Landing in London and the British Museum

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Not to belabor the obvious, but Heathrow is a ginormous airport. My flight from the US was delayed two hours, and I was concerned about getting to where I was staying before check-in closed at 7:30. (Yes, I could still check in, but I would have to go to their sister property half a mile away. It was raining. I was on foot, carrying my own luggage, and I had already been in transit for 24 hours. And did I mention it was raining?)

Fortunately, I was eligible for a Fast Track pass to get through Immigration, so that was a breeze, and I was able to walk straight through Customs. In fact, I was off the plane, walked the long way to Immigration, and was on the train into the city in under forty minutes. Not bad.



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One of the things I very much wanted to do on this trip was to visit the British Library and see the Magna Carta. The British Library has one of the original copies; the Library of Congress in the United States has a copy from 1297, when King Edward reissued the charter.

Remember Robin Hood? It was under that king, King John, that the Magna Carta was written. King John, also known as “The Worst King Ever,” had a nasty habit of demanding other people’s money to pay for his military adventures, which usually ended in defeat. John, believing himself to be above the law, continued to raise the taxes on the barons – the “one percenters” of their day – until they finally banded together and revolted. In order to bring some measure of peace rather than revolution, King John signed the document which gave the barons certain rights.

There were several copies of the document made at that time that were sent out to various cathedrals for safekeeping. Of the four original copies still surviving, one is at Lincoln Cathedral, one at Salisbury Cathedral, and two at the British Library. The copy from the Lincoln Cathedral was sent to the United States to be stored at Fort Knox during the Second World War.

I’m not sure exactly what I expected, but when you walk in you are immediately reminded that first and foremost this is a working library. There are dedicated reading rooms for researchers and lots of tables – with power plugs! – for laptops. This is not the place you come for the latest John Le Carré novel.

While I was there, there was a special exhibit of Shakespeare’s work. As part of the events around that exhibit they put on a rather strange puppet show where the characters were played by shovels and rakes, and the dialogue was grunts. Surprisingly, it worked, sort of.

All the good stuff owned by the Library is off in one room, alternately called the Treasures of the British Library or the Sir John Ritblat Gallery. Photography is not allowed, understandable but still disappointing. Sadly, the original manuscript of Beowulf, dating from about 1020, wasn’t on display, but the Magna Carta was.

I was disappointed when I found the door labeled “Magna Carta” locked. Oh well, since I was in the gallery I might as well look around. There are some glorious maps and beautifully illustrated manuscripts. And over there, in a modest glass case, was the Magna Carta.

I had walked past this case three times, not realizing what was in it. The document itself is surprisingly small – about 12 by 18 inches – and compared to some of the colorful illuminated manuscripts in the same room, rather dull looking. Hard to believe that this small piece of parchment has had so much influence over the legal systems and constitutions of so many governments around the world. And I got to see it in person! How cool is that!

Note: pictures of the Magna Carta and Beowulf are from the British Library website.



Possibly useful information:

If you are flying First or Business class, you may be eligible for a Fast Pass. If your flight attendant does not pass them out, ask for one. Also, if you are not a citizen of an EU country, you need to fill out a Landing Card before arriving.

The Heathrow express is a fast, clean train from the airport to Paddington Station. You can save a considerable amount by buying in advance online. If you buy online 90 days in advance it is less than half the price of buying on-board. Even 30 days in advance saves you almost half.

If you are going to be in London for more than a few days, get yourself a Visitor Oyster card online to pay for public transportation. It is much less expensive than buying a day pass.

The British Library has several cafes, including one outside in the courtyard. The food is pretty good, and reasonably priced. The Library itself is free.

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Photos

Shakespeare with brooms and rakes
Look at the boxes to the right and left of the stage - they contain brooms and rakes to depict the Capulets and Montagues

Magna Carta
Surprisingly small for so much influence.

Comments

[Keep Smiling]

Welcome to Britain
Enjoy your stay. I look forward to reading all about it.

[D MJ Binkley]

Hate those late planes
I assume the summer storms were the cause of your flight delays. Enjoy London and all the amazing things it has to offer. One of our favorite cities.

[Kuan Yin]

Late planes
The story we were given is that the day before there had been a power outage in New York, which caused that particular aircraft to be late. Now I was flying out of San Diego at 8:30 at night on the following day, so that seems to be a bit of a stetch