London: The British Museum and St. Paul's Cathedral

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10th Nov: Since it was raining, I booked myself a slot at the British Museum. It took me about twenty minutes to walk there and I quite enjoyed the walk. I like the architecture, a lot of the buildings look really cosy in the rain especially with the pubs on the ground floors and the lights glowing. However, the Brunswick Centre was completely different to all the other buildings I passed. It's modernist style was really different to all the other buildings in the area. I can't say I was a huge fan of it. The flats on the edge of the complex have massive windows which are great for natural light, but I feel there would be a lack of privacy. The shopping and restaurant area did look cute though. Maybe I will return and have a better look around one day. I continued on and came to the British Museum, I was going to use the back entrance but changed my mind so that I could see the building in all its glory from the front. Also, I needn't of booked a ticket as no one asked to see it.

The British Museum is a beast. It's absolutely huge and contains collections covering different parts of the globe and a wide variety of artefacts. However, a lot of these artefacts were gained/taken through colonisation as the British Empire forced themselves on different parts of the world. The museum was established in 1753 and opened to the public in 1759. It was originally in Montague House, which stood where the museum is, but it had been demolished as the museum expanded over time. Outside the building looks very traditional as it has a Greek Revival façade, so I was surprised at how modern the inside was. After consulting the map and deciding on some of the collections I wanted to visit, I made my down to the African Galleries. I really liked this gallery, and I felt I learnt some new things there. The Otobo (hippo) masquerade of the Kalabari people from southern Nigeria was interesting and because hippos are dangerous creatures, the masquerade mimics this by attacking spectators. I also learnt about how traditions had spread from Central and West Africa to the Americas due to the slave trade. The masquerades; their stories and characters have become part of carnival traditions in Trinidad. There were some Moko Jumbie (stilt walker or dancer) sculptures by British Trinidadian artist, Zak Ové, which were entrancing. The figures he has created show his interest in African identity and the African diaspora. There were also some costumes that were great. I loved the bright colours and the full masks that would cover the wearers' heads completely were creepy, but in the right kind of way. The other highlight of the African gallery was the Benin Bronzes. These were sculpture plaques decorated with human and animal heads and figure, and also ritual and personal objects. They were probably produced between 1550 and 1650. I loved all the details on the plaques and could easily have spent hours looking at them all.

I made my way back up to the ground floor and to the Enlightenment Galleries. I had a quick look around these rooms, there were lots of small objects on display, but I think I preferred just looking around the room itself as it was like an old library/study. I really liked the style of it. Next, I headed through to the Mexico and North America galleries. I enjoyed seeing the artefacts and reading about the Native American tribes, I wished this gallery was bigger as I would have liked to have learnt more. The 'Living and Dying' gallery was a highlight. The large piece of artwork in the centre was my favourite. It was a large piece of material with different medicines in pill form woven into it. All around it were pictures of different people and medicines they had taken during their lives or other medical paraphernalia. For me it was a thought provoking piece. I then wandered around the rest of the rooms on the ground floor. They covered Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Middle East. There was too much for me to take in, so I just wandered a bit aimlessly. I think having been to Egypt and Greece many, many moons ago has spoilt it a bit, as seeing the artefacts in the museum without real life context isn't as exciting. I did enjoy seeing the things from the Palace of Knossos as it brought back good memories. I definitely need to revisit Greece in the future. I had enough time to squeeze in some of the Asian exhibitions, so I made my way up the stairs to the Korea and Chinese ceramics galleries. On the way up the stairs, I passed the marble Amitabha Buddha that towers in the stairwell. This statue dates back to the 6th century and is from Chongguang Temple, which would have been in present day Hebei. The Buddha was quite simple in design and had its hand missing. I wonder what had happened to those. I enjoyed looking around the Korea gallery as I will always have soft spot for Korea. The hanok replica was cute. I also enjoyed the Chinese ceramics gallery as there was a lot on display and I really liked the bolder, brighter and darker ceramics as when I think of Chinese ceramics I tend to think of the pale blue and white ones. I was interested in seeing the two ceramic style from Zhejiang province, however I could only find one style in the gallery.

Since the museum would be closing soon, I didn't see the point in trying to see any more as I probably wouldn't have gotten around a whole collection/exhibition so I made my way to the exit. Outside I tried to get some photos of the museum as the building is beautiful, but it is too big and there were loads of people streaming out the doors. The street across from the museum looked really cosy in the cold dark rainy weather. I also liked the red phone boxes by the museum. I wonder if they are still in use or are merely for show. On my walk back I cut across Russell Square. That's one thing I like about London all the little squares that give people the opportunity to relax in green spaces within the city. I liked the fountain in the centre of the square.

After a rest and something to eat, I decided to head out for a bit of a walk. I wanted to head down towards St. Paul's Cathedral and the River Thames to see what they looked like at night. The walk to St. Paul's took about 40 minutes and the streets were pretty quiet. I did pass a few bars busy with after work drinkers. I was a bit disappointed that the cathedral wasn't lit up more (I didn't check all the way round though), it looked pretty but I think it would have looked so much better if it was all lit up. I took some pictures of the cathedral and also the sky as there were some pinky, purple and blue hues to the sky but the pictures didn't come out well, something just have to live on in your mind only. Also the sky was a real light grey, I don't know if it was from the weather and rain earlier or the light pollution from the city. It did remind me a bit of living in Korea and walking around Seoul at night. The National Firefighters Memorial, which I really like, was lit up nicely with the lights changing colours so I watched that for a bit. Then I made my way across the Millennium Bridge. I was surprised at how quite it was, but I had also expected things to be more lit up and look prettier. I had a look up and down the Thames, but I prefer the daytime view. I walked along the river and the backstreets until I got to London Bridge. I enjoyed listening to the bells ringing out from Southwark Cathedral. Crossing back over I made my way back to where I was staying ready to put my feet up for the rest of the evening.

