October 12 - V&A Museum, and Little Venice

(Updated Oct 13)

Busy  day today.  Tomorrow is a very early start, so I'm not sure how much I will get done tonight.

I was just getting used to getting around on the Tube, then they go and shut down my favourite line (Picadilly) for the weekend, forcing me to figure out alternate routes.

I got to the Victoria & Albert Museum just after it opened.  After about 2-1/2 hours my eyes were glazing over - museum overload!  And I barely got through a third of it.

Right off the bat:  Sorry, Deb, but the Mosaic Exhibit Room Closure has been extended until Spring 2026.  Darn!  Onward with what I did see:

I started on the 3rd Floor inRoom 122: Britain 1760-1900.  

A model of the State Coach - about 1760.  First used in 1762 (George III) and is still used on important occasions.  

I googled "Did Donald Trump ride in the British State Coach?"  The AI answer: Donald Trump rode in the Irish State Coach (not nearly nas much gold).  Please check it out and confirm for me.

This is a model of a 'particularly efficient' steam engine designed byn James Watt for a fellow named Matthew Boulton.  The efficiency came from the addition of a separate condensor.

This is a "Perpetual Motion" clock, designed by James Cox and John Merlin about 1765.  The perpetual motion comes from the mechanism that works like a barometer, moving mercury between the two large glass jars.

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Enough of the science junk.  Here's some othwer stuff I found interesting.

Bashaw the Newfoundland dog.  His owner, the Earl Of Dudley, commissioned the model in 1832.  Unfortunately, the Earl died before the model was finished.

Note that Bashaw is stomping on a snake.  The reason for,this wasn't described in the plaque beside Bashaw.

A rather splendid wardrobe & chairs from about 1830 - 40.

About here I came upon the idea of photographing the description with the object.  Depending on the cutting and pasting software you have you may be able to enlarge the description enought to get more info.

If you can't and are desparate to read the description about a particular piece I'll dig up the original photo and email it to you.   

A cabinet made for the Medieval King Rene of Anjou in  France.  It depicts imaginary scenes from his honeymoon in 1860 - 1862.

Sofa, about 1856 in New York by John Henry Butler.  Remarkable for the use of laminated wood, mostly Rosewood.

This verynornate cabinet was decorated using Boulle marquetry technique. 

If you google 'V&A Boulle marquetry technique' is should bring up the V&A video that shows how this is done.  Very laborious!

I'm probably boring you now, so I'll stop the 3rd floor.  Thge 4th floor is all china, which I just skipped through.

I pretty much ignored the 2nd floor.  In fact I can't remeber what it was about.

On the 1st floor I was fascinated by the "Cast Courts."  For example, here is David by Michelangelo.   No, I didn't go to Italy, this a copy.  So, how did they make copies of famous statues, frescos, and other works in centuries past?

They did it by making multiple casts of tiny sections of the original and painstakingly fitting them together.  Finally, a full mold is assembled and filled with a casting liquid (often plaster of Paris).  The mold could be coated with ceramic for metal casting.  Electroplating the mold was another technique. 

Here pictures of a few of the immense works the museum obtained through cast copying.

The Portico de la Gloria in Spain.  This room n the museum was sized to hold this 17 meter copy.

If you want to learn more about the Cast Courts go to https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/cast-collection

Trajan's column, in 2 pieces, cast in about 1864

The Effigy of Eleanor of Castille.

I inserted the complete description below. 

That's it for now.  I have to do dishes and get to prep for tomorrow.  I might get back to it later today or who knows when.

Oct 13 - I've woken up, so I'll add the Little Venice visit.

I took the Tube to Warwick station and walked (Picadilly was closer, but it was closed for the weekend).  After a block or two I met a gentleman and asked him if there were public toilets nearby.  

He pointed me to this cafe in the basement of a nearby apartment building. Continuing a conversation about Little Venice he also noted the Alan Turing was born in the same buidling.  Since I intend to visit Bletchly Park where Alan Turing lead the group that broke the German WW2 codes it was a neat coincidence.

After a coffee and a snack I headed off in the right direction.

Little Venice is a pleasant spot where there are canals that are part of the old system where goods were transported on boats, before being supplanted by the 'newfangled' railroads.

The network was quite extensive, as shown on this map I googled.

Acouple more pictures of canal boats.  All sorts of styles, all generally long & thin (how would you like to live in a 6 foot wide house?), and in all stages of condition, from neat and tidy to almost sinking.

I'd like to understand some of the logistics of canal boat life.  There appear to be private and public moorings; and I see connections for electricity and water (not everywhere, tho), but I have no idea where the water (and other stuff) goes once they finish with it.

Also: Deb, I never found the boat with the bathtub on the roof.

I'll end with this never to be seen picture again - where I am the only one on the platform!  It lasted about 2 seconds.

This is a pretty typical tube station.  Most lines have 2 tracks at each station, one going in each direction.