1066, and all that.

The big news for me this week has been the discovery of an absolute tsunami of Anglo-Saxon treasure.

I'm excited about this, the way that space buffs are excited about the prospect of a Mars mission. Like, if had been announced today.

In my third year of university, I was mentored by the remarkable Dr. Elizabeth Epperly, who advised me to drop the education program (which I was enrolled in because I loved English literature, and the only way to study the subject you loved in Newfoundland was to become a teacher of it, because purely academic pursuits of a subject were unknown to us - you had to "learn a trade") and enroll in the English Honours Programme.

What a world opened up to me then! I learned to read and write Old English. I read - and understood - Beowulf. I learned about the Romans, and the Angles, and the Saxons, and the Normans. I learned about "1066, and all that". I learned about the thorn, and that "Ye Olde Publick Howse" was actually pronounced "Thee Old Public House". I learned about Æthelred, and Æthelred the Unready (what a monicker to go down in history with), and the Venerable Bede, and all they had left for us to study and learn.

My life after graduation took me away from all that, and for the past 20 years I've been immersed in the non-profit sector, and these days, government.

But the news of this discovery has thrilled the hell out of me, and I simply can't get enough of reading about the details of the incredible - literal - treasure trove that has been discovered.

There is writing engraved on many of these pieces. Imagine what this will teach us about Old English. And about the life and culture of the Anglo-Saxons.

I want there to be a book. Right now! I know it will take at least a year for them to produce a gorgeous coffee-table book with loving photographs and explanations of what each artifact may mean. But I want it now!

impatiently,

ronnie