Cutty Sark and The Painted Hall

We visited the Cutty Sark today with my Dad and Joan. It was interesting to see the changes since the last time we visited, before the renovations after the fire. It is much more of a museum now than it used to be, but done in a tasteful and sympathetic way. The floor of the bottom deck is made up of tea chests, and they-or at least mock ups of them have been cleverly used as display areas for art, photography, and information relating to the ship and the tea trade.

 The upper deck is much the same. I love the sturdy wooden pulleys. This deck was in Chatham being renovated at the time of the fire, and so escaped damage.

 The Tween deck had a lot of interesting information on the wool trade with Australia, such as the fact that a Merino sheep apparently produces enough wool in a year to make 5,000 miles of yarn. That does not sound possible to me! Why is it so expensive then? is what springs to mind!

 The new feature is the access to the bottom of the boat. It is quite beautiful. Brass is the metal cladding the sides-apparently more resistant to barnacles than copper.

 I was so pleased to see that the collection of figureheads is still there. That was my favourite thing when I visited in the past. It seems such a whimsical thing compared to the totally practical nature of life on board a ship. On Viking ships they were there to ward off evil spirits. On these later ships, starting from the 16th Century, they were there to demonstrate wealth and power, and also to illustrate the name of the ship to a non-literate society. (Info. from Wikipedia here) I suppose these must have been elsewhere at the time of the fire too. Phew!

 After lunch we visited The Painted Hall. I have not been in here for years and had forgotten just how amazing it is. It is part of the Royal Naval College, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir Christopher Wren. It was painted by James Thornhill. It took him nineteen years! He was paid £3 per square yard for the ceiling and £1 per square yard for the walls. Doesn't sound like much does it?

 This is a miniature room in a glass case downstairs. I didn't read about it so can't say more. It looks real sized in this photo I think.

 We walked along this underground passage, following a sign for the chapel. We were also following a tour group, and when they turned a corner, so did we, thinking that was the way to the chapel.

It was not. Instead, we found ourselves in this skittle alley. This was my highlight, as it was only lucky chance that we tagged along behind the group, and it was only lucky chance that they were allowed in by an employee who was collecting piles of chairs stored here for a wedding later on.
The alley is from around 1860. The bowling balls are practice canon balls made from lignum vitae. I have a lignum vitae bead,about the size of an egg, that is for a plumb line. I was excited when I tested it and found it really does sink in water.
I was just looking for information on this place, and found it was used as a morgue. Nelson was laid there before his funeral. A strange mixture of uses for a room. Read about an evening in a haunted morgue here!

The Transit Van of Venus

Ink, tiny silhouette made in photoshop, using a photo of a Ford Transit, and photoshop effects.

Sadly I didn't see the real thing, unlike Tracy who has a very good shot of it here.

I wish...

That housework was this tiny.

That pandas were still this easy to visit!

Weirdness, Bones and Coincidences

I love the way that things sometimes come together in a coincidental way, and it all makes sense at the time. I bought 'The Big Issue' this weekend. I like this magazine-apart from its obvious benefits, it is full of interesting (and not too long!) articles that I enjoy. The book review section recommended a few things, among which was 'Strands A Year of Discoveries on the Beach'. I immediately thought it must be the book for me, and managed to get a copy in Waterstones yesterday.

"When I say that this place is changeable, this is one of the things I mean. The tides and currents conspire to move and reshape the sand, and in the intertidal zone, a skeletal old ship emerges. The rest of the time it's buried and invisible; people and dogs run over it with no idea it's there. Then, without warning, it rises to the surface. It takes the air for a few weeks, before subsiding into the sand again."

