Britain - One Million Years of Human History is currently on at the Natural History Museum. It's a fairly small exhibition, but quite interesting all the same - you need about an hour to see it properly.
I had to queue to get in, but the queue moved fairly quickly, and once in the museum, I soon found that it was the dinosaurs, rather than the latest exhibition, that most people, especially the children, had come to see.
I had some difficulty in finding the exhibition - it wasn't well sign-posted, but after asking several people, I eventually found it.
Britain - One Million Years of Human History looks as Britain over the past million years, with its regularly changing climates, and its various periods of human habitation, beginning with the Neanderthals.
Very interesting things are emerging about the Neanderthals - not only did they not die out, as was traditionally taught, but modern Europeans - and in fact, everybody except Africans - carry from 2% - 4% of their DNA. So far from having a lot in common with apes, they must have been very like us, and the re-constructed figures of the Neanderthals in the exhibition would not warrant a second glance if they walked along any high street in Britain today. They were very definitely human.
Most experts assume that human beings originated in Africa and then moved out to populate the world, and it used to be thought that they killed off the stupider Neanderthals, who weren't really human anyway. But is it possible that in fact, even if some people did move from Africa to the Middle East and Europe, that they simply intermarried with the people who were already there, i.e. the Neanderthals, and that Europeans today are essentially descendants of the Neanderthals? It's an interesting thought, particularly in view of the 900,000 year old footprints discovered on the beach in Suffolk, which showed that people were living in Britain all that time ago, presumably Neanderthals.
The exhibition finished with a video on the latest project to map people's DNA to show how people migrated in the past, as evidenced by their DNA. The video focussed on about six people, and showed that in some cases they had unusual ancestors. The chap from Mauritius unsurprising, had a colourful racial background, which reflected the various people who have visited the island or settled there over the centuries; less to be expected was a English/Welsh woman who had American Indian ancestry.
Altogether an interesting exhibition, and well-worth a visit, especial as the entrance price is quite reasonable.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Monday, 24 February 2014
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Having read the book (more years ago than I care to remember) and seen the film (much more recently) and thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought it might be good to see the play, which was being put on by Nadine's Window at the Baron's Court Theatre in Comeragh Road, which is just a longish walk or a short bas-ride away. The Theatre used to be called The Curtain's Up, and is in the cellar of The Curtain's Up pub. One of the quirky things about them - apart from the fact that it is a minute little theatre with seating on three sides of the room and no stage, just a space in the centre - used to be the their names for their facilities - no pictures or the usual wording, but Skirts Up and Trousers Down - which now seem to have been changed.
The characters were all well cast - Mary Macgregor really seemed as dopey as she was in the book and the film, Sandy and Jenny looked exactly right, and Miss Jean Brodie was definitely in good form. You could just imagine her as a real life person. Terry Lloyd and Mr. Lowther were also very believable characters, and the whole play was set in the context of an interview with flashbacks between Sandy (now Sister Helena) and an American Baptist journalist who was fascinated by her best-selling book. Somewhat unusually, I found myself sitting next to a Swedish couple on holiday, who had seen he film and just happened to see the play was on.
The play definitely followed the film rather than the book - and had as little in common with the book as the film did, apart form the fact that both were about a teacher who exerted an undue and not very healthy influence on a group of impressionable young girls, one of whom eventually betrayed her. And that, I think was the whole point of the story - how forceful and charismatic adults can influence young children, moulding them into their way of thinking and believing. Miss Brodie, a libertarian in the days when libertarianism was not welcomed among teachers, particularly female teachers, sought to impress her ideas on her group - she was not interested in educating them in the normal subjects, but in influencing them on moral issues and in encouraging them to see art and music, and the behaviour often associated with artists, as more important than subjects like Maths.
The characters were all well cast - Mary Macgregor really seemed as dopey as she was in the book and the film, Sandy and Jenny looked exactly right, and Miss Jean Brodie was definitely in good form. You could just imagine her as a real life person. Terry Lloyd and Mr. Lowther were also very believable characters, and the whole play was set in the context of an interview with flashbacks between Sandy (now Sister Helena) and an American Baptist journalist who was fascinated by her best-selling book. Somewhat unusually, I found myself sitting next to a Swedish couple on holiday, who had seen he film and just happened to see the play was on.
The play definitely followed the film rather than the book - and had as little in common with the book as the film did, apart form the fact that both were about a teacher who exerted an undue and not very healthy influence on a group of impressionable young girls, one of whom eventually betrayed her. And that, I think was the whole point of the story - how forceful and charismatic adults can influence young children, moulding them into their way of thinking and believing. Miss Brodie, a libertarian in the days when libertarianism was not welcomed among teachers, particularly female teachers, sought to impress her ideas on her group - she was not interested in educating them in the normal subjects, but in influencing them on moral issues and in encouraging them to see art and music, and the behaviour often associated with artists, as more important than subjects like Maths.
