Anne Biffin
I'm retired and sharing my time between France and the U.K. I enjoy walking with my husband and Border Collie. I've done several FutureLearn courses and found them all really interesting.
Location France
Activity
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Anne Biffin made a comment
How quickly the virus mutates, how much the vaccine costs, how willing the vaccine developers to share it, how effectively it is, who in the population would benefit from it.
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I believe the route to getting the drug to patients would be shorter as a lot of the clinical trials have already been done.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The schools in France were shut down a few weeks ago, the shops other than supermarkets and food shops are closed, workers who can work from home are. People I’ve met on my daily 1 hour dog walk keep a respectful distance from us. The few occasions I’ve gone to the supermarket not everyone keeps the required 2 m away but most do. I think the most likely place...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I’m practicing physical distancing. It feels a little strange not greeting friends and stepping aside from anyone walking towards me. I still have my husband to talk to and the dog to walk with, I think without them I might get rather lonely.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
No, those measures have not been implemented in the UK. I don’t think they would be accepted.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the concern would be a second wave of the outbreak.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I prefer the term physical distancing rather than social distancing.luckily I have remained almost as well connected to my friends via telephone/social media/video calls as I was before the outbreak. But not everyone is so lucky or tech savvy.
Accurate information from the government, regularly updated Is helpful.
A good network of family and friends...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think this is more complicated than it first appears. All passengers would need to be screened, they would need to be screened before boarding the plane, preferably before mixing together in the departure lounge. I think it would only work if the disease had a short incubation period and fever as a main early symptom. If the particular disease is highly...
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Considering how good countries in the world are at not co-operating with each other I think WHO have done good job co-ordinating things as well as they have. This type of pandemic has been predicted by many people over many years but no government is going to implement a programme like we have seen in the UK in recent weeks on the possibility that something...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the UK is in the mitigation phase. The government now seem to be implementing lock down although many people still don’t seem to be taking it very seriously. Public gatherings are banned, exercise may only be taken Alone or with immediate family members. Numbers of cases of COVID 19 are escalating with many deaths. Personal Protective Equipment does...
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After this pandemic I think a grading system would be good. People have seen and felt the effects such an outbreak can have on their day to day lives. Before this happened I think most people would have ignored it as not relevant to them, something that happened in other countries. Speaking as a British citizen, of course!
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I saw the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, telling people to stay at home but that going out in the sunshine and fresh air would do them good. Hoards of people went out into the fresh air and sunshine, so many that staying the statutory 2 metres apart was impossible.
The hand washing campaign seems to have been effective.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the advantages of high sensitivity is you detect lots of cases. Low specificity means you get lots of false positives.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
As said by other contributors the number of cases doesn’t always correlate with the population. Some countries with a high population seem to get few cases others lots. Countries just starting an outbreak don’t seem to be learning from the countries that are further down the line and a large portion of the population seem to be disbelieving of the facts in...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Different countries have different age profiles, different health care systems or lack of them and a different spread of illnesses. If you live in a country with poor health care, you yourself have an underlying illness untreated, I would guess you may become very ill from COVID 19 whatever your age.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I’d like to learn more about the virus, how it was picked up by humans, how it spread and the implications for the future.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the first few clippings give the impression the BoKs was considered a curiosity rather than a work for serious study. Even in 1928, when $500,000 was offered for it, it seems to have been wanted more for its Irishness than its value as a religious or artistic work. Even in the sixties the book was being displayed to raise money rather than to be...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I would include pictures of the most ornate pages, a selection of the, mainly, script pages. The journey the book went on to get to Kells, how it was made - making of vellum, inks, dyes and binding. An interactive element would be good, particularly 'having a go' at drawing and calligraphy.
I think the history of the book would be the most important element...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I haven't read any books about the BoKs.
I'd have the BoK's scanned and find a hidden message behind the writing. My hero/heroine would then go back in time to discover who put the message in the book, they would have a difficult time evading Vikings, escaping to Kells from Iona and setting up 'the book' in Kells. The hidden messenger would use the hero's...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I like the illustrations best, particularly the illustrated letters and small graphics. If I was capable, I think I might try a Virtual Reality tour of the BoKs.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the artwork of the BoKs has become popular on consumer goods because it is distinctive, colourful and varied. I think it will continue to be popular because of those very reasons.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think past visitors came mainly to study the gospels, worship God and to view the art work. Modern visitors may, initially, be attracted by the tourist hype but several, if the postings from the group of people on this course are anything to go by, come away inspired to learn more about medieval history/art/culture. Several postings seem to imply that the...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
There might be one on folio 336. On the other hand it might be something else!
