Prince Albert Memorial Museum Exeter

 Happy Thursday Greetings to you! 

A few weeks ago, I paid a very quick visit to the Prince Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter before I headed south to the Historical Novel Society Conference in Devon. 

pugio scabbard 

I was mostly interested in any Roman artefacts in their collections but found them quite limited. When speaking to a museum attendant, she told me there have been few remains uncovered from the Roman era to date around Exeter, and only some very messy digging under Exeter Cathedral might be the answer to increasing their artefact count. Exeter is like many cities in England where the Romans created forts or fortresses and subsequent peoples chose to use the same site on which to build their earliest Christian churches.

Over time, those early churches were replaced and some of them ended up being the most impressive Medieval buildings (architecturally speaking). There will be Roman remains to be found under Exeter Cathedral, undoubtedly, but it's unlikely any will ever be dug up to add to the museum collections since attitudes to how acquisitions are made have changed so much over the centuries.

Strigil

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The strigil above actually came from a Kent find, but is displayed in the museum to show the visitor what one would have looked like. [Some fragments of iron and copper strigils were found in Exeter but not sufficient to put together a complete sample.] The cleansing process of adding oil to the body, then scraping it back off again - along with the dirt and debris accumulated on the skin  - is easy to imagine when admiring the strigil above.

I found some of the non-Roman collections fascinating, the Devon lace in particular. It is so intricately done.

Devon lace

It was a short visit but worth seeing. 

Slainte!

A wet Exeter!

 Happy Wednesday to you!

Prior to attending the Historical Novel Society Conference at Dartington Hall, Devon, I spent a few hours wandering around Exeter, having flown there from Edinburgh. 

Me under a very low archway-
St. Stephen;'s Bow.

I'd planned my trip so that I could spend the afternoon and evening in Exeter. I knew that Exeter Airport was pretty small, and that I could get a service bus to the city centre where my hotel was located, near a part of the old Roman wall. Unfortunately, for me, it was an extremely wet Thursday (September 5th 2024). Getting the bus was easy since they were timetabled about every half hour. Never having visited the city before, I asked the bus driver for a ticket to Exeter Cathedral since I knew that it was a short walk from there to my hotel. I'd looked at the bus route on a map and it seemed to go very close to the cathedral. I wasn't joking when I asked the driver if I'd recognise the cathedral. He told me I couldn't miss it.

Exeter Cathedral

That might have been true on a sunny day but since there was a relentless rainfall, and such a low cloud cover that I couldn't see the tops of three-storey buildings, it was impossible to see cathedral spires in the distance. The driver, to give him his due, stopped and paused at an impressive smallish church on a very busy but narrow street. No-one got off and nobody had pressed the 'bus stopping' signal. I did wonder if I was supposed to alight but the moment passed and the driver moved on. When I realrised I was in a bus only/pedestrianised area, with small shopping malls and lots of shops I got off in case I went even further away from my hotel destination.

Another impressive church near my hotel.

The 'map' route' I had in my head utterly failed me. I came to a junction and forged ahead. It was completely the wrong direction and by the time I did a full circle of the city centre, I was drenched. So drenched that after I checked into my hotel room even the contents of my pull-along suitcase were damp. 

Still, having fortified myself with an excellent late lunch and a large glass of very tasty (expensive) Malbec, and a set of dryish clothes, I went a-wandering. Not many photographs were taken outside since I couldn't see my phone for drips on my glasses and on my camera face. However, I was just in time to spend a very quick half hour inside Exeter Cathedral before it closed to tourists.

I don't visit the interiors of such places for religious reasons but I do for the architecture, and it certainly didn't disappoint. It boasts the longest, continuous medieval stone vault in the world. The whole interior is stunning and a testament to the many, maybe millions, of hours of labour put in to create it.

There are also the unexpected carvings that seem to defy any sort of kindness to man! Like this one above which depicts the martyrdom of St. Laurence who was tied to a gridiron in AD 258. Read the full description HERE

What I saw of Exeter makes me know that I'd love to see it again in sunshine! 

Shield bosses on the vaulted ceiling 


I also visited the Albert Museum the following morning...but I'll add that in another post. 

