Visiting Britain

Back at work today. Fighting the half-term horrors was bad enough but negotiating the new system for collecting a cryptag was a right pain.

It used to be that I would enter via the school’s entrance, catch the lift to the Control Room, collect my tag and continue down to the basement. Security doesn’t like the crowding that occurs when schools arrive, making it very difficult for them to keep an eye on who is entering. Which meant this system had to be amended.

A block away, behind the Natural History Museum, there’s something called Queen’s Gate. This couldn’t be further away from the basement if it tried.

At Queen’s Gate there is a small, temporary building that resembles a builder’s shed. This has become the new pick up point for volunteers.

In order to reach it from inside the museum, one has to walk the length of the place (not nice during half term), ducking in and out of little walkways hidden from the public.

Nick (at work) led the way in the afternoon (he collected my pass first thing), somehow expecting me to remember the route for later days. At the same time he explained that the process for getting me a permanent tag was well underway. I can only hope it’ll arrive before I have to try getting to Queen’s Gate on my own – I could be lost for decades, wandering the basement halls like the phantom of the Opera, singing loud, in order to attract a rescuer.

The thing with volunteering is that it should be easy. After all, a volunteer is donating time and energy to helping an organisation that couldn’t afford to pay for them. I’m happy enough to put myself out (and, of course, I love what I do at the museum) but there comes a point where effort outweighs charity. We shall see what happens.

More interesting than my moaning about cryptag collection…today’s research projects were little models of foreign boats from Japan, India and Russia.

The Japanese boats were given to the museum following the conclusion of the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910. It was the largest international exposition that Japan had taken part in and was intended to show the world what they could do and what they had done.

While it showed Japanese wares and innovation, it also hoped to increase trade between the two countries. To help further with the perception of the Japanese, at the conclusion of the exhibition some of the pieces were given to various British institutions.

Apart from the boat models which we received, a large structure called the Chokushimon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger) was erected in Kew Gardens, where it can still be seen.

Here’s a few facts and figures about the exhibition:

• The opening was delayed by the death of King Edward VII.
• There was around 2,271 Japanese exhibitors.
• Along with the exhibition space at White City, a further 222,877 square feet was used for two large Japanese gardens.
• Between the opening on May 14 and the closing on October 29, over 8 million visitors had attended.

While the Japanese press wasn’t particularly complimentary about the exhibition, in Britain it was lauded as a great success with particular mention of the Japanese fine arts. These may or may not have included the boat models I researched today. Needless to say, they were very fine indeed.