In need of some cheering-up :-(

One of the furry babies is giving us cause for concern once more: over the past two days Jago's condition has worsened again. If the new treatment doesn't help, things look really bad for him... *sigh*

Oooooooooh!

I've just found out that there is a German Crabtree & Evelyn website AND that you can buy stuff from them online. Woohoo!

White chocolate and raspberry cookies -- you are all mine! :)

How to have fun in a library

Step 1: Choose an off-mainstream topic for your doctoral thesis ("how to kill a dragon" is already taken, though -- that's my topic)

Step 2: Unearth some obscure (and preferably old!) books in library catalogues.

Step 3: Pre-order those books.

Step 4: Arrive at library, choose a seat, pick up your books and ...

Step 5: ... have fun! :)

Among the books I looked at during my visit in London were an old chapbook from about 1725 and two long-forgotten 19th-century plays, among them F. Leslie Moreton's JACK THE GIANT KILLER, in which a demon lord gets mad at King Arthur for interfering with his copper mines and hires the giant Blunderbore to kidnap the king's daughter. It's a Christmas play for children, and so it's suitably gory -- but in a funny way:

COPPERAS. You know the princess?

BLUNDERBORE. Prettypet?

COPPERAS. The same.

You seem to be acquainted with her name.

BLUNDERBORE. Acquainted! You don't know how I feel,

I long have wished to make of her a meal.

She's plump and pretty, tender as a chicken,

One of her bones I'd like to be a-picking.

COPPERAS. Why not take her? Who'll oppose your will?

Do what you like with her, roast her or grill,

Boil her or bake her, put her in a stew.

Anything as long as she's removed from view.

VERDIGRIS. When she is gone, the nation loud will moan.

COPPERAS. No doubt, but they will leave my mines alone.

So Blunderbore kidnaps the princess, drags her off to St. Michael's Mount -- and promptly falls in love with her. But there's no happy ending for this giant, for Jack, Prettypet's good-for-nothing beaux, comes after them, kills off poor Blunderbore and is rewarded with Prettypet's hand in marriage. (Of course.)

It was great fun to read, and was most likely even greater fun to see on a stage!

A Walk through London

Lions in Great Russell Street

Neikkid golden lady

Nelson-onna-pillar

Nelson-onna-pillar and two more pillars

Fun in the British Museum

The last time I visited London, I only had time for a very short trip to the British Museum before I had to dash to the Royal Festival Hall in order to swoon over ... eh ... enjoy watching Adam Cooper sing and dance in ON YOUR TOES. Because of that, I only really looked at some of the highlights on the ground floor, e.g. the Stone of Rosetta and the Elgin Marbles (hey, I knew I would like to use them in a novel one day! *g*). On the way to the Elgin Marbles I hurried through one of the Assyrian rooms -- and imagine my surprise when I suddenly came face to face with two creatures from one of my favourite children's novel!


The two sphinxes guarding the Great Riddle Gate in Michael Ende's NEVERENDING STORY! It was the most extraordinary feeling, and my heart was in my throat when I walked between them -- as if those two big stone statues could really do away with me with a glimpse from their eyes.

Of course, I visited them again this time, but my main destination were the European and British Galleries. And these proved to be wonderfully exciting, too, especially the rooms covering the pre-historical eras and the early Middle Ages. After having taught our British history course so many times, walking through these galleries was like walking through the first chapter of our "from the ice age to Maggie Thatcher in nine weeks" journey. :) And best of all: I found the Beaker People!

The Beaker people buried their dead in individual graves, and among the grave goods was usually a pot made of clay. The name of the cultural era, derives from the distinctive shape of these beakers. I hadn't been able to find any decent picture and proper information about the Beaker people before, so this was a great find for me. :)

There were also Celtic artefacts to admire (though the Lindow man was away on loan to some other museum -- grrr), like weapons and this nice helmet.


And when I came across these little chaps in the early medieval section, I couldn't help thinking of Laura. *waving to Laura*

Aren't they adorable? You can find out more about the Lewis chessmen here and here.

