The British Museum and Chelsea FC

So, to start, a photo set of discarded Christmas trees in central London. Very appropriate.

We had a quick tour of the British Museum today, which was really incredible. The Egyptian wing was my favourite, since I've always been interested in Egyptian history. The highlight was definitely the Rosetta Stone, which was not exactly what I imagined, even though I saw it in pictures. The text is very uniform (and tiny), yet the script is still legible from a distance. But I wonder: since the top left hand corner of the stone is gone, how would the Greek in the bottom provide clues to the hieroglyphic and demotic text at the top if there is no reference from the missing text? Now I'm thinking about textual theory. Great.

The museum is great, though. It's free to go inside, the architecture is impressive and the collection would have kept me there for the rest of the day if we didn't have plans. If I come back to London, then I will make a return trip to the museum.

I love visiting museums (especially when they're free) whenever I come to a new city. Museums, like libraries, can give you sense of the local public consciousness, like how groups view themselves and their world, and how they fit into the world. By displaying certain artifacts, and how the accompanying explanation contextualizes the artifact in history, the narratives that make up history are semi-permanently cemented into the public.

Oh, and because Norse (read: Viking) aesthetics and history is interesting, I took some shots of weapons and jewellery I came across during my visit:

We got the tickets to see our first football match. We are very excited and very nervous at the same time. I really don't want to be beaten by a 300 pound Wigan fan in an over sized team jersey caked with gravy and spittle.