Day three in London takes Kevin and me to the British Museum.  I didn’t find the British Museum as impressive as the Louvre in Paris, primarily because it doesn’t include any paintings, but there were several items, like the Rosetta Stone, that I found quite fascinating.

The area that was most relevant to our current trip was the Parthenon Galleries.  Since we’re visiting the Parthenon temple in Athens in a few weeks, seeing this area of the museum will help create a complete picture of that temple.  The museum has about half of the Parthenon’s original sculptures, which are called Elgin Marbles, on display.  The scale and detail of these sculptures is quite impressive, and I’m sure when I see the temple itself, the images of these separate pieces will join into an extraordinary picture.

Who do you think you are, Michael?

Groups of school kids in museums always give me mixed reactions.  On one hand, I’m glad that our impressionable youth are learning about different cultures, art, and history.  On the other hand, seldom do these groups of kids wander the museum quietly, letting other patrons enjoy the exhibits without disruption.

One of the groups had a kid named Michael in its ranks.  How do I know this?  Well, Michael seemed to be a bit of a problem child, and several times throughout the day I heard things like, “Michael, get over here!”, “Michael, why do you think it’s ok to go so far ahead of the group?”, “Michael, this is the last time I’m going to tell you this!”.  I felt bad for the teacher; she looked exhausted, and I’m pretty sure I caught her mouthing the words “Help me!” as our eyes met in passing.

There were a few cute things about the groups of students, primarily that they were all wearing their school’s uniform.  Some uniforms looked better than others, however.  It was unfortunately clear which students came from the public schools, and which ones came from the private academies…or at least that’s what I presumed, I mean, one of the kid’s shirts read: “Mary Poppins Public School.  Sponsored by Fish & Chips Bar and Pub.”

The private academy groups were small in size, anywhere from 5-10 students, and the children were dressed in blazers and well-pressed shirts and pants.  Their teachers were well-spoken and had posh accents.  The groups from the public schools, however, were 20 students or so in size and had simple matching t-shirts and shorts or pants for outfits.  The teachers leading these groups lacked some of the refinement the other teachers displayed, and sounded a bit more like Downton Flabby. [If you don’t remember who she is, re-read the Iceland posts]

Another amusing instance with the students took place in one of the Egyptian rooms that contained the mummies.  One after another, the kids would say, “I want my mummy.” after passing one of the displays.  It was funny…until I heard it about 20 times, then I just wanted to yell, “None of you are original!”.

Tick-tock.

Oddly, one of my favorite exhibits in the museum was the Clocks and Watches gallery.  These rooms contained hundreds of clocks and watches, showing how the technology and process of manufacturing has changed over the centuries.  Dozens of these clocks were running, each with a slightly different sound; pendulums swinging and clock mechanisms whirring, each producing different tones, the tick-tocking unsynchronized from one another.  All this combined to produce an amazing mechanical orchestra.  I closed my eyes and got lost in the “music”…until it was interrupted by a cockney accent yelling, “Michael, who do you think you are?”

Wicked is wicked!

Our day ended with a night at the theatre, watching a performance of Wicked.  It was amazing!  If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest buying tickets.  Everything about it was fantastic, and all four of us loved it.  I left the theatre with the songs replaying in my head, asking myself why we don’t do this kind of thing more often.