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British Museum
The spoils of an empire, plundered from the well thumbed pages of history. That is what you’ll find at the British Museum. The massive building houses what looks like millions of artifacts that the British empire has “procured” over the course of its rule. Pieces from all over the globe are shown here. Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, The Incas, Central America, The Far East. Everything beautifully displayed and deftly stolen, sometimes under the guise of ‘preservation’ but most of the time just gotten in gains most ill.
I don’t condone the British Empires looting of the worlds riches but damn does it make for an interesting day out. Walking through the Library with its display cabinets full of ancient tidbits makes one feel like they are in an Indiana Jones film. Huge statues tower overhead, their mere size prompting the question: how did they get them here? Friezes that once surrounded the Parthenon now hang for tourists to ogle over, lit by spotlight and protected with nought but a thin velvet rope. Treasures from the Orient that once sat pride of place in a Japanese Palace now glitter behind finger print smudged glass cabinets. The dry and contorted body of an ancient Egyptian lays naked in an excavated grave, a bare body once hidden from the world, awaiting passage into the afterlife, now surrounded by dozens of clicking cameras, each xenon flash furthering the search for eternal life. I smiled at skulls and they smiled back at me, my reflection overlaying the cracked features; there but a few thousand years go I.
I traveled the ancient world that Friday afternoon and was home in time for a beer down at the Shakespear’s Head. Cheers to you British treasure hunters, grave robbers and tomb raiders of old. Such a fine museum you’ve made.
Cabinet War Rooms
One of the most interesting things I have seen so far in London is the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill museum. The Museum opened in 2005, and the War Rooms in 1983 making the exhibits reasonably new. The technically brilliant and interactive museum is a delight for Churchill fans and those interested in World War II history.
The Cabinet War Rooms is a series of bunkers, originally covering nearly 3 acres, built secretly under Whitehall. Covered with a massive slab of concrete the bunkers were used as a base for all of Churchill’s wartime operations between 1938 and 1945. It included communications systems with a direct, scrambled line to the US, typing pools, sleeping quarters and kitchens supplying nurshiment for the crew stationed down in the bunker around the clock. Much of the bunker was left as it was when VE was declared.
After picking up a complimentary audio guide the tour begins with the Cabinet Conference Room where Churchill brought together his War Cabinet based on leaders from all the political parties of the time. Those working there, got up, turned off the lights and left, leaving the space as is. Continuing through the tour you see the sleeping quarters of high ranking officers and assistants to the prime minister, communications rooms, the secret room containing the direct line to the US (which was made to look like an occupied toilet) and the kitchen.
In the middle of the tour you come across the Churchill museum. Cataloguing Churchill’s life from young man to his death this in depth and very entertaining museum presents its wealth of information in the form of multimedia presentations, movies, audio, interactive exhibits and memorabilia.
The last part of the self guided tour takes you through the working areas of the bunkers. The typing pools and offices are on display giving a glimpse of what life was like in the bunker. Perhaps the most interesting room was the map room, where all the movements and details of units and advances were tracked. Again, left as it was when everyone left this room is an amazing look at wartime history.
I spent hours wandering the museum and warrooms, and for around 16 quid, including a guide book, it was a great, cheap day out.
London – innit!
For those keeping track, I’ve been in London a few days now, but I’ve been too busy and too sick to put up a post.
The flight here was fairly uneventful, apart from getting lost on the trains in Tokyo on the way to Narita and I arrived at about 5pm London time. I met my mate Simon at Covent Garden where I stupidly decided to take the stairs up from the underground. We’re talking nearly 200 steps, in spiral staircase fashion, and by the end of my power climb I felt like puking.
Simon and I had dinner at a local turkish seafood place, and back at his place I passed out on the air matress he had for me in the lounge. The next morning feeling refreshed I headed out to see London.
I walked a lot on Wednesday. Basically circling the center of London twice I took in the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Trafalga Square, the National Gallery, the Thames, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, St Paul’s Cathedral and everything in between. It was a packed day. Thursday saw me stay in sick with the flu.
I am liking London. It’s a pretty cool place from what I have seen so far. So much history. Beautiful Architecture. The next few weeks will see if it really works its charms on me.