At long last we (myself and two students - who I shall call K and B) are headed to England for a few weeks of research. We were meant to go in April, but the volcano put an end to that. Now we will spend the bulk of June scrounging through old probate documents looking for siblings squabbling over inheritance. (Yes, it is as cool as it sounds. I'm not kidding.)I am sure you are thinking, why does this merit a blog? I ask myself the same question. Mostly it comes from the fact that I am absolutely certain many exceptionally odd things will happen during this trip and I want a place to memorialize it. A trip once postponed by apocalyptic volcanic eruption must contain inherent wonkiness. Last time I went to England there was biblical flooding, Mr. Hemmings and the ice cream cone (a sage worthy of its own blog), the last Harry Potter book, an awkward dinner for one at a romantic get-away hotel, and the realization that just because Mount St. Michael might be a tourist site, and just because you have traveled by train and foot to see it, doesn't mean it would be open on a Saturday during tourist season. But I was generally traveling alone and blog-free and now there is no chronicle of that visit. What better way to teach about historical records than to create one as we go?
Also, I think this will be a great way for the students and I to share the joy of research (again I'm not kidding) with students contemplating an international internship. And it might just serve to convince our families that we really are working - even if K thinks we are going to weekend in Amsterdam.
B and K leave today and I fly out tomorrow. Barring plagues of locusts we should be well into research by Tuesday afternoon.