11th Nov: Since I was in the area, I decided visiting St. Paul's Cathedral properly would be a good idea. I only had a couple of hours and thought that that would be long enough. I was very wrong. I made my way to the entrance and after a quick bag search I went in. A ticket for the cathedral is quite pricey at £20, but you can extend the ticket so that it lasts a year and can be used as many times as you like. I don't know if I will get to use it again, but I hope so. I felt sorry for the bloke on the ticket counter as I had my winter mask on and it muffles my voice a lot more than my regular ones. I headed over to pick up an audio guide and was pleasantly surprised at how comprehensive the audio guide was. It totally helps justify the entrance price. I started at the back of the nave. The information in the audio guide was extensive and I liked that it had normal people describing how much they loved the cathedral and why. I'm not a religious person, but I enjoyed listening to the bible passages, too. I had a look at the font and the West Portico, I think the guide said was only used for special occasions/people i.e. the Royal Family. The guide also mentioned the statue of Queen Anne which is in front of the western entrance to the cathedral. Queen Anne was the ruling British monarch when St. Paul's was completed in 1710. During the Great Fire of London, which occurred in 1666, the cathedral had been gutted and this lead to it being rebuilt in the modern style. I sat in the Nave for a while and listened to the audio guide, there was just so much information to take in. I saw the large monument for the Duke of Wellington, which was created by the British sculptor Alfred Stevens. Arthur Wellesley aka the Duke of Wellington was one of the commanders who won and ended the Napoleonic Wars and also twice served as prime minister. He is also buried in the crypt. Also further down in the nave there were some sculptures by the artist Gerry Judah to remember those who died in World War I. The sculptures were beautiful and since it was Remembrance Day very poignant.

I headed over to the South Transept. I enjoyed looking at the statues on display. One had some wreaths of poppies laid in front of it. This statue was of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore K. B., who fought for his country at different places around the globe. I'm not sure why there were some sphinxes there on another statue. There was also a statue of Horatio Nelson, who was a navel commander that died at the Battle of Trafalgar. I really liked the flags that were jutting out from the walls, especially due to the lighting coming in through the windows, which made them look great. I made my way across to the North Transept, however it was all under wraps as there was some kind of construction work going on. I think that the cathedral are building a memorial to Covid victims and those that have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. So I sat in chairs near the cathedral's dome and took in my surroundings. There were some murals/mosaics of Jesus in different stages of his life, which I enjoyed looking at and I also gazed up into the dome of the cathedral. The dome is one of London's most iconic sights. The dome reaches about 65 metres up. I loved just staring up at the inside of the dome and looking at all the artwork on the lower and upper parts of the dome.

The Quire is also stunning and I spent a while taking that in. This is where the choir and clergy normally sit during services. It was the first part of the cathedral to be built and consecrated. There was so much detail. I really liked the angel/cherub on the pulpit. The ceiling in the quire was stunning too. This area is out of bounds for people. I could make out the High Altar near the back. I walked through the South Quire Aisle, which is also known as the Dean's Aisle as it contains effigies of two of the previous Bishops of London and also an effigy of a dean of the cathedral, John Donne. This is one of the few monuments that survived the Great Fire of London. I made my way into the American Memorial Chapel (also known as the Jesus Chapel), which is right at the back of the cathedral behind the High Altar. During the Blitz of WWII, this part of the cathedral was destroyed. When restoration plans were proposed, it was decided that Britain would commemorate the 28,000 Americans that had been stationed throughout the UK during the war. I liked the chapel, it was simple and I enjoyed looking at the animals carved in the woodwork. The stained glass windows were gorgeous, too. Since it was Remembrance Day, there was a two minute silence to remember those who had lost their lives serving. It was a meaningful place to observe remembrance. I was also able to get a better look at the High Altar here. This altar isn't that old as it dates back to 1958. It was based on a design by Christopher Wren (the architect responsible for rebuilding St. Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London), which didn't get built at that time. I also got a closer look at the Quire. There was a school group in there, I know I was in awe of the size of the cathedral so it must be even greater for small primary school children. The wrought iron gates leading out to the North Apse Aisle were beautifully ornate. These were designed by Jean Tijou, a French master metalworker. I walked through the North Apse Aisle to get back into the main part of the cathedral. There was some artwork on a video screen, but I didn't really have time to watch it. I did take a moment at wreaths for Remembrance Day.

Since I had run out of time, I had to skip the Crypt. I like the decoration above the doors down to the crypt. These were plaques with three skulls on them and some bones behind them. I was a bit gutted about that as it looked like there was a lot to see down there. Also, there were parts of the cathedral that weren't open such as the galleries that I would like to return to visit and the audio guide also had a section on hidden St. Paul's i.e. the bits that aren't open to the public that I would have like to have listened to. I will have to come back in the future as I totally underestimated how long it would take to see everything in the cathedral.

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Photos

Otobo Masquerade
The British Museum

Moko Jumbie Figures - Zak Ové
The British Museum

Moko Jumbie Figures - Zak Ové
The British Museum

Moko Jumbie Figures - Zak Ové
The British Museum

Okakagbe Masquerade Costumes
The British Museum

The Benin Bronzes
The British Museum

The Benin Bronzes
The British Museum

Font
St. Paul's Cathedral

West Portico
St. Paul's Cathedral