So.. I got in trouble. Here I was in a foreign country for less than 24 hours, and I was getting yelled at for the second time. T_______T
I’m totally cool with admitting guilt when I’ve done something wrong, but I don’t think the fault lies with me tis time. I can’t think that anyone else in my position would have done differently!
Once you hear what happened, you can decide for yourself.
I would really love to hear your opinion, either way!
So, the story begins with me happening upon a little place in my wandering called the Kew Bridge Steam Museum…
Steampunk and the aesthetic of the steam era fascinate me, and I was really, really excited to have stumbled upon something this cool. It seemed like the museum was mostly inside of a building, with a bit of a free-park-type thing outside. You can’t tell that it was barely above freezing (maybe 7C/45F), but it was pretty cold, with a bit of a wind. Not that that would stop me!
(If you’re from Canada/Russia/somewhere else cold, stop laughing at me right now! 
I am from the desert! I’ll laugh at you when it’s 115 and you’re in reverse misery :3) But, yes.. the outside garden area was really, really pretty!
This is a bean from a real steam engine. That’s pretty impressive! And big! :O
The benches were all really pretty, too. 
I’m guessing that this was either a rock garden, or a sundial. Does anybody know?
Here is another photo of the steam engine of absolute coolness.
The museum seems to house official cats, as well. I ran across the first one’s grave.
Rest in Peace, Boulton.
There was a bit of a garden there, where..
..where I ran into what I guess is the current museum cat. Maybe a relative of Boulton’s?
And… that’s where my adventure ended. Sort of.
You see, there wasn’t much more to see outside, so I headed indoors. Inside of the red brick building in front of the garden was a large gift shop, with a lady sitting behind a cash register.
It was a bit weird, because I wondered if there was even more to the museum at all. Tucked away at the back of the giftshop was an open door with a sign pointing inside that said, “Museum <——-”
Oh! So that’s where it was! It was open, there was no gate, no other notices or signs or anything, so in full view of anyone who cared to look, I went inside.
It was actually pretty neat! I had been through several rooms of neat machinery and displays of ancient products that used to be produced in those factories, and was taking plenty of pictures.
Then, a really grumpy-looking lady in her forties or so walked by me. She was walking really fast and entered a staff door on the wall on the right, but I only paid her a little bit of attention. A few minutes later, she came back, and made a beeline for me.
She grabbed my arm. She actually touched me, which shocked me and put me on my guard instantly. Remember that I was beaten up by my ex-boyfriend very violently and suddenly in the beginning of the year. Since then, I’ve been hyper-alert and really sensitive to touch. Plus, I hadn’t done anything to her.
I looked at her. I actually had a moment before she spoke that I wondered if I wasn’t supposed to be taking photos or something. If they photos are prohibited, usually there are signs, at least in Japan and the US, but there weren’t any. Not at the entrance, not in this room.
“Did you buy a ticket” she asked me. I love English accents, but not coming from her. Especially not after grabbing me like that.
“What?” I replied. I was genuinely confused. There had been no gate, no ticket information, no nothing! I’ve been in plenty of free museums, especially tiny ones similar to this one, before, so I had assumed (since there was NO gate or ticket info, and not even a staff member at the entrance) that of course it was free. Was I supposed to take the “Museum <—–” sign as a “DON’T ENTER UNLESS YOU HAVE A TICKET?”
I explained to her exactly what had happened, and she DIDN’T LET GO OF ME (rawr!!), and escorted me to the GIFT SHOP cash register, which was not even near the “entrance”. As we passed through the entrance, she stopped to pull a tiny metal bar across the “entrance.”
Seriously, I felt like such a criminal, I was about to cry! She was treating me like a criminal, but I don’t think that I did anything wrong! Luckily, the lady at the register was much, much nicer. She even smiled at me, which made me feel a bit better. I was still shaking, and I must have apologized a million times.
She pulled a little display (about the side of an 8×10 photo) in a clear holder out from behind the counter, which had ticket prices (￡17 for adults!!!!) on it. She said it was up to me if I wanted to buy a ticket, and actually apologized to me about not having closed the gate earlier.
I felt horrible, but I ended up not buying a ticket, because although the ticket was good for unlimited entrance for an entire year, it’s not like I would be back, and it seemed unreasonably expensive.
I also felt like throwing up.
That’s why even though, I took a bunch, there are no pictures of the inside of the museum here. I mean, I didn’t pay to get in, or even see the second half.
But, help me out here if you can. Do you think that I did something wrong? Especially wrong enough for the first employee to almost assault me? I mean… they at least need a sign, and I don’t mean one behind the counter at the cash register halfway across the gift shop from the actual museum entrance. Or at least someone should have closed the gate, so I would have had to ask..
I still feel really weird about it.
Loading ...
Definitely not your fault! I mean how would you have know, it was just a mistake. I can so sympathize with you, especially because I tend to be a bit lost a lot of the time when I go out and have no idea what the regulations are. The lady was just being really strict. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, really, just a mistake.
And wow the admissions price was expensive! I think if it were me I would’ve probably paid out of embarrassment/nerves! Good for you for not giving it though!
I hope that most of you get around to seeing this comment– I am really grateful for your comments of support!!
It’s pretty much a thing behind me, and I don’t hold any ill will towards London as a whole. I do feel pretty vindicated by your responses, though! ♥
I’m sorry you had an unpleasant experience, she could have mentioned there was an admission fee without physical contact.
