5,000 years in the making

Some rather dreary weather has inspired me to visit the British Museum today. It’s been more than 15 years since my last visit. Garry’s feeling a little under the weather, so he stayed back in the hotel. It seems others were similarly motivated by the wet weather as the museum was heaving.

My return visit brought back fond memories. The central soaring glass atrium, known as the Great Court, still leaves me in awe. It’s iconic architecture at its best. Likewise, as always, the Rosetta Stone drew a crowd, and at times, the Egyptian mummy galleries resembled a mosh pit. 

To escape the maddening crowd, I slipped in my AirPods and spent three hours on an audio tour of the museum’s more eclectic exhibits. It’s all too easy to forget how ubiquitous the British Empire was and how prolific its explorers and adventurers once were. Artefacts from literally every corner of the globe and every great civilisation since the Mesopotamian Empire fill the museum from top to bottom. It was a timely reminder that great civilisations the world over have left their mark for more than 5000 years.

Sadly, today’s excursion was made possible after a meeting with Aedhmar, my long-time friend and business mentor, was cancelled. A last-minute diary change saw her cancel a previously scheduled trip to London. We’re now hoping to reconnect in July.

We’ve finished the day with a dinner and a show this evening. Dinner was at Chengdu Chengdu, a simple “hole in the wall” venue in Chinatown. The sizzling Sichuan Chicken was to die for. Gerrard Street also look the part, bedecked with red lanterns for Chinese New Year.

Tonight’s performance was “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister” at the Apollo Theatre starring Griff Rhys Jones and Clive Francis. A last-minute booking had us seated in nosebleed balcony seats. OMG, these seats were high above the stage - and every bit as steep as advertised. However, the script was driven by witty dialogue rather than physical comedy, so our seats ultimately didn’t detract from the experience.