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blossomlillyofspry · 1 year

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Not all Pearls are Located in the Sea

I didn't meet Pearl, and if there's a chance that she's real and I can meet her in person, I want to hug her tightly, even if it's scary and even if it's not safe. Watching her on the screen is enough for me to see who she really is. Pearl is the lady who is living on a farm. Her family is suffering from financial problems because her father got sick and can't work anymore. Her father is severely disabled, and Ruth, her mother, is the one who is taking care of their farm. Pearl is assigned to take care of her father and the animals they have. She also has an alligator, and she's feeding it duck and human flesh. Her closest friends are the farmyard critters she's named after her favorite movie stars and Theda, the alligator who lives in the swamp behind their house. Pearl longs for a life that is better than the one she now leads on the family farm. Texas in 1918 is gripped by panic over any potential illness in the middle of the Spanish Flu, with the war's constant news as its backdrop. Pearl aspires to be heard by everyone, to be seen by everyone, and to one day appear in the television programs that she has adored her entire life. Her existence as a military spouse to her husband, Howard, causes Pearl anxiety. She longs for someone who can sweep her off her feet and take her away from her brutal home, and she aspires for the same sense of escape that he currently feels. She rapidly falls in love with the theatrical projectionist at this point because he assures her that Europe is the place where her dreams can come true.

When Pearl learns that a nearby church is holding tryouts for a dancing ensemble, she is inspired to finally go after what she has been wanting. Pearl receives this information through his sister-in-law, Mitzy. When Ruth hears about her daughter's activities, she dismisses Pearl's role in the world as nothing more than a family caregiver, which Pearl does not take kindly. She makes the decision to strangle her father to death before leaving for the audition since she is now sure that she will achieve the happy ending she so desperately wants. The judges flatly reject Pearl since they were hoping for someone younger and blonder to take her in. Pearl takes Mitzy's place in line for the audition and does her routine in a visually stunning scene. As a result, Pearl loses her one-way ticket and is forced to face the reality that she is now in charge of, which sends her into a fit of frenzy. When Mitzy returns with Pearl to the farm, Pearl tells Mitzy everything she has been meaning to tell Howard ever since he went to war. When Howard left, Pearl revealed that she was pregnant with his child and thought it was unjust that he had the opportunity to leave but she couldn't. She despised him for leading the life she had always dreamed of. Pearl ultimately miscarried the child and used the occasion to lash out by killing animals when things didn't go her way. She casually confesses to a number of previous killings but assures Howard that she will provide for him well. In an effort to provide Howard with somewhere to go when he returns home, Pearl sets up the bodies of her parents to act out one of their typical dinner conversations. When Howard returns, he is horrified by the gruesome dinner scene and Pearl's prolonged, agonizing smile.

Not all pearls are located in the sea. Some of them are, we are wearing it. It could be anxiety, madness, failure, depression, rage, etc. I want to hug Pearl tightly because we are somewhat alike in terms of the story of our lives. But we're way different from each other. I don't kill animals or murder people; I'm not married, and I'm not living on a farm. I have a lot of opportunities now compared to her; she doesn't have any opportunities to achieve her dreams and get help. In my time now, I can create my own opportunity to get the career I want. She reminded me that I'm lucky and blessed to have this life of mine. Even if it's really hard sometimes, even if it's scary, even if there are a lot of challenges, Pearl reminded me that it takes a lot of courage to get out of my situation. That's not included in killing someone. What I'm saying is that Pearl gave up too early. She only tried once; she failed, and then she immediately gave up. Life is not like that; life is hard and full of challenges; you just need to choose better problems to solve. If I want to get out of the situation, if I want so badly to get what I want, I need to work for it; I need to try not once, not twice, not three times, but a lot of times. I need to use my failures and mistakes as my steps to get where I want to be. I hope Pearl realizes that when she's young. Not just Pearl, not just young people. But all the people who might see this.

©jansal

Picture from Pinterest

Reference:

https://collider.com/pearl-ending-explained-ti-west-mia-goth/

#Pearl2022 #NotAllPearlsAreLocatedInTheSea #PearlTheMovie

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jmkartworks · 4 years

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June 31st: A Story: https://ift.tt/3lEqO7T

This is a story about sunlight and clouds in a wide blue sky, a pond, a warm, green day in a summer many years ago, and the discovery of a lost friend. But it begins years before that with a day of rainstorms and tears, a sad day of leaving people you love and who love you.