Slainte!

Historical Novel Society interview!

Good Morning!

Since being serious about becoming an author, back in 2011, I've been interviewed by many different sources. Some were for other author blog posts, and a few were for more widely visited sites.

I'm delighted to say that this week I've been  interviewed on the Historical Novel Society website, as part of a new series they've started for new book launches.

Though Novice Threads was launched in May 2024, I requested this interview as soon as I realised the possibility was there. Since it's a paid feature on the website, I have to consider the fee as part of my marketing strategy. To that end, I'll be keeping and eye out for any spike in book sales since I don't have any other particular promotions running this week.

You can catch the interview here: 

 https://historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-nancy-jardines-novice-threads/

Now to write more of Book 2. 

Slainte!

Roman Bath in Bath at last!

Hello. Happy Tuesday to you!

For such a long time I've intended to visit the City of Bath, mainly to visit Aquae Sulis-Minerva Baths, the Roman Baths. And I'm delighted to say that after the Historical Novelist Society Conference finished in Devon, I headed up to Bath for a couple of days before flying home.

The Great Bath

The weather wasn't kind since it rained for almost the whole 48 hours of my visit. That wasn't so good for taking photographs but I snatched some in between the drenching showers.

The Roman Baths are a sight to behold. It's quite amazing to realise that the Great Bath at Aquae Sulis Minerva was being constructed during the Vespasian era (AD/CE 70s)  when my fictional Garrigill Warrior clan are in action to thwart the domination of their Roman usurpers in northern Britannia.

I was absolutely ecstatic to get some of my own photographs of the statue of General Gnaeus Iulius Agricola. I've used a Wikimedia Commons image for years and I had the idea in my head that the statues (of notable figures e.g. Julius Caesar/ Roman Governors of Britannia) were all way above the Great Bath. That proved not to be the case! When the Victorians uncovered a lot of the Great Bath site they reconstructed the walls, building new pillars behind the partial remains of the originals. By the end of the 19th Century, the statues were added to the balustrade that topped the newly constructed walls. Therefore, the statues were all created using a current perception of what the body armour etc. might have been like. (The original wooden roof had fallen down in antiquity and covered the lead lined floor of the bath)

General Gnaeus Iulius Agricola

The whole Roman Baths complex is stuffed full of information for the tourist and it's quite a sinuous process moving from one area of the museum to another. I had pre-booked a ticket for the complex which included an Audio Guide, but had also booked a separate Guided Tour of 1 hour. That was a great combination because I was able to wander around the museum areas and get a feel for the site before the tour guide gave more detailed explanations, some not available on the Audio Guide.

The gilded bronze head of the goddess Sulis Minerva is stunning! Having been unearthed in the 1720s, finding the statue head was an indicator that there was something very worthwhile still to be uncovered nearby.

It's not clear if the Great Bath was used simultaneously by both male and female bathers, or if it was used on a timed sequence of male/ female only bathing. It's thought that they were probably available to anyone who could afford the entry fee. The booths/ niches on the outer edges were more for social or leisure interactions like chatting with friends or business clients, or for playing games.

The idea of spending a good few hours in a leisure spa like Aquae SulisMinerva in some way equates to the trend today for SPA packages. 

I drank some of the 'healing' water from the springs. It tasted okay, but sadly didn't ward off the cold that was clearly already brewing in me because it was full-blown when I arrived home a day after drinking it.

Though I've just mentioned that the Great Bath was opened towards the end of the Vespasian era, other parts of the complex came during later decades.

The additions during the Hadrianic era were smaller scale than the Great Bath but were clearly well laid out. It made me wonder if the women of Aquae SulisMinerva who frequented the baths preferred to be in separate areas, or if they felt that bathing together with males was a lost privilege. From what I've read of Hadrian, his edict that all bathing across the Empire be segregated suited his own preferences, but maybe not some of the women of the empire.

Bath architecture was also impressive. My hotel was very central which made walking around easy. There were plentiful choices of restaurants and what I ate was extremely tasty. 

I'd definitely go again because I didn't have time to do a 'Regency' focus and would like to visit more 'Jane Austen' sites in future. 

