Monthly Archives: July 2012

Haymaking, 2012: Gasp, Grunt, Groan – then Collapse with large Cava

Posted on July 30, 2012 by

I got back from filming on Friday afternoon, then it was off to get pink (agricultural) diesel. Next it was into the barn, clearing all the hurdles etc. that we used for shearing, to make way for hay bales. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming | Tagged , ,

Time Team series 20, My Fifth Episode: Day Three

Posted on July 26, 2012 by

Not the best of weather. While the rest of Britain was enjoying almost uninterrupted sunshine our site was under cloud. I don’t think the rain was as heavy as Day 1 but it was annoying nonetheless. So it was back … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Broadcasting, Time Team | Tagged , ,

Time Team series 20, My Fifth Episode: Day Two

Posted on July 25, 2012 by

At last the clouds have lifted and the rain has gone. Farewell Gor-Tex. Late last night Maisie phoned to say the hay at home had been cut and would be turned later today, with baling on Friday and Saturday. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Broadcasting, Farming, Time Team | Tagged , ,

Time Team series 20, My Fifth Episode: Day One

Posted on July 24, 2012 by

What a day! To be quite frank, I’m on my knees. The site is high up in the hills in the only part of Britain that’s still in the grips of the summer’s rain. The drive to the point where … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Broadcasting, Time Team | Tagged , ,

Time Team series 20, my Fifth Episode: Rig Day in the Clouds

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

Fenmen don’t waste their money on climbing boots, although there is (honest!) a Fenland Mountain Rescue Team – who spend their lives raising money for charity and enjoying a few beers. So it took me a while to track down … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Broadcasting, Time Team | Tagged , ,

Flag Fen: a Concise Archæoguide

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

And now for a big digression: I’m moving aside for a guest blogger, my niece Alice Smith, herself an active blogger on the theatre. She has just graduated from Leeds in History and has her finger firmly on the pulse of … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Swallows Hatch their First Brood

Posted on July 19, 2012 by

We built our house back in 1995, moving in on Christmas Eve of that year.  It wasn’t furnished, or even finished and I’m sure the thought police in Trading Standards or Building Control would have thrown us in jail had … Continue reading →

Posted in Wildlife | Tagged , , , ,

Time Team Wins Top Archaeological Award

Posted on July 11, 2012 by

About a month ago I received a phone call from Philip Clarke, the Executive Producer at Time Team, to find out whether I’d be able to go to the British Museum to attend the British Archaeological Awards ceremony. To be … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Broadcasting, Time Team | Tagged , , , , ,

Bouncy, But Nice

Posted on July 8, 2012 by

Oh dear, once again I find I am out of step with colleagues in archaeology. In theory I should hugely disapprove of Bouncy Stonehenge, largely because it took the money that should, I am assured, have been spent on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Always Look on the Bright Side…

Posted on July 6, 2012 by

Outside it’s grey, wet and gloomy. Forty-sixty millimetres of rain have been forecast for the Fens, but thank heavens the worst seems to have passed north of us. Let’s hope they don’t have too many floods in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged ,