There And Back Again

Today I've spent the past few hours in the city of Cardiff (capital city of Wales) visiting my relatives, something I'd not done in a few years. I went with my parents and my brother as a late addition to their trip (I was only asked yesterday if I had the day free), as Dad & Rhys were going up to watch a Rugby match and Mum was going to spend time first with Nan (her mother) and then after the other two returned from the match, to visit Grandma & Grampy (Dad's parents) for tea.

Since it's been a good couple years at least since I'd seen any of those relatives I eagerly agreed to join the trip, and so left the house at about 9:30am this morning to trek across town to my brothers flat, where we were to be picked up from by the parents at 10am. Sure enough they turned up on time, Mum sat in the back seat with their dog Shannon and so I grabbed the front seat next to Dad. The drive up was unevertful apart from noticing the new arrivals at the side of the motorway.

To explain: For years there was a large model camel at the end of a farmers field facing onto the motorway and it was there so long that it became something of a local landmark (so much so that when the farmer actually removed it to repair it, it made the local news as drivers had known to look out for it for years and could measure their remaining journey time from it!). So that started the trend. Then the district council added a huge piece of art in the shape of a wicker man... which got burned down by vandals, so they rebuilt it, doused it in flameproof stuff and put a moat around it to deter future burnings. So far this tactic has worked. The new arrival (for me at least as I'd not seen it before) was a large Tyrannosaurus Rex that has appeared to overlook the northbound side of the motorway, so that was amusing to see.

Anyway we got to Cardiff in time for lunch at Nan's. Now Mum had mentioned that there would be Clarks pies for lunch. There wasn't. This to me was a great shame, because as nice as the Chicken & Mushroom pies we had were, Clarks pies are on a level far above and beyond that of any other meat pie I've ever eaten. So when me & Mum took the dog for a walk a bit later on, I made sure to nip into the local store to get a couple of them, which are now in the fridge and will be my tea tomorrow night.

I napped on the sofa in Nan's for much of the afternoon, drifting in and out of consciousness. I guess I must have needed the sleep, though I'm not sure I want to know what I sounded like as apparently I scared the dog a few times. I have been told before that I growl in my sleep, so maybe the people who've told me that in the past weren't kidding after all!

Once Dad & Rhys returned it was off to see the Grandparents, where we enjoyed a nice picnic like tea of sandwiches, crisps and Grandma's ever fantastic trifle. Was sad to see that Grandma's arm is badly injured from a fall she took on holiday earlier this year, she holding it like it was a prosthesis and it showing about that level of movement. I really hope the doctors can sort that out for her soon. I wish I'd brought my digicam with me actually, as it has just occured to me that I have no photos of either of my Grandparents or my Nan for that matter.

The trip back was a blast from the past, driving in the dark now that the clocks have changed, it bringing back many memories of similar drives home in my youth, so I was quite quiet on the return trip. Dad was nice enough to swing past my house and drop me off pretty much on my doorstep, saving me a trek back across town. The pies are now in the fridge and I'm slurping a mug of coffee that has gone lukewarm (which doesn't bother me as I love coffee regardless of the temperature of the drink). It has been a good day.

Evil Tony

So there was me this evening, curled up on the sofa downstairs in the lounge watching the newest episode of the BBC's new Robin Hood tv series when I feel a tap tap on one shoulder. This being a tactic of Tony when he wants my attention for some reason, I turned my head to look at him and it took every ounce of self control I have not to leap backwards out of my seat when I got a look at him. This is because Tony looked like this:


This is a photo that was taken a few minutes later, and in good lighting conditions, and it is still pretty scary looking. So you can likely imagine my expression when I looked at this rather hideous visage looming over me as I lay on the sofa!

I'm not entirely sure quite why Tony is dressed up as a member of the glam rock band Kiss tonight, but it being Halloween in just a few days and Gareth mentioning the Black Horse pub earlier (notorious for having edgy live bands play there), I'm going to guess he's gone to a gig of some sort. I can only imagine the looks he must have gotten walking through town looking like that!

As for me I spent my money on some suitable rock music to listen too, so I am writing this too the sound of Meatloaf's new album: Bat Out Of Hell III The Monster Is Loose. Certainly a fitting subtitle considering the creature this house has unleashed on Taunton tonight!

