The Troy Exhibit

Hello, Lovelies!

I apologize for such a gap in time between posts. I currently am working two jobs, and two podcasts, so my life has been a bit hectic! But I'm happy to say that I've also had many wonderful adventures and cannot complain.

Currently, we're getting a lot of rain in London, partially due to Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis. I'm very grateful we don't have flooding and hope those that too will be able to recover quickly. I'm surviving the rain with fuzzy waterproof boots and lots of warm tea, but it has taken a toll on my mood. I'm recovering from Seasonal Depression, and the long stretch from winter to spring is always the worst. Thankfully, this part of the year is also one of the busiest, so I'm usually inside with my head down working on an essay or script, and that helps me not to notice the gray clouds outside. Like most people here, I'm looking forward to the warm weather, when I can read in the park again.

Speaking of reading, I just recently finished a book called The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth, by Thomas Morris. If you're into weird Medieval and Victorian Medical treatments, as well as some of the weirdest discoveries known to science, you'd enjoy this book. The main thing this book has shown me is how many different objects can be inserted into one's...nevermind. I am interviewing the author Thomas Morris, hopefully, this week, and cannot be more excited to pick his brain about this read.
This past week I visited the Troy Exhibit at the British Museum. Let me clarify, I visited the exhibit twice, once by myself and the other occasion with my boyfriend on Valentine's day.




I digress...

Helen of Troy and Cassandra

The Troy exhibit was absolutely fabulous. There were frescos from Pompeii that had survived Vesuvius. There was pottery telling some of my favorite Greek myths. I'm a bit of a myth junkie, loving all the stories from Thor, King Arthur, Mars and Venus to Athena and Indra. I studied the myths in my undergraduate degree and specifically looked at the use of plants within myths (as I'm also a plant junkie). From my research, I've become very familiar with the myths surrounding the Trojan War, and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the stories come to life in front of me. Some of the pottery I had only seen in slideshows, and never thought I would see it in real life. The cool thing about the exhibit was that some of the pottery had projections near it, so the projections could explain what was happening on the pottery and who the key figures were. Definitely very helpful. It was also amazing to see how much of a legacy the Trojan War has had on our culture, from art to movies to music. I, of course, bought a few books from the bookstore (I couldn't help it, it's a reflex? Not sure that's a good excuse).

Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife

The other major thing that happened this past week was that I recorded another episode of Human Angle. It's on Beatrix Potter, the famous author and amateur mycologist (bet you didn't know that). Unfortunately, my old cohost, Jacqui, has become too busy to help me with the podcast, so I brought in a new cohost, Matthew! I was afraid he was going to be really mic-shy, but he did fabulously. You can find our new episode on all your favorite platforms.

This coming week I'm hoping to get a bit more work done at the British Library, as well as visit a few more museums. I've got a bit of a travel bug, and want to combat the poor weather by getting out of my flat and around London.

Odysseus and the sirens. This fresco is from Pompeii

Until next time!
Kenna