On that day, my sister Kathleen and I drove away from the home of our childhood, and turned to look past our suitcases in the back seat of my Ford at our parents, John and Doris, waving goodbye from the back porch, our leaving like a scene in a film. We headed north into Wisconsin under a sky the color of iron. Sheets of rain as we crossed the Mississippi River into Minnesota and more rain through Minneapolis until the skies finally cleared as we pulled into a motel in Fargo, North Dakota. We were on our way to college in the Pacific Northwest, three more days of driving ahead of us. Looking back, I doubted I would ever come home again. But time, like a spider, weaves slowly.

In one of his songs, Bob Dylan sings, “You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way.” After living four years in Washington State and another ten in San Francisco, it felt like time to come back home, even if not back all the way. John had died, but Doris still lived in the old house with a couple of my younger siblings. Her father and her older sister lived in the house next door. I wanted to spend time with all of them, and did, during the three years I lived there before moving west again.

Back in my hometown, it was a surprise to soon meet one of my oldest friends, Bill Schmitz. I hadn’t seen him in twenty years, but the memories of our past remained fond. From the first day of the first grade we had palled around, both altar boys, both boy scouts, both equally inept on a basketball court. He didn’t have to tell me that he had become a successful businessman. That was obvious because he lived on the north end of Douglas Avenue in what was one of the most beautiful houses in our town. As a boy I had delivered newspapers in the neighborhood, but never to that house. Now Bill and his wife Julie invited me in to see their home and meet their children, Eric and Andrea. A new and delightful chapter of friendship began.

It was another surprise when one day they asked me to paint a canvas for them. Their living room was spacious and full of light, with comfortable chairs, Julie’s piano and a wood-burning fireplace. A perfect room, Bill said, for a large painting. I remember that it did not take long for us to agree on a landscape. Winters in the Midwest are long and brutal, so no scenes of ice and snow. But in summer, trees, rivers and lakes radiate greens, violets and blues, more congenial ingredients for a family painting.

Here is one of the first sketches: The colors are shrill and the space feels cramped and claustrophobic, but it was a start.

Pond Sketch – Ink on paper – 8.5 x 11 inches

In a later sketch, spaces began to expand and feel less constricted, but the colors were too muted, like twilight.

Pond sketch – watercolor – 5.5 x 7.5 inches

At one time during the weeks I struggled to create an image, I remembered a quote from Henri Matisse (1869-1954). His words opened my world, fed my imagination and guided me: What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter, an art which could be for every mental worker, for the businessman as well as the man of letters, for example, a soothing, calming influence on the mind, something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.

Pond sketch 3 – Watercolor – 5 x 11 inches.

Here’s one of the last sketches and then the final painting.

Pond – Acrylic on canvas – 36 x 72 inches.

“Pond” is the image of “balance, purity and serenity” I was striving to paint. A figure is fishing alone on a lovely summer morning, but he’s only a small spoke in a great, wide wheel of water, sky and light. We don’t know his thoughts: Perhaps he misses having a canoe so he could glide out onto the water. Can he hear the songs of jays and robins, and perhaps a dog barking in a nearby farmyard? Does he hear the distant hiss of 18-wheelers on the tollway beyond the trees? Is he so intent on fishing that he doesn’t notice the mountain of storm clouds gathering, the murmur of thunder and the scent of rain? For most of the morning, the wind only whispers, but then it shudders and a crescent of wrinkles appears on the pond. Summer storms bring lightning. He had better get out of the open and into shelter. Our story began with a memory of rain and it is going to end with rain.

Pond, detail

Although the painting appears to depict a real pond, you won’t find this scene in northern Illinois or anywhere else, except in the painting itself. The painting is an invention, a composite of several places, memories and thoughts, an act of imagination. The apparent reality of water, sky, trees and light has only a fictional existence, like the 31st day of June. But the acrylic on canvas — three ft. wide and six ft. across — still exists. After living in Schmitz family homes in Illinois, Iowa and Colorado, it now lives in Salt Lake City in the home of Eric and his spouse, Spencer.

