MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS CROMER...

We took the train to this charming north Norfolk town (I don't think I had ever been, despite being brought up in Norfolk) intending to spend the day there.  As it was, we had completed all we needed to do in a couple of hours!

There really is not much here- you have one main street that contains a variety of shops, a large church and a cute museum.  We took a cursory look at the latter two but didn't linger.  Many years ago, a friend of mine spent a week honeymooning in Cromer.  All I can say is, I hope her and her new husband were very compatible in the, ahem, carnal area, as there didn't look like much else to do.  Mind you, that's the whole point of a honeymoon, isn't it?!

But I couldn't say that I didn't have a wonderful time.  I did exactly what I came to do, which was see the interestingly shaped pier and eat a Cromer crab sandwich. Cromer is famous for its crabbing industry, I hadn't eaten proper, dressed crab since I was a little girl and my delicious meal (actually breakfast!) did not disappoint.

Here is the full length of the pier...

Looking down from the pier entrance.  I believe it's the only pier with an end of pier theatre in the world, and acts are showcased here every summer and Christmas.

Looking back to the headland...

Looking east...

Looking west...

Close-up of stones embellishing the cliff walkway walls...

A PDF of the Jetty Cafe (silly me didn't take a piccie!), where I ate my crab 'breakfast'....  It gets good reviews and I can understand why.

Finally, I had to have a charity shop find.  This twisty bracelet cost me all of  £1.50!

Would I return?  Not in a hurry, but I wouldn't rule it out.

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THE SAFFRON TRAIL by ROSANNA LEY

THE SAFFRON TRAIL

BY ROSANNA LEY

THE BLURB:-

Once, there was a girl who loved saffron. She loved its secrets, its mystery, and best of all, she loved its hint of magic.

After the death of her beloved mother, Nell travels from rural Cornwall to the colour and chaos of Marrakech. Her marriage may be on the rocks, but exploring the heady delights of Moroccan cuisine could help fulfil her dream of opening her own restaurant.

It's there she meets Amy- a young photographer trying to unravel the story behind her family's involvement in the Vietnam War. The two women develop a close friendship and discover a surprising connection between their own pasts.

This connection will take Nell and Amy on a journey to find their own 'saffron trail'- from the labyrinthine medina, and the bustle of Moroccan bazaars, all the way back home to Cornwall and the heart of their families' origins.

THE REALITY:-

This was my holiday read and it was truly wonderful! In the same way that the last novel I read (set in wartime Cairo) made me want to visit Egypt, this sheer delight of a page-turner made me want to visit Morocco. I was, at first a bit wary of reading a book by this author as a previous read of hers (called Bay Of Secrets) was very good, but didn't really have a proper ending, or so I felt.

Written well enough to create mystery...SPOILER ALERT!... you are some way in before you realise that the Bethany of the 1970s parts of the novel is actually modern-day Nell's mother. Incidentally the modern and historical parts of the book are clearly labelled, where necessary, and it's obvious that the bulk of Lillian's memories are set during the Second World War and post-war. Incidentally, the Vietnam War features and the author has researched this, and the Marrakesh hippie trail of the 70s very well. You get a real feel for the dress and habits of the day and the speech patterns and expressions are very authentic.

I liked the variety of characters and the concluded, happy ending. I also loved that this book questioned the spiritual side of life, with Bethany and her tarot cards and meditation, and Hadi and his retreat from the world and the need for him to find inner peace. It's something we all have to try and strive for in this fast-moving, technologically-aware world, and it's something we should never overlook. I could also relate to the subject of genetics playing a part in out looks and mannerisms- how we inherit a bit of this from that person and a bit of that from another.

Morocco came alive for me- in every way from the dress, customs, diet and pace of life- even though I read the bulk of this book in a caravan in Great Yarmouth (a fantastic holiday, incidentally). The beauty of saffron was a colourful and lovely backdrop theme throughout, and I'm tempted to go and visit Saffron Walden now! This story moves at at a reasonable pace and all of the different eras come together like a neat jigsaw.

Give it a try. I can't see how you will be disappointed.

MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS THE BRITISH MUSEUM...

It's been a long while since I've seen the inside of the British Museum.  In fact, it's been over 25 years and that was, until now, the only time I'd visited.  It was for my college preliminary project.  We were given a choice of exhibitions to see and write a report about, and I chose 'The Passionate Art Of Utamaro', which displayed the (sometimes erotic) work of Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806).  I regarded him as a Japanese Aubrey Beardsley!

Here's one of his lesser salacious works, of a couple beginning the motion known as in flagrante delicto... 

My project was not well-received.  This was not because of the content- the college, after all, chose the subject matters.  Another option would have been 'The Naked Shit'- an exhibition by Gilbert and George, and those two gentlemen are hardly tame.  No, they did not like the creative way in which I executed my work and certainly didn't appreciate my design, or written, skills.  What a bunch of first class idiots! 

I recreated this sorry experience for my first novel, entitled 'The Reject's Club'; via the character of fashionista Elizabeth.

Here is the link:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rejects-Club-Elaine-Rockett/dp/1500563366

Here are the paperback and Kindle covers...

Back to the British Museum, and the reason I wanted to visit is that I wanted to look at the mummies and sarcophagi, after reading a novel set in Cairo.  The book is reviewed on here and is called Iris & Ruby, by Rosie Thomas.  Reading it made me want to take a cruise up the Nile and see the pyramids and a sphinx or two... bucket list!

The main entrance to the museum is really grandiose...

...and the entrance hall is spectacular...

