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January 1, 2010 by Ruth‘Miss’ revisits the Ashmolean
January 29, 2010 by RuthNobody was killed the first time I went to Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, but they might have been.
After a long journey cooped up on the bus, the last thing two classes of eight-year-olds wanted to do was to stare at old stuff in glass cases. The teachers and ‘Parent Helpers’ (of whom I was one) managed to keep them under control around the museum – in the sense that nothing was actually broken – but by the time we stopped at the service station on the way home, most of the children were stir-crazy.
The teachers – how I admire teachers! – instigated a game of run-over-the-grass-to-that-wall-and-back. Meanwhile, several of the girls wanted to find the toilets. As I went to escort them across the road, they rushed off on their own. Ignoring shouts of, “Wait!” they ran straight into the path of an oncoming car.
The car stopped just in time. The girls fled. Nobody was hurt, but the thought of what might have happened still makes me shudder.
All of which is a very longwinded way of introducing the good news that the revamped Ashmolean is a lot more exciting than the old one. I spent a delightful afternoon there yesterday. Cleverly concealed behind the traditional facade, the display space has been hugely expanded – all watched over by Apollo, see below – and is capped by ‘Oxford’s First Rooftop Restaurant’.
As my previous visit consisted largely of counting children and responding to cries of ‘Miss!’ it’s hard to compare the new with the old. But it all seems much lighter, brighter and infinitely more approachable than I remember. The Roman gallery will be small but perfectly formed as soon as they’ve finished labelling everything (these are early days), but the thoughtful way the material is themed means that Roman items are spread across several displays. ‘Human image,’ for example, has a reproduction statue of Augustus painted in the way his subjects would have seen it.
My favourite item is more modest. As one who has knitted several (largely unappreciated) socks over the years, I have to admire the work that went into the making of this stripy sock for an Egyptian child who lived sometime between AD300 and the early 400’s.
Had the photo been executed with similar skill, you would be able to see that the fabric looks like ordinary knitting, although according to the label, it was all done with one needle (yes, some of us do think this is interesting). Sadly the photo is dreadful, so you’ll have to take my word for it – or better still, pop in to see the real thing in the ‘Textiles’ display.
Not to be outdone, I see the very lovely Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is opening its revamped Gallery of Greek and Roman Antiquities tomorrow. Here’s a link to the BBC’s slideshow.
Racing to save the Circus
January 20, 2010 by Ruth
I’ve always appreciated Colchester’s Roman walls. They served as a landmark every morning from the windows of the school bus, reminding us that we were nearly at the bus station and if the homework wasn’t done by now, there was going to be trouble.
Fortunately the present-day citizens of Colchester are a lot more awake to their heritage. Now that the site of Britain’s only Roman Circus has been discovered on their doorstep, they’re running a determined campaign to buy some of the land and create a Visitor Centre so we can all see what our ancestors got up to on a day at the Chariot Races.
To see how they found the site and why it’s worth saving – and to watch a real chariot in action – sit back and enjoy the Time Team Special.
They only have until 28 February to raise the money. Let’s hope the gods are smiling on them.
Seasonal reading
January 11, 2010 by Ruth
Snow outside, Wallander on the TV and all around us, conversations that begin, ‘In places where they have weather like this every winter…’ or, ‘I remember in 1947/1963…’
It seems like the right time to check out Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’
Is it as good as they say?* So far, yes. Yet curiously, although the story begins in Sweden in late December, none of the characters is complaining that they can’t get anywhere because of the snow. Clearly, in places where they have weather like this every winter…
* LATER – Yes, absolutely.
Happy 1600th Anniversary
January 2, 2010 by RuthHere at Downie Towers the first morning of the New Year was heralded by a long-overdue and strangely satisfying sort-out of the airing cupboard.
Fortunately, greater things beckon. AD410* was the year in which the Emperor Honorius allegedly told the Britons they would have to organise their own defences against invasion, because Rome had no troops to spare. I say ‘allegedly’ because there’s a suggestion that Honorius wasn’t writing to us but to somebody else. I don’t know how credible this is, so let’s not go there. For the purposes of this blog, Roman Britain came to an end 1600 years ago. Except…
It seems that very little in the ‘end of Roman Britain’ debate can be asserted without someone else arguing that you’ve misinterpreted the evidence. So there should be plenty of lively debate when the commemorations get going later this year. Here’s a link to the 410 website to find out about digs, events, exhibitions and opportunities for the rest of us to watch the experts disagreeing with each other.
One thing’s definite about Roman Britain, though. End it certainly did, inspiring an unknown Anglo-Saxon to write a wondrously glum poem now called ‘The Ruin’. I mean no disrespect to the Anglo-Saxons, who wrote some fabulous poetry, but it’s reassuring to know that even in the eighth century, things just weren’t what they used to be.
