the Book of Kells - is it worth it?

ergo

OK so it's €15 isn't it?
just these days when you see queues of 30 or more people, mostly American tourists presumably, queueing up to get in there it makes me wonder,

and yes I know, we students can get in for free, and I'm going to make sure I swing by there before my card expires in October

I have 2 Spanish friends visiting and I asked them what they had heard about the Book of Kells (now they haven't been in to see it yet..) and they said that they heard "It's the most beautiful book in the world" !

not what I remember from 4th class history but anyway

so who has been in? is it worth it/overrated etc?

oh forgot to put in link: info on book from tcd.ie site

I always thought the Long Library was far cooler.

dudara

A lot of the trip to see the Book of Kells depends upon which page is open when you visit. Some pages are stunning, others merely beautiful.

However, it can be a crush to see it when the Americans with super-sized chino-covered arses are visiting

cuckoo

Trinity students can also bring 2/maybe 3 other ppl in with them for free - i've brought a lot of visiting relatives and friends to see it since starting in trinity.

I prefer it in winter when it's less crowded and there's no queues. One of the security guys was telling me that the room it's kept in is actually a bomb proof vault.

I can remember going to see it in primary school - back then it was still kept at one end of the long library. Dudara's right, some pages are a lot better than others.

The postcards on sale in the library shop are pretty cool.

SOL

Actually its 4 (or thats the most I've ever done) but if its not quiet i get the impresion they wouldnt mind if you took a group in, also you can just find some of your trinner friends and that'll work either

Crash

I definitely prefer the long room

ApeXaviour

Myth wrote:

I always thought the Long Library was far cooler.

Thirded..

monkeyfudge

€15? That's a ridiculous price. Last time I brought some visitors there it was something like €7, and said it really wasn't worth it for that price... But €15 is completely insane....

Oh.. and library is lovely though...

DrIndy

Jedi Library, not Long Room

Kevin_rc_ie

i'm going to pop in tomorrow and have a look at the as, isaw says, the Book(S) of kells.

Haunter

DrIndy wrote:

Jedi Library, not Long Room

True, that.

Kevin_rc_ie

damn i knew i forgot something!

Haunter

dudara wrote:

A lot of the trip to see the Book of Kells depends upon which page is open when you visit. Some pages are stunning, others merely beautiful.

I wish they wouldn't open it one page per day. I've been following the plot now since October and at this rate it'll take me until I'm 35 to finish it.

It's like Harry Potter but with fewer hormones.

Pet

Haunter wrote:

I wish they wouldn't open it one page per day. I've been following the plot now since October and at this rate it'll take me until I'm 35 to finish it.

It's like Harry Potter but with fewer hormones.

Heh. But in this book, you know that the main characters died, so you can avoid all that "Do you know the ending? DON'T TELL ME!!!!!111!!112" type hysteria..

Haunter

Pet wrote:

Heh. But in this book, you know that the main characters died, so you can avoid all that "Do you know the ending? DON'T TELL ME!!!!!111!!112" type hysteria..

I ffinished it on Sunday night and since then have been able to plague my two younger brothers and younger sister with threats of giving away the plot. All I need to do to get them to get out/make me tea/tidy my room/lend me money is say conversationally, "Yeah, but as I was saying, I kind of suspected the half-blood prince was..." or, "...And the death at the end? Who would have thought that..."

Kevin_rc_ie

I'll go to see the BOK soon.

Just finished HP ATHBP.

Pet

Haunter wrote:

I ffinished it on Sunday night and since then have been able to plague my two younger brothers and younger sister with threats of giving away the plot. All I need to do to get them to get out/make me tea/tidy my room/lend me money is say conversationally, "Yeah, but as I was saying, I kind of suspected the half-blood prince was..." or, "...And the death at the end? Who would have thought that..."

Heh heh heh. Nice.

Harry Potter is the one craze that I could actually understand. I read some of..one..(it was a really big thick one) and it was really well-written. As opposed to all the LOTR fantasy stuff which leaves me icy icy cold..

