Yesterday I went to the Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret, where I arrived just in time for a talk. I was glad of that, because the museum would have made a lot less sense without it. It’s mostly three hundred years of medical history (including bit of bodies in jars) without a great deal of explanation. There’s all sorts of interesting things in there, but it makes a lot more sense if you happen to have spent the past few months reading books about the history of medicine!
In the afternoon I made my way over to Kensington Gardens, where Alice and I enjoyed a very decadent afternoon tea in the Orangery, and then went on to be thoroughly Enchanted by Kensington Palace.
Most of it’s closed at the moment, because of ongoing work to make the palace more accessible. So they’ve put together the most amazing exhibition/installation in the State Apartments. You’re given a little map and a “dance card” as you go in, and you have to collect the names of seven hidden princesses as you go round. The princesses are all real, and all connected to the history of the Palace, and the regular guides are all still there, so if you have any actual historical questions they can answer you. There are also a bunch of vaguely steampunky people with drapey coats and head lamps (and in one case an accordion) wandering about the place, and if you ask them nicely they’ll let you play with the soldiers.
It costs £12.50 to get in, which seems like a lot, but it’s absolutely worth it. You can’t take photos inside the royal collections, so I can’t show you what it’s like, but enchanted really is the word for it. It’s on until February, and I heartily recommend it.
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