Apologies...

...for the lack of posts recently. I haven't been able to connect my laptop to the internet since I left Oxford, and I haven't had a lot of time to use other computers either. Since session 2 has started back home, my online Science & Religion class is on again so I have to keep up with that. The students seem very eager so far, so I think I'll be busy!

Not a lot of time to write now, but here's a quick update. At the moment I'm staying with friends in Walsall, in the Midlands. Yesterday we went on a drive around Derbyshire and to Cheshire to visit 'Pemberley' (Lyme Park). My goodness, the English countryside is just beautiful! Tomorrow I'm leaving for Edinburgh, where I have a few days of sightseeing and then the final conference. Only 8 sleeps and 3 packings until I come home!

Oxford was fantastic, as always. I spent most of my time in the Bodleian Library, but I did get out a little bit. I went to a Baroque music performance in the Sheldonian Theatre and saw Hamlet performed at Oxford Castle. I almost didn't make it out of Oxford due to flooding. There were no trains in or out of Oxford for several days, but fortunately I managed to get a lift to Lancaster with a colleague from Oxford.

The Science and Religion conference in Lancaster has been the highlight of my trip so far. It was exciting to meet so many people whose work has been influential in the development of my own ideas, and just such a nice change to have so many people working in a similar area to me all at the same conference. There were even quite a few early modern scholars, which is unusual, as it doesn't seem to be the most fashionable area these days. My paper was very well-received, and I met a number of very nice and interesting people who I hope to see again sometime.

Anyway, I have to do some work for my online class now, so I'd better end this here. More to come (including photos) in the next few days, I hope...

Walter Charleton on Love

One of the manuscripts I've been looking at in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, is a collection of various papers of Walter Charleton, a seventeenth-century natural philosopher and physician. In my thesis, I'll be looking at his main natural theological work, The Darkness of Atheism Dispelled by the Light of Nature (1652), and I like to peruse these collections (as I do for each of the main people I'm studying) to see if I can find anything interesting that might shed some light on his personality and ideas. In this collection I came across a couple of intriguing pieces - nothing at all to do with my research, but intriguing nonetheless. I don't quite know what to make of them!

A civil Valediction to a Mistress, written at the request of a Friend

I’ll tell you news, Irene, strange and surprising news. Who of all men in the world, can you imagine, is lately changed from a most licentious wanton, to an austere teacher of chastity? Even Don Cupid himself. Nay start not, Madame; this is neither the greatest miracle that [an] invisible magician has wrought, nor a poetic fiction. For, I have it from the mouth (and if I be not very much deceived, from the heart also) of no worse man than your most passionate admirer and favourite, Eugenio; that while he sought to preserve his faith to you alone, during your three months absence, he found it not impossible to abstain from your whole sex for ever: and that by reducing all the streams of his desires into one channel, he learned the art of making them flow more calmly and within the banks of reason. By keeping one Lent out of devotion to you, his Saint; he has discovered it to be no such hard matter to profess himself a Carthusian during life. You see then, sweet Irene, how two contrary effects may arise from one and the same cause: that the same ardent passion which so long together urged him to pursue you for enjoyment, now moves him to decline it. Thus is he become the convert of his own love: and his fidelity has proved the sole cause of his change. It was neither want nor satiety, he swears, that brought him to understand the advantages of fasting; nor an appetite to any new dish, that made him loathe his Chapon bouille; nor weakness of stomach, that hinders him from feasting upon your dainties. No, Irene, trust me there has been nothing like disdain or contempt in the case: only excess of constancy has acquainted him with the pleasures of abstinence. By the rigorous experiment upon which you put him, he has learned, that not to covet, is altogether as sweet as to enjoy; and that to a man of reason, a lasting quiet, though a little dull and melancholic, ought yet to be more grateful, that a few tumultuous moments of that sensual pleasure, which is common also to his horses and dogs.
But let not this so unexpected alteration discompose you, madame. For, Eugenio is still your votary, as full of respect and submission, as when he breathed forth his first vows to you. He will always continue to offer sacrifices to you; but instead of the bulls and goats he used to lead to your altars, he intends henceforth to bring perfumes and spices for incense. His flame is not extinct, but only refined; his affection still equally fervent, only removed from the temple to the Deity, from the fading beauties of your body, to the more charming and permanent excellencies of your mind. And you have only exchanged an importunate servant, for a perfect friend: one from whose innocent conversation, you may reap the fruit of more solid content and solace, than can be expected from the highest transports of a sensual amour; which in truth does often debauch and inflame, never satisfy the appetite. I would have you, therefore, to congratulate as well your own, as his felicity in this his admirable transformation, and to applaud in him that virtue, which results entirely from his justice and loyalty to you, and which only can give him a right to the honor of your generous amity. Whereof no man is, or can ever be more zealously ambitious, than honest and grateful Eugenio will (I am most confident) always demonstrate himself to be. So will also his and your
Most faithful
Lysimachus

I wonder what Irene made of this?! I confess I did like the bit about his affection being removed "from the fading beauties of your body, to the more charming and permanent excellencies of your mind," but what girl wants to be informed that the result of her lover attempting to remain faithful to her while she was away for three months was that he has given up on women completely and decided to become chaste? And that a man "of reason" will value quietness of temper and desire above sensual pleasures that his horses and dogs also engage in? Very strange indeed.

And then further on in the book was this poem:

Love Refined

Since we met last, Irene, I am grown
Entirely yours, by being more my own.
By self-denial, I at once obey
Your power, and re-assume my reason's sway.
Subduing my desires, I them possess;
And out of want extract a happiness.
From holy precepts I have learned the art,
To purge my passion, and refine my heart.
Instead of bulls and goats, I used to bring
(To wanton Love a grateful offering)
I’ll henceforth on your altar burn sweet spice,
And fragrant gums, in purer sacrifice:
With pious thoughts, your shrine I will frequent;
And in chaste vows my saint-like ardors vent.
My guilty flame’s extinct, and in its room
Is kindled such as lived in Tullia's tomb,
Watching her ashes fifteen hundred years;
A flame exempt from lust, from grief, from fears.
This shall your honour, and my faith secure;
And make our secret kindness still endure.
Lamps give light longest, where the air is calm:
And only virtue friendship can embalm.

Episode 10 – Cambridge (Part 2)

Once again, I’m in a pub. It is now officially miserable weather here in Oxford – it’s raining, and thundering, and there are massive puddles everywhere. My jeans were soaked almost as soon as I stepped out of my room, and even worse by the time I got to the library. This morning I looked at some letters on microfilm, and now I’m having a lunch break before going back to devour more manuscripts. This pub is nice and cosy, and has good soup (potato & leek today), so I thought it would be a good place to warm up for awhile.

Now that you’ve heard about my extremely exciting times in the Cambridge University Library (did I mention that it’s a fairly modern building, but has doors and corridors and different wings everywhere, and it took me until the third day to find my way around?), I can move on to the rest of my time, when I was engaged in less academic activities.

