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We are back home; ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
adaese is having a nap, and I am under a cat.
In London, I went to St James's Street, Jermyn Street, Picadilly, Northwood Hills, the British Library, the Palace of Westminster, and the station with the bear; andadaese skipped the first three in favour of St Mary's Hospital.
In Oxford, St Michael's Street, Turl Street, Christ Church Meadow, Christ Church SCR and Hall, Broad Street, the OUMNH, the Pitt-Rivers museum; andadaese paid a visit to the English Faculty.
Photos will follow, when I can move.
adaese is having a nap, and I am under a cat.In London, I went to St James's Street, Jermyn Street, Picadilly, Northwood Hills, the British Library, the Palace of Westminster, and the station with the bear; and
adaese skipped the first three in favour of St Mary's Hospital.In Oxford, St Michael's Street, Turl Street, Christ Church Meadow, Christ Church SCR and Hall, Broad Street, the OUMNH, the Pitt-Rivers museum; and
adaese paid a visit to the English Faculty.Photos will follow, when I can move.
Coming home
Oct. 10th, 2012 07:14 amToday, I shall be visiting Northwood Hills, Baker Street, Paddington, and Bristol Parkway.
Hadrian: Empire and Conflict
Jan. 7th, 2008 03:02 pmWould anyone else be interested in going to see this exhibition at the British Museum? (It's on from 24 July - 26 October.) If so, would you be interested in going together?
Terracotta Warriors
Jan. 6th, 2008 10:14 amWe went down to London yesterday, to see The First Emperor / China's Terracotta Army . We started by oversleeping - as we had an early ticket, this meant a bit of a dash. Still, we got out of the house in time, and down to London - Thameslink line to St Pancras, Piccadilly line to Holborn, and follow the signs to the British Museum.
We actually got there a few minutes early. We checked where the exhibition was (the reading room), then popped into a little display called Divine Cat: Speaking to the gods in Ancient Egypt. After that, a wander round the Great Court, and join the queue for the main attraction.
Once in, we were confronted with one of the warriors - a kneeling crossbowman. Incredibly detailed, down to the fastenings on his armour and the hobnails on his boots. Further displays showed weapons, techniques &c, before we moved on to a display of about twenty of the terracotta figures. There was a group of soldiers - light and heavy infantry, cavalry, a chariot, an officer and two generals. Also, a (replica) bronze chariot; terracotta musicians; bronze birds (the crane had a little fish in its beak!); terracotta acrobats; and even terracotta civil servants! Then a few more display cases, including a fully-painted (and very bright) version of the crossbowman; and out into the great court.
All very impressive, and well worth it.
Then a light lunch in the cafe - slightly dull sandwiches, but nice fruit and cakes. A wander into the American display, and then home.
We actually got there a few minutes early. We checked where the exhibition was (the reading room), then popped into a little display called Divine Cat: Speaking to the gods in Ancient Egypt. After that, a wander round the Great Court, and join the queue for the main attraction.
Once in, we were confronted with one of the warriors - a kneeling crossbowman. Incredibly detailed, down to the fastenings on his armour and the hobnails on his boots. Further displays showed weapons, techniques &c, before we moved on to a display of about twenty of the terracotta figures. There was a group of soldiers - light and heavy infantry, cavalry, a chariot, an officer and two generals. Also, a (replica) bronze chariot; terracotta musicians; bronze birds (the crane had a little fish in its beak!); terracotta acrobats; and even terracotta civil servants! Then a few more display cases, including a fully-painted (and very bright) version of the crossbowman; and out into the great court.
All very impressive, and well worth it.
Then a light lunch in the cafe - slightly dull sandwiches, but nice fruit and cakes. A wander into the American display, and then home.
A trip to London
Jan. 21st, 2007 01:31 pmYesterday, we went to London for a day of culture. The afternoon was spent at the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, watching Monty Python's Spamalot. Very enjoyable. Very silly - in fact, at first I thought it was rather too silly, but I soon got into it (coincidentally, around the time the dancing girls came on stage ;-) ) - and great fun. Someone who knew more of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail might have appreciated it even more.
