I hadn't been to a museum yet and I was starting to feel the itch. I chose the Imperial War Museum. Who doesn't like a good war museum now and then?
The museum is housed in the old building of the infamous
Bethlem Royal Hospital. It was the definition of a madhouse, and the short version of its name, bedlam, came to mean mass panic and confusion.
The museum was great, but it was also very large. I probably made a mistake trying to see everything in chronological order, because I was more interested in the museum's treatment of modern wars but I was pretty beat by the time I finished WWII.
Funny little carrier pigeon delivery system.
There was a cool
Trench Experience where visitors can maneuver around through some dark trenches and listen to British mannequins talk about the war. Spooky stuff.
View brixton in a larger map
From the museum I headed over to
Brixton. I was especially interested in the market there.
Brixton is the unofficial capital of the British African-Caribbean community. My guidebook pointed out a couple of song references to Brixton that I found interesting. One was "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash.
The song is a response to the heavy handed force used by police in the area. It was released about a year and a half before the first
Brixton Riot. I thought this was really cool, because I've been listening to the Clash for years, and especially liked this song, but I had no idea what its lyrics meant.
The other song mentioned was "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant. The actual Electric Avenue was called such because it was the first street in the UK to be lit with electricity.
I could post the music video, but where's the fun in that? Here's the opening scene to Pineapple Express.
The markets were really cool, though I didn't feel the need to buy anything. Lots of Caribbean accents floated through the stalls selling fresh produce and meats.
Here's a shot of Mike's apartment.
This is probably my favorite place in his neighborhood. Everywhere there are kebabs, food advertised as Halal, and foreign tongues and dress. No one told the owners of this old school pub, though.
FYI: Bethlem Royal Hospital still exists and used to be called Bedlam Royal, which is where the term came from.
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming