Museum of sex objects, London exhibition

 A month long exhibition  featuring sex objects was held at the old Horse hospital in London. This is located at the Colonnade at Bloomsbury, just around the corner from Russel Square underground station.

The purpose of the Sept 2022 exhibition - "The Museum straddles the boundary between art, fiction, and history, tracing our sexual past via the many clues locked away in institutions or even hidden under beds. In more tolerant times, it is easy to forget that the struggle for sexual freedom came at such a cost to countless individuals. The Museum’s purpose is to scratch the surface, peel back some layers and bring history’s blind spots into the light." [taken from museumofsexobjects].

I was in time to join a mini tour by The Keeper, who was dressed in a long red cape. She gave us a short introduction to some of the objects on display. One whole wall is devoted to pictures, embroideries and drawings etc done for the exhibition

And the same on a replica of an old slate wall -

There are various displays on the struggle for sexual freedom and the road to feminism. 

"Experience clandestine meetings in A Space of Peril, exploring how dangerous public spaces were for gay men – from the 18th Century Molly Houses to Cottaging in the public toilets of the 20th Century." Molly-house was a term used in 18th- and 19th-century Britain for a meeting place for homosexual men. The meeting places were generally taverns, public houses, coffeehouses or even private rooms where men could either socialise or meet possible sexual partners. Men would often dress as women to go to the houses.

Sexual diseases were prevalent and there is a section on Dr Isaac Baker Brown, a notorious 19th-century English gynaecologist and obstetrical surgeon. He had a reputation as a specialist in the diseases of women and advocated certain surgical procedures, including clitoridectomies, as cures for epilepsy and hysteria. 

A Sheela na gig. These are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedrals, castles, and other buildings. The greatest concentrations can be found in Ireland, Great Britain, France and Spain, sometimes together with male figures. See more on Wikipedia.

Throughout the centuries, small groups of artisans kept alive stories of sexual subversion alive, and often illiterate, marked their works with a red X. 

See more on the museum webpage. And more of the stories are shown on Ianvisits. 

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The horse hospital is an 18th century building. It is located at the corner of Herbrand Street and Colonnade in a working mews. Built originally in 1797 by James Burton, it had stables for sick and tired horses belonging to cab drivers. It is now used as a progressive arts venue. See more on Wikipedia.

And some photos from 2016 -

London Rathayatra - Krishna chariot festival

This year’s London Rathayatra was on 4th Sept 2022. This International Society for Krishna Consciousness annual event consisted of a parade with a large wooden chariot from Hyde Park Corner to Trafalgar Square, with a cultural and religious festival on Trafalgar Square.

“Ratha-yatra” means “chariot festival”. I was expecting 3 chariots but there was only one. This year they had combined the deities of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra on one chariot. Lord Jagannath, 'Lord of the Universe', is a Hindu deity worshipped as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister, devi Subhadra. To many Hindus, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna or Vishnu -  a special and very merciful form of Krishna.

This celebration has been held every year for hundreds of years at Puri, in Orissa on India’s east coast. There, three huge chariots, carrying the Deity forms of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra, are pulled by hand through the city streets amid loud musical performances. 

In Feb 1988 I was in Puri. Puri is one of the four holiest cities in India and is best known for the great Jagannath Temple and the famous Rath Yatra or Car Festival. I couldn't go in the temple as it is not open to non Hindus. The temple has a conical tower 58 m high, topped by the flag and wheel of Vishnu. Inside the temple are the images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The images are carved from tree trunks, in a child-like caricature of a human face. They have large eyes. The brothers have arms but the smaller Subhadra doesn't. The Rath Yatra takes place in June or July and there is a festival of cars and the 3 images are brought out of the temple and dragged in huge chariots known as raths. The main car of Jagannath is huge, and this is where the word juggernaut comes from.

Photo of the 3 deities taken from BBC 2021 page "UK's first Lord Jagganath Hindu temple opens in Bath". This page also has a photo of the chariot procession in India. 

As I walked along the route towards the start I was surprised there was hardly anyone about. But as I turned the corner towards Hyde Park Corner I could see a long procession of people in the distance - the event had started on time. 

