Tower of London, boy oh boy. So we started at the Crown Jewels exhibit, and I got a funny video with one of those guards. I don’t know how they stand so still, or what happens when they need to pee.
Anyways, going through the Crown Jewels, a few things stood out to me. First was Princess Alice’s coronation dress. Wowza, that was the most beautiful beading I’ve ever seen on a dress. I did tear up a little. The other primary thing that I noticed was the importance of thread work at the time when it came to fabric design and clothing. Usually, when a design was sewn into a tabard or banner, a meticulous border of gold lace was around it. I noticed a lot of imagery of animals such as lions and unicorns. Unicorns aren’t real, though. Idiots.
My favorite exhibit was the Wild Beasts exhibit. This went over the culture of keeping exotic animals as pets among the royal community. Apparently, they accidentally killed an ostrich by feeding it metal because they believed ostriches ate lead. Ostriches don’t eat lead, though. Idiots.
Also, many famous people were once imprisoned there, including Anne Boleyn. It was probably over something silly, but I didn’t know her personally, so I can’t speak to her character. I do know that she was one of the wives of Henry VIII and was beheaded after her imprisonment. She was beheaded due to false charges of treason after she failed to produce a male heir. Also, Henry was making eyes at Jane Seymore. Yeesh!
Overall, my highlights of the day were the detailing of fabrics and banquet dishes in the Crown Jewels, the architecture of the doors, and the ravens walking around. What are you doing walking around, dude? You’re a bird.
Ok bye.
-Lucy
Theatre in London U of A 