The London Natural History Museum’s thylacine is probably one of the more well-known specimens, viewed by hundreds of visitors every day.
I saw him referred to as “Stumpy” somewhere online and I think that nickname suits him.
Many of the NHM’s specimens are very faded and in poor condition. A sign in the display case explains: “The Museum is concerned about the conservation of animals in the natural world and no longer collects skins for taxidermy displays. The specimens in these displays are from the Museum’s historical collection — consequently some are faded or show other signs of age. We feel it is more appropriate to rely on these collections for display, even though they may not fully reflect the natural appearance of the living animal.”
We visited some ghosts today! Last year in May, I took Tiny Thomas to West Horsley Place on his first grand tour and now, ten months later, we went back. The Nook and Crannies tour was fantastic! We were the first group that got to see a new room that wasn’t open to the public before, learned all about the latest research and, of course, haunted some familiar places in the house and gardens. My favourite spots are definitely the library, the little nook that "leads" to the Plague Ghosts' cellar, Thomas’s tree and, of course, Thomas’s well. It was lovely to see the trees starting to bloom and to explore the grounds at the time of year when Ghosts used to be filmed.
If you ever get the chance to visit this wonderful house, do it. It has such a rich and interesting history on top of being our beloved Button House that I promise you won't regret it.
We visited the Ozeaneum in Stralsund, Germany, where we marvelled at an array of fish and jelly fish species! There were also life-sized replicas showing the immense sizes of whales and orcas.
We saw A Midsummer Night's Dream this evening and oh, it was amazing! The cast were absolutely brilliant - special shoutout to Ryan Hutton who played Lysander and made me cry with laughter (and fall a little bit in love with him)!
But oh, Mat's Bottom is such a delight! I did not expect to get to hear him sing and see him half-naked but I did and I'm not complaining 😂 He is both hilarious and adorable as Bottom, and there is a little bit of Thomas Thorne in there as well which was wonderful.
We met him at the stage door after the show and Mat was not only kind enough to sign my poster but also the replica of Thomas’s letter I got for becoming a Buttoneer. He was a little reluctant to sign the letter because he felt it might ruin it but I assured him it most definitely wouldn't. Fun fact - he's got one of those letters at home as well!