DL&GotS,

Inspired by good old Paddlewick's recent ruminations re: The City, Lady X organized a tour to the Old Metropolis. While brief and hurly-burly, the jaunt refreshed our fading impressions of City Culture and Achievements of Mankind from Archytecture to Scientifick Advance to Creative Use of Yeast.

Accommodations were procured at Cartwright Gardens, quite conveniently located and apt to be made the habitual locale of temporary headquarters for us long range emissaries, what with the absolutely reasonable price of £85 per night.

Our first excursion headed to the nexus of the City, the immediate area of the Imperial College, the Museum of Natural History, the Royal Geographick Society -- and our target of the day, the Museum of Science. Carriages were prominently displayed, powered not only by equine grace, but also by the alchemy of Chinese powders and subsequent concoctions of explosive delight, and even Tesla's electrick magic. (One is astounded, nay, gobsmacked, that the noisier, exhaust-ridden relatives of these carriages have lately gained so much eminence.)

Say what one will of rocketry & turbines, the zeppelin does have a certain distinguished habitus, and should be considered the favored mode of travel for official Society business.
Mr. G. Tilghman Richards' annular monoplane allegedly displayed superior flight control properties. It certainly evidences intriguing parallels to some later aviation experiments performed in the Colonies.

A section of the Babbage-o-Matic, or Difference Engine. Fate & Chaos conspired to hide the larger, working unit from us.

Past Now and Long Now. The Empire once broadcast its definitive opinion on Time across the globe, but the practice is already fading into history. The Long Now Foundation adopts a grander perspective, intending a gargantuan timepiece powered by the tears & sweat of ascending acolytes to bridge the gaps between the rise and fall of civilizations. Laudable, I say.

The beginnings of the Cornucopia Machine. An exposition on Automatick Mechanical Assemblage of Matter was held by intrepid Inventors, Explorers, and Enterpreneurs. Already impressive for those with interests in design, arts, & archytecture, these machines are but a glimpse of what is to come, Difference Engines to today's Computational Units. Interesting times!

The City itself reminded us of the delights of a densely packed, variegated, self-sufficient conurbation, a decided contrast to our more recent vistas of the Natural Elements. The layering of venerable and modern produces a pleasing complexity of space that keeps the observer alert and involved in the environs.

Investigations in the Creative Application of Yeasts. The Bree Louise offered a particularly genuine and broad glimpse into the artistry of Cider and Beer...

...while at the other end of the spectrum, the Coal Hole's rowdy clientele belied the upscale upholstery. Nothing but trouble, those dastardly Theater fiends!
Envigored by the City experience, we simply must return for more, be as it may circumrouting the unending horrors of British Airways and its fog alerts.