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| Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 | | 10:12 am |
taking stock
I've got a spare moment, and I want to get back to writing, so this seems a good way to start. How are things with me, anyway? Not too bad, actually. So, the first year of married life has ticked around. That didn't start off too well what with Allie being in another country and all, but that's been rectified since October. She found it fairly hard to get a job, partly because of her peers in the world of recently qualified Art experts having a bit of a head start in the job hunt (thanks, pointless employment restrictions on student visas!) but she's a little better placed now, working as the Art Buyer for Blackwells. This is a good thing, and it also means she isn't working till 2am or whatever in a pub all the time. Actually having your wife awake at the same time as you is a much under-rated thing. My work's been a bit easier, recently- they've changed a few things about the way we work to make it more fair, and I've been one of the major beneficiaries. People have started to realise exactly how much work I do, and have started to treat me as one of the people to ask when something tricky needs explaining and fixing. A little bit of a pay rise this spring was quite nice too. It's still not what I want to do, but it's better, and I work with good people. As an example, the guy I used to sit next to is a punk rock bassist who's currently writing a concept album about Godzilla. There's similar lovely folk about throughout the building. The place is full of musical connections. One of the managers is Phil Rourke, whose brother Andy was in some band called the Smiths. What's more, somewhere in the building lurks a former member of Runrig. Haven't found him yet. Keeping an eye out for SNP propaganda and mullets. I still want to find something better to pay my way, working on it. I'm also moving house. I've been staying with my family friends the Farquahars on and off for a while in Edinburgh, and it'll be odd to go, but the place we're moving to is lovely, and a bit more space. It'll also properly be ours- staying in somewhere that's been someone's family home for about twenty-five years (I've been coming here for about that time, too!) means that you can't quite make it your own. Allie and I are both looking forward to that, though I suspect I won't have much say in what the place actually looks like. Kind of inevitable when you're married to an art expert who is obsessed with the theory of display. Not having to deal with an old dog that shits everywhere will be good, too. And then there's bands. I was in the one (Sabai, good little folk-rock band) for a few years, but that came to an end for me as it became apparent over time that I was on a completely different wavelength to the rest of the band, on lots of things, and that my opinion didn't really count for anything with them either musically or in terms of how to go about things. Leaving was a strange wrench but looking back, it was the right thing to do- I'm currently doing more music than I've ever done. Right now I'm in two bands, Mad Nurse and Royal Edinburgh Music. They gig on a fairly regular basis, and whilst neither are quite setting the world on fire, it's been great so far. I've also got a huge amount out of joining Edinburgh's Beltane Fire society, who are basically a big bunch of giggly hippies who like dressing up in funny costumes like Larpers, and drumming at public festivals. Allie's been involved that too, and it's been a really cool thing to be able to share that with her. It's introduced us to a whole community of other people who LOVE PLAYING DRUMS AND TALKING ABOUT IT! Finally, a home amongst my people... Life is fairly hectic- things like last week keep happening. I practiced with my various musical ensembles each night after work from Monday to Thursday, sometimes till ten o'clock. I then spent friday's day off sorting out stuff for our move, then going to the Wee Red Bar (a lovely little venue in Edinburgh College of Art) where I played two gigs with Mad Nurse and Royal Edinburgh. People kept treating me as if I was in charge, which was kind of odd but rather cool. Oh, the power. After the gig, we took one set of drum paraphenalia back to the house and then rocked on down with some other drums to a club. The Drummers had a gig at a private party, and as we arrived we walked through a fairly empty club where terrible music was playing, but then a door at the back was opened and a thunder of drums flooded out to greet us. Our gig was at midnight, and we played on the dancefloor with people all around us. After the gig proper was done, we carried on in a back room, about twenty people playing till about 2am before we staggered home, exhausted. Things aren't perfect, but right now, they really aren't all that bad. Some people are too far away, and I don't have enough money to visit them as much as I'd want, but give that time and all should be well. | | Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 | | 12:27 pm |
Candleston is still Candleston. Universe, good.
