By Charlène Thibault

« Collecting Dots » is one of the first things we were advised to do when we arrived at the SCA. My best friend came from France this weekend to visit me, so I took the opportunity to discover London with her. I have never amassed so much knowledge and inspiration in such a short time, so here is my impression of this weekend.

Several places took my breath away with the view.

The view at the top of Primrose Hill is sumptuous. You can see the contrast between a green nature and the city made of concrete and lights. The panoramic view at the top of the Heron Tower made me aware of the greatness of this city, and its frenzy (https://tinyurl.com/yc4jwvpw). Then I went to the banks of the Thames, at sunset, the golden lights reflected on the Tower Bridge were splendid (https://zupimages.net/up/18/44/hcjm.jpeg), and the shard against the light seemed even more majestic (https://tinyurl.com/ybsdnsyj). These different places have reminded me to some extent that, with imagination, ingenuity or envy, human can build splendid things.

I loved the Natural History Museum, I felt like I was re-acquainted with the beauty and the power of the nature and humanity, I was inspired by its hazardous shapes and textures.

The British museum is fabulous, whether in terms of resources or its architecture, the contrast between the neoclassical style of the building and the modern roof of The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is incredible (https://tinyurl.com/yanuojb6). And how not to be inspired by visiting the different exhibitions, especially the one of Ancient Egypt, which has always fascinated me (I wanted to be an archaeologist in Egypt being a child, as 50% of the population I think).

I walked the streets of London, I went into small galleries where I can discover the work of artists that I didn’t know, such as Neo Two (http://noe-two.com) or stumbled upon Banksy’s Guard Dog and His Master’s Voice.

Plato gave the “beautiful” the task of cultivating “good character” in order to prepare “the coming of reason”. The arts have the function of making a kind of mixing between human, of tearing them away from their individuality, and freeing them from their subjectivity. And that’s exactly what I felt in front of so much beauty.