It seems fitting, doesn’t it? The Battleaxe visiting the Bayeux Tapestry? We were lucky to get tickets to get to the British Museum to see it. Well done Hilary from my WI Book Group. Us Hastings residents are supposed to get special access, but apparently it doesn’t work that well. In fact, Battleaxe has seen the tapestry before, in Bayeux, in 2007, but I have to admit I don’t remember much about it. We sorted of rushed past it in the usual way Battleaxe and Philosopher visit exhibitions… Anyway, this time, off we went on the train up to London, eight of us from the Book Group, plus a friend of Hilary’s, who took all the group photos…
What a cheerful crew – Tessa, Hilary, Liz, Battleaxe, Sue, Carole, Elaine, Jan… We walked from Charing Cross to the British Museum, after coffee and loading up with carbs in the good old Crypt Cafe in St Martin-in-the-Fields. We needed those carbs- it was very sunny, but probably the coldest day we have had so far. I confidently set off saying I knew the way, and so I do – have walked that way many times to meet Clara, Pete and other friends – but was so busy yakking I went a long way round. But we still got there an hour early. Spent the time mooching in the shop and had a drink and a sandwich.
Despite what I had read in the media about chaos and disorganisation at the British Museum, long queues, missed entry slots etc., (read this, for example) it all went very smoothly. But there was a lot of standing… not great for older people or anyone with a disability. Fortunately, us WI women are all at the tough end of the elderly continuum… We were told to report to the head of the queue at a certain time, and we did so, and after a brief bit of growling were let straight in through the first door – to another queueing area, where we stood for about another 20 minutes, before moving through a second door, to yet another waiting area – and another photo opportunity…
Then we climbed up to a raised bridge area, where we processed very, very slowly down a long corridor which played little timed videos on the wall as we passed. This was carefully designed to acclimatise us to what the staff called the ‘Tapestry Shuffle’. Towards the end of this area you could get a first view of the actual Tapestry though a viewing window. I couldn’t photograph it all – the Tapestry is 70 metres long, displayed in one continuous case.
We eventually got downstairs and started progressing along the Tapestry, and it makes it very clear that you are not allowed to take photos. This ban is more about keeping people moving rather than fears for the object’s safety – of course you wouldn’t use flash – so Battleaxe discreetly set about breaking the rule. You see, many people were using their phones to play the commentary through headphones, so nobody would notice another phone being on… Now, if anyone thinks of copying me, I say this, and I mean it. The primary necessity is to keep the crowd moving at a steady, slow pace. Do Not Stop. Do Not Take Selfies… in fact, do not stop at all. We had an annoying woman in front of us who had a little book open, and she kept stopping to read extracts to her companion. I was really astonished the staff didn’t ask her to move along, because she held everyone up, and people with commentaries playing got all out of sync. In comparison, the few secret snaps Battleaxe took, all while on the move, were as nothing… here are some of them. After the one at the very start, they are a bit random, because obviously I couldn’t choose where to take them. You can see in one photo that the little figures in the border of the tapestry are often extremely rude… what were those nuns thinking? If indeed they were nuns who made the tapestry. Nobody really knows.
So, what did I think? It was bigger, and more brightly coloured, than I remembered from France – obviously, much better displayed. Even without the commentary, there were plenty of visuals played on the walls behind the tapestry to tell you what was going on. Partly it felt that we were moving too quickly, and partly it felt that 70 metres in actually very long… I didn’t feel any emotional frisson about it being 1,000 years old or whatever… But am glad I saw it. I do think that now, apparently, the BM have got their logistical problems sorted out they are doing very well – to process huge numbers of people in a continuous, single file stream is really difficult.
Now, are there any actual Battleaxes on show on the Tapestry? Well, none of the double-headed axes I generally think of. The English certainly used Battleaxes, but they were long, heavy things called Dane Axes. Here is one… it looks like the other bloke has got a gun, doesn’t it?
Next – a puzzle. In France, the Tapestry was on show in an old building, in a circular case, but one of the British Museum staff said the long straight case that was made for it here in England would go back to Bayeux. How will they manage that, I thought. Where will they put it? Aha. I read that the Museum in Bayeux is having a new, special, 70 metre long extension built.
Anyway, we walked back to Charing Cross again, and collapsed on the train. After being on our feet for literally hours and hours, even the strongest amongst us were flagging. It was a good day, and good to experience it with friends.
