Rebellion and Design

On our arrival at London City Airport there was absolutely no sign of the Extinction Rebellion protestors that we had heard would be disrupting our travel. They had been protesting at City Airport the day before with some success, and had planned to try to close it over the weekend, but today there was no sign of them. I felt rather short-changed. The lack of protestors was made up for (and indeed explained!) by the huge amount of police officers. Our route from security through the small airport to the DLR was lined every step of the way with yellow jacketed police. And we noticed a very high police presence around London all weekend. We saw a few hundred rather damp looking protestors in Trafalgar Square as we passed there on Saturday evening; they seemed subdued, perhaps because of the weather. We also saw about half a dozen on Monday morning, stretching a banner at waist height across a busy road at a pedestrian crossing. When the lights changed, all of the waiting cars started honking their horns angrily and the polite rebels immediately shuffled back onto the pavement.
I find myself rather torn about Extinction Rebellion. Part of me admires their dedication and how much they care about our world. But part of me resents having others’ views imposed on me, however well meaning - I spent far too much of my childhood and youth being told by various sources what I should do and think, so I don’t tolerate it very well nowadays. Perhaps I am the real rebel.
After a pleasant light lunch in the Members’ Lounge at the V&A (thank you for the great Christmas present Jennifer!) we decided to join one of the free tours of the museum. The tour guides are all volunteers and while she was very knowledgeable, our tour guide had an extremely quiet voice which left our group straining to hear her in the noisy entrance hall of the museum. It was easier to make her out as she took us through into less crowded rooms. It was good to take a tour because although I have been to several exhibitions there and enjoyed its tea rooms, I have never been quite sure of its purpose. Well, it turns out that it’s all about design, which fits in with the Christian Dior exhibition that we visited earlier in the year. When the Victoria and Albert Museum (as it was later named) was established in the early 19th century, Britain was apparently regarded as strong in manufacturing but not so good at design. So this museum was intended to showcase design, both old and new.
This has resulted in an interesting but eclectic collection of exhibits from around the world. I found myself wondering what isn’t design? For example there was a giant room full of massive plaster casts of carved columns from Rome, which apparently have preserved the designs in better condition than the originals, which continue to be eroded by weather and pollution in their native city. Very impressive, but how is that different from many of the exhibits in the British Museum?