The rain it raineth on the just And also on the unjust fella; But mainly on the just because The unjust steals the just’s umbrella.   That’s what my undergraduate Latin professor, the late great Donald Hill, used to say on weeks like this, when the rain just won’t let up. The poem’s been stuck … More Weekend Reading: The Rain it Raineth

This week I was surprised to see one of my favourite books being discussed by Mary Beard on her TLS blog. The book is a dinky little children’s Roman History volume, printed in London in 1798, and it has no text, just illustrations. It was made for Sunday schools, and the illustrations were available separately … More Weekend Reading: Resurrecting Mrs Trimmer

Yesterday my Open University A330 (Myth) and A863 (MA Part 1) students submitted their final pieces of work. Such a relief – for them mostly, but for me too! Well done to everybody – you should be very proud of the work you’ve put in.     So lots of readers of this website are … More Weekend Reading: Summer is Coming

This week I’ve been delighted to see Hadrian’s Wall hitting the headlines again –  if not for quite the right reasons. The Sun and The Daily Mail, among other quality publications, ran a story about ‘selfie-loving tourists’, who are apparently causing parts of the Wall to fall down because they’re climbing on it to get … More Weekend Reading: Climbing the Walls

This week I’ve been having a lot of fun with Voynich, just like everybody else. What’s that you say? You’ve been out enjoying the sunshine, eating ice cream and doing the gardening, not staring at old and crazy manuscripts? Well, the good news is that it’s not too late to join the Voynich Party, which … More Weekend Reading: Fun with Voynich

This week kicked off with what is now widely recognised as Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You, for those who don’t speak Geek!). So I thought I’d continue the theme with some Classics/Sci-Fi links to brighten up your weekend. Do chip in, if you have other links to books and articles: all … More Weekend Reading: Classics and Sci-Fi

It’s that time of year again, when I encourage people to apply for awards, events and opportunities even though extra work is the very last thing they want right now, when the pressure of exams and coursework is piling on and they have no time for eating or sleeping. So here’s some more pressure. Enjoy! … More Weekend Reading: Awards and Events

In the news this week there’s been a lot about The Open University’s 50th birthday. (I wasn’t there for the party, but I hear there was cake.)     Being an OU person myself, I thought I’d use this week’s post to look back on some of the highlights – and low points – of … More Weekend Reading: Happy Birthday to OU!

Well, it’s Easter, and I have the chocolate to prove it. And as a nice eastery extra, this week’s hot online topic is Roman bunnies (I feel a ‘hot cross bunny’ joke coming on…). The press has been reporting that the earliest known bunny remains in Britain have been found, at Fishbourne Roman Palace, and … More Weekend Reading: Bunny Bones

This week I’m having an Icarus week – which for me is not particularly unusual. I was running an online tutorial the other day. It was supposed to be on the relationship between myth and reason (theories about the beginnings of the universe, early cosmology, the relationship between temple and Hippocratic medicine, etc etc), but … More Weekend Reading: Myth and Whisky