31st May 2015 - Just a thought

Thought for the day : "Those blissful calm periods only last until life is finished reloading. "

Just a thought  - Serenity LARP 

 

30th May 2015 - Just a thought

Thought for the day : "I can't decide if life is passing me by or trying to run me over."


Just a thought - SERENITY LARP ...

 

29th May 2015 - Off line for a few days - and pies

Thought for the day: " The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first."

So - the end of a busy day. Now Master Elect of St Teilo Lodge no 4755 for the ensuing year. Had some fun with the visitor's song sung with a Lute Guitar - was a bit different but I did not have a pianist immediately available and - well it was my master elect night - They have no idea what they are getting next year.

PGM was there, and seemed to enjoy - to be fair the standard of ritual was excellent so I think that we all earned some browny points there.

Off to Coventry tomorrow for the Serenity LARP event ...   with a quick rush back to Carmarthen on Saturday for the Provincial OSM Meeting and back to the game - may have problems remembering in which one I am meant to be killing people - ho hum ...

Susie back home and all is well in the world ..

Best skip the Chateau 41 this evening as I am on the road in the morning...

yes - you may gather I am writing just before midnight so that the blog goes out during the day - I shall have little or no opportunity for writing tomorrow or Saturday ...or Sunday probably ...

And so we go on with the show...

Night !!!

have some pies ...

 

28th May 2015 - So much time so little to do - Strike that - Reverse it

Thought for the day: "When all is said and done, there’s always someone who’s still talking."

Sitting thinking to myself there is too much to do in too short a period of time. So - maybe I should do my blog and think about it! Been up since a quarter past eight - fed the dog, watered the chickens and the greenhouse, fed the baby chicken or the penguins as Susie calls them. Let the middly chicken out into the run - is a Sunny day - they will enjoy it - probably will eat all the last grass seed I put down but it did not seem to be growing anyway.

Wrote a visitors toast for our Junior warden - who does not have a lot of time or the inkling to write his own and it is not a problem to help out... Wrote a toast for the Provincial Grand Master who it seems will be attending my Master Elect night - so needs to have something nice said about him. I'm good at that!...

Contacted Margaret to see if I can get her and Ken to the Lodge at 6pm to help present a cheque for £2,000 to the Brecon Search and Rescue to assist after their rescue dog found Ken when he was lost in the woods - it is short notice so not sure what will happen.

Susie is on her way back from Crete - well Aylesbury today - hoping to get here in time to be present for the presentation of the cheques to Cor Curiad Choir. though she is probably very tired after a week in Crete and looking after Scarlett... They are two hours ahead of us !!

So, need to see if the Bothy starts - get the bedding sorted. Get the stock together for Serenity. Get my costume together. Get my provincial gear ready for Saturday for the Secret Monitor Provincial Meeting (Provincial Organist again).  Check the float. Charge up the credit card machine.

Oh - and just remembered that I have a guest organist for the lodge this evening - but it looks as though he cannot stay for the festive board - so have decided to fall back upon the guitar / well the lute guitar to be exact as accompaniment - that should be different! Will have to hide the guitar int he Lodge so no-one knows until I get it out ... That will be fun !!

Walk the dog and visit the hospital..

hmm - better get on with it then I suppose - no time for prevarication...

Saw something on line today and though I would share :


The couple from the Woodstock album cover are still together, 46 years later!! — with November Moon MJ and Jose Luis Qedna Zambrano.

Well - that about does it - better just do the birthday cards on Facebook and then get on....
Really - I will!!

27th May 2015 - New Paths and Rambling...

Thought for the day: "It's never too late to be what you want to be. Unless you want to be younger. Then you're screwed!"

Another sunny day, must be because the family is in Crete and therefore we need to be enjoying the same weather. Managed two straight days without prevarication - and as a result have the business accounts up to date and have a good idea of the stock levels, and the financial state so far this year after 5 events. Seems that the old skills are not missing.

Still taking the run to the hospital most days - though was commanded to stay at home the day before yesterday, but needed to go in and find out what they were doing with the hip brace which reaches almost to my mother's neck and some tablet issues which still seems to be causing confusion. Appears that hospital Pharmacy's are a law unto themselves....

Took the opportunity of walking the dog onto the beach via a different route - thought we could both do with a change..

Strange, but after walking the same route for weeks, I decided to follow a path just a little further rather than turn off for the beach and found myself at a pond that I did not know was there.

The dog probably knew - after all it was water and there was something foul and smell to roll in on the shoreline - probably swan droppings or similar, but it was better to get her into the water at the beginning of the walk rather than put up with the smell in the car on the way home...

Certainly looked nice in the sun, and though the wind was a little chilly, a brisk walk brought us out onto the beach where the tide was so far out I was glad that we had decided on the swim ion the pond rather than depend upon the sea.

