East London - 12 January 2007

The V&A Museum of Childhood recently re-opened after they had spent £4.7 million on it so we thought we had better go and check it out. I must confess we could not see where the cash had been spent, but then we never saw it beforehand. What they should have spent some money on was some simple acoustic treatment mounted in the roof truss framework: the place is a reverberant barn, but since it is a listed building they are probably prevented from being practical.

We were captivated by the doll’s house display. They have a wonderful collection including one furnished by Queen Mary. The oldest doll’s house, built 1673, was originally used to teach young girls how to run a household.

While in the East London area we wandered back from the Museum via the Brick Lane/Petticoat Lane market area. The markets there and at Spitafields had finished for the day but the narrow winding streets and lanes lined with their old brick buildings are quite atmospheric.