St John's College Chapel, Cambridge

On Monday and Tuesday nights I hung out in the Eagle pub writing blog posts on my laptop. On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure of meeting the delightful Sophie for dinner. I met Sophie at the BSHS conference in Manchester, where we presented our papers in the same session. Sophie has recently completed a PhD (at the University of Leeds) on the natural philosophy of Francis Bacon, and is now a junior research fellow at one of the colleges in Cambridge. She was in London at a Greek language course during the day, but we met in the evening in town, and went to a pizza place next to Parker’s Piece (basically a playing field – apparently students of the university are not allowed to use it, as a concession to the town people who thought the university students had too many privileges – both Oxford and Cambridge have experienced conflicts between “town and gown”). I had a lovely evening with Sophie, and we agreed to meet up on the Saturday afternoon to go punting on the Cam.

On Thursday, I took things quite easy. I spent the morning checking and replying to emails, and catching up on blog reading. I went for a wander in the afternoon, but didn’t do very much. I browsed in a few shops, purchased a nice silver ring, bought a sandwich, salad and fruit for my lunch and dinner from Marks & Spencers, and then went back to my room for a nap. I had considered going to a service at Emmanuel College Chapel, but didn’t feel like getting out of bed. So I had a very lazy evening, reading and watching Lost on my laptop, and went to bed early. I spent Friday morning sorting through all the paper I had accumulated so far, working out what I had to keep and what I could throw out. In the afternoon, I was working on an application for funding from CASE to attend the Christians in Science/American Scientific Affiliation conference in Edinburgh in August. One that was done, I decided I deserved a drink and a nice dinner – at the Eagle, again! It was quite busy that night, and the only table I could get was literally in the old fireplace. It was kind of cosy, but got a bit too warm after awhile, so I didn’t stay long. I had a fabulous steak & Guinness pie, and a pint of cider, and then went back to my room for another early night.

Near the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Saturday was my tourist day. I wandered around some of the shops in the morning, and bought a pair of flat black sandals to replace the ones I’d brought with me that broke while I was in London. Next I walked down to the Scott Polar Research Institute Museum – not a very big place, but some quite interesting exhibits about expeditions to the North and South Poles. There were letters from Scott’s party in their attempt to reach the South Pole – people writing to the family of the explorers who had died, saying that they had died a noble and honourable death, and the last letters written home by a number of these people. After that I went to the Fitzwilliam Museum, passing the house where Charles Darwin lived on the way. It’s a beautiful building, and has some very interesting exhibits – quite a wide range of things, from Egyptian mummies and coffins to Picasso paintings. Best of all, it wasn’t too large, so I managed to walk around most of it, even though I was already getting tired. At 2:30pm there was an introductory tour that I considered joining, even though I would have been rushing to meet Sophie at 4pm. I thought it would be interesting to hear a little more detail about the collection. Unfortunately, the tour cost £6, which I was too cheap to pay, so I wandered around a little more, and then headed back to my room, before taking off again to meet Sophie.

Sophie lives in Cambridge, and had never been punting on the Cam. I do not live in Cambridge, but I have been punting on the Cam. To be fair, I’ve been to Cambridge twice before this trip (once purely as a tourist) whereas Sophie has only lived there since last October. However, I believed that this was a gap in her experience that had to be filled, so we wandered down towards Magdalene Bridge, and accepted the first tout we came across, hot-footed it down to a waiting punt, and off we went. Unfortunately we were facing backwards, which was not ideal, but it was still very pleasant. I enjoyed it very much, and I think Sophie did too, although she said the highlight was went our punter lost his stick! Even though it was so packed on the river, at that particular time, there were no punts heading back in our direction to bring the stick, so we were stuck there for a bit, just sitting idle.

In a punt on the River Cam

There are always interesting sights to be seen on the river. In addition to the colleges, gardens and bridges, we saw a wedding party, what we thought was a hens party (we wondered how much they’d paid to have their punters punting in their underwear...), people falling into the river, other people losing sticks, and plenty of collisions. Unfortunately the sun got to us a little, and both Sophie and I ended up with slight headaches. However, some Nurofen soon took care of that (for me at least) and we went to have dinner at a Turkish place near the river. Again, it was very pleasant spending time talking with Sophie. She’s a very lovely girl, and it seemed that we had quite a lot in common. I learnt a lot about the history of science profession in England (for example, how early modern studies seems to be unfashionable at the moment compared with 19th century history of science; which, according to Peter Harrison, professor of science and religion at Oxford, is “dull as dishwater”), and got some tips about applying for junior research fellowships. I do hope to live and work in England for a few years at some point in the future, and I certainly hope to be able to catch up with Sophie again.

The Bridge of Sighs, Cambridge

On Sunday morning, I decided not to go to church, as the services were all quite late in the morning, and I had to get the bus into Oxford. I packed my bags and walked to the bus station, stopping on the way to call my parents. The bus ride was not particularly pleasant. For starters, the bus was full of noisy Spanish (I think) students. Also, it’s a rather long trip, with lots of roundabouts. For someone like me who is prone to motion sickness, that is not good. Still, I survived, and my trusty iPod kept me entertained on the way (when I wasn’t napping). Once in Oxford I took a taxi to Mansfield College where I’m staying, had a nap and then went out to church. I’ll leave that for the next episode – On Oxford!

Episode 9 – Cambridge (Part 1)

I seem to be becoming quite a connoisseur of English pubs. Tonight I’m in the Turf, a nice little place in Oxford where Bill Clinton used to drink when he was a student here. I probably wouldn’t spend quite so much time in pubs if they weren’t the easiest places to get a decent, affordable meal. Even pubs only serve food until 7:30 or 8pm as I found out on Sunday night after church. I was forced to break my MacDonalds fast, which I wasn’t all together happy about, but what’s a girl to do?

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Cambridge, not Oxford, but since I’ve been a bit slack with my posting of late, I’m writing about Cambridge in Oxford.

I arrived in Cambridge by train from London on a Sunday afternoon. That morning I had gone to a sung Eucharist service (or orchestral mass) at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. When I was organising my itinerary, I had planned to go to All Souls, a fantastic evangelical service near Oxford Street (where, incidentally, two years ago I had my first communion in an Anglican church – common cup and all! Well, about 10 common cups, since the congregation is massive!) but I didn’t have enough time to get there. I’d had quite a busy day on the Saturday and was too tired to pack that night, so I had to do it in the morning. So, I went to St Paul’s instead. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see the inside of the Cathedral, since I’m too cheap to pay the £8 to go in as a tourist. Also, I’m quite interested in religious ritual – perhaps because the Baptist denomination is quite short on ritual! And it was a special service – part of the City of London festival – and I thought it was rather cool to have a church service as part of the festival. I’m planning to write another post specifically about my experiences in churches here, so I won’t say too much here. Suffice it to say, it was very High Church – if they had mentioned Mary a few times, it could have been a Catholic church. The preacher even quoted St Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) in the sermon.

After the service, I had some lunch (a sandwich from good old Marks & Spencers), called my parents, went back to the apartments I’d stayed in to collect my bags and set off for Cambridge. It was quite a pleasant train ride, except that we were stuck just outside London for almost an hour. There were a bunch of French high school students in my carriage, but fortunately they weren’t too noisy. I listened to my iPod (Eskimo Joe and Evanescence, if I remember correctly) and had a nap. I arrived at Magdalene College and the porter who showed me to my room took me around the “pretty” way, which was longer but nicer than the more direct route.

