The Augusta

Boris is priceless! I knew he'd be good value when elected. So, we have: 'Alea iacta est' - innit? Me down wiv me mates Cicero and Caesar - wicked! Yeah, I can just see it working..... But nice try, Boris.

Well, Livia is just waiting to confer with Augustus about the final itinerary - which is all sorted, GOC, so as soon as that is done - hopefully within the next few days - it will appear on the Forum. I do hope that faint chance grows, as it wouold be great to see another face at the Meet.

A wonderful interview - and another huge thank you to Ursus, who works tirelessly for this site. You are doing great work, boys! Having visited other ancient history sites on the Internet, I can honestly say that this one is head and shoulders above the rest. The level of knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment of the community is astounding and the fact that such people are attracted to the site is a testament to the hard work the Triumviri put in on a daily basis. A million thanks are not enough.

A shame, Wot! Vindolanda is forming part of our plans and it would have been great to see you. But you must put your course first and if the Clunia site is going to be more beneficial to you in your studies, then you must go for it. Hope you have a great time.

What a wonderful interview - thanks to Ursus and Caroline for sharing this with us. I enjoyed the whole thing, but when I got to the part where Caroline says that Mary Renault changed her life, I had my usual ridiculous reaction. The eyes filled with tears, the lump came into the throat and I found myself nodding at the computer screen in silent agreement. The woman is a goddess of historical fiction. I once said that Caroline's books were 'Mary Renault for kids' and I meant that as the greatest compliment anyone could give. There are many good novelists; many people can turn a decent phrase. It was Mary who made me want to write in this genre too. I was interested in Caroline's comments about thinking in blocks and pictures. One would expect writers to think in words, but I think Caroline has hit the nail on the head. Where Renault's and Caroline's own genius lie, of course, is in painting those pictures with such a colourful brush that the whole world can see them too. When I read one of Caroline's books, I am a Roman child. When I read Renault I am a Greek youth or whatever. I am never a modern person reading a tale of history. Very, very few historical novelists have this gift, even some of the so-called best. Thanks for a great interview, Caroline/Flavia - and I'm sure I speak for everyone else on the Forum when I say we hope to see you back very soon.

Nice review, Decimus, and the book is fresh in my mind as I read it only a few weeks ago, following on from the novels by Napier. I agree that it was a very good intro to the topic, but I did get a bit fed up of the references to Kassai. The onyl other fault I found was that at the end of it all, I really did not have a feel for the real Attila. Man did not seem to explore the guy's personality in any real depth. However, on the other hand, as we have so little written evidence from the Huns themselves, I suppose any attempt to explore the personality would be pure speculation - which is not Man's objective. I found it very easy to read and it will stay on my shelves. And it has certainly kindled my interest in this complex man and his people.

I add my felicitations, Ursus. Hope much wine/beer/spirits - or whatever combination of intoxicating beverages you like - is consumed in great measures.

Yes - to put you all out of your misery regarding my new (temporary) avatar - my good old friend GPM has hit on it. Lamps (as we affectionately refer to him) stepped up to score a vital penalty kick in our semi-final match with Liverpool last week, to help put us through to the final of the European Cup (Champions League, as the new prawn sandwichers have it). His mother had died just a couple of days before. Hence, the tribute is to him and to Pat, and the pic will remain as my avatar until we win this cup when we face United on May 21st. And we are going to win it! Thanks for the blanagram, Neph. Don't worry, all you purist Romanophiles - Livia will be back with you at the end of the season. Although - having said that - she may have to give way for another month to some sexy Italian centre-half until the 2008 European Championships are won by gli azzurri.

Thanks for the warning, Gaius. I think we're OK in our area as far as postal votes. But unfortunately I live in one of those places where the council is so heavily coloured to one end of the spectrum that a vote for the other end makes no bloody difference! But I'll still do my bit on Thursday - for old Emmeline's and Christabel's sake.

Hehe - I'll bet not many of you expected me to post here..... I only have one favourite scene: Octavian says to Cicero - 'Stand away from my chair!' (It may have been 'Step away' - I'm not quite sure - I only saw it once...) It brought the house down in our living room. Cries of 'You tell 'im, sweetheart!' rang from the walls with all the gusto of enthusiastic football supporters at a top-of-the-table Premiership clash. But if I were to be kinder to the entire series x 2, I would have to highlight i) Caesar's death and ii) those exquisite reactions from David Bamber (Cicero) when Antony pissed in the plant-pot. I mention these two purely as scenes of theatrical excellence. As for 'Gladiator' - it has to be when he is 'floating' home at the end and the little boy comes running to meet him. Kleenex, please....I'm not ashamed. I'm a woman, and I'll cry if I want to.

A fitting epitaph in my opinion, MPC and PP. The pair of them deserved eachother. But seriously - (well, I was being serious) - do we really believe this will be 'the' tomb? I have my doubts.

