Hey Blog! This post is all about procrastination!

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Well, I was going to write a post but

Hey Blog! Back to writing about procrastination!

Procrastination is

How many times have I started this post so far? Still haven’t finished it.

Look out for another post next week!

[Ed.: Kit is currently away doing his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition. He might finish this post, or write another one, when he comes back.]

Hey Blog! It’s another archaeological post. Yes, another. But this time, it’s not about digging, but about experimental archaeology!

Experimental archaeology is, by definition, experimenting to find out how archaeology was made – how something was done in the past. Say I find a mysterious lump of metal, clean it, examine it, and still can’t figure out how exactly it was made; I need to go to an experimental archaeologist for them to test different ways of making it to discover the method that produces the most similar result. I mean, I’d probably do that myself but you get the idea. Some experimental archaeology is done using both written and unearthed evidence, some uses the information from what we’ve dug up alone. It is especially useful if you want to understand how people lived, as if you realise they need to spend hours making one small decoration, you can deduce they have a lot of free time, and so the other necessities mush be able to be done faster.

The reason I can tell you more about this now is because the weekend before last, I was on an experimental archaeology camp. With the Scouts. Yes, this is another post about Derbyshire Scout Archaeology, and again, I attended as a Young Leader. One difference between this time and last is that we were all camping overnight! The plan was originally to stay in tents, in the field, but due to heavy rain risk (it did rain, but not heavily) the plan was changed last minute to sleep in the farmhouse, and run all the activities under a roof. This was perhaps helpful, as it would have been rather damp outside, and while flintknapping and string making can be done in the rain, it’s harder to do cooking or discuss authentic, 80 year old guns.

There were five activities for the Scouts to partake in: flintknapping, bushcraft, ancient cooking, Vikings, and WWII. It seems like the premise of the camp went along the lines of “make the tool, attach the tool, hunt, cook, bury your dead and then become advanced and blow people up”. For flintknapping, we had engaged the fantastic Dr. James Dilley, who I have mentioned previously (see Breaking Rocks – Precisely! from two or three years ago) and knows an enormous amount about the prehistoric. He is expert at most things through building a log boat, to making impressive, beautiful, fully functional hand axes, and attempting to pass on this knowledge to Scouts who had probably never even considered how flint tools were made; which is code for we were very lucky to get him to help.

Bushcraft was being run by a couple of members of the local Scout Bushcraft team, who had arranged to show some Scouts how to make cordage. By the second day, I had a piece in excess of 6 ft. long, and hadn’t even been working on it for most of the time. Ancient Cooking was Mum’s activity; I knew about it from what she’d been practicing at home: the Scouts were making flatbreads after grinding their own flour (actually, none of them ground enough to make anything out of it, but they had a practice with the quern) and then eating them to check if they had made them well.

Vikings was an activity run by some University students, who wanted to help and were very knowledgeable about Vikings, runes, and how people lived in that era. The WWII experience was an impressive collection of real equipment from the Second World War, containing everything from camouflage cloth to a bomb disposal kit, from unopened bandages to Bren guns. While we wouldn’t have been allowed to use it if it hadn’t been decommissioned, I’m not sure that some of it couldn’t be recommissioned, it was that authentic! All we lacked was a map table, and then the room would have looked like HQ – except for the half-dozen Scouts who certainly wouldn’t have been allowed in 80 years ago!

I had a good time Young Leadering, and I think the Scouts had a great time too. I got to spend an entire weekend hitting rocks with the experts and making a length of string, alongside guiding young people through experimental archaeology. And just by stepping in to help a few stuck Scouts, somehow managed to impress the Bushcraft team, so there may be more opportunities on my way in future. I don’t know yet. I have no doubt I’ll do some more archaeology in the future, so I will be keeping the flints in that box on the windowsill, and the trowel still in my drawer, waiting to get back to digging stuff up or testing new theories – whichever one comes next!

Hey Blog! This week, I’ll be discussing bones!

Until last month, I had never broken a bone. Then I failed to catch a cricket ball properly, and managed to break a finger. Three trips to the hospital later and five weeks in to wearing a splint, I can tell you what I know about bones.