My friend Erin who I caught up with in London had told me about the “approved” churches to attend in London, Cambridge and Oxford (apparently there is such a list for Sydney Anglicans!), but unfortunately I arrived too late for the evening service at St Andrew the Great, the “approved” church in Cambridge. I went to Holy Trinity instead, which surprisingly was very close to St Andrew’s. It didn’t take too long to realise that it was too charismatic to be on a Sydney Anglican list, but it was quite a nice little church. I had a chat to the minister afterwards (he kindly indulged all my questions about the liturgy and the biblical basis for praying to the Holy Spirit) and he described the church as “evangelical charismatic” (or charismatic evangelical, I can’t remember now). What was particularly striking was that the liturgy for Holy Communion was almost identical to the liturgy at St Paul’s (not surprising – the same prayer book, I guess), and it was sung, but the music was so incredibly different. At St Paul’s, the “president” would sing in a monotone and the congregation would answer (the music was set out in the order of service, which I guess is only helpful to those who can read) while at Holy Trinity, the sung liturgy was led by a girl on guitar, along with drums and keyboard, and was really upbeat. There was even a little clapping going on! It was quite astonishing. Even though the church was a little more charismatic than I am used to, I enjoyed it. I can’t say the same for the extremely Pentecostal church I went to in Oxford last Sunday, but I’ll get to that later on!

My first three full days in Cambridge were spent in the Manuscript Room of the University Library. Fortunately, the library wasn’t too far from where I was staying, and it was quite a pleasant walk through the colleges and across the river. The people in the library were all extremely friendly and helpful, and I quite enjoyed the time I spent there.

{It’s rather warm in this pub, and I’ve finished my sausages & mash and my glass of wine, so I’m going to head back to Mansfield College, where I’m staying, and sit in the garden for awhile.}

{I’m sitting at the edge of the rose garden now. I heard crunching on the gravel behind me, as though some one were walking there, but it turned out to be two scampering squirrels! That’s quite exciting for me! There are a few others around the place too. Very cute.}

Where was I? The Cambridge University Library. I didn’t find anything particularly ground-breaking for my research, but I wasn’t expecting to. It’s just fun to read this kind of stuff. I read some correspondence between Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton, and some notes William Derham wrote about Newton after he had died, about his disputes with Leibniz and Hooke, and the following:

He said there were 3 things in the Motions of the heavenly bodies, yt were plain Evidences of Omnipotence & wise Counsel. 1. That the Motion imprest upon those Globes was Lateral, or in a direction perpendicular to their Radii, not along them or parallel wth them. 2. That the motions of them tend the same way. 3. That their Orbits have all the same, or nearly the same inclination.

Apparently Derham and Newton had discussed this after Derham published his Astro-Theology, which was a demonstration of the existence and attributes of God from the evidences of the heavenly bodies.

I also came across some very interesting letters from Dr Woodward to a Mr Baker who had, it seems, been casting aspersions on the theological soundness of Woodward’s views on the impact of the Fall on the Earth and the effect of the Deluge (i.e. the flood at the time of Noah). I was amused by how polite (yet, at times, quite cutting) Woodward was to his opponent. It would be nice if people in the Young Earth Creationism/Theistic Evolution/whatever debate would be as polite to each other. Here are some examples (spelling modernised):

I am a Gentleman and have treated you as such, and whether your Treatment of me be answerable to that Character, I leave to you to judge...

I know not well what you mean when you say my Opinion of the Dissolution of the Earth is to you yet all Theory, and so it is among your Acquaintance. You were told there were in my work abundant evidences and Proofs of that Dissolution, and had an Offer made you to assert the Certainty of those Proofs if you should think fit to dispute them. And I must tell you that was the true Test, and the way to determine whether I had Truth on my Side or not... and if you will shut your eyes, and then cry out you see nothing, or can discern only Theories, I cannot help it. As to what you say about your Acquaintance, I do not think the way to find out whether I am in the right or not will be to put it to the vote, or have recourse to the Suffrages of your Acquaintance, but to Nature, to Things, and to matter of Fact; and as long as I have those on my side I shall be satisfied...

I suppose that’s enough to torture you with. I guess I can’t expect others to find it as interesting as I do...

Anyway, I managed to look at everything I wanted to in the library in just three days, so I still had three whole days left to just kick back and enjoy the Cambridge atmosphere, but I’ll leave that for the next episode...

Update

I know it's been awhile since my last post, and there's a lot to write about. Perhaps this afternoon I'll head up to the Eagle & Child where C.S. Lewis and Tolkein used to hang out. Surely such a literary place will get the creative juices flowing and the blog posts will just come pouring out.

In the meantime, here are some things you can expect to read about in the near future:

• My experiences with the churches of England
• Reading manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library
• Visiting the Scott Polar Research Institute and Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
• Punting on the Cam with the very lovely Sophie
• Reading manuscripts in the Bodleian Library in Oxford
• A Baroque concert in the Sheldonian Theatre
• A performance of Hamlet at Oxford Castle

And here are some random photos:

Lots of people in Cambridge on a Saturday

View from the punt

Trinity Lane, Cambridge

A nice day for a white wedding (a bride welcoming guests arriving by punt)

A hens party on the Cam?

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge


The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford

Episode 8 - On Cider

I’ve now been in Cambridge for two whole days, and despite what the title of this post might suggest, I have not spent the entire time in the pub. In fact, most of my time has been spent in the Cambridge University Library, in the Manuscript Reading Room. Although the requirements for a Readers Ticket seems stringent (including an “academical letter of introduction”) and the lady in the admissions office seemed a little less than friendly when calling people in for their appointments, everyone at the library (at least, everyone I’ve encountered so far) has been extremely friendly. The Manuscript Reading Room is a little less than high tech (the collection is catalogued on handwritten cards, and there are descriptions of each item available in boxes of handwritten loose-leaf sheet of paper), but the people there were very helpful in getting me started.

Today, one of the items on Samuel Clarke that I was looking at (that didn’t turn out to be much use) was in a collection of papers from Clare Hall, including a bunch of poems (I think they were some kind of college exercises) on a variety of subjects from the Roman gods (Mars, Mercury, Bacchus etc.), to a toilet, and one I just had to copy down, on “Cyder.” You can find it below (I’ve modernised the spelling) along with a photo of the pint of Strongbow cider I’m currently enjoying, back at the Eagle – my favourite pub in the whole world!

CIDER

When we behold that lovely fruit, whose juice
Improved by art our Cider does produce;
Those beauteous Orchards please the wandering eye,
And with Hesperian Gardens well may vie:
Though the rich apples which were ripened there
Deserved a never-sleeping Dragon’s care;
Unguarded here fruit on each tree we meet
Fair to the eye, and to the taste most sweet.

No wonder then the Serpent did deceive
With such delightful Objects curious Eve;
For who such mighty pleasure could refuse,
‘Though he was sure even paradise to lose?

Why use we then such dangerous toil and pain,
Tempting the horrors of the raging Main,
‘Till some unwholesome wine at last we find,
When nature to our land hath been so kind?

With various flavours here we please our taste;
Cider the nicest palate has disgraced:
The Gauls deluded oft have tried in vain
This to distinguish from their own Champagne:
This land a richer fruit afford; whose juice
Resembles that which Spanish grapes produce:
And here the Germans taste that generous wine,
Which brings such glory to the fertile Rhine.

The wearying Farmer at approach of night
Returns from all his labours with delight;
With cheerful Cider soon refreshed and Gay,
Forgets the toils and troubles of the Day:
Whilst sitting careless in some shady place,
Content and joy is seen in every Face.