So, managed to remember to buy a bottle of milk on the way home, and some oven chips. The girls have been doing their job well and there are loads of eggs in place so a treat for the evening - egg and chips followed by mandarins in jelly. Boiled the kettle, having got the milk so I could have a cup of tea, and promptly forgot and opened a bottle of Chateau 41 to have with dinner..  Oops!  Could have happened to anyone you know!

Quiet evening in.. Short rehearsal for meeting on Thursday - my master elect night for the Craft... third time lucky they say!  Might get it right next time!!

Meanwhile, rambling through the Book of Faces, I came across another set of rambling thoughts - which I thought I may share with you - Missives by Mr Morgan...  


Stories from Mr  Morgan the Barber Surgeon..

 "Now, I must admit I'm getting rather boring about chippings. You see, I decided to tidy up the approach to Morgan Mansions by laying chippings on the verge of the driveway that sweeps up to the grand entrance porch and after much deliberation I decided upon Cotswold stone chippings working on the principle that if the Cotswolds are good enough for Prince Charles, chippings thereof are good enough for me.

Anyway, having made a decent enough fist of that I decided to extend it to the rear of the Mansions and the ornamental flower bed to the south of the croquet lawn. However, to do that I had to grub out a very old and diseased plant/bush/thingie that has been there for years, poor thing. And that's when I met an old comrade in arms. 

There he was, still holding his position after all those years under the leaves, a plastic German soldier. He must have served in all the great battles with Major General Anthony Smith (8) commanding the allied forces, Field Marshal Marc Powell (8 and a bit) directing the forces of Imperial Japan and Ubersturmbahmhautmannfuhrer Morgan (8ish) in charge of the Axis. How many fearsome Stukas crashed and burned in the shrubbery with the aid of white spirit, a match and an air rifle? 

How many gallant Spitfires patrolled the air space between the ornamental pond and the kitchen door to the consternation of the dog? But there he stood, firm, for all those years. Now, he's not the first to fall in after all this time. Captain Scarlet put in an appearance a few years back from under the bush by the shed...sorry summerhouse. A bit worn and faded but at least proving he really was indestructible. 

But after all this digging and reminiscing on battles of old, always over by tea time, I decided to have a brew, myself. As I sat there surveying the fruits of my labours a robin arrived and sat on the fence gazing patiently at the disturbed earth waiting for his supper to surface. A bee buzzed past hunting for his last sup of nectar for the evening. And as St Basils bell invited the righteous to their Sunday eveningtide devotions the sun cast long shadows across the fields on the other side of the valley as it slipped quietly over the horizon to kiss the Americas good morning. 

This is when I had an overwhelming feeling that at least for tonight, in the garden of Morgan Mansions, all is well with the world. Night night my darlings."

Cheers!!

26th May 2015 - The Beach was too sandy....

Thought for the day: "They say that hard work never killed anyone…but then, neither did hanging around the house and napping all day."

Now the bank holiday is over - and many are heading back to work - I though I would share these few gems brought to light by my friend Bob who seems to have the same sense of humour as me....

The Beach was too sandy....
THESE ARE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY "THOMAS COOK VACATIONS" FROM DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS:

1. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."
2. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."
3. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."
4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."
5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."
6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."
7. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallartato close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."
8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."
9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."
10. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."
12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."
13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."
14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."
15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."
16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."
17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."
18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."
19. "My fiancée and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."
BE AWARE ...
THEY WALK AMONG US and THEY VOTE!


From the days of past I found this Grandiloquent word of the day  ...
It has nothing to do with Chateau 41...

25th May 2015 - Smelly Hounds and Milk alternatives

Thought for the day : "Sometimes I feel like a semicolon. I'm not sure where I belong."

A surprisingly successful day hitting the paperwork..  Of course there are always some down sides.. Working too hard can affect your brain they say and after walking the dog I really meant to pop into the local shop for a bottle of milk so I could have a cup of tea - and got into the hallway before I remembered.. It was not just forgetfulness I hasten to add - it was also because I failed to see the dog rolling in something nauseous just before getting into the car.. Something I have Had to get more used to with a Labrador than ever occurred with the collies..

So, trying to get home in short time to get the hose onto 'Thena and as I carefully removed the collar and lead from a rather smelly hound  - I came to the realisation that the cup of tea would have to wait...

I could have gone back out again I know - but somehow it seemed easier to reconsider the day - it is Bank Holiday after all, and decide that I could skip the cup of tea and proceed straight onto the Chateau 41 - so baked beans on toast with and egg on top - and ready to sit down in front of the TV with a glass in hand ....

Seems like a plan..

'Thena with the Boar - butter wouldn't melt in her mouth

 Cheers

24th May 2015 - 73,000 Hits on Youtube and climbing

Thought for the day :"I think my therapist is seeing other people."