Carnival Capers

Not that I got up to any capers mind you, I just stood and watched for a while. This evening Taunton had its annual carnival, an event that I'm not a fan of. Perhaps its being dragged down there as a kid by my prents to stand on a roadside and watch the floats and bands go by in the cold that soured me on the experience. that or it being roughly the same thing every year, so once you've seen it once, you're really missing all that much by skipping future perfomances.

Anyway, for whatever reason I've given the carnival a pretty wide berth for the last decade or so, and would have done so again tonight, only whilst talking to my friend Dan Shapter in work today, I came to the realisation that while I've seen it before, plenty of other people haven't. Such as most of the people reading this article. So I resolved to go down and watch it tonight and take my digicam with me to snap a few pics and post them here.

Well I went down and while I missed the first part of the carnival (cos it started at 7pm and I didn't get to the Market House to watch it go past there until about an hour later, because of watching the episode of Robin Hood that was on TV), I did watch the back half of the procession though and I took a load of photos... most of which have turned out crap. I took about 20 photos in all and out of that I have a grand total of two that are any good at all, so here they are:




As you can probably tell they are two halves of the same float. A shame really, as I would have preferred to have a couple different floats to show pics of, but if it has to be one, then I'm glad it was this one as it was big, loud, very bright and it looked stunning. I'll try and do a better Carnival report for next year.

Who's Leaving Who?

There is no special meaning for me to this song, in fact until I spotted it on www.allofmp3.com the other day whilst browsing compilations of 80's songs I had completely forgotten about it. Now that I think on it I actually used to own this track on 7" vinyl (and might still do so, as my old singles are presumably still in my parents attic where I packed them many moons ago). So anyway, in recognition of a fun song with a thumping disco beat, here are the lyrics to a song that I forgot, but am glad to have rediscovered.

Who's Leaving Who? by Hazell Dean

Here we are with goodbye in our eyes
Running out of reasons to try.
The leaves of change have fallen down
With both of us wondering why.

We're all alone but still it seems
We're thousands of miles apart.
The sands of time have shifted now
And the end is beginning to start.

And I don't know the answers
'Cause I don't know the questions
I'm just trying 'cause I don't even know -

Who's leaving who? Is it me? (Is it me?)
Is it you?

Do you think we could change if we knew?
Tell me who's leaving who?
Is there anything left we can do?
Can you tell me who's leaving who?

Talk to me.
Is there a chance, of working it out?
Heart to heart?
Can we go beyond our angry eyes
Before everything else falls apart?

And I don't know the answers
'Cause I don't know the questions
I'm just trying 'cause I don't even know -

Who's leaving who? Is it me? (Is it me?)
Is it you? . . .

And I don't know the answers
'Cause I don't know the questions
I'm just trying 'cause I don't even know

Who's leaving who? Is it me? (Is it me?)
Is it you? . . .

Under Fallen Stars: A Book Review

Oy I need to be less lazy when it comes to writing up these book reviews, as now I've got a backlog sat on my desk to type up. Under Fallen Stars by Mel Odom is a Forgotten Realms novel and the second book of the Threat From The Sea trilogy. The theme of this trilogy is a devastating war waged by the evil undersea creatures of Faerun (primarily the sahuagin) against the good undersea races and also the surface dwellers who sail on the oceans and live along the coastlines. This book follows on from where Rising Tide left off with the various characters all heading towards the port city of Baldur's Gate.

What follows is a spectacular night assault on the city by pirates, sahuagin and various sea monsters that devastates the cities bustling port and hard presses the cities famous Flaming fist soldiers to prevent more of the city going up in flames. Jherek is in the thick of the fighting, alongside his new friend, a dwarf with a pegleg by the name of Khlinat Ironeater. Also in town, searching for Jherek is the elderly bard Pacys, drawn there by the epic song he is chasing.

While the battle rages above, Iakhovas and Laaqueel slip into the city unnoticed, retreiving an item that has long been hidden in the sewers, he again spending the lives of her people to provide a distraction adding fuel to his priestesses doubts about the nature of her master. The battle is very well written and I enjoyed it immensely. The aftermath finds Khlinat injured and Jherek wandering the streets in search of a priest to tend to his friend. It is there that he again encounters Sabyna, the pretty ships mage he befriended in the first book, and together the pair are captured (along wth her ship, its captain and crew) by Vurgrom, a pirate in the employ of Iakhovas.