I made the trip down to South Wales for the Jackals' event last weekend. I'd had some trepidation about the timing of it, as it was coming right around the time that Allie's visa should be coming through (or, indeed, being rejected by some twat in some office somewhere for having a comma in the wrong place), but then the universe decided that it was going to time some things right, and on the thursday evening I came home to find a bunch of excited messages on my phone, and the news that the Visa had come through fine, and that she'll be back on the 19th. If you're counting, that's monday. It was perfect timing, and so I went on down by plane to Cardiff, and then on to Swansea, with a wonderful feeling of relief, and the knowledge that I was free to just have fun without anything to worry about. Swansea itself was fantastic- I hadn't been down there in what seems like forever. Maybe a year and a half? I'm not even sure. As it was, I had an hour or two before Hancock was done work, a good portion of which I spent walking down the High street feeling nostalgic, and hanging about in Castle square reading with a smile on my face. It's strange and wonderful how much it felt like coming home. I must do more of that. The event itself was pretty cool, too, though I could have done with not being absolutely shatterred on the first night. There were a lot of people who I hadn't seen in ages, longest of whom where Clare and Little Dave, but it was fantastic to see Hancock, Rich, other Rich, Magnus, Pete, Gwyn, Bunting, Mark and the inevitable other person/people I've totally forgotten, thus mortally offending. If you were there and are reading this, I mean you. Really, it wouldn't have been the same without you. Shame about both Ben and Lucy not being there, but you can't have everything. After all, where would you put it? Highlights included the storytelling circle of port, Meti's endless digging, and of course, fun with Doggers. When two bizarre subcultures clash, there shall be only one victor! The trip back was pretty easy, too- Gwyn was very nice and dropped me off at the airport, which meant I did everything at a nice leisurely pace and had an easier journey back than I'd anticipated. Home, sleep, lovely. Now I just have to get back to that whole 'tidying up my room and making space for Allie's stuff' thing. | | Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 | | 3:59 pm |
Gathering
A very good event. I'd been looking forward to it for ages, and it was all I'd hoped for and more. I've not had the best time of it recently, and it felt like the end of that period, and the opportunity to just have an amazing time with people it's always a glorious privilege to hang about with. Here's a hot-or-not list: Overflowing rage of Sekhmet: -'Oh Baby baby/the reason I kill is you...' -Surprising Frog! -Getting to do some full-on proper vengeance, and how the situation was handled by the faction and all concerned. -Rich Garner's four-star breakfast service every day. -Ritual with Bonerot being very good and very fun indeed. -Harmonised drunken leg-removal rites. -Being a kick-ass honour guard for the Pharoah. -Anya revealing her true nature as a glitch in the Matrix. -Pomegranite and ginger beer. -Tikki Tribesmen and the adventures of the White Devil. -Camel Riders and signing contracts late at night. -Metiata's letter to the Ebony-skinned temptress. -Sekhmates being the heart of the Jackals' shield wall. -Wiping the floor with all who stood before us in the final battle. -Some of the funnier chaos effects. 'Play as if you were a fish' was an interesting command to fulfil. -the new layout of the marketplace. I don't know if that's been there in previous events, but it's the first time I've seen it. I liked having the guilds and the ritual circle over by the lake. -Sekhmates. The group as a whole works really well. -Jugger on the battlefield. -Ice-cream runs on the battlefield. -'BASTEDS!' -A hypothermic drunk man transformed into an avenging bat by the simple addition of a cloak. -'Pretend there is a bat!' -'Too soon! Too soon!' -Overflowing cat-litter tray: -No more Sheikh. -Golden City taking such a big hit, so much rivalry left unsaid. -err... bit drizzly on the sunday morning? -Some of the chaos effects being a leetle excessive. Swings and roundabouts, though. | | Thursday, March 11th, 2010 | | 9:02 pm |
No-one ever said it was going to be easy
Another post, another 'so, it's been a while since I last posted' beginning. Ah well, 'tis the way of things. I'm posting this out of laziness, sort of. I'm tired of telling people this story. So Allie was applying for a Visa to stay on in the UK after study. The other week (on the 24th of Feb) that was turned down. This was because an account was twenty four pounds sixty-nine pence below the eight hundred pound threshold you have to maintain in your account whilst applying. She had ten days to appeal, but the immigration lawyer she was reccommended didn't have any appointments in that time, and plus there really isn't much disputing of the facts. Past that there is a twenty-eight day timescale to leave the country, after which you are 'overstaying' and illegal. This of course would jeapordise any later applications to return. She's going back on the twenty-third of March. In the mean time, she isn't allowed to work, so we're paying for this flat with my pay only till I move. I'll have to pay for a week of April's rent, too. Our parents have been really generous and helped us out as best we can, which means we can actually afford to eat and get her out of the UK. The weekend of the 19th-21st, we were going to be coming to the Jackals. Allie was going to give Larping a go, and get giant silver boots which made her happy. Instead, we'll be moving my stuff back into the place I was living before, and tidying up our old flat before she jets off out of the country to get a temporary job in the US and figure out the quickest legal way for her to return to Britain. This fucking sucks. | | Monday, January 25th, 2010 | | 6:24 pm |
Not much going on.