The Lady of the Lake was played by an understudy, but she did very well. I was confused for a while, because we were using a programme from Creatrix's mother, which listed Tim Curry in the cast; I kept looking out for him, without realising that he had now been replaced by Simon Russell Beale.
Then dinner in the crypt of St-Martins-in-the-built-up-area - lamb steak in red wine sauce, chicken with papaya and salad for Creatrix. And then onto the London Coliseum for The Marriage of Figaro. Again very enjoyable, although I think Creatrix (who is the opera buff* in this household) got more out of it than I did. To my taste, it went on about half an hour too long, and I was occasionally confused as to just who knew what about whose secret identity. Otherwise, the staging, costumes and direction were magnificent; and I did appreciate the surtitles (even when they differed slightly from the words actually being sung!)
There were only two downsides to the day. The first was the rapacious attitude of the theatres. At the Palace, we were charged £10.50 for one (1) glass of wine, one (1) orange juice, and one (1) packet of nuts. At the Coliseum, a programme was £4.50!
The second was the transport. We got to King's Cross Thameslink on the way in to find that there were no Northern or Picadilly line trains running from there. On the way back, our first taxi was snaffled by someone else; we got a stopping train back; and then had to get a taxi from Luton, due to engineering works. All this contrived to keep us out until midnight; and a Wellinghall needs his sleep!
Oh, and a third was that my week at work kept spilling over into my thoughts.
Today, a lie-in, and then various bits of cooking, sewing, reading &c. We need to clean the bird feeders, then we'll be going for a walk and a swim. I've also got emails and LJ comments to reply to.
*Geddit? - opera buff - opera buffa - no? - oh well, please yourselves.
The Lady of the Lake was played by an understudy, but she did very well. I was confused for a while, because we were using a programme from Creatrix's mother, which listed Tim Curry in the cast; I kept looking out for him, without realising that he had now been replaced by Simon Russell Beale.
Then dinner in the crypt of St-Martins-in-the-built-up-area - lamb steak in red wine sauce, chicken with papaya and salad for Creatrix. And then onto the London Coliseum for The Marriage of Figaro. Again very enjoyable, although I think Creatrix (who is the opera buff* in this household) got more out of it than I did. To my taste, it went on about half an hour too long, and I was occasionally confused as to just who knew what about whose secret identity. Otherwise, the staging, costumes and direction were magnificent; and I did appreciate the surtitles (even when they differed slightly from the words actually being sung!)
There were only two downsides to the day. The first was the rapacious attitude of the theatres. At the Palace, we were charged £10.50 for one (1) glass of wine, one (1) orange juice, and one (1) packet of nuts. At the Coliseum, a programme was £4.50!
The second was the transport. We got to King's Cross Thameslink on the way in to find that there were no Northern or Picadilly line trains running from there. On the way back, our first taxi was snaffled by someone else; we got a stopping train back; and then had to get a taxi from Luton, due to engineering works. All this contrived to keep us out until midnight; and a Wellinghall needs his sleep!
Oh, and a third was that my week at work kept spilling over into my thoughts.
Today, a lie-in, and then various bits of cooking, sewing, reading &c. We need to clean the bird feeders, then we'll be going for a walk and a swim. I've also got emails and LJ comments to reply to.
*Geddit? - opera buff - opera buffa - no? - oh well, please yourselves.
Ballet, dinner and exhibitions
Dec. 28th, 2006 06:56 pmWe're going to London tomorrow, to see "Alice in Wonderland" at the London Coliseum. Before that, we're thinking of going to an exhibition or two. Currently on our shortlist are:
- Velazquez, Cezanne and Dutch winter scenes, at the National Gallery
- English 16th / 17th century silver from Russia, at Somerset House
- Holbein (but this is a bit more out of the way).
Has anyone been to any of these? Also, can anyone recommend somewhere for a pre-theatre dinner in the area?
- Velazquez, Cezanne and Dutch winter scenes, at the National Gallery
- English 16th / 17th century silver from Russia, at Somerset House
- Holbein (but this is a bit more out of the way).
Has anyone been to any of these? Also, can anyone recommend somewhere for a pre-theatre dinner in the area?