As Jherek and Sabyna are sailed away from the city, heading upriver at a considerable speed (thanks to a strange chair that she is strapped into which adds power to the ship. From a D&D DM/players point of view, it was nice to see a Spelljamming Helm in use), so Pacys finds Khlinat, the two striking up a friendship as the bard learns about Jherek from the dwarf, quickly getting over his despair at having missed/lost the lad he had been drawn too, reasoning that if his god had intended for him to meet Jherek then, then he would have and such a meeeting must be ordained for a later date.

Iakhovas meanwhile reveals what he took from beneath Baldur's Gate to a less than impressed Laaqueel, a ship in a bottle. But not just any ship, this is the Tarjana, a mudship capable of sailing through anything, and a floating fortress from which he intends to command the next phase of his war. Taking the bulk of his kingdoms warriors, Iakhovas opens a portal and brings them through it with him, Laaqueel and his ship to the Inner Sea of Faerun, a place that the undersea residents of it call Seros, and which everyone else calls The Sea of Fallen Stars. Here he rallies the sahuagin of that sea to his cause in a rousing finale to the book.

By the end of the book all the major players have made their way to The Sea of Fallen Stars, Sabyna accompanying Jherek when they finally get free of Vurgom's clutches, the pair travelling with a paladin of Lathander (God of the Dawn) by the name of Glawinn (arguably my favourite character in the series) to a port where they join the crew of Black Champion a ship under the command of the half-elf Captain Azla, she a fierce rival of Vurgom's who wants to find out what he is up to. Pacys and Khlinat arrive by another means, much to the astonishment of the Priests of Gond (God of Invention & Smithing) in Baldur's Gate.

This is a brilliantly written book, I loved reading it and I found myself flicking forward a couple pages each time I had to put it down to return to work at the end of a break just to get a glimpse of what was going to happen next. Unsurprisingly this book gets 5/5 from me.

Drama On The Doorstep

So I'm sat in my room now, and every now and then I'm peering out the window to my right at the crowd on the pavement outside the house next door. Theres a good dozen people there right now, stood about, talking and gesturing in a variety of tones including a couple policemen. The cause for this happened about half an hour ago when some very drunks men staggered out of the Pen & Quill pub on the other side of my house and headed towards the half-sized coach parked outside the Westgate Inn a little way up the road.

All but two of them had a bottle of drink in hand, one instead carrying a crate of bottles of Bulmer's cider, the other for some bizarre reason carrying a wooden drawer (as if from a cabinet). What happened next was that the guy carrying the drawer wandered over to the front window of the house next door (which used to be a hairdressers salon downstairs but is currently being renovated)... and then put the drawer through the window. Quick as a flash the bloke with him grabbed him and hauled him off towards the coach.

About ten seconds later all hell broke loose when the people who live next door emerged and the shouting began, the drunks quite content to get on their coach and go, but my next-door neighbours were having none of it, immediately calling the Police and their daughter tok down the coaches details and registration plate. Cue a few of the more sober people on the coach getting off and a confrontation.

Looking out now the street has no cleared, presumably with my neighbours and the policemen having gotten payment (or more likely a promise to cover the cost of the repairs) out of the drunks. Good to see a situation that could easily have gotten ugly, resolved without recourse to violence, and for my part nice to have something to write about as it's been a bit of a dull week.

Any Four For Five Pounds

The supermarket which I work in has the above deal permanently covering its range of bottled Real Ales. Prior to the store changing from a Safeway to a Morrisons, I think I'd maybe tried a couple varieties of ale. I'm fairly sure I tried a couple brands that tasted pretty yuck during the Rag Week at my University when the bar would get in 15 different barrels of ale. Once each was gone it was gone. You would get a stamp on your Ale Passport for each brand you tried, and if by some chance you were lucky/stubborn enough to try all 15 during the course of the week then you got a prize of some kind. I think I gave up after two, because I didn't have much money and I preferred to spend it on drink that was going to get me drunk and that I liked the taste of. I've likely also had a sip of one of my Dad's pints of one brand or another as a kid, but I can't remember the names of any of those apart from knowing that I've tried Old Speckled Hen at least once.

So getting back to the point, I was pretty unexperienced when it came to ale. And since most British pubs serve ale lukewarm from a barrel, the notion of trying any of it always dies the moment I enter a pub, and I opt for a nice cold pint of lager instead. But Morrisons stock a pretty good range of bottled ales from all over the country. And the shelf edge labels that detail the price of each bottle (invariably £1.59 each) also include some details about the taste of the drink itself, which is helpful in picking which brand/s to try. At 4 bottles for £5, and able to Pick N' Mix, I've slowly been working my way through the selection.

