Rupert The Bear's Scarf
February 7, 2010

Funny to find a 'Rupert the Bear' scarf from Johnstons, I thought it was just tongue-in-cheek, or that Rupert's scarf was an original check. I would never had guessed that they made official ones for the fan-club too...

Reading up on Rupert, I see he has had an update (I was shocked to see the computer generated Tony-the-Tiger a while back too). English childrens characters are often seem a bit stuffy, or more formal than other countries. Is it because they are old? Rupert comes from the 1920's - but then Mickey Mouse dates back to the same decade too. Mickey gets updated now and then, but the spirit remains the same. I'm not so sure for poor Rupert...

Flugzeuge, Züge und Autos
February 2, 2010

Another 6 hours in Germany...


London 100/No.100 The Old Operating Theatre
February 2, 2010
It was suggested to me that I feature some of the places that I like best in London, so I'm going to count down 100 places or things to visit that you may not know when you come to London.

Up these stairs in a Church tower at London Bridge is the Old Operating Theatre museum.
Although it deals with medicine and surgery from another time, it is not really a macabre place.

The first half features an Apothecary where herbs and medicines were once stored, and also tools for surgery and other artifacts.



The second half is the Operating Theatre from 1822, used for women, with raked auditorium for students to watch and study - as many as 160 people would stand to watch an operation. Until 1847, patients would have been operated on without anaesthetic, and this was typically used for amputations.

Julie gives a very charismatic presentation, and from our vantage point now it's hard to imagine a point prior to understanding about hygiene or other important discoveries.
