This month I have been to a number of Death Awareness events: From Selfies to Runes, how do we want to be remembered? Face to Face with Medieval Cambridge (which had some wonderful re-enactors, one in full leprosy makeup!) and Living Well, Dying Well, (the latter organised through the wonderful - though I may be biased as I helped set it up) Dying for Life! All these events were at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, 2018. Each of these events many new thoughts, conversations, e

As I tidy my house (which is a fairly rare occurrence), I found a third drawing of the taxidermy cases of Ipswich Museum from back in 2017. It was meant to be part III of the blog series (parts I and II links). Being the solidly organised person that I am, I had mislaid this drawing, and have deleted all associated pictures of the museum too. So, just enjoy what could have been, including a particularly worried looking brindle nail tailed wallaby and smug serval. However, in

Sometimes, the various threads of life weave together into a colourful tapestry. Christmas has been spent catching up with friends who all have eclectic minds and seem to bring all aspects of life together across many disciplines. First was a wonderful day with a acoustician who bought me a lovely print of a painting of Jasper Park by Lawren Harris, linking back to his PhD on acoustics in glaciers in Canada, and my love of polar explorers and landscape. Maligne Lake, Jasper P

Next in the amazing story of a trip to the Ipswich Museum. Part I (in case you missed it) is here. Here, I want to share just one of the many case displays along the walls. Because there is so much stuff in this brilliant museum, it is hard to get a clear photo of the ensemble without getting a big cat blocking the shot. So I employed the services of that talented artist again. I could have spent all day on this case alone. Every single animal has been taxidermied with it's o

I made a long anticipated, long overdue visit to Ipswich Museum. It is one of those regional treasures, crammed with original Victorian enthusiasm for building a monument to share the wonders of the world with all members of the public. The entrance hall alone is awe inspiring. Photos really can't do it justice, so I engaged a very talented artist* to try to share the beauty of the exhibition hall. Yes, that's a giraffe! Next to him is a rhino, and a case of gorillas, and in