Thursday, September 24, 2009
See you at the bar…
We are coming over to NZ for a short visit during October and we are intending to be in a bar in Auckland on Sunday 18th to meet up with any old friends who can make it (venue to be confirmed).
Avast, me hearties…
A bunch of our regular gamers came over to our place on the weekend and celebrated ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’ this year by playing a table top role playing game where we were Privateers (not quite Pirates – we have a license you understand). It was great fun and I quite enjoyed playing the part of ‘Jolly’ Roger the Cabin Boy – especially when I nearly managed to take down the dastardly French Captain.
Probably the best Swedish TV cop show ever…
We had recently seen the British remake of, Wallander, with Kenneth Branagh in it and enjoyed it very much, so when we saw it again on the schedule we originally thought it was more of the same. It wasn’t until we started watching it that we realized it was the original Swedish series.
We really enjoyed the series, even more so than the English speaking adaptation (which was very good). The acting is fabulous, the scenery bleak and the music moody.
Thoroughly enjoyable
We really enjoyed the series, even more so than the English speaking adaptation (which was very good). The acting is fabulous, the scenery bleak and the music moody.
Thoroughly enjoyable
Empire Irregulars…
One of our friends suggested it might be a good idea to combine his interests in military uniforms and parading with morris dancing and start up a military morris side. I was thinking it might be fun to call it the Empire Irregulars and have the members choose items off uniforms from past British forces (Red Jacket, Pith Helmet etc) yet still have knee length trousers and bells on their ankles.
Hedgerow bounty…
Autumn is the time to harvest and we have been out in the nearby fields collecting Blackberries and Elderberries. We have had plenty to pick and so our freezer is full of berries and we have enjoyed puddings and I even made another batch of Elderberry Jam (too much sugar again, so it is very thick and sweet).
Summer-House warming…
One of our neighbours has had a new summer house put up in their back yard and we were invited over to celebrate with a drink and some nibbles. The construction is wonderful with a sizable decking around a well appointed building that is so good we all wanted to move into it. We had a great time talking to their friends and family and we well impressed with the rocket scientist.
Just slap it on all over…
Our house has desperately need some tender loving care taken on the exterior and recently we had the pointing repaired in preparation for repainting the woodwork and stonework around the windows and doors. Sue had the impression we could have it all done and dusted in a couple of hours. This was not quite the case, even though we have done the majority of it, with the not insignificant help of family, and the rest should be completed this weekend.
Operation Pied Piper…
We went along to a very enjoyable and informative talk at the local Westcott History Group on the subject of Operation Pied Piper as part of the remembrance of the start of WWII.
Operation Pied Piper was the code name for the evacuation of major cities on the day that war was declared, where many children were taken from possible danger zones to areas of relative safety in the countryside. The village of Westcott was host to two schools from London and this talk concentrated on them and what happened.
The Reading Room was packed with people; many of who were of a generation that could remember the events first hand (some even stood up and added to the talk with personal details). Several local children came in and acted out the roles of evacuees by reading out letters written by them to their parents. A woman also read out passages from the memories of the local lady responsible for the allocation of the children to suitable accommodation. I particularly like that she referred to her self as the Dumper and the children as the poor Dumplings. I think this episode and memories would make for an interesting children’s story, luckily I obtained a copy of the talk for reference. So you never know – another incomplete project.
Operation Pied Piper was the code name for the evacuation of major cities on the day that war was declared, where many children were taken from possible danger zones to areas of relative safety in the countryside. The village of Westcott was host to two schools from London and this talk concentrated on them and what happened.
The Reading Room was packed with people; many of who were of a generation that could remember the events first hand (some even stood up and added to the talk with personal details). Several local children came in and acted out the roles of evacuees by reading out letters written by them to their parents. A woman also read out passages from the memories of the local lady responsible for the allocation of the children to suitable accommodation. I particularly like that she referred to her self as the Dumper and the children as the poor Dumplings. I think this episode and memories would make for an interesting children’s story, luckily I obtained a copy of the talk for reference. So you never know – another incomplete project.
More wot I have read…
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
This is a new book from the author of the Twilght series, this time with aliens as the subject rather than the supernatural. It certainly has the potential to change young female reader’s attitudes in the same way and introducing them to Sci-Fi. It was well written and thought out with a lot of attention spent on characterisation and personal interactions and not so much on the whole alien thing.
'Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.'
This is a new book from the author of the Twilght series, this time with aliens as the subject rather than the supernatural. It certainly has the potential to change young female reader’s attitudes in the same way and introducing them to Sci-Fi. It was well written and thought out with a lot of attention spent on characterisation and personal interactions and not so much on the whole alien thing.
'Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.'
Thursday, September 03, 2009
All the best folk…
We went to the Towersey Folk Festival on the last bank holiday on August and had a brilliant time.
Three of us went along and camped the weekend at the site in Oxfordshire. Although it was grey and windy for most days, apart from Monday afternoon’s sunshine, we were lucky that it didn’t rain, as I am sure that could have dampened our spirits.