Whereas originally I'd just pick up 4 different brands and try each in turn (after suitably chilling them in the fridge for a few hours), nowadays I've found a few favourite types (most notably Waggle Dance, an ale brewed with 20% honey, so a cross between beer and mead, and very nice it is too). As a result of this I tend to get 1-2 that I haven't tried before and stick with what I know for the rest of the four.

I was planning to buy some alcohol today and 4 bottles of ale is usually a strong contender for my money. But not today. Today I was surprised and delighted to see that the same offer has now been copied to cover the £1.59 priced bottled ciders, including my recent favourite drink Strongbow Sirrus, a mild cider that is drunk poured over ice. I've never been a big cider drinker (it always used to make me sick), but I can drink Sirrus without any problems (even when mixing it with vodka), so I decided to try a couple other brands. Cue me buying 2 bottles of what I know (Sirrus) and 2 of what I don't (Bulmers and Scrumpy Jack).

I shall see how I go with these, and assuming I'm not violently ill as a result of drinking them, then I'll think about trying a couple other varieties in a few weeks. I've drunk the Bulmers already whilst watching TV earlier tonight and that was nice, nothing special though. Think I'll save the rest for tomorrow evening. Right now I'm going to head out to the pub... next door.

A Horse Walks Into A Bar...

... and the Barman says "Why the long face?"

Yes I know it's a crap joke but it's the only title I could think of. As longtime readers of this blog will note, I have a fondness for posting weird animal articles, so here's another one, courtesy of the BBC News website. Gotta love a horse that has a fondness for John Smiths bitter (even though I can't stand the stuff myself).

Rising Tide: A Book Review

Finished this book over a week ago now (and in fact I have the second book in the Trilogy sat in front of me to review also as I write this), so about time I got this novel review written up. Rising Tide by Mel Odom is a Forgotten Realms novel and the first book of The Threat From the Sea Trilogy. Set a few years before the "present day" of the Realms (the year 1374DR currently), the Trilogy details a devastating war that is waged by the evil undersea races against both the peaceful undersea races and also the surface dwellers who dare to sail on the seas and live along the coastlines bordering those same seas.

The instigator of this great war is a mysterious villain by the name of Iakhovas. He is found in a comatose state in a sunken tomb by the malenti priestess Laaqueel. A malenti is a sahaugin born in the shape of their most hated enemies the sea elves. Most such cursed offspring are killed at birth, but some are kept as spies. Laaqueel is doubly cursed though, as her skin has the pale colouring of a surface dwelling elf, rather than the blue or green of a sea elf. It is because of her unique appearance though that she is able to infiltrate surface realms and learn from their libraries of One Who Swims With Sekolah. Sekolah is the Great Shark, the savage and uncaring god of the sahaugin race. Seeking out this legend, causes her to find Iakhovas and awaken him.

Iakhovas is very powerful, an accomplished sorceror who cloaks his true appearance in illusions at all times, appearing to the sahaugin as an impressive example of their own species. Laaqueel though sees him as a one eyed human, scared with runes etched into his skin. Though she rises to power at his side, and she revels in the strength he can bring her people, she has her doubts about her new master. It is through her eyes that we see the evil forces side of the war.

The other main character is Jherek, the bastard son of a ruthless pirate named Bloody Falkane. Branded with his fathers symbol on an arm, Jherek has spent his life since escaping his fathers ship hiding who he really is, knowing that the reward on members of Falkane's crew would cause pretty much anyone to turn him in should they see the mark. Raised by a fortuneteller who took him in, and the phantom Malorrie who haunted her house, he has lived by building ships and working as a sailor.

Fate really doesn't seem to smile on Jherek, one ill turn following another, but ever since the night when he dived from his fathers ship, whever he has been in danger, a voice has called to him with the words "Live, that you may serve". He doesn't know who it is that calls to him, or how he is meant to serve though. When his brand is discovered by the crew of the ship he is working on, he is forced to leave both the ship and then to the town of Velen where he grew up, the only place he has ever called home. He takes passage on another ship, where he befriends Sabyna, the ships pretty mage, who he always calls Lady, even when she tells him that she is no such thing.

