Well, the moustache it groweth, and the madness continueth. Yet, my Movember experience is now fully and truly established. The archaeotache, for the 3rd time (following 2010 and 2013), growing resplendant and disturbing in all directions. Incidentally, do consider donating tache-wise here.
I’m now 21 days into Movember and it is getting tougher and tougher to keep the archaeotache under control. It writhes, it twists and winds, it tugs and it bushes. It also impedes rapid quaffing and gorging, clogging up with wine and pasta, and it festers unseemly odours. Its multicolour modalities are most mysterious and musty.
The archaeotache has been on adventures too. As well as writing up articles for various publications, I’ve been out and about.
For example, last week, I travelled up to Lancaster to meet the awesome staff at Oxford Archaeology North, and to visit the cross at Halton.I also got to scheme about potential future collaborations regarding Viking matters. There I took a mo-selfie but also got to explore and photograph the bizarre carvings with the scenes from the legend of Sigurd the dragonslayer showing Regin in his smithy. I also have ideas about this monument, as briefly hinted at here.
More exciting still, I spent an exhausting weekend travelling in rubbish weather to and from East Anglia, where I visited the awesome National Trust site of Sutton Hoo. I’m conducting some more research on Sutton Hoo – its interpretation and display from a mortuary heritage perspective…
Now I’m in the last 9-10 days, I feel a new low descending. Why am I doing this? Does anyone care? What difference could it make?! I don’t know. Sometimes I despair. But I will keep going, whether my pride is in tatters and my self-esteem in ruins. What matters is that the archaeotache must rise! Perhaps the tache will soon become sentient and overthrow its master, before taking over as Professor of Archaeology in my stead? Who knows what might transpire…
Archaeo𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 