Marching Into Museums: Victoria and Albert and the Fascinating Postal Museum

Monday, August 12, 2019
London

Marching Into Museums: Victoria and Albert and the Fascinating Postal Museum

     Hiya from London!
      So the days are marching on and given my resolution of seeing something new each time I arrive in this city (while still squeezing in visits to those places I most adore), I set out to do just that. I still wake up to trains and planes at about 6.30 am...but I stay in bed and blog or read or take a look at Twitter.
     When I heard Roz below, I knew that she was getting ready for work. She had already dropped Christie to Chatham Juncton from where he takes the train to Gatwick for his flight to India. She carried her breakfast to work and after a shower left the house; while I sat down and had a more leisurely breakfast of Sainsburys muesli with yogurt and coffee while watching the BBC Breakfast Show. A little later, I showered myself, got dressed and left. Meeting Roz’s sister, Sarah, at dinner last night, she had told me not to miss the Christian Dior exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She said that the queues were unbelievable but if I went early enough, I was likely to get a ticket. She hyped the show up so much and because the V and A is really a place I never miss on every visit to London, I was happy to take her advice.

Off to the Victoria and Albert Museum:
     So in a bus I went (345) to South Kensington from where I walked briskly for just five minutes to the entrance of the V and A. To my great disappointment, I found the line for day tickets to be long (there were at least 150 people there) and wait time would be at least an hour. Now I did not have the luxury of that kind of time to waste on this visit. So I decided to drop the idea and go and see my favorite sections of the Museum. These were the Jewelry Gallery which I absolutely adore and within this gallery I have my favorite pieces such as the 18th century silver chatelaine as well as the Rene Lalique section and the ones that feature diamond-encrusted hair ornaments and something called a ‘stomacher’. I have no idea how (or where) this is worn; but the piece is so stunning that I simply cannot drag my eyes away.
     Other favorite sections that I never miss when I am here are the Proctor and Gamble Dining rooms (which are now the cafe rooms of the Museum). The ceramic work on the walls and the ceiling is so unusual that I cannot stop photographing it. I also take pictures of the lavish ceramic staircase. I never leave this Museum without strolling through the Cast Courts that are filled with plaster casts of some of the world’s most famous sculptures as well as the actual Sculpture Courtyard filled with work by masters such as Rodin. My favorite piece in this section is a bust of a gorgeous young girl just entering puberty entitled The Age of Innocence and it is by Drury. If there was one piece of sculpture I would like to own, it is this one—it evokes in me the same sort of feelings as does The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini in Rome.
     I took a turn around the shop and then my eye descended upon a superb necklace by the British designer from the 1960s called Mary Quant who capitalized on the world’s obsession at that time with Flower Power and created a fresh and unique look in fashion. I bought the necklace right away and I have to say that it is probably one of the more modern designs I own as my taste usually veers towards the traditional.
     That bit of shopping done, I walked towards the thrift shops of South Ken looking for jewelry, DVDs and vintage scarves.  I did not have much luck and I did not want to waste too much time—so I hopped into a bus I saw coming (the 19) that was headed for Russel Square which was exactly where I next wanted to go. My aim was to get to Bill’s Restaurant on Kingsway off Holborn Tube Station. I got off at the junction of Tottenham Court Road Tube Station after thoroughly enjoying the long and winding bus drive that took me through some of the most recognizable and touristy parts of Central London. After passing through some of the side streets, I found my way past Covent Garden Tube Station and Long Acre Lane and when I spied the Freemason’s Main Headquarters, I knew that I had only to pass by it and five minutes later, I would be on Kingsway. And right enough, there it was—Bill’s.

Fish Pie for Lunch at Bill’s Restaurant:
     Bill’s Restaurant did not exist in Holborn when I lived there. It seems to be a newer chain that has found sudden and huge success.  I was introduced to it by my friend Rosa Fradley who lives in Essex and who had once recommended it when I had told her that I wanted to take her and her husband Matt for dinner. Matt could not make it but Rosa and her lovely boys had accompanied me. I had ordered the Fish Pie and have never forgotten how good it was. When I found out that there was a Bill’s Restaurant at Holborn, I was simply delighted.
     I got a spot on what turned out to be a horribly wet afternoon. There was nothing I would enjoy more than a really hot pie inside me.  So you can imagine how stunned I was when my order did not get to my table for more than half an hour. I was actually polite enough to wait that long before I inquired of the ditzy waitress what the matter was. She was too embarrassed to respond and so sent a more senior waiter over to tell me that the chef had completely forgotten to put my fish pie into the oven! I was in a state of shock because by this time I was ravenous! Fortunately, he redeemed himself by telling me that the pie would be at my table in ten minutes and that it would be on the house! Now that was awfully nice of him...but I suppose, having kept me waiting for half an hour, that was the least they could do.  
     My pie was great—and made greater yet by the fact that it was free! I took my time eating it as it was piping hot but the cheesy sauce that topped it all was so nutty in flavor that I loved it. About a half hour later, I walked right out of the place feeling like royalty!
     I then walked to Theobald’s Road and picked up the 19 bus going north along Roseberry Avenue as I was headed to Phoenix Place, right next to Exmoor Market where I wanted to visit the Postal Museum and take a ride on the Mail Rail. And that was exactly where I reached in about 15 minutes as the rain continued to play steadily down on me and left me feeling very cold indeed.