See how the sparkling liquor upward flies,
As if desirous to attract the skies
Or as with eager haste it wished to impart
Its native briskness to make glad the heart.
See how it smiles transparent through the glass;
And no foul stain its brightness does deface:
As when a noonday sun its watery beams
Darts through a cloud, his paler face then seems
Like Gold some artist for his use refines;
With such rich beauty the proud liquor shines.

Unguarded here we can indulge our mirth;
No sad distemper hence receives its birth:
This cooling liquor Feverish heats restrains,
And with soft slumbers sooths our midnight pains.

We here no dangerous Secrets ever disclose;
Nor hence the direful Centaurs tale arose;
With wine and raging lust inflamed they fought,
And on their guilty heads just vengeance brought.

Ye heavenly powers that guard these British Isles,
From social cups remove all evil broils;
Let no intemperance our health destroy,
While we our native liquor still enjoy;
To increase our wealth let every Briton join,
And Cider then shall triumph over Wine.

Unbelievable

I'm trying not to eat out all the time - England is very expensive, and the cheap food in particular is not very healthy - so I bought a low-fat microwave meal from Marks & Spencer (great place) to have for dinner tonight. Just got back to my room to find that the kitchenette which had a microwave oven this morning no longer has a microwave oven! Grr. I don't want to eat cold mushroom risotto and I don't have a fridge to keep it in, so I guess I have to go looking for another kitchen...

Episode 7 - On London

To my most honour’d & highly esteem’d readers,

I have been greatly honour’d by the comments wch, on connecting to ye Internet, I was plea∫ed to find from ∫everal of you. I humbly ∫uggest yt it is more than I de∫erve, the∫e writings being primarily a diver∫ion from ye boredoms of travelling, & ∫pringing from a de∫ire to maintain my own records of my activities in ye great City of London. But, if I may be ∫o bold, I hold out ye fainte∫t of hopes yt these ∫cribblings will be yet of ∫ome amu∫ement to you.

Above the gates of the British Library

OK. I can’t keep this up any longer. How did people write so many letters like this? And read them too?? In the above paragraph, I was trying to give you some idea of the kind of writing I’ve been reading for the last week (and, indeed, for much of the last three years – only it’s worse in manuscript form). I arrived in London just over a week ago – Sunday 1st July. I stayed for 7 nights (I’m now in Cambridge) and spent most of the days in libraries, attempting to decipher handwriting from the 17th century. It’s a multi-faceted problem. Not only trying to read the actual handwriting of each person (some is virtually illegible) but add to that the poor condition of a lot of the manuscripts (the pages are yellowed; the writing is sometimes blurred; the ink has faded; some words near the edges are incomplete); the differing spellings (e.g. speake, booke, philtration, fansying, physicall, subtile); the long ‘s’; the unusual contractions e.g. ‘ye’ instead of ‘the’; ‘yt’ instead of ‘that’; ‘wch’ instead of ‘which’); and the fact that some words and names are just unfamiliar to me (e.g. menstruum – Isaac Newton wrote to Boyle, “And the same principle may cause menstruums to pervade with violence the pores of the bodies they dissolve” – still need to look that up) – it’s a puzzle that takes quite some time and effort to solve. Fortunately, I enjoy this kind of thing!

The British Library

On Monday, my first full day in London, I went to the British Library. I’d been there before, so I already had a reader’s card and I could go straight into the manuscript reading room. I put in four collection tickets for manuscripts I already had reference numbers for, and while I waited for them to be delivered, I perused the catalogues to see if I could find anything else worth looking at. I love the way you just have to put in these tickets, and then the manuscripts will be delivered to your desk for you to delve into at leisure. No one asks why you want to look at these ancient and incredibly valuable papers. I suppose that no one would really try to steal the kinds of things I’m looking at, but I often see people poring over beautiful illuminated manuscripts which I’m sure are worth a huge amount of money. Of course, there are strict limits on what you can take into the reading room, and a bag check on the way out, so it would be rather difficult to steal anything, but still, it’s very cool.

A sculpture of Newton outside the British Library

Among the manuscripts I studied on Monday I found a letter to Samuel Clarke (one of the most famous Boyle lecturers, a “Newtonian” who engaged in correspondence with Leibniz on Newton’s behalf) from Samuel Bradford (a less well-known Boyle lecturer). Clarke got into a bit of trouble over his view of the Trinity. Like Newton, he didn’t believe in it. Interestingly, Clarke wrote a book entitled The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity, in which he proposed to examine every passage of Scripture which dealt with the doctrine of the Trinity, and he concluded that it was not a Scriptural doctrine. The letter from Bradford concerns this book. He writes that although he doesn’t agree with all of Clarke’s interpretations, or the conclusions he draws from these interpretations, he must commend Clarke for the way in which he has written this book: firstly for the “truly Christian” manner in which he has treated such a difficult topic, with humility and courtesy to those who disagree; and secondly, and more importantly, “that you have made it your Endeavour to reduce Men’s Judgments on this argument to the Determination of the holy Scriptures.” This is particularly interesting to me because it is widely assumed that people who rejected doctrines such as the Trinity put reason above revelation. Here is an example of someone who rejects the doctrine of the Trinity on the basis of revelation, not merely reason, and is acknowledged and commended by others for so doing. Additionally, the type of natural theology found in the Boyle lectures (well, actually, there are many types, but many historians seem to think there is only one, or at least only one worth noticing) has often been held out by historians as opposed to revelation. Again, it’s nice to find one of the major pin-up boys of this interpretation doing something completely based on revelation (in spite of its heterodoxy!) Bradford commends Clarke for upholding the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, and hopes that works such as this will only aid in the cause of unity in the church.

See? It’s riveting stuff!

I finished up in the manuscript reading room a little after 4pm. I had one more manuscript to look at, but it was quite long, and my head was feeling the effects of the endeavour described above, so I went to the café to have a cup of tea. I was thinking about going back to my room to freshen up before going out for dinner, but for some reason decided to keep working at the library instead. The British Library is really quite a nice place to work. On the first floor, there are a number of comfortable armchairs with desks and power points for plugging in computers, and there is wi-fi internet access available (for a cost, unfortunately). It’s quite atmospheric – just in front of the King’s library, and overlooking the main gallery and foyer. I sat there for awhile, responding to a few emails and reading some of John Ray’s The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation (a pdf file downloaded from Early English Books Online – EEBO – one of the most fabulous databases every conceived, but to which the UNSW library does not see fit to subscribe). And then I headed off across the city to the Dukes Hotel for my super-high-class martini, but that was the topic of another post…


On Tuesday, I visited Dr Williams’s Library at the Dr Williams’s Centre for Dissenting Studies. It’s located just a few blocks from the British Library, quite close to the University College, London. The staff there were quite cute and a little bit scatty, but extremely friendly and helpful. I was hoping to look at some of Richard Baxter’s correspondence, which was unavailable as it is being conserved, but I was directed to a “calendar” of his correspondence – a two-volume indexed work with a brief description, location, and important citations of each letter. That was extremely helpful, and I was then able to decide which letters to look at on microfilm. Not all the correspondence is held at Dr Williams’s Library – there was one letter each at the British Library and the Royal Society library that I hoped to consult. Looking at the calendar took me a couple of hours, so I took a break for a sandwich and cup of tea before delving into the microfilm. When I returned to the library, the only staff member who wasn’t on lunch had no idea how to use the microfilm reader, but we figured it out from the instructions on the side, and she was quite happy to just let me do my thing. It took me over two hours just to get through one letter (from Richard Baxter to Joseph Glanvill, concerning Baxter’s views on the nature of spirit), and I think it was only two double-sided pages at most. Contrast that with the two hours (maybe two and a half) I spent today on a letter from Newton to Boyle which was fourteen double sided pages. Hmm. When I finished that letter, I’d had enough for one day. I went back to the British Library to use the internet for a little while, and then walked to the Angel, Islington to meet my friend Erin.

