GhostOfClayton

Viel Gl

Or maybe we could use four of the big city gates? And obviously dollars/pounds would be out, and denarii would be in. Top Hat = Helmet Dog = Eagle Racing Car = Chariot Iron = ? etc. By the way, please could someone with suitable authority change the name of this thread to MONOPOLIUM ROMANUM (thanks Aurelia).

Here's a bit of fun I started thinking about when I should've been doing something far more constructive: How would a Monopoly game based on Ancient Rome look? Starting with the title 'MONOPOLUS ROMANUM'. Is that reasonable, all you Latinistas? Would 'Go' become 'Peto'? Would the Jail square be the 'Mamertine'? And the 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card be 'Gratis Missio', or 'Gratis Libri'? The Waterworks - 'Aqueducti' Come on, let's have your ideas - it's better than working!

France?

Read in the context of the previous eight postings, your post is dripping with irony, Guanaria. Welcome along anyway, and despite all the Python stuff you're bound to learn 'proper' Roman stuff as well.

Undoubtably, they were cruel, but they lived in cruel times. I don't think they were particularly racist, but certainly felt superior. Take a couple of the Vindolanda tablets. One refers to the local Brits as 'Britunculi', which is most often translated as 'Wretched little Britons', but is more like a lazy lingusitic slur, a little like "Aussie", but with more derision. Also reported was a trader who complained that the military had beaten him, saying that he "wasn't even a local". The unspoken assumption is that it was both acceptable and not unusual for locals to be beaten by the Roman military.

Get the audience on your side early on! Once you've achieved that, the rest is easy.

Ah, Doc. What are we going to do with you? Mrs OfClayton tried on a pair of ski boots and had a panic attack due to their slightly claustrophobic feel. So she has always resisted skiing.

I need a little break from doing research, so here I am, blogging. If you read my last blog, you�d know that I shall be doing a �gig� in The Big Apple in May. Doing tours for the first time is always a frustrating experience. You can�t give �oh, it�s my first time� as an excuse to a group who have each parted with a significant wedge of cash. You need to arrive knowing the place like the back of your hand, as if you�d lived there all your life, having made friends of all the contacts long before touching down at JFK. . . . and it�s a big old place. That�s the first thing that struck me. How fortunate that I have Google Earth, and Google Streetview to help me. How truly wonderful these tools are to the man/woman who wants to blag a status as a native New Yorker. Having spent hours navigating my way along Lexington Avenue, crossing Brooklyn Bridge, and staring up in wonder at the Empire State Building, I�m now happy I can pop up from a subway station knowing where I am, and where I�m going. . . and all without leaving the house, or losing a single member of the group. Of course, the reality will be different. It will rain. Restaurants will lose reservations. Prices will unexpectedly rise above budgets. A wallet will disappear, only to be found in the wife�s handbag after the police report has been filed, the insurance company notified, and the British Consulate contacted. Someone will pipe up whilst ordering their first meal, �what do you recommend for a celiac vegan with a nut allergy and lactose intolerance, who doesn�t like tomatoes?� I have to feed you for 7 more days � I recommend you pass me your handkerchief for me to cry into, or hide behind when I can no longer hold my professional, caring smile. I also recommend you don�t ever go to Texas, or France. None of these things happen on Google Streetview. And keeping the group together in crowded city streets? It will be like herding cats!

My hovercraft is full of eels!

I haven't seen the film, and can't remember from the book if there was any reference to where in Scotland the action took place. However, the Scottish Highlands start about 150km north of Hadrian's Wall, and the fort at Inchtuthil is about 200km. The Battle of Mons Graupius (it's thought) took place in the Grampians, which are a lot further north still. Have a look at this image. Hadrian's Wall runs (to all intents and purposes) just above the word 'BRIGANTES' at the foot of the image.

. . . and a website telling you all about why. Good luck, Eboracum!

OK - this venture seems doomed to failure. The York Roman Festival has now moved to 18th & 19th June - right in the middle of one of my tours!!!!! And I organised my season to keep the original date free. Anyway, for anyone still interested, here's the website.

