Port Talbot's (and possibly the world's) one and only baked bean museum, which has been voted the number one thing to do in the town on TripAdvisor, will close its doors for the final time this month. Captain Beany first opened the museum inside his Sandfields flat in 2009 but is now looking to sell its baked-bean themed items to a fellow eccentric who wishes to continue his peculiar legacy.
With mugs, space hoppers, bean bags and other bean paraphernalia up for grabs, Captain Beany - who changed his name from Barry Kirk by deed poll in 1991 and tattooed 60 baked beans onto his head in 2014- said he hoped someone as "half-baked" as him would take on the challenge of setting up their own museum devoted to the humble British food item. Bidding will be open on ebay from February, 1, according to Captain Beany.
The closure of the museum has come after the 68-year-old self-proclaimed superhero of Port Talbot decided to permanently move out of his County Flats home due to ongoing renovations by social housing provider Tai Tarian. As he plans to downsize to one bedroom, Captain Beany has said he is ready for a break from the museum and will move to another flat in the development where he hopes to spend the rest of his days. You can read more stories about Port Talbot here.
Read more: Woman who once drank litre of gravy destroys epic plate of food at Welsh restaurant
"I thought, am I gonna be lumbered with this museum for another 14 years? I'll be in my 80s!," said Captain Beany, who added that he hoped someone else would enjoy being the curator of the museum as much as he had over the years. The museum, according to Captain Beany, is insured for £10k but the local celebrity is planning to start bids at around £5k for an array of baked-bean inspired items.
With the original Mr Blobby costume recently selling for thousands on Ebay, Captain Beany fancies his chances at selling his bean merchandise for a fair price. The baked bean enthusiast said he would donate half of the money he earned to a local charity with the other half going towards furnishing his new flat.
"If you look at TripAdvisor reviews, it is the number one place where families come to, the furthest afield visitor was from New Zealand," he said. "We've had visitors from America and Hong Kong too. I've had so much fun out of it."
On how he managed to transform his council flat into a baked bean museum and run it after his social housing provider took the flats over, he said: "I've got a Heinz kitchen and a Branston bathroom! [Tai Tarian] recognise that I am indeed a Great British eccentric and Port Talbot has embraced my status as a living legend. I'll never give Captain Beany up. I'm going to write a book called 'Bean there, done that, got the tattoo' and I'm hoping to write my life story because I've got so much to spill the beans on."
With a mural painted of him in Port Talbot, Captain Beany said he was thrilled to leave a legacy in his hometown. "I want to thank the general public who take me in good faith and see it for what it is." On the items, he will sell, there will be a huge selection on offer but he will not be letting go of his baked-bean coffin, which he said was for his own future use. "I bought it on a whim from my pension pot on comparethecoffin.com".
On how the museum began, Captain Beany explained he just wanted to do something eccentric to take his baked bean persona to the next level and originally opened a museum for his own personal use. Then someone suggested he put the museum on TripAdvisor and he allowed the public to come visit and make a donation, he said, adding that £1,000 had been raised for charity through the Museum of Excellence.
Since it first opened in 2009, over a thousand people have visited the museum and his infamous flat has appeared on TV shows like Channel 4's Britain's Weirdest Council House and VICE's Munchies series, with celebrity presenters like Helen Skelton visiting the wacky home.
On why he finally decided to sell his highly talked-about museum, Captain Beany explained: "The emphasis on the bean museum was to get to know the wacky creator and, believe it or not, sometimes I feel as if I'm obligated to look after it now. I haven't got time for myself because people phone me up and want to see the museum. I need to have a bit of a break now and focus on myself." As well as writing his book, Captain Beany said he wanted to carry out non-profit work in Port Talbot, adding, "Long live Captain Beany!,".
Read next:
- 'World's biggest escape room' of its kind to open in Wales
- Fast food chain to play classical music to calm down antisocial youths in Welsh city
- Mysterious poo shaped object found in field is actually Viking treasure from more than 1,000 years ago
- Parents fuming after school organises trip costing £2,500 per pupil
- The tiny one-room cottage in the middle of nowhere going to auction for £50k