Recently, Julie told me she asked Eric and Andrea to share their thoughts about the painting: “Eric said it ‘defined our whole house;’ that it always brought ‘home’ to mind no matter where he was. . . Andrea liked the fact that it is original, and that you had put so much time in going to different locations in our area to combine them into the painting. Julianna, Andrea’s adopted daughter, said it is her favorite. I appreciate that the painting is timeless. . . (And) you can be sure that Bill was always very proud to tell our visitors that the painting was done by his good childhood friend.”

Pond – Acrylic on canvas – 36 x 72 inches.

Almost five years ago, Bill left this world, left all of us he loved and those who loved him. His memory gives all of us comfort and pleasure. The “calming influence on the mind” I hoped the painting would give to him and his family is a different kind of comfort, but it still does what it was painted to do.

This post was supposed to be about a painting and about what may seem real, but isn’t real. However, let’s end it with a tribute: Bill Schmitz was real, as in, Bill was a mensch. Mensch is Yiddish compliment; it denotes an honorable, decent person, a good guy, somebody you can trust to do the right thing. More than forty years later, it’s still a pleasure to have painted a work of art for such a good childhood friend.

#johnmichaelkeating.com #blog #art #jmkartworks

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paradox-oflife · 4 years

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q and a part 6 pls ignore

1. Who was your favourite teacher at school and why? My 9th grade Lit teacher. She was the kindest soul I’ve ever met.

2. Whats your favourite party game? I LOVE MAFIA. I’m not talking about basic mafia. You gotta play upgraded versions. I personally love playing one called One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I also like playing the law version which is made for super big groups - There’s police involved, and they choose the mafia. The person accused can hire lawyers who defend them. The police have to present their reasoning, and the lawyers have to figure out how to prove them wrong. God it’s basically Danganronpa isn’t it.

3. Is it acceptable or unacceptable to smack a child as form of discipline? Now this is controversial, and understandably so. I personally would never hit my child and yell at them. But for other people, if it’s a light smack, like a pat, I guess it’s alright. But otherwise nothing harder than that.

4. Can a hetrosexual male ever wear pink? Um, yes??? Do what you want man.

5. Is it criminal to wear socks with sandals? Listen I’ve seen too many people wear these in public to the point where I’m numb to it.

6. If you were captain of a ship, what would you call it? Make it an obscure video game reference or an inside joke.

7. If you were to join an emergency service which would it be? Probably the medical side of things, like an EMT. Or a firefighter. EMT’s go through a lot of pressure.

8. If you were to join one of the armed forced which would it be? Maybe coast guard. But I really would not want to join the military. I’m too sensitive. If people yell at me I’d probably cry lol. And there’s the colorblind test.

9. Whats the worst thing about being your gender? Periods. And the pain of child birth. Also how it’s scary to walk alone at night sometimes.

10. Whats the best thing about being your gender? Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I feel like sometimes the friendships girls have are more emotional than boys.

11. If you swapped genders for a day how would you spend it? Honestly? Just observe my body. Not in a sexual manner but like, how does it feel like to not have boobs? How does it feel to have a dick???

12. If you were exiled what country would you choose as your new home? I’m moving back to New Zealand lol. I already have a passport and family there. Or maybe Canada if I don’t want a big culture difference

13. Have you ever made someone cry? Yeah :( Not through verbal attack though. I accidentally kicked a football into a girl’s face.

14. Have you ever starred in a school play? In the first elementary school I went to, it was mandatory to do a play. So yes. Three, actually.

15. Were you a member of any celebrity fanclub? Nope

16. Have you ever been a member of any other club? Yes! Animal Services and Protection, CSF (volunteering stuff), Martial Arts

17. If you could have a full scholarship to any university what would you choose to study? The university I’m going to rn

18. Whats been your greatest ever day? I have a lot. One of my favorites was going to an amusement park at the end of middle school. Had a blast.

19. What historical period would you like to live in if you could go back in time? Hmm... Maybe during the Age of Enlightment?

20. What would you bring along to an idillic picnic? My friends, no phones, music, and a sandwich.

21. Whats your favourite childrens story? Does Harry Potter count? I guess not really. When i was little I loved Geronimo Stilton LMAO

22. What movie ending really frustrated you? And how would you change it? The Mist. I mean, it frustrated me not because it was bad, but because it was so FRUSTRATING.

