Feeling gloomy with Stephen Fry but uplifted by Hannah Rose Platt at The Hunterian Museum

Back in the day (as they say) I used to love popping into The Hunterian Museum at The Royal College of Surgeons in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I'd sometimes arrange to meet friends by Charles Byrne's very tall skeleton which formed a central focus to the exhibits that surrounded it. Here's how the main space looked back then, as shown in on this wikipedia page:

Image: Paul Dean (StoneColdCrazy), September 2007

In 2017 the museum closed for a refit and did not reopen until May 2023. I never like visiting places when they are full of visitors so I let the rush go and resolved to visit later that year. Wandering through the square one day in September, with an hour or so to spare before I met a friend in Covent Garden, I wandered in to have a look and see what had changed. 

They two ladies at the desk asked me if I had a ticket. No. Why would I need one – it's free.  It's timed entries, they said. Grunt. Covid-era rules still in place.

I lied and said I was only in London that day and I had made a special effort to get there. They suggested I wait for a slot. I hovered in the empty foyer for about ten minutes and watched about eight people dribble in. How ridiculous. I went over to the security fella at the entrance to the museum proper and said all I wanted to do was have a peek to see what had changed. Nope, sorry love, more than my job's worth.

Bonkers. It was clear there that there was barely anyone in there and those people who had registered for free tickets hadn't bothered showing up because it was such a nice day outside. I decided to make the best of that weather myself and instead went for a wander. 

I tried again another day in Spring 2024, hoping to just slip in when they weren't looking, but it wasn't possible. I'm a spur-of-the-moment follow-my-nose girl so it simply hasn't occurred to me to book a ticket in all this time. I mean, can't we just arrive and queue up as per John Soane's on the opposite side of the square?! Two years have whizzed by. 

On 16th April I booked a ticket for a concert within the Hunterian's library. Hannah Rose Platt performed songs from Fragile Creatures which is about women in history. It was an amazingly engaging performance and I will be reading more about those stories. The ticket included access to the museum before the gig.

Oh dear. Let's cut to the quick – I don't like it. I'm disappointed. 

On entering the first room there is a cabinet of all sorts and I completely missed an info panel because it's about A3 size and people must have been obscuring it. I only found it when I returned to the room later because I was convinced I had missed some vital information somewhere along the line. 

Like many things these days, the new modern look is grey and boxy, moody and gloomy. The narrow corridors are claustrophobic, like being in an underground maze. There are rows and rows of shelving interspersed a few side rooms that are easily missed. Some directional signage to these would be useful. 

Most of the displays look like a Damien Hirst installation*. 

Some headings here and there to explain the different sections or groupings would be of use. After all, most of us haven't a clue what we are looking at or why these things were of interest when they were collected. There's also scant info to explain what was learned from these specimens, who benefitted from the research going forward. 

A few interactive 'page-turning' displays don't make up for the lack of focal points now that Mr Byrne is no longer on show. I wasn't the only one who wandered into a side room, glanced around, pulled a puzzled face and walked out again. I did three laps convinced I had missed a turning or whole room or a display. Nope. I'd seen it all. 

But I did spot something that amused me. A group of four paintings includes one of Mr David Middleton (1705-1785) – I had to do a double-take because I thought it was Stephen Fry!

I might return to the museum with a friend who hasn't visited before to see what they think of it. Shall we book in advance or shall we try to just wander in when passing...?

*Update, Monday 27th April 2026: The above originally included a low-res photo of a range of fascinating human foetuses and another one of some rows of human skulls, further highlighting my comment that it was all a bit Damien Hirst. 

On the same day this post went live (Friday 24th) I received an email from the museum asking me to remove these images as it seems we are not allowed to take pics of human remains nor can we share them. I had not seen any ref of this when I was there or I would have written about how ridiculous this policy is, pandering to the easily offended (who would rarely visit an institution of this kind) rather than those of us with inquisitive minds. 

