A Valentine's trip to the Tower

Last July I helped out at the Festival of Archaeology at the Tower of London with the City of London Archaeology Society (what a mouthful!). I had so much fun that day, helping to run the children's excavation. Kids are so enthusiastic about archaeology, and keen to learn (although sometimes disappointed that the bones they dug up were not dinosaurs!) To thank us for helping out we were all given a free ticket to one of the Historic Palaces. I picked the Tower of London, as I haven't been there for a very long time, and was keen to visit. I decided to go on Valentine's day this year, as a treat to myself :-)

What struck me when I first walked in was the size of the place. It was like walking out of the city of London, into another city. The clock had been turned back, and I had walked into another world, it was wonderful. The only unfortunate thing was it was raining. A lot. It made me realise why cobbled streets were designed, as I would had been walking through rivers instead.

Into the second city

I really loved the animals that had been placed around the Tower to demonstrate the collection of animals that had been kept here. Really beautiful pieces of artwork, and I felt it was tastefully done for the setting too.

A polar bear

and an elephant!

I felt it was slightly cheating to have the ravens locked in a cage, although on the plus side the Kingdom will never fall! They're pretty big birds, I'm not sure I'd want to be the Raven Master and have to feed them daily. 

It was a welcome relief from the rain to be able to explore the different towers, and there was so much to see. 

Exploring the White Tower

The very popular execution block

Up on the wall, a little damp and slippy!

It was great visiting the tower again, and learning about it's history. It's so amazing that such an big heritage place could sit in a prime location on the Thames, next to the City of London. 

I headed home to dry off, which unfortunately took around 4 1/2 hours due to the Valentine's  storms! Our poor train driver hit two trees, and stopped both times to get out and move them with the train guard. They were absolute heroes, I was so impressed with South West Trains that night. Then after the epic train journey I drove back to my village, to find that 3 out of 4 roads were completely blocked by fallen trees. It was a very exciting journey home, and a glass of wine was much appreciated when I finally got there! 

CBA London trip to UCL

I have to admit, going round the UCL collection made me a little bit jealous and wanting to do my degree again. I loved my time at Winchester and Oxford, but UCL just blew me away. I guess I'd take any excuse to go back to uni!

The amount of material the university holds is immense, and they hold objects from all over the world, apart from China, and North America - which is held by the Anthropology department. The idea is that students are handling objects as well as learning about certain time periods and cultures, increasing their knowledge and experience. I think this is a brilliant idea and I feel my archaeological education would have benefited greatly by being able to hold and examine pieces from excavations all over the world. Hands on learning is a great way to teach. Here are some photographs of the collection:

A Hand Axe from the Olduvai Gorge

A collection from Swanscombe

All the bones are laid out in different drawers depending on the animal, to help students identify bones.

The feline drawer

One of the artefacts Flinders Petrie donated to UCL

The trip was organised by CBA London group, and I really look forward to their next event. More information about the group can be found here: http://www.archaeologyuk.org/cbalondon/

More information can be found about the UCL Institute of Archaeology here, as well as access to their collection database: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/ The archaeology library is also very good, and somewhere I've used for preparing for interviews. For members of the public you have to demonstrate a need to use the library, and it costs £7 a day. 

Exploring Shakespeare's Globe

One of the first performances I saw at the Globe was Timon of Athens. People were dressed as birds and bungee-ing into the groundlings, and running along nets suspended across the top of the theatre. That was it. I was in love. Since then I've seen a man's eyes been cut out, flirted with Mercutio, had Mark Rylance's cloak thrown over me in Richard III, avoided the cannon in Henry VIII, giggled a lot in Merry Wives, been rained on several times, and drunk some marvellous sangria from the Swan bar (which definitely has some magical mind/body numbing qualities, making All's Well that Ends Well a warm blur).

Once, under the influence of swine flu and Matthew Kelly, I fainted at a midnight performance of Troilus and Cressida. I was spirited away to the first aid room and revived, and spent most of the performance sitting outside watching scantily dressed soldiers run in and out the globe.

A fellow Shakepeare follower and I went along and watched both parts of Henry IV back to back, drinking a bottle of wine in between plays on the Tate Modern lawn. We then spent the first half of part two eating the most enormous hog roast sandwiches. You can't do that in the West End. I've sat (although not yet on the top floor) and I've been a groundling. Yes I can safely say that this is my perfect theatre, and one of my favourite places in London. It has been a different experience every time I walked through those doors, and I've had so much fun there.

