More Ramblings on London

21/02/2008

So I've done the observing thing and I've done the jaw dragging along the floor thing and I've partly done the cultural thing...

one observation that I found surprising: public drinking. It's allowed here. Was quite surprised the first time I noticed it waiting for a bus and these two guys were standing near the stop with a Stella Artois each... and they gladly hopped onto the bus..this was around lunch time...

another thing...booze is available in practically every shop and off license...

anyhoo...drinking in public aside...boy can the people in the youth hostel drink...but then again, i guess that's why happens when a group of people get together...esp guys.

ok ok..nuff bout people and boozing...

Museums!

yes, the nerd in me... i've been to some...not all...need to fit in a few more before I have to leave London next week. Did a necessary evil today - laundry aarrgh! And then came back to discover what I was going to have for lunch has been trashed...wasn't very happy about that one...so today the minimal has been done...seeing as I'm still doing everything on converted rands!

side tracking here big time...

I've been to the Natural History Museum..boy is that place HUGE (and free!) Spent a good few hours in there and have yet to see all of it...need to go back...

Has some interesting displays... I quite enjoyed reading the one on evolution and who our apparent descendants are...and the thing is... it is apparently...all _base_d on deductions _base_d on common characteristics and what not...

and we can all proudly state: Africa is the home of human kind... as well as... MODERN MAN! The neanderthals were in Europe!

Seeing all the stuffed animals I didn't really enjoy much. Yes, there's a place for them and there were notices everywhere stating that the museum no longer collects stuffed animals but the ones they have are from years back...

On the one hand it's educational...on the other hand it's sad knowing these animals were most likely killed by humans for selfish reasons - as per usual.

One display was a choc-a-block collection of stuffed hummingbirds from the 18th century...it's what people did at the time... that one quite disturbed me actually!

The section on mammals I found intriguing..models of the blue whale (as well as it's skeleton) - MASSIVE and various others like the elephant... hehe...they had a telephone handset that if you picked up played the sound of an elephant trumpeting! I found that funny...what people have to resort to.. and more so since I was a stone's throw from the Kruger last year and got to see these magnificent beasts up close albeit in a car...and got to hear them too! In person... not some recording...

Fortunate...

Still to see the dinosaur display... line was too long when i went...

The SCIENCE museum...

didn't spend very long here but the time i did was cool...yeah yeah...science nerd... need to go back here too (again FREE!)

Seeing things like the first steam engine by Stephenson...and the first cars...and ancient medical equipment...and the Babbage machine (programmers... y'all know what I'm talking about)...actually seeing all these things was like WOW WOW WOW!

Really don't know how I'm going to fit in everything I want to get done... but I'll try squeeze in as much as possible...

There's a photography display I just have to go see! (FREE! :p)

and eish...The West End is calling my name....but I think I'll have to plan a weekend back into London once I'm actually earning...too many shows I just have to see! Going to have to make a list, prioritise and see what I can get done before the shows run ends...