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  • Internet Archive – When a Library Closes

    Internet Archive – When a Library Closes

    I like this latest update from the Internet Archive. Their news release read:

    “‘For a poet, the library is life’, mused Valerie Deering, Marygrove College Class of 1972. So when her beloved alma mater in Detroit closed for good in 2019, Deering worried about what would happen to Marygrove’s 70,000-volume library. For more than a century, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who founded the college, had been curating a one-of-a-kind collection of books about social justice, African American history and Detroit. How could these precious books do the most good in the world? Marygrove’s solution: donate the books to the Internet Archive to be digitized and preserved. Now, less than a year after the physical library closed, the Marygrove College Library Digital Collection is open for borrowing.”

    The collection of books can be found at https://archive.org/details/marygrovecollege. I’ve noted that the book ‘Called Up, Sent Down : the Bevin Boys’ War’ by Tom Hickman is available, so I will peruse that today. There’s some question about the legality of this, but I hope they find a way forwards at the Internet Archive, this is a wonderful contribution towards literature.

     

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (The King’s Man Film Set)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (The King’s Man Film Set)

    This post is mostly just photos and it’s of the set of the King’s Man film, which is the third film in the Kingsman series and also the prequel, just to make things more confusing. The film is meant to be released in February 2021, although I’m not sure that anyone knows what is happening with the world of cinema at the moment. The film was initially meant to be released in late 2019, so the production team are probably quite fed up with the whole thing at the moment.

    Anyway, it was evident from the displays at the National Army Museum that a lot of attention and care has gone into the clothing and sets, they’re detailed even when standing close up. And now that I’ve seen these props in real life, I might actually watch the film. I have seen the first in the series, but not the second, with this prequel being from the time of the First World War and the run-up to that.

     

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Canary Wharf – Brewdog

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Canary Wharf – Brewdog

    Carrying on with my theme of working around the Brewdog pubs of the UK, this is their outlet at Canary Wharf. As may be visible from the photo, their rolling shutter was broken and so one of their staff had managed to get underneath to get in, but it was impossible for anyone else. This did mean that the inside of the pub was closed, but they could serve customers with the staff getting in and out via the fire escape.

    So, this was the limit of the Brewdog seating, this covered external area which was actually rather comfortable. There were a couple of other customers during the time that I was here, but a surprisingly small number of customers who tried to get in. This can’t be a good time for Brewdog at Canary Wharf even if they could open up properly.

    The Velvet Vengeance is Brewdog’s own beer and I’ve never had this one before. Poured badly and in a glass that was slightly chipped at the top, it wasn’t a tour de force from the staff. But, they were clearly in trying circumstances and they were unfailingly polite. There were tastes of chocolate and biscuits I thought, with it all being smooth, although not quite as rich as I had expected. Still decent though and at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature.

    So, this was all perfectly OK, although it’s not quite the visit that I had expected and there are of course no photos of the interior. I’m sure that I’ll have chance to pop in again at some point in the future though.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 207

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 207

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Mellow

    And yet another one of Grose’s definitions about alcohol, following just after mauled, this one is defined as “almost drunk”. It might seem that this is a more recent way of defining being tipsy rather than drunk, but it dates back to the beginning of the seventeenth century and it has never fallen out of usage.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Note Written in Blood)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Note Written in Blood)

    Well, this is cheery, a note written in 1810 by Joseph Fenwick in his own blood. The note reads “I am shot thro the body and arms – for God’s sake send me a surgeon, English if possible. If I do not recover God bless you all”. Unfortunately, Joseph died shortly afterwards.

    The note was written to Colonel Richard Blunt and this note was given to the National Army Museum by his grandson, Lieutenant-Colonel G E E Blunt. Fenwick had been wounded at Chamusca, in Portugal, whilst fighting for the 3rd Foot Regiment (the Buffs) in the Peninsular War.

  • Random – Old Jamaica Pineapple Soda

    Random – Old Jamaica Pineapple Soda

    And more in my riveting random drivel series of posts…. But, for 39p, this was a surprisingly good treat from Sainsbury’s, I haven’t heard of this one before. Sufficiently sweet and pineapplely (I would have been disappointed if there wasn’t much pineapple flavour) this was rather lovely.

  • London – Brent (Borough of) – Wembley – Ibis Wembley (again)

    London – Brent (Borough of) – Wembley – Ibis Wembley (again)

    I was at this hotel a few days ago (well, two days ago) and all was well with the stay. This stay again cost just a few pounds thanks to the Accor offer that they’ve currently got going on, which is most lovely and represented really excellent value for money.

    I commented on this lack of reception area in my last post, and it failed them on this visit. I had to traipse over to the bar to get help after standing here for too long (although I accept by traipse, I mean walk about three metres) and then the barman had to traipse back to the office. I don’t know how this set-up helps them, a traditional reception desk would make things easier. It didn’t take long to get checked-in and, anyway, I’m sounding grumpy and I’m not, I like this hotel.

    The room, which didn’t have the fancy television I had the other day. The room was again on the top floor, just around the corner from my previous room. As a positive, this television didn’t keep turning itself on.

    The view was a little less exciting than before, but still rather lovely.

    This was the free welcome drink, I had the same Goose Island option as before (although I’ve got muddled up on Untappd as I seem to have listed one wrongly), it’s a perfectly good option. I wonder whether they also operate Ibis Heathrow, as they have the identical drinks choices as that hotel. The barman was friendly and engaging, it’s a comfortable bar area they have themselves on the ground floor, although it’s not that large.

    Anyway, it was another comfortable stay, with everything being clean and organised. Keenly priced again at under £40, even without the Accor offers, it seemed quiet and I don’t think that they had that many guests in the hotel.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Wellington’s Despatch Case)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Wellington’s Despatch Case)

    This is the despatch case that was used by the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War of 1808 until 1814 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The National Army Museum acquired it in 1973, but their web-site isn’t very good at providing the provenance of items or where they’ve been. The museum notes Wellington’s quote, when asked why he was so successful, of “I was always on the spot – I saw everything; and did everything for myself”.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Napoleon’s Horse Marengo)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Napoleon’s Horse Marengo)

    This is Marengo (something like 1793 to 1831), or at least what is left of him, who was Napoleon’s horse which he used in campaigns between 1800 and 1815. When Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, the horse was taken to London and he lived here until he died in 1831. It was decided to preserve his bones and he was given to the Royal United Services Institute, which was founded by the Duke of Wellington, also in 1831. The Institute later asked Wellington for the skeleton of his horse, Copenhagen, so they could be displayed together, but this permission was refused.

    Now at the National Army Museum, I think the skeleton is clumsily displayed and I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t placed in an area of his own. It transpires that this was what the previous museum authorities thought was a good idea, it’s a recent innovation that he’s been shoved in this cluttered display. He’s missing a couple of hooves, which were taken for souvenirs and are now displayed elsewhere.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 206

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 206

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Mauled

    This is one of the definitions which sounds more modern, it’s “extremely drunk or soundly beaten”. I can imagine a group of lads in Wetherspoons saying that they’re mauled today, so sometimes word meanings can linger. The word ‘maul’ actually comes from the Latin word of ‘malleus’ meaning hammer and it’s fair to say that being hammered is now a common word for being very drunk.