The outside of Dr Williams's Library

Erin was one of my ISCF bible study leaders when I was in high school. She also went to uni with my brother, and has been lurking on my blog for quite some time (hi Erin!!) After she tracked me down on Facebook, and I found out that she was in London, we organised to catch up. I was running a little late because I underestimated the distance between Kings Cross and Angel (I was walking), but she was even later because her current boss is evil and is working her way too hard. We had a drink at a funky little place called Frederick’s, and then dinner at another place in Islington, but I can’t remember the name. I hadn’t been to Islington before, but it’s Dido’s favourite neighbourhood, and Tony Blair moved there after leaving No. 10. It was great to catch up with Erin. We probably hadn’t talked in years, but we had no trouble at all holding a conversation together. We talked about all sorts of things – work, church, relationships… She told me which were the “approved” churches to go to in London, Cambridge and Oxford, and which newspapers I was allowed to read. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten which ones those are… I don’t buy newspapers over here. I read the free ones, and if there’s one lying around in a coffee shop I might have a look, but generally I just check out smh.com.au from time to time. Come to think of it, I forgot to ask Erin where this list comes from. Hmm. But it was a great night, and I had a fantastic time with Erin.

On Wednesday I went back to Dr Williams’s Library, but the letters I had left to look at were quite short and didn’t take me long to read. I went back to my room for a rest, and then out to Milk & Honey – see episode 6 for a description of that experience!

I declared Thursday to be a “rest day”. My parents called me at 9:30am and I was still in bed. I’d been up at about 6:30am – checked my email and ate some yoghurt – but was so tired that I decided to try to get some more sleep. I did some washing and then set out to do some non-research related stuff. I had lunch at a pub called the Slug & Lettuce – it’s a chain, but it’s quite good actually – a very tasty steak sandwich and a glass of wine. I was reading a book called Dissolution, by C.J. Sansom – a crime thriller set during the reign of King Henry VIII, the time of Reformation when Henry was dissolving all the monasteries. It was quite good, but perhaps a little too much like Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles. I liked the way it showed the range of views – Reformed and “Papist” – some good and some extremely evil on both sides. I realised that in spite of being a Protestant, I don’t really know much about the Reformation. I should read more about it. I guess my uninformed view is that the English Reformation was quite different to the Continental Reformation, and was really more of a power struggle and (it seems, particularly from this book) a quest for money. I suppose it’s part of the reason I’m not an Anglican, given that the Church of England sprang from King Henry VIII’s desire for a divorce. I know that’s not all it was – need to do some more reading!

I spent quite awhile in the pub just sitting and reading. It was quite comfortable, and the book was very engrossing, and no one kicked me out, which was nice. I realised afterwards that I was right next to the Borough Market that Erin had told me I had to go to, so I wandered in for a look. Unfortunately, I’d already had lunch, and the chorizo sandwich stall was closed, but I did get a brownie. I don’t know if it was the one Erin had told me to try – I saw at least three types in different places – but it was very good indeed! I ate it while walking across London Bridge and along the Thames to the Tower of London.

Walking across London Bridge

I’ve been to London twice before, both times for a week. The first time was all tourism. The second time was partly research, partly sight-seeing. This time I was intended to do mostly research, but the Tower of London was the one London tourist attraction that I had not yet seen, but really wanted to visit. I got there, and the area around it was PACKED with tourists! The lines for tickets were not that long, but quite slow, and when I noticed that not only did I only have just over 2 hours before it closed, but also that I’d missed the last Yeoman Warder guided tour for the day, I decided to come back another day. I walked back to Borough Market, bought this fantastic bread thing filled with vegetables and cheese, a bottle of New Forest cider and some fruit, and went back to my room to relax.

On Friday morning, I had quite a late start. I think I got out of bed at around 8am, which wasn’t too bad considering the Royal Society Library wouldn’t open until 10am anyway. But when I checked my email, I found out some very shocking news in an email from the church and from Donna. You may have seen on the news or read in the paper about a tragedy in Revesby – a father and teenage daughter dead from stab wounds, the mother in hospital with serious injuries and another daughter under police guard in hospital with minor injuries. This is the family of a friend from my church (I don’t know him very well, but I’d still consider him a friend). He was away leading on a youth camp at the time – how unbelievably shocking to be called back to something like this. I was extremely shocked and saddened by the news, so I called my mum for a chat (on my mobile, which I’m trying not to do, but I figured this was a good reason). I got in touch with Donna via text message, and then we chatted on MSN for a little while, which was great. She was about to go off to a prayer meeting for our friend and his family. I haven’t heard any more aside from what I’ve read on smh.com.au, so I hope he is going ok. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in his situation. Perhaps any of my readers who feel comfortable doing so could pray for the Walicki family. There are 5 children in total. The youngest, 15 years old, was the one who died.

Because of this, I got a rather late start that morning. I had eaten some yoghurt for breakfast, but by about 11am when I was heading off, I was hungry again, so I stopped in at the Slug & Lettuce for brunch – the first coked breakfast I’d had so far this trip. It was very good indeed. After that, I made my way to the Royal Society of London. I hadn’t been earlier in the week because the library was closed during their annual Summer Science Exhibition (which I would have gone to the day before if I hadn’t been so tired). The exhibition ended on the Thursday, and the website didn’t say anything about the library being closed on the Friday, but unfortunately it was. Very sad. Apparently it would all be back to normal on the Monday, but that was too late for me!

The Royal Society is quite close to Piccadilly, so I wandered up there to Waterstone’s, which is supposed to be the largest bookstore in Europe. It may well be, but their history of science section is still not very good. And their 5th View restaurant was closed before 2pm! Grr. Not happy. So I went back to the trusty British Library, where I had to wait quite a long time for my books, so I sat reading another novel – The Interpretation of Murder, by Jed Rubenfeld – another historical crime thriller, this time involving Freud and Jung. Very enjoyable.

Walking across the Tower Bridge

On Saturday morning, I set off quite early for the Tower of London, partly to beat the crowds and partly because I had a lunch reservation at 2:30pm. I walked across the Tower Bridge (about a 30 minute walk from where I was staying), took a few photos and then my camera battery died. I didn’t have time to go back to my room to charge it, so I’ll have to make do with my memories. The Tower of London was fantastic – well worth the visit and the £13. I always thought of the Tower of London as one very tall tower, people imprisoned right at the top, with a spiral staircase all the way up. I don’t know where I got that picture from. But the Tower of London is not just one tower – it’s a massive complex of 20 towers, as well as other buildings, lawns and gardens. I went on a Yeoman Warder guided tour, which was great. I like guided tours when the guide knows a lot about the history of the place, which this guy did. And he was funny. To be a Yeoman Warder, one has to have served 22 years in the armed forces (but the navy is excluded, because they don’t actually swear to protect the monarch, or something like that) and they live onsite with their families. That would be rather strange, I think, but they’ve got their own church, chaplain, doctor and pub! And pet ravens too.