Elsewhere, the great city of Waterdeep comes under devastating attack by thousands of sahaugin warriors and many great creatures of the deep, Iakhovas using the resulting carnage as a diversion to claim an item of power, one of many that he has agents in both the outer and inner seas of Faerun searching for. He is determined that all that once was his will be again, but his willingness to shed her peoples blood for the sake of his personal power adds fuel to Laaqueel's doubts, even as she clings to his rising star, sharing in the power he gathers about himself.

Witnessing the onslaught on Waterdeep is the elderly bard Pacys, a man who has wandered the highways and byways of Faerun for most of his seventy six years of age, reciting songs and tales, but who has yet to compose any great saga to pass to the world. He yearns to record a story that he will always be remembered for. A devout worshipper of Oghma (the God of Knowledge) he has heard tantalising hints of such a epic story/song for years now. When the attack comes, he feels the pull of destiny upon him, knowing that there is a greater story than just the attack, and that what he is seeing is merely one act of a far larger plan.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it is a little slow in getting started, and Jherek doesn't really seem to do all that much. Still by the books end, all the various plot threads weave towards each other, for a fateful meeting in the next novel. Both Jherek and Laaqueel are very well written characters, both plagued by doubts for different reasons, both outcasts in their way. The battle scenes are engaging, and in Iakhovas we have a truly sinister villain, his motives and indeed his real identity kept secret, and his speech both powerful and condescending (he always refers to Laaqueel as "little malenti").

I'm going to award this book 4/5, as it is a very entertaining read, but it could have been better.

Some New Links

I've added a bunch of new links to the sidebar today, as I like to have that section of the site representing the sites I most often visit on the internet.

Candlekeep is the best resource on the net for information regarding the Forgotten Realms D&D world of which I am so fond.

Amazon UK is my favourite place to shop for books and DVD's.

The Sweat Shop is a new store that sells individual D&D Miniature figures. I've recently foudn that these figures add a lot to the experience of running my Friday night games, so it is handy to have a store that sells them at a good price and gets them in the mail quickly. Plus it's a big help being able to buy specific figures rather than having to hope the figure I want is in a specific booster pack.

The Internet Movie Database is a huge resource of information of all kinds about just about any movie (and TV shows too for that matter) I can think of. This is where I get the quotes for the series of "Quotes From Three Movies" posts that I do.

Wizards of the Coast is the company that produces the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game (amongst many other things). When it comes to roleplaying books, I rarely buy products from anyone else.

Also I've changed the link to Celluloid Heroes as the writer of that blog moved to a new server. That's all for now, update complete. If you've not visited any of those sites before, I suggest giving them a try.

Locked Out

I guess it had to happen eventually. Today for the first time since I've been living in my current home, I left the house without my keys. I was pretty quick to realise this, in fact I was stood outside (having just left the house), when I patted my pockets to check that I had what I needed on me. Wallet? Check! Delivery Slip from the Royal Mail? Check! Keys? Fuck, bugger, shit, damn etc etc!!

As you might have guessed I was heading out on a walk to go and fetch a parcel from the Royal Mail Sorting Office as it wouldn't fit through our letterbox. There are currently 5 parcels/packets which I am expecting, and this could have been any of them. So I made the best of a bad situation. Knowing that Gareth would be home around 4:30ish, and the time then being just before 3pm, I took a leisurely stroll through French Weir Park to the Sorting Office, and picked up my parcel. Which was tiny. Of all the parcels I am expecting, this was the smallest.

Having fetched that I headed to the flat of my good friend Richard Adams, figuring that he'd likely be in and wanting some place to hang out for an hour or two. So we chatted whilst he was installing the City of Villains game, and we watched a couple episodes of Futurama (a show that I adore), until it was time for me to head on home, via a quick stop in Morrisons to pick up a loaf of Tiger Bread, some Roule cheese and a can of Corned Beef.

Thankfully by the time I got home, Gareth had been home for some time and he was quick to answer the door (likely helped along by my continually knocking the door until he opened it. This may also have contibuted to the decidely frosty greeting I got!). So I got locked out earlier today, which is a stupid thing to do, but for it to have happened once in the over 2 years I've been living here now is, I think, a pretty good record. Certainly this was a lot less hassle than the time I locked myself out of my old flat on Priorswood Road... now that was trouble!

Yarr!

Avast mateys, it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day! I might have forgotten all about this most grand of events a year ago, but not this time! So run up the Main Sail Jim Lad and let's set sail to plunder the Spanish Main! And don't ferget to feed Polly, she get's mighty irritable when ye don't, and I prefer me ear unpecked!

