I walked over to the Wellcome Collection, part of the Wellcome Trust, a charity that was set up in 1936 upon the death of Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome, a pharmacist, entrepreneur and avid collector of things related to medicine and healing,

My visit began with the exhibition Bedlam: the asylum and beyond. The first thing I learned was that the word bedlam comes from the colloquial pronunciation of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London that was founded in the 13th century. The exhibition focuses on this hospital to demonstrate the changes and ideas in treating mental health over the course of those centuries, using historical records, personal anecdotes, and artwork. The artwork was particularly interesting.

I then went in to their permanent exhibit, Medicine Now, that I had visited in 2007, and it was mostly the same. Chris Dorley-Brown's video, 15 Seconds (parts 1 and 2) 1994-2004, shows Essex schoolchildren who were taped, each for 15 seconds, in 1994 when they about 9, side-by-side with the same children ten years later. I loved it just as much this time. The video had each child talking about what they were doing now, or rather in 2004. It would be interesting to get a 2014 update.

Andrea Duncan's Twenty Three Pairs, 2002 is a digital print of 23 pairs of socks laid out as chromosomes.

New to the museum was their experimental photobooth, the S.P.I.R.I.T (supernatural psychic intervention radical imaging tool) Booth. Of course I couldn't resist going in to reveal my psychic transparency. And what are psychic transparencies?  The concept was a hoax from the early 20th century. "Images were supposedly sent from the afterlife to form visual memories that could be captured." Mine is a pop-up Valentine's card from the 1920s and the photo is now on their website here. The woman before me got a human skull.

Lastly I went in to their other permanent exhibition, Medicine Man, showing some of the items that Sir Henry collected, including a chastity belt, a mummified body, and medical instruments.

I met up with Gord at King's Cross where we headed down to Victoria Station for the musical Wicked. It was a Skidmore event for the students and there was an extra ticket, so I got to go too. Gord and I grabbed a quick bite of mediocre Indian food at a nearby pub first.

I have to say that I have avoided seeing Wicked because I can think of no other book I disliked more. I am fairly certain I will never read another Gregory Maguire book. The musical, however, was another beast altogether. The production, the elaborate set and costumes, the lighting, the incredible voices, the challenging music, all contributed to an enjoyable evening. It was visually stunning, no question. Even the story, which did nothing for me as a novel, worked as a musical. I'm glad I finally got to see it.