Twenty ten

I remember this day twenty years ago watching the year click over from '89 to '90 on my world time/temperature casio watch. I thought that was so cool. Can you believe they based a watches' selling point around being to add on 2 hours to see what time it was in some part of eastern Europe. As I wasn't travelling too much when I was 11 the need to know the time in Tokyo was purely academic.
Zip forward 20 years and i'm now updating this blog on a little machine about the size of the Horace goes skiing tape I was waiting to load for most of 1989 on our dragon 64.

There are quite a few things I wouldn't have guessed 10 years ago at the turn of the last decade. Obviously 2 kids would be a bit surprising for my millenium self. One maybe but twins no. In 2000 I didn't even own a mobile phone, now I'm carrying around some futuristic gadgetry.

I probably wouldn't have guessed that my uni house mates friends band that he kept talking about would go on to be one of the biggest bands in the western world. What are they called again dave? Cold play?

I would've thought I might have finished reading the wheel of time series by now. The latest and 12th book just arrived in the post this morning. A recap of the last 13 years of Reading might be in order before I embark on that one.
All in all it's been a good decade. 2000 seems like yesterday when you say it but then you realise how much has happened in those 10 years. Ok I still my be only living a semi adult life (a house and a reliable career are just a couple of the social milestones I lack) but I'd say a beautiful wife and 2 amazing little people we created is pretty good going. Add to that about 6 years of digging some astounding (and some mundane) archaeology and I think i would be quite happy if I had a glimpse into the future 10 years ago.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And it's not even halloween yet

It's only the 30th october but already i've prob had my fill of skulls,open coffins and crypts... And that's just day job. this month i've gone from mancunian slums to prehistoric landscapes and now to the inside of a medieval church. The architects didn't really take into consideration just how many people wanted to be buried inside the church in years gone by. This week has mainly been spent dealing with the numerous remains that were tossed aside into a shallow pit to make way for a nice little private crypt for one. Perhaps we will be able to redress the balance a little when we eventually re-inter them go the crypt.

Graham is the reason archaeology is going down the pan

I went up in a crane today...

Hope we can finally clear up the confusion...

angel meadows

So as I mentioned yesterday i'm digging in the Angel Meadows area of Manchester. a place full of thieves, fighters, alcoholics and drug takers. and it was pretty bad back in the 1830's as well.

this morning on my walk to work i passed by the back of the Printworks at about 8.01am. perhaps 1 minute before the sirens came wailing around the corner to deal with the guy that was laying barechested in the doorway of an apartment block, bleeding from the stab wound he had just received up in one of the apartments. you might have seen it on the news today.

This was all about 100 metres from the place i saw a guy last week collapsed in shudehill bus station receiving cpr and mouth to mouth. and not far from piccadilly station where i attempted last week to stop a shop lifter in boots (only with clever words mind you, which didn't really work)

this is all before i actually get to work. this morning we found a fence panel torn down and expected to find lots more new discarded syringes in our trenches ( we've found about 50 so far not including the ones that appeared and then disappeared). eventually we worked out that someone had been in to cut all the lead pipes out of our bulidings and had taken their pick of finds from the site.

so actually the area probably hasn't changed that much. instead of gangs of scuttlers there are gangs of young guys getting arested for violent conduct after the stabbing, instead of people out of it on Gin it's homeless guys drinking strong lager, we have modern beer bottles mixed with 100 year old beer bottles and the only difference with the drug abuse is that the heroin and cocaine were all legal back then.

a grim post but some grim sights. i haven't quite got the sight of that poor guy fighting for his life in that doorway this morning.

Binge drinking c.1909

In am attempt to satisfy the few remaining blog followers out there i have decided to use the lonely and long 11pm feed to share some thoughts. The length depends on how much my phone will allow. 
There are of course not the selection of bottles finn and evan get to choose from of a night. Rather the remains of a 100 year stash from the cellar of a victorian mancunian slum dwelling. One of many that i have the pleasure of uncovering on the site where the coop will be placing their new glassy hq.
Quite the shift from just a few months ago when i was trying to explain what there cholera ridden houses would have been like to a bunch of year 8's. I'd take the rubbish heaps any day of the year. Even the rainy ones but especially there sunny days.

Anna Tamburello

Smiles

First smiles

Feeding time

3 pains

Granddad and granddaughter

1 week pb (post babies)

so i'm guessing life has changed forever now. not that that is a bad thing just a new stage. a stage with less sleep and more poo. that would probably sum up the first week. we sometimes think we are getting the hang of it and getting into some sort of routine  but then last night the twins didnt agree and decided to take their time drinking. 

although i hadn;t planned topost lots of photos on the blog here it turns out that my auntie anna in cardiff has found her way here and therefore is a good place for my nonna and nonno to see pictures. I can also post blog post straight from my phone so quite conveniet all round. so expect to see many more gratuitous pictures of finn and evan with various family members.

One of evan to even it out a bit

Finn being quiet

Thats not her foot just a sock covering a tube in hand

Finn the thinker

Finn

Today at rest

Evan

This is evan not long out go the open . Most pics are on camera not my phone to send so i'll take some more close ups today

Finn and evan

Here's some pics finn is on the left and evan on right.

first blog of 2009!

yes it's not how t used to be. february and no blog post but i have been inspired by tasha  who has just started out in the blogging world, yes let us take a moment to welcome her ( her blog is linked with that new followers thingy on the side)

so its pretty much the end of my first half term which i appreciated greatly and its possibly only 7 weeks until the twins arrive. hard to say because apparently twins don't really observe due dates.

well i'm not really used to writing in chunks of over 140 characters these days so i will leave it there for now before i tire myself out.