GhostOfClayton

So, it�s that time of year where most of the population of England get together in order to burn an effigy of a Catholic. This has caused me quite a bit of bother this year, all due to a chain of events that can be traced unbroken back to the sad passing of OfClayton Snr. a few months ago. Those of you who, like me, are now effectively orphaned will know that the first big task, once the funeral is behind you, is clearing your parents� house of a lifetime�s worth of accumulated clutter. When we did this following the death of Mrs OfClayton�s mum, every single artefact had to be examined nostalgically, cried over, and very, VERY, reluctantly, discarded. It took forever. Although I am not half so sentimental as my other half, and was happy to bin all my old baby clothes/teddy bears/school books, etc. from the loft, the sheer volume of it all meant that it was still a pretty long job. To make things easier, I brushed the dust off my old trailer, hacked it free of last year�s undergrowth, and filled it up. It survived the first trip to the skip, but on returning to OfClayton Snr.�s bungalow, I found that the ancient tyres had perished to the point where a second trip was inadvisable. New tyres required! So I tried to remove the wheels, resulting in the sheering off of one of the bits-that-you-screw-the-wheelnuts-onto (you can guess that I�m no great shakes with mechanical jiggery-pokery). After careful consideration, I decided that three out of four wheelnuts would proably do the job, so took the wheels to the tyre centre to have the tyres replaced. After much sucking of teeth, and sharp intakes of breath, they decided that it was a specialist size, and replacing the tyre would cost more than a new trailer. This, combined with the wheelnut-thing-sheering-off incident, and the age of the trailer, made me reluctantly accept that I needed a new trailer. �OK�, I said to a colleague the next day. �I�m going into town to see if I can find a trailer.� �My Dad�s selling a trailer�, says he. So we went to have a look. What a magnificent trailer it was! I drooled. It was huge! And best of all, the owner was happy to swap for some of OfClayton Snr�s golf equipment (no good to me). One problem � it was too wide to fit in between the Main House and the Garage Block at OfClayton Towers. I didn�t want to leave it at the front where it could fall victim to any waif/stray that happened through the sleepy little village of Aquis of the Romans. It would have to be housed within the Garage Block. But what about when the winter comes, and I need to put the GhostMobile in the Garage Block? Hmm . . . problem. Luckily for me, I know someone who will deal with this � Future OfClayton. What a guy Future OfClayton is. I pass so many of my problems on to him to deal with, which means I don�t have to worry about them. Anyway, the months wore on. I used the trailer to clear OfClayton Snr�s bungalow, and many, many other jobs, and the Catholic burning weekend approached. �I know,� said the man who lives at the end of my garden, �let�s have a bonfire party � we can use OfClayton Towers.� Very good of him to nominate my grounds for his party, but we were invited, so not too bad. Another resident of the sleepy little village of Aquis-of-the-Romans approached me. �If you bring your trailer, I�ve got a load of old wood for the fire.� So now I have a problem � a trailer load of wood, and no way to get it to the bonfire. What on earth possessed Past OfClayton to buy this huge trailer? What an idiot that boy is! My Saturday was spent removing two fence panels and digging out a concreted-in fencepost, just to create a gap wide enough for Past OfClayton�s stupid sodding trailer! Past OfClayton, you will be the death of me! And my Sunday was spent concreting in a new fence post, and replacing the fence panels. The GhostMobile is in the garage, and the trailer is stored away in the back garden. How am I going to get the trailer back out of the garden? That sounds like a job for Future OfClayton! I�m sure he�ll think of something.

I must admit, I thought you were married with kids. Not sure where I got that from, though. Myself and Mrs OfClayton met at a friend's wedding - I was friends with the groom, she was friends with the bride.

Update: I have now finished reading this book, and just started writing up my review (a little later than promised, for which I apologise). To really, really, really paraphrase what I'm going to write in the review. "Get it read! You'll find it interesting".

Tarraconensis? (having played heart and head, I'm now playing the odds - Tarraconensis was the largest.)

Bignor Roman Villa Chedworth Crofton Fishbourne Hope this helps.

Ok . . that was a guess with my heart. My head would've said that there's more going on in Gallaecia. Are there just you and me doing this? or is someone else biding their time ready to pounce when i narrow it down sufficiently (a tactic I've employed once before, so it would be ironic if I were to be hoist by my own petard!)

I'm hoping it's in the province of Baetica, as the Falco novel I'm currently reading is set there.

When did you post this NN? The wonderful bust of Valentinian II quite passed me by!

I was hoping someone else would get on board with this one, but it looks like I'm in it for the long haul. Spain?

I shall be in Basel for a few days at the end of November. I shall ensure I visit. Any tips from anyone? And is there anything else to see in the area?

Housesteads - probably the most visted of all the forts on Hadrian's Wall - has just closed for 6 months to allow the first phase of a 3-part makeover. Phase 1 - The upgrading of the museum (long overdue for such a high profile site!) This will open in Spring 2012. Phase 2 - Better Visitor Facilities (though the ones that are there at the moment seem fine to me). Opening end 2012. Phase 3 - Feel free to speculate. Next time I'm there, I'll ask. The terrain makes the site inherantly wheelchair unfriendly, but they've done the best they can, so I doubt it's that. Anyhow, more info here.

A good opportunity to introduce you to this mask, which is on display in the Roman Gallery in Tullie House (Carlisle).

For those interested, this was covered very well on Material World (BBC Radio 4's flagship science programme) on 3/11/2011 (that's 3rd November to anyone stateside, not 11th March!!!!!!)

Funny that - it knows that I swear like Brian Blessed, too.

"Disapprove Mightily" - how did you know Mrs OfClayton's first names? How do these self cleaning ovens work, Doc? Do they just superheat and burn the muck off?

I wish you hadn't blogged this, Caldrail. The oven in the main kitchens at OfClayton Towers (which has been hiding behind a blind spot in my mind's eye for quite some time now) is well and truly ready for a clean . . . and now your blog has caused it to leap out from behind that blind spot and demand attention.

Welcome on board, SC. Plenty of Ceasar stuff goes down here, and I'm sure we'll be able to widen your interest significantly. I almost daren't say this for many reasons, but shouldn't it be "Salvete atque valete"? There should be less pedant's in the world!

Hi and welcome. Message for the 'powers that be' on UNRV - maybe this post could be tacked on the end of this thread. it seems pretty relevant to that discussion.

M

It's quite interesting. If the Greeks weren't in the Euro, there would be much less motivation for other countries to bail them out. Yet the Greeks seem to want out at the moment. So who will bail them out next time if they're using the Drachma again? I think people are only saying that the Euro's in crisis, because there's an option for nations to drop it for their original currency. If, as a nation, you're already using that original currency, your finances would still be just as far up the creek, but you couldn't blame the currency itself. The UK are not blaming sterling, yet things are pretty grim here.

These were none other than our friends Lucius Voreno and Titus Pullo of HBO Rome fame. Find out more here, and here.

This is one of my very favourite programmes. For other UK-based fans, the new series starts on E4 on Thursday at 8:00pm (or E4+1 at 9:00pm).

This song can also be found on my iPod! Best of luck with the interview. let us know how you get on.

Letter received 11th October from the Senhouse Museum Trust: A copy of this letter (with the petition on the back page) is attached. Please do sign and send off the petition. Senhouse.pdf

. . . and thanks to Crispina, we can add The Viking Queen.