And so a chapter has ended, as the Museum of Miniature Found Objects closed its doors for the last time on Saturday afternoon. As Professor Tang Wen boarded his flight to Shanghai, he said, "We at the Shanghai Museum of the Inconsequential have pledged to care for and nurture the spirit of the Museum of Miniature Found Objects, and here in my holdall I'm delighted to be carrying the MMFO's very precious collection. The first chapter began on Beastly Way in 1759, and the next chapter will see it develop in Shanghai, into the twenty-first century and beyond!"

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Found objects:

= fabric flowers: 1.42pm, Thursday 12 September 2013, Bold Street, central Liverpool;

= roll of plastic bags: 8.29pm, Thursday 13 September 2018, Stroud Cemetery, Bisley Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects would like to apologise for the cancellation of the Hythe-Gommerly lecture on Wednesday 14 October, and regrets any inconvenience this may have caused. The cancellation was due to an unfortunate incident with two trays of iced buns. Mrs Beryl van Buren (Keeper of Collections) is reported to be recovering well at Guy's Hospital.

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Found objects:

= amber cabochon: 7.49am, Friday 8 March 2019, King’s Boulevard, King’s Cross, central London;

= large filigree teardrop earring: 5.57pm, Monday 25 August 2012, Broad Lane, Seven Sisters, north London;

= metal clasps: 4.41pm, Tuesday 14 December 2010, Highbury Fields, Islington, north London;

= metal earring with raised pattern: 1.07pm, Sunday 10 February 2013, Clarence Road, Hackney, east London;

= metal feathers: 3.12pm, Monday 4 February 2019, Drayton Street, Adelaide, Australia;

= silver metal ears:11.20am, Tuesday 25 September 2018, Alao Adegboyega Street, Lagos, Nigeria;

= square metal studs: 9.56am, Friday 4 November 2011, Holloway Road, Archway, north London.

On Wednesday the Museum of Miniature Found Objects welcomed Professor Tang Wen, Director of the Shanghai Museum of the Inconsequential. Mrs van Buren (Keeper of Collections) was delighted to give him a personally guided tour of the museum and its extensive archives. Professor Tang declared himself overjoyed at the variety and richness of the items on display, and full of admiration for the depth of intellectual scholarship evidenced in both the collection and its cataloguing. Of Poupette's Last Thoughts, he had this to say, "A profoundly moving experience, and I congratulate the museum on its enthusiastic embrace of advanced technologies that allow us to explore new realms. Without the Museum of Miniature Found Objects, the world would be a poorer place!"

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Found object:

= Snoopy toy: 3.51pm, Thursday 24 September 2020, Shaftesbury Avenue, central London.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects strongly advises visitors who suffer from claustrophobia to avoid entering the new installation, Poupette's Last Thoughts, in the Winston Masala Galleries. On Saturday morning, due to an unfortunate incident inside the work, emergency services had to be called to the scene. This required the second floor of the main building to be shut for a number of hours while a member of the public was safely extracted from the artwork. E. Edge Builders will now carry out a number of repairs before Poupette's Last Thoughts reopens to the public on Friday.

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Found objects:
= cat ice cream keyring: 4pm, Monday 18 March 2019, Splatt Bridge, Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, Gloucestershire.

In a surprise move that has sent shock waves through London's museum quarter, the Shanghai Museum of the Inconsequential launched an aggressive takeover bid on Monday afternoon for the Museum of Miniature Found Objects' entire collection. After a lengthy meeting, the Board of Trustees felt they were left with no option but to accept the offer. In a statement released by the Board, MMFO Trustees said, "We see the Shanghai Museum of the Inconsequential as the perfect recipient for this collection."