*readers who dislike ‘AD’ may substitute whatever term they wish
Onward and upward
December 18, 2009 by RuthHistorical novelists are sometimes asked whether they’d rather live in the times they write about than in the twenty-first century. In my case the short answer is, ‘No.’ The long answer involves words like anaesthetics, slavery, contact lenses and gas heating - not to mention the fact that I’d probably be dead by the age I am now.
In fact I’ve never heard anyone answer ‘yes’ to this question about any era, and suspect a lot of it has to do with advances in health care.
Readers who subscribe to the version of Victorian England in which the streets were full of jolly coachmen, prancing horses and rosy-cheeked choirboys standing under gas lamps in the snow (very prevalent at this time of year) should leave now. To those made of sterner stuff, I can thoroughly recommend a visit* to Old Operating Theatre, Museum and Herb Garret that used to be part of St Thomas’ Hospital in London. No longer in use, of course, but apparently the oldest operating theatre in Britain. Obviously the nineteenth century is a long way removed from the Romans, but it’s said that surgery made very few advances between Classical times and the Victorian era. The Garret is a fascinating place to wander round, and a salutary reminder that whatever we may find wrong with the modern world, there’s a lot that we really, really wouldn’t want to go back to…
*a virtual visit is the only kind that can be made at the moment – it reopens on 6 January 2010 when, for reasons not entirely clear, it is celebrating The Odyssey of Chocolate. (I always knew chocolate was medicinal.)
Even faster than the speed of a horse
December 11, 2009 by RuthI know we’ve been here before on this blog, but a comment from Phil about manuscript submission prompts me to observe how fast things are changing even in the few years I’ve been involved this publishing game.
Not that long ago, sending the latest effort to the agent involved hunting round for a box to hold 400+ sheets of paper, lots of Sellotape and a chance to queue in the Post Office. Usually a stamped addressed postcard went in with it, so she could confirm it had arrived.
Even as recently as the second Ruso novel, the American editor pencilled her comments on the paper copy and sent them across the Atlantic by FedEx.
Not any more. There was some paper about for the third book, but much of the copy editing was done on-screen, with little red and green notes and comments appearing around the typing. All slightly embarrassing, as it recorded every change of mind.
The first draft of Ruso 4 (including three chapters that are still just notes) has now reached the agent by email. She’ll be going through it on her journey to work. Not on paper, but on her e-reader. I’ll be using the breathing space to do all the other stuff one does at this time of year, but in case there are a few quiet moments I’ve just downloaded ‘A Christmas Carol’ to read on my phone.
For someone who spends much of the day imagining the year 120, where every document had to be copied by hand and no letter could travel faster than the courier’s horse, it’s all rather hard to believe.
A quick trip to Pompeii
December 6, 2009 by RuthI know I wasn’t going to post anything till the book’s done but this is too good to ignore. In case anyone’s missed it on the news – the wondrous Google Street View is now available for Pompeii. Hooray!
I haven’t explored all of it yet (there is a book to finish) but did discover a very interesting man with half a head and no body somewhere near the amphitheatre entrance. Perhaps the ghost of one of the victims.
It’s very quiet here lately…
December 3, 2009 by Ruth…because the deadline for the initial draft of Ruso 4 is 31 December. I am too ashamed to say what it was before the nice people at the publishers agreed to extend it.
So, apologies for the dearth of posts over the last few weeks. It’s looking like a quiet Christmas here at Downie Towers – but hopefully a cheerful New Year.
The Truth About Writers
November 13, 2009 by RuthWent to hear R J Ellory talk to an audience of readers’ groups at Milton Keynes Library last night. That is R J ELLORY not JAMES ELLROY with whom he is sometimes confused. I can’t vouch for Mr Ellroy but Roger Ellory is a great speaker – fluent, intelligent, thoughtful and funny – so it’s no wonder there was a long queue to buy books afterwards.
One of the first points he made was that the writer’s life is not quite how some people imagine it. We do not, he explained, lie in bed most of the morning with a hangover, then bash out a few immortal lines, fend off the film offers and head out in the evening to get drunk at the next launch party. (I’m paraphrasing here.)
He’s absolutely right. Apart from the hour or so in which I dictate 1,000 words to my secretary and send the research assistant off on the latest assignment, I spend most of the day lying on a chaise longue painting my toenails and watching The West Wing.
Please excuse me. I could go on, but George Clooney’s just rung to say he’s popping round any minute, so I need to slip into a fresh pair of silk pyjamas.
