Titanic exhibition Thu 31st March 2011

March saw our first coach outing. 48 members went to the Titanic Artefacts exhibition at the O2 arena followed by a visit to Greenwich.
The O2 arena is built from the old Millennium Dome on the south side of the river Thames. It holds a large stadium, several smaller exhibition centres and many cafes and restaurants. The surrounding area is still being developed – there is a Tube station, a bus station and much parking space. There is also a river side walk.
The exhibition features over 300 real artefacts recovered from the ocean floor along with room recreations and personal stories. There is a very real feeling of the tragedy of the event.
The coach then took us to Greenwich where the members had the opportunity to visit any of several different sites including the Royal Observatory, National Maritime museum, Queens’s House and the Old Royal Naval College.
The Royal Observatory up on the hill is fascinating with collections of astronomical instruments, timekeeping apparatus and of course the Greenwich Meridian line.
The National Maritime museum contains our fabulous naval history including Nelson’s uniform from Trafalgar. The building is being extended and remodelled.
The Old Royal Naval College was built as a home for old sailors and was used for training purposes until a few years ago. We took time to see the famous painted ceiling in the hall designed for the old sailors to eat in. When finished it was considered too grand for them and they never actually had their meals there.
Cutty Sark is still being refurbished. There was a fire there which delayed the work but fortunately much of the structure had been removed for renovation and was saved.
Our members made their own way round the many attractions and sampled the many eating and drinking places in the historic centre of Greenwich before returning to the coach for the journey home.