SciFi and Bovril
I walk past the British Library every day, so thought you may be interested in this exhibition coming in May
http://www.bl.uk/sciencefiction
http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/Out-of-this-World-Science-Fiction-but-not-as-you-know-it-4ce.aspx
Out of this World: Science Fiction but not as you know it (20 May - 25 September 2011)
is the British Library’s first exhibition to explore science fiction through literature, film, illustration and sound. It will challenge visitors’ perceptions of the genre by uncovering gems of the Library’s collections from the earliest science fiction manuscripts to the latest best-selling novels.
This unique exhibition, guest-curated by Andy Sawyer, Science Fiction Collections Librarian, University of Liverpool, will examine how science fiction is distinct from other related genres such as fantasy and horror. Tracing the development of the genre from True History by Lucian of Samosata written in the 2nd century AD to the recent writings of Cory Doctorow and China Miéville, the exhibition will trace how science fiction has turned from a niche into a global phenomenon.
Visitors to the exhibition will discover an interactive space based on ‘other worlds’ presented by science fiction. These will include: Alien Worlds; Future Worlds; Parallel Worlds; Virtual Worlds; the End of the World and the Perfect World. Each area will draw on a variety of exhibits, multi-media interactives, film and sound to experience new surroundings and ask questions such as: ‘who are we?’, ‘why are we here?’, ‘what is reality?’ and ‘what does the future hold?’
Plus I never knew this about the origins of Bovril
Bovril Ad (1890) and manuscript of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race (1871). The drink Bovril derived its name from ‘Vril’ and its association with power and energy. This comes from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race, in which the narrator accidentally finds his way into a subterranean world occupied by advanced beings, the Vril-ya, who use a substance Vril as an energy source which makes them powerful and potentially dangerous to the Earth
Poster here