112: Jonathan Trigg

My guest this week is Jonathan Trigg, who studied Archaeology at Lampeter from 1995-98 and has been at Liverpool for the last 22 years. We talk about the advantages of living and studying on a small campus like Lampeter. Jonathan, who was brought up in Essex, talks about how and why he decided to apply to university and being a late developer. We talk about our relationship with the past and his work on war memorials and how some people are going to be more deserving of our praise than others. From growing up Jonathan remembers watching cricket with his father and we discuss the 1981 Royal Wedding. He also remembers the love of family and then discovering after going to university that he had the chance to become himself. Jonathan doesn’t have a mobile phone and we talk about the benefits (or otherwise) of doing everything online due to lockdown. He appreciates the time that his tutors took to give him and others to learn and we talk about the importance of feedback. We also learn how he ended up working in academia and why he feels that in some ways it is a hobby. He relays what happened when he saw Gladiator at the cinema with a Roman archaeology and history lecturer who had a problem with some facets of the film. Jonathan also talks about voting for the first time while a student and playing for the student cricket team. He learned life experience at Lampeter and academic experience at Liverpool. When asked at a young age what he wanted to be he would have said a museum curator. Jonathan talks about how good it is when people go on to do things because of your efforts, and he finishes with a reference to the Welsh hiraeth. Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Jonathan Trigg and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.