MISS ELAINEOUS CROSSES THE PLESSEY BRIDGE...

This wasn't a visit as such, as it was only a walk over a bridge!

Footbridge 151, known locally as the Plessey Bridge, is an iron footbridge which connects Ley Street with High Road, in Ilford, Essex.
It's local to me and it wasn't the first time I've had a nosey across it.

This is the approach from Jaffe Road, just off Ley Street.  The obligatory wino was standing drinking his Special Brew at the top of the stairs...

Crossrail trains as I gawped through the iron grill section, right at the part where the stairs meet the bridge... 

View down the length of the footbridge.

Ilford suffered a large amount bombing during World War II; the target of the Luftwaffe being the Plessey electronics factory, where equipment vital to the war effort was being manufactured.  

German pilots frequently unleashed streams of machine gun fire, in an effort to interrupt the supply lines.  They were unaware that the factory had already been moved underground to a stretch of the Tube between Leytonstone and Gants Hill.

Apparently the Plessey underground factory was so large that foremen were issued bicycles to get from one end of the factory to the other!

View through a hole, a scar left over from one of these attacks and considered to be a vital part of local history.  There are more at a lower level, but I didn't nosey around looking for them, preferring an easy day taking photographs at eye level.  Plus, by this stage I was not alone on the bridge, and had to consider my own health and safety.  

This is my favourite 'through the hole' photo, taken from my previous visit in 2017 where you can clearly see the brand new Crossrail trains.

 Sticking my camera right into the hole, and I was surprised at how big this junction was, and at the amount of working lines, as Ilford Station has only four platforms plus one siding...

The way down onto Ley Street..  There is local concern that the history of the area might be swept away by modernisation, but there's no sigh of that happening yet.

View from the ground.  Apparently the Luftwaffe never did get to know about the existence of the underground factory...

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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LOVE AND OTHER INFIDELITIES by HELEN TOWNSEND

LOVE AND OTHER INFIDELITIES

BY HELEN TOWNSEND

THE BLURB:-

How many does it take to make a marriage? And how many does it take to destroy it?

The Husband

She was the boss's daughter- but I wanted her. I didn't know Susan would have a checklist for married life: the house, the garden, the kids, the schools...

The Wife

I hadn't wanted a boring life. That's why I chose Martin. But once we had the kids other things became important- like knowing if he would come home at night.

The Other Woman

With Martin and me it was more than just sex. We felt the same about life, freedom and fun. But then my biological clock started ticking.

The Other Man

I ought to be preaching about patience and forgiveness. But I've been in love with Susan for years, and even a man of God has his temptations...

THE REALITY:-

This was a slow burner for me- despite being on lockdown, ahead with my MA work and with many-a-chance to read this, it didn't motivate me enough to want to pick it up every second of every day. Criticisms for this book seem to centre on each character sounding like the same voice, but I didn't feel that at all, and certainly picked up on everyone's personality. I think the journal style of first person writing- whilst being clearly labelled, with each section clearly defined by the character's name- did make it seem rather like a memo than a collection of feelings.

Having said that, it was a good study of life and times in Sydney, and of relationships themselves. I couldn't warm to Susan (the wronged wife) but did have a modicum of sympathy for her, as she appeared to be a woman who became totally absorbed and overshadowed by her role as a working mother. Martin, her husband seemed reluctant to grow up (he's the one I could most associate with!) and I enjoyed the way his kookaburra ornament became a symbol of all that was wrong in the marriage. Phil, the other man, is a man of the cloth and, as someone who's putting a vicar into her next novel as a main character, it was good for me to interpret him from a research point of view- but I would have liked for his relationship with Susan to actually have become physical! He ends up with (spoiler alert) Mary, another character I liked and could relate to.

This good study in human relationships read like a soap opera, which wasn't a bad thing, and kept the pace galloping along, but the work didn't touch me at all. That is, apart from in one way: Susan and Martin's son, Josh, listens to his parents disagreements from a cupboard on the landing, which he christens 'the hearing cupboard.' I liked this personal touch and it gave a good idea of what goes on from the perspective of the kids.

An okay read, but nothing enthralling.

MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS THE PETRIE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY...

