London, East Anglia & Paris
July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross
Day 4, Wednesday
The Conference, the Gospels, and the Thames Excursion
Up early to get Bill off to his appointed presentation at the conference (that's why we're here, after all), Linda and I dallied in the hotel over the continental breakfast, smoking in the lobby, and writing a few postcards. It was nice to have a leisurely start for a change! At about mid-morning, Linda and I found a post office on the Queensway. I looked for a pretty stamp to bring to Michael, but they had only standard queens and huge sets for collectors. Then bolstering ourselves into believing we could find our own way around London, we took the tube to Tottenham Court. This stop was as close as we could get to the British Museum, which was at the top of my list for getting a glimpse of the Lindisfarne Gospels--long a passion of mine! Linda was most agreeable to this, not so much because she wanted to see the museum, but because it was close to the Univ. of London, where we would be attending Purdue's presentation later in the day. She enjoys learning new things, and we had other stops marked for her priorities on other days, anyhow.
Alas, the British Museum, easily found, is under renovation (drastic!) with a new dome complex being built in the courtyard. We found most of the entries cordonned off, and many of the exhibits either moved or in storage. Abandonning the now-obsolete museum map I had, we entered anyhow, and walked through the King's Library. There were many original prints here, but we gave them only cursory and selective notice. Continuing to search for the Gospels, we finally gave up and asked a guard for directions. He informed us the Gospels were no longer there, but in the new library at St. Pancras--no other information was forthcoming (I guess he was stressed by the construction and the crowds), so we went in search of the Rosetta Stone instead. This we found with some difficulty down temporary passageways around and thru the cordonned construction. We were glad we did this, though, because the sight of it, among other Eqyptian antiquites, was startlingly awe-inspiring! I took a picture, cameras being allowed, but knew the lighting and the flash would be problematical.
The Rosetta Stone, British Museum Being disheartened by the dishabille of the Museum, we left by the same main entrance, and stood in the shade for several minutes considering our options. Not knowing that the British Library was no longer to be part of the British Museum (not in the guide books, folks!), we studied our maps for alternative sights in the neighborhood. Luckily, I spied a tube stop named St. Pancras, and a building nearby named "Library" on my map. My map is of recent date. The Fodor's guide book (supposedly current--ha!) showed a library somewhere else. We decided, altho it was a long walk, to amble toward St. Pancras on the outside chance that this was where we might yet find the Lindisfarne Gospels. We were heartened by this sight, as we approached the designated intersection:
The new British Library at St. Pancras Station Rushing in with hardly a glance at this marvel of modern architecture, I ran to the information desk and asked if, by any chance, the Lindisfarne Gospels were here, and if so, if it was on display. The information lady lit up in a huge smile--apparently surprised that anyone with a Southern American accent would be so passionate and breathless over the manuscripts--and jumped up (literally!) to grasp a library map, encircle the room, and to expound on how lucky we were to catch it, because it was to go on tour very soon! By now, Linda's enthusiasm for seeing this thing was waning somewhat, but braveheartedly accompanied me to the proper room. And wow! There it was, open to the initial page for the Gospel of _____, and far beyond my imaginings for its beauty and intricacy. I explained all the symbolism and geometrics to Linda, who got very interested again, and asked good questions. No expert myself, I have studied Celtic art and knotwork fairly extensively. This was my first eye-witness encounter, however.
After lingering long over the Gospel, we ventured to the other exhibits in the same room, and found many treasures: Shakespeare's original pages, song lyrics by the Beatles on napkins, 4 copies of the Magna Carta, and a plethora of Medieval European manuscripts (Florentine, etc.). I believe we both concluded that our extra efforts had paid off in a huge way! Then we visited the library bookstore where I purchased a very small book on the Lindisfarne, and learned that a "propelling pen" is nothing more than a retractable ball-point. The English do have such a way with words!
Out again in the library courtyard, we took time to admire the library itself, and to steal another cigarette. (I really must quit this habit.) Also admiring an egg-salad sandwich in the hands of a nearby person, we went into the library refreshment area. Alas, they were sold out. So we ventured across the street into a local grocery and purchased some fortifying snack food and a couple of bottled drinks. Then we walked back towards Russell Square (where we should end up for the conference), found a delightful park (there are MANY!) at Tavistock Square, and ate our picnic lunch. The Woolfs, composer Charles Gounod, and Charles Dickens all lived at Tavistock Square. We wanted to visit the Dickens house, but time was running out.
Tavistock Park. The monument is to Gandhi. As luck would have it, and we were having much luck so far, Taviston Park was diagonally across an intersection from the very building we were told to look for in entering the Univ. of London--the Education Building. We cleaned up our picnic, and headed over. We passed thru the Educ. bldg, a courtyard or 2, and found the building we were looking for: the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Bill was surprised but happy to see us sitting in the audience when he took up the microphone for his video introduction. We were just glad to have a comfortable seat, and dozed thru most of the keynote speaker's address. We did manage to stay awake for the Purdue video, but I must admit, it was difficult.
Running behind schedule, a huge hoard of conference attendees were then herded thru the busy streets for a 25-30 minute walk to the river for our catered, custom Thames excursion. This, we decided, was poor planning at best, and madness at worst. Not only were the attendees poorly dressed for the hike, but it was rush-hour to boot! Add to that the tourists and traffic in Trafalgar Square, and the peripheral crowds lining up for the Queen Mum's 100th Birthday Parade, and you have a good picture of the situation.
The frantic trek through Trafalgar Square. The last lap of the walk, across the pedistrian bridge near Waterloo bridge, was enough to finish us off. We arrived, panting and footsore, just in time. I believe the captain of the Salient would have left us soon, even though our entourage-on-foot included the vast majority of the passengers! I was so glad to see the dock that I forgot to take a photograph. Few of the photos I took from the boat took--thanks to the flash reflection on the glass. Here's a remnant or 2 to remind me of the delightful trip, and a typical view of just what we saw (photographer unknown).
(St. Martin in the Fields on left).
Jamie lingers over after-dinner conversation. The buffet meal was wonderful. Salmon, chicken w/mushroom sauce, prawn salad, and wonderful salads and deserts! The excusion first took us west, to Battersea Park; turned around, and headed east--ending not far from Greenwich. During the long cruise, we saw every sight along the Thames one has ever heard of, passed under the Tower Bridge (of course), and were wined and dined in uptown style.
Our cruise was aboard the Salient.
The sun sets on the river.
(apologies to unknown photographer)
It was late when we were put ashore, and since Linda and I had walked much of the day (while the guys had sat in the conference), we were too tired to consider the late night life. Bill had a drink with the other guys, but passed when they decided to do the London Dungeon. So we trudged back across the pedestrian bridge to the nearest tube stop and went "home."
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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!
