ASCS40 Trip | Wednesday
Today was the big day! I presented my second conference paper ever in the Roman Society Panel. First up, Ashleigh Green presented “The augural chickens of Rome”, and I can assure you it was one of the most unusual but most interesting topics I have ever enjoyed (and quite a hard act to follow!). My paper was titled “Up in Arms: The Emotional Impact of the Social War on the socii”. It was exciting to get lots of positive feedback and thought-provoking questions!
Aside from enjoying a few fascinating panels, I also snuck off for another adventure. This time, I went to Wollomombi Falls, which is located about 30 minutes from Armidale. Unfortunately, they weren’t really ‘falls’ so to speak thanks likely to drought but the views of the river valley were still spectacular.
I enjoyed an hour-long scenic walk on top of the drive through the NSW countryside and came back feeling refreshed for the final keynote of the conference, presented by Dr Julie Anderson: “Excavating Dangeil: a voyage of discovery through interesting cultures”.
The conference dinner started straight after the talk but due to the price, myself and a few others decided to go to one of the local pubs instead. We had a fantastic dinner, and the shenanigans started long before the rest of the conference attendees arrived at The White Bull for the after party:
And let me tell you, we certainly know how to party hard:
Tea for one served with chocolate freckles - the perfect nightcap.
As you can probably tell by the fact that this is being published after 1AM, I had a fantastic night even as the designated driver. It was wonderful to meet a number of Classicists I had so far not had an opportunity to run into and to enjoy discussions in an informal setting away from the university.
Tomorrow is, unfortunately, the final day of the conference. I’m looking forward to tomorrows panels, including a plenary session on Lego Classics. I’ll be sure to post about that one!
~ Admin @sassy-cicero-says live from Armidale, NSW ~
