Imperial War Museum, photo by author
The much anticipated meal was…okay. I was hoping for more than okay. I was also hoping for more food. The three oysters I got were evidently newborns. I studied them with a microscope. The main course was delicious — what there was of it. Desert was literally more filling. Thank god they gave me bread or I would left the joint hungry. I did enjoy my first ever non-alcoholic cocktail. The tab for this quick bite was seventy-two pounds. The night before the fish and chips I had that pub was about fifty pounds less and a better meal at that.
Started the day with a trip to the Imperial War Museum. It’s one of the best museums of any kind I’ve ever been to. As much as such a place can, it brings home the horrors of war more than it glamorizes it. I was especially interested in and impressed by the World War I section which featured a replica trench of sorts. They have an amazing array of helmets, rifles, knives, uniforms etc. that were actually used in battle. Likewise in the WWII section. I also appreciate the time they give over to people of color who fought in the wars and the role of women. They further acknowledged atrocities committed by all sides. I’d be tempted to call them fair and balanced if that phrase hadn’t been coopted by a Rupert’s Propaganda Network. The Holocaust section was brilliantly done. A heavy emphasis is placed on showing the lives of Jews and Roma before the war (many of whom perished in camps) thus giving greater context for the whole awful mess. It would be too easy for Holocaust displays to feel exploitive or trivializing. Not an issue here. The museum also boasts some of the better gift shops I’ve come across. I am a sucker for museum gift shops.
From there I hopped one of London’s ubiquitous double decker buses for a short ride to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and a slew of statues. I snapped many a photo of the sites there and in this I was neither a pioneer nor alone. I ambled over to Trafalgar Square then took quite a long bus ride home.
It rained virtually all day though never hard. I’ve been in London on at least seven different occasions and seen only a few days of worth of sunshine. At least it’s not too cold (it is May, after all) and the rain is supposed to take a rest for most of tomorrow. It works hard around here.
Speaking of tomorrow, I’ll be off to the Emirates to see some proper football. You can likely read about it on this space tomorrow. Something to look forward to.
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