Flamingos at the Roof Gardens

I was there for about 4 hours, but I still didn’t manage to see it all. However I had to head off to Kensington to the Babylon restaurant at the Roof Gardens, which even include flamingos. I got confused and got off the tube at South Kensington instead of High Street Kensington, so I had to get a cab. Not good. Also near there was a place called the Whole Foods Market (Tim and Tegan, you would love this place) – three massive floors of gourmet fresh and pre-prepared food. I didn’t buy anything though, and didn’t actually have time. I had to get to Westminster to go on the London Eye at 6pm. Getting the tube to Westminster was not much of a problem, but getting across the bridge to the Eye was – so many people! I don’t know whether it was my severe hayfever attack and the heat inside the capsule, but I thought the London Eye was a bit overrated.

This is me on the London Eye

I managed to coax my camera into taking one photo – the only photo of myself taken on this trip so far. After getting off the Eye, I just wanted to go back to my room and lie down. My feet were killing me, and my nose and sinuses weren’t much better. I got across the bridge only to find that Westminster station was closed for entry – something to do with the Tour de France – so I had to walk to Embankment. I stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of tea (better than Costa’s, but not as good as Caffe Nero) and a rest. After I got back to my room, I collapsed on my bed for awhile, and nearly finished reading The Interpretation of Murder before feeling rather hungry. Don’t know why – I had a big lunch. I wasn’t in the mood to go far, so I just slipped across the road to the Roebuck for a quick and cheap (but not healthy) dinner of chips and a pint of Strongbow!

Other people on the London Eye

The next day I left London for Cambridge. This post is probably far too long already, so I’ll save my experiences of St Paul’s Cathedral, London and Holy Trinity, Cambridge for another time.

The Eagle in Cambridge - a very important pub in the history of science!

P.S. I’ve been writing this while sitting in the famous Eagle pub in Cambridge. I enjoyed a dinner of bangers and mash and a pint of cider (how very English) and have just been enjoying the atmosphere. It’s a much nicer place to sit and write than in my rather small room. I had an early dinner after working in the library all day, and it’s been well over an hour since I finished. The room I’m in was completely empty (aside from me) for quite a while, and the waiters would look in from time to time to see if anything needed to be done. One of them brought me a drink (lemon mineral water), saying that he thought I looked thirsty. Isn’t that sweet? I knew there was a reason this is my favourite pub in the whole world!

This is me inside the Eagle pub in 2006 with two very eminent historians of science - Peter Harrison (next to me) and David Lindberg (at the front), as well as David's lovely wife Greta

Interlude - London Bombs

I was given strict instructions to stay away from bombs this time, which, as the obedient young lady that I am, I did. I was in Manchester while the failed bombings in London and the attack on Glasgow Airport took place. Today was the 2nd anniversary of the bombings in the London Underground. I read in the paper that the recent attempts were supposed to be sending a message: that despite the West's war on terror, these groups can still attack. Well, they failed, so that's good. I hope and pray that they will not succeed at a later date.

I should also point out that my blogging so far has not covered all of my activities, particularly my time in London. Contrary to the belief of some, I do not spend all my time in pubs and bars! It just so happens that sitting and enjoying a nice, quiet drink provides an excellent opportunity for writing in my journal, which can then be typed up and posted online. Perhaps I should go have another nice, quiet drink tonight and write about some of the other exciting things I've been doing! Maybe I will. After church.

Episode 6 – Milk & Honey

I was going to give it a miss, but didn’t want to disappoint my big brother, and I though it would be sad to miss out for the second year in a row, so here I am at Milk & Honey.

I called from the British Library this afternoon to make a reservation, before going back to my room for a rest (it occurred to me that I’ve been going for 10 days straight without a break – surely not a good idea). I almost didn’t make it out again. I thought about cancelling my reservation because I had a bad headache, but I wasn’t sure I’d get another one, and again thought it would be a shame to miss out. So I took some trusty Nurofen, and I’m feeling better now.

I could only get a place at the bar. Apparently it’s going to be a busy night, but it’s pretty empty so far (it’s a little after 7pm). When I called to make a reservation, Emma nearly forgot to give me the address – I had to ask for it. The address is not available on the website, and even knowing the address doesn’t make it an easy place to find (also rather inconvenient that the numbering on the street goes up one side and down the other, rather than having odd numbers on one side and even on the other). There’s nothing on the outside to advertise it as being Milk & Honey – just a plan black door with an intercom and swipe-card system. Fortunately, just as I was switching off my iPod (love Mika!), a member arrived, so I snuck in behind him.

Once inside, there’s a reception desk where a smartly dressed guy checks the details of your reservation (computerised, of course), offers to take your coat and bag, calls through to the area in which you will be sitting to let them know someone is coming, and then directs you through the appropriate door. Once inside, there are 7 booth-style tables, each seating 4-6 people; a few smaller tables and 3 seats along the bar, where I’m sitting. The cocktail menu is quite good – not too many typical cocktails – and there’s a tapas-style snack menu. I’ve ordered some edamame which haven’t arrive yet, and I’m very much enjoying my first cocktail – a Pink Lady. It has gin, calvados, lemon juice, grenadine and egg white. Very tasty. Could really do with some food, though.

The room I’m in is not very big. It’s dimly lit, with a dark ceiling that seems lower than it actually is. The light just near where I am sitting is held together with sticky tape. There are incense burners and small candles scattered around the place, and a few shelves of vintage cocktail paraphernalia illuminated by candles in liqueur glasses. In one corner is a table of businessmen, drinking beer. Jackets off, unlike the businessmen at the Duke’s Hotel. It’s strange, but I expected there to be more women. I’ve just been joined at the bar by a couple, and to my left is another couple who look like they are on a date, but fairly early in the relationship. The greeting when she arrived (I can’t believe he didn’t meet her outside!) looked a little awkward. A kiss on one cheek – oh wait, we’re going for the other one too!

Mmm… Edamame. I’ve got Tim and Tegan (and Iori) to thank for introducing me to Edamame. This time I didn’t manage to hit anyone with a stray flying bean, though I was tempted to try. I’ve been here for an hour, and I’ve got one more – non-members can only make reservations for two hours, and need to be gone by 11pm at any rate. Members can stay until 3am. I think I’ve have some chorizo (still hungry – edamame are tasty, but not too filling) and another cocktail, and then go back to my room for an early night.

There are two Australian reds on the Red Room Reserve List:

• Tyrell’s Vat 9 Shiraz 2001 - £50
• Yalumba “The Menzies” Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 - £52

The most expensive red is Echezeaux Grand Cru Domaine Perdrix 2000 - £125. A complimentary £9 cheese platter seems superfluous with that!

The priciest champagne is Krug Special Collection Vintage 1979 (magnum) - £900 – “Probably the best champagne ever made.” Next is the Cuvee Don Perignon Rose Vintage 1995 - £275 – “The world’s most prestigious rose.” I thought the first one was more my style and price range, though!

