Comments on: Arts and Culture in the Metropolis

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:03:30 +0000

@Philipa: I have now new-windowed the links – excellent point made; thank you Philippa

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By: dmnyc

dmnyc — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:22:08 +0000

@Philipa: I agree with you. I mean, I love NYC and all that (even in the hideous weather we are having this weekend) but I don’t love it exclusively. The way the article is handled there, misrepresents it on many levels so I’ve popped them a note. We shall see.

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By: Philipa

Philipa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:12:59 +0000

@dmnyc: The way they’ve edited the article makes what comes up first on screen (without scrolling) seem like NYC great and the British Museum not so good. Don’t like that.

Incidentally, Ed I suggest that links open in a new window rather than taking you away from this site.

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By: dmnyc

dmnyc — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:56:14 +0000

@jules: Oh no! And they’ve sliced off the intro bit that would – if it were there – clear it all up.

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By: jules

jules — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Strange -Agoravox has posted this article and attributed it directly to Boris! see http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=10821. I became suspicious when Boris talked about living in Manhattan… [Ed: I also see that they think he is still MP for Henley - they ought to be told]

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By: dmnyc

dmnyc — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:20:32 +0000

@patrick: others who might have specific interests in mind (re the artifacts) could have time for longer, quieter contemplation of any given collection or piece.

*ROFTL* Oh PUHLEEZE!

Do you remember the last time we went to the British Museum? We strolled through like we were on a decorating spree. If someone had seen us at a distance, they might have thought from our gestures and facial expressions that we were discussing the intricacies and artistic merit of the beautifully carved Egyptian sarcophagus. Had they moved closer however, they would have realized we were trying to calculate what it would cost to convert it into a soaking tub and whether it would be best to have facing the window or sitting along side the window (I still say “along side” is best).

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By: dmnyc

dmnyc — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:02:42 +0000

@Philipa: Your trips to the museum sound fabulous. I wish my parents had been inclined to discuss the pieces like that. My father does go into “plaque reader” mode but that’s not quite the same thing. I mean, I could read the plaques myself from a very early age. Still, it makes him happy.

On one trip years and years ago – he hilariously (and tediously all at the same time), he insisted on reading (to himself, thank goodness) all the plaques next to all the breastplates from the Spanish Armada display at the Tower of London. At issue? The breastplates are ALL THE SAME. It was part of the uniform. The only difference was the name on the plaque. There were tons of them. I tried to point out this out but *shrug* – he just continued. He caught up eventually.

I must say that I have found groups of school children in London and Rome (and Jerusalem, come to that) far better behaved than the ‘no-neck little monsters’ here at home. The kids I’ve spent time with in Rome are especially fun in museums. Goodness knows they know more than I do. I found them very informative and entertaining.

That said, Patrick and I almost got a group of girls on a ’school outing’ in trouble once. It was part of the “Westminster Abbey” incident which I referenced earlier. I blame him entirely — for making me laugh (and for causing the girls to giggle as well). See, I was already prone to giggles after an encounter at the ticket window so pretty much anything would have set me off. Then as we walked around, we saw this sign and it said “no lecturing, please.” Well, Patrick turned to me, shook his finger in my face and lectured mock-sternly, “if I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times…”

Well, I started laughing, the two girls nearest us started laughing, which then set their friends off. Again – glares from adults all round (a hurried “sorry, my fault. Bye, girls!” and we moved on. Looking back, I like to think that rather than being disruptive, we were just making a “joyful noise unto the Lord” – at least that’s the story I’m sticking with.

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By: Philipa

Philipa — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:37:33 +0000

@patrick: I thought the “scheduled time-slots for school parties have always typically been between 10am and 3pm in term time. Outside those times it’s reasonable to expect to avoid most school parties. Or go at weekends, the museums are open!

I find the children are quieter than parties of adults who have no scruple chattering when the guide is speaking or elbowing you out the way. Children don’t tend to do that and are typically quicker at moving on. And I can see above the heads of most children.

You’d hate me at a museum – I talk to my children and we discuss colour, form, imagary, history and they tell me what they like and why. I get dragged all over on threads of ‘look at this, mummy!’. We haven’t done the British Museum yet where I may get ‘look at this mummy’, I don’t know ?

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By: Mel

Mel — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:07:18 +0000

@patrick: “museums should be run like swimming pools, with scheduled time-slots for school parties” what a novel and brilliant idea; well done Patrick. Working in Westminster, I would certainly go along more frequently on that basis to museums at my doorstep such as the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery – I would choose the slow lane/quiet contemplation slot; for art-lovers who want to soak up the atmosphere unrushed and away from sardine-packed noisy crowds.

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By: patrick

patrick — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:07:01 +0000

@Philipa: I quite agree that museums should be free entry, and for that I applaud the various London museums. I also think they shoud be run like swimming pools, with scheduled time-slots for school parties, Senior outings, and the like. The British Museum, for all its capaciousness and grandeur, is all too often a
grimly cacophonous experience for the person not attached to a tour group. Not to mention the sense of actually waiting to board public transport, rather than getting a decent look at the Rosetta Stone.
I’m not suggesting Singles Hour At The Museum (which would still be a better movie than either of the previous Ben Stiller films in this vein), but rather a couple of hours each day when the museum was closed to groups, so that others who might have specific interests in mind (re the artifacts) could have time for longer, quieter contemplation of any given collection or piece.

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