Day 2 - Musuem, Show and Ripper Walking Tour

With our jet lag and late night out on our first day, we slept in a bit.  We eventually started moving and David, Delaney and I decided to visit the Victoria and Albert extension that was not too far from us.  The gigantic warehouse is located in the 2012 London Olympic park grounds and houses all of the items that are not on exhibit at the V & A in central London: 250,000 objects, 350,000 books, and 1,000 collections. A small portion of these are on exhibit within the warehouse.  They are 'curated' and have digital tags/signage, but the way they are group together feels very random - Beautiful teak inlaid desks next to plastic molded patio furniture from the 1970s.  In not sure of the intended effect, but it's rather jarring.   It didn't take too many pictures, it was pretty overwhelming.  I just enjoyed wandering around and looking.

3 stories you could walk on and view of a fourth floor below. 

It's a working museum space with active conservation and study taking place.  We were there on a weekend, so we only saw one person working on some clothing.  I would have really enjoyed watching more of them at work and learning more about the preservation efforts.  There was an interesting display that talked about whether the museum chooses to let things degrade naturally or takes steps to preserve it exactly as it is.  Each choice has advantages and disadvantages. 

I really enjoyed stopping to talk with several of the employees to ask about the work done there and how this was essentially a 'pre-exhibit' exhibit.  One guy talked about how some of the curators (the ones who do the research and write the 80 words about each object) were uncomfortable "letting so many of the objects speak for themselves", instead of labeling all of them meticulously and providing context for the visitors viewing the objects.  I had never given much thought to the meta-perspective on museum design, although I've always appreciated exhibits with just the right balance of background and narrative to make the displays meaningful but not over-the-top. 

I first went up to the top floor because the wooden exhibit caught my eye. I thought it was a boat hull or something.  When I got up there, I realized it was the exterior of a fancy ceiling (see below) that could be viewed from the floor below. 

One of the other displays that I spent a lot of time with was a video collection of a block-long public housing complex that had been demolished a few years ago.  It showed apartment after apartment and the different decor of the residents (very diverse ethnically).  It was kind of mesmerizing. 

The only other photo I got was of this hat from an Italian opera (I don't remember which one).  It was huge! (you can see the person's head at the bottom). It had a shark (on the left) and small boats sailing around the Sydney opera house). 

The V & A was also along a different canal (this one had more algae). You can see parts of the Olympic park on the horizon.

Some really cute apartments along the canal. 

This building was originally the Public Baths (sign at the top). With entrances for men and women.

I appreciated seeing the bee-friendly spaces along the canal.  There was a sign about helping pollinators.

I was worried we wouldn't get to see Six because I accidentally purchased tickets from a 3rd party vendor, but they came through and we got to see the show.  It was so much fun!  I had to listen really hard to catch the lyrics/dialogue and I know I missed some good lines, but we had some good laughs. 

They also did a finale and invited the audience to take pictures/video.  I don't know if this is a new trend in the theatre or what, but it definitely had its appeal. 

Fish and chips dinner and then a Jack the Ripper walking tour in Whitechapel. 

Our guide was an apparent researcher, with two published books (one on Jack the Ripper and one on active shooting incidents in the US).  When he heard we were from Wichita KS, he immediately noted BTK and then said the first mass shooting incident in the US was in Winfield KS in 1903.  I'm not sure how he defines active shooting when there was the Wild West...

I didn't take too many pictures along the walk.  I'm not a Ripper fan and wasn't familiar with the string of murders attributed to him, so the various places and victims didn't mean a lot to me.  Our guide was a good storyteller, however, and gave the gruesome details for those who wanted to know. 

I liked this wall art near the end of the tour.  It reminded me of a Banksy, but I don't think it was. 

Had to laugh about this.  There were tons of walking tours going through the neighborhood that evening.  So many guides in 'the business'.