It’s starting to fill up in here now. I don’t know whether they’ve turned the music down or whether it’s been drowned out by the sound of conversation. I’ve had some chorizo (very tasty indeed) and I’m now having a second Pink Lady. It’s served in one of those old style champagne glasses –think of the champagne cocktails in An Affair to Remember. It’s a lovely shade of pink, with a layer of fine foam on top. It’s a little fruity, but very smooth. Quite delightful. I am very much enjoying it. But after two cocktails, salted edamame and chorizo, I think I’ll need to drink lots of water tonight!

Episode 5 – Dukes Hotel, London

Earlier this year I was in Borders with a 15% off voucher that was about to expire. I couldn’t find any novels I particularly wanted, and their selection of science/history of science was not great (it was Canberra) but I found a little red book called London Secrets, a collection of comments by a variety of people – authors and such, even the historian T.K. Rabb, if I remember correctly – on their favourite places in London – walks, historic buildings, shops, bars and so on. One described the martinis at the Dukes Hotel cocktail bar as he best in the world, so I felt compelled to try one, if only for research purposes so I could tell my brother about it.

Today I’ve been at the British Library all day – dressed fairly casually in olive trousers, white top, black cardigan, flat shoes with socks (unfortunately visible, as the trousers could be longer), no make up and hair in a ponytail. I was planning to go back to my room before venturing out again this evening, but decided to work a little longer at the library instead.

So I rocked up at the Dukes Hotel, a little damp as it was raining, with my laptop bag over my shoulder. I walked down St James’s Place, past the house where Chopin was staying when he gave his final performance, turned into the courtyard of the hotel, walked past people bearing spiffy Dukes Hotel umbrellas, saw the doorman and realised that this was a very swish place. I thought about giving it a miss, but decided to go in anyway. I shook off my umbrella (outside, not on the carpet in the foyer!) and found the entrance to the cocktail bar just to the right. From the door, I could see a small room with a few tables of suited businessmen. No women. I nearly walked out again. But to the left was another door leading to the bar, more tables of suited businessmen, and some spare seats. I sat myself down, perused the menu, and ordered a gin martini (they have a separate list for martinis). A few minutes later, a bartender in a white dinner jacket and tie arrived at my table with a stool and a tray bearing a bottle of (apparently frozen) Plymouth gin, a small cut glass perfume bottle of vermouth, a lemon and a chilled glass. He misted the inside of the glass with vermouth, filled it with gin, peeled a strip of lemon rind, gently swiped the edge of the glass with it, and then released it into the cocktail. I was also brought not just a small bowl of spicy nibbles, but a bowl of olives, a large bowl of rice crackers, and a large bowl of mixed nuts. Very classy indeed. I considered wrapping up the remaining nuts and crackers in a serviette to take back to my room, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate.

I’m sitting here writing in a notebook because pulling out my laptop doesn’t seem the thing to do. I feel extremely underdressed, and quite out of place, which is kind of strange because I am fairly used to swish bars and quite capable of dressing appropriately. I’m rather tempted to come back later in the week, dressed up all fancy, and see if the service is any different (not that it’s bad – it’s very good). I might have a chocolate martini next time. Mmm… Rather expensive, though. £14 just for the martini.

Just finished the martini – took me over 45 minutes! I’m eavesdropping on the people at the next table. A guy is saying that he has a friend in the police force who said that there was a huge bomb threat at Canary Wharf that was defused but didn’t make the press because it’s just too scary. Hmm.

(I mentioned that to my friend Erin, who I caught up with the following night, and she said she’d heard that rumour too. She said that there’s no way something like that wouldn’t make it into the papers.)

Episode 4 – Manchester to London

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a pub called The Roebuck just across the street from the Great Dover Street Apartments (student accommodation for King’s College) in which I’m staying. From today, all pubs in England are smoke free. Fantastic move, particularly since last time I was here, this pub didn’t have any smoke-free areas. Fairly decent menu, though. I’m having a steak burger – just had a craving for a burger – and a glass of Tempranillo. Other choices that sounded good: pork and Guinness sausages with mash and homemade gravy, and a field mushroom and brie burger.

The Roebuck - though I took this photo last year...

I arrived in London from Manchester this afternoon. The conference was great, but exhausting, so it was nice to relax on the train. I was in first class (only because it was cheaper than standard) and it was nice and quiet, until we got to Birmingham New Street, which was only halfway through the four-hour journey, unfortunately. I did a bit of work on the train, but was feeling a little motion sick, so I finished reading my book instead – The Ghost Writer, by John Harwood.

After arriving in London, I unpacked a bit and then had a little rest. I’ve stuffed up the one Su Doku puzzle twice now. It’s only “difficult”, not even “fiendish”! I don’t know what the problem is. Must be tired.

As I said, the conference was busy but enjoyable. On Thursday morning I had to go shopping for an outfit to wear for my presentation. After much searching, I found a nice top in Oasis (love that shop!) and then a lovely black skirt in the Coast section of Debenham’s. I also bought a cable to connect my laptop to the network in the college, but didn’t manage to sort out access until lunchtime on Friday. I took the bus back to Hulme Hall instead of walking, because my feet were killing me.

In the afternoon, I skipped the EGM to have a rest and a nap. I had trouble getting up, so I was a little late for the first session – Cultures of Domestic Chemistry. The papers were quite interesting – looking at interactions of chemistry with everyday life, such as textbooks teaching chemistry through simple procedures like making a cup of tea; chemistry and the ‘science’ of fashion; and the marketing of toy chemistry sets. After that was dinner, where I met Eleanor, who is doing a PhD (practical mathematics in the 16th century) at Oxford; Shana, who is from Toronto, teaches for a US university online, but is based in London; and Martha, who is at the University of Toronto. Afterwards was the plenary lecture given by John Pickstone, from the University of Manchester. After that I ate some chocolate (bad, but it was so good – from Hotel Chocolat) and went to bed early.

Friday morning at breakfast I met a guy called Michael Hawkins who works for the Newton Project (IT and history of science!) and on Thomas Willis, a 17th-century physician. He was very interesting, not least because he was interested in hearing my paper. I went to a session on Darwinism – interesting to a point – and then to one on chemistry, which I left early to work out my internet access and get ready for my presentation.

My paper was in a session called “Frameworks of Thought and Belief.” The first speaker was Sophie Weeks, formerly of the University of Leeds, and now of the University of Cambridge. She has a junior research fellowship with one of the colleges (something I’ll be applying for in the next few years). Sophie works on Francis Bacon, and relations between his political philosophy and natural philosophy. The speaker after me was French. He had a very strong accent and spoke very fast, so I couldn’t understand much of what he was saying. That was a shame, because it seemed quite interesting. There was one quotation he used which was along the lines that if the physiological body was used as an illustration for the political body, what it would show would be that there should be more government control, not less.

(This is as far as I got while writing in the Roebuck pub last Sunday night. It’s now Friday night, and I’m in another pub down the road from where I’m staying, called The Trinity.)



