Veni, Vidi, Scripsi!

 In light of yesterday’s Grand National, I thought I’d turn to a Latin poet whom I have recently come to appreciate.   I first encountered Ovid at around the age of fourteen, when I was handed his guide to picking up women at the racecourse, taken from his work Amores, as a translation exercise.   I was slightly alarmed to be presented with a text which advocated spying on women as they watched the horses go round the track, and sneakily groping people amongst the crowded stands, and so pigeonholed Ovid as a rather immature, trivial and tedious poet.   It’s safe to say, we got off on the wrong foot. Photo by Greg Roberts. Grand National day 2014.  I wonder how many race goers took Ovid's advice to heart... I ran into Ovid again at AS level, with Book VIII of his epic poem, The Metamorphoses being assigned as a set text.   Once again, I was far from overwhelmed.   Reading his portrayal of the various exploits of Scylla and Daedalus, I felt that this was an extremely fo

Ever since I was a secondary school student revising for my GCSE exams, I have been reminded time and again by well-meaning people of the importance of taking regular breaks when working.  Carefully scheduled 5/10 minutes here and there to break up the monotony of sitting at a desk, staring at books/screens and scribbling notes.  As a PhD student, I thought I was doing pretty well with this.  I often get up to make warm drinks in the kitchen next door or walk a few meters down the hallway to collect documents from the printer.   And yet, I kept finding myself angsty and frustrated, at times even a little claustrophobic, as I sat at my desk, working away on a project I continue to find exciting and stimulating.  Right now, I'm not at my most stressed. I'm not chasing nine different people trying to tie ends up for a conference, I'm not simultaneously working on four completely different assessments, and though my mental health has been iffy as of late (cheers for that, depr

Every year, the Exeter University Classics Society organise one of the highlights of their calendar: a trip abroad to visit various ancient sites.  A wonderful post-exams treat, these trips allow students to visit sites and see artefacts studied as part of their courses, develop and broaden their perspectives on the Classical World, and catch up with friends after weeks of isolation in the library.  This year's trip to Sicily was a lovely way to round off the final year of my undergraduate studies, and mark the end of my Classics Society presidency.  Organising and managing students can be challenging at the best of times (trust me, it's like trying to herd fish!), so when you throw in flight bookings, risk assessments, and passports, everything becomes that bit more complicated.  Eventually, our adventure got underway, thanks to the hard work and limitless patience of some very dedicated committee members.  We embarked upon a glorious Sicilian adventure, travelling in style i