Tonight's line out photo comes from an absolutely soaking Cardiff Arms Park. I suspect the rain might win this match, but come in Cardiff!!

Super-fun role-playing workshop with my Roman army class today with students taking on personae of Romans and locals who have an army unit build a fort next to a civilian community. Exploring interactions between soldiers and civilians in the Roman world. Some super analysis and extrapolation.

An early attacking line out for Cardiff. Come on, lads!!

The ongoing saga of John Percival Building heating... Having ended last week with my office managing to reach a tolerable (with wool sweater on) temperature of 20c with outside air temps of freezing, today with the outside temp at 11c, the heating has broken again and we're back to a chilly office.

Just ahead of Racing 92 at a chilly Arms Park. Keep it up, Cardiff!!

Update on my working conditions. Today the mercury has just managed to push past 15c, this despite the radiator working properly today. Probably by the end of the week when the current cold spell will be over, the temp will be a balmy (or barmy?) 24c!

Welcome back to work after the Christmas break 🥶

Today I requalified as a Mountain Rescue off-road driver. (Slope is steeper than it looks!)

The traditional line out photo. A beautiful if slightly chilly afternoon at the Arms Park. Hopefully Cardiff will up their performance a bit...

Lunch on Epynt looking north.

International Mountain Day

RIP Ivan Tarassenko, died King's Cross, 18th November 1987

Started the week by winning MFA bingo (guess the random 2 digit number before it appears on the screen) 😁 But let's hope that's not the highlight of the week!

A fab-looking evening for anyone up in the London / Kent area, on 8th Nov. Fundraising for their bigger Christmas concert series, with any profits going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Remembering our brother who died last year with MND x

Home from home... I'm in a flat on Cardiff Bay at the moment while my house is being renovated. Nice to hear the chant of the rag and bone man (though I think mostly scrap metal these days) in the Bay as well as in Penarth.

Back at the Arms Park for my 33rd season of suffering!!

Challenging students' preconceptions today as I started teaching my Roman army module, probably for the very last time. Some fun discussion and an unexpected observation from a student that made me go 'wow'. The greater unpredictability of active learning brings more opportunity for such gems.

Finishing up the holiday with an excursion to Mullach Clach a'Bhlair. I love the Cairngorm plateaus - bimbling around at 900m; a decent weather day if a bit blowy at times.

A double Munro day above Drumochter today, lucky with the weather after yesterday's deluge!

Loch an Eilein in the Cairngorms, swimming out to the island and exploring the castle (felt slightly Swallows & Amazons!)

Visited the Hillfort under Attack immersive experience today. Excellent with so much to look at in the virtual world; terrific detail (despite those palisade stakes stuck vertically in the rampart!), great info in the commentary and some good modern comparisons. Thanks @trimontiumtrust.bsky.social ❤️

"Just a (pedagogic) minute" ended the first day of our Cardiff Uni Teaching & Learning conference. Huge thanks to my wonderful colleagues @drkatiewebb.bsky.social; Caroline Lynch; Luke Sloan; Chris North and Iain Mossman for their brilliant contributions, and @mjc.martinjc.com for helping organise!

Congratulations to Hannah Shaw of @cardiffuni.bsky.social on your #NTFS2025 award! A leader in anatomy education, fostering deep learning, mentorship, and global collaboration.

Just booked - I'll see you on the 13th!!

Strange New Worlds continuing the great Star Trek tradition of alien archaeology in the latest episode. Fortunately most earth archaeology is nowhere near as dangerous in practice! 🖖

A wee overnight microadventure last night in the Brecon Beacons with some of our Mountain Rescue trainees. Lovely weather, not so nice man-eating terrain, though fortunately we all got out alive and ready for brunch at Garwnant forestry centre!

Wow, what an end to the test, and wow, what a series. But at least now I can focus on work 😜

Outlook has crashed. Time to go home.

#HillfortsWednesday A view of Maiden Castle in Dorset, taken on 31st March 1934 by Major George Allen from his tiny Puss Moth plane It really shows the fabulous earthwork defences, which still survive today! 📸 From the Ashmolean Museum archive #archaeology #aerialphotography #photooftheday🏺

Doing mountain rescue-y stuff in the middle of the Brecon Beacons. Fortunately not a callout!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... "I would close it down and perhaps sell it to the university or somebody else" says Des Clifford, former head of the first minister's office in Cathays Park. er... have you actually read the news about the university this year?!

Petrichor!

How two parts of my life complement each other www.womanandhome.com/health-wellb...

I spent this morning hiding from Search and Rescue dogs in the Brecon Beacons. The tiny bit of shade I found soon slid away but my little gully had a bubbling brook - perfect for the hot dog who found me!

A visit to the wonderful Gallo Romeins Museum in Tongeren. Lots to get excited about including the biggest Playmibil Roman soldier ever! A few more normal sized recruits for my Playmobil century will transfer from Gallia Belgica to Britannia tomorrow too...

Hm, can I have Somerset's county championship match on YouTube, Wimbledon on iPlayer and work whilst only having two screens...

Given the noise coming from the Blackweir site, I'll be able to listen to the Stevie Wonder concert from my office for free in a couple of weeks!

The long narrow study bedroom plan is pretty much the same as mine in Malcolm Gavin Hall in Tooting when I started at King's in 1984. I moved out after 7 weeks to quieter accommodation - a rented room in a house in Clapham where I lived for the next 7 years and 45 weeks!

Over 170 Meters of Wall and 450 Lead Projectiles from the Roman Siege Discovered in an Italian City Allied with Hannibal www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/06/o...

"A piece of broken metal" is PowerPoint AI's auto-generated description for this. An incredibly exciting suit of segemented armour from Kalkriese (on display in the British Museum last year) and you think it's a piece of broken metal, AI? Really?!

I've been gifted by a colleague the Playmobil Roman galley. I now have the siege tower AND the galley! Happy me!

👀 www.cnbc.com/2025/05/16/c...

Beautiful weather in the Bannau Brycheiniog this morning for an advanced driving lesson!

Have just delivered a workshop session in a building on campus with floors numbers 1-5, and rooms designated A to about R which have apparently no correlation to the floor numbers 🤨 #campusmazes

Judgement Day part 1. Cardiff defeat Ospreys. Yay!

A movie that takes place where you're from. I hate Hardy. Growing up in Casterbridge, we had Hardy thrust down our throats at school and it was a real turn-off. But I can't not post Hardy, and I went to uni with Juliet Aubrey who starred in this adaptation.

Taking advantage of the fine weather for a sneaky little overnighter in Bannau Brycheiniog.

They may have had to move stadium but silver linings... how fantastic for our university rugby teams to be playing in the national stadium instead of a club ground! Go Cardiff Uni Ladies! #WelshVarsity

Cardiff Ancient Historians are delighted to host, virtually, Prof Celia Schultz tomorrow Weds 9th April at 16.10 BST for a lecture on Murder, Suicide and Sacrifice in Ancient Rome. Teams meeting details on Classicists list or dm me.

Nice one, Neville! Whatever it was you were supposed to be doing was well put-aside!