Sent back the first proofs of Sex & Sexuality in Ancient Greece and was feeling pretty chipper about it until I remembered I've still got the indexing to do. My least favourite part of the process...

I grew up watching Carry On films & That’s Life, a TV show that devoted a whole segment each week to vegetables that had grown into amusingly rude shapes, a primordial soup of an upbringing that means I am pre-programmed to enjoy a good knob gag. the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

My History GIrls blog post is on one of gifts that the Ancient Greeks bestowed upon western civilisation. The knob gag. the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

How to Survive in Ancient Rome is going to be translated into Chinese, adding to the Japanese and Polish versions. Interesting that it has not been yet been published in a country that was part of he Roman Empire, aside from Britain of course.

I am off to the big city today and to my new workplace's office for the first time. Im doing public transport and taxis. I have Passenger Assistance booked to help me on and off the train but this is rush hour in London, which I haven't attempted before. Wish me luck.

Well i had a fabulous day at the #RoystonBookFair as it was general audience I wasn't expecting too much. But I had several fascinating conversations about Romans with punters, gave my 10 minute talk twice because one lady missed it, so I did it again just for her. And I sold a few books too!

I'm at the #RoystonBookFair this Saturday giving a short talk on how the Romans measured time, why boiled flamingo never caught on with the lower classes & why insomnia caused the death of so many Romans (according to Juvenal). Come say hi if you are in the area. www.roystonbookfair.co.uk

I have the edits for Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Greece. It's a better read than I remember, damn entertaining. Well it's entertaining me anyhow.

I shall be at the #roystonbookfair on 27th September flogging books. Come say Hi if you happen to be in the area.

With my latest book proposal given the thumbs up, a research purchase

I had the BEST 50th birthday. My Mum & my friend Tindi joined us for a shared lunch of 2 massive pizzas, an afternoon board game tournament complete with little trophies to be won & then I stayed up far too late watching Jaws with Mr LJ (my fav film released year i was born)

The trajectory of my life

Tiz the last day of being in my 40s. Tomorrow I turn the big 50. Gawd I'm getting old.

Relying on Google Translate I believe this to be a good review of the Polish version of Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors; histmag.org/LJ-Trafford-...

I went too far with my post holiday tidying/sorting stuff zeal & decided to put together a flat pack cupboard myself. As boy 2 said of my 2 days work on something that the box said should take 30 minutes, "I'm not being rude Mum but that's the worst craftmanship I've ever seen." He wasn't wrong.

Phil the first of our guinea pigs to work out the proper way to use the hammock

Exciting news if you're either: A) Polish Or B) Me Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors has a Polish translation and is available NOW. in Poland I imagine.

Accidentally ate in a Michelin award winning pub declared by Giles Coren as the best pub in all of England. I should have known something was amiss when I became fiercely protective of my creme brulee. I wasn’t going to let any f**ker even have a taste of it, it was all MINE.

I'm in the Cotswolds on holiday! And yes it's very picture postcard pretty. Like everywhere. I'm starting to hanker after a multi story carpark, a bit of concrete & vandalism

Had a question about eels in ancient Rome recently which reminded me of this episode with @ljtrafford.bsky.social - lots of topics discussed and was great fun. #ancientrome sites.libsyn.com/105935/inter...

Yes it's Monday & I'm facing redundancy, my Mum is in hospital & the government is about to legalise euthanasia (because nothing bad could ever come of that) but the sun is shining & I've written 2k words of a story. So bring it on! Sock it to me some more life because I am unbruisable today!

I'll admit it's been a hard book to write because of the nature of the sources & how they contradict each other that make reaching hard conclusions on any topic difficult. And the subject matter has meant delving into some very dark, unpleasant corners & exploring them head on.

Whereas Sex & Sexuality in Ancient Rome sought largely to explain the contradiction of the in-your-face sexual imagery & emperors sexploits v morality legislation, the Greek version has been more about looking at a society with values so alien to ours & asking hard questions without flinching.

Ha! I am winning at Saturday. I have pinged off 200 word summary of a 85K word book that will sound interesting enough for someone to want to purchase the thing and read it. The tag line being 'you will never look at ancient Greece the same again.' I certainly won't after 18 months writing it.

I'd like it to be known that now I'm no longer writing about them ancient Greeks I am incredibly wholesome. Tonight I've been reading Pride and Prejudice & learning to play Jerusalem one handed on my piano app whilst nibbling on a Mr Kipling cake.

Reapplying for my Blue badge I dig out my initial Pip assessment & am reassured to find that I won't be re-assessed for another 7 years. Which is frankly a relief. Don't believe the government propaganda, Pip is what is enabling this disabled person to work full time & I intend to as long as I can.