There are 206 bones in the average adult human body. This includes everything from the femur, the thick thigh bone, to the miniscule ear bone which conducts vibrations down the ear canal so you can hear things. Eh? Babies have a few more, as to fit through the mother’s pelvis, their bony bits need to squash slightly smaller – so they are made with more bones, which later fuse. If you’ve ever seen a skull, the places the skull fuses are those little wiggly lines on the back of the head. Some bones aren’t even bone; cartilage – a rubbery bone-like stuff that forms your nose, covers your joints, and makes up shark “skeletons” – is used in place of bone in some parts of babies, and ossifies (turns to bone) later. Note – cartilage is not to be confused with keratin, which makes pangolin scales, and, less excitingly, your toenails. Nor is it to be confused with Carthage, which was a city beaten by Rome in the Punic Wars.

Humans are vertebrates, as are all mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish: we have a central spine, which holds the most important part of our nervous system, supports the body, and provides a base for the rest of our skeleton to be built off. If you are speaking to a human, you can’t accuse somebody of having no backbone, because all vertebrates have one. However, the spine, while perhaps the longest chain of bones in the body, does not hold the most bones. A quarter of those 206 are in the hands and feet – including phalanges (the finger bits), metacarpals (the back of the palm bit), tarsals (the wrist bit), and the very end of the arm bones, the radius and diameter. Sorry, the radius and ulna. I’ve got maths on the brain. I broke the last end bone on my left ring finger, at the joint, making it a fractured distal interphalangeal joint, commonly known as a mallet finger, probably because it’s easily done if you hit your finger with a mallet. For those who haven’t broken a bone, it hurts. 0 stars, do not recommend.

So, what if a group of graverobbers/archaeologists/obsessive fans of Home Ed in a Shed (delete as appropriate) found my skeleton after I’ve died? What clues as to my life could they deduce? Firstly, I have an eyebrow ridge and square-ended chin, which indicates a male, and I have a narrow notch in my pelvis, also suggesting a male (both correct). I have a curious line near my right temple where there is no bone – I have no idea what this signifies. The bones are long, and (so far) only one has any sign of a break, implying a tall build and little risk of excessive strain in my occupation. I would suspect reasonably average tendon attachments, so medium strength; definitely more strongly pronounced in the legs than the arms. Powerful tendons in my fingers, possibly signifying a pianist (correct); and hopefully not too much wear on the joints. Perhaps a little less strong than they could be, indicating a dislike of milk, but still strong, indicating a liking for cheese (both correct). The rest they would have to piece together from my grave goods – an item from every period in history should confuse the experts – and maybe even this blog. Who knows?!

Hey Blog! I’m back in session with another book review!

A little bit of background. I went to Reading a couple of weekends ago to see family, and while there we went to a lovely little pub in a nearby place called Mapledurham. Sitting there, I saw a notice that this was where Kenneth Grahame spent a lot of time by the river, and certain places in the area were the inspiration for his novel, The Wind in the Willows. Or at least some people think so – like most novels, half a dozen places claim the origin of the story. If you haven’t read the book – stop right now and do!

The Wind in the Willows is an excellent, enjoyable read, depicting the early-20th century country life and detail therein at its best and capturing the beauty of an unspoiled world with a lot more nature and a lot less people messing it up. Perhaps the most spectacular aspect of the book is it manages, subtly, definitively, and yet without any fudging, to have animal main characters in a human world, with them interacting as if it wasn’t odd and having almost no fantasticality. This level of skill at merging is something I wish I could possess, and is so perfectly situated in an environment of idyllic central-south English countryside that the book is a work of fine art and literary elegance. If you haven’t stood by a river and used all your senses on it; if you’ve never seen nature’s beauty in the landscape; if you’re yet to imagine what a mole, a water vole, a badger and a toad could get up to in their spare time (such as going on long adventures, falling in streams, and chasing motor-cars around!) – then start by reading The Wind in the Willows and see if you think about it next time you go near water.

