Guests and Workshops

The Festival is on Saturday 7th July 2018 at Didcot Girls' School. 

Opens at 10.00, starts at 10.30, ends at 5.00

Stories

Listen to world-renowned storytellers: Geraldine McCaughrean, Daniel Lupton and Hugh Morden and Caroline Lawrence. 

Caroline Lawrence
Caroline Lawrence is best known for her Roman Mysteries series but has also written the Roman Mystery Scrolls and the Roman Quests as well as some short stories and the P.K.Pinkerton series. She has sold more than one million books!

Caroline wielding her secret weapon: a sponge bottom wiper!

Geraldine McCaughrean
Geraldine McCaughrean has written around 160 books for adults and children. As well as rewriting myths, including the oldest known story in the world, the Epic of Gilgamesh, she has retold The Odyssey, Roman Myths and written a sequel to Peter Pan - Peter Pan in Scarlet. Geraldine has also written for adults, including 60 plays and is such a great writer she has won all of these awards. 

Geraldine McCaughrean has written over 160 books for adults and children.

Hugh Lupton & Daniel Morden 
This terrific duo of renowned storytellers also retell myths, including ancient Greek ones. 
You can see Daniel Modern telling a story here.

You can listen to The Adventures of Achilles here

Make

Come and do a mosaic workshop with Lawrence Payne. See his work here. 

Lawrence has also kindly made a donation to our raffle and provided some designs for our younger guests to colour in. 

The T Birds, Upton's branch of the Women's Institute, will be providing some weaving activities. If you like this, you might like to see the Ure Museum's spindles - and maybe you'd like to buy a raffle ticket and win our a donated crocheted Roman soldier. 


Cakes!
Take part in a Greek and Roman themed cake decorating competition, judged by Didcot's own GBBO semi-finalist Christine Wallace. 

Art
We have the pleasure of the company of the amazing Panoply Vase Animation Project. Find animations here. 

We are fortunate in having the Enchanted Players Theatre Company playing The Charming Myth of Eros and Psyche. 
Please note that the cost of the play is not included in the ticket. You will need to buy a separate ticket for this performance.Tickets are £5.00

Roman Blacksmithing
Thomas Timbrell is a historical blacksmith. When you've seen the Roman soldier you might like to see Thomas' sword. 

Soldiers

Balearic Slinger of the Roman Army, David Hawkins
Listen to a Balearic slinger of the Roman Army talk about the history of this ancient weapon, and learn about the techniques ancient skirmishers used which made this weapon so effective and deadly. Test your slinging technique against our very own Goliath!


Roman soldier
Please check back. There will certainly be a soldier - and more!

The Aldershot Outreach team from the British Army
Try some ary rations - choose from vegetarian, halal and kosher food. Take part in team activities and take a look at some weapons seized from terrorists - securely bolted down! 


Archaeology
Our festival isn't only for story lovers! We have an entire section devoted to digging up the debris and treasures of the past. 

Anni Byard
Anni is Oxfordshire's Finds Liaison for the Portable Antiquities Scheme. She is an ex DGS girl and lives locally. You will see her name in museums in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. She is often on local radio and has been on national tv. 
Anni will be giving a 40-minute talk on Roman finds found by the public in Oxfordshire. We hope she can bring her book '50 Finds From Oxfordshire'. 

We also have the Ure Museum's education team attending, from the University of Reading.

The Young Archaeologists' Club (Reading), run by Claudina Romero Mayorga, will be with us, encouraging the archaeologists of the future. 

                                             

Oxford Archaeology uncovered artefacts from the Great Western Park estate in Didcot, carrying out excavations over several years. They will be bringing along some of these finds for you to see. 

                            

We are sorry to have to say that, sadly, the Ashmolean Museum has had to pull out. We hope to be able to welcome them to future events. 
However, Berkshire Archaeological Research Group (BARG) has stepped into the Ashmolean Museum's place and will be along to talk about the excavation of the Boxford Bellerophon Mosaic, which you can read about here. Why not make a mosaic with Lawrence afterwards? 

Talks

If music is your thing, come and listen to James Lloyd talk about ancient Greek music. He might even play us some! James is a PhD candidate at the University of Reading. 

James Lloyd playing his aulos  playing at the Villa Vergiliana at Cumae

And here is James being interviewed:

Marchella Ward from the Classics outreach dept from the University of Oxford will be talking about Ovid and Shakespeare. 

To be confirmed...
A STEM ambassador. We hope that they will be able to talk about what science, maths and engineering were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

Find entertainments for younger visitors here. 

How to get to us & info about parking.

Click on this button, below left, to bring up options

When?
Saturday 7th July at Didcot Girls’ School.
The address says 'Sherwood Road'. Do not use this entrance, use the Manor Crescent entrance.

Which Entrance?
Manor Crescent.

Time? 
All day. Gate open at 10.00, first event is at 10.30, ends at 5.00.
Please get here for 10.00/ 10.15 am if you want to see the first events. 
Please bear in mind that there may be a queue. You can buy advance tickets here


Car Parking?
There is space for 70 cars in the car park, at the Manor Crescent entrance. 

After 11.30: 
If the Manor Crescent car park is full, please use the Baptist Church's car park on the Wantage Road. If you exit Manor Crescent onto the Wantage Road, you will find the church opposite the junction. Don't worry; we have their permission to do this. However, we will be making a donation to them in thanks. If you could remember this when paying at the gate we would be most grateful. 

