Yesterday whirled by in the British Library. I was able to get my Reader's Pass renewed (yippee), so I shall base myself in there two or three days a week. That done, off I went on a guided tour of their 'Magnificent Maps' exhibition, whose basic premise is that maps were only hijacked by geography in recent centuries; they were wielded to denote power and disseminate propoganda.Fab, eclectic choice of maps, well laid out, and the curator kept us joining the dots across centuries. The medieval world maps are a personal favourite, featuring the known world, stretching across to the Garden of Eden and filled with all the wonderful creatures that populate faroff oceans and lands (such as the upsidedowney Mandrake Man, left).
Leaving the BL and returning to regular city street traffic was a jolt: I'm still adjusting to the sheer number of people here, and the different etiquette of interaction.
The kitties however, are in seventh heaven. Koi carp to play with, oodles of buzzing flying creatures to chase through the garden, myriad places to lounge. They're living in their own map of wonders.
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