The book has four main characters: Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad. They are perfectly drawn, with their own little quirks: Mole is home-loving, exited by the new things found in the book; Rat (a water vole, but at the time of publishing, more commonly called a water rat) is busy, skilful and loves the river; Badger is anti-social but kind, and an important personality among the other animals; and Toad is obsessed with whatever his new passion is (before landing on fast cars and staying there!). The story mostly concerns the adventures of the animals to assist, then rescue, Toad, when his automobile obsession gets out of control; but also covers side-quests, so to speak, which further flesh out the characters and the setting of the story – looking for the baby otter and finding him with an apparition of the god Pan, for instance. It is rather a quaint novel, and yet still one which is relevant – particularly because the world is changing: now water voles, like Ratty, are becoming rarer; most people (including me) have never seen a live mole; and cars, the bane of Toad’s ability to relax in life, are taking over or even have already. In a way, the story is unintentionally (or intentionally?) a metaphor for how people and their technology have taken over the lives of animals and is harming them. It may also be a metaphor for what animals wish they were doing in response, but unfortunately, I cannot communicate with badgers and ask them.

Either way, I think The Wind in the Willows is a classic for a reason, and that is because it shows the charm of rural, natural life, with a focus on animals, and above all, it’s a fun, poignant, and beautiful read!

Hey Blog! This time I’m telling you about Activation, the Scouts opportunity which I joined in June to assist with activities for younger Scouts!

Once a year, a field in Derbyshire is taken over for the weekend. No, this isn’t a Glastonbury rip off – this is a Scouts activity. All the county teams – the climbing team, the caving team, the biking team, the sailing team, etc – turn up for the weekend to give the children a taster of the activity. This is the place I tried sailing and found I really enjoyed it, back in 2019 – and subsequently went on to get a lot more involved. The Archaeology team is a new addition to Activation – only starting two years ago – but has already become popular. It seems the Cubs and Scouts quite enjoy it – and if how I reacted to the sailing has anything in common with how they react to archaeology, then we’re going to have several more archaeologically interested Scouts in a few years!

Because the field is pretty much just a field, there isn’t much of archaeological interest in the ground. Therefore, digging is kind of pointless. Instead, we do practical activities, such as building a roundhouse, or making prehistoric jewellery. Or what I was helping with this year – Roman signalling. It’s a bit like semaphore, which I really should memorise, but perhaps easier to understand – there is simply a 5-by-5 grid, which has an arrangement of letters in it, and by arraying ten flags in a particular grouping, you can signal a letter. A, at the beginning of the alphabet, is first in the table, so is 1.1 – you need one flag in each group. B, as the second letter, is 1.2 – one flag in the first group and two in the second. Those who are mathematically minded will have noticed that since it’s a 5-by-5 grid, you can’t fit all the letters in – there are 26 letters in the alphabet, not 25. The Romans solved this problem by having an alphabet with only 24 letters in – I and J were written with the same character until quite late in history, about the 16^th century; and U and V were likewise written the same. I don’t know what they did with the extra space in the grid – maybe it was a punctuation mark or something. Those who are spatially aware will have noticed that you can swap the numbers around – to try and signal K, the first letter of my name, you need 2 flags in one group and 5 in the other. But if you got them the wrong way round, you’d be spelling W – and my name does not begin with a W! So if you try this at home, think before sending (a good idea in all communication) and ensure the flag groups are the right way round so the other team you’re signalling to knows which is which!

Activation has four groups per activity per day, with about 20 Cubs/Scouts in each. I only helped with the Cubs, who all came on the Saturday, and because we had two activities waiting, we divided the 20 into two groups, so the activities were easier to run. This meant I only had to deal with 10 Cubs at a time – and while I can effectively communicate with 20 Beavers I know at once, when I don’t know the children, the smaller size is helpful. I started by introducing what I’ve already said above, and then we started signalling. While the individual words/letters we signalled changed over the day, we generally started by signalling initials, before moving on to a word that meant something – the number of activities at this year’s Activation, for instance. Unfortunately, since we didn’t have a full hour with each half-group, no group had the full practice and therefore we only managed a word or two with each new set. Still, I think almost everyone enjoyed it, and hopefully we’ll be able to use the activity at another event and maybe get a few more signals sent. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to send a long message? To signal this post, you’d need a day and more!

The other activity for the cubs was making mini ballistae. These catapults were developed by the Greeks, and their use lasted until the invention of the quicker longbows and then cannons made them obsolete. Still, they were extremely effective – some inventors even designed a repeating ballista which had a loading compartment and operated on one rachet that would draw, load and fire all at once. Effectively, the first machine gun! Ours were not as advanced, being made of lollipop & cocktail sticks and pieces of string rather than large beams and enormous cables. However, I think they too were much appreciated.