It's damage limitation. They are dumbing things down to appease a tiny minority. It's worth pointing out that kids these days can easily access scary movies and online porn yet they are being protected from scientific research.

The subterranean passage below Albertopolis

Heading to The Royal College of Music last week, it was a bit wet and windy* above ground so I made use of the pedestrian tunnel that links South Kensington station to approx mid-way up Exhibition Road. 

The tunnel is accessed directly from the station's ticket hall. At the station end there is there's a sharp right turn. On previous occasions I have been busy dodging groups of tourists and noisy schoolkids, but this time I happened to notice a brass marker set within the floor ahead of me:

Hmmm... interesting... I hadn't seen this name before. However, I have spotted a couple of Aberdeen Adamant signs in my travels such as the one below (where was this?!) – there also a similar one in Crouch end near the YMCA). 

I've paired it here with a pic from Borough High Street in Southwark, where embedded brass letters are gradually disappearing.

Back to the tunnel... I tried a quick online search for Roadamant but so far have found nothing. The address, 65 London Wall, is at the time of writing shrouded in scaffolding and plastic. Fingers crossed that the gorgeous substantial Art Nouveau railings that surround this huge building will be retained after renovations are complete. When/if I find out more information about the company I will add it here.

Along the same dog-leg section of the passage, just a few metres ahead, there is another company name embedded into the floor, bearing the name of Wilkes & Co.

Again, as per Roadamant and Nettlefolds from my last post, this is also name I have never noticed before. Devonshire Square is adjacent to Petticoat Lane market and today the site is mostly high rise glass-covered buildings.

Turning left into the main long stretch of the tunnel, the same Wilkes & Co markers are repeated at intervals. Then, at the entrance to The Natural History Museum gardens, another version is included which shows more information:

I've discovered that Wilke's Metal Flooring Co Ld (not Ltd., how nice!) seemed to work in conjunction with, or be one and the same as The Eureka Flooring Company, being as both companies were based in Devonshire Square and are shown a contractors for the grooved and channelled flooring installed at ground level within stable buildings that were at 63 Clerkenwell Road shown here in 2008 but demolished and replaced a few years later. Again, more information about this company needed. 

The quality of the tiles along the tunnel is impressive. I kept my eye out for maker's marks on them but, although I am pretty sure there must be at least one bit of evidence along there, I didn't manage to spot anything that day. Mind you, I only started looking from half way and I suspect any marks might be at the station end. I will check next time I am there.

Something I did notice, however, was the strange indentations within the skirtings. These are approx 40 paces apart, say 32 metres. They are an irregular elliptical shape and look to have been infilled. I mused that they possibly be access points for some kind of chain/pulley system or cables. Or, possibly, these are holes left where brackets were removed, leading me to wonder if, due to the size and shape of this tunnel, it might have been created for vehicles of some kind. A niggle in my brain told me I had read about that somewhere. 

Well, whoop-de-doo – it turns out that Ian has already written about this subway here, although he hasn't made reference to Roadamant or the elliptical recesses.

Any further info is most welcome. 

*Fun with words. This is windy as in the weather, not as per a country lane which, on a blustery day, could be described as a windy windy lane or a windy winding lane. I am reminded of Windy Miller who lived in a windmill – Camberwick Green's opening credits feature a little character winding a handle to show each page of information. This should not be confused with winding a baby.

Art Deco: the golden age of poster design at The London Transport Museum

A colourful new exhibition opens today at The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden displaying over 100 posters from the 1920s and 1930s interspersed with physical items, products and other printed ephemera.

The exhibition starts with a short overview about 'Art Deco' and a selection of what's to come. It shows how simple lines and clear sans serif typefaces were implemented to advertise leisure, travel and industry... 

I particularly like that many of the posters are signed by the artist and also bear the name of the company that printed them. 

