Remembering Mick Aston

It was with a very heavy heart that I heard the news of Mick Aston's death the other day. As someone who grew up watching Time Team (don't judge me, I'm not ashamed), I will freely admit that it was the work of Mick and his team that made me want to get into archaeology in the first place.

I was lucky enough to meet Professor Mick Aston whilst I was studying archaeology at University. It was during a two week excavation at a Roman villa deep in the Somerset countryside that Mick Aston came up to the site for the day. I had a lovely chat with him, he signed my trowel and allowed me to have a photograph with him. Just FYI, I'd spent the better part of 2 weeks knee deep in mud, living in a tent and getting drunk on a nightly basis...

Professor Aston really helped bring archaeology to the masses, and many households would sit down on a Sunday afternoon to watch the team conduct an archaeological excavation within three days. Whilst some of the methods have been questioned by archaeologists, you can't fault them for making archaeology more popular with the public. Mick Aston was one of a kind, a very friendly man who really knew his stuff and someone who has always had my respect.

Rest in Peace, Mick Aston. You will be sorely missed.

It Seems I Took An Impromtu Hiatus

As it's been well over a month since I last updated here, I thought I should swing in and give you all a massive apology for my impromptu hiatus. There are many reasons why I haven't updated here and all of them relate to my personal life unfortunately.

At the end of the day a mix of writers block as well as recurring illness has kept me away from updating here, which is a massive pain. Due to being on new medication I've found myself sleeping more than being awake and in truth my concentration is often shot to pieces. As such, I haven't picked up a history book in well over a month, and have been spending my days reading poorly written fiction (and not historical either! Shock horror).

Whilst I am starting to feel a little more like myself, I'm not sure how much longer I will be "away" from here. I am planning on reviewing Season 2 of Borgia at some point, and that post is being worked on at a snails pace. Until then, please do find me over on the facebook page and on twitter.

Once again, my apologies and I'm hoping to be back here properly soon. In the meantime, have a pretty picture of Mark Ryder as Cesare Borgia...