; Featured Object highlights one collection item at a time with background information; and the collection itself is browsable and searchable online. All three are worth checking if you want to follow lighter-than-air history rather than just look up a single artefact.

Latest News and Events

This is the section to watch if you want to know what the BBM&L is posting about right now. According to the site, it will carry:

• News items of interest concerning people, balloons and airships
• Details of events as they become available

Two things follow from that wording. First, the news is people-and-object focused rather than a general blog — expect items tied to ballooning and airship history. Second, event information is published when it becomes available, so the section is not a fixed calendar you can plan a year around; it fills in as things are confirmed. The site also links out to "a selection of articles" from this area.

Featured Object from the Collection

This section rotates a single item into the spotlight and gives it more context than a catalogue entry would. The current example is an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons, described as an early design from around c1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top.

The background note explains why that matters: the open weave design is a throw-back to the gas balloon, which dominated balloon activity from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s. So the featured object is not just a picture — it is a way of reading a design change in ballooning history through one physical item.

If you only have time for one part of the site, this is the most self-contained: one object, one explanation, no searching required.

How these sections relate to the rest of the collection

The BBM&L has no physical museum to house its collection. Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, many items can now be explored online for the first time, and the site says items are added gradually as they are catalogued and photographed.

That context explains the shape of the site:

The collection categories cover hardware (balloons, baskets, burners), books, oral history audio interviews, advertising posters and handbills, clothing, photographs, postal items, art, moving films, memorabilia, trophies and plaques, records, publications, and 3D models.

Practical points before you dive in

• Searching is the fastest route to a known item. The search box is for finding "a particular item, person or event" — use it when you already know what you are after.
• Browsing suits open-ended interest. If you do not have a target, the category links give you images plus descriptions without needing a query.
• Expect gaps. Because cataloguing and photography are ongoing, not everything held by the BBM&L will be online yet. If you cannot find an item, that is more likely a cataloguing stage than a statement that it does not exist.
• The featured object changes. Treat the Thunder Balloons basket as the current example, not a permanent fixture.

The BBM&L is a registered charity formed in 1979 by a small group of balloonists, and is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. The site also offers Join Now and Make a Donation options if you want to support the preservation work behind these sections.