I've heard people who know about these sorts of things say it was likely that Boudicca wasn't the sole leader, but just another senior 'name' in a coordinated rebellion. In that context, the whole story makes a bit more sense. Tacitus was the primary source, and it's perfectly possible that he overegged Boudicca's role.

You've only got to look at Hadrian's Wall (Cohort sized Auxilliary forts) to see the majority (and so probably all of them) had bath houses. I would guess that as soon as any fort attained any degree of permanence, a bath complex would've been a priority. Unsanitary conditions could quickly reduce a cohort of men living in close proximity. I can't remember the book, and haven't seen the film, so I'm not sure if a senior officer was present in Marcus' fort. If so, that man would've been a Praefectus. If not, Marcus would've acted as Praefectus. I'm not sure if men from the legions were ever promoted across to the Auxilla, but I doubt that it was common practice even to move outside Cohorts.

The whole 'Centurion' rank didn't ring true in the book, but the film took it strtaight from there, I'm afraid. Maybe he was seen as a sort of Primus Pilus.

At the risk of admitting myself to be a failure . . . are you OK, Viggen? You seem to be speaking in tongues. Is this something to do with why I can no longer use words with accented letters, like Rhone-Alps, and Provence.

I think you need to have had 5 or 10 posts before you're able to iconicise yourself. Viggen will clarify, and no doubt point you in the direction of some text describing how it all works (if he reads this). PS Probably best to steer clear of 'iconicise' as well. Use 'avatarate'.

Which languages do you translate, Doc? How much of a polyglot are you?

I've never skiied Scotland, though I hear 99 percent of the time conditions are pretty poor. No offence to our friends north of the Antonine Wall, but you may feel differently if you give it a try in the Alps.

My view is 'stick to your guns' and spell it as it should be spelled (though not going so far as to replace Us with Vs, Js with Is, Gs with Cs, etc.). The reader will have their own pronunciation in their mental commentary throughout the book. If they're an educated Latinista, that may well be different from (a.) a ley reader, and (b.) any other educated Latinista. I wouldn't fall into the trap of patronising your readership by giving them a Latin pronunciation lesson (whether they need/want it or not). PS Don't use the word 'Latinista' - I think i may have made it up.

Aurelia's latest photo has a Provence-y feel about it - "Vaison-la-Romaine" perhaps?

Good for you Aurelia, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it - though to be honest, few people are put off after their first go. Equipment-wise, my only advice would be to start with boots, and if you have them professionally fitted, don't accept them if they feel at all tight. Unless you're planning on turning into a super-fast skier, comfort is much more important. Out of interest, which resort did you ski in?

I'm not even going to begin to suggest that this blog is twice-fortnightly anymore. Everything in life starts with enthusiasm, but soon becomes the norm, and then turns into a chore. Anyway, three things need to be reported on. Firstly there's my recent annual skiing holiday to Avoriaz in France. Non-skiers will not be interested. If any loyal followers to this blog are skiers, they're welcome to comment/contact me and I can tell them all about Avoriaz, snow conditions, ice conditions, cloud conditions, mountain restaurant conditions, ski-to-your-door, ski-from-your-door, hourly uplift capacity, and all the things that skiers seem interested in. Next, one of our Hadrian's Wall tours was cancelled this year, leaving me with a gap in my schedule. My company (which from now on I shall refer to by the alias 'Hiking Hols-R-Us') came back with an offer for a tour that was somewhat of a departure (scuse the pun) from my previous guiding experience. A sightseeing tour of New York city! Wow! Other than having to squeeze my over-long and over-wide carcass into an aircraft seat for God-knows how many hours, I seem to have fallen on my feet there. Big Apple here I come. Lastly, to counteract the Yin of the above, the cosmos has delivered upon the OfClayton household a mighty dollop of Yang. Mrs OfClayton works at a 6th Form College that announced redundancies yesterday. Names are yet to be named, but they do know that, out of the two people in her department, they will lose one! I'm sure I don't need to tell any of you what a blow this has been.