The Chronicler ties up some loose ends ...

Dr Phillpotts stirs again in his garret and shares the following wisdom:

"The Giant JP originated I believe in the mysterious CH78, with a character called Bill who only dug with us that year. I don't remember much about Bill, except his wet weather gear, which comprised a bin liner tunic, a bin liner skirt, and a sample bag wrapped over his head and clamped into his beard with a large bulldog clip, making him look like a punk battleaxe granny. He did bring us the Giant Parrot joke (What noise does a giant parrot make - SQUAWK!!!). He liked to gather a group of 6 or 8 people and tell this at high volume in the porch of the Air Balloon, in order to provoke the locals. This then developed into the Giant JP, which had a variable text decided by committee.

I was present when the great man, on rising one day, uttered the immortal words: "Sod this for a lark; I've just found a piece of limestone under me foreskin". [I remember this bit. Ed] Not only was this incorporated into the Giant JP, but the piece of limestone afterwards became the trophy in the Personality of the Year contest. [I don't believe you - Ed.]

I was present for quite a lot of CH78, but had no camera. I only acquired my first puny point-and-poke in 1979, and it took very narrow film, hence the soft focus effect of my early shots. I only really learned to take proper photos in about 1984, way behind the Pentax-Brandisher [Mr Boden. Ed]. The person who never returned JB's slides was Sandra the Cook.

An American lady asked about CH78 (might she be Naomi Jackson?) [No, it was Amy Cay. Ed]. From my notes towards a social history of Crickley Hill I can report the following highlights:

JP and I prepared the kitchen at the start of the season by scraping it down with table knives and repainting ('You make very nice!' said Lofty's mother, looking through the window). Ken and Dave were the cooks.

There was a contingent of Phil's students from Nottingham Uni, and an even bigger group from Leicester Uni. There were also some Poles, who were contacts of John Howell. Wonderful section drawings resulted, but labelled in Polish and Russian.

We removed vast quantities of backfill, and took huge soil samples. Baling out the cuttings.
We made a raid on Cheltenham Ladies College summer fête (Penny may remember that one, as she was running a stall). [I'm sure it is engraved on her heart. Janet Douglas will have imperishable memories of it too. Ed.]

Visits to the Golden Heart.

Late night visit from Fachtna McEvoy and P J Pikes, with their customary crate of booze.

Several of us dressed in drag for one of the dinner times, though I recall that Arwel looked more like a French curé in a long dress and straw hat.

Coach trip to Gloucester, Kingscote and Uleybury, with Lofty at the wheel.

John Howell gave a lecture about something.

An excellent dinner at Major Birchall's house.

Attempts to cram lots of people into small spaces (phone box, Mike the Whale's tent etc).

[A passage has been redacted here on the advice of C-H-M's lawyers - it was salacious, if not scurrilous and has no proper place on a family blog of this type. The usual fiver buys the details. Ed.]

Randal Motkin's first visit, I believe. I have missed out some of the lowlights, as it was in some respects a quarrelsome year. You may wish to edit some of the above. [Alas, I had to. Ed]

On Boden's shop steward speeches, I remember one from CH82, when he was exposed to some light drizzle whilst planning (I believe I have it verbatim): 'I don't think we should work in the rain. People don't work properly in the rain, they just piss about. (pause) I take myself as the prime example'.

I think we need Richard Savage to confess to the Great Bap Mountain and the Furry Turkey."

[This last paragraph, I think needs some illumination from the Chronicler: I will interview him on Saturday, if I remember. Ed.]

Alice Pandrich in the kitchen at Ullenwood

This shot from Andrew Powell's album earned him gentle e-mail reproaches from Dr Ferris and Professor Dixon for his thinking that this might be one of the cooks: it is "the wonderful Alice Pandrich" who was "not a cook but a supervisor, who supervised in 1972 and 1973, and then dug at Guildford as co director with Humphrey Wood, and at Woolwich." Examination of this webpage from Greenwich Council reveals, in the annual reports and proceedings of the Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society 1958-1981 Vol. XXXII-XXXVII, "Excavations near Woolwich Old Ferry Approach; the 17th century kilns and later structures. By Alice Pandrich." I also spot "Excavations at the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich: a summary report. By Terry Courtney."