Lost among Books

Last week was my very first visit to the British Library -- and I have to say I was suitably impressed. The first thing that struck me about the building was that it's not terribly pretty from the outside. It lounges there on Euston Road* like a large, sluggish reddish beast.


View Larger Map
But once you pass through the doors and past the bag-search tables -- oh my! The entrance hall is simply breathtaking: it's a huge space, flooded with light that's reflected from the white walls. The modern design blends beautifully with the old, old books of the King's Library which are displayed behind tinted glass in a tower of dark bookshelves. Not surprisingly, the reading rooms are huge, and here again the design combines modernity with the dignity of an old library.

What impressed me most, perhaps, is how friendly and helpful the staff were. They were happy to help and explain and made me feel very welcome indeed. And best of all -- the books I had preordered were already waiting for me when I arrived on Monday! :)


~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

* For some reason Google Maps thinks the British Museum is the British Library ... *scratching my head*

I found the picture of the reading room on the Guardian Blog. (I totally didn't have any problems finding a seat -- but then, I usually arrived at the library as soon as they opened the doors. Still, there were plenty of free seats left in the afternoon, though things were somewhat busier on Wednesday afternoon.)

I Can Has a Books?

*waving to Carolyn*

Back from London

I spent an extremely busy but fruitful week in London. The weather was great, the hotel was lovely (the picture above? that's the view out of the window of my room!), and the fire of academia was burning brightly inside me. I usually arrived so early at the British Library ...


... that I had stand in the queue in order to get inside (below you see the diminshed queue 10 minutes after the library has opened).

My week looked something like this:

• Sunday: Arrived in the late afternoon; went to Covent Garden to grab a bite and buy milk and cereals for breakfast (I had a fridge in my room -- how neat is that?)
• Monday: Got a reader's pass for the British Library and spent the next seven hours in the "Rare Books and Music" reading room.
• Tuesday: Arrived at the library at 9 a.m., left at 7.30 p.m.
• Wednesday: Arrived at the library at 9 a.m., left at 3.00 p.m. (yay), went to the British Museum
• Thursday: Decided I ought to try and find out whether it's possible to walk from the British Museum to the Victoria & Albert Museum (it is -- it just takes you a while ...); arrived at about 11 a.m., spent the following six hours in the National Art Library and the Prints and Drawings room. Went to Harrods. Walked back to British Museum, or rather to my hotel, which was almost next to the British Museum.
• Friday: No library!!!!!! Yay!!! Went sightseeing: National Gallery, Apsley House, Tate Britain. Collapsed onto bench in front of Waterhouse's Lady of Shalott. Feet hurt in a rather hellish fashion. Decided that art was highly overrated and took the bus back to my hotel. Collapsed onto bed and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching TV, with cold, wet towels wrapt around my feet.
• Saturday: Walked through Regent's Park and visited the zoo. Got a taxi down to Aldwych afterwards and bought tea at the Twining's shop on the Strand (lots of tea) (lots and lots and lots of tea!). Went to the Victoria & Albert Museum afterwards. Got lost in the museum.
• Sunday: Went to the British Museum and took notes on such things as Beaker burials. Was too nervous for anything else, and thus took a cab to the airport. Had to wait ages until I could check in. And when I went through security I had to open and unpack my cabin luggage (which contained the tea). Had a heck of a time afterwards to fit it all into the travelbag again. Hmph.
  

Update: Still alive! Yay!

I'm on my way to London to spend a week in the British Library doing some research for the PhD thingie. Don't you just hate those last few hours before you drive to the airport? You constantly check your bag, your purse, your bag, your purse, your purse again (because -- who knows? -- in the five minutes since you last checked, your credit card might have grown legs and walked away!). And then you start coming up with all kinds of horror scenarios -- what if your suitcase disappears? what if the hotel sucks? what if your hotel reservation has been accidentally cancelled? *head desk*

I had planned to go to Oxford on Saturday to spend a few hours in the Pitt Rivers Museum (= Sandra's most favourite museum in the whole wide world) and do some research for a new, old book project -- and guess what? They're closed. There's a temporary closure until spring 2009 for some building development work. Boo-hooo! Doesn't anybody think of authors and their research these days???