Cyber Ethiopia

Last week we started our visit to London – this week we conclude the tour. British Museum The British Museum is a most wonderful find. Apparently other people go there too, judging by the crowds. There is no admission charge, although the modest sum of GBP2 as a donation is suggested (give more for goodness sake!). The standing exhibits are wonderful, particularly the large Assyrian and Greek collections, looted when countries were powerless against the might of the British. The result is a fabulous collection, much more accessible than if it were in the Syrian wilderness, and likely to be justifiably returned at some point to its’ rightful geography. The old British Library in the centre of the museum has now been preserved in the middle of

a massive dome added recently to the museum. The construction seemed to go on forever, with the boards surrounding the central court an unsightly intrusion into the wonders of the museum. Now that it’s finished, the disruption seems well worth the result. Unlike the disastrous Millenium Dome in London, which was a huge waste of public money, the improvements on the British Museum are grand and expensive, but extremely successful. It is as marvellous as the Millenium Dome is pathetic. I suppose it is nice to know that Tony Blairs’ Britain is capable of both! The Dome is a large high ceilinged open space with metal framework held roof. The large circular room in the middle is the old reading room of the British Library, maintained intact but built around with the large circular structure underneath the high dome. While the bulk of the expanding collection of the British Museum is now housed in the separated British Library not too far away, enough books have been retained for this to be an active reading room still. There don’t seem to be many customers for reading, the large number of visitors wandering in, and the restaurant on the outside terrace 40 feet up with diners gawking down, would be enough to discourage my reading concentration. This most British of all institutions was designed by an Italian, Antonio Panizzi, who was also the first chief librarian. Amongst the most famous reader here was Karl Marx, who visited almost daily during his 30 years of exile in Britain. Many other revolutionaries also devoured the resources of the British Museum, up to Trotsky himself, as well as the more predictable English men of letters (and a few women who used the two benches set aside for them!). It is reconstructed as it would have been when freshly painted in 1857. The African Display A new special treat in the British Museum is the Sainsburys’ African Galleries. The care with which the collection is displayed no doubt reflects the same thoughtfulness which Sainsburys sets out the groceries in their large chain of stores. The exhibit starts with fantasy coffins from Ghana, which are designed in various wonderful shapes – including a bird, an elephant, a gun, and a white limousine with license plate RIP 2000. The main exhibit has disappointingly little from Ethiopia – some cloth, a shield, a warriors lions mane cloak, a bit of jewelry. Although this reflects a bit of neglect of the oldest and best preserved civilization of Sub Saharan Africa, it is nice to sample the wealth and depth of African culture. Although costumes and spears are part of the exhibit, it does not end there. There are some novelties, including full size costumes of ‘masquerade’, elaborate W. African dancers as butchers and maidens. I was glad to see the artist John Mafuangejo highlighted, a Namibian artist who died in 1987, one year before I first visited Namibia (where we lived from 1992-97). I always loved his black and white woodcarving prints. The highlight of the exhibit however is the large collection of Benin bronzes. This reminds us that W. Africa also had a thriving civilization long before the Europeans arrived in the 15th century. These elaborate castings include marvelous faces, animals and an entire wall which graced the capital of Benin before being raided by Europeans. These endless figures of soldiers, kings and queens are wonderfully evocative of the civilization they lived in. Other Sites of London It would be presumptuous to try to describe all, or even a fraction of the sites of London. There are a huge number of museums and art galleries. On each trip to London I try to pick another one to visit. Westminster Parliamentary buildings, and Westminster Cathedral are must sees, and the recent addition of the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel next to the Thames River which is always crowded, are must sees. My other objective each trip is to discover another walk to take. The South side of the Thames River from Vauxhall Bridge to the Tower Bridge is one of my favourites. Apart from the fetching views along the river bank, you can pass (and stop in at), the reconstructed Rose Theatre of Shakespeare fame, the New Tate Gallery, or the jailhouse in the Tower of London. Short train rides can take you to many surrounding sites, such as Windsor Castle and Hampton House, the favourite haunt of King Henry VIIIth. During the summer months you can substitute a boat ride for the train, which is an even better alternative. One other pleasure I indulge myself with in London (apart from a pint of ‘bitter’ in one of the innumerable British pubs), is a visit to the British Library. The new British Library is a huge and impressive place, filled with hundreds of thousands of books and manuscripts. Casual visitors are not encouraged, you need to go through a vetting process to get a reading card. I was very pleased to receive one. The process represents the best of British bureaucracy – it looks like it will be difficult and tedious but it is remarkably friendly and efficient. Within a few minutes one of the processing clerks had approved my reading card, taken a photo, and issued a plastic reading card. I use the card to visit the Ethiopian section of the British Library, which has a wonderful collection (although some of it was rather ungraciously looted by the British at Makdella).