The author is writing about a piece of beach that she explores often-and will soon have to leave as she is getting married again and will have to move. Today we went to Greenwich, and the tide was out, and I wanted to walk on the beach. I did not intend to beach comb as I have loads of stuff I have taken from the Greenwich shore, and surely no room for more. But there were bones. They were fascinating in their abundance and in their shapes. I could not help but pick up some to take home. I took photos of the many bones I saw. I have never seen this many all together. Victorian tips are the source I think. So many bones all together. My point was, in this rambling post, that I have not seen that before, despite the amount of times I have visited the Greenwich shore. Different things get washed up at different times. The same as the ship wrecks on the beach described in the book. One time we went down to the beach at the Peninsula, and there were hundreds of large old iron nails. Each time is different.

The museums we visited were Sir John Soane's Museum, in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and The Hunterian Museum, the other side of this large square. The first is the collection of art and antiquities of Sir John Soane, collected over his lifetime, and displayed in parts of his home. He was an architect, responsible amongst other things for the design of The Bank of England, and The Dulwich Picture Gallery. The museum opens parts of his home which are as you would expect, elegant large proportioned rooms. And then you wander into the museum part of the house and it is just amazing. It is not a big space, if you compare it to the more normal museum proportions, and it is utterly crammed with statues, busts, reliefs, a huge sarcophagus, and all manner of fascinating things. Larger stonework and casts are glimpsed out of the many windows giving onto little enclosed courtyards. There are mirrors and coloured glass windows, and little domes of glass high above you. The use of space is so clever. Strange perspectives and views open up, and there is a magical feeling that you are discovering something for the first time. It feels mysterious and ancient, which is just right for the artifacts on display. Cameras and electronic devices are not allowed, and although I was sad not to be able to take any pictures, the quietness adds to the experience. It was not busy when we went. You have to either leave your bag behind or carry it around in a clear plastic bag. A member of staff greets you outside the building and you wait until some other people come out. It is all strange and wonderful. They do a candlelit opening once a month which I really want to go to.
The Hunterian Museum was an accidental discovery. It is part of The Royal College of Surgeons. We went in, expecting something scientific. It is incredible. Thousands of samples in elegantly shaped glass flasks, sealed with black wax (it looks like) and labelled with a name and number in beautiful script. Beautiful science. John Hunter was a surgeon who, over his lifetime, collected these samples on his own travels and from other people too. There are many human samples, incuding babies, as well as plant and animal samples. We were in there for a long time, wandering around in wonder.

Jubilee

A misty wet day today, but that has not stopped the festivities continuing. I really wanted to go and see the boat pageant, but we have booked to see Prometheus this afternoon, and would have had trouble getting back on time. It is pretty good on the telly though! Anyway, we did make it to Greenwich instead this morning, to look at Jubilee goings on, and I ended up taking loads of photos of the Union Jack in shops and other red, white and blueness. Yesterday we went to two amazing museums, will tell you all about them tomorrow!

Jubilee Cake Day with Rattling On

Dawn at Rattling On had the good idea of having a Jubilee Cake day,  where we make a themed cake and share it. I thought I would do a Queen's face cake and here it is!

It is a madeira cake with buttercream and raspberry jam. Or rather it was! I used cheater's squeezy icing for the features, and mixed my own silver grey for the hair. It was fun to make!

Buzz

Aren't bumble bees lovely? I know I am very fickle when it comes to the insect world, and go for the cuteness of bees, the beauty of butterflies, and the cheerfulness of ladybirds, but I can't help it. I love to see the bees around the flowers, and I feel happy that the garden is providing them with what they need. This bee is enjoying the geraniums.
I am so glad it is Friday, as this week has been stressful in a ways that are not pleasant, but things have been resolved a bit today so I can now look forward to the holiday. This is my 1000th post and I wanted to do a giveaway, but am not organised enough for today. Look out for a post 1000th post giveaway in the next week or so though!
Tomorrow we want to have a day out, but cannot decide which kind of day it should be. The options are the woods, the beach, Cambridge, or the John Soane museum, then hunting boats in dockland. I am tired so don't really feel like a long drive, so option four is my favourite at the moment. I am going to sleep on it now and decide in the morning. Spontaneity-not my middle name! (unfortunately I often feel!)
I hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing.