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The Romans defeated the Carthaginians by not knowing how to quit.

Daily writing prompt
What’s the trait you value most about yourself?
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The Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire were the great rivals of the ancient world. An upstart rabble of Europeans started a war with an ancient civilisation of great antiquity. In fact the fate of the world stood in the balance. If the Romans had lost Carthage would have dominated the Mediterranean and potentially Europe. It is an interesting thought of how the world would be a different place.

The Romans did not do very well. Their greatest general of the war until Skipio was Fabius who was famed for not engaging Hannibal. Hannibal terrified the Romans because he was a tactical genius who could turn the Romans great strengths against them. With the Roman armies wrecked repeatedly, their territory occupied, allies turning against them and 10% of their male population dead Rome was in trouble. Everyone was expecting Rome to come to terms but Skipio had different ideas. First he did the incredibly Roman thing of having a dinner party. He forcibly invited his patrician friends to his house, pulled down the front wall and had the party in full view of the plebs to show them that the elite were backing Rome. Then the Romans didn’t give up. They simply refused to surrender or come to terms with Carthage. They were very polite about it and treated their envoys with respect and with due regard but they used the word ‘no’.

I think this is a lesson to us all and one that I try to do in my life. Simply not giving up. I am a man who has had a lot of set backs in my life and for a long time I took it personally and would retreat and lick my wounds. Now I realise a wonderful truth, just because something has defeated you it doesn’t mean you have lost. Imagine that, how could you not live your best life if you had the power to be undefeatable?

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Publish or Die…

Daily writing prompt
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
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Over the years I have been given lots of good advice by people who do not take it themselves. My father in particular was obsessed that I would run over the cord with the lawn mower but I never did, he however, murdered at least three hedgestrimmers by cutting energetically through the cord. Never take advice from someone who does not follow it themselves.

During my time in the TA I met some very remarkable men and women whose experience serving their country contrasted with my own four years of service. But one day after a difficult run a very experienced soldier told me not to worry about other people but to focus on myself and my performance. I think that this is excellent advice to follow. Don’t look around at the people who are better or worse than you, rather focus on being the best person who you can be.

I once met a significant academic in my field. To be honest I thought that he was dead but at a conference I saw his name on a name badge and was amazed to meet one of my heroes. If you meet a hero do not hold back ask for an autograph, a photo, a chat or advice because the worst that could happen is that they say no and nobody dies from being told no. This guy was bemused but friendly and gave me some excellent advice. He told me to publish, publish, publish because when you stop you die.

Last I asked my grandfather on his death bed for a piece of advice but he was too far gone and did not respond. My last piece of advice for you is never wait too long.

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Please just let me read…

Daily writing prompt
What could you do more of?
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As a historian I read a lot to try to keep up with my topics but it is never enough and there are always fun distractions. My main topic is the study of History as opposed to history. For the uninitiated that means I study not what is said but how it is said and what the underlying subtext is.

This obviously takes a lot of concentration and is often interrupted by the cat who regularly wants to be fed or loved. The cat is called Zach.

I am also a husband and father and these take up a lot of time. In fact I have got to the point of writing at 4am when they are not awake. The cat is though and if I am awake and doing something he feels I can do something useful like feed him, let him in or let him out and sometimes watch him eat. He loves that. He wants me to stand and watch him eat his food.

I also have a job which starts at seven and finishes at four. I drive to a school, deliver a workshop and then drive home again. I resent these nine hours where I can not write or read but I do get two hours of thinking time whilst driving. Unfortunately I spend this time thinking about how I should be reading.

I should be reading. I should be keeping up but there are too many distractions. Life gets in the way and despite all that being a husband, father, pet owner and a workshop leader is not a bad way to waste time that should be spent reading.

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The Abolition of Slavery, 1833

Daily writing prompt
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?
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Great Britain has a chequered history ranging from the blackest evil to the best and I think that best was the Abolition of Slavery and then the creation of the West Africa Squadron to rescue captured Africans.

The clip above is from the film Amistad (1997) which is a film I can not watch without crying. It is heart breaking but the end of the film shows the West Africa Squadron attacking and destroying a slave fortress which I would argue is the correct and best use of weapons.

Furthermore I have skin in this game because Thomas Clarkson the abolitionist is a relative.

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Collecting Coventry, an Exhibition

Collecting is something that humans like to do. From the Roman Empire we learn that the Emperors collected dinosaur bones, spider webs and books. I myself have an unnaturally large collection of Warhammer 40K models and from this exhibition we learn that the City of Coventry has been collecting for centuries. The cities collection is spread out over the institutions of the city including the Guild Hall and the Council House but is largely concentrated in the Museum.

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On Wednesday last I attended the Collecting Coventry Exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry. The Herbert is a dear place to me and I regard it as one of the best museums in Coventry. The founding principal of the museum was that it should house the kinds of work that people would want to see and I don’t think that this exhibition disappoints. With the range of exhibits there is something for everyone. Of particular interest to myself was the Ogden stone found in Coventry. A very mysterious object to be found so far from Scotland and Ireland where they are far more common.

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The exhibition covers two rooms and is fully accessible with a lift and stairs. It runs till the end of the year and is free to access.

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Heritage Open Day, Lunt Roman Fort

This year we choose to go back and visit a museum that I used to work at and really like. I personally think that it is the best museum in Coventry (and the West Midlands) and it is called the Lunt Roman Fort. The tour of the site took about an hour and a half and covered the main features of the site in great detail. I honestly could not fault it and that is one of the main joys of a historian. Rich and George did an excellent job and were clearly very happy and confident in their Roman costumes and personalities.