We see how commercial artists of the 1920s and 30s created engaging visuals that would tempt people to use the London Transport, whether to access West End shops or theatres, dance venues, London Zoo or the parks. It's wonderful to see the range of different artistic styles. Some posters are cubist, others illustrative many are geometrical as per the Season Tickets 'lightning bolt' above.

A couple of posters make a point of how the tube is better than the unmentioned buses and trams because you won't get wet when it rains and it's cooler in the summer. This simple design style was also implemented on UK travel guides and maps.

The poster titled 'Hearing the riches of London' used as the main promo image for this exhibition is a strange choice. It features a coquettish lady wearing hair grips in the style of the London Underground roundel. 

This poster is interesting because it's the original illustration rather than a printed poster, as is evident by the scamped-in logo on the hair grips as 'UxxxD' indicating where the printer should place a pre-made printed logo. It's also likely that the lines indicated either side of the outlined logo at the bottom indicate where explanatory text can be inserted, and I suspect that another word would have later been added on the arched section where dancers and party people are depicted in two-tone red. Perhaps she's going to listen and dance to some syncopated jazz at the Hammersmith Palais?  Hence the use of the word 'Hearing' in the poster.

Another poster that intrigues me is the one shown above right, intended to show how convenient it is to get from the Underground to the theatre although the message is not immediately evident. It looks rather creepy, but I love it – a top hatted man us rising from below to meet a green-coated lady to see a stage production, although it appears to indicate that lift takes you directly from station platform to the stalls.

As well as the posters here are some good exhibits on show. Here just a few of them that particularly relate to dressing up, going out and dancing: 

Other posters show how easy it was to make rail connections for days out further afield such as Southend, the South Coast and Henley. Incidentally, in most cases, the captions accompanying most of the posters simply describe what we are looking at. I'd have like to have learned more about the artists who designed them. 

The lower level is accessed via a spiral staircase. At the bottom there's a big blank burgundy wall but no info to explain this next section, or any indication which way to turn. Next the the stairs is the most confusing poster in the whole exhibition which, after a while, I managed to decipher was also about getting speedily to the theatre (what's it doing down here?). 

I noticed that there was an even lower level, so I continued down the spiral stairs to find that it merely leads to a door that takes you back to the main museum. Hmm. Signage needed. 

So I re-climbed the stairs and discovered the introductory information panel for this floor is installed a few metres to the left, which you might not notice if you happen to turn right and go clockwise round this floor as there is also no directional.  

But hey, it turns out that the lower level is very interesting as it shows a varied collection of other examples of how the 'Art Deco'* style has been implemented elsewhere, including the Clarks shoes leaflet shown above, 1960's designs and posters featuring 1980's RetroDeco/PoMo architecture. 

The ads for motoring events at Olympia are graphically pleasing and include one that, again, is an original illustration, a preliminary design achieved probably in gouache that also includes an indicated UxxxD logo. The artist's pencil marks are clearly visible across the whole piece, as is his hand-written mark at bottom left, "lettering only roughed in" – I love this – it takes me back to my first jobs working at design and advertising studios when artworks of this kind were commonplace in a world of lick and stick, Rotring pens and Cow Gum.

This lower floor leads to the exit doors and raises another question about the spiral staircase. It occurs to me that wheelchair users or people with mobility issues might have a problem moving between floors within the exhibition. I'm assuming this second level can be accessed by exiting exhibition at the main door and using the lift/escalator to access the the lower floor, and re-entering via this door (which I assume will be staffed, as surely they want people to see the exhibition in the order it has been designed) but it would mean that they would then see the most recent deco-inspired exhibits first:

Which brings me onto my final observation. It concerns the image shown above right of a video that explains the whole show and the beginnings of this design style, yet it's installed on the lower floor next to a panel headed 'Legacy' which starts off by telling us that Art Deco* died (eh?).

Why oh why oh why is this movie not near the main entrance explaining what we are about to see? Instead, on entering the space, looking to the left and right (repeating the pair of images from above)...