Longshotgene - I think you would be quite safe in offering Grant as a source to ANY professor. As others have pointed out, he may not be in the class of Mommsen or Syme, but he still remains a highly respected authority on the subject. Being accessible to a wider readership does not always mean you are less of a scholar. I have many of Grant's works on my shelves - and those I do not possess are still on my 'to buy' list to this day. Like Decimus Caesar, I own his 'Cleopatra' - a wonderful study of a woman I personally loathe - so that you should tell you how highly I regard the man for the fair treatment of his subjects. IMHO, no Romanophile should be without a Grant or two.

Just a quick update - we have a new addition to our trip - a little shoot nurtured by yours truly. My son will be accompanying me to the Wall, as he can put the visit to good use for his college course. He is looking forward to it.

How much awards (if any) did it win Augusta? None. It was only nominated in the main category for Best Series, and I think one of the craft awards for costume or something. However - a rider to this. For those of you who loved 'Rome' and feel affronted that it didn't win, don't worry - BAFTA plumbed the depths by not awarding the prize for Best Serial to 'Cranford', which has been one of the best things on British TV in decades - take my word for it. Instead it was beaten into second place by 'Britz' a serial about muslims living in Britain. Yeah - that's what I thought too. There were lots of lovely young Brit/Muslim terrorist lads in the programme too. When it was announced as the winner there was a palpable hush in the audience for about 30 seconds before the applause started! Rome came third in its category, apparently - behind 'The Street' (trust me that is excellent) and 'Life on Mars'.

Well, I ALWAYS add a little Sandalwood oil. It is quite gorgeous, and for me, it really evokes old Rome. Of course, this may be totally wrong, but I just love the mixture of Frankincense and Sandalwood.

I really want to try Absinthe - just so I can say I share something with Darling Oscar. So, come on - has anyone had Absinthe? And if so, what is it like? Isn't it wormwood - or am I talking through my posterior again?

I promised a quick update re. the BAFTA awards. As we expected, 'Rome' could not fight off the competition. Jimmy McGovern's excellent series 'The Street' proved far too strong and was, in my opinion, a very worthy winner. I guess money and sets were not enough after all.

Well, Neil - when it comes to Scousers I have to bite my tongue and keep biting it....especially in these days of political correctness. Haven't they all realised that the reason we all love the Beatles is that they had the good sense to get out of that..... erm....place? I shall say no more.

Ah - memories! In my youth (when Augustus was a lad) when I lived in London I would down 8 pints of Guinness on the King's Road before every Chelsea home game. I often wondered why there were 44 players on the pitch! I had to give up the Guiness, though - far too fattening. Now, I'm a Whisky or Vodka girl, but can be persuaded to the odd glass of red or white wine. One drink I cannot stomach - gin. I can't even get it to within a yard of my nostrils before I heave. ETA: Oh, and beer. Beer. Good northern bitter! In fact - any drink at all really - except the old gin. Other vile drinks are Campari (tastes like ear-wax a friend once said, and she was right), Martini, Cinzano, Archers, and all those hoity toity yuppie things. And the Prince of all Drinks - every New Year - Charles Edward's own Drambuie! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........

If you're a rabbit! Beer and Nuts: Man Snacks! Damned cheek! You men don't have the monopoly on beer and nuts, ya know! I can drink any man under the table - and I've got bigger nuts than most

A time machine, a time machine! My kingdom for a time machine! Sorry, Kosmo - I love you to death, but I couldn't resist that. All the gals on this board will understand

Sorry, Calders - I'm sure I've been through this before on the Forum. I find it as easy to swallow as a double whisky and dry. She was plotting - no doubt about it.

You see, this is proof of the old adage 'Where ignorance is bliss....' I loathed 'Caligula' as much as you did, Cornelius - probably because I'm a Julio-Claudian, so I could not stand what they had done to the history etc. Now, when it came to 'Gladiator' - well I neither knew nor really cared about the first thing to do with gladiators, and I found that I actually enjoyed the damned thing! I'm not the biggest Russell Crowe fan either, but I have to say that 'I was indeed entertaned'.. I did know that quite a bit of the political history was off, but because it is a period I don't particularly love, I didn't find it as much of an affront. Of course this proves that I am a very shallow person.... But to be serious about it, I can understand why 'Gladiator' had the following it did among those who were just after a good couple of hours of entertainment. On the other hand, I cannot imagine anyone being entertained by 'Caligula'.

Ah - how could I forget to send my football buddy birthday hails! Have a great day, GPM - and sink a few pints for me. Look forward to seeing you in July.

It would certainly be wonderful to see you, Spittle. Hope you can make it. We would not be starting our itinerary until the Saturday anyway. We have included a Friday arrival just so that we can get together and perhaps have a drink and a bite to eat, and it will be a nice way to welcome GPM, who could not make it last time round.