Iraq - Not For Holidays!

Anyone who answer "yes" to this headline ... probably needs to go to the loony bin, in my humble opinion ... !

Fancy an adventure holiday? Post-war Iraq tries to tempt more tourists - Daily Mail

The Pringle Sample Sale, 259 Pavilion Road, London

I stumble across it on the last day (today), and recommend it for Christmas presents!

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Blue plaque for Leigh

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Last Night: A Don's Life and Anne Connell

I've been a bit anti-social as I slowly get used to life in London again, but last night there were two events on that I didn't want to miss ...

Of prime interest to Classicists would be the Society of Antiquaries launch party for Mary Beard's new book It's a Don's Life (Amazon.co.uk; to be published later in the US). And in this photo with have the great Prof Beard herself (white shirt, back to Blackberry)

The book is based on Mary Beard's blog in the Times, but I highly recommend buying it in book form as that's a better was of reading it than online - think of it as a very clever, very intellectual lavatory book (toilet book for American readers).
Apologies for the slightly odd photo of William St. Clair, but I wanted to show how stary her fan club is!

Even Ellie, my puppy had a great time. And yes, I am turning into a mad woman who takes her dog everywhere, but she's a huge comfort to me (my grievance of the week is that I can have her as an Assistance Dog for PTSD in the US, but in the UK it's optional - so Waitrose won't let me have her in their store, but Tescos will ... go figure).

I was having tea with my favourite historian in the world - personally and professionally, as I think Adrian is wonderful as a person as well as a write - so I took Adrian Goldsworthy along too.

A dear friend, Stephen Ongpin, also held the opening of an exhibition last night ... so we went along to that too. Stephen normally deals in Old Master and 19th century drawings, but he is holding an exhibition of contemporary paintings. This is a new departure for him, but because he has such a great 'eye' ... the exhibition is amazing.

He took this photo of me, and the one below of Lara his amazing assistant (holding Ellie).

The paintings by Anne Connell are amazingly detailed, and inspired by 1400s Italian paintings. It's very difficult to describe them and do them justice, so instead of reading about them, if you're in London ... pop in and see them!
Stephen Ongpin Fine Art

Riverwide House

6 Mason's Yard

Duke Street, St. James's

London SW1Y 6BU
England

Jane Austen plaque in Hans Place, London

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Lego pyramid at Harrods

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At last, proof it's not smart to play dumb! | Mail Online

Wow, another week, another study and another newspaper article ... Apparently men do prefer brains to brain-dead. If it's in the papers it must be true?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1223663/At-proof-smart-play-dumb.html
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Archaeology for Halloween ...

The AIA's Archaeology magazine has a great little online feature of gory archaeological finds, including vampire burials, in time for Halloween ...

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/halloween/

It's a great magazine for people interested in archaeology, and a subscription not only makes a wonderful Christmas present but also helps support excavations.
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The Cnidus Lion, British Museum

I liked in when he was in the Woolfson basement, on the floor ... As I'd take friends' children, and they loved trying to put their hands into his hollow belly (this was done to lessen the weight of the marble, and is often seen in Greek architectural sculpture).

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Lion headed water spout at Christie's, London

It's being sold as 4th century BC, from Magna Grecia. There is no provenance, but since these came in sets that went around a building, and there have been a couple of studies of these, it shouldn't be too difficult to work out which building it came from surely?

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