weather: chilly, overcast, light drizzle
mood: tired. :)
food: toad-in-the-hole and an apple juice
time on public transport: 1h45
artefacts seen: St Paul's Cathedral, Sir Arthur Sullivan's grave, the Blake memorial in the Cathedral crypt
impressions: I didn't make it to Cambridge today. Somebody had jumped/fallen under a train at Earl's Court so there were no trains running on the Wimbledon-Upminster line. Failing that, I caught the 11 into town, planning to catch a tube from Liverpool Street to Kings Cross St Pancras, and from there on to Cambridge. But when the bus passed St Paul's (having spent an hour in traffic), we decided to see the Cathedral.
Sir Christopher Wren was a gifted man, especially if it is considered that the rebuilding of St Paul's after 1666 was his first architectural project. The dome - the high alter - John Donne's memorial(!), and the mosaics was amazing (and all those masonic symbols...) - as was pointing out the sea-sick lion on Nelson's memorial in the church - the poor thing not only looks queasy, but it's actually sliding off the marble. Thanks for pointing that out mom - we had a really good laugh - especially after appreciating how dignified and stately the other lions looked.
Then (and I don't think Chris would have signed up if he had know just how many steps we were to climb) we climbed - to the whispering gallery, then up to the stone gallery, and finally (with a stop along the way to peer down from the top of the dome through to the floor below [I will not do that again in a hurry], we reached the golden gallery, were we were packed like sardines with the other brave souls that had climbed to the top of the dome to marvel at unparalleled views of the city and surrounds.
Then, it was all the way down to the crypt, to see the graves of Jacob Boehme, Arthur Sullivan, Christopher Wren, and lo and behold - William Blake - with the epitaph "poet - painter - mystic". I'm so glad they added the mystic bit. Nelson and Wellington's tombs are also very impressive, but I found the tombs of the men all from 1579-1599 far more interesting - as was the grave and memorial to Sir George Grey.
We then took high tea at "The Princess of Wales" up from the Embankment, for a traditional dish called toad in the hole, and home from there. The tube line had been restored by then.
So it is the Fitzwilliam tomorrow.
Cambridge... I must admit, its a beautiful town. Apart from the speed-demon cyclists trying to pick pedestrians off at every corner. The English department seems lovely - as it was early morning during the first week of lectures yesterday, I can't really say. All the graduate seminars start next week, so I'm effectively only going to be there for the Fitzwilliam Museum now. The University library is run on the same principles as the BL, that's because all the colleges have their own libraries and privileges. Now being attached to a college poses some problems. Of course, I could use the libraries yesterday because my Reader's card only activated today, and I didn't have a 1 pound coin to use the lockers. So, I went for a walk (and nearly got killed by cyclists).
Truth be told, I'm not sure what I will be able to get out of the trip to the English Department if the taught courses aren't up and running yet. I'm grateful for the opportunity, but I wonder if it hasn't been wasted. When I went to get my reader's pass, the attitude was "a week and a half - why bother?" and that seems to be the general reaction. Musing on that, and feeling a little despairing, I went to visit King's College Chapel with its famous fan-vaulted ceiling and incredible choir stalls. The Chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary (which I found interesting, as I only counted three representations of the Virgin in St Paul's), and it was stunning. Absolutely incredible. Where the Chinese have the Great Wall and the Romans had the Colosseum, I do believe the chapel at Kings College is the English equivalent. The 4 kings of England from Henry the VI to Henry VIII dedicated a lot of money and patronage to make this chapel what is was in a time where there were very little commissioned by the royals in that way - of course, I haven't seen Ely or Wells, or Canterbury, but there just seemed to be an aura of devotion to the construction of this church by the Henry's and Richard.
I've now searched the library catalogue, and have come to the conclusion that, if I'm now holed up with the Keynes collection in the Fitzwilliam (and its current exhibition), there are a few publications I'd like to see that we don't have in Australia. I will salvage what I can. And see where I can go from there.
It's going to be another 06.30 start tomorrow, so, time for bed, or a little light reading. It's getting colder now, what a relief!
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