Summer is a'coming...
May. 5th, 2009 11:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lonelybritThis weekend I got to kidnap a ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
princess_s and esmerelda_t of my very own! And whilst there was *cough* a bit of wine and maybe a touch of gin, there was also a surprising amount of actually emerging blinking into the sunshine to do actual outdoor stuff.
Friday there was London for a farewell lunch to a pal moving down under, followed by a trip to the V&A to see an exhibition of hats throughout the ages which even had a section where you could try on a couple of different styles. I can now tell my bonnet from my tricorn from my fascinator, I feel oddly proud :) I kept on getting sucked into the giftshop and eventually escaped with only 2 new pairs of earrings and 2 bags of mixed seeds for the garden.
Saturday we returned to pay our respects to Portsmouth. This time round there was far more sun and a little less hangover. Valuable lessons were learnt from our perusals of the Mary Rose and Action Stations. (1) If in doubt, have a war with France, seems to be a tried-and-tested way of passing the centuries. (2) Invading England will give you the plague. Stay away, we really aren't worth it *nods* (3) Man's best friend really is his dog. 400+ men may drown, but what will get the crowds sniffling is the death of the carpenter's dog trapped in the cabin. The day was wrapped up with an evening venture to Butser Ancient Farm for their Beltane festival. There was music, belly dancers, cider/beer tents, falcons and owls, and of course the Wicker Man. Possibly one of the more surreal evenings of my life, but hey! I got to have cider in a iron age great roundhouse and dance to the music in my head, what more could I ask for :)
Sunday we relaxed, taking a leisurely turn around Chichester, going 'Oooh' at the Cathedral, before settling down to go 'Oooh!' at Wolverine at the local flea-pit. As someone who only knows X-Men through the 3 movies, I enjoyed myself. I got the feeling there were many references to 'X-Men' comics etc going over my head, but that still left much fun, a bit of plot, and an inordinate amount of naked Hugh Jackman leaping over fences and plunging through rushing waters. What wasn't to love?
Needless to say there was also the odd bit of crack!fic discussed, with Merlin ("Why do you call him the slash dragon?"), Supernatural ("Show us where he touched you on the doll, Dean!"), Hornblower ("Bastard."), Jeeves & Wooster and even Gladiators taking their turns under the spotlight. I will be expecting to see some of these plotlines starting to appear on LJ soon... *eyes certain people sternly*
The barn feels very empty now, although my spirits did lighten at the announcement that there will be 'Merlin' panel at this year's May London Expo. Not entirely sure I'll make it, but I do love it when the publicity machine starts creaking back into gear.
Closing with some pictures...
princess_s and esmerelda_t of my very own! And whilst there was *cough* a bit of wine and maybe a touch of gin, there was also a surprising amount of actually emerging blinking into the sunshine to do actual outdoor stuff.Friday there was London for a farewell lunch to a pal moving down under, followed by a trip to the V&A to see an exhibition of hats throughout the ages which even had a section where you could try on a couple of different styles. I can now tell my bonnet from my tricorn from my fascinator, I feel oddly proud :) I kept on getting sucked into the giftshop and eventually escaped with only 2 new pairs of earrings and 2 bags of mixed seeds for the garden.
Saturday we returned to pay our respects to Portsmouth. This time round there was far more sun and a little less hangover. Valuable lessons were learnt from our perusals of the Mary Rose and Action Stations. (1) If in doubt, have a war with France, seems to be a tried-and-tested way of passing the centuries. (2) Invading England will give you the plague. Stay away, we really aren't worth it *nods* (3) Man's best friend really is his dog. 400+ men may drown, but what will get the crowds sniffling is the death of the carpenter's dog trapped in the cabin. The day was wrapped up with an evening venture to Butser Ancient Farm for their Beltane festival. There was music, belly dancers, cider/beer tents, falcons and owls, and of course the Wicker Man. Possibly one of the more surreal evenings of my life, but hey! I got to have cider in a iron age great roundhouse and dance to the music in my head, what more could I ask for :)
Sunday we relaxed, taking a leisurely turn around Chichester, going 'Oooh' at the Cathedral, before settling down to go 'Oooh!' at Wolverine at the local flea-pit. As someone who only knows X-Men through the 3 movies, I enjoyed myself. I got the feeling there were many references to 'X-Men' comics etc going over my head, but that still left much fun, a bit of plot, and an inordinate amount of naked Hugh Jackman leaping over fences and plunging through rushing waters. What wasn't to love?
Needless to say there was also the odd bit of crack!fic discussed, with Merlin ("Why do you call him the slash dragon?"), Supernatural ("Show us where he touched you on the doll, Dean!"), Hornblower ("Bastard."), Jeeves & Wooster and even Gladiators taking their turns under the spotlight. I will be expecting to see some of these plotlines starting to appear on LJ soon... *eyes certain people sternly*
The barn feels very empty now, although my spirits did lighten at the announcement that there will be 'Merlin' panel at this year's May London Expo. Not entirely sure I'll make it, but I do love it when the publicity machine starts creaking back into gear.
Closing with some pictures...
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Wicker Man Before sundown and the crowds are yet to gather. |
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Belly Dancers Men and women defy cold weather to shake their booty. Not entirely sure how it ties into May Day, but no-one seemed to be complaining. |
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Mummers The mummers take centre stage. Supposedly the blackened faces are to stop recognition by the devil. Or by the authorities during the time when public plays were banned in 1642. |
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Sundown As the stars come out it is time to get things going. |
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Flames on Beltane And up it goes! |
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Farewell The crowd did mourn for the sheep as he/she vanished from view. |
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Sparks As the flames begin to die down, all that was left was the frame. |
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-06 08:00 am (UTC)Have you worn the earrings yet?
It was a fab weekend! Thanks so much for inviting us down, I had a blast!
*ahem* I do believe that someone I know is supposed to betaing and possibly plotting some other fics...
OH MY GOD!! How did I not know about this?!?? And it would have to be the weekend that I can't do under any circumstances. Presumably if its the Sunday, Bradley won't be there, unless they do the panel very late in the day. And if its the Saturday, then well yeah I really can't go *sniffles* We'll have to send someone in our stead.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-06 08:23 pm (UTC)If it's the Saturday I may be trying to convince the eldest spawn that she really would like to experience a geek thing as her birthday gift, I reckon if I throw in a good lunch and pretty keyring she may be amenable? ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-06 08:02 am (UTC)I'm still upset about that sheep, there was no need to burn the sheep!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-06 08:25 pm (UTC)The sheep died for a good cause! For the good of the land, the good of humanity, with its own giant pot of mint sauce - it was a good death!