Churchill and the War Years – 27 February 2010

The winter in London has now officially been declared the coldest and wettest in 31 years. One good aspect of this is that we have been encouraged to spend time in the many excellent museums in London.

Today we visited the 'Cabinet War Rooms' and 'Churchill Museum'. This has a high entrance fee (although if you travel by rail, there is a 2 for 1 deal), but the museum is well worth it. The venue is the original underground bunker used by Churchill and his Cabinet during World War II. Many of the rooms are just as they were left at the end of the war, which was a fascinating insight into the war years.

The Churchill Museum was brilliantly done. They turned a review of one man's life into an interactive experience. As well as the many display cases, highlighting different phases of his life, the central portion of the room was occupied by a long interactive 'calendar' of almost every day of Churchill's life. It was possible to see what he did the day I was born, and when a notable day was selected, the whole display was redrawn with an appropriate symbol. For example, looking at 11 November 1918 had the entire display carpeted in poppies.

In light of recent reports of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown's temper and verbal abuse of staff, it was interesting to hear a secretary's account of working for Churchill. There seemed to be a remarkable number of similarities to this week's press!

Museum of the Docklands - 21 February 2010

As a celebration of the Chinese New Year, the local Council had free admission to the Museum of the Docklands. As the name suggests, it gives a detailed history of the docklands from the founding of Londinium, through the 19th century expansions, where the West India Company built the largest docklands in the world, through the Blitz in World War II, to the present day where housing and finance has taken over from shipping. Trading of one form or another has been the area's raison d'etre throughout its history.

The museum is spread over three floors, and it could easily fill a whole day. The Chinese community had prepared a fund-raising lunch in the basement, and we enjoyed the best sweet and sour chicken we've had in the UK.

By the time we had seen all the exhibitions, the rain had stopped, and we were able to enjoy a walk back along the Thames through the dock areas we had just been reading about to the Tower of London.

Woburn – 20 February 2010

Woburn is a picturesque town next to Woburn Abbey, about 45 miles from London. It was the perfect day for a winter walk. We discovered it the town had woken to heavy snow the day before, and plenty of snow had survived the sunshine.


The town itself is full of art and food. We purchased both before walking through the deer park of Woburn Abbey to the Woburn Antique centre and annual art sale.

The Darwin Centre – 13 February 2010

Last week we walked past huge queues outside the Natural History Museum, both morning and mid afternoon, and wondered what was on. Today we found out (by chance) how to avoid a similar fate. We planned to visit the recently opened Darwin Centre, and booked a timed, free, ticket to the Cocoon. This magical piece of paper allowed us to walk right past the enormously long queue, straight to the security desk.
I would recommend this method, as the cocoon is interesting. Using very modern technology, there are interactive activities, which could inspire a new generation of entomologists.

The museum, in the true spirit of evolution, has evolved a lot since we last visited, with many new exhibitions. A whole day is only just enough time to very briefly visit every exhibition. Fortunately we had enough time to visit the dinosaur exhibition,before our cocoon time, as after we came out again, there were queues up to the 45 minute marker (and that of course is after the patiently waiting families had survived the long wait outside in the freezing cold). But I guess dinosaurs are a must see for every child.

The best experience in our opinion, was the Attenborough Theatre interactive multimedia presentation of how animals see. This was extremely well done. We joined the other spectators to have a 30 minute rest, but found it really interesting.

The Natural History Museum is an extremely popular attraction with up to 20,000 visitors per day on a weekend, The decision to remove entry charges was clearly a wonderful way to encourage families and others to be inspired by the exhibits, even if they do try to recoup the costs with their exorbitant charges in the cafes and restaurants.

Computer and other Art – 6 February 2010

The V&A have a very interesting computer art exhibition at present. Most exhibits are interactive and many reflect the viewer in different ways. The manner of participating ranges from lights mimicking actions, to being able to capture photographs to participate in the exhibit.

The police also have an exhibition of art fraud. This was particularly interesting, as we remembered one of the cases, when a couple of years ago the Greenhalgh family were arrested. The son made the fakes, many with elaborate and convincing provenances, while his parents marketed them for him.

One of the most delightful areas of the V&A is the restaurant/cafe. It is definitely worth taking a coffee break, just to enjoy the wonderful dining area which is entirely covered in ceramic tiles. This tile work is part of the original design of the museum and a glimpse of what the designer intended for the entire building, had funds permitted.

Winter at the beach – 31 January 2010

We followed the sunshine to Ramsgate in Kent, which is due east from London. The winter is the ideal time to visit the seaside here, as the roads must be absolutely jammed in summer, with limited parking once the town is reached. Today the coastal town sparkled in the sunshine, and we enjoyed a pleasant walk around Ramsgate, and it's neighbour – Broadstairs.

Charles Dickens frequently stayed in Broadstairs, and wrote his novel Bleak House while staying in the house at the end of the cliffs. This town has a very pleasant traffic free beach promenade.

We finished the day at Margate, which rather lacks the appeal of it's neighbours. But tucked away behind the town is a shell grotto, which is interesting to visit. It was discovered in 1835, and no one knew of it's existence before then. There are some theories that suggest it dates back to Roman times, or maybe it was built by a secretive eccentric.

Thaxted - 30 January 2010

One of the delights of winter is walking on a frosty morning over wet farmland, frozen solid.

We needed to give our flat battery a good run, so decided to visit Thaxted,

Thaxted is totally delightful. A colourful High Street, with the painted pargetted and timber framed buildings leading the eye to the large, elaborate church, past a very stylish 14th century Guildhall. Behind the village is a windmill, still in working order.

Our 9 mile circular walk turned back at Great Easton, a smaller, but quite charming village, set around a green.

The day was mild, despite the frost, and stayed sunny all day; one of winter's gems.