How would you like to see a book that someone – probably a monk – wrote by hand in a cold scriptorium a little while back?
Say, a thousand years ago?
Then get yourself over to the British Library, where they have some incredible treasures on display at their astonishing Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition.
So your average idea of sexy librarian goes something like this:
Well, the latest exhibition at the British Museum certainly takes that up a notch.
Take a look:
Ted, Esther and I went along yesterday to find out more.
Esther messaged me.
“Do you fancy going to Highgate Cemetery on Saturday? They’ve got -”
“Yes! I’m in!”
So we met at the tube and walked up, and then down, the hill, past the world’s poshest charity shops, to the cemetery.
Deep in the countryside, where the South Downs meet the Sussex Weald …
… scrambling through the hawthorn hedge, about to burst into bloom …
… is a secret place.
Let’s go in …
I had heard from Victoria that the Entangled exhibition was rather special. So Lettice and I set off to see it.
It was so lovely at the station that we almost didn’t leave.
Pick a sunny spot.
But we did, and …
So my dad and I have this thing we’re doing, to travel through every station on the London Underground May 2014 tube map.
I’m not quite sure how it started – possibly with a day trip doing the Overground Loop – but we settled on May 2014 as that was the map I had in my pocket at the time.
Last week it was time for the Big Red.
We met at Mile End, which must sit directly above a nest of Dementors, as it’s freezing cold and windy, despite being underground and protected from the elements.
Then we headed East. As a diehard SOTR-er, I’d not been further east than Stratford before, and had imagined the lands beyond as a grey wasteland, filled with derelict tower blocks, burnt out Vauxhall Astras and misshapen NOTR types, ready to fend off property developers with tetanus-infected pointed sticks, and frankly who can blame them.
So on Wednesday, I headed out east to meet a dear little friend.
Unbeknown to us, the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden had been invaded.
So last night, as part of the Bloomsbury Festival, we stepped out on Store Street.
Funny how autumn puts a spring in your step.
When the temperature drops and the sun is shining, so it’s just the right weather for exploring London.
Time to head back to Goldhawk Road in search of fabric and trimmings. I’d been with Bryony earlier in the year, when we found treasures including the fabric and trim for this shawl, and had to return with Lettice before long.
You might not have heard of Gozo. I hadn’t, until we went last year. It’s the second-largest island in Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean. It’s a very quiet island, greener than Malta, and because it’s off the beaten track, it’s got a very chilled out, laid back vibe.
But people don’t really come for what’s on land. They come for the water.
© 2024 … and roses too.