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Romsey
The last of my South West Trains special offer tickets!
I checked the trains on the internet late yesterday evening,but there was a tremendous storm last night, and when i got to Waterloo, the train to Southampton wasn't showing on the board, although it was almost due to leave. When I asked I was told that they hadn't a clue - everything was so chaotic after the storm that they had no idea when trains would be running, and there were notices up saying that tickets for today would be valid on Sunday and Monday, and on any other reasonable route on the buses, underground or other train company services. Virtually every service was delayed, with no indication of when they would be running.
When a notice appeared showing a train stopping at Southamption, I got on it, only to discover that it wasn't going to Southampton after all, but was going via Salisbury to Exeter. So I got off at Woking, to await one which actually was going to Southampton. The board there said there would be one at 9.00 a.m. - it was then not even half seven - but on asking I was told that in reality they hadn't a clue when the next train would be, as they were waiting to see which lines were clear. In fact, a train arrived at ten past eight, but there was no straight run through then to Southampton, as the line was blocked by a tree, and after several stops and starts, I eventually got to Southampton just before 11.a.m., instead of just after eight.
When I got out of the station, I wasn't surprised there were trees on the line; it was windy when I left London, but in Southampton the wind was gale force and squally. But at least it was dry.
I got a bus out to Romsey, as I wanted to go and see Romsey Abbey. It's only about seven miles, but it take three quarters of an hour, as the bus goes all round the houses, The general impression I got was that that part of Southampton was suffering from a depression; in Shirley there were about a dozen charity shops with a hundred yards.
I had lunch in Romsey at a very nice little cafe near the bus station called Lineker's Cafe; the food was excellent and I was even tempted to try one of their coffee and walnut cakes. Delicious!
After that, on to Romsey Abbe. It's only only a few minutes' walk, and rather dominates the town; it is also reputed to be one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Europe. Originally a Benedictine Abbey founded in AD 907, the present church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. When Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries, the townspeople bought the abbey back for £100 - the original document for the sale can be seen in the church - but did not get the endowments that formerly went with it, so today it has no income of its own, but is just a normal parish church. But for a parish church, it is enormous, reflecting it's former use. Most churches in small country towns are quite small; some, in fact, are very small, with little to show of their long history.
But Romsey Abbey is different. There is the list of all the abbesses - yes, they had a woman in charge from the very first, starting in AD 907 - some of whom reigned for over thirty years. A lot of them seemed to have lived to a ripe old age, unless they became the abbess very young. There's Chapel of St. Nicholas with the tomb of Earl Mountbatten, the Romsey Cope, dating from the 15th century and hidden behind a curtain which you have to pull back to see it, the Saxon roods (crosses) dating from about AD 960, the tomb of the 10th century abbess, St. Ethelflaeda in the chapel named after her, the 12th century wall painting in St. Mary's Chapel, the Italian-style painted reredos dating from about AD 1525 behind the altar in St. Lawrence's Chapel - in fact, everywhere you look in Romsey Abbey there are reminders of its lonvg history.
After that a quick visit to the museum to the Moody family at the Tourist Information Centre, which is now housed in the gunshop which they formerly owned. I would have liked to have gone to King John's House also, but unfortunately it was closed.
I left just after four o'clock, as I wanted to get back to Southampton before the Post office closed - I just made it, as it wasn't the easiest place to find. The centre of Southampton has been re-developed, so that the main shopping centre is now West Quay - a large shopping mall, just like all the other large shopping malls scattered round the country. I had been told the Post office was there, but in fact it is in the High Street, in WH Smiths.
I planned to get something to eat in Southampton before leaving, but it definitely isn't the place to eat unless you want to go to one of the big chains like Cafe Rouge or Nandos, which I don't. So I settled for a large cup of tea and a slice of lemon and coconut cake from the cafe at the station, and ate them on the train coming home.
I checked the trains on the internet late yesterday evening,but there was a tremendous storm last night, and when i got to Waterloo, the train to Southampton wasn't showing on the board, although it was almost due to leave. When I asked I was told that they hadn't a clue - everything was so chaotic after the storm that they had no idea when trains would be running, and there were notices up saying that tickets for today would be valid on Sunday and Monday, and on any other reasonable route on the buses, underground or other train company services. Virtually every service was delayed, with no indication of when they would be running.