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I chose folio 40v. There are lots of human faces with long tongues becoming entwined in knots. Further down the bodies become spirals with legs and feet attached.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
In folio 48r, a cat like creature with a wafer in its mouth. Possibly some chalices. In 202r an alter along the bottom of the page, on the alter cloth a chalice with vines growing out of it on one side. On the other side, possibly, a peacock.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I chose folio 27v. I found lots of triple dots on the tips of wings, in the halos around the evangelists heads, on the face of the eagle. Lozenges in a few places, triple whirly things in the borders and dividers. Crosses. Well done all participants who found anything at all using a phone!
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I looked at several of the books. The BoK's seems the most elaborately decorated, the colours appear more vibrant. In many of the books the script is clearly written as it is in the BoK's. Some of the other books are well preserved, others not so. I remember the Kells book was 'trimmed' some time ago which might be why it appears neater than some of the...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
A brilliant week. Thank you.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
A fascinating video. I would guess Tim O'Neill has practiced doing that a few times.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
It's a beautiful script, very clear and would be easy to understand if I knew any Latin.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
A fascinating insight into the pigments and dyes used. I, like many other course participants, thought gold was used.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'd guess 20 years.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Climatic conditions such as the cold and wet. The building they were in - cold, damp, not much light. Health problems for each scribe - arthritis, general aches and pains from sitting a long time on hard seats, problems with eyesight. Problems with tools of the trade such as the quality of the vellum, the pens, inks and dyes. I'm not sure if the scribes had...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Very amusing and an insight into the life and times of the monks.
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Anne Biffin replied to Bob Barker
We paddled from Mull to Iona in our canoe. We stayed at the abbey for a week. Couldn't paddle back as the weather was too bad so we went on the ferry.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'm looking forward to seeing the calligraphy and the dyes used to make the coloured pigment. The first piece of calligraphy I did took me weeks and I used lots of paper before I got, what I considered, a suitable finished article. Needless to say, it was nothing like tBoKs!
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He had a point.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think lack of light in the badly lit building would have been a significant factor in studying the text. Candles were used as lightning and these were often smoky and didn't emit much light. The climate is often cold and damp in that area, this may have affected length of time the people could study the book. If the person studying the book wasn't familiar...
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The Staffordshire hoard has a number of interesting artefacts probably dating from the 7th century. A beautiful cloisonné garnet gold sword hilt is among the treasures discovered.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
My family bible has births, deaths and marriages recorded down to the time of day and what the weather was like!
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the BoK was commissioned by a wealthy person to ensure their passage to heaven, to spread the word of the gospel and increase their standing in their local community. Many devout people of the time, if they had committed a misdemeanour would pay a penance. In this case a very expensive penance. A 'penance' of this sort served two purposes, it spread...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I know very little about Irish history. It's good to get an overview of what was happening in Ireland at the time the Book of Kells was made.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The few pictures I've seen of the Book of Kells don't seem to illustrate bible stories particularly but are there to beautify the page. Did the common people get to see the book? I think not, it was, most likely, only the monks who saw it and read the text to the people. The pictures, without a doubt, enhance the text but would be seen by few. As a religious...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I was born and brought up in Wales but moved to England when I was 18. I now live in Hampshire. I think the Magna Carta, Stonehenge and Winchester cathedral represent a good selection of our cultural heritage.
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Good one.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Thank you for putting together a brilliant course. I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
For me it would be the coins and the Tortonia relief. The coins because they show not only the progression of ruler and depictions of life through the ages but also the decline in activity for, not only Portus but the Roman Empire in general through their size and weight.
The Tortonia relief because in is a beautiful piece of art and also depicts many...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Of the three buildings mentioned, I think the Palazzo Imperiale was the administrative hub with some degree of luxury to entertain important visitors. The Grandi Magazzai seems to have been a storage facility which would need to be closely connected to the admin centre and Building Five possibly to do with the actual building of ships. The function of each was...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Like many of the previous commentators I didn't engage with the study group, preferring to read and contribute to the general comments. I've thoroughly enjoyed the course and will come back to it at a later date when I've had time to think about it.
