I've been highly amused recently by the discovery of Bloggus Caesari, the purported weblog of one Julius Caesar based on his Gallic Campaigns. I am mostly amused because my family has a tradition that my father actually stood on the cliffs at Dover throwing stones (as small boys will) at the invading Romans.

This whole idea came about because my Dad was a teacher, still is in many ways even though he is now officially retired, and a fine storyteller. School holidays were a special treat as for six weeks, depending on where we were or what we were doing, Dad would tell my sister and myself stories that involved our heroes and us in the adventures of our day. Thus the year we travelled along Hadrian's Wall the stories involved how Peter Pan, two little girls and assorted stuffed toys helped the Romans build the wall and traded with the Picts, the painted folk that inhabited Caledonia. But the best stories happened around Margate in Kent where my Great-uncle and his family lived because there were so many more sites and relics that Dad could tell us stories about.

As for Dad being there when Caesar tried to land, as I mentioned before he is a teacher and storyteller. The result of one lesson on "Ancient British History" as was taught at the time in schools was the question from one student "Were you there, sir?" Being then still very small people, my sister and I knew that he had. After all, hadn't we heard his stories that turned all those 'boring museums' into fascinating places full of things once lost by people we knew?
I think that my father's ability to weave a story out of such disparate elements encouraged my passion for reading as well as my curiosity about strange nooks and crannies of all sorts of things because in a way I still believe that at some level my Dad really did throw stones at Caesar when he tried to invade the first time!