I went to the British Library today. I love the British Library. It’s home to a mind-boggling 13 million books. What Wembley is to football, the British Library is to words. It’s a cathedral to literature. And a great place for a Sunday afternoon mooch. Whilst I was there I looked up how many books on ulcerative colitis they have. According to the database there are 160. Ascent from Chaos: A psychosomatic case study [The case history of a patient suffering from ulcerative colitis] written by Peter Emanuel Sifneos, and published in 1965 is the earliest book on the subject. I’m guessing from its cumbersome title that it’s not a short book. Probably not what you’d describe as a page-turner. I somehow doubt there’s a quote on the back cover from The Sun saying “A right, rollicking, riveting read. Unputdownable!” Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on Mr Peter Emanuel Sifneos, but like his name, the title of his book is a bit of a mouthful. Now if I wrote a book about UC I’d call it Something to read on the Bog. No clever-clogs subhead in brackets. Just Something to read on the Bog. Nice and simple. And on the very last page it would say Now wash your hands. Speaking of which, whilst I was at the British Library I had to use the toilets, and at the risk of sounding like Lav Lady, they really are top notch. Clean, light, spacious, with a row of eight or so well stocked cubicles, the gents are well worth a visit. Best of all though is there’s plenty to read. When you need a poo, you can just tuck a 12th century bible under your arm and off you go. Sorted.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Superb toilet facilities with a rather nice library attached
I went to the British Library today. I love the British Library. It’s home to a mind-boggling 13 million books. What Wembley is to football, the British Library is to words. It’s a cathedral to literature. And a great place for a Sunday afternoon mooch. Whilst I was there I looked up how many books on ulcerative colitis they have. According to the database there are 160. Ascent from Chaos: A psychosomatic case study [The case history of a patient suffering from ulcerative colitis] written by Peter Emanuel Sifneos, and published in 1965 is the earliest book on the subject. I’m guessing from its cumbersome title that it’s not a short book. Probably not what you’d describe as a page-turner. I somehow doubt there’s a quote on the back cover from The Sun saying “A right, rollicking, riveting read. Unputdownable!” Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on Mr Peter Emanuel Sifneos, but like his name, the title of his book is a bit of a mouthful. Now if I wrote a book about UC I’d call it Something to read on the Bog. No clever-clogs subhead in brackets. Just Something to read on the Bog. Nice and simple. And on the very last page it would say Now wash your hands. Speaking of which, whilst I was at the British Library I had to use the toilets, and at the risk of sounding like Lav Lady, they really are top notch. Clean, light, spacious, with a row of eight or so well stocked cubicles, the gents are well worth a visit. Best of all though is there’s plenty to read. When you need a poo, you can just tuck a 12th century bible under your arm and off you go. Sorted.
