felix dies nasi ruberis! Happy Red Nose Day!

Funny that! Nose can be feminine or masculine in Latin depending on which noun you choose:
naris-is (f)
nasus-i (m)
If anyone can tell me why this is so...I'd be very please to find out! Anyway

"Happy Red Nose Day!" felix dies nasi ruberis!

( Above: Scenes from the Minimus Mouse Latin Book)


Loads to tell you and little time to relate...so I will do it bullet point style:
1. Went on a research trip last weekend which included visits to Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Sussex; Fishbourne Palace, Minimus Mouse Teacher Training Day (Salisbury), Salisbury Museum - Romans v. Saxons Exhibition - all wonderful!
2. Started teaching Minimus Mouse Latin in two of the three primary schools locally. Three boys wanted to be called iacobus (irrespective of their original names). Their combined enthusiasm is fantastic. At the first school (down the road - literally from Vindolanda) all of them had stories of Hadrian's Wall and how they felt about it. Lots of stories of finding Roman artefacts. Super! Eleven children in that first class (only about 30 in the school total) and 12 children in the second school (2 were missing so in total 14) out of a possible 30. So that is great for a lunchtime club when a lot of them could be outside playing...
I'll start in the third school (the closest to here) when their building work calms down a bit. Very soon. Fingers crossed. Got good numbers there too.
3. Moving out of the B&B so we can redecorate. (Back to little house in Haltwhistle.) American guests in next weekend and I'll be doing a tour of Vindolanda for them...their boy studies Minimus too...
4. A week of digging at Vindolanda starts April 4th. It's their first week back too on the archaeology front...and I'll be joining them. Can't wait!!!!
5. We, the volunteer guides, start guiding at Vindolanda around that time too...
6. Applying for quite a few grants to get my Hands-on-Latin business up and running from the B&B and potentially from Vindolanda too...fingers crossed again. (They have a new educational building there.)
7. Hmm...gosh...we have lots of other ideas too. But no time to tell of them here....
8. Yes - still writing the B&B website (the War and Peace version). I also have to do other stuff in/around setting up the business....so if I go quiet...you know (sort of) what I am up to.
9. Ah yes! Also doing an adult teacher training City and Guilds course in April/May.
10. Attending "Know your Hadrian's Wall" educational days whenever possible....
11. A blogger friend (who I have met through this blog and her blog) is going to help me run the Minimus teaching at the local schools. euge! Hurrah! She loves her Latin too.
12. Teaching some Minimus Latin and history to some adult friends of mine. Their feedback has encouraged me a great deal and reminded me that this course is appealing to adults too. Barbara Bell, Minimus creator, has said this and I truly believe her. I love the cartoons and its accessibility. euge for Minimus!

That's about it! Vale for now! Hadriana :)