I did not attend on Sunday, but by all accounts the Scouts attending had a great time. They were making larger trebuchets, though by larger I mean about a foot or two tall. Not like the properly big one, about two or three metres tall that Dad and I tried to make but have put aside for now to make space for a larger project. Perhaps next year, there’ll be space for a really massive one and we can have something that will fire a large ball the mile or so downhill to the local lake. Maybe. After all, who knows what I’ll get up to for Activation next year?!

Hey Blog! Returning to a subject I talked about nearly two years ago, this post is about cricket!

Cricket is a team sport, played by an 11-man team on an oval field, or pitch. The players take on three roles – batting, bowling, and fielding. Two innings are played – the teams take it in turns to bat for an innings and then switch. There are several dozen fielding positions, most of which I still can’t quite remember; two wickets of three stumps each, where the two batsmen stand; and one hard red leather-wrapped ball. While it may not be the most famous sport, there is a rather sportsmanlike feel to playing a game of cricket on a sunny summer day, and having fun no matter who wins or loses then enjoying that classic, the cold ginger beer. I have played since I lived in Barbados, so for over a decade, and find it most enjoyable. 

I currently play for the Under 15s team (15 and under would be more accurate) and I seem to be about the average for the team. My bowling is mostly accurate but rather slow; while I’m trying to bowl spin this year, my spin seems to go forwards rather than bouncing sideways! My batting is ok; I generally last a couple of overs (sets of six balls) before getting out, and most times I get out it is to a good bowler hitting my wicket rather than someone catching the ball I hit. The majority of games this season, I have scored only a few runs, but I did score 19 runs (including four 4s!) last match. My fielding is good; it’s the thing I’ve practiced most so I would expect it to be better. I am helped in this by being fast, thanks to my long legs, and I can throw the ball quite accurately. However, I could do some more work on catching – I broke my finger recently in a bad catch. I would say personally, I need quite a lot more practice – not while my finger is broken, but maybe at the end of the summer.

At the beginning of this year, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to carry on playing – it was another evening out of the house, two in the summer for matches as well, and, honestly, at that point I was a little frightened of facing the ball while batting. It felt like balls came a lot faster than I could react, and were likely to be a lot more painful. However, this year I have come from that level of nervousness to not minding much and absolutely loving it! So I’m pretty proud of how much I’ve done this year. Especially as – did I mention – I hit four 4s last match!

I should explain the scoring system. Runs are the term for points – as they are scored by the batsmen changing ends of the wicket quickly by running between them. If the ball reaches the boundary of the field after touching the floor, it is counted as four runs. If the ball reaches the boundary of the field without touching the floor, it is counted as six runs. I have hit one six – before the other lads caught up with my growing and I was stronger and faster than most of them so I found it easier to hit the smaller boundary. Because all our competitors’ fielders are now rather good, it is rare for any of my team to run two runs, and rarer to do so without getting out. Some of my teammates hit several sixes a match now, though it’s risky as by hitting the ball up in the air, it’s more likely to be caught and get you out. My favourite shot, if I can make it, is the four – safe, but effective. Have I told you? I hit four of them the other day!

I have also played one senior cricket match – playing with the adults, including the coaches – and that has been brilliant. While I didn’t score many runs, I felt the team worked well and I’m looking forwards to more next year! Finally, very recently, I have tried scoring. This is due to my finger, making me unable to risk catching in case I injure it more. So I get to sit on the side, press buttons to record the scores, and sip a glass of lime and soda in comfort. I’d still like to be out on the pitch, and it’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it.

I am super proud of what I’ve done this year, and am really looking forward to playing some more next year. Hopefully my finger will be healed by then and I can get back to bowling people out and hitting fours!

Hey Blog! This time is another post about history – the reenactment day I went to over a month ago and only now can relate!

