The British Museum has another new exhibition - this time about the Vikings, who may have indulged in some plundering and raping on their travels, but also found time to create beautiful and intricate jewellery for themselves. There were very skilled craftsmen among them, comparable to those elsewhere in the world.
Unfortunately, the exhibition was rather packed, so I decided to have just a quick look and then come back another time when there were fewer people there, and I wouldn't have to spend most of the time just standing around waiting.
In the background at the entrance there was what I assume was something being said in the Norse language, though I'm not sure. Later in the exhibition I heard what I thought was the same thing, but hearing what sounded like the odd English word, I listened more closely, and it turned out to be broad Scots I'm not sure what foreigners made of it, as I had to listen very closely to understand it.
The one thing I did manage to see was the Viking ship - 120 feet long and about 13 feet across and powered by 100 oarsmen. It must have been quite an impressive sight as it sailed across the North Sea and up the rivers.
It was quite amazing how far the Vikings travelled, with their voyages taking them to places as far away as America in the West and China in the East.
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