I am a New Zealander , the first to be part of the Time Team Forum I believe, and live in Dunedin , New Zealand. I work in a busy copy-centre at the University of Otago Library which is a job that I enjoy. I lived in the UK with my husband Mark in 1999, for 10 months , so that we could do our “Big O.E” and see a bit of the world , as many Kiwis do, and get to know some of Mark’s many English relatives – ( his father was English) . We became fascinated by the wealth of history as we visited various places doing the “touristy” things.
Through some relatives in York, we discovered Time Team as the live dig was taking place there and became fans of the show. These same relatives have been sending tapes of the programme over to Mark’s Grandma here in New Zealand and I have watched many of the 1998 & 1999 programmes that way . They also sent us the Time Team book . We are delighted that the programme started showing here 2 weeks ago.
I don’t have a University degree , although I would like to start working my way towards a History degree, as British History is of particular interest to me as I have mentioned.
One highlight of our time in the UK was going out to Windsor on the day of the Royal Wedding and getting a front-row position to watch the procession go past – to see some of history taking place before my own eyes and not on TV!
I really miss the wildlife in the UK – the everyday things most Brits take for granted that we don’t have here – the squirrels in the park, molehills and foxes (even though one stole my sandal!)
Mark works at the University of Otago also , helping to train young Land Surveyors and the Surveying aspect of Time Team interests him the most. We would both love to return to the UK someday as we enjoyed living there so much.