History stuff.....and a film

Winchester Museum - the Roman section

Saturday was a day to escape the cold so we set off to Winchester Museum. We were waiting by the doors in time for opening! We had a treat in store. Over three floors we journeyed through the ages from Iron Age until the present. The Roman presence was most interesting for me and just down the road from our B&B, where the Brook Shopping Centre is today, were Roman houses. Winchester was then known as Venta. There were medieval buildings too and Parchment Street, where we are staying, was known for its tanneries.

On display were mosaics and pottery, as well as coins and jewellery. We had a go at some of the hands on stuff, like identifying bones from animals and pieces of pottery – whether rim, Base, centre or handle.  Good fun.

I enjoyed looking as two albums of early photos taken in the area, the mock up shops and of course the gift shop, where I bought a set of guide books and some other items. We then headed off to the Discovery Centre where they have Wi-Fi and  I was able to do my blog post. While we were there we looked at an exhibition entitled Black to White featuring four artists – Kate Dicker, Anne Hayward, Howard Phipps and Ann Tout. They all use wood engraving as their main medium. It was fascinating to see their tools of trade and their art was so intricate.

 Still wanting to keep warm we went off to the cinema and saw the new Bond movie, Spectre.  I’m not the biggest Bond fan since Daniel Craig took over. I felt the humour was harder to find and the subjects darker. However, I did enjoy this one.

Mosaic floor from Minster Street, Wincheter