MY LECTURE AT THE MUSEUM

On the podium at the Surrey Museum, July 21

It has been a very busy time for me between finishing up my instructing of writing classes, editing my novel (final edits done as of yesterday!) and trying to catch up on travel writing and other activities.  Usually I'm in Greece during July, basking in the sun on a beach of golden sand. This year I couldn't make a big trip so I've stayed at home and tried to enjoy what spare time I've had making local tours. I'm hoping by the end of this month I can travel up to Barkerville B.C., a small gold-mining town where prospectors stopped off on route to the Yukon. It's their 150th anniversary and a great time to go up there.

One of the interesting and worthwhile things I did this month was to lecture at the Surrey Museum. They were having a special lego exhibit and asked if I could do a slide presentation about ancient Greece which would include some aspects of travel.  I prepared a lecture of Armchair Travellers on Greek Myths and Muses which included some of the ancient heroes and legends as well as part of the Venetian and Byzantine history of Greece.  All the photos other than those borrowed from Wikipedia were taken by me on various journeys around Greece. 

ATHENS, Parthenon

At first I wasn't sure how the Lego exhibit connected with my lecture, but after having a look at it I realized that many of the places I spoke about in my talk were included as exhibits, such as these remarkable structures of Athens's acropolis and Parthenon. And there was even ancient Troy, which was included in my lecture about Homer's heroes Agamemnon and Achilles.

The display, built by the Vancouver LEGO club presented the world of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters from ancient times and mythology. There were sets of lego on the tables for children to try their hand at building some structures themselves.  And there was also an interactive 'game' where kids could find certain items in the display and check them off on a paper.  I was more than impressed by this show and it certainly enhanced the subjects I talked about in my lecture.

Egypt, the Sphinx and pyramids

The Lighthouse of Alexandria