I'm in Berlin! Where the green man has a hat on and appears to be strolling along carrying an enormous phallus. Which is everything I hoped and imagined Berlin to be.

As someone who has watched middle age whistle past her I do not really get the flashing lights & all round loudness of Tiktok. But nonetheless I have found a quiet corner for myself to talk about Romans.
vm.tiktok.com/ZNRXfUjg6/

BARGAIN ALERT:
Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors
How to Survive in Ancient Rome AND
Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome ARE ALL HALF PRICE!!!

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/L-J-Trafford...

Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome From Emperors and empresses, poets and prostitutes, slaves and plebs, Ancient Rome was a wealth of different experiences and expectations. None more so than around…

BARGAIN ALERT!!!
Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome is on SPECIAL OFFER! #bargainbook
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Love it, brought a smile to my face

This is great fun as are LJ Trafford’s books. Worth a few minutes of your time in these latter days of would-be emperors.

Nice to see James Trafford adding lustre to the Trafford name by doing what I understand to be good goalkeeping for Manchester City in the cup final of something or other.

The Emperor Domitian: Goodie or Baddie? YouTube video by LJ Trafford

4 minutes on Domitian
youtu.be/B8I0qUt2MtA?...

Very telling line from Pliny the Younger in my a.m. research. 'Slaves lose all fear of a considerate master once they are used to him, but they wake up at the sight of new faces and try to win his favour by giving his guests the service due to him.'

Hope it goes as well as things can.x

Quote of my a.m. research from Valerius Maximus who has clearly witnessed the carnage of a girls' night out. 'The use of wine was formerly unknown to Roman women, for fear that it might bring them into any disgrace'.

I went to see that Wuthering Heights film. I've never read the book, nor seen any adaptation of it, nor did I know anything about the plot aside from it includes people called Cathy & Heathcliffe. I have heard the Kate Bush song, that's ace. Which possibly explains why I rather enjoyed it.

Including chapter sub headings such as:
The stone sausage of man
'Er indoors - the seclusion
The paedophile poet of Sardis
Women out of control

I may have gone all out in this book. It is a tricky and complex subject matter.

Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Greece The debt of Ancient Greece to our own society has long been recognised. However, there is another side to the culture that bequeathed us such…

Oooo Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Greece is up for pre-ordering..
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sex-and-Sexu...

The Marvellous Martial YouTube video by LJ Trafford

I made a video on the marvellous Martial.
youtu.be/Gmo4sSxkAEY?...

Quite possibly...

Tacitus totally getting what January is like in the UK, 'The climate is wretched, with its frequent rains and mists but there is no extreme cold. Their day is longer than in our part of the world.'

I feel like I really need spring this year..

I didn't know that they were so good. Lots of exotic locations, jaw dropping stunts and comedy one liners that never feel forced. Very enjoyable all in all.

Yeah I saw the 1st one way back in the cinema. The newest ones have some astonishing set pieces and stunts that they did for real. Tom Cruise broke his leg doing a jump between buildings, you can see him limping out of shot.

I'm spending the recovery time catching up on Mission Impossible films. They are quite marvellous

I thought it would never end

Had an operation on my arm on Friday, it was a surprisingly smooth process. Arrived for 7 a.m. I was first on the list, in theatre by 9 a.m. Woke up at 10.30 a.m. Home by 13:30 p.m. Very impressed by the way the staff worked around my medication timings to ensure I took my Parkinsons pills on time.

Come hell & high water I am shoehorning this Livy quote into my WIP. It's too delicious. "The year was marred by omnious signs, fires blazed in the sky, there was a violent earthquake & a cow talked - there was a rumour that a cow had talked the previous year but nobody believed it"

Morning Livy research gem

"In the Palace about this time there occurred a very odd thing [] A little boy named Servius Tullus was lying asleep when his head burst into flames."

It's been a long time since I read a book for pleasure. Why? I have a full time job, a chronic illness, two children, my own books to write that involve reading many serious books.
Picked up a battered copy of an 80s Danielle Steel/Barabara Taylor Bradford style novel. Am bloody loving it.

Which I then HAD to follow up with Valens and Caecina because they are ruddy fascinating. Naturally you can't get all the bonkers details in this format, unless anyone has a spare three hours to listen to me natter on.
youtu.be/4ZwxtFJHAZw?...

The Short but Dramatic Reign of the Emperor Vitellius YouTube video by LJ Trafford

My new toe dipping into the world of TIktok and You Tube has somewhat reignited my passion for ther year of the four emperors. I had forgotten all the amazingly bonkers stuff that went on. Here's my short bit on Vitellius.
youtu.be/RmRCfUZsRoE?...

Absolutely stunning coin shared by the awesome @doccrom.bsky.social of a gold coin minted for #Vitellius. Now, there is also a really good video by @ljtrafford.bsky.social in which she talks just about this event.

Thanks Doc Crom and all the best for 2026!

BARGAIN ALERT
How to Survive in Ancient Rome my guide to the city in 95 CE is now only £7.50. Contains crucial information such as which festivals to avoid if you're squeamish, how not to upset the emperor & why you should carry a cabbage with you at all times
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/How-to-Survi...