Lot More Linnaeus on Monday, July 16!

On Monday morning, July 16, our class had a lecture and tour at the Museum of London. However, that was the only time that Linnean Society librarian Gina Douglas and deputy librarian Lynda Brooks (in photo above) had available for me to interview them for my main project. So Dr. Welsh and Miss Wright kindly let me opt out of the class plan, and fortunately Katrina and I had spent quite a bit of time at the Museum of London this past Christmas!

I spent several hours at the Linnean Library, and it was a very worthwhile day as I began to visualize the ''bones'' of my required long paper. Lynda also gave me a tour of the building and I saw the well-known portrait of Darwin, who first announced his theory of evolution at a Linnean Society meeting. (Best of all, Gina and Lynda invited me to meet them at the Natural History Museum the next afternoon, for a private tour of the not-for-the-public Linnean exhibit in the Natural History Museum Library's Rare Books Room.)

VIEWING 'THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD'

After interviewing the librarians, I popped across the doorway of the Linnean Society into one of the other ''learned societies'' at Burlington House -- The Geological Society of London. There, just for me, the receptionist unveiled ''The Map That Changed the World.'' Simon Winchester's best-selling book of the same name was on our class reading list. That's how I learned about William Smith's extraordinary 1815 map of 'England and Wales with part of Scotland.' While doing research, I found out that a full size replica is on display in the Dept. of Earth Sciences at the Univ. of New Hampshire, my alma mater! (Note to my old UNH roommate Andrea Held: I bet you didn't realize how important that map was while you worked in the Earth Sciences Library during the summer of 1977?!)

'GASLIGHT' AT THE OLD VIC ON MONDAY NIGHT

Monday evening, several of my classmates and I walked to the legendary Old Vic Theatre just a short distance from our dorm. We were thrilled to get last-minute tickets to 'Gaslight'! I've been following Kevin Spacey's tenure these past few years as the Old Vic's artistic director, and am rooting for his success. If Monday night's performance is any indication, he is on the right track! 'Gaslight' is a Victorian thriller and the program says it was first staged in 1938, and won Ingrid Bergman an Oscar for her role in the film version. This production starts Rosamund Pike and she was terrific.

He Doesn't Care What I'm Wearing

BITTERSWEET EVENING

Sunday, July 15, was a ''catch-up'' day, as I first did laundry at our dorm. In the afternoon, I went to the Natural History Museum, hoping to see ''gallery character'' Linnaeus explaining ''how he developed a brilliant idea for naming all living things,'' according to a museum brochure. Unfortunately, I missed him by half an hour and won't be here when he's on view again. I then traveled to the Finchley Road tube to walk around leafy, luxurious Hampstead in northwest London. It was a bittersweet evening because I went to the Hampstead Campus of King's College on Kidderpore Avenue, where Ceci (my late sister) lived during her Tufts University London Abroad program from January to May 1988. At that time it was called Westfield College; about 15 years ago it was taken over by King's College.

ANTONY GORMLEY AND ME ON WATERLOO BRIDGE

Any time is always a fascinating time to be in London, but it seems like the summer of 2007 is an unusually interesting and exciting time! Since early May, a total of 31 life-size casts of and by British sculptor Antony Gormley have been set up on London rooftops and walkways! They are part of his latest work, ''Event Horizon.'' According to information from the Hayward Gallery on the South Bank, the sculptures ''all look towards the gallery,'' where there is also an exhibition of Gormley's work, ''Blind Light,'' on view until Aug. 19. (Apparently when they first were set up, London police received many phone calls from panicked citizens thinking they saw people about to commit suicide.) My friends have taken these photos of me and Antony a few different times when I have been ''walking by him'' (actually, one of his 31 selves) on Waterloo Bridge!

Saturday Afternoon, July 14, at Canterbury

Magnificent Canterbury Cathedral was our tour bus destination on Saturday afternoon! Pamphlets note it is ''the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury'' (even though he actually lives in London). Of course it is also infamous because it is where archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.

WHY IT NOW HAS TO CHARGE ADMISSION

The additional information that the brochures explain is that it costs £12,000 a day to run the cathedral (more than $24,000 in U.S. dollars at the abysmal exchange rate we have right now!) Because the cathedral ''receives minimal external funding,'' it is now charging admission to enter to look around (not to worship). In addition, it currently has a £50 million campaign under way to raise funds to ''conserve the fabric of the cathedral,'' ''support the music'' and ''develop the experience.'' My £5 student fee will be a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps. (Apparently, when the cathedral tried to just ''suggest'' admission, it averaged only about 12 pence per person!!!)