Get The Fuck Out

I was introduced to this band by my old friend and next door neighbour Robert Tutill not long after we first moved to Taunton. He had already got me listening to the music of Guns 'N' Roses, and he brought around to our house a casette with both of Skid Rows albums taped onto it. Needless to say my Mum didn't like this loud aggressive music, so I loved it. I grew up on the angry music of this band and a handful of their contemporarys like Aerosmith, Meatloaf and Def Leppard. This is a song that the band got in trouble with concert venues for singing, the London Arena going as far as to issue the band with a warning against singing it... which the band tore up on stage and sang the song anyway!

Get The Fuck Out by Skid Row

Well your jokes ain't funny and there's nothin' you say that I wanna hear
The sound of the door slammin' your ass out is music to my ears
If I can't beat you then I m gonna beat you to a pulp
So can the TV rays and take my tonsil glaze right down your throat

You're standin' too close what the fuck's with you?
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party's over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out

Well I puke. I stink. Bitch get me a drink 'cause I m payin' for the room
I ain't buying you breakfast so keep your mouth busy and wrap your lips all around my attitude
Take a walk with me with your triple double D's and your 40 foot do
Why you walkin' funny?
You must have spent some time with the boys in the crew

You're standin' too close what the fuck's with you?
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party's over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out

The morning's comin' in and this is my bed
If I find you here when I wake up
The maid is gonna find me dead.

You're standin' to close what the fuck's with you
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party's over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out
Get the fuck out
Get the fuck out

Pub Lunch

I have today off work. This is a rare occurence, in fact I cannot remember the last time I had a Saturday off work, that wasn't due to me being off on holiday. Every Saturday lunchtime a bunch of my friends have for moths now been meeting up at Henry's pub in the High Street for a meal and a pint and to chat for an hour or so. I normally miss out on this, as while I have a lunch hour at work, there's no way I'm going to walk all the way up there, order a meal, have it arrive and get the time to enjoy eating it, plus get back to work i that hour. Ain't going to happen!

So it was nice to be able to be there today. I was the first to arrive too, though Gareth turned up a couple minutes later. We were also swiftly joined by my mate Derek Adams. The three of us got our drinks and Gareth and I ordered food and we went upstairs to sit. I had wanted a bottle of Strongbow Sirrus, a mild cider that I've become quite fond of recently. Unfortunately the pub has stopped stocking it, so I tried a bottle of Magner's cider instead. According to my brother this stuff sells like crazy at the warehouse he works at. After trying a bottle I can't see why, it doesn't taste of much at all. I was left very unimpressed.

For a meal Gareth ordered what he always orders (Gammon steak with chips and egg), and I went with my usual meal also (Giant Yorkshire Pudding filled with sausages, garden peas, mashed potato and gravy). I also tried a side order of mushrooms, but I don't think I'll bother with them again. I don't have the same meal because of lack of choice, Henry's has a very good menu with plenty of variety on it, I just know what I like and when I'm short on money I'd rather spend it on food tat I know I am going to enjoy.

We were eventually also joined by Tony and Craig, a smaller group than is usually present, but then both Dan and Richard were in work, whlst Jen and Matt are having a quiet weekend to themselves. We chatted about all sorts of things as usual, with no single topic dominating, though I think the LARP group that the others attended recently being cancelled was the longest we spent talking about anything. It was a nice lunch, made better by us having the upstairs to ourselves for the most part. I finally left not long after Gareth went back to work, as I wanted to browse around a few shops in town. Didn't buy anything (though I was tempted to get the Directors Cut of Hellboy for just £6.97 in Music Zone). All in all a nice way to spend some of the day.

Faces Of Deception: A Book Review

I'm not entirely sure what it is about Elaine Cunningham's books that makes me not want to write reviews of them, but having recently finished The Dream Spheres by her I find myself uninterested in describing the book. At any rate I give it a 3/5 rating.

So with that done, on to the next book, which I finished reading yesterday. Faces Of Deception by Troy Denning is a Forgotten Realms novel and the second in a quartet of stand-alone tales entitled Lost Empires. I'm not entirely sure why the book is in this set though, because unlike the other 3 books in the series, this one does not feature some secret from a past fallen kingdom. It is set in the present day of the Realms.

