To the Dunes...

Hello my friends.....I had to accompany the typist to the Netherlands this week....this is not the first time I have done this and we have a bit of a routine....

.....an early lunch at the train station to get us onto European time....we find it helps to start thinking in the new time zone as soon as possible....

.....no boring photos of the Eurostar this time my friends....we've all seen those before....here I am in Brussels...but where is the train?

.....eeek! ...its late......and that wasn't the worst of it....we got half way to Amsterdam and then the train stopped because a train had broken down on the tracks ahead of us......we had to collect all of the passengers from the first train onto our train because their train was completely broken...we ended up being two hours late getting to Amsterdam and almost missed our dinner!!....we regretted that early lunch.....

.....but at least we got to see the sun going down over the greenhouses.....

....we were not staying in Amsterdam...no, we went to a place by the sea for a special meeting......the room seems suitably comfortable....and I appear to have a bed of my own for once....

.....there is the sea!...and the beach too.....

....a comfy chair is always nice for whiling away the time when TT is in his meetings......

.....I am counting the stuff in the mini-bar to make sure he hasn't been spending pocket money he should have saved for something more useful....oh look! ...chocolate....

.....I had my own dressing room...a dog likes to keep his fur smart.......

...I wonder if they could cope with mo-hair?.....

....I opted to groom myself after all.....its rather smart here and I want to look my best....apparently President Obama stayed here last week....he has left it nice and tidy for me....

....the hotel is built in the sand dunes....here I am in the dunes...they appear to be mostly grass......

.....I did get to enjoy some time mooching on the beach whilst typist did some work.....but I don't like to get too much sand in my furs....

.....there is always room service to liven up a dully day......

.....I ordered a club sandwich and chips!.....

...and took the odd nap......

...oh tsk tsk....we need not have taken the train after all....I could have flown us here in my helicopter.....

....I know Mr Obama is a brainy chap...he appears to have left his chess set for me to play with.....

...hmmm....too windy for the helicopter after all......

....the hotel had left some helpful instructions for me by the beach....but it was all in Dutch.....

....hopefully the work is going Ok back there...he tells me its important stuff....

...*sigh*...but before you know it we are back at the train station and coming home....what a blur....was it really just two days?....

They Came From the North.......

Hello my friends.....a few weeks ago I noticed that two of my very oldest pals on Twitter were sporting some rather fetching hats...

....ITS @SADIEPETUNIA.....a Viking maiden....flaxen-furred and sweet of face....

...and @SIRBARLEY.....a Viking Warrior....be-horned and fierce....

...and that reminded me that I ad seen that there was to be a big exhibition about THE VIKINGS at the British Museum in London....I tried to go and see it last week but its been so popular that it was necessary to book tickets.....

.....so me and the Typist got a ticket and this morning I set off with him for London....can you see that the train is quite empty...its nice that he can get a seat on his way to work every day and does not have to stand up...he's getting very old you know....

.....here I am at the British Museum....it's a very grand old building right in the heart of London....there were lots of people there...lots of children on school visits.....

.....there was avery large poster advertising the exhibition outside...it was a very dramatic poster featuring a HUGE sword...but the silly Typist did not realise that he had caught that boy standing right in front of it....

....inside, the Museum is very famous for its fancy courtyard with its dramatic ceiling....

 ....this is what the Museum had to tell me about the Vikings: "The Viking Age (800–1050) was a period of major change across Europe. The Vikings expanded from their Scandinavian homelands to create an international network connecting cultures over four continents, where artistic, religious and political ideas met.   The Vikings’ skill in shipbuilding and seafaring was central to their culture and achievements, and at the heart of the exhibition will be a 37-metre-long warship. Found in 1997, and dating to around 1025, it is the longest Viking ship ever discovered. Many other new discoveries, including part of a mass grave of Viking warriors, will be on display for the first time showing how our understanding of the Vikings is still being changed by new excavations and recent research.

The exhibition will also present personal objects, including jewellery, amulets and idols, which help to reveal more about how the Vikings saw themselves and their world. Exquisite objects, including the magnificent Vale of York Hoard, demonstrate the global reach of the Viking network of trade, plunder and power – a network that left a lasting legacy in countries from Ireland and the UK to Russia and Ukraine.Enter a world of warriors, seafarers and conquerors to discover the many fascinating aspects of a history that is both strangely alien yet remarkably familiar.".....

....in the lobby of the Sainsbury Wing they had some Scandinavian scenes to set the tone....this is a herd of reindeer...but then OH NO...the guard told us were were not permitted to take photos once we got into the exhibition....BOOOOO....and also OH DEAR.....

.....but not be deterred I have re-created some of the exhibits for you here.....*curtain rises on The Clapton Lectures*..... this is some very fine gold jewellery....I think it was all one piece and worn by someone very important....

....a very rich Viking would have lots of treasures....I could be King Clapton. Lord of the North......behold my...er...coins and wotnot....

.....and here is one of the very sharp looking swords that the Viking warriors were so fond of....

.....but they also enjoyed some peaceful pursuits....these figures are part of a very famous chess set from Lewes...the man told me it is one of the most valuable exhibits in the whole museum....

...the centrepiece of the Exhibition is part of a huge old Viking warship....they have rescued about half of it and its sits within a metal frame so you can tell what it is and where the bits would have been....

....it would have looked something like this in real life....

....there was actually a smaller version of the boat sitting in the gardens outside the Museum....the sigh says HMS Clapton...at least I think it does...

.....although we were not allowed to use a camera in the Exhibition, I was at least able to meet and greet a few real Vikings when we came out....

....its no wonder he looks cross...I've invaded!.....

...I am sorry there was not more first-hand reportage....here is a little movie about the exhibit that the nice people at the Museum have put together....



...and you can see lots about it all on the British Museum's website HERE....

Thanks for visiting....woof, Claptionia Jones....

p.s. Typist thinks I look like a bit of a Viking with my wild fur.....how rude.....and @sirbarley says he thinks the Vikings were the ancestors of the terriers as they like food and making lots of noise....BOL!