Tut Mania

I was eleven when, in 1972, Tutankhamun last came to town. I queued for hours at the British Museum to get just a fleeting glimpse of that death mask as I filed past with all the other kids bussed in from the four corners of the realm. 47 years later, King Tut’s on tour again – probably his last – and Liam and I caught the London gig at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. Sadly, this time Tut left his extraordinary mask at home but there were plenty of other astonishing riches to gasp at. Let the bling speak for itself.

The exhibition – Tutankhamun, Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh – was very, very busy with lots of polite jostling, reflecting, perhaps, an eternal fascination with the antiquarian boy king and his burial booty. Apparently, ancient Egyptians believed we all die twice – first with our final breath, and then the last time our name is mentioned. At this rate, young Tut really will live for ever.

Jack Scott Imagine the absurdity of two openly gay, married, middle aged, middle class men escaping the liberal sanctuary of anonymous London to relocate to a Muslim country. I chronicled our exploits with the mad, the bad, the sad and the glad in a blog for the whole world to ignore. Then came the book which became a critically acclaimed best seller. Its success opened out a whole new career for me, firstly as an author, and now as a publisher. Who'd have thought it? Certainly not me. In June 2012, we ended our Anatolian affair and paddled back to Britain on the evening tide, washing up in Norwich, a surprising city in eastern England, then to the wilds of Norfolk as the only gays in the village. I’m sometimes nostalgic for our encounters with the hopeless, the hapless and, yes, the happy go lucky. They gave me an unexpected tale to tell and for this I thank them.

7 thoughts on “Tut Mania”

johnwreford says:

23 November, 2019 at 13:32

In 1972 our school trip to London for the exhibition was cancelled at the last minute. My school days were just one long litany of disappointments now I come to think of it. Went on my own school trip some years later to the land of the Pharaohs and met Tut at his place instead.

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1. Jack Scott says:
  
  23 November, 2019 at 13:55
  
  All’s well that ends well 😉
  
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Emilie says:

24 November, 2019 at 12:19

I drove eight hours to see that exhibit, Missoula MT to Seattle. Slept in my car two nights, protected by a young cop who worried about me.
As I stood in line to get my ticket, I got into a conversation with the man behind me who said the ticket allowed me to go in any time after my assigned time and suggested 3:30 as the crowds would be smaller (last time in was 3:00). He’d done it twice.
We got tickets and he proceeded to tour me about the city, take me to the exhibit and then out to dinner at the restaurant on top of the Space Needle as it slowly rotated above the city.
An amazing day with a man who just wanted to show me around, had the money to do it right, and dropped me politely back at my car after dinner. The exhibit and entire day were magical!

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1. Jack Scott says:
  
  24 November, 2019 at 12:23
  
  What a fantastic experience. Restores your faith in humanity! 🙂
  
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  1. Emilie says:
    
    24 November, 2019 at 12:29
    
    In a way, but those days were still friendly and safe in the US. As a woman, I felt safe. Today, not so much.
    
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  2. Jack Scott says:
    
    24 November, 2019 at 12:41
    
    That’s a shame. And I guess it’s the same everywhere these days. 😦
    
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