Bayeux tapestry

[Crosorbled]

Will benefit claimants get reduced price tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry ?

I got in the queue at 10am with 27 thousand people ahead of me! Bit panicky because we live hundreds of miles away and are only going to be in London on 2 specific days. Finally got in at 2.30 and got our tickets. I'd watched an amazing documentary recently about work that had been going on to identify the actual colours used in the embroidery so am really looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.

When I joined the queue there were over 40,000 people in front of me, and all tickets were gone before I got to the front.

I've seen it in France. It was absolutely fascinating, well worth seeing.

If anyone lives around Hastings in saw a post from their MP saying there was some sort of priority booking - there will be for the second wave as well.

I did wonder why it was needed but I guess this thread explains why….

Me too. I’m so glad I saw it in situ when I had the chance. It is fascinating.

This. We calculated that a membership for 2 members seeing it 2 times (I hope for another ticket) plus adult DD as a guest for at least one ticket is not that much more than buying the tickets individually.

We often do memberships for various museums/places anyway.

Also, a membership gets you into any other paid exhibitions in the BM that year, not just the Bayeux Tapestry.

We saw it in Caen. It was amazing!

I saw it in France. I’ll be honest and say I don’t think you are missing something super exciting. I’d put it in the mildly interesting category.

That's going to depend- some people are interested in Norman history or the history of embroidery or dyeing or whatever - it is going to be more exciting for some people than others.

I saw it years ago in France, I was distinctly underwhelmed. I know it’s old and tells a story, but meh, one man beating up another man for some land is as old as time…

I saw it in France in 2013 and loved it. We were lucky we arrived at a quiet time so could go slowly and take it all in. I would quite like to see it again, so may queue for the next batch of tickets.

I was in the queue until 10pm and then every time I clicked on a time slot showing tickets available it took ages to load before showing ‘unexpected error’ and then I was timed out.

I really want to see it.

The Battle of Hastings wasn’t just ‘two men warring over land’ it was pivotal to our culture, language, architecture, food as it is today, and to our ongoing relationship with European allies and foes for centuries after.

It is a work of epic scale, created by women. The sheer size of it (70m long) , the age and that it has survived for 1000 years,

Yes, I want to see it, so if you aren’t all that bothered, please don’t get in the ticket queue ahead of me!

When I was younger I can remember a great deal of fuss when the Treasures of Tutankhamun from the Cairo Museum came to London. in 1972. It was a great cultural phenomenon and was opened by the Queen. A friend of mine who was a very keen Egyptologist booked a ticket. She said they were herded round like cattle and she barely saw anything. The entire experience was a great let down. and spoiled for her.

At a later stage I saw them myself on a trip to Egypt.

The Reading alternative sounds like a great day out. Or are there no U Tube videos of this famous piece of needlework?

How many other items outside buildings and maybe re-discovered or in royal vaults items of stone and metal can you think of which remains from this time period?

Quite a lot of manuscripts. Domesday, for one, plus many others from before 1066. The Lindisfarne Gospels now in the British Library, the oldest surviving copy of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle at Cambridge, to name a couple, and many others in the BL and in record offices around the country.

The Bayeux Tapestry was made in England, possibly at Canterbury.

Of course. These things are subjective.

I saw it years ago on a school trip. I got in trouble for rushing ahead and not using the audio guide as we were meant to because I just wanted to see the bit with Harold getting an arrow in his eye !!

Or are there no U Tube videos of this famous piece of needlework?

We are currently seeing hundreds of thousands of people spending a fortune, travelling from place to place to watch a ball being kicked about rather than watch it on a screen….

One of the minority of items in the British museum that originated in Britain…

To answer your question @Crosorbled the list of prices is here:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/bayeux-tapestry#ticket-information

I'm expecting the exhibition to be more than just the tapestry: other objects and interpretative things as well as a shop with a variety of things. That is what can make an exhibition for me.

I've been a member for a while and got November tickets on the second live day. I have to go twice because the first time there is something you want to see that is obscured by heads and there's something that catches your eye that you wish to return to.

I have never been more grateful that I saw it a couple of years ago in Bayeux - for much less money, and no queues! And I just did it almost on a whim when driving back up from our holiday.

I'd been wanting to see it since I was a child.

We are currently seeing hundreds of thousands of people spending a fortune, travelling from place to place to watch a ball being kicked about rather than watch it on a screen….

Perhaps because people watch large sporting events for the "atmosphere" of being with fellow fans and celebrating or commiserating depending upon the result. These settings generate intense emotional intensity, collective effervescence, and group identity, Queueing up for hours to see an exhibition and being marshalled past the exhibits at lockstep speed is somewhat different.

I am a history buff and a lover of antiques. However I would prefer to watch on a screen from the comfort of my own home. I have a natural aversion to queueing for anything.

Saw it in France in the 80s as a pre teen. I've got tickets to take the DC to see it. 1066 and all that is on their GCSE history syllabus and I'm interested in the needlework aspect.

Logged on at 10.00 entered my email address for a message when I hit the front of the queue, got on with my day until I got the message to say it was my turn at about 1.30 and booked tickets. The whole thing took about 3 minutes of my time.

Luckily I’ve already seen it. Albeit 40 years ago in Bayeux 😆