Happened to pass a glance onto the Youtube pages today - and was pleased to see that the hit counter had jumped hugely in the last couple of days. this was partly becaue of the "Lars Trekking" song of course and partly because Youtube only catches up with its counters every so often. I cannot say it is every week - or every other day - they seem to have a mind of their own..
But today I saw a big jump in the hits  - to over 73,000

I know it is blowing my own trumpet but as they say - if you do not do it yourself then no one else is likely to .. and it is all about a degree of marketting. I of course posted the Barley Mow under the heading just in case some others may decide to watch ....

Mother finally got her brace fitted for her hip yesterday. I did not manage to get there to visit yesterday due to a meeting in Bridgend that ran on a bit but understand that she has been able to take a few paces and that though uncomfortable, is giving her the support that she needs.

Seems also that it has to stay on for about 3 months !! 

So, doing a little on facebook and compiling some statistics and pie charts for the future ...  should keep me going another month I think for the birthdays and thought for the day.

Managed to design a few facebook covers as well so have managed to procrastinate yet again...

Finally heard from the family out in Crete, seems Susie's mobile phone is charging nicely at nancy's house which is why I had not heard form her at all ...  We are not very good with phones in our family. Sounds as though they all picked up a throat infection of some sort - probably on the plane but seem to be enjoying themsleves anyway.

And so - have a few pies..

  

23rd May 2015 - The Barley Mow

Thought for the day : "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, you love a boomerang."

Was a day of achievement yesterday .. Well of things that are not particularly important..

A while ago I videoed some friends from Germany while they did a "parlour Gig" at the Tollgate. I recorded a series of their songs and posted them upon the Sheep Channel (The tube of Ewes), and enjoyed their peculiarly unique German Irish renditions.

During the course of the evening I filled in at one point with a favourite of mine - the tongue twister song called the "Barley Mow" which I tend to do as a tipsy snger - something that is clearly not true due to the difficulty of the song itself - but it is fun to play it that way...

Only this week did I find out that one of my friends Sebastian had actually videoed most of the song on his phone - one of those great things that you can do these days!!...

It was very dark so needed a bit of adjustment and is a little grainy - but it was still quite fun ...

and so I share it today ...

Drives you to drink doesn't it !!

Cheers !

22nd May 2015 - Lars Trekking ...

Thought for the day: "Autocorrect is changing correctly spelled words. I'm starting to think it has a mind of its AUTOCORRECT IS HARMLESS. GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. "

Well - finally got around to doing my rendition of "Lars Trekking".
For you kind reader who may not knwo the background, part of my fun and games is playing a Viking Skald, or Bard in the Curious Pastimes Games system.

Now, this is one of those games that dioes not have "down-time". What happens in the game is only what happens when the events are running. Some game systems have things that you can do between events that will have an impact upon your character, the world, your wealth or experience - not Curiosu Pastimes.  That does not mean to say that people stop "frothing" or enjoying the concept of their character and the game - that is what the internet does for the game. But nothing actually counts!

So, when one player was late to event one time, the "back story" was that he had managed to run his longship into the shore and therefore been delayed. This somehow stuck, and Lars, for that was the name of the character, suddenly found many references to his lack of sailing prowess. Expressions such as "Lars only knows one speed - Ramming Speed",  "Lost another Longship yet Lars?", were banded around both at event and on chat groups and facebook statuses..

It was not unusual therefore that afetr about a year of this, my mate Steve, I will not say the whole name to protect the innocent, decided to post words along the line of "Hey guys - I like a joke as much as the next person - but this one is getting a little stale now  - can we give it a rest.."  while his Character Lars started getting very grumpy about it and threatened to start "blood eagling" anyone who mentioned it in his presence... (Blood Eagling is a very gruesome form of death - comprising opening the chest while still alive and pulling out the lungs and spreading them as though they were wings and leaving the victim to die )..

So..  of course I would not dream of mentioning any such things - until I get to Curious Pastimes Event No 1 - set in Teutonia and find that two very annoying goblins - no not the ones of fame and fortune and "the green one", but in this case Insult and Heckal of the Viking  or Norscan troop of Wolves, and Insult (Adam) starts singing "There's Goblins on the starboard bow" to Star Trekking across the USA tune...   Sad to say - I was lost!!  It had to be done !! Death or dishonour, Bloodeagling or Bounty. The words just started pouring out...

Now the Wolves hold something called the "Tyng" every night at midnight. It is a time when we call upon Heimdal to open a portal across theBifrost Bridge so that the all-father Odin can hear what we have been up to in the day, what heroes have achieved, what ills befall us, what aid may be needed, and to accept the Glorious Fallen...        And a song !!