As a mental palate cleanser, a sorbet if you like, after submitting Sex & Sexuality in Ancient Greece I have started re-reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time in a good decade.

Eboracum was the MOST fun ever. Admittedly I did spend Friday night in York District Hospital but i was pretty bloody determined that I WAS going to get my anticipated hotel breakfast & I WAS going to get to the Festival. Felt pretty bloody triumphant all of Saturday on 0 hours sleep.

Sex and sexuality in Ancient Greece has been sent off to the publisher. So I no longer have that Sunday night homework feeling hanging over me at all times. I am FREE!

If you're in York today come to Museum Gardens where I have a BARGAIN,all 4 books of the Four Emperors series for £20!!!!

What I love most about attending events like Eboracum at York is meeting people & having a good natter about Romans. Great to see so many familiar faces & meet some online followers in the flesh.

It's way too early in the morning to be looking for images to feature in the now completed, oh yes, Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Greece. I've seen a lot of nudity and hard corn porn to rival our internet age on Greek vases.

An update. I have my very own injector pen at home now and have had cause to use it 3 times so far. I can report that it bloody works. So far it has stopped dead painful spasms within 5-8 minutes. This could be the end of ringing 999 & ending up in A&E. This I like.

I've bloody done it! Sex & Sexuality in Ancient Greece is finished.. It's been hard with big life stuff like redundancy & death getting in the way. As well as sodding Parkinson's hindering me. But I battled on because there's a really good gag about the Theban sacred band in it & history stuff.

This a.m. I am rather enjoying St Paul's clear exasperation with the Corinthians. I like to believe that Timothy who he has sent to sort them out is a bruiser of a man ready to bang heads together. But then again I've never met a hardnut named Timothy.

Let loose with a subscription to the archives of my local newspapers I undertook my own version of Who Do You Think You Are and discovered that my ancestors were likely fruity of language and probably drunk. the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2025/05/who-...

On a more positive vein I have been working on my book this a.m. & confronting the confronting issue of the 'it's ok the illegitmate baby I had was actually the result of my unseen rapist turning out to be my fiancee, so the wedding can go ahead' happy ending in Meander.

Further upside the pen worked. Although it was difficult to assert it's full effects given how doped up I was on diazepam & painkillers. But I was bloody determined to make the appointment even if it required the assistance of an ambulance crew to kill the pain enough to get me to my brother's car

I suppose the upside is we well and truly settled the debate as to whether it was over or under medication that was causing these spasms. It is very definitely under medication as I proved from 2 a.m. onwards Friday morning. I have never known pain like it and I had an 88 hour labour with Boy 1.

On Friday I went to hospital to do a response test for an injector pen that my consultant thought might help stop the painful Parkinsons spasms I've been suffering from. One thing, I had to go in unmedicated to test the pen properly. I did not think this aspect of it through properly.

Exciting news! My small town now has a Greggs! Particularly pleased by the unspoken rule of queuing adopted by the punters whereby the person at the front of the queue is given cashpoint style space and privacy to place their Greggs order with the cashier.

Thought I'd mention my YouTube channel. Lots of ancient history content on there. #ancienthistory #ancientgreece #ancientrome youtube.com/@ancientblog...

Still on a high from my weekend at the Leicester Roman Festival. I had an absolute blast thanks to my fellow writers & everyone who brought a book or just came for a chat. Special mentions go to @nottstony.bsky.social @ullamr.bsky.social great to meet you both in the flesh.

With just a black marker pen, some cardboard & my ability to talk about Romans I flogged a fair number of books on day 1 of the Leicester Roman Festival. But even more impressive than my sales patter is this incredible structure I watched being made. It's made entirely of cardboard and parcel tape

One 49 year old writer with Parkinson’s and her 79 year old mother have made it to Leicester in one piece! With thanks to the Leicester station staff who got us off the train and into a taxi to the hotel seamlessly.

Ready to head up to Leicester for a weekend of Romans, Romans, Romans & perhaps a few countrymen. It's my 1st time travelling long distance with a wheelchair on public transport. I have a support human (my Mum) & I have booked Passenger assisstance so all should be well... Luck may be needed

Early a.m. manuscript work. It's far too early in the morning to be writing about this subject.

Easter Sunday lunch. Put the lamb in the slow cooker at midnight.

My haul.

This is where I shall be next weekend. Glorious Leicester on the Saturday and Sunday. Come say hi to me (and my Mum) in the authors bit where I shall be flogging books and being very chatty about Romans. leicestercathedral.org/events/2025/...