My first sighting of the chariot and it didn't have the tower up. It is pulled by many devotees. 

Devotees sweeping the path

The 3 deities on the front -

A small cart handing out small pieces of fruit etc

Young Lord Krishna the flute player -

I decided to walk on ahead of the procession and get to Trafalgar Square. These flags were flying along Piccadilly, I think it is something to do with art at the Royal Academy. 

There weren't too many people at Trafalgar Square when I arrived, about 50 minutes before the procession. There were some dancers on a small stage

Srila Prabhupada was the founder of ISKC. This society is commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement".

There was free vegetarian food for everybody, so I joined the short queue -

The procession arrived at Trafalgar Square -

This character was leading the Hare Krishna chant -

Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

And finally the chariot arrived

The queue for the free food went around 3 sides of the square

Some faces of Lord Jagannath

See Rathyatra website.

Jelling archaeological site, birthplace of Denmark

 Jelling in Denmark is an important archaeological site. It is considered as the birthplace of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is known for the Jelling stones and home of the Vikings.

Jelling is a small town in central Jutland in southern Denmark, about 10 km northwest of Vejle. Vejle is located just above the D in the word Denmark -

The Jelling Monuments was the first Danish site that was included on the Danish Unesco Heritage List : "The Jelling burial mounds and one of the runic stones are striking examples of pagan Nordic culture, while the other runic stone and the church illustrate the Christianization of the Danish people towards the middle of the 10th century."

Jelling was a royal monument during the reigns of Gorm, and his son Harald Bluetooth, in the 10th century. There are 2 important runic stones. 

Gorm's stone - On the stone, the name of Denmark appears for the first time within the country. The stone was placed here c. 950 by Gorm the Old, in memory of his wife Thyra. The stones are protected in cases and it was hard to get photos because of the reflection in the bright sunlight. 

Harald's stone - Harald Bluetooth Gormsson was a king of Denmark and Norway c. 958-986. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod. He introduced Christianity to Denmark and consolidated his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand.

He had the rune stone hewn in c.965. It weighs over 10 tonnes. It tells of a time when the country was transitioning from a tribal society to a Christian kingdom. The stone has 3 sides. Harald writes that he is king of all the land and made the Danes Christian. The Danes call it Denmark's birth certificate.  He honors his parents, proclaims he has won the crown of all of Denmark and Norway and states that he made the Danes Christian. To symbolise the change in religion, Harald had the image of Christ carved on one side. This is the earliest depiction of Christ in Scandinavia, with the inscription relating to the conversion of the Danes to Christianity between 953 and 965.

In the past the runes were read vertically but Harald changed this and had them carved horizontally as he had seen in the bible. This is the start of a new era. 

This side shows a Nordic dragon -

This is the side showing Christ, photo from the museum display -

The current stone church is modern, previous wooden ones having burnt down. Bones of a man found in a tomb under the church floor were found in 1978 and may be those of Gorm the old. A small marker on the floor is the location of the tomb. The church organ -

There are 2 flat-topped mounds, 70 m in diameter and up to 11 m high, and almost identical in shape and size and construction. Harald's stone was originally between the mounds . Only the north mound contains a burial chamber (but no bones).

The south mound -

The white pillars mark the original wooden palisade. Harald had this built around the site, it was about 1.5 km long and made of solid oak. The flat stones are to represent the shape of a Viking boat, the 2 mounds are within the boat shape -

The north mound -

The church graveyard is immaculately kept and is used for the town inhabitants.

The museum is large and interesting, as it is a hands on interactive place

Another very interesting fact is that Harald's name gave rise to the current Bluetooth logo. His Danish name was Harald Blåtand Gormsen, he was commonly known as Harald Bluetooth (Blåtand) Gormsson. The current Bluetooth symbol used in mobile phones etc is a combination of 2 runes from the Viking alphabet, using the initials of Harald Bluetooth, to create a bindrune, by merging his 2 initials together.

The museum and archaeological areas are part of the town and there is no fence or entry charge. 

In July 2022 one stage of the Tour de France passed through Vejle and Jelling. There are many yellow bikes dotted around -