Music in a London Museum.

Last weekend my wife and I went up to London with two friends for a day visiting some museums.

We travelled in by tube and emerged from the clatter and bustle of the tunnels below into a mild, sunny day in South Kensington and the day stretched before us.  We strolled up and started our adventures by entering the hallowed building of The Natural History museum.  The architecture of this building is stunning enough, but the delights inside were also captivating and soon we were marvelling at dinosaurs and blue whales.  We then strolled over to the V&A and were amazed at the items in the great Cast Courts where lifesize casts of Michelangelo’s David stand alongside Trajan Column.  These contrasted with the intricate detail of the netsuke and other exhibits in my favourite Japan hall.  Finally we walked over to the Science museum where we enjoyed the Hawking room, but more importantly played like children (or perhaps even more raucously) in the ‘Who I am’ exhibit where games and interactive experiments help you explore your body.  This is just a small snippet of the days event, but as you can see it was varied and jam packed and by the middle of the day we were starting to wilt, which leads onto the musical aspect of the day.

When we arrived at the V&A we were already pretty tired from shuffling around and gazing into cabinets and reading notes and signs.  So we headed straight for the grand café near the outdoor paddling pool.  With tea and cake we settled into the impressive surroundings.  Huge, sparkling balls of light hung suspended from the ceiling, beautifully decorated tiles lined the walls and vast stained glass windows depicted various scenes as the light streamed through.  It is an extraordinary room at the best of times.

Cafe at the V&A

 As we took our first sip of tea a musical tinkle and flourish grabbed our attention and as we peered around a young gentleman started playing piano for the assembled customers.  He started off easy and played a medley of tunes that you could recognise and sit back and enjoy.  The music reverberated off the tiled walls and rung out sweetly.  After the applause subsided he started playing a fast, intricate classical piece.  His fingers flew over the keys and I sat mesmerised as his fingers bounced higher at the end of each phrase as he became more involved in the music.  He continued playing the whole time we were there and it certainly added to the atmosphere.

It was so soothing to sit there in the grand surroundings, with the gentle murmur of conversation in the air and the piano playing around us.  It almost gave you a sense of what life was like in more refined times where this was the norm and not the exception, although my jeans and t-shirt may have dented that illusion somewhat. 

After being revived by the tea, cake and music we headed back off and continued our day of fascination, being left awe struck and having fun, but it was a memorable, peaceful sojourn in a busy, hectic day.  If you ever visit the V&A then head to the café for the stunning room decoration alone, but if there’s music playing then that may just be the icing on your carrot cake.