Their Mortal Remains and the Importance of Being a Londoner

Last weekend, I had a rather eventful day. I was planning on catching one of the final viewings of the Pink Floyd exhibition, Their Mortal Remains, at the V&A, but on my journey there, I got caught up in the terrorist-attack-which-wasn't-an-attack.

As I stepped off the tube at South Kensington, I heard an announcement over the tannoid. We were being asked by an automated voice to make our way, calmly and quickly, to the nearest exit. The press of people filtering out of the station were visibly anxious - recent events in London have left most of us on edge, but it was impressive to see that no one was in a full blown panic. As we exited the station, we were confronted by walls of blue and white tape and armed police blockading the roads. A helicopter chattered overhead and people were milling around, not quite sure where to go now that their destination had been cut off. Something had apparently gone down on Exhibition road, but nobody quite knew what.

Of course, it eventually transpired that an Uber driver had bowled over a bunch of pedestrians outside the front of the Natural History museum. He wasn't a terrorist, just a dangerous driver and luckily no one had been seriously hurt. But it was amazing to see the response to a potentially awful situation in action. Our London police force had responded at lightning speed and everyone you bumped into in the crowded street was helpful, looking out for the people around them. Whether it was offering a moment of reassurance, or letting you know which street hadn't been blocked off yet. Personally, I feel this is incredibly important - it shows that in the face of potential disaster, Londoners pull together to support those around them.

After winding through a convoluted route of backstreets, I finally made it to the V&A. Moments later, I was being handed a headset and was entering down the psychedelic rabbit hole and into Their Mortal Remains.

The exhibition was fabulous! I am by no means a huge Pink Floyd fan - they're a band of my Dad's era, so I grew up with their music in the background, but it was never something I paid a huge amount of attention. However, following the exhibition, I'm going to make an effort to listen to more!

The exhibition followed the band's journey from student-y band to world-famous (yet mysteriously anonymous) rock royalty, showing how their performance had changed over the years and demonstrating just how ground breaking they were for their time.

A Pink Floyd gig was a riot of colour, lights and puppets. Huge inflatables would hang over the venue, a terrifying 'teacher' puppet loomed from the stage, eyes blazing while their signature circular screen would flash movies and animations behind the band. For their 'Wall' tour, they even built a giant structure out of individual white bricks. A performance was a full on production!

The exhibition was huge and incredibly well put together. Your headsets would automatically play different audio as you got closer to certain exhibits or videos. Props, posters and instruments were on the display whilst lights flashed around you. You could even play with a mixing deck and create your own version of a Pink Floyd track.

The exhibition ended in a concert - everyone sat around on the floor as a wrap around screen played Comfortably Numb from their 2005 reunion at Live 8, as lasers danced overhead. It was strangely emotional, a reminder of musical genius which is rarely seen in music today.