2. What is the most exciting thing you've discovered on the job?
Oh there has been so much that I've found! Though personally, I'm going to have to say a child's femur! My friends Joel, Katie and I were in this trench in Cyprus in 2008 which we nick-named J.A.K. It was essentially our trench. We marked it and plotted it out, got its grid reference and excavated. Now, just to embellish from my previous answer to question 1, it's hard work, you don't start off with a trowel, it's a mattock, shovel and a wheelbarrow for 3 weeks straight. Manual labour in 104 degree weather, no shade working from 4am to noon, then 3pm-6pm. It is hard work! J.A.K proved promising. Joel found a quern stone, Katie and I found loads of Red Lustrous Ware pottery and even parts of a Mycenaean pictorial krater, pithos jars and some shards of Egyptian faience. But what we were aware of, by the locals, is that in the field that the three of us were excavating was another tomb. One has been found in 2006 and proved interesting, so Joel and I kept going after Katie got bit by a "radioactive" beetle. So on the very last few days of excavating, Joel said he found some "wood". Here's the gross part, during the entire time we were excavating we were told to spit and/or lick pottery to see what it is (they got washed afterwards by the way). The reason for this is to see what pottery it is as there are hundreds of different kinds of pottery with decorations and indentations etc... So not really thinking, I licked this bit of "wood" and found that it wasn't wood.
It was bone. Upon further examination, we discovered it was from part of a broken child's femur. Not one of my proudest moments being called a Bone Licker as the programme Bone Kickers were playing, so yes, that was the most exciting thing I've discovered under the disgusting circumstances it was found in!
3. What influence has your hometown had on the person you are today?
My hometown is Torquay in Devon. Two decades ago it was lovely. People walking by Rock Walk, eating ice-cream but now it's terrible. A stupid massive eyesore of a balloon screwing up the English Riviera and Rock Walk being almost demolished and chav's making a mess of things. But I hardly ever went into town.
I lived on the periphery in the countryside where I had a view of Torbay out of one window and a view of the luscious valley of Roacombe on the other side.
I'm fortunate that I have a three acre field to escape down and grab inspiration that hits me. Eat some blackberries or plums and chill out and watch nature come alive right before you. It's hard to describe the vista of beauty when the world is covered in flowers or snow. The sunsets I saw from my bedroom window were out of this world. I was very lucky growing up. It's influenced me in a way, where I need to live or work near the countryside and become an utter country bumpkin.
4. What words would your family and closest friends most often use to describe you and why?
Insane, weird, freak, scary. Those are what my friends would say. Though I am quite shy at times, when I'm around my friends I go a bit mental and do and say very stupid things- mostly it involves screaming "Timmy" round Exeter Cathedral at the top of my lungs, just because I can; it's fun and the sound carries!
Also I have a very twisted sense of humour and my laugher has been classed as loud and infectious. Scary, because I can scream and cackle quite well and have scared many people in my day and I got paid for it too!
Caring, passionate, hard-working, immature, sensible. That's what my family would say.
Yes I know that the last two words contradict each other, but it's on vary rare occasions when I'm sensible ;)
5. What do you do in your spare time that doesn't involve writing?
I work for the National Trust! I ensure that everyone is having a nice time and to get them more interested in the trust's properties around my area.
Number One Fan! Interview with Abi_Kirk86
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