From the Curator’s Annual Report for the Year 1899 ( Read more... )

A remarkable attempt was made on Saturday night, about ten o'clock, to commit a robbery upon a dog: This faithful animal, it seems, is the property of one Porson, of Church-street, Bethnal-green, who, working at a Factory at Bow, does not return home above once in a month, but has for a long time past made a practice of sending his mother half-a- ( Read more... )

A letter received by John Soane, November 1828 ( Read more... )

( Herein the patient Must minister to himself )

1. Absence of visual disturbance to left eye ( Read more... )

I just moseyed into work in time for the post-lunch scrum in the entrance hall, and while idly waiting for the people coming in to leave their bags and those coming out to collect theirs, and contemplating the back of a large gentleman ahead of me, belatedly noticed when he turned to enter the Library Dining Room that it was Stephen Fry. I like ( Read more... )

It was sunny and calm this morning when I hopped off the bus at Holborn, but now it's blowing and the museum has started to leak. (The stained glass window panes in the South Drawing Room, in case anyone's curious.) The barrier preventing pedestrians from falling into a hole in the pavement has been blown a couple of metres down the way. I can feel ( Read more... )

Mrs Soane writes in a copy of Paterson's Roads, 10th ed. (1794):

(Thurs. 2nd Sept. 1813, from Cheltenham)
Malmsbury a poor Town--but one Inn--very dirty, & Bad.--
Cricklade--a poor place--one Inn clean--but bad accommodation--
Oxford--Kings Arms, dirty & uncivil--Angel--better, but not well.
(3rd Sept.)Kingston Inn--between Oxford, & Farrington-- ( Read more... )

They mended the leak yesterday afternoon. Cue unseasonably warm weather.

Around noon, an hour and a half after I'd given up and turned to my laptop, my work computer switched itself on, all on its own. I leaned over to answer the phone, and when I hung up, the login screen was smiling expectantly at me ( Read more... )