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is part of University College London, and contains over 80,000 Egyptian and Sudanese artefacts.  Established as a teaching resource in 1892, with the initial collection donated by novelist, journalist and traveller Amelia Edwards (1831-1892), professor and Egyptologist Sir William Matthews Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) conducted many excavations and sold his collection to University College in 1913.  Initially a resource for students and academics, it has been open to the general public, in its current location, since 2018.
It was a baking hot July day when we ventured into central London, and this was the third- and final- museum which we visited in the vicinity that day.  It wasn't easy to find, and we ended up taking an unscheduled tour through the university.  Still, I ended up finding where the Slade School of Fine Art was situated (it's part of this building)- I once studied on an art foundation course, often heard it mentioned and was always curious as to where it was, exactly!

Here is the entrance point into the impressive courtyard.

The museum is split into three galleries, with this part containing many of the small artefacts.  It's a very traditional, working environment- no gimmicks, no light shows and just interesting items to see.  I have to say, I loved it!

Wall of jewellery.  There were lots of necklaces...

You could be forgiven for thinking you were in Claire's Accessories...😁

Old beads...

More beading and dangly bits...

These looks like bracelets.  It's hard to read the writing (many of the accompanying cards are handwritten).

Bead making kit, including obsidian...

Clay remnants...

Tablets...

Copper mirror...

These are copper measuring implements...

This is labelled 'Limestone dwarf bearing a lamp'.  I would have mistaken it for a fertility symbol, with the big breasts and belly depicting a pregnant lady...

He looks quite fierce and it looks like the inscription simply says 'striped limestone head'...

Sculptor's model of a female face...

I've always said that I like the way these birds did their eye make-up.  I would...😉

I like the duality of textures in the finish of this amphora...


More amphora...

This sphinx looks like he's trying to lift a meaty paw for you to shake...

Could this be a plaster depiction of a king?

I love this, and think she's some kind of container, as the one arm she has forms a handle, and the other may have broken off (as opposed to her supposed to being like this).  I cannot read the inscription on the card, as light has bounced straight off it.  Hot damn!  Oh well, there's my excuse to go back sorted...

I seem to have taken a lot of amphorae photos...

I love the conjoined twin amphora...

...Even more!  I like the cuteness of these, and they were mainly used for storing wine, so perhaps that's why they appeal to me...😉

Wonky amphorae...

These panels would have covered the face of a mummy...

They date from the time when Romans had control over Egypt- 30 BC till c.640 AD.

You can't have an Egyptian museum without the inclusion of a mummy or two.  These were found in the second gallery, which actually consists mainly of pottery.

Of course, I had to find the shoe cabinet...😁

These photos are not excellent- I believe a flash was allowed, but they tend to offer up a reflective glare.  I like these gloved-finger style of shoes... 

Dean described this as him with a hangover...😁

The Egyptians believed that they had to do manual labour in the afterlife, just as they had to in real life.  These shabtis are small figures which were placed in the tomb, to miraculously do this work for the deceased!  They were mass-produced.

These mini-mummies look like they're shabtis...

Gilt-faced mask and a reflected Vain Old Tart.

I believe this (along with the conserved dress, below) were in the third section of the gallery, which is heading towards the stairwell and exit...

This conserved dress (which looks more like a top) was excavated at Tarkhan, one of the most important Egyptian cemeteries from the time the country was unified (it had previously been classed as Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt), around 3000 BC.  The dress was found in a pile of linen taken from a c.2800 BC tomb.  It's one of the oldest Egyptian dresses in the world, and a pattern and instructions for making a copy can be downloaded.

Ancient Egyptian linen dresses...

This bead net dress was excavated in 1923-24 and reconstructed in 1994-95.  It may have been worn for dancing c.2400 BC, and was thought to fit a girl of 12 and be worn naked.  The hem would have made the dress rattle as the girl jigged around!

This is a pot burial of an adult female...

This is a dancing girl cosmetic spoon (also known as a toilet spoon), and would have been used for storing or mixing perfumes or minerals for make-up.  They were high status objects.

This is an 'ankh' (the hieroglyphic symbol for life) and is Sudanese.

These are rat traps...

What an enjoyable little place, and a delight for any scholar of Egyptology.  I look forward to the day when I will be returning.

T.T.F.N.

The Miss Elaineous

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