Not much to report. In January I've been mostly skint, relatively content, was quite stressed about Allie's visa stuff. That seems mainly sorted now. The plan for getting to Gwyn and Lucy's wedding has taken shape, and my jealousy at all the fun the cool kids must have had on the stag and hen nights has faded a little. I've also been recording my band's music, playing around with it on Audacity, and making weird-ass ambient noise with the results. Anyone know a good drum machine simulator you can get for free off the web? Oh, and I found this very interesting, in case I forget to mention it to people; http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58656It's one of those articles which says what you've wanted to say for you, in a way that's better than you ever could have done. It's the argument I wish someone would put to that talented snob, Margaret 'I don't write Science Fiction, just books about possible futures where society has changed due to the effects of scientific research or environmental catastrophes' Attwood. Incidentally, I one day hope to find her, and go 'my god! It's you! The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake are right up there with Philip K Dick and Asimov! You're the best science fiction author EVER!' If I have a star trek t-shirt on, and perhaps haven't washed, I might hug her. That'll show her. | | Monday, January 18th, 2010 | | 6:49 pm |
Minor tremours are better than major quakes.
So I managed to get through a birthday without some great calamity happening for, ooh, the second year in a row. Apart from the part really early on in the birthday party yesterday when I sat down next to someone on the sofa and tore the crotch of my trousers with highly audible ripping sound. Apart from that. Yeah. Thanks for the birthday wishes from folk. | | Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 | | 5:45 pm |
New Year, New Danger
So my New Year's was pretty good- a little quiet, just some chinese food round a friend's flat, and out to Edinburgh's Meadows to watch the Fireworks from afar. This worked out well, as we got the highlights of Edinburgh's street party, without actually having to be AT the street party. The street party is one of those terrible events which people go to because they've heard of it, because everyone else is going, or because they have no imagination, and as a result they are left pressing up against thousands of other people in the freezing cold, watching some second-tier indie band like Kasabian or Glasvegas (two bands which are living embodiments of mediocrity and attitude over any kind of actual substance or point to their existence) and pretending that the whole hellish ordeal is something approximating a pleasant communal experience. I've been to the last two street parties, and they were shit. The people I was with made things a lot more pleasant, but still, I'm glad we did it properly and avoided that hellish cattle-pen this year. Instead, The Meadows was lovely, a great big place located in the middle of edinburgh's old town, not far from both Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh Castle, and on New Year's eve it was a snowy wonder. There were people being joyful and new yearsy, but not too many, and they were all doing picturesque things like sledging, or launching those Thai paper balloons powered by lights which float up into the sky and look like ufos. We counted about twenty of them in the air at one point. Really cool. That plus fireworks made for a wonderful display. Back to reality now. I'm looking to make 2010 a good year full of good times with good people, new memories and bonds forged, and exciting projects and plans coming to fruition. I hope yours is the same. | | Monday, December 28th, 2009 | | 5:21 pm |
sentimental ramblings.
