If you're saving fallen women, save one for me, too!

Status: Very happy, indeed. Today was a very good day.


Dickens once said that, back in his time, if you were standing at The Monument, you were able to determine exactly where you are, direction wise, with your eyes shut, because of the smells. In one direction, there is the fish market. In the other, the fruits and veggie market. In another, the vinegar factory. In the other, leather goods.

I just thought that was pretty damn cool. Can't do that anymore, but the image is mighty fine.

I just booked a ticket to go see The Cherry Orchard at the Old Vic Theatre (Kevin Spacey owns it). I know, I know. I promised not to spend any more money than is completely necessary...but it's Chekhov, man! I HAVE to see a Chekhov play at least once in my life.

This morning, I went on another of the London Walks. This one was called The Darkest Victorian London. It talked about Victorian London in the 21st century, but centered a lot on Dickens' childhood area and that goings-on in those places. We passed a lot of streets and pubs with names that sounded mighty familiar


Like always, the tour guide has more info for you than you can fit in your brain to remember, but that's all right.

I saw a graveyard of sorts on the walk. Well, what used to be a graveyard for prostitutes, street dwellers, and orphans. They've paved over it all and are doing construction, but what remains is one single gate and people (who, I don't know. All the handwriting looks the same) have tied various things to the gate, including ribbons with names and dates written on them and flowers and dolls and keys. It was quite a sight to see and I mean to go back at some time to take more in-depth pictures.





We ended our walk at The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. It included:
~The 1703 Herb Garret used by the hospital's Apothecary to store and cure herbs used for treatments
~The oldest surviving operating theatre in Europe. It was built in 1822, before the introduction of anaesthetics and antiseptic.
~A display of all the medical instruments that make you dizzy and your stomach twist into knots.

I think I remember the tour guide saying that John Keats attended this operating theatre as a student. Odd. Florence Nightingale was also affiliated with this, as it was once a part of St. Thomas' and that's where she founded her famous nursing school.

There was this wonderful 32-stepped bell tower of sorts that you had to climb to enter the museum. Apparently, the patients didn't enter that way, only the bellkeep, but it was everything you would ever want in a spiral staircase.

This operating theatre was only open to women back in the day (they separated by sex); the theatre open to men was torn down many years ago. And these operating theatres were places that poor people went to get their amputations and other things, because they got a discounted price. Most wealthy or middle class people would have paid more to have their surgeries in the comfort of their own home, but the poor people were on the surgeons' good humor.

Obviously they called it a theatre because people watched. There were three rows where people could stand. The first two were for "other dressers" (because the apprentices and docs were down on the main floor next to the table) and the last was for students. Apparently, you could also pay to watch...kinda like the Romans used to watch people get eaten by lions. I imagine the same spirit takes hold of people who want to pay to see someone else get a limb sawed off with an anaesthetic.


So, besides the rows, there was an oak table on which the patient lay and there was a box of sawdust that they put under the table to catch the blood (if you can explain why, please...keep it to yourself). The docs generally wore purple or deep red frock coats to operate and their aprons were described as "stiff and stinking with pus and blood."


It was more common for a doctor to wash his hands after a surgery, rather than before

*shudder*

Yeah. So. It was truly facinating and just the right amount of creepy and disgusting to make me cringe but not put me off my appetite.

Okay. Time to finish the screenplay FOR REAL this time. Last time, I promise.

Pip pip, cherrio and all that rot! G'night