Kevin_rc_ie

Harry Potter books are very entertaining. They are quite simplistic and juvenile but in a good way. As the character got older, the books have gotten darker and more sophisicated. Hopefully the next one will be another step up. Just finished HP around 7 today.

ergo

oops, I told a lie in the original thread

think the entry fee is €7 or €7.50 and not the ridiculous price of €15

I had tried looking up the price on the net but couldn't find anything

but still haven't been in to see it yet

nor have I read HP ATHBP yet, and was a bit confused by all the strange looking kids wandering around town at 11.30 last Friday night until I remembered why

Kevin_rc_ie

7.50, that's a bargain. half the price of buying Harry Potter in easons.

fluppet

Bringing the thread back to the Book of Kells... I know a lot of people (including me) who were disappointed with it. The Library is definitely better... They should put a bit more emphasis on it in their ads for it instead of plastering 'Book of Kells' everywhere. A better deal is to buy the tour of Trinity ticket included in which is (or *was*... this was a few years ago) entrance into the BoK/Long Library.

fluppet

Oh, and one more thing... has anyone heard any more about that plan to build the tunnel from the National Gallery into the BoK/Long Library? It was suggested a while ago to draw more tourists into Trinity's own tourist trap.

Capt'n Midnight

The copyright should expire any day now :rolleyes:

punka

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

The copyright should expire any day now :rolleyes:

no, michael jackson bought up the rights to all work by matthew mark luke and john, the same time he bought up the rights to all work by john paul george and ringo.

Kevin_rc_ie

Punka, No. 1 don't be so frivolous.
Secondly, James Blunt rocks.

punka

ha. it would appear that tower records agree with you, as they've made it their album of the week. don't worry, i'll probably change my sig when it stops being mildly amusing. so give it about 3 or 4 days.

frivolity is what distinguishes man from the rest of the animal kingdom. that and the innate ability to make beans on toast.

Pet

I agree with punka, although I'd rather James Blunt to Babyshambles (the former crap-band-of-choice for Hotpress etc).

Haunter

The place where I work plays BBC Radio 1 all day, and since I started working there a few weeks ago I've gone from being someone who never listened to the radio to knowing all about the 'coolest' bands at the moment. James Blunt gets played constantly, as does about 10-15 other 'happening' bands. Basically, I could predict about 80% of what's played- it's the same bands, the same songs, the same sounds.

I wanna hear Nightwish, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, and Pink Floyd now.

punka

Pet wrote:

I agree with punka, although I'd rather James Blunt to Babyshambles (the former crap-band-of-choice for Hotpress etc).

Damn it, you're right... Babyshambles still have the lingering traces of "indie cred" bestowed upon them by the Libertines. The whole guitars in chart music thing has gone too far. Embrace your inner popster, kids! Listen to Charlotte Church!



(I'm only half-joking. Her single is really, really good.)

Kevin_rc_ie

i wouldn't mind a bit of charlotte church.

punka

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

i wouldn't mind a bit of church.

Couldn't agree more. Who's up for a boards mass?

Kevin_rc_ie

suits me, College Chapel?

punka

at midnight. bring crossbows.

Kevin_rc_ie

now you've lost me.

punka

it made sense in my head...

Kevin_rc_ie

what a interesting piece of weaponary the crossbow is.

punka

it's not quite a cross, and it's not quite a bow....but maaaaaaaaan.....

metallurgy. seriously. who needs it?

Kevin_rc_ie

woodsmiths?

punka

it was a rhetorical question.

too tired to continue this banter. must sleep, so that all day tomorrow i can grin inanely at customers.

gainful employment. bah.

Kevin_rc_ie

:-(

Capt'n Midnight

punka wrote:

at midnight. bring crossbows.

time was you'd be excommunicated from the church for using a crossbow, unless it was against non-chrisitans,

Kevin_rc_ie

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

time was you'd be excommunicated from the church for using a crossbow, unless it was against non-chrisitans,

blasphemy!