I may or may not have told you about Bosworth, site of the Battle of Bosworth Field. This was the final battle of the Wars of the Roses, where Richard III, last Plantagenet king and the scion of the House of York, was defeated by Henry VII, first Tudor king and scion of the House of Lancaster. By Henry’s marriage to the heiress of York, the House of Tudor settled the war with a peaceful union of roses, forming the Tudor Rose. Bosworth was where it all happened, and about 500 years after the battle, the present visitor centre was established to commemorate the fight and inform people about it. From time to time, there are special events: living history weekends, or reenactments of the battle, or similar. It was one of these that we went to see.

I should explain here the difference between reenactment and living history. The former has the crucial part “act”. It is about acting out an event – usually a battle or something similar. The latter is more passive: without the acting out an event, it shows how a place and time would have looked – bringing a historical place and period to live. This was more living history.

The situation of the event was the army camp, prior to, during or after the Battle of Bosworth. While the equipment and people obviously weren’t original, the style of the reconstruction was identical to how it was 500 years ago. Some of the highlights of the day follow:

Gun display. While gunpowder (I do know the formula but will probably get arrested if I disclose) was invented in China around or before the year 1000, it only made its way to Europe and was known in England in the 13 and 1400s. Some of the final battles of the Hundred Years War included French cannon fire, which was in a way payback for the English longbow mastery.  One Scottish king was killed when a nearby cannon exploded, and Bosworth was one of the first times guns and such explosive propulsionary (is that a word? It is now!) devices were used in England. These were not high-tech rifles, they were thin metal tubes on sticks, which were packed with powder, wadding and a little shot, and then fired as quickly as possible into the oncoming crowd of soldiers. They were also very noisy, as can be heard from the replicas; I don’t think you could be a professional and still have eardrums after a battle! This was perhaps the thing that most intrigued me in the whole day, as I had no idea or experience of mediaeval gun warfare!

Explanation of all the different weapons to use in a mediaeval battle. There are quite a lot. Everything from the Spiked Mace, which can both shatter and puncture your skull; to the classic knight’s Arming Sword, which can cut through most body parts (armour is more difficult to harm). There are more: from the Longbow, which fires arrows with such force that even if they don’t pierce a hole through you, the sheer force the bow fires with can provide such a shock it can kill instantly; to the Halberd, which can smash your head in, stab you in the guts, and cut off limbs – all in one weapon. A little gruesome, but very helpful if you accidentally wind up through a time portal on a mediaeval battlefield. Actually, in that scenario you’d probably be dead already. And in the unlikely case that doesn’t happen, you have a good store of knowledge to gross out your friends with, or tell people detailed knowledge in a fantasy/fiction game where you get to use them.

Lunch, on the way back. That restaurant was very good. We’ll probably return there if we go to Bosworth again!

Hey Blog! This post will be about a poetry event I attended in Shefield before my exam, but haven’t had the chance to tell you about till now.

I love poetry, and have done pretty much since I can remember. It’s such a lovely way of expressing feelings, thoughts, and ideas in a style that people can appreciate. From the experience I gained in my Arts Award, I know that poetry is a form of art, and thus tells a story. This story could be a message, telling people about an idea or expressing a poignant point; a literal story, relating happenings, be they fictional or true; or something else. I have read quite a bit of poetry, and a few years ago, when my lessons were less online and more in-person, I had a weekly feature where I read a poem, discussed it, and then made a response – either another poem; or a picture; a summary; a perfect, calligraphy copy, or something else. While this has now dropped off the schedule, I still appreciate the poetic style. I therefore was intrigued and ready to go when Mum discovered there was a poetry reading in Shefield coming up.

Brian Bilston is a hilarious poet who we became aware of a few years ago. He is popular online for extremely funny poems on every subject from politics to late trains to modern art. While he sometimes includes more serious poems, the majority are ones which you can laugh your socks off at. Since we included some of his poems when I studied a poem a week as I mentioned above, he was a good draw. Henry Normal, the other poet speaking, we had heard nothing about, but he too seemed like a very good poet, and that was enough to get us to book places and attend.

Since we have family in Shefield, we chose to go up in the evening, attend the poetry readings, and

then stay the night there so we had some time to spend with them the next day. So about 7:15 in the evening, after some very nice falafel tortillas at a local restaurant, we went in to prepare for what would inevitably be some excellent poetry and a good night out.

