Esca's Name

Apparently I am so taken by 'The Eagle' setting that I have actually taken to fanfic.  This is most uncharacteristic and peculiar behaviour of me, and I hope to be better soon, as Roman Britain is currently eating my brain.

In the meanwhile, I have finally found a use for the Welsh lessons that I only vaguely remember, which were compulsory at my primary school.  The film uses Scots Gaelic as a stand-in for whatever language was spoken in Northern Britain in the second century, but I can't do Gaelic and Welsh though still way off, is as close if not closer. 

Aaaaaanyway....  This is set a while  before the setting of the book/movie, just after the battle in which Esca's family are killed and he is taken prisoner.  A longer version of this story that takes Esca all the way to Calleva can be found here.

Esca's original name, given to him by his mother, is  Ysgafnyny bôn meaning, "light at heart". But the Romans can't pronounce it.*

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Weird things that Az does...

I had the oddest experience today when I was walking the hounds. We met a nice old bloke with two large random mutts who greeted Mollydog enthusiastically : Az kept clear, as he usually does, but then quite unexpectedly, he came up to the owner, half stood up on his hind legs to reach his face (man was leaning forwards) and kissed him on the nose and behind both ears.

You could have knocked me down with a feather : Az is normally very cautious around strangers, particularly men carrying sticks.  Normally if he's feeling really friendly he might sniff their hand and let them just touch his ears.

The chap was visibly moved by this.  When I said how surprised I was, he said 'he must have sensed my loss, I lost my old greyhound lurcher last week'.

Chap was certainly a lurcher magnet.