The main character of the book is Atreus Eleint, a human of noble birth whose mother had him cursed with ugliness to hide him from the families enemies during the civil strife that tore the nation of Tethyr apart not long after he was born. His family were all killed in the strife, but he (and his families considerable wealth) survived in the care of the Shieldbreaker clan of ogres, who were his families former bodyguards. With his frightfully ugly features, he blended in with the young of the clan and his life was thus spared. Now a grown man, Atreus has found that getting rid of the curse is proving to be very hard, even for a man of his means.

To this end he has essentially bought himself a place in the faithful of Sune Firehair, the Goddess of Beauty. While his money is more than welcome though, he is not and to this end the temple's priests give him a false vision, sending him on a near impossible quest to find the mystical/mythical valley of Langdarma and to bring back a vial of sparkling water from the Fountain of Infinite Grace. Do this they claim, and his looks would be restored to normal. Utterly convinced by the vision, he and his ogre bodyguard Yago set off at once.

The next chapter is set some five months later after the pair have travelled many hundreds of miles to the state of Edenvale, in an area of the Realms not actually on the map of the continent of Faerun (in fact I cannot for the life of me find any map of the area where Edenvale is located) called The Utter East. There they get a short and rather confusing audience with the geriatric queen who orders her troops to send the pair back home. Cue an escape sequence over rooftops and through alleyways, helped by a native named Rishi.

Rishi is a thoroughly unlikeable character. A liar and a thief, who exagerrates about everything. I despised him within a page of reading about him. And yet Atreus just keeps on making allowances for this worm, even when he catches him trying to steal from him on more than one occassion. Continuing with the plot, the trio (and another lying thief called Bharat who is an accomplice of Rishi) head into the wilds of the Yehimal Mountains, being pursued by the Queen's guards, in particular a patrol led by a captain named Naraka.

Seeking to lose them after a fight in which Bharat is killed (by Rishi!), the group head into a bitterly cold swamp, and there they run into a group of slavers led by a devil (literally) called Tarch. Amongst his captives is the lovely Seema, a woman of great beauty and strong pacifist ideals. When Atreus and Rishi have dealt with the guards and then the slavers, she joins the group in gratitude, though she continually claims that Langdarma doesn't exist. Not willing to take her word over that of a goddess, Atreus and his companions continue up into the mountains, now pursued by Tarch who wants Seema back as she will fetch a high price at market.

I'm not giving anything away to say that yes they do find Langdarma and that it isn't what they expect (certainly it is neither Rishi or Yago's idea of a paradise). The book is a frustrating read, as in places it is very philosophical on the nature of paradise, beauty, honour and such things. It makes you stop and think. None of the characters is entirely right or wrong (except Rishi who is just plain annoying all the way through), even Seema whose admonition against killing prevents the group for simply dealing with Tarch, they instead unwittingly leading a devil into paradise.

The books ending leaves a lot to be desired though, as it just simply ends. There is no resolution of any kind, and you are left wondering what happens next as the book finishes on a cliffhanger of sorts, yet there is no follow-up book to it. I'm going to award this book 2/5. While it is well written it doesn't feel like a Realms book at all, it doesn't fit in with the theme of Lost Empires, it has no ending (or at least no end that feels like an end), and in Rishi, it has arguably the single most annoying character I've ever had the displeasure to read about.

Nap Attack

I finished work at 4:30pm today and after buying a bottle of Iced Tea from the store I work in, made my way home through the park. I don't really remember the walk home, but at some point just after 5pm I got home and sat at my computer for a bit. I can remember talking to Tony on MSN and telling him that he had one of those "You weren't in" notes from the Royal Mail waiting for him, and he saying that he'd drop by the Sorting Office on his way home to pick up whatever parcel it was.

I was tired and so I decided to take a nap. As I don't have work today, I didn't set my alarm and decided I'd just let my body decide when it had had enough sleep. I was a lot more tired than I thought it seems. I've just woken up after a NINE AND A HALF HOUR Nap!! So it's now gone 3am, I'm wide awake and couldn't sleep now if I tried (and I have). What to do, what to do?

Bloodwalk: A Book Review

I finished this book a few days back, and I'm already halfway through the next novel on my reading pile, so about time I got this reveiw written up lest I end up with a backlog again! Bloodwalk by James P. Davis is a Forgotten Realms novel, and the second volume in the four book series entitled The Wizards. Each of the novels in this series is a stand alone tale, with the common theme being that each features a wizard as a central character. In this case the wizard in question is the main villain of the tale, a sorceress by the name of Morgynn who possesses truly frightening powers, her magic fueled by blood.