I had never been to a poetry recital before. It’s not a very common activity, yet I think it should be more encouraged as it is most entertaining. I wasn’t sure what to expect – just one poem after another? How many? Would the poets be speaking in turn or one after the other, would there be two voices at once or would the audience have to participate? It turned out to be poems interspersed with anecdotes, perspectives, and various thoughts, which made a beautiful mix of the serious and the silly, the pun-packed and the putting-life-into-perspective. I think both poets spoke well, with Henry Normal (who spoke first) having the edge on the performance and Brian Bilston, who spoke second, having the better poems. The only problem I had with it was it was too short – i.e. I would like to go to another similar poetry reading some time soon! Hopefully. You never know – some of my poems may even be in the mix one day!

Hey Blog! Over the past year, I have been studying for GCSE History. Now, with the exam over, I can tell you what I’ve been doing!

GCSE or iGCSE is the current level of academic learning roughly expected of 16 year olds in the UK (and international territories where iGCSEs are recognised). History is, well, history. One of my favourite subjects and one I have a lot of knowledge of. However, a History GCSE is more than just telling your examiner everything you know, which would be nice (depending on the period you ask me about, I can wax lyrical all day long) – it is trying to put down a small portion of your learning, in legible handwriting, in a very short period of time, in a structure some higher power of examinations decided was the norm. Not easy. The good news – I managed it. The bad news – I have to wait till August to get the results of how well I did, and I have done very little else – which is why until a week ago you have received no blogs since April, which I’m rather sad about. Let’s explore the exam further.

The exam board I studied was AQA, which requires two papers, four units, three long essays, eighteen questions, seven sources/interpretations, eighty-eight marks in total, and one, year-long headache (not literal but you get the idea) trying to learn, revise and deliver all this in time. I studied for the course with my tutor Jake of Humanatees, who I did an Environmental Management iGCSE with last year. This means while I did not pick the topics, which means I did not focus on some of my best fields of study, I learnt a broader picture with subjects I had never covered so had more to learn for. These were:

America, 1840-1895 – the spread west from the eastern colonies to covering the entire continent. As a Period study, it was all about the events of that period. The most preparation I had for this was reading the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder some years ago. They pretty much cover half the course, albeit in less detail and do not give practice questions!

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950-1975 – covers the Korean War, which is not widely known, and the Vietnam War, which people are more aware of. A Wider World Depth study, it focuses on themes across the world which caused the more local events of Korea and Vietnam. Rather gruesome, and particularly immediate because it is within living memory – my parents were alive when it ended. I did not work particularly hard for this unit at the time it was taught, until I realised the exam was only a few weeks away, at which point we ordered the box set of 18 hours of DVDs recommended for more detail on the course and binge watched them. It seems like the people who designed the exam literally watched the series and then wrote the textbook based on it. I think they helped.

Migration, Empires and the People, 790-the present day. By far the longest topic, covering more than a thousand years where the others cover less than 100. This is a Thematic study, which explores seven factors: Religion, Economy, Government, Technology, War, Big Ideas, and the Individual, and their importance for Migration, Empires, or the People. Contact cards, naming a person and then relating them to the factors, is a must for this. For a long time, I did not understand the function of these cards besides homework and a way of writing down something about the person. Then I sort of understood that it’s about linking the factors through individuals. I only realised this two days in advance of the exam. Thank goodness I did – it probably gained me another few of those 88 marks.

Norman England, 1066-1100. Not 1066 and All That, but more factual, and definitely one of my stronger subjects – until the questions they asked in the real exam were fiendish! For this unit, I relied on my visit to Normandy (see last year’s posts on this holiday) and my knowledge of the period from other reading. The essay for this topic was a case study on a particular place – this year, Durham Cathedral – which I told you about visiting last autumn. This question requires you to concentrate on aspects of the cathedral and explain why they were important as a particular design choice. I deliberately chose to do the questions out of order in the exam, so I had more time to work on this and finish it well. However, due to a difficult paper, I only just managed to put a full stop on one of the other questions before time was up.