Oh, bugger it, I was going to post something long, self-indulgent and sentimental but LJ just crashed and ate it. Bare bones, then. I went to Yorkshire for Christmas with my folks. I stayed here, it was awesome and there was a LOT of sledge-riding in a beautiful snowy landscape. Just in case anyone doesn't know, I'm engaged, to a very nice American girl called Allison Mclaughlin. We met about a year and a half ago, and have lived together for a while. She still isn't sick of me, so clearly I'm on to a good thing. The wedding's probably in October or some such. It might be in America, as she's got lots of elderly relatives who would have problems traveling, and plus she's staying in Britain so it'd be a nice thing to do for Americans who won't see her as much now she's over here. It's pretty damn cool, but feels a bit odd that some of my favourite people haven't met her yet. People are a long way away, I guess. Plus I'm lazy and a terrible friend. We'd like to come a-visiting folks, when we can. | | Monday, December 21st, 2009 | | 12:22 pm |
urgh.
I really hate the build-up to Christmas. As I always do at this point in December, I find myself tired, stressed, concerned about whether or not I've bought the right presents for the right people, wishing my holiday had started, and just wanting to get some more sleep. There's lots of good things, and the actual day itself I love. But my god, if I could just hibernate, that would be fine. Snow is good, everything looks pretty, I'm lucky to have what I have, etc etc etc. I'm not ungrateful for the good things I have. Still, I hate this time of year. I deal with it so badly. But at least Rage Against the Machine are Christmas number one. | | Friday, October 23rd, 2009 | | 9:38 pm |
| | 8:53 am |
A paid writing job!
Kinda. I have fourteen days to write a bunch of short articles on the subject of 'self hypnosis.' For this I will be paid $200.00. Money is a good thing, more would be nicer. . As far as I can tell, these are destined to go onto some website or series of websites built by a marketing company in the states. My only guide in this journey is Dave, an observer from my own time who- oh, sorry, that's from Quantum leap. If you get spam from a self-hypnosis company in three years time, you'll know who to thank! | | Monday, October 12th, 2009 | | 9:58 am |
The day after a larp event, and not everything hurts.
Monstering the Jackals' event was fun. It was in Oxfordshire, so it was good to go through there and feel all nostalgic. As I don't really have a base there anymore with my father having relocated up north to Wendsleydale, I haven't been back there all that much, so that was good- something about the shape of the land and the trees that grow on it felt very nice and familiar. It also turned out that a load of people who hadn't been to a larp event in ages were there, and that too was fantastic. One of those (who I knew about in advance) was Ben, who I've conspired to not see for about two years (ridiculous oversight on my part) so that was good. It was also pretty cool to see everyone else who was there, although as some friends were playing I didn't get to see everyone as much as we would have liked. There were also a few people kicking around in the monster crew who I kind of knew a bit, but had more of a chance to talk to and get to know, which was very nice. I'm at Ben's now, which has been cool. After the event I had a chance to watched him do some horsemanship stuff for a friend, which I don't know much about. I do really enjoy watching someone who is really immersed in something and really good at it too. Then it was back to his new house for sitting down, and pigeon stew with him and Lou. A very nice larp comedown indeed. There'll be more visiting today then back on up to Edinburgh on the train. I'm looking forward to more of this kind of thing in the not too distant future too, I think. No more Larp events for me for a while, but as long as money sorts itself out (it's looking like things will even out soon, and Allie will be able to get herself a better job once some visa things change) then more visits should happen, I think. Might be the other side of Christmas, but we'll see how it goes. Anyone is, of course, welcome to pop on up to Edinburgh any time- it's beautiful in Autumn. | | Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | | 12:15 pm |
| | Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 | | 3:20 pm |
| | Sunday, October 4th, 2009 | | 9:32 pm |
| | Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 | | 12:02 pm |
We are Gathered here today...
