Invasion

Last week, when we did the Hidden London virtual tour of Liverpool Street and Moorgate, I commented to PY that we take up the offer of the half price entry to the transport museum.  We haven’t been for a while and we let our Friends membership lapse a year-or-so before lockdown.  There is a new Hidden London exhibition there and we thought it would be interested. As we were heading into London for the War of the World experience if felt like we could make a great day.

On the way into London we discovered the the standard entry to the Transport Museum is now valid for a year and that bookings are required but our tour ticket explicitly said booking was not required. So we turned up and the half price entry was honoured and we bought PY a full annual ticket (our virtual tour was for only one person).  Thinking about it afterwards, I am not sure we got the best value and, probably, should have just paid the £10 more so that we would both have had a valid annual pass which is much better value. In hindsight, they should have tried to up-sell us.

We wandered the parts of the museum we’d been to before because it’s always interesting looking at old train carriages. We spent much time admiring the posters and art work and commenting how distinctive the London Underground style is.   We eventually found our way to the Hidden London exhibition which, amusingly, was quite hidden on the mezzanine level (behind a door that they have made look like a service entrance so that you really do search for the entry: the automatic nature of the door somewhat gives the game away).  

It’s a great little exhibition but we did feel like we’d seen it all having done all the tours. It was great to be reminded of the wartime dining rooms in Down Street tube or the shelters under Clapham Common but I don’t think we learned a lot new but it’s always fun to look at transport themed ephemera.

Next to ‘Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience’.  PY was using a gift voucher my parents had bought him so we thought it would be fun. After the greeting we started with a couple of cocktails (mine was the Martiantini) in a bar with a huge martian above.  The steam-punk inspired inside is brilliantly themed.  At the appropriate moment, when the alien created blue smoke to indicate it was the turn of the blue team to start their experience, we stepped forward. 

There were 12 of us in our group. The experience is part guided by real people in character and consume reliving the moment that the aliens landed and part experienced through virtual reality headsets in three of the major scenes.  It was all superbly done: the actors were completely believable and the VR headsets were the best I have ever used.  Every time I go to an experience that uses VR the technology gets better.  I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years time.

Afterwards we bough the obligatory photographs and had a couple more drinks in the bar.  The staff were lovely and it was great to be able to joke with them.  Home by 8:30pm,  quick Portal call with Mum and Dad, then the left over Chinese food from Friday. We tried to watch the Easter special Doctor Who (today they announced the new doctor so it seemed appropriate to catch-up on the old) but we were both falling asleep by the end. It’s been an excellent day.