I’m still living with my parents in Cheddar, Somerset.
Although I went to Swansea University for three years – initially to study psychology, but changed to philosophy after a year – I came away in June 2001 without a degree. This was due to a dispute with my LEA, because although I passed all my philosophy modules, I failed some subsidiary modules. This meant that I would have to repeat the first year, which the university were happy to let me do, however the LEA said that as this would be my first year they would need to make a decision on whether or not they could fund me (otherwise I would have had to pay the full £8,500/year tuition fees myself). Quite understandably, the university couldn’t register me until I could tell them who was paying the fees, and were supportive in that they let me carry on as a student in the mean time. However, when the LEA still hadn’t made this decision in mid November the university said that I had to register then, or withdraw from the university (about a fortnight later, the LEA did finally get back to me with an answer, which was “yes”, but too late).
The accommodating office let me continue in student accommodation until the end of the year, and so I spent until June living the student life (sans lectures!) and spending my time, when not doing something as secretary of the university computer society, basically living on a fast Internet connection!
Once I came home I started applying for jobs, and finally got one earlier this month (October 2001), as a trainee Cartographer (map making) with DEFRA (who used to be the Ministry of Agriculture), although I don’t start until mid November.
It was during my time at university that I discovered the Time Team Forum (after the Blaenafon dig in February 2001), and I quickly became addicted! I now travel around the country to Forum Friends meets (I think I’m second only to Co in terms of the number I’ve been on, and in the distance travelled!), and I’ve even organised a couple – including helping Keith S with the first National Meet to Much Wenlcok and Ironbridge in September 2001.
Although I only came to the forum recently, I’ve been a fan since at least 1995/6, and it is the only programme I now make sure I watch every week on C4, and the repeats as often as I can on Discovery. I haven’t ever had an opportunity to do any archaeology myself, although I would like to, so I am probably best described as an armchair archaeologist.
Special Interest Areas
History of settlement / buildings; History of transport.
Website
http://www.sucs.org/~cmckenna – My personal website with humour and some of my poetry on it.
http://www.sucs.org/~cmckenna/ttff – the section of my website with Time Team Forum Friends stuff on it. This is mainly photographs I have taken at the various TTFF meets I have been on, although there are some other things