The Rain has Returned

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I awoke this morning (Monday) to see a beautiful sunny day yet within half an hour of that comforting window scene, the clouds were back and the rain started tumbling down.

I had intended to do a fair amount of walking and camera snapping today but the weather has prevented any extensive wandering. I did though decide to go to the Imperial War Museum, which is about a 15-minute walk from the flat here in Borough.

The Imperial War Museum was founded in 1917 to record the story of the Great War and the contributions made to it by the peoples of the British Empire.

As the British Empire involved itself in other wars (namely the Second World War and beyond) the museum's scope grew to include anything that documents its involvement in war.

Incredibly the museum has more than 15 000 paintings, drawings and sculptures and more than 30 000 posters as well as aircraft, tanks, uniforms, personal effects, medals and books and much more.

The holocaust exhibit is perhaps the most extensive part of the museum and the most emotionally moving.

It describes the story of the Nazis' persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during the Second World War using much historical material.

Photographs, documents, personal items (including children's toys and hand made mementos) as well as audio and film offers the visitor bleak evidence of the persecution.

Unfortunately photographs are not allowed to be taken of the Holocaust exhibit but I have a few shots taken in the main display area.

Another excellent part of the museum is the shop. There is a great selection of gifts and souvenirs, though the highlight was the book section, a really comprehensive stock of books on all aspects of war and in particular the First and Second World Wars.

By the way, museum entry is free so add it to your list of places to see on a shoe-string budget, though I suggest you stay away from the museum's coffee, it tastes like it was brewed in 1944!

As I finish typing this entry, the weather is starting to clear. By all accounts tomorrow will be a better day and I should have more to report on and more photographs to show you, however I hope you enjoyed your short tour of the Imperial War Museum.

Tomorrow I'm venture into town to have lunch with a friend and I might do some shopping. I will probably head to Leicester Square to take some shots of a very busy, colourful and vibrant part of the city of London.

By the way, I've have just seen the published version of this entry. Apologies for the weird layout of the photographs, I haven't quite worked out how to configure these properly.

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Photos

Monty's Tank
This is the tank that Bernard Montgomery, the hero of El Alamein and North Africa rode in.

The Hero of the Battle of Britain
The sleek lines and trademark elliptical wingtips of the Spitfire

V for Vergeltungswaffe
A German V2 Rocket - the type used for the long range bombardment of London during the Second World War