Raffle Donations

Raffle Prizes 

Who doesn't love a good raffle? Who doesn't love a raffle that has epic prizes? Who doesn't love a raffle when the top prize is £250? Keep an eye on this page for more info. 

Donated Prizes
The Literary Gift Company has donated a set of six mugs with literary slogans on them. They are very cool and our visitors are already deciding which ones they want!

Family tickets have been donated by:
The Corinium Museum 2x adults and up to 5x children

Fishbourne Roman Villa has also donated a family ticket for 2x adults and up to 4x children.

Ancient Impressions donated three amazing Classically themed t-shirts and two mugs

Roman style beads donated by Tillerman Beads

In honour of the Romans' liking for fish sauce, Margaret Gallop has donated one of her marvellous mosaic creations, in the shape of a fish. 

Thank you to Jack Woodley of Didcot Escape Rooms. He has donated a free game for up to five players. 

Blenheim Palace - 2x adults 2x children. Single entrance tickets

Eynsham Hall - Afternoon Tea for two

£25 Brakspear voucher to be used at the Red Lion in Cholsey

Roald Dahl Museum 2x adults and 3x children

Bletchely Park - family season ticket.

Crocodiles of the World - 1x adult and 1x child

Pendon Museum 2 admission tickets for 2x adults and 2x children

Hadden Hill - football golf for 5 players

Wychwood Brewery Tour - 2 x 1 entry tickets 

Famer Gow's Farm - 1x adult and 1x child

Cineworld Didcot - 2x passes

Segais, Didcot - Design, cut and blow dry

Hillary John has donated a Body Shop spa range body butter

Lawrence Payne from the Roman Mosaic Workshop has donated a mosaic kit

Daniel Morden is bringing along a book for our raffle

Playmobil - 8x Roman figures, 1 trebuchet, 15x DVDs (13 mins)

Beale Park family tickets (in the post!) 

River and Rowing Museum family tickets (also in the post)

The Romans brought many flowers to Britain. In recognition of this, Richard Matthews Florist, of Sutton Courtenay, is donating x2 baskets of flowers and strawberries. We are really grateful for this - Mr Matthews is a very generous and community-minded individual. He also does the gardening club for All Saints School. 

Other donated prizes

3 x Crocheted Roman soldiers made by the talented Christina Whitehead. 

Click here to see book donations

We love...

Akala's Odyssey 

BBC's documentary

"Writer and hip-hop artist Akala voyages across the Mediterranean and beyond to solve some of the mysteries behind Homer's monumental poem, the Odyssey. Travelling between spectacular ruins, such as the sacred shrine of Delphi or the Greek colonies on Sicily, Akala's journey culminates on the small island of Ithaca, where he ponders the theory that this is the destination which Homer had in mind as he composed the epic.

Along the way, he finds out what Homer's works may have sounded like to their first audiences, discovers how the rhythm of those ancient words connect to the beats of modern hip-hop and comes face to face with the characters from the masterpiece. He also investigates how this epic poem became the cornerstone of Western literature and how his own experiences as an artist have been impacted by a 3,000-year-old classic. Akala has undertaken this quest as part of his mission to compose his own response to the Odyssey - a new hip hop track called Blind Bard's Vision, which turns the tale on its head all over again. This is Akala's Odyssey". 

The STORIED PAST productions

If you like Minecraft you'll love this! Click on the image to take you the Storied Past's You Tube channel.  

Greek Myth Comix 

Myths are fun anyway but these comics make them better, if that's possible!

If you want to get your little ones into myths, you can't go wrong with this series, by Simon Spence. 

See Clara and Macy's great website for how to make a cardboard amphitheatre. 


Karyn's 'Teach Beside Me'  website. Learn all about the oldest known maths puzzle, the 'Ostomachion Puzzle'. 

   

We saw the Lyngo Theatre at the Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot. An amazing production of the entire of the Odyssey, in just ONE hour!
Patrick Lynch - multi-talented isn't the word! - has devised some spectacular tricks to maximise his elemental props. You would be amazed at how water, sand and wind (from a hair dryer) can can used. 
My favourite chapter is the story of the Cyclops. Using a camera, Patrick projected a single eye onto the screen, giving a marvellous impression of this out sized, and outraged, beast. 
In an amazing trick, Patrick reaches through a mirror to pick up a lotus flower. How did he do this?! 
My son, previously unacquainted with this tale, had a fabulous time and I have even been able to interest him in reading Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton's 'The Adventures of Odysseus', so this trip was 'worth it' for more than one reason!

TedEd animated short educational clips
A day in the life of an Ancient Athenian
Why is Herodotus called the 'Father of History'?
History vs Cleopatra
Who were the Vestal Virgins?

How many ways to prove the Pythagorean Theorem? 

Myths: 
The myth of king Midas and his Golden Touch
The myth of Arachne
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
The myth of Prometheus
The myth of Cupid and Psyche
The myth of Icarus and Daedalus
Everything you need to know to read Homer's Odyssey
Why should you read Virgil's Aenead? 


The British Museum's Build a Temple Challenge
This is a particularly good activity if you happen to like Greek architecture. 
You will find some great info in this wesbite abiiut the Parhenon and its friezes, as well as Athens' heroes and godess, Athena. 

Didcot Greek and Roman Festival

We are proud to announce Didcot's first ever Greek and Roman Festival on Saturday 7 July at Didcot Girl School!

Find our event on Face Book.