This morning I woke up feeling significantly better than I did yesterday, which was good because I needed to be functional today. When I came down to the kitchen, I found Sarah heading off to uni and Tom all suited and booted (shock horror!) heading out for a job interview! I said goodbye to them and then set about getting myself together to head out myself.
After moving around in slow motion as I got ready, wrapping up warm, I was eventually out and on the tram to the city. For some reason, it took longer than usual to get to town, so I was a bit late meeting Nic at the Melbourne Museum, but she didn’t mind! We queued up and got our tickets to the new exhibition which only recently opened – Bobbie had told us about it the other day and both of us had fancied going.
When we went into the exhibit, we were each handed a boarding pass of a real passenger from the ship. I was Mrs Albert Francis Caldwell (Sylvia Mae Harbaugh) and according to the pass, I was a 26 year old Second Class passenger and accompanied by my husband and 10 month old son, Alden. The idea was that at the end of the exhibit, you could look yourself up and find out if you survived.
The exhibition itself was very interesting; first there was a gallery focusing on the construction of the Titanic, then about the departure of the ship. We then moved through a mock up of a First Class hallway, which led us to a mock up of the Grand Staircase in the First Class section, with the cherub statue and clock. It was a very good replica and seemed like we really should be able to climb the stairs and go out onto the deck, sadly we couldn’t as it wasn’t real!
The next section explained the differences between the First, Second and Third Class experiences on board Titanic; the accommodation, facilities, menu and people. We saw mock ups of the bedrooms and different dinnerware and items found in the various rooms. They also displayed some information about some of the more prominent passengers, along with some of their personal possessions recovered from the ocean floor. There was a mock up of the Verandah Cafe, with its wicker chairs and chequered floor. This section really made me appreciate how great it must have been on board as a passenger (prior to the sinking, of course!).
We then went through into a section which explained the inner workings of the Titanic, followed by a room dedicated to explaining the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the ship. In this room they displayed a massive wall of ice, kept at a constant -2o which you could touch and get a feel of how cold the water was on that night; it was quite a sombre room indeed. After that, we moved into the ‘Seabed Gallery’ which focused on the ways in which the wreck was found and how it is investigated, artefacts removed and conserved. We learned that there is a good chance in the next 50-90 years the Titanic will more or less have been eaten completely away by the organic life which now grows on it. There was a section of the actual hull, which looked so thick that it was hard to believe that something could penetrate it.
The last room was a Memorial Gallery, where there were displayed more of the personal belongings of people who had been on board. We found the Wall of Remembrance, where we looked up our fates – Nic and her husband had been Third Class passengers and had both perished, whilst I had survived with my son, but my husband had not.
We had really enjoyed the exhibition and felt that it had been really well set out. It was time for coffee, so we went to the cafe for a bit of light refreshment. Having been sending positive thought vibes all morning, I called Tom to see how his interview had gone – he said it had gone well, phew! Nic and I then went for a bit of a wander around the rest of the museum, dodging the massive groups of schoolchildren as best we could! We found an exhibition called ‘Mind & Body’ so checked that out. The ‘Body’ section related to how our bodies work and how they are investigated – from old methods of grave robbing to current technologies. The ‘Mind’ section was far more interesting, exploring the brain, memory, feelings, emotions, mental health, dreams and perception.
Nic and I enjoyed going in a room which tricked your mind into thinking things were different sizes to what they really were, what we didn’t realise was that there was a camera in the room recording what you do; so when we came out, we saw ourselves on the tv with our exploits in the room playing back at us! The section on dreams freaked me out as they had little windows to look into with a sign saying ‘Is this familiar to you?’ above it. I didn’t know what this meant until I looked into the first window and was stunned to see a kind of diorama depicting a view where you are looking out of an open mouth to see cupped hands holding lots of teeth – this is the theme of the dream I have quite often; really vile images where my teeth are falling out as I speak and I am trying to catch them. Gross! Apparently it is not uncommon! The diorama was particularly horrible though. The last section of the exhibit was about mental health and I enjoyed it as the issues were very well explained and portrayed using videos and showing the changing perception over time, from when people with dementia were incarcerated to the way these issues are better understood now and treated more appropriately.
We left the museum and as we walked to the tram stop, came upon some large pieces of ornate stone – apparently bits of buildings from Melbourne’s past, put there as a mark of the original architectural styles once prominent in the city. We appreciated them by climbing on them and pretending to be statues! It was silly but lots of fun and I actually impressed myself with my climbing ability as some of the bits of stone and granite were quite high!
After arriving back in the city, we had a quick wander about together for a bit and then Nic went back to her hostel, leaving me to have a look in some more of the sales that had sprung up since I was in town the other day. It wasn’t long before I got a bit bored so jumped on a tram back to Ascotvale.
Back at the house, Sarah and Tom were watching tv and Becs arrived home soon after I did. Tom had received a call shortly before I got in to offer him the job, so we were all really thrilled for him! He starts next Monday. The girls were interested to know how the Titanic exhibition was, so I told them all about it as we watched Neighbours. I offered to cook dinner, although I couldn’t think of what to make – in the end plumping for Mexican, so wandered down to Coles and bought the ingredients needed to make burritos. It would be quick and simple, nothing flash – these guys have been putting me to shame by making such lovely dishes, but my mind was totally blank! It turned out that the Mexican food was a success and very popular, even if it was a bit lame! We spent the rest of the evening watching tv – including of course Masterchef, and celebrating Tom’s new job with a few beers!
No comments:
Post a Comment