Under Glass at the British Museum: Museums, Monuments & Cathedrals

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1987: The Triffids album Calenture with Jerdacuttup Man...

"I live under glass in the British Museum, I am wrinkled and black, I am ten thousand years, I once lost in business, I once lost in love, I took a hard fall, I couldnt get up.... old and lonely, dirty and cold, I'm the Jerdacuttup man...."


A hauntingly beautiful song referencing Lindow Man in the British Museum.... this was always an inspiring song to get me to travel to the British Museum... 1993 was my first visit there and thankfully I have been able to revisit on a number of occasions. Whenever I walk in & around the museum I have this song playing over in my mind. Thank you David McComb & The Triffids...

19 years later I am viewing Lindow Man again... welcomed by the expansive light filled foyer, dashing past the hoards of tourists, we visit the Greek & Roman rooms, a bit of Ancient Egypt, pass by some Medieval Europe, revisit The Middle East of ancient times and find inspiration among the Enlightenment... There is so much to see here, I am not going to attempt to write about it... I have included a few favorite photos for a visual tour.

We then traveled to The V & A , another long favored museum of mine...I especially love the Cast Courts. It is a great introduction to the treasures to be found throughout Europe especially if you haven't the opportunity or time to travel there yourself! Again, I first encountered these in 1993 on my first back packing adventure around Europe and they have always mesmerized me. I could spend many hours walking through The V & A, although on this visit our time was limited, so a fast paced overview was in store for me while Paul rummaged through the bookstore for some treasures for us to relive back in the UAE.. again, I have included some photos here for a visual reference...

We left London several days later and headed down to Devon, to Exeter & Topsham. Topsham was a beautiful classic English village/town with narrow streets, cobbled lanes and Georgian & Edwardian architecture with leaning narrow houses...In 2000 the town celebrated 700 years, with the Queen visiting and going to the "pub" for the first time. Originally a Roman settlement, old Roman walls can still be seen along with Dutch houses from its maritime past.Situated on the estuary of the river Exe, it was our first glimpse of green paddocks & water for some time. We visited the Exeter Cathedral & museum, both giving me that dose of English history & architecture that we miss in the UAE. The chance to visit such an exquisite cathedral does not come very often these days, so we soaked up the Gothic architecture and its remnants from the Romanesque part of the cathedral from Norman times.

After an unseasonally wintery, wet & freezing June in the UK, the heat and sunshine of the UAE was now a welcome thought as we headed back to Dubai....As always, lots of photos to browse through... enjoy ....

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