Issy's Archaeological Adventures

 If blackberries picked wild from the hedgerows are the taste of autumn, for me then the smell of autumn is definitely that of elderberries cooking on the hob. My mum has made a medicinal drink packed full of vitamin C and antioxidants for years and years. This 'magic medicine' as it is called in my family is great for boosting your immune system and fighting off colds in the dark and damp of winter. I have helped make this every autumn for as long as I can remember, and for the last two years, I have taken a bottle with me to university. This year I am continuing this most favoured autumnal tradition of mine and bottling some more up. Making this is a sure sign that the seasons are turning and I will soon be back in an educational setting. The fact that this year is my final year as an undergraduate is genuinely mind-blowing! It has definitely been an interesting journey, and I cannot wait to dive back in. This year I have some fascinating modules looking at everything from Ne...

 Searching for stones is definitely a good way to describe my summer. I have been incredibly lucky this year to have had the opportunity to go to the west coast of Scotland three times over my summer. The first was a lovely family holiday, which included getting lost in a bog looking for the remains of an old clachan (pre-clearance township), and just making it to Iona to see the famous abbey before the ferry was stopped for the only day we were on Mull! Later in the summer, I had the privilege of attending a 'String Ceilidh' on Skye, which was an amazing way to meet the local community that exists beyond the tourist sites and shops. This evening of insights into people's deep lived experience and connection to the and they called home as well as talks by prominent textile archaeologists is one I will not soon forget! Whilst on Skye I also had the chance to visit the Museum of Island Life, which gave a fascinating window into the life of island crofters over the last couple...

Hello! I am writing this entry up in the strange hazy space that sits at the end of every academic year. Suddenly, all the pressure of deadline season has fallen away and your days are without as regimented a timetable. This is usually when I ask myself, what now? How do I fill this expanse of time? How do I spend it meaningful? The usual response is to take a nap and read a book and focus on the rest another day. Today was ever so slightly different. Once the summer is over I will be entering the final year of my undergraduate degree in archaeology. And so, with my final coursework due in at 12pm, I also had a workshop on preparation for my dissertation at 12pm. Out with the old and in with the new, I guess. This has given me a major focus for my summer as I am hoping to get a large chunk of reading done. I am also very excited about going on fieldwork again this year- this time I am going up to the remote west coast of Scotland and I cannot wait to be back in one of my favourite regi...

Hello! I know I have been away for a while but I am finally back and I thought I would talk about something a little different... food. Being away from home, managing both time and a budget can all make cooking seem daunting. However, there are some really easy things you can do that make it a whole lot easier (and tastier). 1. Meal Plan My first tip would be to plan out what you are going to have to eat every week. This can be a detailed plan or just a rough idea of the kinds of food you want to eat. I find it so much easier to do a food shop when I know what I want for a few days ahead. It also takes the pressure off of you in the evening when it comes to cooking dinner. I often find that if I haven't planned what I am going to eat I tend to go for quicker (and more unhealthy) options. But if I know I have something delicious planned, and I have all of the ingredients because I already went out to buy them, I am so much more excited to cook.   2. Don't Shop When Hungry While...

  Hello! The equinox has come and gone, and the leaves are finally beginning to turn. All of this means autumn has set in and summer is most definitely over. So I really should actually write up about my summer... Books A'Hay My first year of university finished back in June. The first thing I did was celebrate completing this step in becoming an archaeologist. And how did I celebrate? By buying more books on archaeology... I went to Hay-on-Wye for a weekend. While I was there I fell in love with the town. After all, what is there not to love about a cute little market town full of cafes and bookshops? The Poetry Bookshop was a joy, I was finally able to track down some copies of Emily Dickinson and Sapho that I had been looking for, for well over a year. (I have a thing about trying to find a physical copy of books I want to read rather than buying them online, but sometimes I am too impatient.) But the true gem in my trip was the Old Cinema bookshop. This is exactly what it sound...

 I am just a couple of weeks away from finishing my first year of university! Now that is a scary thought... I thought I would take some time to reflect on what this year has been like, and where archaeology now stands in this strange covid world. I am sure I was following in the footsteps of many prospective university students before me when I created a fantastical image of what university life would be like. I would get up early, take my cute flask of tea to lectures and pop between the library and department before going down to the Student Union bar in the evening. Alas, that was not to be. While I loved Manchester as a city, I did not get on well with it in the broody late autumn, especially with increasingly strict rules on what venues were allowed to open. With a looming November lockdown, I made the decision to temporarily go back home to my family (and my cat!). I had intended to return in December but was advised not to. And then the January lockdown happened and pretty ...

 Hello! So I've been at university for a couple of weeks now. There have been a few major developments that have occurred since I last wrote. My classes have continued to be completely online. So all of me lectures are pre-recorded, meaning I can watch them whenever, and my seminars are all on Zoom. There have been a few close calls where my internet has got a bit unstable but so far it hasn't dropped out on me completely! This has all led to a lot of time sitting at my desk in my room. I have got very acquainted with the changed happening to the tree outside my window.  Given the facilities on campus have been reduced and have to be booked I haven't actually made it to the library yet. However, I am hoping to book a study space at least once next week. In the meantime I'm thinking of relocating to the kitchen for a change of scenery!  As of last Friday Manchester has been under Tier 3 lockdown. This means that all pubs and bars have had to shut, and I can only meet wit...