June 17 Day 4 Maryport

Awake and up at 6. Took a (not shower) - hair washed leaning over the tub trying to catch the transition between scalding hot to freezing cold. I got it done reasonably. Off to breakfast at the cottage and left for Maryport Co-op for a sandwich before hitting the site. Up there at 8:30. It was cold and windy and damp. One of the advantages of the damp site was that it made the contrasts of the colours of the soil very distinct. There was a sort of circular area in the east and a defined wall or foundation straight down the south margin of where we had worked yesterday. Here is a picture of me working on a feature - described as a dark colour of soil forming a shape against the orange natural clay. Also another of one of the team working on another feature.

The dark earth is removed to reveal the shape of the feature. Mine is suspected to be a post hole.

Here is a picture of the other Brian from Michigan gearing up for today's weather.


It sure felt good to get back to my room and change out of my wet clothes. I read for a while then had my lunch at noon with my last Wainwright Golden Ale. I got dressed in some warm clothes and walked in the sunshine up to the cottages. The decision had been made to return to the site and we got there at 1:15. The trowels worked easier because of the still damp soil. I worked alongside John a repeat volunteer about my age with a good eye and technique. He was a pleasure to work with. We knocked off at 4:30




Back at the hotel I had a message waiting for me from David Telford of the Rotary Club of Maryport advising me that one of their members, Les would pick me up at the hotel at 7 tomorrow night. I was able to connect my computer to the Cloud WIFI and was able to start updating the blog for Sunday so now I am only 3 days behind. I am seriously starting to give consideration to going home early and will make a decision by Friday. The dig is fine but the weather has been a little disappointing and I have lots of things I can do at home after being away for two weeks. I did this downstairs in the pub before it opened at 7.

When the pub opened I came back down and had a pint with a couple from Maryport, Sue and Vin and their dog. We talked about a lot of things and they complimented me on  my travels and general knowledge of the UK as well as my appreciation for good traditional ales. At 7:30 the weekly gathering of the Ship Hotel Ukulele Club arrived. They ordered lots of beer and began playing a wide variety of songs in an adjacent room and were still going strong at 10:30.

As for me I ordered a rib of roast beef dinner and it was delicious. Steve suggested I try the Yates Sun Goddess for a change which I did but I will be switching back to the bitter next time. Same brewery but a milder taste. At 8:30 six of our team arrived and we had a good conversation. I told Mark I probably wouldn't be back next week just to give him a heads up. He was broken hearted (well not really but somewhat disappointed because we should be making more progress next week). I do have to figure out my plans. I decided to have another half pint - that usually helps and was off to my room at 11. I read for a while and went to sleep