please empty your brain below
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I was there on Saturday afternoon just gone - and you're so right about the queue for the meridian. I couldn't work out what the HUGE queue was for to start with - as with you, the last time I was up there was before the charge, and before the queues!
I didn't pay this time (I was walking up that hill for the sheer sake of it!), but it's in my plans to go to the longitude exhibition later in the year, so thanks for the writeup.
MightyMouse | 26.08.14 - 7:11 a.m. | #
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Well, that saved me the journey .... the NMM/RO was vaguely on my to do list this weekend but, when it came to it, I couldn't face doing the journey.
B | 26.08.14 - 8:26 a.m. | #
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I have to admit that I found the National Maritime Museum one of the most boring and underwhelming museums I have ever visited.
It saddens me that, for a maritime nation, that piss poor selection of badly displayed tat is our national collection.
Kirk | 26.08.14 - 8:35 a.m. | #
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@Kirk: How would you suggest improving it then?
Iain | 26.08.14 - 10:19 a.m. | #
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You can usually avoid the queue to straddle the meridian by going inside the Meridian Observatory Building adjacent to the Meridian Courtyard where the brass strip of the meridian line continues in the floor...
Pete | 26.08.14 - 10:38 a.m. | #
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I agree the exhibition is very good. Generally, though, even after its revamp, the NMM is a missed opportunity. Basically it consists of three or four themed (and in some cases heavily sponsored) exhibitions.
I found the pricing system impossible to understand. I particularly wanted to see one exhibition and followed the signs to it only to find it was closed. I happen to like ship models and there are too few of them.
Ian Brooker | 26.08.14 - 1:20 p.m. | #
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Or go to any of the multitudinous other places in the country that the line passes through....
Sarah | Homepage | 26.08.14 - 1:21 p.m. | #
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Interesting. I happened to go to Longitude Punk'd fairly soon after it opened and was rather pissed off by the way it 'Punk'd' historical artifacts but then Steampunk isn't really my thing. But someone from the Observatory did comment about how there would be a factual display at the NMM, they just weren't opening at the same time.
On the other point, I found the Observatory such a bugger to get around I doubt I'll be going back any time soon. Let's abandon it to the tourists!
Loz | Homepage | 26.08.14 - 5:37 p.m. | #
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@Ian Brooker, did you know there are lots of ship models in the Science Museum?
amber | 26.08.14 - 6:03 p.m. | #
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Further to Amber's comment we once did a family sleepover at the Science Museum and were allocated floor space in the model ships gallery. Spent much of a very uncomfortable night aware of a paddle steamer doing its thing!
Joan | 26.08.14 - 6:45 p.m. | #
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Amber: thanks, I'd forgotten that. I will go and have a look. The best selection I have seen was at the new Glasgow transport museum.
ian brooker | 27.08.14 - 1:06 p.m. | #
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We passed by the Observatory today on our quest to see all 50 bookbenches. We looked through the bars to see no long queue for the Meridian Line, but it was depressing to see the facilities there to marshal such a queue. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Veronica | 27.08.14 - 10:54 p.m. | #
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The odd thing about the meridian line is that it's actually a bit of a fraud :. The brass line on the floor is not, in fact the line that Ordnance Survey maps are based on (they use a previous meridian line based on an older telescope about 400 away.). Nor is it the meridian line used by GPS (which is about 200m away). The truth is that this particular line has never been used for any actual maps.
botogol | 28.08.14 - 7:47 a.m. | #
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Just to note: the shipping galleries at the Science Museum closed in May 2012, although there is rather good point-cloud animation on the science museum's website.
I used to work there, and the galleries were one of the least-visited albeit lovely exhibit areas.
MartinO'London | 02.09.14 - 12:11 a.m. | #
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I was wondering if there was anything really new about the exhibition - the same texts and information have been displayed before, during the time when the RO had free admission. I visited the exhibition about 3 weeks ago, and was a little disappointed to see that I did not gain any more knowledge than when I visited the RO in 2006 - i've written my experiences here http://www.organicallycooked.com/2014/09/ships-clocks-and-stars-time-is-money.html (and have referenced your blog posts abotu the RO in the post)
maria | Homepage | 26.09.14 - 9:17 a.m. | #
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