Busy Saturday

Just drizzle this morning, and the promise of SUN this afternoon. Tomorrow (Sunday) is supposed to be beautiful (weather-wise), but we’ll be up in the air again, heading east. Oh well. I managed to get up for an early breakfast today, as we had 9 o’clock tickets for a special exhibit at the British Museum (barely 2 blocks from the hotel). We arrived early at the British Museum to get in line for our 9 am tickets to the special exhibit about the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead [ http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/book_of_the_dead.aspx ]. But, there was NO line at all. And, of course, the guards wouldn’t let us into the museum until 9 o’clock exactly (actually, it was about 2 minutes late, according to Himself’s watch).

However, this was an amazing exhibit - and we had it all to ourselves for about the first half hour - a real treat. The exhibit is made of up artifacts from the BM’s own collection, and includes everything from the smallest amulet to detailed mummy cases, and of course many versions of the ancient Book of the Dead. Particularly interesting to me was the progression of the drawing styles in the books - beginning with the extremely rigid, almost hieratic drawings of the books from the Old Kingdom through the much looser, more personal styles of the late New Kingdom. I’d learned a bit about ancient Egyptian art when I was in college, but this made the issue come alive. As always, it was very moving to think about the individuals who had spent their time making these finely detailed drawings - some of them more than 3,000 years ago. The Books of the Dead essentially contain spells and instructions for the soul of a person who has died to enable her/him to safely negotiate the shoals leading to the field of reeds, or Tuat, a place of eternal comfort.

After leaving the BM, we headed for a representative of another approach to life-after-death - London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. Apparently there has been a church or cathedral on that spot since the 7th century but the current cathedral was built in the late 17th century, designed by Sir. Christopher Wren. Suffice it to say, it is magnificent, and you really have to visit it to even get an idea of the experience. I wonder who actually attended mass there, and if ordinary people, especially people from the country, ever got inside. If so, it must have been an amazing, moving, and mysterious experience.

After touring the cathedral, we headed for the banks of the Thames, making a brief stop on the Millennium Bridge (no, it doesn’t sway anymore. They fixed that a few years ago!) We walked back along the embankment, admiring the boat traffic on the river, and the people and auto traffic along the walkways. London is an extremely busy city!

Finally, we arrived “home” at the Thanet. I put my feet up and brewed some tea. Himself had a small cup of coffee and then took off to visit the British Library for a second time this tour.