You might want to put this behind you but I think you should contact the museum regarding your experience and inform them that the behaviour of their staff member was unacceptable (plus their signage was not clear at the time of your visit), so that future visitors won’t be subject to the same treatment.
In the UK, she’s what we’d call a “jobsworth”. Someone who takes her job way, way too seriously because she has a massive chip on her shoulder about something. Don’t let it bother you hon. Unfortunately the UK does sometimes have someone awful like that but people are on the whole very polite and helpful.
Hahaa, thank you for the new word! I’m going to remember that.
o^o Hm..well..
*waves awkwardly* I’m from London …and just.. How did you find that place QAQ I’ve scoured the city for museums and such and that little thing existed somewhere : O …Maybe it’s like …a hidden portal >> And that’s why she got so grumpy…
But silliness aside. No; she had no right to do that to you o^o It was very impolite and wrong of her.
However we do get a lot of idiots in london who like to sneak into places and cause trouble >> But that doesn’t excuse her behaviour at all, especially as you explained yourself and are clearly a tourist (ah that wasnt meant to sound rude;; )
O^O Hm.. But there are a few places in London you can visit for free, like galleries and museums… it’s usually just the special exhibits they make you pay for =^= Hm….
:/ weird, impolite (or rude), and weird:| Definitely not your fault
I would get angry if I were you.. 
She did not have any right to man handle you or be so rude, but she is probably used to handling with people who might take advantage of the small security.
I personally am used to the stupidly small signs they put up here. It still takes me ages to find them though and I feel very nervous when I walk around trying to find them. (My eyesight sucks, but I never wear my glasses).
I would not feel guilty. The woman was unlikely to have been mad at you and will not be harboring any resentment for it. You made an honest mistake. She had already been rude though and imagine the knock to her image when she realised what she had done. It would have been difficult for her to take back what she had said. She may have even been as embarassed as you.
A word of warning. In Britain very few things like that will be free and especially in London, they will cost high prices. I have never been to a free museum yet in Britain.
I am sorry that you had to experience that though and at such a time too. Do not dwell on it. Obviously you did nothing intentionally wrong and no-one can hold that against you.
Hi Robyn, just to let you know that the Natural History Museum is free (always has been, unless they’ve changed it) and you can also visit the Tate Modern for free, but you usually have to pay for any special exhibits.
Just wanted to mention that entrance to many museums and art galleries in London is actually free (fee for special exhibitions only), so you can have a fantastic day out for very little money e.g. Natural History Museum, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Modern/Britain etc.
http://www.timeout.com/london/museums/free-museums-in-london
Don’t worry, she was just a very rude and obnoxious woman. Unfortunately, there are people like that all over the world and can’t seem to understand that things aren’t as clear cut as they appear. I’ve had plenty of situations like this myself, but usually no one has been quite as aggressive. If she touched you, that’s not something to stand for, that’s actually quite threatening. I hope it hasn’t tarred your view of England, we’re not all like that, I promise!
oh hun. that lady definitely rude, but it seems she did apologize after so i wouldn’t make such a big deal out of it! it’s too bad the ticket was so expensive… it would have been interesting to see inside!
She was clearly out of line. I cannot discount that perhaps they’ve been having problems with people wandering in or they might be running really close to the red or maybe someone cut her off in traffic…but to physically touch you was QUITE unprofessional! (And if it was one of the first two, perhaps they need better signage!!)
Take a deep breath, treat it as a lesson to ask about fees, just in case, and let it wash away…you didn’t do anything wrong, you were just in the wrong place when she felt impolite.
*hugs you a lot*
Wow, that’s a bit more than I expected :O
I think that was completely rude of her, especially the fact that she went straight to manhandling you
At least you know there are always nice people that will help you out in the end
Thankyou for making this blog! Its so great!!!!!!!
I check it daily, to make sure I don’t miss out on your updates!
I especially enjoy the mangaka and prince of tennis sections, so please keep them going, but I also love just hearing about your awesome life!!!! It doesn’t matter how exciting or amazing your life is, you could be a couch potato and hardly do anything and you could make it sound awesome, your writing skills are so good!!
I hope to be a mangaka one day myself, and this blog has had a massive effect on my morale about becoming one!! It would be awesome to work as an assistant for a manga, especially as popular as Prince of Tennis! I’ve printed all of your manga-related blogs and I read them over and over because they make me so excited! I am currently 14 years old but I am planning to go for a year host student exchange and then go for 3 years after Yr 12 to move to Japan completely and try my luck at Assistant work and if not just get a part time job and enter my work to Shueisha and other competitions. I never thought that it would be possible but I have no doubts in my mind that if I try hard enough I can make it as a Mangaka, all thanks to you!! Thankyou so much!!!!!!
Wow, Daniel! Thank you for your comment, and good luck! If you work hard, I know you can do it!
You definitely didn’t do anything wrong here. That employee was the one in fault and acted way out of order.
I would have thought the same way if I were to look at the sign. That lady was a bit impolite to you, a visitor. She shouldn’t have grabbed you instantly and she broke into your barrier, but we also have to look in her position as well. Something may have triggered her to act that way without thinking. I would have to say a bit short tempered in this situation.
I always check to see if the museum has an entrance fee or not before a security guard will stop me (._.
Blog update: Getting into trouble in London (^-^)♪ http://t.co/M1t5XXC2