... we see lots of things crammed in, more jumbled than any other area of the whole exhibition, as if they kept adding things as afterthoughts. 

But where could they squeeze in the video screen here? As you can see, the overview/welcome text is squeezed into the corner looking like a late addition. The text lacks basic information about the 'Art Deco' era, the hows and whys, and I was surprised to find that key points, such as where the term derives from, is buried within captions under other items on the left hand side. But not everyone reads all the captions like I do!

So, in conclusion, as an 'Art Deco' fan, there are lots and lots of lovely things to see and admire, but even though I knew what I was looking at I was often confused. As a graphic designer/typographer who has worked on many print and events projects, particularly on signage and wayfinding, the key thing should always be to design for the customer/visitor who is new to the environment or subject, making the information clear, obvious and easy to understand.

Unfortunately there is no way to see this exhibition than as part of a visit to the museum. Prices here. However, your ticket lasts a year and you can visit as many times as you want to at no extra charge. 

I know lots of people who would love to see these posters but will not visit due to the price, perhaps having no interest in the rest of the museum or they've seen it all before. I really think it's about time that the LT Museum considered installing a stand-alone small exhibition/event space adjacent to the shop, similarly accessible to all without accessing the museum.

Finally – It's November and it's very cold inside the museum , after all, it's a huge shed. Basically, whatever you are wearing outside, you will need to be wearing it in the museum. 

*I prefer to use initial caps for art deco. and I usually write in quotes as per 'Art Deco' because it's a retrospective woolly term. There doesn't appear to be a set style guide

Unusual and endangered animals at the Natural History Museum

I was out and about two Sundays ago and it was really biting cold out there so, rather than go home and wait for the house to warm up, I headed for Museumland because I wanted to see an exhibit within the NatHistMuseum about the loss of the Great White Rhino due to poaching them for their horns. I just cannot fathom how some human beings still believe that magic remedies can be obtained from what is basically the same as our fingernails. 

The museum was really busy. Lots of visitors. Mainly foreign families. And after finding the CGI exhibit I really enjoyed wandering the mammal galleries, something I haven't done in a while. 

I read every information panel and pressed every button and found it quite endearing how so many of the interactive pieces in those rooms have voiceovers that sound like TV programmes from my childhood – very clipped Queen's English pronunciation. Well, I say. How jolly marvellous.

I took some square format snaps of some of my favourite animals, some of which have already made their way into my Instagram feed @janeslondon – I'd never realised before how so many of these beasts are toothless and from South America. What's that all about? 

And it had never occurred to me that 'glutton' is another name for a wolverine. makes sense really.

I am also intrigued by some of the fishy oddities on this planet – who needs sci-fi books and movies when we already have multi-toothed weirdness like this?!

Every day is a new learning experience.

The Old Operating Theatre – a delight

Last month, after years of walking past The Old Operating Theatre and thinking, 'I must go in there some day soon' I walked past and thought to myself, 'I must go in there some day soon' and then I stopped, turned round and said, 'no, go in there NOW!' 

And I am so glad I did. Finally. They suggest it's a 45-minute experience but I was in there well over twice that. There's lots to see and find out up there including some quite scary surgical implements intermingled with beautiful books and other acoutrements of the trade. 

The volunteers who assists there are full of fabulous facts and info – I really enjoyed the interaction with them which was probably why I was there so long. On the day I visited I was one of only four people up there and I sat in the theatre for ages simply contempleting the room and imagining the noise and mess of the past. The whole space, including the wooden room that houses the museum, complete with it's creaky floor and cabinets full of curiosties, is a delight will definitely return, either alone again or with any friend who also has never set foot inside as I am sure that they too will love it.

The museum is just a stone's throw from Borough Market, London Bridge, Guy's Hospital, and that tall spiky thing. Getting up to and inside is via this door at the foot of the church bell tower and then a climb up a one-way narrow spiral staircase, so be aware that this is not a wheelchair-friendly museum. Find out more here.