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Found objects:

= fragment of Shetland pot: 2.59pm, Monday 2 April 2018, Camb, Yell, Shetland; 

= red fabric flower petals: 4.21pm, Sunday 13 January 2019, Fort Canning Park, River Valley Road, Singapore.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects would like to remind visitors of the forthcoming Hythe-Gommerly lecture, 'Auto Cataloguing: Critical Tipping Points'. Mrs Beryl van Buren, Keeper of Collections, will be delivering this inaugural lecture in the DigiLab at 1.10pm on Wednesday 14 October. Mrs van Buren has a long-standing interest in collection management systems, having worked closely with the Museum of Sporting Impedimenta in Honolulu over many years. It is anticipated the talk will be popular and visitors are advised to arrive in good time, in order to be sure of getting a seat.

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Found objects:
= gold stars: 9.06am, Thursday 26 January 2016, Gare d'Orléans, France.

At a gala dinner yesterday evening at the Rivoli Rooftop Bistro, there were gasps of delighted surprise when the winning entry for the Poupette Memorial was unveiled. In a surprise last-minute entry, E. Edge Builders swept the floor with their ground-breaking and playful design. The sculpture is not of Poupette, but rather, the olive that brought about her untimely end. Seated inside the large-scale olive, named Poupette's Last Thoughts, visitors experience the soundscape of her mind in her final moments. When asked about this new direction in their work, E. Edge Builders responded, "We refuse to be pigeonholed!"

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Found objects:
= Miffy: 4.36pm, Friday 23 August 2019, Broad Avenue, Cirencester;
= metal badge: 1.32pm, Friday 21 September 2012, Martello Street, Hackney, London.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects is delighted to announce the forthcoming Hythe-Gommerly Lecture Series, held in memory of the first Director, Sir Gideon Hythe-Gommerly. Sir Gideon had the honour of opening the museum's doors to the public on 16 January 1759. A great innovator of his time, one of Hythe-Gommerly's many claims to fame was the first recorded use of a portable moustache guard. He was set upon while making his way to his home in the nearby Gray's Inn Road, late one evening. He successfully fought off his attacker, using the guard, but sadly the man (known as Midget Jack) died of his wounds. Hythe-Gommerly generously paid his funeral expenses to prevent the shame of a pauper's funeral falling on Midget Jack's family. The inaugural lecture will be given by Mrs Beryl van Buren, Keeper of Collections, in the DigiLab at 1.10pm on Wednesday 14 October.

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Found objects:
= blue cowboy hats: 4.12pm, 16 August 2014, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia;

= Girl Guides’ toymaker badges: 9.56am, Sunday 3 November 2019, Lordship Road, Stoke Newington, north London.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects was deeply concerned to receive reports that a school party from Taipei had gone missing whilst visiting the museum on Tuesday morning. A thorough search of the premises was conducted. The MMFO is happy to announce the party was located on Wednesday morning, tired and hungry but safe, in a disused wing at the museum. Mr Nestor Bronkofiev and a missing umbrella were also found in the same wing, closed in 1941 due to bomb damage from enemy action during the Blitz (when an invaluable collection of Victorian flea circus equipment was sadly lost). To prevent further incidents, the MMFO has redesigned the map of the museum, and its new, simplified form will guide visitors safely and easily around the museum. Copies are now available from the Museum Gift Shop.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects regrets to announce the Conversation Saloon is temporarily closed. A number of users reported they found the interactive experience to be unpleasant, with the Saloon asking insensitive and overly intrusive questions. A party of Canadians visiting from Ontario described the tone of the Saloon as 'aggressive'. The temporary closure will enable museum IT staff to reprogramme the Saloon. The MMFO would like to apologise to visitors for any unpleasantness they may have experienced during their visit to the Conversation Saloon.

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Found object:
= false teeth: 3.42pm, Tuesday 17 March 2015, steps of the Peninsula Hong Kong.

As reported in the media, the Museum of Miniature Found Objects has satisfactorily concluded negotiations with the Union of Curatorial & Educational Staff (UC&ES) over the current smoking ban at the MMFO, and strike action has ended. The Board of Trustees has now established an agreement with the Pipe Smokers Guild of Great Britain, and in future curators will take their smoking breaks at the Guild's Head Office in Loaf Lane, near the museum.