When a notice appeared showing a train stopping at Southamption, I got on it, only to discover that it wasn't going to Southampton after all, but was going via Salisbury to Exeter. So I got off at Woking, to await one which actually was going to Southampton. The board there said there would be one at 9.00 a.m. - it was then not even half seven - but on asking I was told that in reality they hadn't a clue when the next train would be, as they were waiting to see which lines were clear. In fact, a train arrived at ten past eight, but there was no straight run through then to Southampton, as the line was blocked by a tree, and after several stops and starts, I eventually got to Southampton just before 11.a.m., instead of just after eight.
When I got out of the station, I wasn't surprised there were trees on the line; it was windy when I left London, but in Southampton the wind was gale force and squally. But at least it was dry.
I got a bus out to Romsey, as I wanted to go and see Romsey Abbey. It's only about seven miles, but it take three quarters of an hour, as the bus goes all round the houses, The general impression I got was that that part of Southampton was suffering from a depression; in Shirley there were about a dozen charity shops with a hundred yards.
I had lunch in Romsey at a very nice little cafe near the bus station called Lineker's Cafe; the food was excellent and I was even tempted to try one of their coffee and walnut cakes. Delicious!
After that, on to Romsey Abbe. It's only only a few minutes' walk, and rather dominates the town; it is also reputed to be one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Europe. Originally a Benedictine Abbey founded in AD 907, the present church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. When Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries, the townspeople bought the abbey back for £100 - the original document for the sale can be seen in the church - but did not get the endowments that formerly went with it, so today it has no income of its own, but is just a normal parish church. But for a parish church, it is enormous, reflecting it's former use. Most churches in small country towns are quite small; some, in fact, are very small, with little to show of their long history.
But Romsey Abbey is different. There is the list of all the abbesses - yes, they had a woman in charge from the very first, starting in AD 907 - some of whom reigned for over thirty years. A lot of them seemed to have lived to a ripe old age, unless they became the abbess very young. There's Chapel of St. Nicholas with the tomb of Earl Mountbatten, the Romsey Cope, dating from the 15th century and hidden behind a curtain which you have to pull back to see it, the Saxon roods (crosses) dating from about AD 960, the tomb of the 10th century abbess, St. Ethelflaeda in the chapel named after her, the 12th century wall painting in St. Mary's Chapel, the Italian-style painted reredos dating from about AD 1525 behind the altar in St. Lawrence's Chapel - in fact, everywhere you look in Romsey Abbey there are reminders of its lonvg history.
After that a quick visit to the museum to the Moody family at the Tourist Information Centre, which is now housed in the gunshop which they formerly owned. I would have liked to have gone to King John's House also, but unfortunately it was closed.
I left just after four o'clock, as I wanted to get back to Southampton before the Post office closed - I just made it, as it wasn't the easiest place to find. The centre of Southampton has been re-developed, so that the main shopping centre is now West Quay - a large shopping mall, just like all the other large shopping malls scattered round the country. I had been told the Post office was there, but in fact it is in the High Street, in WH Smiths.
I planned to get something to eat in Southampton before leaving, but it definitely isn't the place to eat unless you want to go to one of the big chains like Cafe Rouge or Nandos, which I don't. So I settled for a large cup of tea and a slice of lemon and coconut cake from the cafe at the station, and ate them on the train coming home.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Amesbury
My third day out courtesy of South West Trains.
This time I got the train to Salisbury. The original idea was to get the bus to Tisbury, said to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England, and reasonably close to Wardour, where my friends Michael and Veronica Hodges had been involved in restoring the chapel. However, the internet proved rather unreliable for checking out bus times,and I discovered that not only had the bus station, where I was going to pick up the bus, closed, but the bus times had changed. So I made a quick change of plans and got a bus to Amesbury, which I had never heard of before, but which proved a very wise choice.
Amesbury itself is quite small, with a population of little more than 10,000. There is a small high street, with a limited number of shops, and a number of new housing estates; and if that had been all, I would probably have spent half an hour their and moved on.
But in the last few years Amesbury has become a very important archaeological site, and a museum has recently been set up in the former church hall. There was a notice saying "Museum open" and I expected it would be the usual small affair with a few rather boring artifacts, the sort that can be found in almost any small town museum - worth a visit, but not somewhere you would spend a great deal of time.
Instead, it was fascinating. As the only visitor, I had a personal guided tour of the museum, and although they could not show any of the valuable pieces discovered for security reasons, there was enough there to make me want to find out more.
Amesbury, it would seem, has been continuously inhabited since 8,000 BC, and thousands of artifacts from that time onward have been found in just one small site on the edge of the town. Who knows what will be discovered when further sites are excavated. But what has been done so far shows that it was an important site even before Stonehenge was built, possibly being a winter camp for the nomadic tribes who lived just south of the ice sheet, as it has warm springs which never freeze. In fact, it is thought that the people who built Stonehenge possibly lived there.