So just before Christmas, I went on the Heaven to Hell Backstage Tour. The tour is run during the winter (while the Globe is closed) for members and their guests. It's £20 a head, so not cheap, but really worth it. You get to see everywhere. We went to the top, under the stage, and even got to see the prop store and costumes fridge. I haven't posted photos of everything as I don't want to spoil the surprise.

The view from the heavens

The view out onto the stage (I was very excited at this point!)

The beautiful Ceiling 

The balcony. 

At the end of the tour we were given a sneak peek at the new Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Now I hadn't given the theatre much thought before. The Globe is perfect, why would you need another one, especially indoors like all the other theatres. I was so wrong. It is the most beautiful little theatre I've ever seen (and I haven't seen it lit by candles yet!) I haven't got tickets for this season (it's mostly sold out) but I cannot wait for the next season, I'll be first in line! The tour ended with a cup of tea and biscuits, and after a couple of hours of exploring every inch of the Globe, it was well deserved. 

Booking has already opened for members for the Globe theatre, and opens to the public early February. Tickets can be booked here:

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/ 

There's really no excuse not to go, as tickets start at £5 for a Groundling (standing) ticket. For £5 you get the best 'seat' in the house, and often end up as part of the play, or being harassed by actors. The seats are really reasonable too, and you can laugh at the Groundlings, and pity them when it rains. 

My second favourite place in London is the Swan at the Globe Restaurant, conveniently next door! I really recommend their Sunday Roasts, sit back, eat wonderful food and watch the clippers racing up and down the Thames. 

http://www.loveswan.co.uk/shakespearesglobe/bar/index.html

Alan Sorrell at the John Soane Museum

The John Soane Museum has become one of my favourite museums, it's so different and unique. Sadly you can't take any photographs, but it's almost better going in without knowing what to expect. I really recommend a visit. More information can be found on the website:

http://www.soane.org/

There is also an exhibition of Alan Sorrell's work until the 25th January which is really worth seeing. Sorrell was born in 1904 and is best known for his  reconstructions of archaeological sites. This was the reason I was visiting the museum,  It was a bonus that I also discovered an amazing place.

http://www.soane.org/exhibitions

Desert Island Discs

Hopefully the Island I end up on - Tresco

This year at Christmas we had our own Desert Island Discs, which we presented to each other on Christmas Eve over a few wines, and a Shepherds Pie. These are the ones I selected.

1. Mercury The Winged Messenger from Holst’s Planets

This is the first piece of music I remember hearing. I picked Mercury as I was always fascinated by him in the Greek myths. He reminds me a bit of Pan, Puck, Loki, a mischievous character, and I feel the music really conveys that. Incidentally when I started secondary school I was asked by one of the cooler kids what music I liked. I replied classical, it didn’t go down well that I hadn’t said Take That! From that time I was in the geeky strange group. I’m still proud!

2. Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles

I’m the third generation of Beatles fan in the family,  so they had to be included. I picked this song as I remember playing as a child with my brother and listening to the Magical Mystery Tour album. I think we thought it was a nursery rhyme cd for kids, I don’t think we knew the real meaning!! A lot of lego buildings and games involving thundercats/teenage mutant ninja turtles/thunderbirds were created.  This is not my favourite Beatles song, but I think it’s their best.

3. Sexbomb – Tom Jones

I had to pick an upbeat, dance-y track. When I’m stuck on the island there’s going to be times when I need to let my hair down. It took me a while to go through my ipod, but I settled on Tom Jones. I love this track. It makes me laugh, it’s ridiculous, and makes me dance. Perfect.

4. The Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel

Another group I grew up with was Simon and Garfunkel. They are fantastic.  This song is beautiful, but it must be the right version. The one I love is off Wednesday Morning, 3am. It’s more acoustic than the famous version, which I think gives it a more upbeat feel. It has a hopeful sound, which is what I love about it.

