Carpe diem

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When I mentioned today that I wished I had not wasted so much time in my youth and that I was too old now to achieve what I had wanted to do when I was young, Conrad looked at me in amazement and said in an earnest and caring voice: ” Don’t say that your life is over and that you are too old. People can llive into their 90s, so your live is only half over and there is still so much you can do. There is so much life ahead of you.”

Advice which is like an early Christmas present. My custom made ‘carpe diem’. Heartfelt, simple words of wisdom which came so unexpectedly and yet so appropriately.

British archeological TV shows

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I really enjoy putting my feet up and watching some guys digging in a soggy trench and going ooh-aah when they find a bit of old pottery or lump of rust. Time Team has been a favourite for a long time. Baldrick from Blackadder (aka Tony Robinson) is the host but he has a bunch of side-kicks. These include a guy who looks and sounds like Catweazle, and another with a west country drawl and funny hat.

Not to be confused with Tony Robinson talking about the Worst Jobs in History.

TimeTeam2007_0 PhilHardingArchaeologist

More recently I’ve begun watching Two Men in a Trench. The two men, Neil Oliver and Tony Pollard, investigate battlefield archeology and like to dress up in period gear. They also have a team of diggers and experts. A notable expert is Andy Robertshaw who runs the Royal Logistic Corps Museum (standing behind the Red Coat).

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Coda

10 December 2009: I’m also enjoying ‘A History of Scotland’ on SBS at the moment. So far the first episode of five has been screened. It covered the early history: the Roman invasion of northern Britain and their withdrawal as far south as Hadrian’s Wall, the conflict between Picts and Gaels and the establishment of the Kingdom of Alba.

16 December 2009: sometimes Neil Oliver overdoes his emphatic delivery. It leaves him with nowhere to go when he wants to reach a crescendo. I’m waiting for him to yell “and then we were overun by the FUCKING ENGLISH !! BASTARDS!!!”

21 December 2009: Robert the Bruce, King Robert I of the Scots (1274-1329), versus King Edward I (1239-1307) of England. What a bloody mess.

6 January 2010: I missed episode 4 (the rise of the Stewart royal family and the creation of the highland/lowland divide) but saw the finale, episode 5. Neil seemed to have calmed down. Maybe he knew that the series was coming to an end, as was Scotland as an autonomous kingdom.