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I've found this with lots of the FL courses I've done. The two astronomy ones and the Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds one I'm going to do again sometime.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I, also, love the scans.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
It seems likely that it had more to do with the Imperial Palace than anything else in Portus. Showing off wild animals, a meeting place?
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I really like the laser scan, it gives a sense of the structure of the building.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
As many others have commented it is intriguing why this building was deliberately demolished. Could there have been some damage done by a minor earthquake that caused enough damage to make the building unstable and therefore need to be demolished? I agree with other comments that it seems like an awful lot of work to knock down something that well built just...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think I now have a better understanding of the history of Portus, the layers of buildings and how the lay out changed over time.
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Anne Biffin replied to Judy Atkinson
Yes, seems like that to me too. I've reported it.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I have a lava bomb brought back from Mt Etna by my husband. There are not that many volcanoes in Hampshire, UK so some future archeologists mind wonder where that came from. I also have a large conch shell, left here by the previous owners of our house. Not many of those in Hampshire either. Both are in a cabinet made by my husband's grandfather when he was...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
My coin, an old British penny, is 31mms in diameter about 1mm in height and weighs about 9.50gms. I can't be more specific as I've only got a ruler and a kitchen scales as recording instruments. On the face is the well worn head of Queen Victoria wearing a crown and a head scarf with the words VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP around the edge of...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'd like to have seen more of the objects. Do we get to see them later?
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Sea defences such as ships, barricades at the harbour entrance and along the river and canals. Defensive towers and lookout posts. Clearing any unwanted buildings to provide good lines of sight to spot invaders coming. Strategically placed weapons such as ballistas to thwart the enemy as they approach. I think most of these things would leave some evidence.
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I know very little about this period in history. I remember 'doing' the Romans in history in school but That was about when Rome was in its heyday. I'm interested in finding out why the Roman Empire fell apart and about the people involved also about how Portus fits in to it all.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I see a wall with a fireplace and adjacent to the fireplace there is a bookshelf full of books. There is also a cupboard underneath the bookshelf on which sits the television. The newest layer is the television followed by the books then the bookshelves. The fireplace was replaced when we moved into the house 28 years ago. The house was built about 60 years...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I visited Pompeii last year and was horrified at the number of buildings that were collapsing. It's such a remarkable site it's a shame it's falling into disrepair.
I, like many others, like the chalk board and paper and ink over more technological methods.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I didn't know that marble statues were painted.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The graph seems to give a side by side comparison of the Claudian Basin and the Trajanic Basin. It shows the Claudian Basin was quite sandy and the Trajanic Basin rather muddy. They both seem to have had a layer of shells deposited at about the same time. The oldest end of the cores oth have flu vial sand, so, possibly, they were originally the same sort of...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
It's interesting to see how all the different research methods all compliment each other to build up the bigger picture.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I lived in Swansea, South Wales in my childhood, 50-60 years ago. There are the remains of the old railway line, axed by Mr Beeching in the 1960's, now a cycle trail going along the sea front and up the Clyne Valley. The sea front has been developed and has little left by way of industrial archeology but the Clyne Valley still has some ironwork and sidings...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I hadn't heard of the Antonine plague.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I suppose, like human bones, animal bones can tell you how old the animal was, whether it was well fed or starving, the pelvis might tell you the sex of the animal. There might by marks of butchering on animals used for food.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The comments about the smells at Portus are very evocative. Particularly the spices, sewage and fish fresh and not so fresh. I think, also, the smell of rope and material such as linen, hemp and sailcloth. Wood and tar.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
There might be taverns and inns for eating, drinking and boarding, brothels, chandlers, temples, general shops. A court house maybe, laundries, public toilets. I liked the animation but I rather lost my bearings.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think you could carry more on a barge than in a cart but eventually you'd have to decant the goods into a cart or some other road transport as canals only go so far not up to your back door. I'm not sure what the climate was like around Portus. If it got very cold the roads might freeze but so might the canal, so six of one half a dozen of the other...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I've helped paddle a Dragon Boat around Venice that was interesting although I think the boats that docked at Portus were bigger. We did, however, carry wine, olive oil and bread with us which we ate and drank on the voyage.