5. Cheek to Cheek – Ella Fitzgerald

I chose this one for a few reasons. The first is that it was on a jazz album we had when I worked in a local café. I used to clean the floors to it, and it made me feel like I was in a past simpler life. Happy times. The second reason was it reminds me of Swing dancing, and all the fun nights I’ve had out trying to lindy hop, and the great people I’ve met. The third reason is that it’s my favourite film – The English Patient.

6. Symphony number 7 in A Major,  op 92-2, Allegretto - Beethoven

I can’t really explain this one, apart from the fact that I believe it’s the greatest piece of music ever written. When I listen to it I can’t believe someone wrote it, it’s so incredibly beautiful.

7. Society – Eddie Vedder (On the ‘Into the Wild’ Soundtrack)

This song just makes me want to travel every time I hear it. I’ve listened to it on buses round Europe, trains to Italy and Paris, to Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and tubes in London.  It takes me everywhere.

8. Once there was a Hushpuppy – from the ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild ‘Soundtrack

Again I picked this track for a few reasons. The first was I saw this film at the 2012 London Film Festival, possibly the best period I had in London while I lived there. I saw a film a day for ten days and walked up and down red carpets, it was fantastic. I picked this film on a whim, not realising how big it would become, eventually being nominated for best picture at the Oscars.

The film itself really spoke to me, highlighting the important issues with climate change and the damage we’re doing to our planet, but through the eyes of a child. The whole soundtrack is wonderful, and I downloaded it as soon as I’d seen the film. It shows how important music can be as part of the viewing experience, and the emotions that can be created through it. I really enjoy listening to soundtracks, I guess they’re the modern classical music.

Luxury item – The one thing I couldn’t be without would be the ability to make tea. I can’t cope without it, I need at least 3 cups a day, minimum!

Book – The book I would take to the island would be the Gormenghast Trilogy. I couldn’t be without it.

Piece of Art- I don’t think they have this on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs, but we thought it would be interesting to have something useless, but meaningful. I would pick an ice age art piece, two reindeer carved into mammoth tusk. It’s around 13,000 years old, from France. As it is a carving I felt it would be comforting to touch it and feel the creation.  It would remind me where mankind have come from, and what we are capable of doing. If we got out the cave, then I’m capable of escaping an island.

The Eagle of the City

There is a new resident at in the City of London. A sculpture of an eagle clutching a wriggling snake has been found at the Minories and was originally placed over a Roman tomb. It is dated from the 1st to the 2nd Century AD, but when you see it in person it is hard to believe, it looks as though it was carved yesterday. The Eagle will be at the Museum of London for six months, and I really recommend visiting, it's such a beautiful object.

The Eagle can be seen at the beginning of the Roman gallery at the museum of London : http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/galleries/roman-london/

Visit to the Petrie Museum

CBA London (http://www.archaeologyuk.org/cbalondon/) organised a private tour of the Petrie Museum, part of UCL just off Tottenham Court Road. Having studied British Archaeology, I don't know much about Egyptology, but like most people find it fascinating. I think it's one of the first things people think about when archaeology is mentioned: tombs, sand and mummies (and dinosaurs!).  The museum was created in 1892 through Amelia Edwards, who donated hundreds of Egyptian Antiquities.  Edwards was a pioneer in the protection of Egyptian sites and artefacts, and was a co-founder of the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1882.

William Flinders Petrie

William Flinders Petrie excavated some of the most important sites in Egypt, including King Akhenaten's city of Amarna, and also worked in Palestine. Petrie set new standards in archaeology at the time, and believed in the importance of recording and studying artefacts. Petrie also linked styles of pottery with the different time periods, helping to date the different sites he worked on.

The pottery types set out by period/age

Petrie sold his collection to UCL in 1933, which created one of the largest collections of Egyptian artefacts outside of Egypt. What I loved about the museum is the way everything is packed into such a small space. Everywhere you look there are artefacts, you could spend days looking through the collection. Just when you think you've seen something, you realise that the drawers open underneath the displays, and more artefacts are there to be seen. It is also one of the first museum collections to be digitised, so if you take note of an artefact number you can look it up online.

Some of the many beautiful objects on display

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 13.00-17.00 to the public, and is free to visit. More information can be found on the website:  http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie

The BBC also had a programme on this year called 'The Man Who Discovered Egypt' about Petrie's work in Egypt. It isn't currently on iPlayer, but has been shown several times this year, and is worth keeping an eye out for:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01f13f4