Educate me

[ArDee]

Henry Moore Foundation in, in er...not Much Hadham but it's right near there.

Perry Green - well worth a day out.

 

[Night Train]

I would suggest spending time working through all of the museums on/around Exhibition Road. I used to do that as a kid and spent time learning and understanding every aisle, every display and every special exhibition I could get to. I also went to gallaries and spent much time looking at and trying to understand the art work.

Also pick a random interest and investigate and research it, just for fun.
I used to (still do) look around at things that are taken for granted and ask myself what it is, why it is there and how did it come to exist. Simple things like, for example, the big stone gate posts outside houses local to me. How were they made, transported and fitted in the ground when they are 12" square and 8' long and around 150 years old. With that know how I sourced, transported and installed a pair of reclaimed stone posts outside my house, to replace missing ones, using just personal physical labour and a helpful friend.

I like looking at old and new maps of an area and comparing the changes in the maps and then looking historically at the social and technological influences for the locations of roads, buildings and open spaces over the decades. When I moved into my current house I did a bit of historical research for the period around 50 years before the house appeared right through to contemporary times. I learnt a lot more then the history of my house.

 

[Aperitif]

I haven't been for a number of years but an education in life is not complete without a visit to Brighton racecourse.

Here a slightly seedy edge mixes perfectly happily with the mannered ( most of the time) lunacy that is the horse racing fraternity.

You are Pinkie Brown and ICMFP

 

[Aperitif]

Perry Green - well worth a day out.

Thank you - I forgot I was supposed to look that up!

 

[Aperitif]

Greenwich is good, but if you've got kids under ten then you can take the DLR there - get toy steering wheels with suction cups and stick them to the front window. This will give you more dad points than you can count.

Go for it, Adam!

 

[Flying Dodo]

Forget Worthing pier, when the weather improves try Southwold pier in Suffolk

Interesting. Which is better - peer or pier review? A day trip to Southwold sounds good.

Lots of interesting things mentioned above. I go round the Science & Natural History Museums quite regularly, although I've never been to the V&A and Dell's mention of Red House has reminded me I need to make more use of the life membership of the National Trust that I've got.

Markets are already on my list of things, as I need to go round for some inspiration for 1920's style fashion, funnily enough.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Go for it, Adam!

They can stay at home (14 & 17). I want to ride in the front!

 

[VamP]

If you haven't already done so, take in a concert in the Royal Albert Hall. Mental place!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Markets are already on my list of things, as I need to go round for some inspiration for 1920's style fashion, funnily enough.

If you want an idea of what people wore a long time ago just ask rich p

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Did they have crisps in the 1920s?

Well they had them in the 16th Century...

 

[LarryDuff]

Read "The Great War for Civilisation" by Robert Fisk. He's not everyone's cup of tea but it goes a long way to explaining why the whole Arab/Middle East part of the world is so f**ked up.

 

[Flying Dodo]

I've been very busy recently, with flogging expensive dodgy tax avoidance schemes to filthy rich offshore resident bankers*, but I'm going see about taking a day off next week and start with going round the Tate Britain, and then in April, the V&A as I see they have a British design exhibition.




* this is a joke

 

[Dayvo]

A visit to the Eden Project is a very good day out.

http://www.edenproject.com/ and brilliant for kids (large and small).

 

[TVC]

If you're looking for things to try. or dip your toe in, then have a crack at Scuba Diving. Try dives are cheap an accessible and if you take to it then you get to experience the 7/10ths of the world that non divers never get to see.

 

[rich p]

If you want an idea of what people wore a long time ago just ask rich p

Did they have crisps in the 1920s?

I've only just discovered these unwarranted but not unexpected slurs on my unerring sense of fashion but hey ho!

Adam, I'd urge a visit to John Soanes Museum

http://www.soane.org/

Fabulous house and collection including the Rake's Progress. Worth it for that alone IMHO