Every month, I write about three things I really liked (and sometimes a Super Favourite), as a way to reflect upon the good things.
After the month that wouldn’t end in January, February was a time to put things into perspective and see how time, in fact, flies. Still, we did travel a bit, and even when we were at home, stuff kept happening. For example, I wrote and handed in a key chapter of my PhD dissertation to my supervisor, and that was something that I thought took up all my time, but as I am making the list of the things we did in the past two months, I now realise that I still had a lot of activities that were not related to my research. Good; life cannot be all work and no play.
♥ Super favourite: The Tutankhamun Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery
Last Christmas, Jon organised a treasure hunt for me which culminated in a puzzle I had to solve. The clues were a little opaque, but I still guessed correctly (with some help, not gonna lie) that he was taking me on a short trip to London in February to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery I had been casually mentioning in random conversations three times a week since March.
The brand new Grand Egyptian Museum is planned to open in Giza in the last quarter of 2020. It will be the permanent home of the full King Tut collection (among other equally important collections) and the largest Egyptology museum in the world. In the meantime, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has given the green light for a travelling exhibition, Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh to go on tour with more than 150 original objects from the tomb, 60 of which have travelled out of Egypt for the first and final time before they return for permanent display within the Grand Egyptian Museum. The exhibition stopped in Los Angeles, Paris, and London — and according to the board of the GEM, it will never travel outside Egypt again.
We spent a fascinating morning at the Saatchi Gallery. Though the website indicated an average visit time of 60-90 minutes, we stayed there for three hours, watching all the videos, looking at every display and reading every explanation. I’m not going to go into details here because I plan to write a longer post about the exhibition itself, but it was really interesting, and we learnt quite a few things that we didn’t know despite a healthy interest in Egyptology (which was the point, really).
It also prompted me to write a short précis of etiquette on how to behave at the museum or at an exhibition. Read How Not to Be an Arsehole at the Museum.
➤ Bar: The Vicinity Outdoor Lounging Area (Tower Bridge, London)
I feel that the Tower Hotel is getting better each time we go. This time, they’ve completely refurbished the restaurant, which is now called Vicinity, complete with a brand new patio (which they call “outdoor lounging area”) and I don’t think there are many other places in London that offer such a view in such a cosy atmosphere (though if you do know of some, please, please tell me about them!).
Firepit tables, lots of faux-fur cushions, comfy blankets, a beautiful view, a brilliant gin menu, and the perfect tranquillity of an early evening in the middle of a buzzing city… What else do you need?
♥ Book: A Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister
If you’re on Twitter, you probably know Dr. Kate Lister without knowing you know her, as she runs the very popular (and extremely informative) @WhoresofYore account. This time, she’s written a book, and let me tell you, it’s the one book you should be reading this month. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, immensely instructive, very intersectional, and urgently relevant. It should definitely be a compulsory read for everyone.
Lister, K. (2020). A Curious History of Sex. London: Unbound (£25).
➤ Style: Paul Marius’ Rose Gold/White Collection
I probably will end up not buying anything from my favourite leather goods maker‘s new collection in the next few weeks as I’ve had my eye on a MonPartenaire tote for quite some time now, which I intend to purchase as a reward for handing in the third chapter of my dissertation last week, but I’ll definitely add some items of the Rose Gold/White Collection to my wish list.
In March, I’m looking forward to…
… a mysterious date of which I know nothing except that I have to “wear clothes” and “have eaten beforehand”, lots and lots of birthday parties, International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, planting my avocado pits (they’re sprouting at the moment), more concerts, reading The Clapback: Your Guide to Calling out Racist Stereotypes by Elijah Lawal, playing the Stranger Things edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and sowing wildflowers in our garden. Maybe a quick trip to France or Germany if I pester Jon consistently enough.
See you in March!