Waterloo

This time last week, I was in Waterloo. No, not the station in London, but the battle ground in Belgium. It was the bicentennial, and in commemoration, there was a large battle reenactment which involved 5000 reenactors, 300 horses and 100 canon.

Scotland Forever- the 1881 oil painting by Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Butler) which portrays the march of  the Royal Scots Greys at the battle

The battle took place on the 18th June 1815, and was where the emperor Napoleon of France was finally defeated by the allied troops of Britain and Prussia under Wellington and von Blucher respectively.

Although I've never really thought of myself as a battle-reenactment kinda gal, this is the kind of thing that only comes round once every 200 years, and I couldn't miss it. The incredible effort that the reenactors put in was really something to behold. Many of them made their own costumes, and they all lived in the realistic bivouac for the entire weekend: eating, sleeping, and washing like the soldiers and their families would have done two centuries ago.


 Sneaky shot of life in the bivouacs

Of course, the reenactment in itself was astounding: the sheer size, scale and sound was impressive, and actually quite shocking- I had never really understood how huge the battle ground was, and how insignificant one little soldier must have felt. Under the cover of the grey smoke -produced by the canon- the battle really came to life.

Trying to take a photo through the hazy smoke- the raincoats in the audience are a bit anachronistic! 

 However, the real surprise was how much I loved the museum! Yes, I'll admit it, museums of battles have always kind of been my nemesis, as I've always seen them as sucking any interesting part of the battle out and leaving the shell stapled to the wall. But this museum was really something quite different. Accompanied by an engaging English audio guide, I made my way through to the walls of paintings, only to discover that they were not in fact just paintings. Rather than having a static painting with a simple plaque underneath, there were high definition screens which zoomed in the most important parts of each painting. Most spectacularly, parts of the painting were subtly animated to really bring it to life. For instance, one of the paintings of Trafalgar had the ships gently rocking up and down on the sea, and splashes of water showing where the canon balls fell. What a way to present art from all over the world!

One of the best parts of the museum- a long corridor lined with wax figures wearing the gear from the time 

We also visited the Lion's Mound memorial (of 1820) and the Panorama of the Battle of Waterloo (designed in 1911) which houses the 360ft -in circumference- painting by Louis Dumoulin. Both of which were really great experiences. (Although I did rush out of the panorama after noticing a sign that read 'only 50 people allowed at one time' and seeing how there were at least 200 people crowding onto the wooden platform!) We even managed to get a photo of the brand new Battle of Waterloo monument which was unveiled by Prince Charles only a week ago!

Selfie with one of the poor souls immortalised on the Panorama 

All in all, a really important, interesting and engaging visit.
H x

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Hudi Charin

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Four French Boys

When historians discuss some of the finest examples of prehistoric art, many of them will reference the cave paintings in Lascaux. The paintings are thought to have been created in Upper Paleolithic Era, and the majority of them represent animals such as lions and stags, as well as some mythical creatures and even a figure which could be a shaman or a hunter. The paintings have such high importance because of the incredible detail and size of them. Around 600 paintings and 1500 engravings cover the 66 x16 foot cavern.

What I find the most fascinating about these artworks- quite apart from their quality and content- is the way in which they were discovered. In the mid-1940s, whilst walking their dog in France, four teenagers dug around the area and stumbled across the cavern which has been estimated to be around 15,000 to 20,000 years old. These pieces-which have now substantially helped develop understanding into prehistoric lives- went unnoticed for so long, and were not eventually excavated by archaeologists but by teenagers. It is the kind of magic that makes me love history- what next wonder is just under our feet, waiting to be discovered by an energetic dog and their curious owners?

In 1947, Ralph Morse was the first professional photographer to visit the array of rock art. Speaking to LIFE magazine, now in his late 90s, he recalled how “the first sight of those paintings was simply unbelievable, I was amazed at how the colours held up after thousands of years-like they were painted the day before.”

As a very visual person myself- I always prefer to  see things when I learn about them, rather than just hear about them- I feel I can very much relate to these pieces. Of course, at a time when people did not communicate with the written word or even very much with shared spoken dialect, they would turn to art. Instantly, emotions and messages can be conveyed with particular colours or the pressure used when creating a mark. When looking at history, a common thread is often drawn between connections we have with our ancestors, and this here seems to be a very blatant one. Humans have always craved a connection and have always craved to share their knowledge and experience.

By starting at this beginning point, I have created my first common link with the past, and hope to find and develop many more.

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Hudi Charin

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