Exams and Study Breaks

Salutations, Readers!

I've written my paper on women munitions workers during WWI, exams are through, and Fall Break has finally arrived, which means I have time to tell you about all the things I've been up to.  During our study period days (end of last week), I took a break and headed over to the Victoria and Albert Museum to cover more ground -- I'm telling you, it's a massive place!  It's no Windsor Castle, but hold your horses, I'll get to that ...

Without mentioning all the incredible exhibits at the V&A, the architecture of the place is amazing - facades, arching ceilings, ornate staircases, friezes and frescoes, etc.  Victoria and Albert were huge patrons of the Arts and Sciences.  Just have a look at this beautiful courtyard!

I had only planned on staying for an hour, but it turned into three hours when I discovered the jewelry exhibit on the second floor.  In a long, skinny room, there were rows and rows of fine jewelry from the 1500s to today.  Of course, I spent the most time in the Victorian and Art Deco eras.  There's not much say other than there were lots of sparkly items, none of which I was allowed to take pictures!  Sorry, guys, the Crown has a copyright on all the super cool stuff in this country!  I guess you'll just have to get yourselves here to see it.

I did get a picture of a really cool item in the Hall of Silver (I don't know if that's actually what they call it).  Pictured on the left is an award commissioned and presented by Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's hubby) to Sir Moses Montefiore for his philanthropic and humanitarian work.

It's exciting to come across Jewish history in a country with extremely deep and rich Christian roots.  Also in the Hall of Silver was a display of Torah rimonim (literally translated as "pomegranates" - the crowns that sit on top of the Torah when the Torah is fully dressed) made of silver, gold, and bronze.  Some of them dated back to the 16th century.  To put that into perspective, that was the era of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Remember how I said Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were big supporters of the Arts and Sciences?  Well, in the mid-19th century, Albert chaired the Great Exhibition of 1851, which celebrated innovations from all over the world (but mostly showcased England as the Industrial Giant that it was - not hard, when Victoria's reign spanned from Canada to Australia).  Long story short, Albert wisely invested the revenue made from the Great Exhibition of 1851 and it continues to fund scientific research and the Arts today.  It's part of the reason why so many museums in Britain have free admission!  Amazing .... I could go on and on about Victoria and Albert all day .....  they were the first modern Royal Family.

I hope you enjoyed!  Look out for an upcoming post about my visit to Windsor Castle!