elmo is surrounded by flames and the word victory is written above him ALT: elmo is surrounded by flames and the word victory is written above him

Today I booked a thing with SAP Concur.

"is that a corbridge type A?" Asked Piglet.
"Why yes." Said Pooh.
"Is it heavy?"
"Oh my yes..." Sighed Pooh.

Scale model ancient catapult on a desk in an empty classroom

Today in class we played with* the departmental onager. Every department should have one!

*conducted serious research.

I watched it (for the first time) during lock-down as I holiday in that part of Scotland regularly and seeing familiar mountains and places was a real tonic!
Enjoyed the programme too 😆

Without saying your age, post your favourite film that was released the year you turned 18...

Dw i'n hoffi bisgedi

Requalified as a Remote Rescue Medical Technician today (it's for the voluntary job, not the paid one!) A tough exam but scary responsibilities go with the qualification, and the in-depth revision in the run-up has been very satisfying for someone who'll always enjoy learning.

Yes.

Creative Wales-British School at Rome Fellowship 2026-2027 - bsr.ac.uk Calling early- to mid-career artists based in Wales! The British School at Rome, in partnership with Arts Council Wales, is offering a fully supported 3-month residency in Rome (Sept–Dec 2026). A fant...

Calling early- to mid-career artists based in Wales! The British School at Rome, in partnership with Arts Council Wales, is offering a fully supported 3-month residency in Rome (Sept–Dec 2026).
Deadline: 15 May 2026
bsr.ac.uk/creative-wal...

📷 Richard Malone's studio, photo by Luana Rigolli, 2026

Really sad to hear of the death of the inspirational scholar and teacher Dame Averil Cameron @averilcam.bsky.social
I count myself incredibly lucky to have had Averil as my lecturer and tutor for the expansive B5 Roman Imperial History course, and she actively supported my early career.
RIP Averil

I suspect they enjoyed 6 months of R&R on the costa del Penarth Road.

Tech win
Today I re-established comms between the computer and printer after they've spent 6 months in a storage unit.
Victory!!

And in Moesia:
"No little terror was inspired in the barbarians by the centurion Cornidius... carrying on the top of his helmet a pan of coals which were fanned by the movement of his body, he scattered flame from his head, which had the appearance of being on fire."
Florus 2.26.16

And how long have you lived with dogs?!

Cuppa sitting in a t-shirt in the back yard this afternoon. Lovely spring day.

He's following the Neronian playbook very closely!

A grand white stone building with a sweeping drive leading to it.

A lovely sunny day in Cardiff for celebrating the spring equinox!

A6 Maybe we need an entry in our uni's education toolkit about using humour; this could be really valuable for our culturally very diverse teaching staff.
#LTHEChat

A5 Being sensitive and culturally aware; offering a level playing field - if we use humour our students must be able to as well.
#LTHEChat

A4 It would be easy in my subject to make jokes about the minutiae of religious differences (think Monty Python and the People's Front of Judaea but on Christian schisms) but that's not something I'd want to do.
#LTHEChat

Certainly made me chuckle, esp. when Tight Fit came on!!

A3 My teaching includes some quite nasty stuff (ancient 'war crimes', bloody public entertainments etc.) and humour can help to ease some of the darkness, as long as that humour doesn't come across as flippant.
#LTHEChat

Yes - and this lecturer was very early career, just a few years older than the undergrads (in fact we thought he was a new undergrad when he arrived!) and the self-deprecation may also have helped with the relatability to someone barely older than us.
#LTHEChat

A2 I had one lecturer who talked a lot about his 'looney theories' about the ancient world in a slightly self-deprecating way, but it was a really good way of getting us to think critically and question the current state of scholarship in the topic.
#LTHEChat.

A1 I think it's fine, as long as it's not over-done, and is done with awareness of audience (age, cultural background etc.).
#LTHEChat

Ah, too early... 😜

Lovely news to finish the week - I've been shortlisted by Cardiff Uni Students Union for the second year in a row for the VC's award for Enriching Student Life.
The recognition from our Student Officers means so much 🤩

Palisades? ooh, what fun!!

Postdoctoral Research Associate (Ancient DNA) at University of York Apply now for the Postdoctoral Research Associate (Ancient DNA) role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

34 month PDRA position on my Roman Britannia: Mobility and Society project, based with fab project co-lead Dr Sophy Charlton at @york-bioarch.bsky.social - come join our interdisciplinary Cardiff-York team and reshape narratives of the Roman period in Britannia.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQT035/p...

We still had bread and butter for tea a couple of nights a week in the late 60s and early 70s.