Dr Ferris writes "I am delighted to see the photo of Alice Pandrich on Crickley Hill Man's blog. Alice was the first supervisor I worked for at Crickley in 1972 and she taught me a great deal about the archaeology of the hill. When I arrived, rumour in the dorm had it that Alice had a trophy cabinet full of young men's underpants at home, hopefully not grollies as previously mentioned in another post, but I'm sure this was just a rural, rather than urban, myth.

Alice was supervising at Crickley again in 1973 and certainly again in 1974, as she recruited a lot of Crickley diggers to go and work afterwards on the site she was directing at Old Ferry Approach, Woolwich in London, mentioned on the blog by Crickley Hill Man. At different times in Woolwich, from Crickley, there was myself, Jeff Beech, John Boden, the wry and witty Alison Bell, Biggles, Clive Anderson, American Lisa, Paul Noakes, Jenny Tinker, Fachtna McAvoy and Liz organising finds. This was a great site to work on, with incredible evidence for early post-medieval pottery production, and the social life was fairly riotous too. It was at Woolwich that Alice met Vic the architect whom she eventually married.

As Crickley Hill Man knows, field archaeology still is, and generally always has been, somewhat of a male-dominated part of the overall archaeological profession. In the early to mid 1970s there was a notable number of excellent, strong-willed women excavation directors working in British archaeology, of whom Alice was one, alongside, to name but a few I'm sure, Kirsty Rodwell, Christine Collyer, Hazel Wheeler and Pat Losco Bradley."

Antics in the shelter in the early 1970s

L to R: Steven Juliusberger, Iain Ferris, Fachtna McAvoy and persons unknown.  Looks as though there's a bit of wrestling or tickling going on and Iain's fretting that he's going to get a McAvoy elbow in the eye.

A story springs to mind about Steven Juliusberger (also known, inevitably as Julius Cheeseburger) whom I don't think I've ever met.  I'm pretty sure this story was told to me by a combination of David Southwood, Ian Ferris and John Parry, so it has an excellent pedigree.

Steven Juliusberger was interested in American politics and it was the year of Watergate and Richard Nixon's resignation.  The way the story goes, Juliusberger was obsessive about wanting to know how the story unfolded as it happened. He was much given to listening to a radio that was at Ullenwood at the time.  For all I know it may even have been his own radio.  He was listening to the news about Watergate, even at night.  

There was also a dart board and a set of darts.  One night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Juliusberger stayed up late listening to the radio and playing darts to pass the time.  On the other side of the wall on which the dart board was hung, was one Terry Courtney, trying to sleep.  

Terry didn't have a very good night's sleep and all he could hear, all night, was "Thump, thump, thump", " Trudge, trudge, trudge", "Thump, thump, thump", "Trudge, trudge, trudge", "Thump, thump, thump", "trudge, trudge, trudge" as Juliusberger threw the darts at the dartboard and shuffled up to retrieve them, listening all the while to the radio.

In the morning Terry wasn't in a very good temper which is entirely understandable.  Terry acquired for himself a large bowl of cornflakes, to which, it is alleged, he applied copious quantities of milk and a liberal sprinkling of sugar.  He then sought out Juliusberger and upended said bowl of cornflakes, milk and sugar over the Juliusberger's head, in retribution for his lost night's sleep.  Doubtless words were exchanged.  Does anyone remember this story?  It is even vaguely an approximation to the truth?  Did it ever happen?  I think we should be told ...

Fachtna McAvoy takes shelter ...

As can be seen from this photograph, probably taken in 1972 either Fachtna McAvoy suddenly got small or some of the postholes were absolutely ginormous. I think from other evidence that the latter proposition is more probable than the former: it doesn't appear to be raining so it's not immediately clear why he needed the umbrella. Perhaps he was employing it as a parasol. Either way it's a cracking contribution from Andrew Powell.

News from Dr Phillpotts ...

Dr Phillpotts and family are on a visit: he tells me having seen the post about the mortuary trolley here two fascinating things: first that there was a hut opposite the front gate in the barley field that was called the mortuary because it had slabs in it (though he personally never saw them). Secondly that he remembers Fachtna McAvoy being ferried down to the Air Balloon in a wheelchair acquired from one of the other huts in about 1975! Dr Phillpotts also alleged that he used to dig catseyes out of the road with his trowel, but that was presumably on the way back from the Air Balloon. 

Steve Vaughan writes: "re: "The Mortuary" - one afternoon Joanne and I spent time with Mike Cuttell who has an excellent collection of photos of Ullenwood when he first took it over. His view, based on testimony from returning GIs was that what we described as The Mortuary was in fact the VD ward. How apt ..."