What a lovely, moving story. How wonderful that Parvati has now got all the way home.

True. I take consolation from thinking that next year, with another year’s experience, that shot from Ngumoha goes right in the corner out of the keeper’s reach

The BBC has published some amazing texts: my favourite is the chap who complained that “for all our spending in the summer, we looked toothless in the 2nd half”

I mean, maybe Isak only being fit enough for 45 minutes, and Elitike picking up an awful-looking injury, had something to do with that???

I do have a photo of her cast, which is among the large collection of casts in the very fine Museum of Classical Archaeology in Cambridge...

I'll be there at the beginning of May!
I share your pain: I remember walking to the Corfu museum in great anticipation only to find it closed for refurb, and I haven't yet seen their amazing Medusa.
Still, parts of the Pergamon are due to re-open next year...

Small (approximately 11 centimetre) terracotta vase with painted decoration, in the shape of an animal, a little bear or a hedgehog, holding a bowl. Chalandriani, Syros. Early Cycladic II period, Keros-Syros Culture (2800-2300 BC).

Grand photos from this superb museum! It's scheduled to close for major redevelopment starting next year so I'm glad you got there in 2026.
Just in case you missed him, here's the lovely hedgehog (or perhaps bear) from Chalandriani on Syros...

We did. After Darlow saved their first one too

Good luck. I don't think directly complaining will help at this stage, as these can be dismissed as simple typos & you risk being flagged as "awkward". Maybe a quiet expression of your concern if/when you have a face-to-face meeting is the only way to raise this?

If it can be done without throwing money away, I'd disengage. Those errors show an unacceptable level of sloppiness.

You need to be able to trust them - do you?

I knew that a few of them had fallen over-I've see many fascinating photos of restoration work-but I didn't know that a)concrete was used or b)some of them may not be in their original positions.
But that's on me really-given the technologies available when the work was done, it seems reasonable.

For #MosaicMonday, some lovely mosaics from the beautiful building in Kildare Street, #Dublin that houses the marvellous Bronze Age Gold collection of the National Museum of Ireland.

The lighting on Ramesses is very fine/

Thank you for sharing this: it's a fascinating story and you've done some excellent investigative work! I'm hoping to go to Rapa Nui later this year, and I've just bought your book to prepare before my visit.

I'll also pay my respects to Hoa Hakananai’a when I'm in the BM tomorrow.

Safe travels!

From the BBC text coverage...

"Robins keeper Radek Vitek is wearing a black protective cap on his head this evening after suffering a cut to his head in training."

#MosaicMonday

... and now the Seasons, who are in the corners of the mosaic!
Horae & the Seasons mosaic; now on display in the rather fine Archaeological Museum of #Kissamos, #Crete.
(sorry about my feet!)

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The central panel of a mosaic: a rectangular picture showing three Greek goddesses, wearing colourful flowing dresses, dancing around a central circular altar.

#MosaicMonday
The lovely Horae (The Goddesses of the Seasons & Order: Eunomia, Eirene & Dike), in the centre of the Horae & the Seasons mosaic; now on display in the rather fine Archaeological Museum of #Kissamos, #Crete.
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Here's a picture of the 'before & after' with the first restorer, John Doubleday. The most recent restoration includes all the known pieces.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

There are so many lovely things in that museum that I missed this fine fellow. I'll have to go back!

It does seem to me that a lot of the information contained in the most recent set of Epstein files has been specifically chosen to expose British participants in this shoddy affair & thus divert our attention from elsewhere.

Or am I simply seeing UK media naturally focussing on the British angle?

Quick work!
(though the paragraph beginning "There is also no financial claim here." does read a bit oddly now - maybe drop the last sentence?)

As there isn't any reference to the Hawai'i exhibition in the information that you've posted, maybe you could change your Substack article to reflect this? I agree that the BM shouldn't be using AI, but directly tying this to that exhibition isn't helpful.

You're welcome! I didn't realise how many photos I have from Heraklion - it's a wonderful museum full of stunning objects and I really enjoyed searching through my rather disorganised collection.

Minoan bull-leaping fresco. On a light blue background, one white-skinned attendant holds the bull's horns, and another waits behind the bull with arms outstretched to catch the darker-skinned acrobat who is doing a hand-stand on the bull's back.

We had that bin too! Here's my photo of the fresco taken in the Heraklion museum, and while it has been extensively restored, I think there's enough original plaster there to show that it's quite a reasonable representation.

I did some googling to try to educate myself on this, and according to my very limited "research", treated wood is considered to be controlled waste, and burning it in the UK is an offense under the Environmental Protection Act.

Image snipped from Google Maps, with a sign saying Chalkers Corner above a Medivet sign.

I just did a bit of googling, and above the 24 Hour Vets that replaced Chalkers, there is an old-fashioned street sign :-)

We still have 2 Chalkers Corner bus stops here in SW London. Chalkers was a Funeral Parlour, which closed maybe 20 years ago.

Any home draw is good!

I give one of the BM's Eye-Opener Tours once a fortnight. I'm always pleased that freelance tours are permitted - though I try not to eavesdrop on them, in case I hear something too strange!

Good luck with your tour - I hope you get many attendees, and lots of good questions.

Causation or merely correlation? Clearly more data is needed...