I think the boats docking at Portus were bigger and more of 'working' ships. I've seen a Roman boat that sailed up the Rhone, it was...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The letters appear at junctions on the waterway system although whether that is their main significance I don't know.
Grain provided the staple diet of the Roman world so I guess that was why it's effective distribution was so vital.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I love the mosaics, such evocative pictures, produced by such skilled artisans so long ago.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'm not sure if I can see a canal, possibly, but it would need to be pointed out to me so I could be sure. I think the different shades of grey are to do with soil disturbance.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'd heard of them in the Submerged Worlds MOOC I did. I remember the Chirping and Pinging there was another one as well, Boinging? I think I might have made that last one up!
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Anne Biffin made a comment
If I remember rightly from the marine archeology course I did, you can use sonar to find out the depth of a body of water. The size of the ships using the basin must give you some idea of the depth of water.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'd heard his name but knew nothing about him. He seems to have been an influential soldier, statesman and builder.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The laser scans certainly give one a clearer idea of the place.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
It's fascinating how much can be learnt from ages old pottery.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think counting the pottery gives some idea of the volume of trade at a particular time. I think the lower down the pottery is the older it is. This gives some idea of how the pottery was made at a set time in history enabling one to compare it to other sites.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Sculptures maintain their beauty wherever they are but provide more of the (his)story when taken in context.
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I think comparing the pictures and engravings to modern plans would be useful. There may be some artistic licence used but a comparative study would supply some confirmation of the sittings and scale of the buildings and open spaces.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think to the world known to the Romans it was globalisation because it encompassed the whole of their world. We know now that there is more to 'the world' so we don't consider it globalisation. It doesn't detract from the trading achievements of the Romans.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I think the prevailing weather conditions would indicate trade routes. I don't know how much the weather has changed over the last two thousand years but I've gathered from a previous marine archeology I've done that trade routes could be predicted fairly accurately. On the ground sites can be determined not only by excavation but also by aerial photography...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I, also, am catching up and think I might have missed out on this week's group activity. So, I'll put it here instead. Pharos would be my choice. I can think of watching it being constructed over a period of time and then seeing it as a working lighthouse.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
Working on smaller sites may give more of an idea of everyday life, for instance, in a house. Whereas working on something of the scale of Portus gives the bigger picture of the lives of many people in a town, the work they did and the administration of the town.
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Anne Biffin replied to Anne Biffin
Hallo Patricia, it was, indeed the 'Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds: Maritime Archeology' course Peter mentioned. It was brilliant, it gave a real feel for the depth (no pun intended!) and breadth of the subject.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I'm looking forward to this course. It comes recommended from a friend who completed the course the last time it ran. I did the FL Marine Archeology course earlier this year and found it fascinating.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I've enjoyed the course and found it really useful. The links have been great and the comments from other participants have also been useful. I thought Tahitia gave clear explanations as did the other lecturers. I'm also glad the course notes will be available to come back to in the future.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I've only used Ancestry. It seems good enough.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
All very interesting with lots to take away and think about.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I haven't found any newspaper articles about my family yet. I'll get on to it when I've finished the course.
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I think I'd go back 4/5 generations. I have a few anecdotal stories about my family I'd like to follow up and I'd like to know a bit more about the area they lived in. Further back I think I might lose interest.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I remember going to the graves of my maternal grandmother and paternal grandparents every Good Friday when I was a child. I went back a few years ago and couldn't find either of them. I might try to find them in one of the 'graves' search engines.
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Anne Biffin made a comment
I've found the genetic element interesting, although I don't think I'll be using that route. worthwhile knowing about though.
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I don't think David Roberts would be able to prove much by DNA testing that he doesn't already know.
In case 2 if the families are connected DNA testing may show a link if the surname goes back far enough in the male line.
I think the Bowens should try tracing their family through BDM's as far back as they can. -
I think the information gained from this source tells me that the USA had rationing during WWll. The information on the book may or may not have been written by the people mentioned although it seems likely that it was. If I was interested in finding out if the people were real I would look in census records for the street and the people living in it. I might...
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Anne Biffin made a comment
The course has been brilliant so far I've learnt so much and started my family tree thanks to a tip off from one of the other participants that 'Ancestry' were having a free four days offer. I'm hoping for some insight into tracing my maternal grandmother who seems to disappear between her birth in Wales and appearing as a servant in London twenty five years...