23. What three things do you think of most each day? Now we’re in quarantine, “I wonder how my friends are doing?” “What am I doing with my life?” “Will life be the same?”

24. What do you call your evening meal? Dinner Tea or Supper? Dinner

25. What do you call your after meal sweet? Pudding or Dessert? Dessert. I usually just have a fruit

26. If you had a warning label, what would yours say? “Warning! Certified Grade A Clown!”

27. Have you ever got sweet revenge on anyone? Can’t really think of one

28. Have you ever been to a live concert? aaaah no i really want to though

29. Have you ever been to see stand up comedy? It was a long time ago on a cruise. It was pretty funny :D

30. Have you ever needed stitches? Yup. If you observe closely, you can see a faint scar near my eye. If it was a bit more obvious I’d look like an anime villain lol

31. If you could invent brand new baby names what would they be? LMAO imagine naming your child like, Fire Emblem names. “Hi yes this is my baby, um, his name is Chrom”

32. Do your dreams ever tell you to do anything? I have the most bizarre dreams. They’re super vivid. They range from me summoning tornados, to me being killed in some Danganronpa world. I dreamed of a school shooting once and a couple days later some other school in my state had a shooting

33. Who's your favourite radio 1 DJ? I don’t really listen to radio lol

34. Whats the best way to your heart? Be a good person. Have good morals.

35. Do you know your own mobile phone number off by heart? Um yes???

36. If you were a fashion designer, what style of clothing or accessories would you design? Just comfortable hoodies that don’t change when you wash it.

37. Do you ever laugh at things you shouldn't? I laugh when I’m nervous. Like I go like, “hahahawhat the hell”. I also laugh when I’m shocked.

38. Have you ever been in a submarine? Yes! But it wasn’t underwater.

39. Have you ever walked out of a cinema before the film was done? Nope.

40. What song would you say best sums you up? Eeeh i can’t decide but Read my Mind by the Killers. Their music video. When he’s twitching his arms, but he’s acting like everything’s fine.

41. Do you have any old friends would wish you could meet up with again? Yeah :( I had a super super close friend from 4th grade and we slowly drifted apart. By the time of high school we just stopped. I want to be friends with her again :((( I really miss her

42. Whats your favourite Nursery Rhyme? Idk... ring around a rosy maybe just because the context of the lyrics lol

43. Do you prefer metric or imperial measurements? Of course I’d take metric over imperial, but I’m used to it by now.

44. Who's your favourite monarch of all time?Queen Elizabeth I

45. What was the last thing you ate? These Asian things called Zong Zi in Chinese. I’m pretty sure like every country has their own version of it lol/

46. Whats your favourite farmyard animal? I love baby chickens but cows for me I guess

47. If you could choose one celebrity to be the father/mother of your child who would it be? Just someone who’s caring. Tyler Joseph

48. What would you do if someone proposed to you tomorrow? If it’s someone I like, then I’d freak out. Because I’m way too young for it.

49. What are your 3 favourite internet sites? Reddit, youtube, and uh... tumblr or wikipedia. I use tumblr mobile way often

50. How high can you jump? Never measured but definitely not that high

51. Which fictional character do you wish was real? aw man i would say a character but then that would imply their universe exists

52. Who was your first crush? PHFFT IT WAS probably Marshall Lee from the genderbent episodes of Adventure Time.

53. Whats the greatest thing about being your nationality? The food

54. Whats the least greatest thing about being your nationality? Having to explain the difference between Taiwan and China. Like. It’s understandable.

55. Do you believe in destiny, fate or free will? I kinda correlate destiny with fate. It’s a bit paradoxical. We have free will to do whatever we want, but whatever choice you make will end up being your “destiny”

56. If you could talk to one species of animal which would it be? Dogs. They just seem so happy all the time. I want to tell my dog I love him so much.