One of the most famous discoveries in the area was the Amesbury archer, lived about 2300 BC and who was unearthed in 2002 when a new housing estate was being built; tests showed that he probably originated in the Alps, while a relative who was also discovered grew up locally.
After a very interesting and lengthy visit to the museum, where I also sampled their tea and cakes, I wandered up past the church of St. Mary and St. Melor, which is very old - dating back to the tenth century at least - but was firmly shut for some reason. I can't think they get many burglaries in Amesbury, or that there is anything particularly valuable there anyway, but one never knows. So I just took some photos of the outside, before going on to look at the River Avon, which I presume is normally just a small stream. Today it was a huge, fast flowing river, spreading out over the fields on either side. Luckily the town itself is on slightly higher ground than the fields.
Amesbury, far from being just a sleepy little town with nothing much of interest, is definitely worth another visit but preferably on a day which isn't quite so wet and windy.
Back in Salisbury, I wandered round the town, looking at all the interesting buildings, like the Church of St. Edmund & St. Thomas, before going on to Salisbury Cathedral, by which time it had started to rain quite heavily again.. I've been there before, but it's worth more than one or two visits. Their refectory is nice, but rather expensive; I tried one of their rich cakes and a pot of tea as it was that time of day, before going into the cathedral itself, which is huge.
Afterwards I went to do some shopping before coming back for Evensong at 5.30 p.m. - I only just made it in time, and I'm not sure they allow latecomers into the choir stalls. There was a large choir, nearly all little girls with just a few men. I wasn't terribly impressed the singing, but I think the children may have been quite new to it, as not all of them had the correct outfits. But they were all impeccably behaved and very solemn during the service and when they processed in and out.
By the end of Evensong it was completely dark, and you realise just how well London is lit at night. No lamps lighting up the path from the Cathedral to the street there, and not the best of lighting in the streets.
When I got to the station I found my train was delayed, due to trees on the Line (again!), but it was only just over half an hour late, so I was home at a very reasonable time.
This time I got the train to Salisbury. The original idea was to get the bus to Tisbury, said to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England, and reasonably close to Wardour, where my friends Michael and Veronica Hodges had been involved in restoring the chapel. However, the internet proved rather unreliable for checking out bus times,and I discovered that not only had the bus station, where I was going to pick up the bus, closed, but the bus times had changed. So I made a quick change of plans and got a bus to Amesbury, which I had never heard of before, but which proved a very wise choice.
Amesbury itself is quite small, with a population of little more than 10,000. There is a small high street, with a limited number of shops, and a number of new housing estates; and if that had been all, I would probably have spent half an hour their and moved on.
But in the last few years Amesbury has become a very important archaeological site, and a museum has recently been set up in the former church hall. There was a notice saying "Museum open" and I expected it would be the usual small affair with a few rather boring artifacts, the sort that can be found in almost any small town museum - worth a visit, but not somewhere you would spend a great deal of time.
Instead, it was fascinating. As the only visitor, I had a personal guided tour of the museum, and although they could not show any of the valuable pieces discovered for security reasons, there was enough there to make me want to find out more.
Amesbury, it would seem, has been continuously inhabited since 8,000 BC, and thousands of artifacts from that time onward have been found in just one small site on the edge of the town. Who knows what will be discovered when further sites are excavated. But what has been done so far shows that it was an important site even before Stonehenge was built, possibly being a winter camp for the nomadic tribes who lived just south of the ice sheet, as it has warm springs which never freeze. In fact, it is thought that the people who built Stonehenge possibly lived there.
One of the most famous discoveries in the area was the Amesbury archer, lived about 2300 BC and who was unearthed in 2002 when a new housing estate was being built; tests showed that he probably originated in the Alps, while a relative who was also discovered grew up locally.
After a very interesting and lengthy visit to the museum, where I also sampled their tea and cakes, I wandered up past the church of St. Mary and St. Melor, which is very old - dating back to the tenth century at least - but was firmly shut for some reason. I can't think they get many burglaries in Amesbury, or that there is anything particularly valuable there anyway, but one never knows. So I just took some photos of the outside, before going on to look at the River Avon, which I presume is normally just a small stream. Today it was a huge, fast flowing river, spreading out over the fields on either side. Luckily the town itself is on slightly higher ground than the fields.
Amesbury, far from being just a sleepy little town with nothing much of interest, is definitely worth another visit but preferably on a day which isn't quite so wet and windy.