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Found objects:
= miniature eggs with faces: 11.15am, Easter Sunday, April 2014, harbour front, Rødvig, Denmark.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects is delighted to announce the Conversation Saloon opened on Saturday, with queues stretching the length of the Rodchenko Foyer and beyond, as far as the Samarkand Staircase, as visitors waited to enter the Saloon and enjoy an interactive conversation. Special guests from the Pipe Smokers' Guild of Great Britain were thrilled to be the first to experience the conversational arts of the Saloon.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects is delighted to present the second in the series of interviews with staff. This week the MMFO talks to Sandie Muffins, Researcher at the Horology Pod:

MMFO: What keeps you busy at the MMFO?

SM: I look after all the time pieces, from pocket watches to sundials. Most days you’ll find me with a watch maker's magnifier wedged in my eye, as the parts I work with are very, very small. At the moment I'm busy organising a travelling exhibition of timepieces, and first stop is Gdansk, then it's on to Mexico City and Belize.

MMFO: Which of your achievements at the MMFO are you most proud of?

SM: Winning the van Buren Golden Orb for our display of dwarf sundials – most definitely! We'd installed a weather simulator in the gallery so people could feel the full effect, and we made sure we had a supply of umbrellas handy!

MMFO: What does the future hold for you?

SM: I'd love to link up with the British Museum for an exhibition, as I know we've lots in common – they haven't returned my calls yet, but I'm sure they will!

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Found objects:
= badge: 12.56pm, Thursday 23 October 2014, Gower Street, London;
= metal ovals: 9.36am, Thursday 20 October 2011, Woodberry Down, Manor House, London.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects regrets to announce a further reduction in museum services, with this afternoon's event, 'Wind in the Cracks: Sounds from Underneath', being cancelled. In addition to striking curators, the MMFO Forensics Team and resident pâtissiers have elected to join the picket line at the entrance to the museum. Numbers have also increased with curators from the Pitt Rivers Museum and the National Archives arriving to support the picket line. However, the MMFO strenuously denies recent media reports of curators engaging in angry scuffles with the police, and objects being thrown at staff continuing to report for duty at the museum. Negotiations continue with the Union of Curatorial & Educational Staff (UC&ES).

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects has received reports of a visitor believed to be missing on the premises. A Mr Nestor Bronkofiev was last seen entering the DigiLab (wearing a blue raincoat) to attend the lunchtime talk, 'Percussive Podiatry: A Historical/Intimate Perspective', but has not been seen since. If encountered, please direct him to the Palm Court Tea Rooms on the ground floor, where his party are waiting for him. 

In order to assist visitors, the MMFO has recently published a revised map of the galleries, available from the Museum Gift Shop.

The Museum of Miniature Found Objects is delighted to report that the recent open call for entries for the MMFO Poupette Memorial design competition has produced considerable interest. A much-loved miniature giant anteater, Poupette was one of Stott's Marvels, and she brought joy to the lives of many visitors as a living exhibit in the display, 'Stott's Fantastical Emporium: Revisited', until sadly choking to death on an olive. Exciting proposals have already flooded in from Zaha Hadid Studios, Givenchy, Bertie Han, the Bloomingdale Co-op and many more. The MMFO looks forward to announcing the competition results on Saturday 19 September.

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Found objects:
= blue china tiles: 3.46pm, Saturday 19 December 2015, Aberdeen Airport, Scotland;

= faceted glass bead 1: 10.14am, Monday 16 January 2012, Rochester Mews, Camden, north London;

= faceted glass bead 2: 9.28pm: Saturday 22 September 2018, Parr Street, Kendal;

= faceted glass bead 3: 10.32pm, Friday 9 December 2011, Stoke Newington High Street, north London;

= glass bead in clasp: 2.47pm, Saturday 17 January 2015, Argyle Street, Bath, Somerset;

= pearl: 11.47am, Monday 4 June, Brunswick Square, Bloomsbury, central London;

= pink glass bead: 7.27pm, Friday 23 September 2011, Bateman Street, Soho, central London.