My paper went quite well. I find I’m not getting as nervous before these things as I used to. My paper only took 15 minutes to read, which left 10 minutes for comments and questions. Michael Hawkins, from the Newton project, asked if there was any “bad” use of natural philosophy by natural theologians who just didn’t have sufficient understanding of it. He said that there was a lot of poor use made of Thomas Willis’ writings. I wasn’t too sure, because I’m looking at people who were natural philosophers, not just people who used it. However, I know that some of the Boyle lecturers were criticised for putting up such poor arguments that the case of the deists was thought to be strengthened rather than weakened. Also Ralph Cudworth, who I was talking about in this paper, and who was, at least in some sense, a natural philosopher, was said to have “raised such strong objections against the being of a God and providence, that many think he has not answered them.” I had someone else ask me how Platonist the Cambridge Platonists (Henry More and Ralph Cudworth anyway) actually were, or in what sense they could be considered Platonists. This is a tricky one, and something I’m still working on. Overall, I think I dealt with the comments and questions quite well, and I had an interesting conversation with Michael Hawkins afterwards, which turned into a discussion of ID and the differences between the political spectrum in the US, UK and Australia.

The session after my talk (after a coffee break) was a panel discussion with four past presidents of the British Society for the History of Science. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Society, so it was a rather event filled programme. The discussion was very interesting. Each of the four past presidents spoke on a different aspect of their involvement: one on how they came to be involved in the first place; another on being president at the time of the 50th anniversary of the society; the third on being involved with the journal; and the last one… Can’t quite remember. That’s why I should take notes! After this session, we all traipsed up the road to the Manchester Museum (which I visited on my first day in Manchester) for the presidential lecture and a drinks reception in the mammals exhibition area. The current president, Frank James, spoke about putting the history of science to work, and about Faraday. I didn’t follow much of it –not sure if I was just tired, or maybe his manner of speaking and his accent. The girl next to me fell asleep. During the drinks reception I had a nice chat with Sophie Weeks (the girl who presented before me) and with Rebekah Higgitt, who I’ve seen at previous conferences, but met properly for the first time while she was in Australia a few months back when she gave a seminar in our school. I feel as though I am very slowly getting to know people and making inroads into the inner sanctums of the society. I’m having difficulty breaking into the main group of young people who are extremely involved with the society – I’m finding it a little cliquey. I guess it’s difficult when I only see these people once a year – and only three times in total so far. I guess it would be easier if I were living and working in England, and had more opportunities to be involved with the society.

BSHS presidents preparing to cut the cake. From the left: John Hedley Brooke, Geoffrey Cantor, Peter Bowler, Frank James (current president) and unfortunately I don't know the other two

During the reception there was also a toast to the society, followed by the cutting of the 60th anniversary cake, with all the past and present presidents who were present. Afterwards, a group of about 30 or 40 people traipsed back down the road, following someone (I don’t think we knew exactly who) that apparently knew a good curry place, though the word was that any place along the curry mile was good. A good number of us managed to cram into the upstairs section of one place. I can’t remember what I had, but it was good – rather spicy, though. I met a guy called David Muns who said he once got drunk with my PhD supervisor, and who did his Masters at the University of Sydney about 10 years ago with Nicolas Rasmussen, who I have been working for as research assistant. Small world. Sophie and I left just after we had finished eating – we were both pretty tired. I still didn’t get to bed until late – it took me quite awhile to work through the 100+ emails I’d received and catch up on blog reading!

On Saturday, I went to all the events organised by the BSHS Outreach and Education Committee. The first session was about teaching the history of science online. Graeme Gooday chaired the session, and spoke about a tutorial he’d developed to help students learn about the limitations of internet resources. Michael Hawkins talked about the Newton and Livingstone projects, and John van Whye took us through the Darwin Project website. Fantastic resources. I particularly liked Graeme’s tutorial. It takes students through a series of activities, searching for things on the web, and finding out that sources can give conflicting information, and showing that some sources are more reliable than others.

After that was a session on “Talking Objects” – writing the autobiographies of museum artefacts. The committee has run a couple of pilot events, encouraging people to write the autobiography of objects from a museum. For one of these, they had an author and lecturer in creative writing to help out, as well as having curators on hand to answer questions. The idea is to use the motivation of writing the autobiography to “interrogate” the object and to find out more about it. It’s a fairly old practise – the example that inspired the project was the Autobiography of an Electron which Graeme Gooday spoke about at last year’s conference. The group I was with wrote about a box of wooden crystal models. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it, but I did. We didn’t win the competition though. Very sad.

In the afternoon, the committee performed a role play called “Plague on the Streets” – creating a kind of courtroom scene where members of the York council questioned witnesses to try to find out whether there was plague in York, and what to do about it. The aim is for this to be performed for teenagers to teach them the history of medicine. It’s supposed to be interactive – members of the audience can ask questions of the witnesses and suggest what the council should do. It’s got a lot of potential, but the people involved tended to speak too softly and it was rather hard to hear.

Cillian Murphy, who plays the physicist Capa in Sunshine

Another coffee break, and then a viewing of the movie Sunshine along with a discussion with the scientific consultant. I didn’t like the movie much. It’s sci-fi, but then all of a sudden turned into a B-grade horror flick which I wasn’t expecting and which brought back bad memories of Event Horizon. What was most striking was that the main character in the movie, a physicist (Cillian Murphy), looked remarkably like the scientific consultant (Dr Brian Cox), also a physicist. He said before the film that for him, it wasn’t about whether or not the science was accurate or feasible, but what it was like to be a scientist. I tried to watch the movie with that in mind, but I just couldn’t see it. If anyone else has seen it, I’d be interested in your thoughts. Another striking point was that the female characters were very “female” – much more emotional than the others. What we found out was that the script was written in a gender-neutral way – any character could have been played by a male or female. In fact, the first actor to be signed on was Michelle Yeoh, and she had first choice of characters. She could have been the physicist, but she chose to be the biologist who cried over the loss of her beloved oxygen-producing garden. Similarly, the astronaut played by Rose Byrne (hurrah for Australian actors!) wasn’t written to be so explicitly emotional – that’s something the actor brought out herself. Very interesting. Brian Cox spent quite a lot of time with Cillian Murphy, who learned from him what it is like to be a scientist. Cillian Murphy got to go to CERN at Geneva, and took quite an interest in particle physics - apparently even presented a paper to the Royal Society of London!

The multi-talented physicist Dr Brian Cox who was once in the band D:REAM

After the movie, we set off on a guided tour of the main history of science and technology sights of Manchester. Unfortunately, it rained for most of the 2 hour walk. It was still very interesting. Manchester is a fascinating city – so much history. I wish I’d had more time to explore it instead of shopping for clothes, but I probably wouldn’t have found many of these places on my own.

Touring Manchester in the rain

We ended up at the Museum of Science and Industry (which I’d wanted to go to) for the conference dinner in the Power Hall. Lots of trains. The dinner also included the presentation of the award for a photography exhibition. Dinner was quite nice – four very small courses (amusingly, there was only one vegetarian meal provided, and more than one hungry vegetarian!) but no dessert. Shana and I were thinking about exploring the Curry Mile for Indian sweet shops, but once we got onto the nice warm bus, we ended up feeling pretty tired. I wasn’t really that hungry either, so I just went to bed.

Joe Cain, from the University College, London, with his winning entry in the OEC's visual image competition

Sunday morning – a quick breakfast, then I skipped the last couple of sessions. The cheapest train ticket available was for the 12:03pm train, but I decided to leave even earlier than I had to, and had a nice relaxing cup of tea at the station while reading. And I got the chance to call my parents from a pay phone where my calling card actually works. And that gets me on to the train, where I started this post…