To be absolutely certain you had better listen to the podcast!

Just to say that so far as I know (and no I havent asked) none of current students are cushioned by private trust funds! And you would find a wide variety of backgrounds, aspirations etc.. As for single sex colleges being an easy way to "get into" Cambridge... there are university wide systems in place to ensure that there is a level playing field (that is that no students chances of getting into Cambridge are enhanced or diminished by choice of college). As for the more general issues of women at Cambridge, that's for another blog.

Newnham is woman only.. as there was an exemption for Oxbridge colleges under the sex discrimination act. For good reason.. and I can go on about the reasons, but dont get me started right now. You will have to ask my students about their private wealth and trust funds, but I would be VERY SURPRISED indeed if you found them the plutocrats you suspect. They are very clever and very ordinary young women, I'm proud to say.

very grateful for all the comments, calmly critical and others. Just let me say that this wasn't seeking the spotlight, but managing it! and jackie I am looking for the pic, m

This is in reply to Thomas and all... First Thomas. I quite see this. But in reply I would say that honestly I would never in a month of sunday's CHOOSE that kind of moment in the spotlight (other spotlights, maybe...but not that). But I have learned from experience (eg things said about me that are untrue, or quotes attributed that I have never said) that I now think: if someone's going to do an article on this it will be ME... and yes there are costs, but also benefits. (In the end, it did came across as a bit of FUN I think and it had plenty of positive reactions). On the "wickedly subversive"... cant win either way here, whether I keep or give up. I am hoping that the phrase becomes increasingly and nicely ironised! On the democracy of Choos. Well two things here: 1) if you choose J Choos flats, they are much much cheaper than his more elevated lines; 2) I honestly dont think that anyone could accuse me of squandering too much overall on my wardrobe!

I guess I wasnt talking tariffs (that is important in itself, but I feel very uncomfortable with judging the levels of societal disapproval by length of sentence).. i was talking about how I remember things feeling, and what the retrospective view is. I's not just the the 70s "were different", they were... but the question is HOW. I was trying to capture the ambivalence... yes we were trying to FLOUT rules of sexual behaviour (I shall spare you some of the details... but a bit of temptation was involved sometimes, but also quite a lot was simply in our heads). And there were all kinds of truly liberating results. But we were dead naive to think that somehow we had managed to get round all the power and exploitation ..... One problem is that legislation here is so difficult to apply across the board: what gives me a kick, can be the grossest humiliation for someone else.

I'm doing this from memory, but I read an article about the masks in what I THOUGHT was the Oresteia (though I guess could have been Oedipus) .. where the whole miking system was explained.

oh cripes... I wasnt referring to signing, but to the whole array of "facilities" for disable people.. which often seem to be to be tick box, rather than helpful. But you're right.. it looks like I'm talking about signing... sorry, hope it wasnt subliminal.

Hard to know about masks... though it would be nice to think so. However in Peter Hall's, Oresteia at the NT, they actually hid microphones in the masks, which I always thought a cop out! hope i can make a captioned performance at some point, m

i altered "the deaf" after having been correctly corrected by a sparky tweet!

Thanks Liz... stupidly failed to link to that last night. I have now.

well yes I do get sabbaticals... but I took one in advance in order to do the work for the Mellon lectures (lucky me) so the next is delayed. And right now I feel so knackered that I dont think my next term off will get much real writing done. well it is fun to be associated with the Academy, and there surely IS an opportunity to use the 'honour' to put classics on the agenda there. no money, no time....but a way to do a bit of classicising surely

You'll never guess what.. I have just found the damn thing... it had cret between the pages of my passport, which I was carrying with me! All that time!!!

Mine has been great since then! M

@Liz.. you are right on this.. I have it so much easier than those earlier in their careers; but maybe a bit cheering to know that everyone has failures! On thinking time... I think I am more realist that some commenters. I think it needs more that carving out the odd few days (there IS work that you can do the, but not top of the range thinking). And I suppose you get to the point of cognitive overload that you need quite a lot of time to recharge.

probably my fault .. there is an image sourcing problem! and these things drive me MAD

No Mr Bulley, nor has Angie Hobbs... but, as for me, I dont like it.. I dont like the idea that there is a split between those who do the stuff and those who communicate it. It brings me out all cross.... "here are some really clever ideas by someone else that you are good at putting over... " aaaghh I know others see it differently!

@Peter Hulse... I need to have a check what my Apollonian colleagues say on this one before shooting my mouth off! Of course I am with you that there is lots of inspiring teaching without "ge"... but the bottom line for me is that Classics has to keep that kind of language struggle/competence as central in its armoury, else... I am very unkeen on "Public Understanding of..". It sort of puts people who do outreach in a separate and slightly second class category of scholarship (on the one hand the real boffins and on the other those who explain what the boffins do to the rest of us). I want to keep these strands together, done by the same people...(Watch it, or I'll inflict my latest technical study of the De Haruspicum Responso/sis on you!)

well it depends a bit where you put the emphasis..."an awful lot more Roman than we tend to think" is probably the best summary!

thanks.. corrected! It was £7.50 to get in the cathedral and an extra £6.50 to go up the tower.

I think that all my events are going to be podcast (not 100% certain but looks v likely)

I wouldnt put it quite like that. This kind of material certainly was used for accounts etc (as the papyrus roll generally wasnt). But it was used for almost all kinds of communication.. from letters to calculations, to school exercise.. yes I guess to recipes.

I havent actually.. the National Gallery must have it I guess. Really interesting guy.. lucky you.

Thanks all. @the WS, I havent checked wiki, but so far as I know the best source is Strabo. I guess I would argue that its reactivation under Caligula resignified it! Of course some of those who were said to have been killed died peacefully but Scheidel is surely right to point to the allegations (Augustus hastened to his grave by Livia's poisoned figs, Tiberius done in by Macro, Claudius by the poisoned mushrooms).

yes.. I am ambivalent on that and I am struck by Walter's problem, but not necessarily by the evidence. Honestly I think it is not to too with brutality, but to do with modes of explanation (would WS like that?? no!)