This has got me thinking about all the other places that I walk past and think 'I must go in there some day soon' which includes Dr Johnson's House. Really. Hard to believe, I know. I did try once but it was closing in ten minutes.  

London Transport Museum, Acton Depot

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon wandering around the London Transport Museum's second site at Acton.
The first time I went there was almost ten years ago when I took part in a scavenger hunt thing.
And last month, I went there for a specialist tour about the posters, art and advertising – on that occasion I was so engrossed in the poster room that I was hoping I might be able to get accidentally locked in there because there is too much to take in – it's jam-packed with marvellous stuff. I really thought I had written about that last visit on here. But no. Suffice to say the LT posters are similar to the tram ones here.
Here are some snaps from yesterday:

I just love a bit of rusty paint and a clever bit of textile design and a palimpsest of posters and, oh look, there's those funny faces on the switch board again.

Map-tastic. These are all from full sized versions that would have been fixed up on ticket hall walls or on the platforms. A couple of them are enamel. Note how these are pre- Harry Beck – they are not the stylised graphic we have become used to. Also note how the colours for thine tube lines changed over time – see especially the Central and Piccadilly lines. Sorry, but I forgot to make a note of the dates.  

These are models and they're looking good.
Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, a strange training model (that they are keen to find more info about) and the Waterloo to City line at Bank (Queen Victoria Street)

I joined a tour led by Eric, one of the volunteers, in fact the very same fab chap who I met when he was leading the 'hidden' tube tunnels tour underneath Euston Station*. He gave us a short taster-tour that included some really interesting work by Edward Johnston when he was designing LT's iconic typeface. Ooh, I'd love to spend more in those rooms.
If you are into tubes, trains, buses and trains or just have fondness for the fab old vehicles or an interest in the signage then it's well worth a visit – check here for details.

*I really thought I'd written about that tour too, but no, having checked I find the photos are lurking in my 'to do' folder. In a nutshell: fascinating but overpriced. 

Clapham Junction Area – Observations in Wandsworth Rd, Northcote Rd, Battersea Rise etc

One Sunday a few weeks back I met up with a small group of London Historians for a tour of HMP Wandsworth. The pic shows us standing outside its small but jam-packed excellent museum which is open by appointment only.
The tour didn't start until noon. It was a clear, though chilly, day so I headed to Clapham Junction early to check up on a few things.
I exited the station via Old Brighton Yard which affords excellent views across London from the covered pedestrian bridge above the platforms. Note that you need a ticket to access this space; it's not a right of way.
I then turned right and walked westward along St John's Hill towards Wandsworth because I wanted to check up on a couple of old ghostsigns and shop fronts that I know from years ago when I used to work occasionally in the area.

Whoopee! The Peterkin Custard and the H.J. Golding hand-painted signs at the junction of Plough Road are still intact, as is the Frosts Stores doorway mosiac at No. 114 (now Denner Cashmere). Denner's shop also retains its lovely spindle window posts etc.

After the tour of the prison which, by the way, was excellent, a few of us went for a quick pint in a nearby pub full of children with colouring pens (go figure) and then, realising the light was fading fast, I marched across the common and over the railway bridge to get to the southern end of Northcote Road for a Battersea update.

Northcote Road was mostly built in 1896 as is evident by some date stamps at the top of buildings. The street also boasts a lot of blue enamel vitreous metal street signs. On the corner of Salcoat Road the A. H. Dunn / Hovis baker's sign still looks the same as it did when I last took a photo of it ten years ago – the same graffiti tags remain. Also shown here between Nos 88+90 is the best reminder of the lovely tiled dividers that would have been between all the shops along this stretch

And then I crossed over Battersea Rise into St John's Road and noticed a palpable change in environment. The Rise seems to split two kinds of shopping areas; the yummy mummies with their lattes and buggies on one side and a regular high street on the northern side with all the ubiquitous names.

