Bugger #2.

Mutterings continued.

One of my favourite places to visit in London is the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden. It's a fascinating place, with a wealth of theatrical history. And now it's closing. Bugger. The Museum has a vast collection of videotaped performances that people can view (much the same as the Shakespeare Library in Stratford-upon-Avon) - where else could you watch Ian McKellen's Richard III; Derek Jacobi's Don Carlos; the Tempest at the Globe (a glorious stage); or Branagh's Hamlet at the Barbican for free and without having to listen to people around you cough, suck sweets or kick the back of your chair?

I love the internet - it takes you to the most interesting places. I was asked by one of the keepers to track down a journal article on Ant-hill Pythons (Antaresia perthensis) by a herpetologist called Raymond Hoser. My researches took me to a herp site which took me to another site, Quintessence of the Loon, and then to here - Full Canvas Jacket, Noteworthy Unhinged Lunatic Rants. I have no desire to comment on Mr Hoser, I just love the way you sometimes end up in the most interesting places serendipitously.

Da Vinci was a clever chap and no mistake. "New Look at Mona Lisa Yields New Secrets". They still haven't worked out how he put some of the paint on the canvas - there are no brushstrokes or fingerprints to suggest he used his fingers.