HAPPENINGS
IN A MUSEUM

Roma Tearne,
Artist-in-Residence.

A Report on Conditions in Antiquities

     This month has seen a flurry of activity in Antiquities. After the drama of All Souls' Night a freak storm with winds of ninety miles-an-hour damaged a part of the building causing it to be closed for repair. Staff in Antiquities, already bruised by the unwanted publicity from the fish knives, were further distressed. The lights in the John Evans gallery were dimmed, its emotional curtain drawn and like a sick child it was put to bed leaving its parents fretting over its condition. Meanwhile the fish knives still hung over the medieval gallery glinting in the wintry light from the high windows. Visitors to the museum, of which there were many, continued to notice them. Many were genuinely puzzled by the suggestion that an abbey might have existed on the site where the Ashmolean now stands. Others spent time studying the Becket reliquary, returning later with map and compass to follow the line from casket to doorway. Almost all who did this noted in their e-mail contributions that the site of the murder on the ancient map was just below the point where the knives hung. But of the many letters received, the most remarkable arrived last week by special delivery and is now reproduced here with the kind permission of the writer to whom we extend our grateful thanks.