CHAUCER ON MY MIND

After touring the cathedral, I walked out the back past the library (it was closed at the time) and then saw two picture-perfect wedding receptions under way on the grounds. The cathedral lawns sort of morph into the grounds of King's College, one of the oldest schools in the world. I also loved walking around the surrounding streets of the ancient town, passing through the beautiful arch (photo at left) and thinking of Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales. (Edie and Mary are in the photo at right.)

Saturday Morning, July 14, at Dover Castle

A CASTLE BY THE SEA

My good luck continued and a seat became available at the last minute for the Saturday, July 14, bus trip to Dover and Canterbury. Even though I've been to London many times, I'm finally seeing several places I had never visited. Now I can check off that I've seen the white cliffs of Dover and its ancient castle! There was a lot of climbing involved on this trip, but the views (not quite to France) were worth it! (Glad we didn't get lost in the medieval tunnels, too!) A falconry show was going on but when I got to the tent, the birds were still inside. It is a great place for a family outing, and there were darling children all over the place. (A photo above shows Edie and Mary with the English Channel behind them, and Mary in one of the tunnels.)

Little Bit More Linnaeus!

On the afternoon of Friday, July, 13, after our tour of Parliament, Edie Daniel (a classmate from Oklahoma) and I tried to visit Westminster Abbey but the last tour had closed 15 minutes earlier. On a whim, we went to Piccadilly to find Burlington House, which is the home of the Linnean Society. (It also houses the Royal Academy of Arts, and four other ''learned societies.'')

It was my good fortune that the Linnean Society was open until 6 p.m. Librarian and archivist Gina Douglas and Deputy Librarian Lynda Brooks invited me and Edie to look around! (I also set up my interview with them for Monday morning, July 16. That was the best time for both of them, although I will have to miss our class trip to the Museum of London.)

A STEP BACK TO THE FUTURE

Burlington House is a Palladian mansion and entering the library seemed to take us back in time! Yet right away, Edie noticed the library's innovative serials table. It has an accompanying drawing that shows where to find current journals on the table. For example, Australian ones go in a certain place, etc... We also played around a bit with the library's computer, but I will find out a lot more information on Monday!

Fun on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th of July was a lucky day, actually, because our class had a guided tour inside Parliament! It is also known as the Palace of Westminster, and the Queen is allowed to visit only once a year (usually in November) to give her speech. All of the myriad facts and figures swimming around in my head about Parliament were regaled in full detail by our elderly guide, Gerald Burke, who had been for many years a sergeant-at-arms in Parliament. We toured the House of Commons (part of which was bombed in WWII) and the House of Lords. In The Members' Lobby, there are statues of many ex-Prime Ministers. A recent addition is Maggie Thatcher and Mr. Burke told us that at the unveiling, she joked that she didn't like it because it wasn't made of iron!

ABOLITION EXHIBIT IN WESTMINSTER HALL

After our tour, I toured a temporary exhibit in huge Westminster Hall, which was built in 1097 and is the oldest part of the palace. The free exhibit, which runs through Sept. 23, is ''The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament, and People.'' It marks the ''1807-2007 Bicentenary of the British Parliamentary Aboliton of the Slave Trade.'' A pamphlet notes that the exhibit ''examines the pressures and voices both at home and abroad which influenced Parliament, and eventually led to the passing of the Act to abolish Britain's slave trade in 1807.''

There is a disturbing section at the end of the exhibit on modern-day slavery. It made me think of my friend Nola Theiss, the former mayor of my hometown of Sanibel Island, and other women on Sanibel and in Southwest Florida. They are working tirelessly to help eradicate human trafficking, a horror not unknown to Florida even in this millenium.

Seaman Schepps Exhibit in Somerset House

As soon as I got to London, I was thrilled to see posters all over announcing that the New York Museum of Arts & Design now has its acclaimed exhibit about jeweler Seaman Schepps in the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House, through Aug. 27. I am so glad I went to see it on Thursday afternoon, July 12, after our tour of the British Library. As Schepps' daughter Patricia Vaill says, ''Daddy's jewelry was something outrageous''!

I just adore his stuff because he uses ''an astonishing diversity of materials such as seashells, exotic woods, and rock crystal.'' Some of the pieces on view had been made for

the Duchess of Windsor, Doris Duke, Miss America Jinx

Falkenberg, and publisher Alfred A. Knopf's wife, to name

just a few of Schepps' high-profile society clients.

Afterward, I toured the main part of the Gilbert Collection.

There are more than 800 pieces of art, including exquisite micromosaics, all donated by Sir Arthur Gilbert before his death in 2001. Gilbert had been born in London and made his fortune in California real estate.