In which Matthew learns a lesson about England

I once believed that everything sounds cute when you say it in a northwestern English accent. But cut to me last night, maybe 2am, lying awake in a co-ed Chester hostel in the most private bunk I could find, listening to the rhythms of drunken Mancunians who were in for the summer races:

"No. No. Get ou' of 'ere. Yeh don't belong in this bunk."
"Well it i'n't your bunk either."
"Get yehr fat ahse ou' of me bed!"
"I'm not fat, yeh're fat!"
"No, yeh're fat!"
"No, yeh're fat!"
"No, yeh're fat!"
"Well, there's ONE part of me tha's chubby..."

This continues for about an hour. Which takes us to about 2:45am:

"Come on, luv. Touch it."
"No!"
"Just play wiv the head a little."
"No..."
"That's better. Wiv the head."

Which continues through about 3:30am or 4am, as I'm trying to thread my sandpapery sheets through the bunk above mine and tie them into a noose:

"Come on, luv, put a little effort into it. It's no' a piece a meat. Treat it wiv some care. Like it's yeh friend."

And so forth. With groans included, both mine (in frustration) and the Mancunian's (in bliss?). I stayed awake and paranoid, IMing with Alec through the whole thing -- a Liverpudlian friend of mine had made the mistake of leaving his bunk temporarily, and found that another drunk visitor, in for the races, had usurped his bunk. All my worldly possessions were in and around my bunk, and I couldn't imagine what might happen to them in my absence, and so I chose the devil I knew (intimately) over the devil I didn't.

In which Matthew brings the Welsh a new cocktail

Start with one jigger of Italian-American Westchester guilt and entitlement (vintage 1981-1999). Add a splash of New York impatience (1999-2004). Blend with frozen cubes of pure Northern Californian passive-aggression (2004-present).

Shake vigorously.

Subject: Peniarth 399
From: [name omitted]@nationallibraryofwales.org.uk
Date: Fri, July 4, 2008 2:10 am
[THE NIGHT BEFORE I LEFT FOR BRITAIN!]
To: [me]

Dear Matthew,

I am E-mailing you in regards to Peniarth 399.

My colleague has now signed the form, however, I have just been made aware that the original manuscript is on an external loan from the 21.6.08-31.8.08, I apologize wholeheartedly for this.

Yours sincerely,
[name omitted]

---------

Subject: Re: Peniarth 399
From: [me]
Date: Fri, July 4, 2008 3:03 am
To: [name omitted]@nationallibraryofwales.org.uk

Dear Mr [name omitted],

Is the manuscript on external loan to another library where I might view it? Please let me know as soon as you can.

Best,
Matthew

---------

Subject: Peniarth 399
From: [name omitted]@nationallibraryofwales.org.uk
Date: Fri, July 4, 2008 4:20 am
To: [me]

Dear Matthew,

I am replying to your E-mail, the manuscript is on loan to Grosvenor Museum in an exhibition, therefore, it will not be possible to view it.

We would be willing to accomodate your needs in September. I would suggest that you re-contact me the beginning of September to see if the manuscript is available at that time. Yet again, I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Yours sincerely
[name omitted]

---------

Subject: Urgent Enquiry: Peniarth 399
From: [me]
Date: Fri, July 4, 2008 11:57 am
To: [various names omitted -- from both the Library and the Museum]
CC: [my advisor]

Dear [various names] and the staff at the Grosvenor Museum,

I write with an urgent enquiry regarding a manuscript you currently have on loan from the National Library of Wales: MS Peniarth 399, the unique c.1500 manuscript of the Chester Dyers' Antichrist play.

Mr [name omitted] of the NLW has informed me that the Grosvenor Museum is using this manuscript for an exhibition. I was already planning to visit Chester during my research trip to Britain this summer -- so I write to ask whether there is any possibility that I might schedule a viewing (or more than one viewing) of the manuscript, for any time until 27 July (preferably excluding 17-23 July). I would be willing to come at any time of day (or night), and will gladly pay fees if necessary, or help with the exhibit in any way I can.

I am a PhD candidate in English and Medieval Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and have handled rare medieval manuscripts of the Chester plays before (at the Bodleian and at the Manchester Library); I assure you that I am qualified to study Peniarth 399, and can provide recommendation letters from faculty here at Berkeley.

This is a very late request: I know it is standard to enquire about manuscript viewings months in advance. I had been in contact with Mr [name omitted] since April in order to do just that, to secure access to Peniarth 399 before I applied for research grants, bought plane tickets from California, etc. After quite a few email exchanges, I was told that the manuscript was being ordered for me, and my four-day viewing request was being booked, so I confirmed my travel plans and sent my itinerary to the Medieval Academy of America, who has now given me a research grant.

It was only at 2:10am last night, while I packed my luggage, that I received word from Mr [name omitted] that the manuscript was not actually in Aberystwyth at all:

On Fri, July 4, 2008 2:10 am, [name omitted]@nationallibraryofwales.org.uk wrote:
>
> Dear Matthew,
>
> I am E-mailing you in regards to Peniarth 399.
>
> My colleague has now signed the form, however,
> I have just been made aware that the original
> manuscript is on an external loan from the
> 21.6.08-31.8.08, I apologize wholeheartedly for this.

Needless to say, this puts me in a serious bind -- even with the help of a Medieval Academy grant, I can barely afford one trip from California to the UK: a second trip in September would be out of the question. Viewing Peniarth 399 is essential to my research and to my doctoral thesis -- I have included my original letter to Mr [name omitted] (below), which explains some of the reasons why it is so important for me to study the actual manuscript in person.

I would be extremely grateful to the staff at the Grosvenor Museum if you could help me in my research by allowing me any access to Peniarth 399. Above all, please do respond to this email as soon as you are able, so that I can inform the Medieval Academy and adjust my hostel and plane reservations as necessary.

Thank you so much for your time -- I hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully,

[me]
Ph.D. Candidate, English and Medieval Studies
Co-Chair, Graduate Medievalists at Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley

You can't just waltz into a museum, especially a small one (with locked-down glass boxes that even the head curators can't touch) and make demands like this. So I had to cannibalize the first few days of my trip continuing to lean on the National Library of Wales (NLW). "Mr [name omitted]" turned out to be a woman (Welsh names!); this caused some momentary cognitive dissonance (as they say in Sales and Marketing) but I pushed past it.

The NLW caved and sent one of its art curators to babysit me, and a courier (on their dime) who waited nearby to open and shut the lock-box. It was a shorter time than I'd planned for, but it was all I needed in order to take detailed notes on the manuscript as physical object (folding, wear and tear, etc.) and shorthand notes on the handwriting, which I will pay the Library's reprographic dept to send me digital close-ups of later, and discuss at greater length with friends who are better at this stuff than I.