57. If you had friends round what DVD's would you have to watch? Mean Girls, Heathers, Legally Blonde, or Daria

58. Do you like vanilla or chocolate? Vanilla>>> fight me

59. Are you a giver or a receiver? Both

60. Do you have any enemies? Yeah. Me.

61. Are you scared of needles? YES YES YES

62. How many piercings do you have? Nah I was going to get my ears pierced a while ago but something came up so ever since I’ve jsut haven’t gotten it done

63. Have you ever got majorly lost trying to get somewhere? yes it was scary. Had to use google maps because I have a terrible sense of direction

64. How fast can you say the alphabet? 4 seconds

65. Do you say "Zee" or "Zed" to describe the letter Z? Zee

66. What was the last thing to make you feel happy? My dog fell asleep at my feet and I couldn’t move for the past hour but I love him

67. What was the last thing to make you feel angry? A friend of mine. I love her and all but she takes a week to respond to my texts. And I’m tired of waiting.

68. You are walking to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss told you if you are late one more time you're fired. Do you save the dog? Okay realistically I immediately call animal control or the nearest vet or something. But in some alternate universe I’d take pictures as proof, grab the dog, then get it out.

69. Are you the kind of friend you'd want to have as a friend yourself? I perceive myself as a not so great person. But my friends perceive me as a good person. So yeah. i mean, I might not text first sometimes but if smoeone texted me I’d always respond asap!

70. Do you have any questions or queries about things you're just to scared or embarrassed to ask anyone about? Do my friends like me as much as I like them? I’m so scared of that

71. If you were a wrestler what would your stage name be? and what would your special move be called? Haha maybe like Paradoxical (yes thats my blizzard tag) I’d do something like a shihonage

72. Whats the most interesting thing you can see out of your nearest window? A cat

73. Do you think Barbie is a negative role model for young girls? There’s a lot of Barbie models out there. I don’t think they’re completely bad. But there’s negative things.

74. Have you ever needed an eye test? Don’t have glasses so no. But I might need some soon at the rate of time i spend on electronics

75. Do you find yourself attractive? No. I’m just. Average.

76. Can you roll your R's? Yes

77. What social class do you consider yourself or your family background to be in? Upper middle class

78. Do you know any magic tricks? I used to but I never execute them well enough to convince anyone lol

79. Whats the largest amount of money you've ever won? I ever won? Probably like, $100 lol

80. Whats the largest amount of money you've spent in one spree? $200, if we’re not talking necessities.

81. Whats the largest amount of money you've had to borrow off of a friend or family member? I don’t borrow money. But the most from a friend was like $20 maybe.

82. Have you ever been on a cable car? Yeah, San Francisco is known for that stuff. But I’ve only been on one like, twice.

83. Do you prefer Honey or Jam? Jam! But I like honey too.

84. Do you prefer the French or Germans? Uuuuh, French?

85. How fast can you get changed? Pretty damn fast, if we’re talking my normal outfit.

86. How fast do you type? Around 98 wpm

87. How fast can you run? I’m a decent sprinter. I got 12 seconds on a 100m dash.

88. Which is better, Mario or Sonic? Mario. But both are cool

89. Whats your favourite biscuit to dunk? (im assuming british biscuit but in that case idk)

90. Which would you rather have if you had to, a broken leg or a broken arm? Arm. I like walking around.

91. Do you read a daily newspaper? Nah

92. Do you watch the news on TV? Sometimes

93. Have you ever had anything published? Nope

94. Do you believe in love at first sight? Not really. I mean, Romeo and Juliet, and Frozen has warned us right

95. How many remote controls do you have in your house? Two.

96. Have you ever been in a hot tub or sauna? Yes, and it’s hella

97. Have you ever had chicken pox? Nope. Vaccines rock

98. Do you own a lava lamp? Nah, it seems cool but I’d be too mesmerized by it

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christinaepilzauthor-blog · 7 years

