I’m doing another online course on the FutureLearn platform, this one on the Ancient Near East (Egyptians, Hittites and so on) in the Late Bronze Age. It’s run by the University of Liverpool, and I chose it because it’s a subject I’m interested in and already know a bit about. I’ve found bits of it […]
I’ve been so busy lately at work, that I’ve simply not had time to sort out the usual list of domestic chores, which have therefore been piling up. Now that the equipment trial is finally over, bar writing up the final report, I’ve got some breathing space at last. So I took today off as […]
I’ve been extremely busy at work recently, running an equipment trial that’s been the culmination of a two-year research project. It’s taken a huge amount of time to prepare and rehearse, and I’ve been working lots of overtime, with very little time or energy to do anything else for the past few weeks. It all […]
I am quite used to getting regular correspondence from the Development Office of my Oxford college, which is essentially a plea for money thinly disguised as a news update. It’s becoming an accepted part of “giving back” for the education I received – and seeing that I was at University before the days of student […]
Whilst I was in Durham, a news story was prominent on the local TV about some human bones which had been found in an archaeological dig on Durham’s Palace Green. Seeing as it was so topical, I wondered what the local historians – both in the World Heritage Site visitors’ centre, and the guides in […]
I checked with National Rail first thing on Saturday morning, and it was clear that the signalling problem had been fixed overnight, and that the train companies had managed to sort out the ensuing knock-on effects of having their trains in the wrong place. At any rate, trains were now advertised as running to time […]
I’ve spent a few days this week working on an equipment trial hosted by the engineering department of Durham University. The original plan was that I’d go up there by train (a 4.5 hour journey north, changing at Birmingham) after lunch on Wednesday, arriving in time for dinner, spend all day Thursday and Friday it […]
There is a women’s clothes shop in town that gained national notoriety last year due to its name – Isis. Some rather stupid trolls on social media accused the shop, and by association the owner, with having links with Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East. The idea is completely absurd – the boutique was clearly […]
This week at Malvern Theatres they’ve been showing Talking Heads by Alan Bennett. I remember these monologues from when they were originally shown on the TV in the late eighties, so thought it was worth a punt for a standby ticket for the Saturday Matinée. The stalls were less than half full, so I was able […]
I’ve been fascinated by the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold weapon mounts since its discovery by a metal detectorist was publicised in 2009. Christopher and I went to see it at a temporary exhibition in Stoke mid-way through his chemotherapy treatment in 2010, and had a thoroughly interesting time looking at it. That weekend ended unfortunately, with Christopher […]