The former Woolworths shop with its identifiable Art Deco 1930s frontage still stands but is now home to Woolworths. Waitrose seem to have moved into quite a few old Woolworth properties such as at Angel, Islington.

Marks and Spencer, opposite, retains its pillars and and cureved windows. Also late Deco I think. This shop front is very similar to my local one at Nags Head, Holloway, tho mine doesn't have the lovely mosaic floor.

The impressive Arding & Hobbs building sites diagonally opposite Clapham Junction Station and its distinctive cupola is visible for miles around.

This is the entrance to the building on the corner of Lavender Hill and Ilminster Gardens. As you can see the ribbed metal pillars ar very similar to those at M&S. I just love the curves and lines within this doorway.

I used to shop at A&H/Allders in the 90s and early 00s but it was clear to me then that the shop really needed to play catch-up with other stores of its kind. The company went into liquidation in 2005 and the building now is home to the Debenhams chain.
I really must go back in the Spring for a proper poke about.
More info on the SW11 area in this draft document written in 2013 by English Heritage.
If you are interested in becoming a member of London Historians please do mention that you heard about it here, from me. Thanks

Islington on Canvas – Art from the Archives

There is a wonderful exhibition on at Islington Museum at the moment – a gallery of paintings of locations throughout my borough.
Last Saturday I joined the free walk led by CIGA guide Karen Lansdown and to hear about some of the paintings on display and identify the locations they depict.

Karen in action and some of the paintings

Another walk is scheduled for Saturday 10th and this will be led by fellow CIGA guide Jen Pedler.
The walk lasts 90mins and is free  – but booking is essential.
The exhibition is on until 24 February 2018.

A Walking Tour around Woolwich Arsenal

Earlier this summer I went on an excellent tour of Woolwich Arsenal led by my friend Laurence Scales.

Laurence is interested in machines and the military, especially things that go "bang" and so is the perfect guide for this kind of walk.
I find Woolwich to be a strange place, by which I mean in the planning sense, in the same way that I find Portsmouth a bit of a mess with its three distinct yet unlinked and unrelated zones. Both towns have strong links to our Naval past and both seem to have suffered over the years not just from neglect but from planning departments who don't seem to have a clue how to integrate and relate the history to the people who live there or what we need today – they just sling up another shopping arcade.
I wonder what percentage of Woolwich 's residents actually visit the old Arsenal site because the town clearly has two different zones, just a stone's throw apart, separated by one strip of tarmac (Beresford Street) – one side is all shops and markets and old cinemas with architectural hints of a bustling and prosperous past, and the other side, the Thames side, seems like a polished up homogenised version of history as if the machines just stopped working one day and overnight the buildings were gutted and cleansed and converted into [luxury?!] flats surrounded by manicured lawns, and commissioned art. For me, the arsenal side has an eerie feeling. Mind you, I'd love an address that was in No.1 Street.

Moving on... near the old covered market facing The Thames on the shopping side of the main road I spotted some fab old hand-painted signs for a long-gone music shop:

Regaee? Nice try!

More Woolwich observations from 2013

Boot Scrapers in Cromwell Road

Spotted opposite The Natural History Museum, four doorways in a row all with stumps rather than full boot scrapers.
Culled for the war effort perhaps?

Or, here's another more creative idea ... perhaps this is how they grow and what we see here are new buds...? !!

A narrowboat cruise through Islington Tunnel with Hidden Depths

There was a two-day event in and around St Pancras Lock this past weekend and it included free access to The Canal Museum and free rides on Freda, the larger of Hidden Depths tour boats.
Denise and her crew shuttled people back and forth the museum and Granary Square and as an special treat for the final trip on Sunday we went through the Islington Tunnel. At 860 metres long it's the 9th longest in the UK (I think that's right), made with four million bricks and almost 200 years old (completed in 1818).

