Entry tags:
London life
I keep meaning to post this - ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shinysilvergrl came to visit these fair isles, and we met up, and it was fun! It was so lovely to meet an LJ person in, ah, person, for the first time. It turned out neither of us was an axe murderer, presumably to the relief of our respective partners (who, bless them, were worrying). We had a wander around Covent Garden, and some food in a noisy pub, and a wander around one of my favourite shops (Forbidden Planet, oh the geeky goodies). It was... well, liberating, quite frankly, to be able to drop names like Jack O'Neill into the conversation without getting blank looks. *g* And we talked about writing fic, and how we respond to feedback, and all that sort of stuff. Whee! Look, I can claim LJ as a legitimate friend-making thingy, now, and not just a tool for sucking up all my time!
I was reminded by the return to London of the Terracotta Army, that I once went to see it, many years ago. I remember it made a big impression on me (and I'm definitely going to see it again, whilst it's here - one day, I'd love to go see the whole thing in situ). I looked up past exhibitions - and apparently they haven't been to London since 1981. I'm amazed I can remember it - I would have been three or four years old. I remember there were red and black walls, and the weather was cold, and the statues were very tall and scary. Years later, I could still remember some of the stuff I was told about how it was discovered by accident, when local farmers drilling for a well broke through into a vast, underground tomb, full of an entire army of life-size terracotta figures - every one individual. The figures are eerie and imposing, and when I was little I thought they looked like they were ready to move, any moment. If an exhibition of it ever comes around your way, I highly recommend going.
We've also got Tutankhamun's treasure coming to London soon - I plan to go see that, too. I'll be having a very Daniel-esque Autumn. *g*
shinysilvergrl came to visit these fair isles, and we met up, and it was fun! It was so lovely to meet an LJ person in, ah, person, for the first time. It turned out neither of us was an axe murderer, presumably to the relief of our respective partners (who, bless them, were worrying). We had a wander around Covent Garden, and some food in a noisy pub, and a wander around one of my favourite shops (Forbidden Planet, oh the geeky goodies). It was... well, liberating, quite frankly, to be able to drop names like Jack O'Neill into the conversation without getting blank looks. *g* And we talked about writing fic, and how we respond to feedback, and all that sort of stuff. Whee! Look, I can claim LJ as a legitimate friend-making thingy, now, and not just a tool for sucking up all my time!I was reminded by the return to London of the Terracotta Army, that I once went to see it, many years ago. I remember it made a big impression on me (and I'm definitely going to see it again, whilst it's here - one day, I'd love to go see the whole thing in situ). I looked up past exhibitions - and apparently they haven't been to London since 1981. I'm amazed I can remember it - I would have been three or four years old. I remember there were red and black walls, and the weather was cold, and the statues were very tall and scary. Years later, I could still remember some of the stuff I was told about how it was discovered by accident, when local farmers drilling for a well broke through into a vast, underground tomb, full of an entire army of life-size terracotta figures - every one individual. The figures are eerie and imposing, and when I was little I thought they looked like they were ready to move, any moment. If an exhibition of it ever comes around your way, I highly recommend going.
We've also got Tutankhamun's treasure coming to London soon - I plan to go see that, too. I'll be having a very Daniel-esque Autumn. *g*
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I'll be having a very Daniel-esque Autumn.
Oh, hey - if you're in or near London, have you found the Petrie Museum yet? Daniel Jackson heaven.
(And heaven for anyone who loves tiny hidden museums that no-one knows about and that are crammed full of some of the most astonishing ancient Egyptian artifacts I've seen).
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Whee! Museums by torchlight. Excellent.
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And if you go there, you have to make sure you also check out the exhibits stashed down the side of the fire escape stairs.
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Thinking of such, have you ever been to the John Soanes museum? It's a lovely house, designed and inhabited by Soanes, full of beautiful and random bits and pieces that he collected from all over the world. It has a gallery room where the walls can be turned like pages in a book, so he could hang more paintings. You can go see it by candlelight (well, partially lit by candlelight, and partially by electric light, presumably because candlelight is a bit dangerous), first Tues evening of every month. I went to one of those, and there was a queue out the door and down the road.
http://www.soane.org/
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Have you found the Hunterian Museum? It's in the Royal College Of Surgeons, just on the other side of the square from the Soane museum.
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/information
Fascinating, although not recommended if you're easily squicked by ... things in jars.
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I'm also planning to go see the Wellcome Collection sometime - http://www.wellcomecollection.org/ - that looks along similar lines, although less squicky. :)