Making sure that I was far away form the warrior Lars across the fire - I stepped up and sang the following song...

And since that time I have decided to record it for posterity and add a little animation..  and post upon the Tube of Ewes, and the Book of Faces...

I think he likes it really - just can't admit it ...

So - life may be short - but the Chateau 41 is available.. Cheers!!!

Of - and some pie charts ... Can't remeber what I have posted so here is a whole set ...

21st May 2015 - Songs in the Crimson Moon

Thought for the day :" Good news for claustrophobics: the universe continues to expand. "

Yesterday I was meant to be getting things together and doing the admin as I should have been for the last week - instead I ended up with the video suite againa nd worked on a video from the Vale.

The Guildmaster (who sometimes goes by the name of Iain McNeil) had penned a little song for the Duchess - who it must be said may not have the greatest of height issues... In fact - she would happily be a hobbit in my "too tall to be a hobbit" song...

However - she does have a bit of a temper - as all Duchesses are entitled to it woudl seem...

And so, when I heard the song I though it would be appropriate to have a rendition sung in the Crimson Moon and to record for posterity...  So here it is ...

"Differently Tall " by Iain McNeil..

Well I enjoyed it - despite the noise from customers behind us ....   

and for those who may have missed the "Too Tall to be a hobbit"

Another day - some more paperwork to find...

20th May 2015 - Video killed the Radio Star

Thought for the day :"I took up photography because it's the only hobby where I can shoot people and cut off their heads without going to jail. "

A day full of procrastination. But there were parts of the procrastination I just had to put off until anotehr day...

Meanwhile, in a video near you - a time-lapse record of the Vale made it to the Tube of Ewes ...

Sadly shows that the weather was not as good as it could be - but it is nice when the sun pops out...

Another day - another bottle of Chateau 41..

Cheers!

19th May 2015 - Procrastination Proceeds Punctiliously

Thought for the day :"Don't you wish karma was like pizza and could be delivered in under 30 minutes? "

Says it all I think ....

Off early to get money changed for the family trip out to Crete. The rest of the family that is - I have dog watching and chicken caring to keep me going and, yes - I know - the paperwork !!! 
But I have done the marathon of birthday wishes for today - a popular day for birthdays with a baker's dozen of them.....  And I researched a few new thoughts for the day - which is sort of work if you try hard to think about it ....




But, before she left, Susie bottled the latest batch of Chateau 41 (red) so there will be joy in the cloisters and cheering in the pews.


Which means I had better see her off ...
Cheers!!

18th May 2015 - Get on with the work !

Thought for the day: "Did you hear about the psychic amnesiac? He knew in advance what he was going to forget.."

As I sit and muse - I ralsie that the month is slipping away and there are really admion duties to get on with. Meanwhile the rubbish needed to be taken out.

Of course - in the past, this has been a special treat for my mother who enjoys being taken out to the dump - or the amenity site as they like to call it these days.

There was a large set of bags with the debris form the pond, the debris from the chicken coups - which sadly seemed to be fermenting a bit and the bag was not very strong leading to some rapid holding of the nose while shoveling into another bag...

The Terrano seems to tow alright - fourth time lucky with a car I am hoping, but sod's law meant that one tyre was flat. A quick pump with the foot pump and the air rapidly came out of the walls of the tyre - it had perished ! In fact it was more like a zombie tyre with bits flaling out all over the place. Able to put enough air to get it around to the tyre place - and another £30 out on vehicles - nowhere seems to do retreads or second hand any more.

But three trips to the dump and on the last a lady was about to throw a perfectly good guitar stand in to the scrap - so she let me have it instead.  So bomus - a clear back yard and a guitar stand to boot..

Which of course meant that by the time I got back - grubby and smelly, and a shower and off to the hospital for visit. Well the day had run away from me ....

Master Elect night in Prince of Wales - the oldest Lodge in Llanelli (1876) for my compatriot Ray. So best draw a line under the whole Monday thing and get on with a glass of Scotch...

Cheers

17th May 2015 - Some Photos and Fun

Thought for the day :"Never buy a new set of boots from a local drug dealer... you will end up tripping all day"    

Some photos from CP event 1 - "Retaliation"

So - back to the paperwork ..

cheers...
 

16th May 2015 - £1,076,000 Raised - Not too shabby

Thought for the day : "The only time that the word "incorrectly" isn't spelled incorrectly is when it is spelled incorrectly"

Well, the dinner last night allowed the final figures for the festival to be published... 

Considering that we have only 27 lodges and under 1400 members in West Wales, it seems that we managed to raise a goodly sum. Over a million pounds !!

A good night at the Stradey Park Hotel - and a nice celebration.

And Cor Curiad provided some of the entertainment.
Photos care of my new phone - still don't know how to work it properly !!

But that will be an opportunity for another day ..

Cheers