Saturday, May 26, 2012

Try something new every week - May week 3

I've had some good fun doing new things these past couple of weeks.  These are the highlights.

A friend invited me to visit an exhibition at Lambeth Palace - a place I've never been, to an exhibition called 'Royal Devotion - Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer'.

http://www.lambethpalacelibrary.org/content/royaldevotion

After a wonderful walk along the river - isn't London gorgeous in the sunshine? - we entered a side gate of Lambeth Palace and visited the exhibition.




So many treasures - of course you aren't allowed to take photographs, but it took place in a library full of ancient books - I never knew 'opera' meant a collection of works, not just the musical kind!  We saw a book belonging to Elizabeth I (see above), the gloves in which Charles I was executed and a host of beautiful books, illuminated, some very ancient, and all with highly interesting information alongside, filling in the history around the book itself. I learned loads.

It was just the right size exhibition, not so big you got information overload, and small enough that you didn't freeze in a very chilly room, but so magnificent that it was worth it.



Lambeth Palace was an interesting place too - they are resiting the Library so that the books can be better preserved and above the flood line of the Thames should it spill over, but I was glad to see the old version and would definitely like to return and see more of the Palace and hear about its history.




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