Crushing a childhood memory
Between 1962 and 1970 (aged 3-11) I lived in Tring, Hertfordshire. Part of my growing up there involved frequent visits to the local museum, exclusively dealing with natural history, founded by Lord Rothschild and housed in a stately Victorian mansion. I spent hours wandering the high-ceilinged rooms that were full of glass cases and walnut cabinets, staring at the assembled stuffed and mounted exhibits. My early obsessions were sweets, football and dinosaurs and very soon these were joined by living wildlife. When I eventually ended up in Sutton, Surrey (1971) a trip to the natural history museum at South Kensington was on the cards - Tring's big brother in more ways than one. I couldn't but be impressed, not just with the exhibits inside but with Waterhouse's immaculate architecture. I went back a few times, but, until this month, hadn't visited since 1984. It seemed like a good idea. Go back to the South Kensington museum to reacquaint myself with the fantastic a...