Some Old Things

Went to The British Museum and saw LOTS of old, ancient things.

A picture of the outside of the Museum.  It has some beautiful architecture.  

The Rosetta Stone: Because it contains the same inscription in three separate languages, this stone has been the key to understanding and translating Egyptian hieroglyphs.  

These are Egyptian Hieroglyphs translated to the modern alphabet.

A female mummy unwrapped.  They had an excellent display of all things mummified!

 
They were buried with various items including pots, vases, and jewels.  This is Ginger, a young man who was literally stabbed in the back.

I like cats. So did the Egyptians!  Here are some mummified cats. Cats lived a pretty wonderful life back then.  They had servants and lived in a life of luxury.

This is a mosiac from 4th century AD. That is during the time of Romans.  It is probably the earliest known mosaic of Christ. 

A really cool (and loud) clock.  The cogs would tick and every 15 minutes would eventually pull a cord that was attached to a bell found high above.  Very loud (and kind of scary when you are standing near it and don't expect it to go off).

Stone Statue from Easter Island. It is thought these were carved to commemorate important ancestors around AD 1000. Originally, this one was painted red and white

The Lewis Chessmen: Made from walrus ivory and whale teeth.  Each one is individually carved to look like kings, queens, bishops and knights. They were made sometime in the 12th century. 

Some Old Parchment

Took a trip to The British Library today which was a spectacular reminder of all the things I learned during my English degree.  The layout of the library is absolutely breathtaking.



Plus there are so many old treasures to explore!


The Gutenberg Bible (The first book printed in Europe using movable type).


Leonardo da Vinci's Notebook


Mozart's Music Diary


Beowulf: The only copy of this text which survives thanks to the Cotton Library.

Some of the other highlights included written songs by The Beatles, the Magna Carta, and letters from the Royals including Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I.

Unfortunately, you cannot take pictures of these items so I will just have to visit them again and again.  Good thing admission is free!

My Local Ghost

In order to celebrate the Halloween spirit (he he), I found a great ghost that walks the streets of my neighbourhood. Seriously, there are ghosts everywhere in this city!

Read and enjoy!

In 1803, the 'Hammersmith Ghost', was terrorising that area of Greater London. It was assumed to be the spirit of a man who had committed suicide by cutting his own throat. In December of that year, a woman taking a short-cut home through the church yard was chased by a figure that she described as being, 'very tall and very white'. When it grabbed her in its arms, she fainted. Later, her friends found her wandering aimlessly around the cemetery. She was gently led home and put to bed. She never recovered from the shock and died shortly after.

An excise officer, by the name of Francis Smith, decided to investigate the alleged spectre. Maybe he had an idea that there was nothing supernatural about this 'ghost' because he went armed with a blunderbuss. This he loaded, not with silver coins, but with lead shot. When the ghost appeared, he fired.

Unfortunately, Smith's aim was true and the figure dropped to the ground. Upon investigation, Smith was horrified to find that he killed an innocent, dust covered bricklayer by the name of Thomas Milward who was on his way home. The body was taken to the nearby Black Lion pub. Smith was tried for 'wilful murder', found guilty and sentenced to death. This was almost immediately commuted to one year's hard labour. 

When the 'Hammersmith Ghost', as it had come to called, was apprehended, he was discovered to be nothing more sinister than a man a dressed up. He said that he was frightening people in retaliation for someone having scared his children by telling them ghost stories.

However, Thomas Milward, the unfortunate bricklayer, still haunts the Black Lion Pub where his body was taken. The pub displays a plaque recounting the story. Drinkers hear their name whispered, computers turn themselves on and the upstairs floorboards can be heard creaking as if someone is walking across them.

Shopping In London

I love to shop!  Back home, I knew my favorite stores and could pick out clothes like no one's business (ask the husband, he was dragged a many a times with the promise of a Starbucks coffee which never lasted as long as the outing).  

It was really hard to discover which stores and brands I would like here once I landed but after less than a month I have discovered many wonderful things!

1. Everyone does online shopping.  With a population of over 8 million people living in approx. 1,500 square kilometers, there is no real room for stores.  So just shop online!  this size/population ratio makes is super easy to buy online, have everything shipped free to your door in 2 days and if you don't like something, you get to ship it back for free too!
2. Because of the location of our flat, we are actually within 5 minutes of the second largest mall in the UK. This has been really handy in buying things for the flat and wasting some afternoons away browsing the different shops.  The people watching is also fabulous!
3. The food courts are high-class food establishments here.  You will not find the usual burger and pizza joints that litter North American malls.  Everything is made in front of you, designed to your specifications.  Oh, and it's mostly healthy (or at least not deep-fried). Every meal is presented on china dishes and you are provided silverware cutlery to eat with.  
4. Feeling thirsty while shopping? Don't feel like a bottle of water or a pop?  How about a wine? Beer? Pimms? Yes, that's right, they serve alcohol at ALL the fast food places.  You will also be provided a real glass glass to drink your alcohol from.  

I always loved shopping but for these very reasons, shopping is a far more enjoyable experience!  

Walking in London

One of my biggest complaints about London so far is the walking.  Not all the walking that one has to do because I don't have a vehicle, but because there are no rules to walking.  In Canada, we drive on the right side of the road, and we walk on the right side of the street.  In England, they drive on the left side of the road, and they walk anywhere!.  So you must pay attention and dodge people coming towards you from all sides.

Oh, and to make it even more exciting, pedestrians do not have the right-of-way in crosswalks.  Crosswalks are mere places of suggestion to cross the street. If a car is there, you must stay out of its way. You get hit, it's your fault.

So thanks to these little tidbits, walking is far more complicated than what I learned in New York: yellow ones don't stop.  Bonus points if you can guess the movie that is from.

A typical street to maneuver in London.