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A Tale of Two Iscas

by Alison Morton Whenever I visit a town I'm drawn to the museum, especially (and sometimes exclusively) to see if there is any Roman stuff. This is what a 'Roman nut' usually does. Woe betide anybody coming in between me and tesserae, Samian ware or a nice bit of Roman concrete. Last year in Exeter was a special treat because it was the second of the twin Iscas, the other one I'd never seen. The Romans established a large castrum (fortified camp) named Isca around AD 55 at the southwest end of the Fosse Way as the base for the 5,000-man Legio II Augusta (Second Augustan Legion) originally led by Vespasian, later Roman emperor. Twenty years later they moved to Caerleon in Wales, which was also confusingly known as Isca. To distinguish the two, the Romans referred to Exeter as Isca Dumnoniorum after the name of the local tribe and Caerleon as Isca Augusta. I'd visited Caerleon decades ago as a student when I'd been working on the archaeological dig at Usk, and more recently when I was at a writing conference. But I'd never visited its twin, Exeter. Exeter – Isca Dumnoniorum The name is a Latinisation of a Brythonic name describing flowing water (Uisc), in reference to the River Exe. Like many early settlements Exeter began as a place of dry land by a navigable river; in Exeter's case on a ridge ending in a spur overlooking the Exe. The bonuses were a fertile hinterland, a river full of fish and access to a large protected estuary and the open sea. Although there have been no major prehistoric finds, these advantages suggest the site was occupied early. Coins have been discovered from Hellenistic kingdoms, suggesting the existence of a settlement trading with the Mediterranean as early as 250 BC.

Isca Dumnoniorum Castrum

In mid first century Exeter, a civilian community (vicus or canabae) inhabited by local tribespeople and soldiers' 'unofficial' families, grew round the Roman camp, mostly to the northeast. When Legio II Augusta left around AD 75 to go north to fight tribes in Wales, the camp grounds were converted for civilian purposes; its very large legionary bathhouse was demolished to make way for a forum, basilica and a smaller-scale bathhouse. In the late 2nd century AD, the ditch and rampart defences around the old fortress were replaced by a bank and wall enclosing a much larger area, around 92 acres. The course of the Roman wall was used for Exeter's subsequent city walls; the stones are a mixture of Roman and medieval. About 70% of this wall remains, and most of its route can be traced on foot. The settlement served as the tribal capital (civitas) of the Dumnonii and Isca Dumnoniorum seems to have been most prosperous in the first half of the 4th century: more than a thousand Roman coins have been found around the city and there is evidence for copper and bronze working, a stock-yard, and markets for the livestock, crops, and pottery produced in the surrounding area. Trade with the Mediterranean continued bringing luxuries like wine and fine pottery. In the 3rd century AD new stone wall and gatehouses were built. Rich people lived in townhouses with costly mosaic floors; other areas of housing fell into disuse or were converted into farmyards.

Display of pottery and glassware, Exeter Museum

In the museum, the Roman military presence is testified by hooks from legionary helmets, knives, armour hinges, armour tie hooks, armour buckles and hinged fittings, belt buckles, legionary apron fittings, strap ends, tent pegs, and horse harness fittings. These are all small things of life then, but precious to us now for the story they tell. But beside those, the cases display a rich variety of military and civilian basins, strigils, pots, jars, cooking implements, even glassware. And of course, tiles, mosaics, plaster and stone remnants alongside domestic rings, brooches, weaving weights, board games, keys and styli. And, of course, silver coins. As in any other part of the Roman Empire, the pickings show a rich diversity and sheer numbers of objects that even humble people possessed.

Display of military clips, ties and buckles, Exeter museum

In 410 AD the last Roman soldiers left Britain to defend Rome against attacks by hostile tribes. By then Isca's suburbs were being abandoned; there are few remains from this time. Dates of coins discovered so far suggest a rapid decline: virtually none have been discovered with dates after AD 380. By around 500, the basilica had fallen down and Isca Dumnoniorum's busy urban life was over. Circling back to AD 75, when the Legio II Augusta soldiers strapped on their marching boots and filed out of the castrum gate, I wonder what the effect was on the Devonian Isca. The heavy military presence was lifted; the drinking, rowdiness, the casual brutality, the gambling, testosterone, the whoring and the unwanted pregnancies. Many unofficial wives upped sticks and with their children followed the soldiers to their new home. However, the economic effect must have been significant for the the innkeepers, brothels, tailors, weavers, leather and knife suppliers, laundries and local food suppliers and grain merchants. Caerleon – Isca Augusta (Isca Silurum) The Brythonic name Isca referred to the River Usk which literally means 'river of flowing water' (tautology alert!). The suffix Augusta, an honorific title taken from the legion stationed there for 200 years, appears in the Ravenna Cosmography, a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around ad 700. It's also referred to as Isca Silurum to differentiate it from Isca Dumnoniorum and because it lay in the territory of the Silures tribe. However, there is no evidence that this form was used during the Roman period. Caerleon, the name we know today, is derived from the Welsh for "fortress of the legion". Isca Augusta was founded by Governor Sextus Julius Frontinus during the final campaigns against the native tribes of western Britain, notably the Silures in South Wales who had resisted the Romans' advance for over a generation. It became the headquarters of the Legio II Augusta, a large fortress base on the typical rectangular castrum pattern and built initially with an earth bank and timber palisade. It remained their headquarters until at least 300 AD. The camp interior was fitted out with the usual array of military buildings: a headquarters building, legate's residence, tribunes' houses, hospital, large bath house, workshops, barrack blocks, granaries and, unusually, a large amphitheatre.

