I was at Belfast City airport yesterday, seeing off my folks who were flying back to Blighty and I took the opportunity to take half an hour off and sit in Costas with a large espresso and one of their lemon and banana muffins. Nice.
Browsing the mag rack in the newsagent's beforehand a couple of things stood out. One was the cover of the Indy which was reporting on some Tory faux pas about the possibility of re-introducing entry fees to national museums. I thought Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, was spot on with his reaction (see first snippet) while Dino Chapman, Controversial Artist, was, perhaps predictably, controversial (second snippet).
Free entry is ace. There was only the Ulster Museum over here (that I know of) that we could get into for free but it's undergoing a massive refurbishment right now so it's closed for a few years. It may not have been up to London standards but it was pretty good, had dinosaur bones and a mummy, and was/is well positioned next to the Botanic Gardens so you could get a good, free day out (especially with the kids).
If I lived in London or was visiting (as we hope to soon) I'd take full advantage of this freeness.
The V&A is one of my favourite places to be in the entire world. It'd break my heart if they started charging again - I wouldn't be able to justify just going in for a wander (I cannot just walk past the place). I invite/make friends come and visit me in London just so I've got an excuse to go in again.
Posted by: Vicki | 19 June 2007 at 02:08 PM