As the day drew to a close, and the crew moored up and secured the boat for the night, the view west was lovely with the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink. And then to nearby The Charles Lamb for a few pints of ale. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

FOUND at the Foundling Museum – curated by Cornelia Parker

Here's interesting... in amongst the lovely historical artefacts and artworks at this small but evocative museum there are exhibits by sixty modern artists that respond to the theme of 'FOUND'.
Cornelia Parker (no relation) has brought together an eclectic panel of people who have all come at this idea from different angles. The exhibition runs until 4th September.
The Foundling's website will tell you more, but not too much or else there'd be no surprises.
Seeing Cordelia's image of a piece of an old leather shoe brings to mind a post I wrote two years ago when I FOUND (see what I did there) lots of bits of shoe leather on the foreshore near Blackfriars Bridge south side.
Here's a pile of other stuff I FOUND on the foreshore at Limehouse.

At the Foundling gift shop there is a selection of my jewellery made from clay pipes which perfectly fits in with the FOUND theme.
Some pics of the museum here.

Markfield Beam Engine – Steaming into action this weekend

For many years I have been noticing the brown tourist information signs off the Tottenham one way system that point to Markfield Beam Engine, making a mental note to check it out.
Fiinally, last Bank Holiday weekend I did just that – and what a lovely treat cos we timed our visit so that we could see the power of steam.

It's hard to believe that this amazing piece of waste-pumping machinery sat for many decades bricked up and out of action. But now, thanks to the efforts of a group of enthusiasts and volunteers it can be viewed approximately twice a month including 'steam days' when the steam-powered beam engine can be seen in action. See here for more info.
Markfield Park in itself is also worth a visit – be sure check out how original features from the old sewage works have been cleverly revamped and remodelled for modern use to become gardens, a cafe and a skate park.
Easily accessible from Seven Sisters tube, South Tottenham Station or the River Lea towpath.

Nerd Nite London – it's hip to be square

Rubbish pics, but you get the drift. Bottom left is the MoC shop

Last month I went to my first Nerd Nite evening at The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.
The premise is that there are three talks from three different 'nerds' over a limited time on totally random things, each followed by a Q&A session which, when I was there, thew up some amusing questions.
It's aa informal evening with the audience sat around moveable cafe tables drinking from a licensed bar. There are also nibbles available and I noticed people eating their own brought-in pizzas etc.
 I learned, or rather attempted to understand, about the lives of women in Nepal, quantum superpositions and 1950s video projection technology. Every subject was interesting even if I didn't understand half of what was being imparted. The last talk definitely winning my internal award for the most nerdy(!).
It was so good I will be plan to go the next one on May 18th.
If you have a nerdy subject that you think would benefit from a wider audience, just contact the organisers.

The Old Royal Naval College and Christmas lights at Greenwich

The Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich is a fascinating place. Lots of interesting artefacts, art and information. Be sure to check out the Painted Hall.

On the way to take another consignment of my clay pipe jewellery to the ORNC gift shop last week I stopped to admire the Christmas decorations in Greenwich Market, on the Cutty Sark and the colour-changing dome on the entrance to the foot tunnel that joins Greenwich with the Island Gardens on The Isle of Dogs. 

Ah... lovely.

Find the jewellery display to the right of the till near the main door facing the Thames

The Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum sits tucked away on the north side of leafy Brunswick Square Gardens in Bloomsbury.
Hidden within you will find many time-absorbing items of interest. As well as artefacts illustrating the moving stories of orphaned and abandoned children, you'll see artworks by Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds, and a huge collection of manuscripts, recordings and books relating to Handel, including his will and the manuscript of The Messiah.

And, as shown above, in the reception area there is a small gift shop. Take time to check out the truly unique jewellery made from clay pipes (plug! plug!*).
There is also a very good cafe there.

*see other outlets here