For the past several nights (when I should have been working on our taxes) I’ve been watching a 4 part BBC series called The Beauty of Maps on YouTube. The first one is about medieval maps — specifically the fascinating Mappa Mundi (map of the world) at Hereford Cathedral in England (that’s a detail on the left). I’ve only been able to watch one part at a time, as there’s so much to look at and read about after each one. There’s all the resources on the BBC website, many images, the Hereford Cathedral website… Then the series contrasts ancient maps with contemporary artists, such as Grayson Perry’s Map of Nowhere with the Mappa Mundi, so of course I was off to look at that in more detail! That was only the first installment — and I ran out of steam and only bookmarked as interesting Mike Parker’s book Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey. I’ve made it through 3 installments so far, but have to make myself finish those darn taxes before I can enjoy the last one!