#ascs40

Sadly, today was the final day of the conference. As the hours passed, I realised that I wasn’t ready for it to end. I tried to appreciate every last minute. After a lovely breakfast with some of my wonderful Classics friends, I made my way to the main lecture theatre for the plenary session, presented by Lynette Jensen: “Lego Classics: Serious or Superficial?” As a big fan of the Lego Classicist, it was fantastic to hear about how he started, and about the broader impact of Lego as a medium in presenting Classics. 

After the plenary session, we all enjoyed another fantastic morning tea before the final day’s panels’ began. These are the last two sessions I attended: 

I thoroughly enjoyed each and every paper. I’ve always been fascinated by Augustus’ moral laws and the AWAWS (Australasian Women in Ancient World Studies) panel certainly made me think I should investigate a topic or two related to the reforms as a side project in the future.

The Death and the Underworld panel was a very fitting way to end the conference. Although I couldn’t get a seat inside, I thoroughly enjoyed the talks. As a huge Doctor Who fan, it was interesting to hear such a well-thought-out comparison between ancient and modern (pop culture) interpretations of the afterlife.  

My view for the final session. I was able to move for the second paper and see inside - just!

And so the panels ended, seemingly as quickly as they began. All of the attendees joined together for one final afternoon tea, in which a very special announcement was made. At the conference, OPTIMA offered 3 prizes for postgraduates who were giving a paper. Those who entered were judged on the quality of their argument and their presentation, and...

The wonderful @marybeard won first place!

The smile says it all. I’m so proud!

It was the perfect end to the conference. I went back to my accommodation on a high, elated to have been part of such a wonderful event. Though it was sad for it to come to an end I met some wonderful new people and strengthened friendships I made at Amphorae XII last year. I am lucky, also, that I’ve been able to enjoy an extra night in Armidale due to the lack of flights which connect to Hobart, so I topped off the day with dinner and a stroll through the town centre with @cavedraconem and @katnerys-targaryen  

And now, with my bags packed, and the hour getting late, I must head to bed. The journey isn’t over quite yet, though. I have a 7.5 hour layover in Sydney tomorrow. I may or may not have an adventure planned already ;)

5AM starts are always the hardest, but the destination makes it worth it.

Today I arrived in Armidale, New South Wales. This is my first time visiting the town, and I have to say it has already charmed me. I’m lucky enough to have a hire car this time around, so I used the few hours I had spare before the welcome reception to go exploring. 

I checked out the town centre first, making sure I knew where I could find the supermarkets, food hubs, and the like. Surprisingly, I then ventured back to the airport. It was for a good cause; @cavedraconem, @marybeard and another of my Amphorae friends arrived on the later flight. It was a bit of a squeeze to fit all four of us and our bags into the Corolla, but we made it work! After checking in at the college on campus where we’ve chosen to stay (nice and close to the conference venue!), I decided to go for a drive to one of the handful of nearby natural attractions: Gara Gorge. 

I didn’t stay long due to the heat, but I did enjoy having such a beautiful spot to myself for a half hour walk. 

When I returned, I tidied myself up and headed to the welcome reception. It was nice to catch up with acquaintances from Amphorae XII and to meet a couple of new people. I’m so excited to hear the papers on offer this year. If only I could split myself into five and go to all the separate panels! 

To open the conference, we all filed into the main lecture theatre for the 21st A. D. Trendall Lecture, presented this year by Professors Lea Beness and Tom Hillard. There are three separate major lecture at this conference, which is quite the treat! If not for the fact that it was so late by the time proceedings wrapped up, I would have quite liked to talk to the two lecturers about prosopography, but there is always tomorrow - after having early meals as a result of such an early start, I was starving by the time proceedings wrapped up for the night. But a quick pizza order split between a group of hungry classicists quickly took care of the hunger pangs.

Pictured: the aftermath.

Tomorrow, I’ll be updating Twitter and Instagram throughout the day. I hope you’ll follow along on this adventure! 

An exciting milestone has arrived just in time for my ASCS40 trip:

5,000 followers!

I will continue to bring you new, quality content about Classics, and about experiences studying and teaching Classics. 

Over the next week (4 to 7 February), I’ll be live posting, tweeting, and Instagramming my adventures in Armidale! I hope to see @cavedraconem and @marybeard there, and if any of my other followers are attending, I look forward to meeting you!

Today was the big day! I presented my second conference paper ever in the Roman Society Panel. First up, Ashleigh Green presented “The augural chickens of Rome”, and I can assure you it was one of the most unusual but most interesting topics I have ever enjoyed (and quite a hard act to follow!). My paper was titled “Up in Arms: The Emotional Impact of the Social War on the socii”. It was exciting to get lots of positive feedback and thought-provoking questions!

Aside from enjoying a few fascinating panels, I also snuck off for another adventure. This time, I went to Wollomombi Falls, which is located about 30 minutes from Armidale. Unfortunately, they weren’t really ‘falls’ so to speak thanks likely to drought but the views of the river valley were still spectacular.

I enjoyed an hour-long scenic walk on top of the drive through the NSW countryside and came back feeling refreshed for the final keynote of the conference, presented by Dr Julie Anderson: “Excavating Dangeil: a voyage of discovery through interesting cultures”. 

The conference dinner started straight after the talk but due to the price, myself and a few others decided to go to one of the local pubs instead. We had a fantastic dinner, and the shenanigans started long before the rest of the conference attendees arrived at The White Bull for the after party: 

And let me tell you, we certainly know how to party hard: 

Tea for one served with chocolate freckles - the perfect nightcap.

As you can probably tell by the fact that this is being published after 1AM, I had a fantastic night even as the designated driver. It was wonderful to meet a number of Classicists I had so far not had an opportunity to run into and to enjoy discussions in an informal setting away from the university.

Tomorrow is, unfortunately, the final day of the conference. I’m looking forward to tomorrows panels, including a plenary session on Lego Classics. I’ll be sure to post about that one!