I'd totally recommend a visit to Bath! 

Slainthe! 

The HNS Conference at Dartington Hall

Happy Saturday to you! 

Dartington Hall, Devon

My Historical Novel Society Conference in Dartington Hall, Devon, England, was fantastic. One of the best things was matching up real-live people with the profile images of friends made on Facebook, and other social media outlets. Some looked just like their photo and others… maybe less so, but the fun was in attempting to figure them out without looking at their name badge (a godsend for me because I never remember names).

The conference speakers and panel authors did a great job from the most widely known in Bernard Cornwell, Diana Gabaldon and Ian Hall, to those for whom an HNS speaking task was a novelty.

Bernard Cornwell 

The venue was beautiful even in the relentless rain that fell every day from Friday through Sunday. The history of the Dartington Estate will be worth spending a little time on (when I get an opportunity) since it was not just our conference attendees who populated the area. The Dartington Estate is also popular with families, dog walkers, cyclists and general outdoorsy people who spend leisure time in the countryside.

It wasn't easy to get WIFI so my writing of the event is coming well after I'm home. (Also because I either acquired an unwelcome dose of Covid, or a very disgustingly heavy head cold which has floored me for a few days)

Ian Hall

I had no expectations of meeting Bernard Cornwell. I didn’t think I’d be speaking to Diana Gabaldon either but I had a brief opportunity on Friday when I was finding out where to register. While dodging the rain in the courtyard area, both of us hurrying in opposite directions, we traded a brief hello and how are you. Late afternoon on the Saturday, I was in the bar at a long table with some of my Historical Writers Forum Facebook Group when she came and sat down beside us. She must meet millions of people every year but I was able to say I’d briefly talked to her in Glasgow, at the Hunterian Museum/ Cloisters area last July 2023. It’s refreshing how easily she speaks to complete strangers.

There is a photo of the group, myself included, with Diana Gabaldon but as it's a closed Facebook group I don't have the use of it to share here. 

Diana Gabaldon and Chris Humphreys 

Over the conference days it was great to talk to people who aren't yet friends with me on social media and others with whom I made fleeting contact like the two lovely ladies from the US who realized I was a conference attendee from my Scottish Association of Writers tote bag. One of them noticed my tote bag as the train was pulling into Paignton Railway Station (I had travelled there from Exeter) and guessed I was attending the conference. She offered me a lift in the taxi she’d previously booked for the Premier Inn. We exchanged first names but no business cards  -  unfortunate since I now don't know who they were. I only saw them one other time during the conference, there being something upwards of 250 attendees (I think). 

My thanks go to all of the organisers. They did a sterling job using contingency plans since a lot of the catering was intended to be from an outside marquee which wasn't possible with the relentless rain that fell the whole weekend! 

It was all go and tiring, but well worth the effort of travelling so far south! Look out for more information on the sessions. 

Slainthe!

Off on a Historical Novelist Society Conference Adventure

Good Morning,

Dartington Hall - Wikimedia Commons

The sun isn't shining where I live but, since I'm off on an adventure which will lead me to the south coast of England, Aberdeenshire weather isn't what I'll experience in the coming days. I can tell you now that my smile is wide since I'm really looking forward to meeting up with lots of author colleagues that I only interact with online. It'll be wonderful to see some of them face--to-face for the first time and others to see them again in-the-flesh! 

This time the event is organised by the Historical Novel Society. The venue for this year's UK get together is Dartington Hall, Devon. However, my route to the venue will not be a direct one since I'm taking the opportunity to do a tiny bit of sightseeing both before and after the (mainly) 2- day event.

The first leg of my journey today will be down to Edinburgh, since it wasn't possible to get a flight directly from Aberdeen (my nearest airport) to Exeter (the nearest airport to the venue). Since my flight was initially supposed to be an early one at 06.20 hrs on Thursday 5th Sept., I booked a hotel airport for tonight. My scheduled flight will now not take off till 11.00 hrs but that's still okay since it's only a 1.5 hour flight time.

The weather report prediction isn't great for the south coast of England but I do hope it won't be snowy as it is in this image! All will be revealed. 

Look out for updates...

Slainthe!