Back in the Day Café

Back in the Day Café is running at St Albans Museum + Gallery on Thursday 5 November, and it's a drop-in morning that lets you get hands-on with real historic objects and photographs from the museum's collections. The whole thing is built around the nostalgia of St Albans's past: the small local shops that used to line the streets, the pre-decimal currency of pounds, shillings and pence, and the old wall-plugged telephone. It's the kind of thing that's easy to appreciate even if you've never seen any of it in the flesh.

Each session focuses on a different theme, so if you can't make this one, there's another on Thursday 3 December. The November morning is devoted to bonfire night and fireworks, and the December one looks at Christmas traditions. Both run from 10.30 to 11.30am in the Learning Studio, so you can pop in for a bit and head off again without having to commit your whole morning.

There's no booking needed, and it's free, which makes it an easy one to drop into if you're around the city center on a Thursday morning. If you're into local history or just fancy a look at things that don't usually leave the museum's stores, it's a good way to spend an hour. The two dates are Thursday 5 November and Thursday 3 December, both 10.30-11.30am in the Learning Studio at St Albans Museum + Gallery, and it's free to attend.