Back in Salisbury, I wandered round the town, looking at all the interesting buildings, like the Church of St. Edmund & St. Thomas, before going on to Salisbury Cathedral, by which time it had started to rain quite heavily again.. I've been there before, but it's worth more than one or two visits. Their refectory is nice, but rather expensive; I tried one of their rich cakes and a pot of tea as it was that time of day, before going into the cathedral itself, which is huge.
Afterwards I went to do some shopping before coming back for Evensong at 5.30 p.m. - I only just made it in time, and I'm not sure they allow latecomers into the choir stalls. There was a large choir, nearly all little girls with just a few men. I wasn't terribly impressed the singing, but I think the children may have been quite new to it, as not all of them had the correct outfits. But they were all impeccably behaved and very solemn during the service and when they processed in and out.
By the end of Evensong it was completely dark, and you realise just how well London is lit at night. No lamps lighting up the path from the Cathedral to the street there, and not the best of lighting in the streets.
When I got to the station I found my train was delayed, due to trees on the Line (again!), but it was only just over half an hour late, so I was home at a very reasonable time.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Lyme Regis
Another day out courtesy of South west Trains special offer, this time to Lyme Regis, a bit further along the coast than Bridport, and a seaside town instead of being a couple of miles inland.
I got the train to Dorchester - or rather train, bus and then train again to Dorchester - and then got a bus to Lyme Regis. I could have gone into Weymouth and got the bus from there, but it is much quicker to pick it up at Dorchester.
The bus trip to Lyme Regis would be a bit hair-raising in real winter weather with ice and snow; several times the driver had to change gears a couple of times to get up the hills. But the scenery was very pretty, with lots of hills and valleys, all very green.
Lyme Regis is different to most seaside towns - it gives the impression of being a bit more upmarket, for a start. And of course, at this time of year, a lot of places, especially cafes, are closed, and there was hardly anyone on the beach. Finding somewhere for lunch wasn't as easy as in most places.
Lyme Regis has character. Set on the Jurassic coast, where fossils are everywhere, it is built on cliffs, and the shoreline used to be much further out than it is today., The parish church, set on a cliff, looks as if might one day fall into the sea. But before it does, it is worth a visit - one of the unusual things about it is that the large font is directly in front of the door.
The museum also is well worth a visit, Based in the house where the famous eighteenth century palaentologist, Mary Anneley, lived, it is a fascinating place, not only on the history of Lyme Regis, but also on Mary Anneley, who never married and devoted her life to studying and recording fossils found in the area. In her time she was recognised as a world expert on fossils - a rare distinction for a woman in that era.
I also went on a tour of the mill, which uses water from the River Lym and which generates its own electricity, feeding any surplus into the National Grid.
I didn't get much of a chance to walk along the beach - the winds were almost gail force, and it was quite cold. But Lyme Regis is definitely worth a second visit in the summer, when it is warm and dry and you don't need to keep brushing the hair out of your eyesbecause of the wind.
I got the train to Dorchester - or rather train, bus and then train again to Dorchester - and then got a bus to Lyme Regis. I could have gone into Weymouth and got the bus from there, but it is much quicker to pick it up at Dorchester.
The bus trip to Lyme Regis would be a bit hair-raising in real winter weather with ice and snow; several times the driver had to change gears a couple of times to get up the hills. But the scenery was very pretty, with lots of hills and valleys, all very green.
Lyme Regis is different to most seaside towns - it gives the impression of being a bit more upmarket, for a start. And of course, at this time of year, a lot of places, especially cafes, are closed, and there was hardly anyone on the beach. Finding somewhere for lunch wasn't as easy as in most places.
Lyme Regis has character. Set on the Jurassic coast, where fossils are everywhere, it is built on cliffs, and the shoreline used to be much further out than it is today., The parish church, set on a cliff, looks as if might one day fall into the sea. But before it does, it is worth a visit - one of the unusual things about it is that the large font is directly in front of the door.
The museum also is well worth a visit, Based in the house where the famous eighteenth century palaentologist, Mary Anneley, lived, it is a fascinating place, not only on the history of Lyme Regis, but also on Mary Anneley, who never married and devoted her life to studying and recording fossils found in the area. In her time she was recognised as a world expert on fossils - a rare distinction for a woman in that era.
I also went on a tour of the mill, which uses water from the River Lym and which generates its own electricity, feeding any surplus into the National Grid.
I didn't get much of a chance to walk along the beach - the winds were almost gail force, and it was quite cold. But Lyme Regis is definitely worth a second visit in the summer, when it is warm and dry and you don't need to keep brushing the hair out of your eyesbecause of the wind.
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