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About 50 years ago (literally), I came across a book called "The Bog People" by P V Glob. The thing which attracted me was the wonderful sound of the combination of the book's title with the author's name. I bought the book without knowing what it was about - I just wanted it as a possession. As it turned out, the book was actually a fascinating account of how some perfectly preserved bodies had been found in a Danish peat bog and, remarkably, they dated from about 400BC (unsurprisingly, at first they were assumed to be contemporary murder victims). I kept the book for years, at every place I lived in, but eventually, it fell apart. I remember once being in Israel and I was discussing favourite books with a Canadian girl called Shirley. She loved books, had worked in a book shop and knew a lot about them. When I said there was this marvellous book about preserved bodies she immediately said, smiling "I bet it's P V Glob, The Bog People". Anyway, at some point I found out that the actual bodies were preserved in a museum near Aarhus in Denmark and I thought, "one day I'll go there and see Tollund Man" (Tollund man was the name given to the best preserved body). So, on this road trip, 50 years after buying the book, I resolved make the Tollund Man pilgrimage, as it were. The actual museum where the exhibit is on display is Silkeborg Museum, which is a few miles west of Aarhus. However, when we arrived at the museum, it was closed and, in fact, it was shut down for the winter, not re-opening until a few weeks hence. Luckily, the lady in the photo was just leaving the building and when I explained to her that I'd wanted to see Tollund Man for 50 years, she said I'd better come in for a private viewing - so a very big thank you to her (and well done for yet again proving the qualities of the Danes).
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