Up to a few months ago if someone had mentioned Vindolanda to me my thoughts would have turned to a hot Indian meal. Fortunately, the presentation at the LSA Classics Association by Dr Andrew Birley last November put an end to those childish musings and when member Sylvia O’Shea volunteered to organise a trip to … Continue reading Trip to the wild frontier
So, after an interesting and relatively entertaining study day at Cambridge University in February, (see blog below entitled 'And the winner is...' ) they had managed to pull ahead of Oxford ever so slightly in their metaphorical boat race to win over my conflicted mind. However, after spending a night in fresher’s accommodation at Brasenose … Continue reading And the winner is…revealed!
For the final lecture of the 2016-17 season, we welcomed the wonderful author and broadcaster Natalie Haynes. After an exclusive signing of her acclaimed new novel The Children of Jocasta, we were treated to a non-stop tour of the mythical history of Thebes, through the trials and eventual metamorphosis of King Cadmus (of sowing dragon-teeth … Continue reading ‘If you go down to Mt Cithaeron today, you’re sure of a big surprise’
Our Student Ambassador for Bolton School, thirteen year old Liv Sample, recently enjoyed a performance of Aeschylus' The Suppliant Women, directed by Ramin Gray, with music and choreography from John Browne and Sasha Milavic Davies. She recounts the evening here: "As we settle down in the magnificent yet intimate surroundings of the Royal Exchange Theatre in the heart of … Continue reading ‘If we help, we invite trouble. If we don’t, we invite shame’
Last night, five budding young Classicists spoke in front of a large audience of family, friends, LSA CA members and guests as they bid to be crowned the Classics Competition Champion 2017! We were joined by Mr Mike Walton, headmaster of AKS, who welcomed everyone to the second annual Classics Competition; Mrs Barbara Finney, the … Continue reading ‘Philosophy from a Pithos’
'I sing of arms and of the man' - these iconic words begin Virgil's Aeneid, an epic poem with a great scope and a complex ideology. As Dr Gail Trimble, a Fellow in Classics at Trinity College Oxford, explained to the Association on Thursday night, these three opening words are fascinating because they encapsulate Virgil's … Continue reading Arma Virumque Cano
One of our newly appointed LSA CA Classics Ambassadors, Alex Melling from Runshaw College, recently attended the University of Cambridge's Classics Study Day and has sent us this informative and entertaining account of the day. (Over to you Oxford...!) If you were to find me at a boat race between the Universities of Oxford … Continue reading And the winner is …
These words of wisdom offer advice to any aspiring historian hoping to accurately relate the events of the past, and one man who has quite literally walked the history that he relates is the acclaimed broadcaster, historian, author and filmmaker Dr Michael Wood. Drawing on an extraordinary wealth of personal experience and an infectious enthusiasm … Continue reading “You’ve got to walk it first”
How many firemen does it take for two grown men to go down a hole? This isn’t the start of a bad joke, I promise. It was a question that posed itself to our President, Dr Michael Scott, when he and Alexander Armstrong were stood contemplating a 45 metre vertical shaft in the Neapolitan countryside … Continue reading How many firemen…
One hundred and seventy people came to hear an enthralling and very well illustrated talk by Dr Andrew Birley, CEO and Director of Excavations at Vindolanda last Thursday. Dr Birley's much anticipated lecture was enjoyed by everyone including our youngest member, nine year old Jonah Crouch, who now shares his report of the evening with us: … Continue reading Shoes and Seats!
