Northern Neil

Hey, I hope not! May I say how excited I am getting about our meeting! To me, this is like Christmas was when I was a kid! I cant wait to meet you all, trade stories, share interests and beer!!! roll on next week!!!

Caligula, after dining: 'Baby on Board!'

, one waits with baited breath!

Happy Birthday, Virgil. I now know of three people on this forum who are older than me!!!

Here's another one. viewers of this programme must have been truly puzzled to hear the strains of 'There Is A Green Hill Far Away' accompanied by distant fireworks and the chattering teeth of the congregation! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6494831.stm

Take a look at this. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6526337.stm I howled with laughter when I saw it - shoppers must have been perplexed and confused indeed as they sifted through tinsel, christmas puddings and chestnuts to get at the easter eggs!

No offense taken whatsoever - I actually own a couple myself, bought for me as presents by friends. Now I have them, I do not think throwing them away will help anything. But I think its important that people are aware as to how coins could, and sometimes do, come onto the general market.

Here in the North of old Blighty it has been sunny and clear for a good week or so now. It doesn't stop Barrow-In-Furness being the dreariest place on earth, though!

I have visited many such theatres, Greek and Roman, and the acoustics are truly awesome.

YES!! Guessed in less than half an hour! Over to you, my lord of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles!

The two thirds of the populace who act like sheep and choose to remain stupid despite the fact there is a big world out there. They only like things the majority give them 'permission' to like, and slightly despise those who chose to do something a bit different. They will, for example, deride someone for liking opera, then suddenly claim they have 'always sort of liked opera - a bit', and go out and but a pavarotti CD because its now ok to do so, because the soccer world cup uses it as its theme tune. They suddenly like jazz because Robbie Williams does a pastiche of Frank Sinatra, when previously they think people who have liked Jazz all their lives are strange. They knock people for train spotting, yet spend half their lives watching soaps and half believing them to be real. They call battle re-enactors, classic vehicle enthusiasts and other hobbyists 'Boys with Toys', yet they have houses filled with cheap electrical goods aimed at providing passive entertainment. They accuse me and my ilk of having our heads in the clouds, yet they read newspapers which fill their heads with sport, celebrity gossip and crime stories, and switch off the news to watch a daft quiz show. They excuse their children's appalling behaviour claiming there is nothing for them to do, when they live half a mile from the nearest library, museum, and open countryside. Such people deserve to be plugged into the Matrix, because they are half way there already!!!

http://www.imagehosting.com/gallery.php?gal=969 Sorry guys, a link is the best I can do!

OK! Here goes...

Sarmizegetusa?

Wow - Im a Brit, but the attitudes of this group angered me, especially the intrusion into the funerals of US soldiers. Their arrogance is blinding, and I wonder how they get around the mortal sin of 'pride', or wether they have a way of circumventing it, like all religious extremists who find that they contravene aspects of their own teachings. I wonder, though, how similar they might be to early Christians, who were certainly aggressive and at times anti - state. Here is a quote from a late Roman bishop, Paulinus of Nola: Do not any longer love this world or its military service, for scripture's authority attests that whoever is a friend of this world is an enemy of God. He who is a soldier with the sword is the servant of death and when he sheds his own blood or that of another, this is the reward for his service. Such sentiments in the early 5th century could not have helped when the state needed soldiers as never before.

I subscribe, personally, from the 'Archaeological tragedy' side of the debate. I have personal experience of guarding local sites following the distruction of irreplaceable material by metal - detecting vultures. There are reputable dealers, and chance finds do come up in which the finder honestly submits the more interesting of his finds to the local museum. But even if just 1% of coins traded are as a result of archaeological plundering to supply a demand, then I would suggest that people do not fuel the demand in the first place. I do hope I have not offended anyone by posting this opinion, but to arrive for a mornings work at a dig and find that hypocausts have been wrecked and tesselated floors ploughed through for the sake of a few bits of metal is a distressing experience indeed.

We'll have none of that in Britannia, thank you ... Well, there has to be some... Not in THIS part of Britannia!

The milecastle pictured in the link (see my last edited post) took me about three days. It is made of foam board (this might have another name in the US) and thick picture framing card. Modelling clay or plasticine is used to get the profile of the ditch, and the interior stonework is from a photographic image of existing stonework on Hadrian's wall. If you like I can send you this image, and also a plan of Vindolanda. I suggest 6mm scale, as this seems to be the scale used with most reconstruction models of forts. The model will be about 500mm x 350mm. Such a model would probably take me about 48 man hours, or about two weeks if working several hours each evening.

What scale are you thinking of? Even in 6mm scale (1/300) Eburacum would be a considerable undertaking. I use foam board, picture framing card, plasticine and lots and lots of PVA. For things like mosaics and wall paintings, I scan images or make them on Coreldraw, then print them. This also works well for stonework in 6mm scale, although for larger scales stonework is best modelled or painted. I think one of the Hadrians wall forts/vindolanda would be a good idea, as there are also significant civilian settlements to model also. Have you seen my images on the gallery section? You might find the images of milecastles particularly interesting if you are considering doing a fort. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?automo...si&img=1475

I have just watched this movie, and I thought it was fantastic! As I type, I have re-started the DVD player and am watching it through again. Like anyone else, I was initially disappointed to hear of orc - like creatures, strange monsters and hoplites in loincloth, but as the film unfolded I saw it for what it was - a fictionalised and artistic portrayal of an ancient event. In that sense, I don't think it should be criticised negatively any more than a Shakespeare play, or a renaissance painting. Perhaps it should be lauded by our good selves, as it keeps to the classical tradition, dating back to Homer, of mythologising and heroically portraying historic events? The bare bones of the historical event I thought were broadly kept to; and were used as the basis for a damned good fantasy movie. The computer generated buildings, I couldn't fault!

Yes, about 70 miles from its Western end. Look on a map of England for a town on the North West coast called Barrow - In- Furness. My home, for better or worse!

Borough Roughly corresponds to the Burg, Berg, Borg and Bourg used in teutonic countries and parts of France. It means town. I don't know where 'shire' comes from, although I can tell you that the word 'Sherriff' was originally 'Shire - rieve'. Sex is as follows: Wessex - West Saxons. Essex - East Saxons. Middlesex - middle Saxons. Sussex - South Saxons. The 'sex' element used to be spelt 'Saexe'.

WOW-What a name! Thanks, Nephele! I forgot I'd already asked you for my name - I must've lost a few brain cells since then! But yes, I agree - this name is a lot more prestigious than the one only using my middle and surnames. Pity I can't change my UNRV name to this...

Well, I havent got any Roman ones, but I heard this one on BBC Radio 4 the other day: Q: How many Daily Mail* Readers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: Well, I don't understand what was wrong with the old ones... they were nice, round, simple and honest, but now they're all loopy, too long and are dim when you turn them on. AND they're made by foreigners... * or Republicans / fox news fans!

Hello, Nephele! Can you do mine, please? Thanks awfully! Richard Neil Harrison.