Bertie in the Middle East: online showing for first royal tour photographs

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Bertie in the Middle East: online showing for first royal tour photographs

Museums, art galleries, heritage sites and the like are regrettably having a tough time of things at the moment, with lock-down having seriously impacted many excellent institutions.  Despite this risk to their very existence the vast majority seem to have stepped up to the crease with remarkable initiative, with some superb online curatorial videos and similar displays available on YouTube and the like.  The exhibition mentioned in this article, although photographic rather than audiovisual in nature, is no less fascinating featuring as it does the first photographic record of a royal tour of the Middle East.

This was Edward, the Prince of Wales' (later to become King Edward VII) 1862 trip to Greece, the then Ottoman Empire, the Holy Land and finally to Egypt - partly designed to bolster Britain's relations with those countries and but also it seems to deflect attention from one of Bertie's many flings with a female member of the British theatre scene(!).  In a very modern and what would nowadays be called a "damage-limitation exercise", the experienced and highly-respected photographer Francis Bedford was sent along as one of the party to document the tour in the new medium of photography.

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Now thanks to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts the photos from that tour are available to view online as part of its Sights of Wonder exhibition.  Originally intended to be a physical display at the Institute's Birmingham location it has been swiftly and expertly switched to a web-based digital exhibit and jolly well done it is too.  Not only does it showcase Bedford's remarkable pictures of historic sites that had previously only been seen (if at all) as paintings or drawings, but it also includes excerpts from Edward's personal diary and contemporary news reports - all of which add to the overall fascination immeasurably.

Everyone involved is worthy of congratulation on creating such an interesting and absorbing exhibit during these difficult times and I'm particularly pleased to note the involvement of some University of Birmingham history students - I hope this will benefit and inspire them to future endeavours in preserving these important aspects of our history.  In the meantime although it is heartening to see how well some museums are adapting to the ongoing situation there are of course many that are still closed and facing an uncertain future.  I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how important it is that we support those institutions that are struggling through these hard times, if only by visiting them again when circumstances are such that they are able to reopen.

The BBC's ornate 'royal microphone' from the 1930s revealed

The BBC's ornate 'royal microphone' from the 1930s revealed

I'm probably the only vintage blogger who hasn't yet seen the (I can now say "Oscar-winning") film The King's Speech but rest assured I definitely will, be it on the big screen or DVD (or maybe both!).

In the meantime here is a clip from yesterday's Radio 4 programme Broadcasting House during which a member of the Corporation's in-house museum brought along an original example of the so-called "royal microphones" (above) that, as he explains, were first designed in the 1920s to hide the ugly(!) B.B.C. devices from His Majesty's view!  The ones used in the Colin Firth film are exact replicas of this gloriously Art Deco-style piece of radio equipment, which the B.B.C. allowed the film's production crew to look over when recreating them.  Even better, they still work!  Is it me, or does it sound better when the presenter switches from his modern mic to the old '30s one? ;-)

What's more it sounds as though we may all get a chance to see (and hear?) this part of audio history in the future; amazingly these microphones had until recently only been on view to anyone visiting Broadcasting House but now it seems that the B.B.C. will be lending them out to more public displays (perhaps not so surprising considering the success of the film), so watch (or should that be listen to?) this space!

Queen most trusted public figure to fix a car - poll

Queen most trusted public figure to fix a car - poll

This humorous story was one that fell into my inbox today and made me laugh out loud, and if it passes that test it will more often than not wind up on here.

The idea of Her Majesty as she is now, in overalls, lying on a wheeled dolly working underneath the Bentley state limousine is just too incongruous. Of course, Her Majesty did do a mechanics course during the war when she was Princess Elizabeth but I fancy, even if she were so inclined, that the modern motor car is a trifle more advanced than a 1940s Army lorry and would be a bit beyond Her Majesty's skills.

On another note, it is slightly worrying that 16% of the motoring population feel that Her Majesty is the best person available to fix their cars. Makes you wonder what else they think is best or normal in the world of driving...

Duke of Kent's heirlooms raise £2.1 million - double the reserve price at Christies

Duke of Kent's heirlooms raise £2.1 million - double the reserve price at Christies

Proof that in these hard times even the Royal Family are having to tighten their belts and sell off a few heirlooms. Some pretty interesting-looking stuff, too. A shame that some of it looks to be leaving the country, but at least it is all going to people who will hopefully appreciate the historic and cultural value of the pieces as well as the monetary value.