You really have to hone in on what part you want to see, otherwise there is too much to take in.  This museum is huge.  Photography is allowed, but the Egyptology section was totally overrun with tourists, so it was almost impossible to read the accompanying text to any artefact and not easy to get decent shots.  But I tried!

Here is the mummy of Cleopatra, daughter of Candace.  No, not THE Cleo, but of the same family...

Here is her story, courtesy of the British Museum...  

A selection of sarcophagi...

Here is a BIG sarcophagus!

Here are some mummies...

Here are several miscellaneous artefacts...

Beautiful jewellery.  I love these but, then again, I would.  I own lots of costume jewellery and regard it in the same way as shoes- you can never have too much!

I'll complete this blog with a photograph of these two old birds.  I love, love, LOVE the way they do their eye make-up.  Again, I would- you can never have too much black eyeliner!

I'd like to pop back during a quieter period (i.e. NOT a Bank Holiday Saturday) but will leave it until after I've booked a trip to Egypt...

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM...

This was another weird and wonderful find, situated at numbers 12, 13 and 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, London.

Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was a neo-classical architect, responsible for such imposing buildings as the Bank of England and the Dulwich Picture Gallery, as well as remodelling his three houses and turning them into a co-joining, living museum.  He both resided and worked here, as well as using the space to display his significant and ever-growing collection of unusual artefacts.

Incidentally, he is buried- along with his wife, Elizabeth, and John, his eldest son- in the graveyard of St. Pancras Old Church, Camden, home to The Hardy Tree.  I have also blogged about this place. 

Here is the wondrous Hardy Tree...

Here is the Soane family tomb...

Back to the museum; and the collection is both bizarre and spectacular, including many busts, gargoyles and even the sarcophagus of Egyptian King, Seti I, who was thought to rule from around 1290 or 1294 to 1279 BC.

Before he died, Soane negotiated an Act of Parliament, which allowed his collection to be preserved in exactly the same way it had been displayed in his lifetime.

It was a lovely warm Saturday morning when I entered the museum at not long after 10am.  There was no queue, but several people milling around inside.
  We had to put our bags into plastic bags, to prevent any accidental knocking of the artefacts, which is fine by me. 
I also had to relinquish my drink to the entrance desk, to pick up on the way out, which is also okay.
But, photography was not allowed!  This really annoys me!  I can understand flash photography being banned, as it might irritate other visitors but COME ON, people like to record their days out.  I don't understand why some museums and attractions are so precious about this.

Here's the outside of the museum...

I would have loved to have bought a guidebook, as the items on show are not labelled- as per the instructions of Sir John Soane- but, crowded around the desk was a guide describing the house to two French tourists (I was quite impressed that my pidgin French was able to pick up what she was saying!)  Now, I'm all for bi/multilingual guides, but this bird was sooooo loud that I'm sure she could have been heard over in Paris!  As the volume was too high, I moved on, through the kitchen and on to the crypt.

Here are some PDFs of what I saw.  Statues and part-statues, urns and gargoyles abound...

This place was like a labyrinth with elements of halls of mirrors, and you kept walking back on yourself.  It is very important to look up and down, as all the levels are interlinked and you can get a different view of something you walked past five minutes ago.

Here is a fig leaf man...

Looking up from this point...

Whilst walking through this structured maze, I kept coming eyeball to eye hole with a skull on a shelf.  I wish I'd had the guidebook to look up who he/ she was, as I can find no details of the skull online and the way I kept ending up next to the skull was disconcerting, to say the least.

Here is the sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh, Seti I. 

I have to say, I perhaps rushed this section as some fat arsed, pot bellied cow (no, I wasn't looking in the mirror) behind me kept pulling snot through her pipe and sounded like she was about to hawk onto the floor.  As I didn't fancy catching pleurisy or tuberculosis I moved quickly on.

Here is Seti I, looking down from the next level...

The Monk's Parlour was freaky, with stained glass windows and gargoyles standing sentinel on the wall.  Here is the door to the room...

In the art gallery, which has moving planes (like cupboard doors lined with paintings- allowing more than one collection to be displayed at intervals) are works by one of my favourite artists, William Hogarth.  I always find his satirical depictions of the day highly amusing.  A Rake's Progress is a series of eight paintings telling the story of fictional Tom Rakewell.

 A Rakes Progress- The Orgy...

We moved upwards to the Breakfast Room, with mirrors on each corner and north/ south/ east/ west labelling...

Oh, how I would have loved to have been able to take my own photos- BIG grrrrrr!

To give you some idea of the nature of the museum, here are some gargoyles that I believe you can buy in their shop.  Handsome, aren't they?!  It looks like a rougues' gallery of my ex-boyfriends!

There are seven private rooms, all previously used by John Soane, on the top floor.  I wasn't allowed to go up there as they're only accessible via a tour.  To be fair, a tour was about to start and I really didn't feel like tagging along as, at the time, I didn't know how long the tour lasted, didn't know how much it cost and had already traversed the museum once.  Apparently they're an hour long, you have to book, no more than eight people can take part and you have to pay £12.50.  I can't comment upon whether it's value for money as I didn't do it.

BUT, here's a suggestion to the museum trustees- why not make entrance to the private rooms available to everyone for a small fee- say two or three quid?  As the entrance to the rest of the museum is free, I'm sure most visitors would be happy to pay, and therefore create a lot more revenue than that gained by the accompanied tours.

Here's a bit of what I didn't see; the Model Room, displaying miniatures of Soane's architectural works...

I have to say, I enjoyed my visit but am unsure whether to return and do the private tour.  We shall see.

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