Wednesday 1 March 2017

I still love Time Team

Ok, there I've said it!  I absolutely love Time Team - do you remember it?


It was a fabulous programme about archaeology presented by Tony Robinson and had a wonderful cast of clever, intelligent archaeologists and historians and for my family it was must-see TV.  We even joined the Time Team Club and got little pin badges to wear.  I'm still watching the repeats on channel More 4 - there are two a day on at the moment- some I remember well, some I'd forgotten. The great thing is that I still learn something new each time I watch.  I've been interested in archaeology since I was a young girl, but was laughed at when I told the school careers adviser that's what I wanted to be.  It didn't dampen my interest, I still love reading about digs and finds.  There's a great site called Dig Ventures which is all about digs taking place and Raksha from Time Team is one of the archaeologists involved.


Time Team used to be shown on Channel 4 on Sunday evenings and I would make sure that we had finished our tea and the dishes were all done before we sat down to watch together.  My sons were young at the time, but I do think it gave them a love of history.  I happened to mention to my elder son that I was watching it again and, even although he has a family of his own now, he said that he remembered us all watching it together on Sunday evenings.

I do think that most of its success was down to the wonderful people who worked on the show - they never talked down or patronised.  (Nor did they repeat themselves like so many documentary shows now which drive me mad with their repetition - do they think we are all idiots?)  Time Team was intelligent TV.  I loved the late Mick Aston, Phil Harding and his digging, Carenza Lewis, Stuart the landscape guy, John geophys and all the other wonderful, cheery and knowledgeable workers on the programme.  The illustrations by Victor Ambrus were always a great way seeing how things would have looked in the past.  It is a shame that the last series or so seemed to show less archaeology and were sort of "dumbed down".  But for me it was a fabulous, intelligent and interesting programme, and do you remember ... they only had three days to do it!

Love, Liz

5 comments:

Julie said...

DH is a fan of these type of programmes, always something to learn when you watch them and marvel at what has been left behind by our ancestors.

Sheila said...

We were Time Team lovers here too and still are if we manage to catch one showing and can spare the time to sit and watch.
I didn't know Mick Aston had died. What a shame. He was my favourite.
Once I have finished with some rather big jobs I am in the middle of I might have a look if they are still showing it and treat myself to some time in front of the tv with a pot of tea-x-

Scarlet said...

We loved it as a family too. It was 'must see' viewing on Sundays. I watched a couple of episodes on More 4 last week; they took me right back to those Sunday evenings :)

Miss Magpie said...

Phil used to flint knap every year at the big craft fair we always go too at Stonor Park. I also met Mick at a book signing in Oxford once.

Daisy Debs said...

Yes . We love it too . Very envious of your badges ... Better than Blue Peter badges I say ! :)