or, well, last weekend. I was back to the Gathering, having missed last year. It felt strange, having not been to a LT event in two years, and consequently having not seen a bunch of people I always see there, in the intervening time. It was good- a long, long journey towards the site, getting in at about half eleven on the friday night to discover that all the cool kids with cars had arrived at pretty much exactly the same time. A bit of getting shit together, and a drunken Shanks appeared. Just like old times, really. Highlights of the weekend involved revelations about Derren Brown, award-winning pie, What's the Time Mr Wolf, now with added Werewolf, drumming mania, corpse puppetry, and finally our surreal final musical procession to the ritual circle, singing 'Goodbye Erdreja' as Shanks, the crew, and the Lizards finally walked away into the sunset at time-out on Sunday night. more importantly, it was wonderful to meet some nice new people, and see others I haven't seen in ages. It made me rediscover my keen for the wonderful world of Larp, and made me realise that it's just getting on a bus, train, or plane, god dammit. going to see people isn't that hard. next weekend- family wedding in London. 11th-20th, Philadelphia. 9th-11th October, there's the Jackals event in Oxfordshire. I've got some holiday left for the year. I think I'll take a couple of days off round then, visit people in that part of the world if that would work? | | Friday, July 17th, 2009 | | 8:50 am |
Rich stole this song from the Beatles, I'm stealing it back...
(bonus points for anyone who knows the cringeworthy origin of that quote above). So Rich is making mixtapes for people, based on the following criteria; list five bands/songs/artists that you love, and three that you hate. The first ten people who respond get a tailor-made mix tape, in CD or downloadable form. I think I'll do that too. Rich, you can have one for definite. seems only fair. | | Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | | 8:33 pm |
| | Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | | 11:23 pm |
Strange, the things which catch you off guard
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=steven_wells_rage_in_peace&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1That's an obituary of Steven Wells, who was amongst the most amusing and inspiring of the music journalists I remember reading when I was younger and more intense, and when I really, really cared about music to what seems like an almost pathological degree. Honestly, I look back on the way I felt about bands I loved, and bands I hated, with a weird mixture of embarrassment and pride, mingled with the thought that I might have lost something, an edge which probably made a lot of things harder, but was, in its own spiky way, admirable. Steven Wells was awesome. He raged, he loved, he hated, and he always made me laugh when eviscerating some terrible band in the NME. I hadn't really thought about him or his writing in a long time, and now he's dead and it seems like I can say 'I read his stuff, when I was young.' My god, when did that happen? I always thought somehow I'd be writing by now, and thought that writing with that kind of passion would be a thing that was somehow within my reach. I haven't done it. I'm not sure why but I suspect it boils down to laziness and a lack of focus. Have to do something about that. I didn't realise he directed a Manics video. I've just listened to half the Holy Bible at eleven o'clock at night now. Steven Wells RIP. | | Sunday, April 19th, 2009 | | 6:22 pm |
All of a sudden I miss everyone
I've just had the most hectic week- A friend of Allie's has been visiting from America since Sunday, and so I've been out almost every night this week, showing two very lovely Connecticut-ites (-ians? -oids?) round Edinburgh, showing them where you can buy Haggis, finding interesting bands to go see, drinking in the town, finding haggis, going to pub quizzes, showing them where Arthur's Seat was, and being on hand to tell them that no, Loch Ness is just a little bit further away than a short bus ride. As is always the case, when someone comes to visit you do things you wouldn't have if you're just busy with the business of getting on with living, and I feel like I've seen more of Edinburgh in the last week than I have in the past three months. Slightly complicating the issue was the fact that Allie was away for the first three days, having been given a surprise trip home for a week by her family. I guess that could have been awkward, but Heidi and Natalie (the two visitors) turned out to be lovely people, the best kind of guests that one could ask for. It also worked out quite well to keep me busy for the week that Allie was away- her and I don't seem to spend much time apart, we realised the other day. That's the way we seem to like it, too. All in all, it was lovely. Slightly marred by the horrendous cold that I developed on friday, but it was discovered that without Lemsip I coughed like a dying coal miner, felt like my head was about to explode, couldn't hear anything, and could only communicate my pain to the outside world with a dry, hopeless croak. With Lemsip, however, I was a normal functioning human being again. It's also been established that if you have a cold, the best thing to do is drink it off. You're not ill if you're drunk. Fact. Now, a wonderful week is over, my new friends are on their plane and the sun shines in through Allie's window, warm and golden as the evening rolls on in. The week is done, and I'm basking in the pleasant thought of fun times had, new friends gained, and that lovely moment when guests have gone, and you miss them, but the thought of lying down and doing nothing at all as good music plays, is the most appealing prospect of all. |
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