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Post by valdemar on Jul 1, 2013 2:55:00 GMT
Way off topic here, but I'm sure that Vault users are as fond as I am of a good eccentric.
I was surprised and saddened to hear of the death of Professor Mick Aston, Archaeologist, co-creator of Channel 4's Time Team show. A great premise - perform a dig in three days, to answer a nagging question, or solve a local mystery. Several of their investigations have since turned into major digs. Mick Aston was, to many, the embodiment of a mad scientist - wild, unkempt hair and beard, shapeless, brightly coloured jumpers (some made and sent in by viewers, apparently). He was, for me, and I'm possibly not alone here, a great broadcaster because he could point at a boring looking bit of dirty stone, and paint a word picture of what it was, and where it fitted into the scheme of things - and somehow that scrap of masonry in a hole in a field was no longer boring or dirty, but an integral part of a Roman bath house. His banter with his co hosts was a joy as well, and if he was wrong about something, he'd say so. I know someone who met him on a dig, and they said he was the same there as he was on TV. An atheist who loved churches (like me - I like churches, but not what goes on in them), he was one of that small band of scientists who can make big, hard ideas accessible to the layman, and do so in a manner that does not dilute those ideas for the more knowledgeable viewer. Rather like the late, very great Patrick Moore, for example.
Mick Aston died suddenly at the too-early age of 66.
Rest in peace.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 1, 2013 9:39:26 GMT
Mick Aston died suddenly at the too-early age of 66. Rest in peace. Sad news - I've been watching Timeteam for years and it's still a great show. |
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Post by killercrab on Jul 1, 2013 15:09:59 GMT
Mick Aston unfairly took alot of stick from the establishment for starting Time Team - presumably because he opened up the field to the common people. The three day deadline must also of wrankled the old guard but that was the secret of the show's success. Sadly he resigned before the last series was made because of what he saw as a dumbing down of the show. Personally I found the latter seasons less interesting as the core team had sprawled into an unwieldy mass of experts and the initial intimacy of the concept was lost. Rest in peace Mick - you are very much missed.
ade
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Post by Shrink Proof on Jul 12, 2013 7:53:09 GMT
Definitely one of the good guys.
RIP Mick.
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