Hampton Court Palace


I found some photographs, which I took two summers ago, of the resplendent Hampton Court Palace. I think they do it some justice. These reminded me of a poem I've studied, a mock-epic by Alexander Pope, called 'The Rape of the Lock', in which the Palace is described:

'Close by those meads, for ever crown'd with flow'rs,

Where Thames with pride surveys his rising tow'rs,

There stands a structure of majestic frame,

Which from the neighb'ring Hampton takes its name.

Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom

Of foreign tyrants and of nymphs at home;

Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,

Dost sometimes counsel take—and sometimes tea.'

 The British Museum


Isn't the British Museum absolutely fantastic?
It is an incredible source of inspiration and information. To anybody in London,  I would recommend a visit.
The history of human existence is made more real when one sees artefacts from the era in question.
My favourite bit is probably 'Ginger' the man preserved by sand in Ancient Egypt. I used to give myself nightmares by looking at him, but now I find it astonishing that we can see him- a remnant of a long-gone era, preserved by accident.

Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising


The Museum of Packaging (http://www.museumofbrands.com/) is such a fabulous place to visit. It's a shrine to all things commercial, featuring around 12,000 examples of packaging. Most of these were collected by the consumer historian Robert Opie. As Opie so rightly puts it, 'When the thousands of pieces of our social history are assembled into some giant jigsaw, the picture becomes clearer as to the remarkable journey we have all come through'. This means that the museum is not just a visual feast, but also makes the visitor aware of their cultural history. And, it's right next to Portobello Road!