The Lunt is the worlds only partially reconstructed Roman Fort in situ. The reconstructions date from the 1970s and are now over fifty years old meaning the reconstruction has been there longer than the Roman occupation. Lunt is a mysterious site because first it is atypical and second it does not appear in the literature. The site is not constructed like a typical Roman Fort in a playing card shape. This one has wiggly walls and a Gyrus. The Gyrus is a fascinating structure that seems to be a horse training ring although that is debated. The site also has reconstructions of a gateway and an granary building. The granary contains a small but well stocked museum including finds from the site.

Open photo

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Greek Philosophers

When I teach Greeks in schools I love to talk about the Greek philosophers and their antics. It seems to me that philosophy was a lot more fun back then. Indeed according to St Paul it is all the Athenians ever did.

Diogenes the Cynic was a fascinating character who was not intimidated by wealth power or status. When he was interrupted sunbathing by Alexander the Great he told the conqueror to get out of his sun. He irritated the Athenians by carrying a lit lantern by day looking for an honest man and not finding one and when he was sold into slavery told the auctioneer that the only work he was good for was being a master.

Pythagorous was a great mathematical genius and boxer. He even competed in the Olympic Games where he won which could have made his fortune. He maintained a school on Sicily where his students regarded his teaching as that of the gods themselves. This teaching extended to how his students should dress, act and even go to the toilet. He seems to have venerated beans and died when he was pursued by an angry mob into a bean field which he refused to cross preferring to be beaten to death than squash a bean.

Socrates is regarded as the founder of philosophy. Before his innovation in thinking philosophers were concerned with the nature of reality. Socrates opened up thinking about living and the good life. Like Diogenes he irritated the people of Athens by showing that many people did not have good reasons for their ideas. He himself was irritated by the prophetess at Delphi who proclaimed him to be the wisest man in Greece. He sought for someone wiser than himself and was horrified to find nobody. This and his criticism of wealth and power as goods in themselves made him enemies and in 399BC he was tried for atheism and corrupting youth, found guilty and condemned to death by poisonous drink. Despite having amply opportunity to escape into exile he accepted the courts judgment and died.

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The Escape of Charles II

On the 3rd September Oliver Cromwells New Model Army defeated the Royalist army at Worcester. The Kings ambitions to regain his kingdom were thwarted and he returned to his lodging in the city. As he was planning his escape a troop of Parliamentary horsemen arrived at the front door to arrest him, he just in the nick of time escaped with sixty of his officers through the back door. Thus begins the episode known as the escape of Charles II. With an award on his head of a thousand pounds Charles plunged into the countryside to escape. First he dismissed his companions hoping that with only a few companions he might have a better chance and then relying on a small clique of sympathetic gentlemen he attempted to escape into Wales. During this period he stayed at White Ladies Priory, Boscobel House and Moseley Hall. At Boscobel house the Kings hair was cut and he was disguised as a servant which involved teaching him the local accent and how to walk as a labourer. Whilst Parliamentary troops searched the nearby woodland the King and a companion hid in an oak tree, the companion being forced to pinch the king to keep him awake. After staying at Molesley Hall the King and his party moved on. At Bromsgrove his horse lost a shoe. At the Blacksmiths he got news of his army that had been beaten at Worcester. He added that King Charles should be hung for bringing the Scots into an English matter to which the smith agreed. At Stratford-upon-avon the King kept up his disguise as a servant by being put to work in the kitchen. When he proved inept at setting up the roasting jack the cook became suspicious. Charles explained that he was too poor to eat meat and had no experience with roasting jacks, and the disguise was maintained. The route into Wales proved too well guarded so he and his companions went south to the coast in search of a ship to France. It was decided that the king would be disguised as a merchant going to recover debts but the man organising the ship, Captain Limbry did not appear. He had been locked in his bedroom by his wife who was afraid for his safety. Still hoping to escape from the south coast the King rode to Bridport only to find it full of troops and an Ostler who recognised him. Cleverly the King convinced the man that they had both been servants together for a gentlemen of Exeter. Finally the king rode east to Shoreham where his friends organised transport on the coal ship Surprise. Again the King was recognised by the Landlord and by one of the conspirators. He had to pay £200 danger money and hope against hope that the Landlord would keep his tongue. The King set sail, again, in the nick of time, two hours later a troop of soldiers arrived with orders to arrest the King. Charles escape is one of the most exciting episodes of the English Civil Wars. It has been widely celebrated in books and in film.

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What does Victorianism mean?

The Victorian era lasted from 1833 to 1902 and further, well into the years leading unto the First World War. Such a epic period of time, three lifetimes of men and women, is hard to define.

To start we need to do the definition. What do we mean by Victorian. Which of the three generations between 1833 and 1902 do we identify most as a typical Victorian? Is it the country squire, the colonial planter, the urban poor or the aristocracy? Only four stereotypes amongst the thousands who would clamour for our attention.

Is it a question of mental outlook? If so which of the philosophies do we choose? Do we pick the social darwinists, the anti-slavery evangelical, the cockney jingoist or the mid period skeptic of empire?

The Victorian era might be long and might have a number of sometimes contradictory. I actually argue that it defies effective categorisation but that does not stop me recognising it when I see it.

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After the storm: new Roman remains at Cockermouth — The Past

Devastating floods in 2009 wreaked havoc in Cumbria; Lynda Howard, however, found a silver lining amongst the clouds in the discovery of enigmatic Roman remains, exposed by the deluge.

After the storm: new Roman remains at Cockermouth — The Past