These days I don’t read much. I would love to: but between work and parenting (and all the many side-projects that I can’t seem to resist), curling up with a book is a thing of the past for me. I have tried it a few times in recent months, but inevitably I wake up some … More Weekend Reading: Doing Some Weekend Reading

Last weekend we held a celebration (online and in person in one of Durham University’s lovely Palace Green buildings) of all the exciting classical things that are happening in the North. I knew about a lot of them and have been right in the middle of a couple – but even I was taken aback … More Weekend Reading: Exciting Times

It’s good to be back! Specifically, it’s nice to be resuming my Weekend Reading posts. I thought that the summer would allow me time to pick up my usual posting schedule – but it just didn’t work out like that. Again. Thanks to all who’ve sent me concerned messages! I haven’t been ill myself, for … More Weekend Reading: Beginning Again

As many people who read this blog know, bringing Classics into North-East communities is a goal that is close to my heart. Twenty years ago (almost to the day!) I was asked to teach an after-school Latin club in a local comprehensive school; and after that I never really looked back. One club turned into … More Launching the Hadrian’s Wall Classical Association!

It’s been a long couple of weeks, due to illness: first the delights of a sickness bug, then weather headaches. I suppose it’s useful to be able to predict changes in air pressure by how much pain I’m in – but I’d much rather just watch the weather forecast. It’s also been a long couple … More Weekend Reading: Catching Up

This week I’ve been saying a final goodbye to an old friend: A330. Those of you who’ve studied with the OU will probably know what I mean – we all talk in codes and acronyms here! For everyone else… A330 (also known as ‘Myth in the Greek and Roman Worlds‘) is a 60-credit Level 3 … More Weekend Reading: Requiem for A330

It’s been an interesting week in the news. Cambridge classicist David Butterfield made the headlines in the Times and the Daily Mail for claims that he (along with others, presumably) has been labelled as a white supremacist for studying and teaching Classics. He expanded upon those ideas in an article he wrote for the online … More Weekend Reading: Dangerous Books

It feels like a long time since I’ve been able to write for this blog. I’ve missed it – and not just because I keep having to apologise to people for not keeping up with it! For me it’s a reference point: I use these posts to record things that I might want to mention … More Weekend Reading: Summer is Coming

It’s taken me longer than I expected to finish writing this post, even though I wrote most of it on the train 11 days ago. I knew that a round trip of over 700 miles on multiple forms of public transport, right at the start of the Easter holidays, would be gruelling; and I knew … More Awards and Celebrations

It’s been a long time since I wrote a Friday post. Not by choice… pressure of work has just made it impossible to pull something together most weeks. I’ve been neglecting my emails too, so if you’ve contacted me via the website lately I do apologise – I’ll get there eventually. But right now I’m … More Weekend Reading: Out and About