The excavated amphitheatre

Britannia was one of the most heavily militarised provinces due to its frontier status and hostile neighbours. Isca Augusta is uniquely important for the study of the conquest, pacification and colonisation of the island. It was one of only three permanent legionary fortresses in later Roman Britain and, unlike the other sites at Chester and York, its archaeological remains are relatively undisturbed beneath fields and the town of Caerleon. Excavations continue and one of the most exciting discoveries is a complex of very large monumental buildings outside the fortress between the River Usk and the amphitheatre. This new area of the canabae (settlement of traders, families and discharged soldiers) was previously completely unknown. And in August 2011 it was announced that remains of a Roman harbour had been discovered in Caerleon. I have a little secret about that. Walking by the fortress wall in the fine rain a month before, loving and absorbing everything, I bumped into a fellow walker. We chatted and he obviously caught on that I was a 'Roman nut'. He told me he was a member of the University of Cardiff faculty involved in digging the site. Poor man! I bombarded him with questions.

Mosaic and pottery finds, Roman National Legion Museum

But as he was speaking to another enthusiast, he told me they were developing excavations as there had been indications there was much more to find. There always is, of course, but his was a humdinger. He revealed that remains of a Roman harbour had been found in a meadow by the river.. All very hush-hush, so please not to speak about it. I almost jumped up and down, but did manage to keep my dignity. You can look through the gallery of pictures for more images of what Roman Caerleon might have looked like. Most of the sites I have been to are ruins, but there is memory in those stones. Touching walls, walking on mosaics, breathing the air of the place and sometimes seeing the same view they saw.

Prysg Field Barracks

The walls of Prysg Field Barracks at Caerleon, the only Roman legionary barracks visible in Europe are gone, but the foundations are still there showing their outline. The amphitheatre – the largest ever uncovered in Britain and once romantically (and mistakenly) said to have been the site of Arthur's Round Table of Camelot – is grassed over. The timber grandstand which would have seated some 6,000 shouting, cursing and cheering legionaries and townspeople is no more. These and the legionaries' swimming pool, the make you wonder who the people were who trod the same pathways, swam in the pool, placed bets, got drunk, made assignations. The light grey sky, the misty rain, the waves and slopes of the landscapes, your hand touching the stone and concrete in a place where so many people had lived and worked two thousand years ago give you something that no book or picture or film can give you. Sources: Bidwell, Paul T. (1980). Roman Exeter: Fortress and Town. Exeter City Council. Hoskins, W. G. (2004). Two Thousand Years in Exeter (Revised and updated ed.) National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon University of Cardiff, Dr Peter Guest BBCwww.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-14628286 [Accessed 20/2/2017] For more on Caerleon discoveries see youtu.be/nwx00pe2HH8 [Accessed 20/2/2017] [Photographs - author's own, one time use allowed for this article] ~~~~~~~~~~ Alison Morton has misspent decades clambering over Roman sites throughout Europe. She holds a MA History, blogs about Romans and writing. Now she writes, cultivates a Roman herb garden and drinks wine in France with her husband of 30 years. She writes the Roma Nova thriller series featuring modern Praetorian heroines. She blends her deep love of Roman history with six years' military service and a life of reading crime, adventure and thriller fiction. All five books have been awarded the BRAG Medallion. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA and INSURRECTIO were selected as Historical Novel Society's Indie Editor's Choices. AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. The sixth, RETALIO, is due out in April 2017. Buying links: alison-morton.com/books-2/buying-links/ Blogsite: alison-morton.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor/ Twitter: twitter.com/alison_morton

Hat Tip To: English Historical Fiction Authors

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