Taking a Ride on the Mail Rail:
     So when I lived in Holborn, ten years ago, the Postal Museum and the Mail Rail ride did not exist. How thrilled I am to know that there is a major museum within a few blocks of the place in which I used to live. Indeed, not too far from Charles Dickens’ home on 48 Doughty Street is Phoenix Place and it is there that you will find the Postal Museum in an area that is known as Mount Pleasant. I only got to know about this place as I had been watching this program on You Tube called Joolz Guides in Bombay. He had done a program on this Museum and I discovered that it is the latest in the vast plethora of museums that exist in London.
     So here is what happened. In about five minutes, I passed by a door with a sign that said, Mail Rail Tickets here. So in I went and 17 pounds later, I was the owner of a ticket that would give me a ride on the Mail Rail. This is a toy train that ran almost secretly under the pavements of London from 1927 when it was first created and went into operation to the year 2003 when it ceased to be used. It turns out that since there was so much traffic congestion on the streets of London from dodging horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses, it was thought wise to create an underground system (aside from the Tube) exclusively for transporting mail around the city, around the country and overseas. Hence, this tiny toy train system was created. It ran from Whitechapel in the east to Kensington in the West and it had regular platforms like a Tube train. The train stopped for exactly one minute at each station—during which time the loading and  unloading of dozens of bags filled with mail was accomplished. Work went on 24/7 with employees working in shifts.
     Once we got on to the train, we had a commentary that kept us informed about how the mail traveled. It told us about the sorting rooms that were attached to each station and of the frenetic activity that occurred there. Men sometimes collapsed from physical exhaustion. But they were very proud of their contribution to keeping the mail moving at a time when it was the only form of communication. About 4 millions pieces of mail were sorted and transported every single day in London. The train had no drivers as they were powered by electricity. But by 2003, it was found that gas was more efficient and economical than electricity and so the Mail Rail was suspended and postal vans were introduced. It lay unused until 2017 when the Mail Rail ride was opened to the public at the same time as the Postal Museum was created.
     The ride is a great hit with children, naturally, and no doubt  I would have enjoyed it much more had I some company. Still, I was fascinated from  the get go and I still remain in awe of what was accomplished and at how successfully Britain managed to transfer its genius at transporting mail to every one of its colonies. In India, I grew up with such an efficient postal service that it was our pride and joy. Now, 70 years after Independence, the  service is so lousy that no one uses it any more.  It is so tragic that all the institutions that the British put into place are fast disintegrating in India.
     All that said, I loved  the Postal Museum too which took me back to the time of Henry VIII who initiated the message delivery service by insisting that men stayed at the ready at fixed 'posts' to deliver messages when he needed their services—hence the word ‘post’ came to be used  for the service and phrases like 'posting' a letter or sending it 'by post' came into being. Henry VIII is responsible for far more than we give him credit for!!!
      It was still raining by the time I finished seeing the museum and made my way towards the Tube station. I called my friend Sushil who lived close by to find out if he would be interested in meeting briefly but he was not up to it. I then saw a No. 19 bus coming along and headed straight for Battersea Bridge—it was a no brainer. I jumped in and thought I would take another bus at the bridge (which I did). This long bus ride gave me another wonderful tour of the city and the parts of it that I most love.
     At Battersea Bridge, I jumped into a bus that took me to Roz’ place. She had not yet come back home and I was quite ready for a cup of hot tea which I had with chocolate eclairs. A little later, Roz arrived from work, I had a shower and we got ready to go to her sister Sarah’s place as she had invited us for dinner.

Dinner at Sarah’s Place:
     Sarah is as good if not better a chef than Roz and her home, just a few blocks away from Roz’ place is also a typically English home with its cozy interior, tons of paintings on the wall, and on the turntable (yes, she still plays vinyl) was a record—an LP—featuring Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck! Wow! That took all of us back somewhat!
    Sarah served me a long gin and tonic which I gratefully accepted after my long and very wet day and with her nibbles of hummus and crisp wafers, we enjoyed a natter before it was time to have dinner—a delicious salad and a main called Persiana Chicken which was a well sautéed chicken flavored well with saffron and tinged with turmeric. She served fresh ciabatta with smoked haddock spread and pate with caramelized onions for a starter. And for desert, they was ice-cream—Magnum double chocolate for me (magnum Minis!) I did not even know you get those (probably not in the US!).
     It was about two hours later that Roz and I returned home to her place where we were so exhausted that we simply crashed.
     Until tomorrow...