Museum Day (No 5)

We had a new tutor at the Museum Talks today. Chalk and Cheese! She was terrific, knew her stuff, never read notes, and the time flew by. We were in the Scottish section, and so she did things in chronological order, starting with the tribes at the beginning and getting right up to John Knox. An exciting story! Despite being Scottish, and my father a history teacher, my knowledge of Scottish history - the myths and reality - is somewhat vague...

I need to internalise a few important facts, people and timelines. In fact, I need to go back over the whole route, actually. There was some sort of performance rehearsing, so we had to keep going in other directions to avoid them, and indeed had to give up altogether when the performance and live music started.

These are the Lewis Chessmen, one of my favourite exhibits. There were 93 altogether, and the museum has 11. The rest are in the British Museum. They are made of walrus tusks. They are thought to have come from Norway, but recent claims have come from Iceland, as Norway at that time didn’t have bishops.

What would have happened if Mary Queen of Scots first husband, the Dauphin of France, hadn't died young? She would have remained Queen of France and perhaps led a happy life, and Scotland (and England!) would have a different story to tell. History is fascinating. How come I didn't think so when at school? I wasn't at the same school as my father, I hasten to add. I think his lessons might have been interesting.