Because I am home educated, I have to traipse all over the country to get to an exam centre – Birmingham is our one of choice.  However, because it was a morning exam, we couldn’t risk getting a late train and not arriving before it started. Premier Inn, here we come. While I wasn’t allowed to get a very Full English (for free, because I’m technically still under child rules though eat more than an adult) before the exam, the lighter breakfast was still fantastic. I can recommend the churros with dipping sauce for pudding the evening before, too. From there, it’s only a short walk to the exam centre, and thankfully I do not get nervous doubts or start questioning myself; I seem to be more relaxed about exams than my Mum or most other mums there for that matter. Maybe it’s a parent thing, to be more stressed about exams than their kids. Either way, once I’m in it’s just half an hour waiting for ID to be checked while you do mental exercises, watch the other candidates (though no one says anything – weird!), or try to dismiss the earworm stuck in your brain. Or just space out like I do. And then the exam.

I was lucky with the papers; everything I’d particularly studied had come up. Kind of as expected, but then, also good because while you are taught everything, including what comes up in the exam, and hopefully learn everything, again, including what comes up, you don’t always study what comes up. So that was good. I think I did ok, and I’m confident for a good mark when I get the results. Remember, I’m a year younger than the majority of children who take GCSEs, so I must be good if I’m going for them so quickly. The one, slight, unfortunate thing is next year I have five or more to do simultaneously. So I’m either going to be not sleeping for a few months while I study, or find a way to study in advance. Looks like I’ll need some more luck for next year!

Hey Blog! This post is about one of the most fantastic things I’ve gained through Scouting!

First of all, sorry for the long pause. I have had a history exam and it requires a lot of time to revise, and what with all the other things I partake in, HEIAS has got a little sidelined. I promise a bit more regularity in future!

Now, for the blog. You know about my involvement in Scouting, and how I help with the Archaeology team. I’ve also told you about how I represented the Archaeology team across the country after the Anglo-Saxon brooch was found at one of our digs, and how I’ve been on practically all the digs and activities, besides running sessions to help others gain their Archaeology badge, and generally supported the team. Now I’m going to tell you about the incredible recognition I was not expecting when I started!

We did go back to Willesley, where the brooch was found. None of the team, nor me, could resist it. We accidentally intentionally opened a trench slightly to the side of where we had planned; however that gave us the chance to have two trenches, and double what we could find! Over two weekends, we uncovered some of the inside of the hall, the base of the steps up to the front door, and rather deep foundations – deeper than we were expecting! We also found quite a few shards of green glaze pottery (13^th-16^th century), probably enough to make half a pot; a possible fireplace (not sure); a beautiful brick surface; and one rather interesting tooth. I helped as a Young Leader, showing the Cubs, Scouts, and Explorers how to wash pots, how to dig, identifying what they’d found, and assisting with their digging – besides digging a lot myself! The Youth Committee, of which I am a member, also came for a session, and as the highlight of that day, went to Ashby Museum to hand over the brooch for safekeeping and public display.

The brooch, I should recap, is an Anglo-Saxon one – made c. 520-575 AD/CE, and of the Great Square Headed type. It has stylised eagle heads on the top corners, and a diamond patten in the middle, further down. The diamond shape in the centre spreads to a cross-like outline, and the entire piece is made of copper alloy covered with silver. There is a hint of niello – a rare, high-status black alloy of silver, sulphur, and other elements, which would have made the silver ridges stand out and makes it an even more important find. It would have been worn upside down – which would make it look a bit like a market cross, at least to my eyes – and was probably for a child. This makes a beautiful circle – made for a child, fifteen hundred years ago, and found by two children, in the 21^st century!

At the museum, we inspected the galleries before team lead Morgause introduced the team, then I, as senior Young Leader on the team, introduced the Youth Committee, upon which the brooch was introduced as our star find. Some new information about the brooch (including some I’ve said above) was also given. The brooch was handed to the museum staff, and everyone got the badge for attending the Willesley dig. And then – a complete surprise – Morgause and the District Lead Volunteer (formerly District Commissioner) presented the two girls who found the brooch, and then me, with Commendation Awards: them for finding it, and advocating for the team so well, and me for helping the team, representing us at events, and “leadership, initiative, and passion for both Scouting and archaeology”!

I am rather pleased with the award. I did not expect it, but it’s nice to get. It’s an award that applies in every section, and can be worn the entire Scouting career. That reminds me, I need to go and sew it on. But I will wear it with pride, and hopefully continue to represent Scouting – and archaeology – for a long time to come. What next?!