Mary Beard's Blog, page 75

Hemingway's retreat: good books in Cuba

To finish with Cuba (a relief to some readers, I feel sure) -- I just wanted to tell you about our one day outside Havana; and it's a good tip for anyone making a quick visit to Cuba.

Another time-warp feature of Cuba is the cars, which include a load of US 1950s cadillacs (they come one layer lower in the Cuban vehicle stratigraphy than the Ladas). We were unable to resist taking one of these (pictured above) to go out to Ernest Hemingway's house just outside the city. Hemingway, who...

From Cuba with love?

I posted my first post from Cuba about the classical heritage because I wanted to give myself a bit of time to think about what I saw. But -- with a few honourable exceptions -- most commenters have homed in on the "Cuba right or wrong?" question.

So? What do I think? Well -- the first answer is that no 4-day tourist is in any place to judge. I have no clue how to weigh up the supposed evils of Batista versus the supposed evils of Castro; and I hear, but can't evaluate, the anti-Castro...

Classics in Cuba

I have been rather off radar because, as I hinted in my last post, I went with the family to Cuba for a few days -- a brief visit, but one driven by the desire to see the place before Fidel died and before Obama loosened it up to the United States (before, I mean, there was a GAP on every street corner). We couldn't, it seems, put it off much longer.

I shall report on some of the surprises soon. But lets start with the biggest of all. I never expected to see so much classical tradition...

How (not) to sell a van

I am currently part owner of an ex-Royal Mail van -- it feels rather like owning part of a race horse. To be precise I fronted up some cash for the son to buy HIS share in the said van a couple of months ago, to go round Europe on a tour with his band (that is, George Wright and the Keynote Speakers, if you fancy a listen).

Anyway, now they are back, they want to sell the thing (a proud red beast, as you see in the pictures, which toured the extremities of Europe without the need for...

Don't do Art History

When I whinged about the cost of reproducing a photo (taken by the husband) of the inside of the new Acropolis Museum, I had forgotten the other stresses and strains of illustrating an academic book or article -- that is, time, frustration and bafflement.

The money is one thing, but when you start to calculate just how long it takes to find a picture that you are allowed (for fee or not) to reprint, at the right level of resolution, and showing more or less what you want it to show -...

Losing my lock

I have bad luck at Naples airport. When I came back from filming the Pompeii show, I had the wonderful mozzarella that I had been given confiscated at security. Fair enough, actually. There was certainly more than the allowed quantity of liquid surrounding the wonderful cheese...though whether "the mozzarella bomber" was a likely scenario, I am not so sure. Better safe than sorry, though, you might say.

Anyway this time, coming back from the cruise, I had my Kensington computer lock

All at sea: the don goes cruising

I have never been on a cruise before. I have crossed the Aegean and the Channel in a ferry and my granddad was a merchant navy captain (and we plenty of photos of him "on the bridge" as it were). But that's about as far as my nautical experience goes.

Anyway -- I am now cruising. Just for a few days, lecturing on Pompeii (and assorted other ancient topics) on two cruises run by Voyages to Antiquity, on a ship called 'Aegean Odyssey'. I'm actually picking up the end of one cruise and the...

Why learn ancient Greek?

I have only just caught up with a poll on the Guardian website: "Is learning Classical Greek a good idea". The good news is that the votes went 80% in favour of learning Greek, 20% against. But the more disturbing thing (as always) was the reasons that people gave on each side. This poll is now closed, but it is still worth taking a look.

Classicists do have a habit of over-egging the case. There is going to be a big conference in Athens in the autumn, to celebrate the achievement of...

How much does a picture of the Parthenon cost?

How can we keep the Greek economy afloat? Well, one answer is by asking for permission to reproduce pictures from Greek museums.

Just recently I produced a new edition of my Parthenon book, brought up to date with a new chapter on the new Acropolis Museum (plus all the to-ing and fro-ing about the Elgin Marbles in the years since the first edition came out).

I am quite a fan of the inside of the new Museum, and so wanted to illustrate it in my book. Just a couple of weeks after the...

My reply from First Capital Connect

This is positively my last post about the damn trains (I promise). But I thought those of you who were not bored with the saga would like to see the reply to my complaint that I received from First Capital Connect.

Can it really be true that large numbers of standing passengers bring no additional safety risk?

Anyway, as they say, this is supposed to be 'closure'.