We were on the go all day seeing many concerts and acts, interspersed with some liberal consumption of alcohol and the regular burger before bed. Even though we kept busy we still missed seeing anything at the off site venues or the ceilidh tent (pronounced kay-lee, or if you are Sue, see-li-dah).
There wasn’t an act that we didn’t like though there were a few favourites and I now have a longer wish list on Amazon. The highlights for us were:
The Imagined Village – an exciting cosmopolitan folk collective demonstrating how tradition can be made contemporary and grow from it
The Spooky Men’s Chorale – ‘a vast, rumbling, black-clad behemoth’ group of Australian (led by a Kiwi) ‘blokes’ who sing in great harmony and like a bit of silliness. We also went to the Spooky Men’s – Sing Like a Bloke workshop, where a large group of people learnt the ‘Let Me Through’ song and then invaded the Market Square, singing at the top of our collective voices, much to the puzzlement of the other visitors.
Megan and Joe Henwood – a great young brother and sister act – winners of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2009 and an act to watch for
John Smith – another great new act, unbelievably unsigned
Chris Smither – an old school American Blues singer who sounds like he has been gargling gravel and looks a bit like a cross between Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash
Karine Polwart – a successful new Scots singer with an angelic voice
Devon Sproule – a quirky North American songstress with an unique sound that wasn’t universally liked by the old school folk audience. We had seen here last year at Womad and love her stuff
We also saw…
Roy Bailey – an old school folky, from before it was big the first time around. Popular with young and old alike
Mawkin – a fun modern folk group who are making waves on the new scene
The Lark Rise Band – this band were around before the TV series promoting the works of Flora Thompson with readings and song
4Square – a group of young, precocious and extremely talented youngsters who will undoubtedly go onto big things
Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson with Ali Hutton – a talent couple of pipers with their friend
Pete Coe – another old school folky who has been around for a while and has a big following
Demon Barbers – the noisiest group we saw who like to keep things lively
Cupola – a talented group of traditional folk musicians
Various Dance sides and musical acts in the Market Square, Beer Tent and the Rope Circle.
Three of us went along and camped the weekend at the site in Oxfordshire. Although it was grey and windy for most days, apart from Monday afternoon’s sunshine, we were lucky that it didn’t rain, as I am sure that could have dampened our spirits.
We were on the go all day seeing many concerts and acts, interspersed with some liberal consumption of alcohol and the regular burger before bed. Even though we kept busy we still missed seeing anything at the off site venues or the ceilidh tent (pronounced kay-lee, or if you are Sue, see-li-dah).
There wasn’t an act that we didn’t like though there were a few favourites and I now have a longer wish list on Amazon. The highlights for us were:
The Imagined Village – an exciting cosmopolitan folk collective demonstrating how tradition can be made contemporary and grow from it
The Spooky Men’s Chorale – ‘a vast, rumbling, black-clad behemoth’ group of Australian (led by a Kiwi) ‘blokes’ who sing in great harmony and like a bit of silliness. We also went to the Spooky Men’s – Sing Like a Bloke workshop, where a large group of people learnt the ‘Let Me Through’ song and then invaded the Market Square, singing at the top of our collective voices, much to the puzzlement of the other visitors.
Megan and Joe Henwood – a great young brother and sister act – winners of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2009 and an act to watch for
John Smith – another great new act, unbelievably unsigned
Chris Smither – an old school American Blues singer who sounds like he has been gargling gravel and looks a bit like a cross between Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash
Karine Polwart – a successful new Scots singer with an angelic voice
Devon Sproule – a quirky North American songstress with an unique sound that wasn’t universally liked by the old school folk audience. We had seen here last year at Womad and love her stuff
We also saw…
Roy Bailey – an old school folky, from before it was big the first time around. Popular with young and old alike
Mawkin – a fun modern folk group who are making waves on the new scene
The Lark Rise Band – this band were around before the TV series promoting the works of Flora Thompson with readings and song
4Square – a group of young, precocious and extremely talented youngsters who will undoubtedly go onto big things
Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson with Ali Hutton – a talent couple of pipers with their friend
Pete Coe – another old school folky who has been around for a while and has a big following
Demon Barbers – the noisiest group we saw who like to keep things lively
Cupola – a talented group of traditional folk musicians
Various Dance sides and musical acts in the Market Square, Beer Tent and the Rope Circle.
Shakespeare is always better outdoors…
Recently we went up to see my Uncle and go to the local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Pendley Manor. The costumes and setting gave it a 1920’s feel and Puck was a fantastic with mannerisms that reminded me of Charlie Chaplin and Tommy Cooper.
There is something about watching Shakespeare outdoors that adds to the experience, I think it reminds me of earlier days when we went to see productions with friends at the Auckland University.
There is something about watching Shakespeare outdoors that adds to the experience, I think it reminds me of earlier days when we went to see productions with friends at the Auckland University.
Swingball Champion 1977…
We went to Sue’s Brother’s place a while back to help put up some guttering and to have a family get together. The weather was great and we sat out in the garden and played swingball, something I had not done for many years.
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