Northern Neil

SIRMIUM!

I once saw Ike and Tina Turner at the Theatre in Arles many years ago. But the venue was the only thing Roman about it! EDIT: As a working musician, it has often occurred to me that Rock, or Heavy Metal, would be a great musical genre with which to accompany representations of our favourite historical period. Along with classical - or more accurately, Baroque (from which Heavy Metal draws much of its inspiration). when it comes to music, I personally like - and play Jazz, Rockabilly and country, but accept that these three genre would be useless at augmenting a performance based on anything to do with the Classics. I think a musician such as Steve Vai would compose a terrific score to something like Oedipus, or - indeed - the life and ultimate fate of Caligula.

How does one open this up? You dont - thats the photo!

None of them - despite (probably) having Angle, Saxon and Frankish genes. They ushered in a period of moribund drabness which lasted for hundreds of years.

If you were able to make the September meet, which is probably going to be Hadrian's Wall, it would be better to fly to Manchester. One of us could then collect you from the airport.

Does the third century 'Anarchy' come under this period? until the time of Diocletian, the Augustan system was still, nominally, the mode of government.

I am quite happy to co - organise this with Augustus ( AC, I will PM you with my 'phone number and email in due course).

Perhaps in some ways it was a pretty strong worded topic title. In Persia and in the classical world, the respective monotheistic religions did preserve much of what went before. However, in Northern Europe including Britain, the religion which was displaced was so successfully propagandised (sp?) against that it is perceived to this day as satanism or witchcraft, and evil in nature. (given that Satan is a construct of the Monotheistic world, I do not regard Satanists as being in any way part of the Pagan religion, even though they themselves may latch on to it. In my view, a Satanist is simply a renegade Christian). In Ireland, the most comprehensively Celtic country in the modern world, the Catholicism of the Romans totally has supplanted the original Celtic religion. The thing that makes Ireland interesting, however, is that the conversion was not brought about by invaders - it seemed to be accepted willingly even though only introduced by a handful of evangelists. Either the Irish people genuinely found this religion attractive or the Irish kings considered it politic to convert, as it (belatedly) admitted them, in a partial sense, to the Roman world. I think the second explanation is most likely, as Christianity even in the 5th century was rapidly assuming its repressive, mediaeval guise.

Look what I just found!!! You can get Chelmsford123 on DVD!!! http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/PROD/3-/110672...es/Product.html

All these prospective dates and places are fine for me. I can pick more southerly based people up at Lancaster to cut down on railfares.

Up Pompey was great. It poked fun at all the publically held misconceptions of the Roman period, as well as presenting us with a lot of silly names ending in 'US'. Chelmsford 123 was even better - it also had a modicum of authenticity, although for me this was incidental. I have been trying to get this series on DVD for ages, but cant find it. It never seems to get repeated, either.

In Orwell's 1984, Julia has this to say: 'When you make love, you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time. All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour. If you're happy inside yourself, why should you get excited about Big Brother and the Three-Year Plans and the Two Minutes Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot?' who knows - if what Julia said is true, and if Dr. Heba Kotb gets her message across, perhaps a little less hate will emerge from muslim countries.

Did they have strawberries then? In England you can get 'wild' strawberries which are quite nice, but about the size of peas.

B of E.

Invented would be a bad choice of word. They come from South America and was brought back to Europe by the Spanish and started to be cultivated in there during the 1540's AD. The first discoveredcookbook mention tomatoes is from the late 17th century Naples. Many thanks for that! The word 'invented' is used humerously!

Shaking himself dry, Gaius Octavius sees me (R.Cornelius Hadrianus) and makes a beeline. Overjoyed with a new religious building recently completed for him, he hands me a purse containing a bonus of 100 gold solidi. Eight months extra wages! In one go! Buoyed up by my new found wealth and some of the excellent wine, I momentarily emerge from my shyness. In a further presage to an event which happens to the unfortunate builder's modern incarnation 18 centuries later, the following happens: NN: 'Hey, babe. I'm R. Cornelius Hadrianus.' Babe: Yes, I know. NN: 'Well, I wondered if you'd like to go with me to the theatre tomorrow - bloody hell, look at the state of that woman's DRESS! She's bulging out of it!' Babe: 'That's my sister. Husband, this man wants to take me to the theatre. What do you think?' Husband puts his arm round his wife's waist, and raises his wine glass. 'not tomorrow, my friend. Maybe the Arena - if you're performing, with the animals...' The horrified and embarassed engineer slinks away, accidentally knocking over a half full amphora as he retreats.

What is the coin in the picture?

When were tomatoes invented?

Based on what people are saying, and that York was pretty far north anyway for a number of people, perhaps we should go south for the September meet? I have no problem with that, and dont mind picking up one or two people en route.

The seat of the Imperial government was at Ravenna, but I believe that Rome was still regarded as the capital. A bit like Den Haag in Holland is the seat of government, but Amsterdam is still the capital. In the East, it was Constantinople.

EASY?? It could be anywhere in the Mediterranean world!!

No, Hadrian's Wall is too far away. What if I pick you up at Lancaster or Preston?

RIGHT - Google earth on stand - by!

Not bad, not bad! I have indeed lived a semi reclusive life, holed up in my cosy little fortress for the past eight months. The thin-ness has broadened out a touch since hitting 45, though!

Pula, Croatia?