Morgynn's power stems from the death and rebirth she endured years before, having been killed by her own mother and her tribe, they fearful of the then girls natural talent for sorcery which they regarded as unnatural. Brought back to life by the cultists of a devil god named Gargauth, she first took her revenge on her mothers people and then travelled the Realms, being moved on from place to place until her wanderings bring her and her followers to the poorly defended lands of the Border Kingdoms.

Here she sets about raising an army of undead and fiendish creatures, using the power of an ancient ruined fortress/city to power a terrifying storm that will assist her forces in laying waste to the region. While she is a truly scary villain, Morgynn never strikes me as being a very clever one, she regards pretty much all of her followers as expendable and she is supremely arrogant, her anger usually getting the better of any common sense she might have. It is this failing that leads her to manipulate a wandering Ghostwalker to arrive in the region, hoping to use him to create false hope in the areas defenders.

What she hadn't counted on (but which should really have been pretty obvious if she'd thought about it), was that the Ghostwalker wouldn't just go away. The Ghostwalker is a travelling servant of Hoar, the God of Vengeance by the name of Quinsareth, a man seemingly without reason or purpose in his life save to go whereever he feels "called" too and set right the wrongs there, before moving on. I find it hard to believe that any villain would want such a character anywhere near their evil plans, as such a person simply screams "spanner in the works".

Adding to the regions problems are the seers of Savras, the God of Divination, who led by their frankly deluded High Oracle Sameska who espouse a policy of doing nothing to combat the evil growing in the nearby Qurth Forest (where Morgynn's forces are massing near the ruined citadel), because she believes that the Ghostwalker will save them, even though Quinsareth doesn't believe in prophecy or any higher calling save that of his God (and even then only because it gives him something to do).

All in all this is an odd book, and I'm not sure whether it works or not. It is without a doubt a lot darker in tone than most Realms novels, bordering on being almost Lovecraftian in parts. I think part of my problem with this book is that none of the characters seem all that focused on anything. Quinsareth exists but does little more, essentially he is empty inside. Morgynn has evil designs but no actual plan for acheiving them (at least not one that makes any actual sense, would be conquerors do not consider their armies to be expendable).

Overall I'm going to award this book a 3/5 rating. It is undeniably well written, and Mr. Davis writes really well, his description is brilliant, but the motives of his characters are in my opinion a mess. The book does end in such a way as to leave room for a sequel which would feature Quinsareth, though I'm not sure whether I'd be interested in reading another tale about a character who is essentially hollow.

One Year On

So a year ago today I got the idea of starting a blog, after reading through my friend Nyssa's blog that she was writing at the time. I've since lost contact with her and she's not writing it anymore, but to my great surprise, one year on and here I am still going with mine. Frankly this kinda stuns me because while I am very good at starting things (or thinking of things to start) I'm usually pretty rubbish at carrying on with them (or actually starting them in a lot of cases, particularly when it comes to exercise regimes).

At the time of writing this I have 333 posts (including this one and 2 drafts waiting for me to complete & post them), so I've not managed to write every day like I originally intended. In fact the last couple weeks have seen very few posts, mostly owing to a bout of a weird sleepy sickness that has seen me drinking a truly criminal amount of coffee in order to stay awake for half the day. Still I am happy with how much I have gotten posted here so far. Oh yes, that is a definite so far there, because I've got no intention of ceasing to write this. I find writing here to be therapeutic.

So what have I gotten done in the past year then? I've finished my Rise of the Snakemen D&D (that's Dungeons & Dragons to those not in the know) campaign, which had run for nearly 2 years and is by far and away the most successful campaign I've ever run. So I'm quite proud of that, it says something when my players have enjoyed playing their characters so much that they all asked to continue with them rather than start a new campaign. I've sold off a load of old toys and books on ebay, the money from that though getting eaten up by bills that all seemed to arrive when they knew I had funds to pay them!

I took my first real holiday in 8 years, and the first ever where I went alone, which was a good experience overall. I've been conned at least twice and so a lesson I need to take on from that is that I need to be a bit less trusting in future. I have tried and tried and yet thus far failed to get myself a girlfriend, that is a work still in progress. I've put on weight.

I've made a few new friends and lost a sister. I was moved from my admin job which I liked back to the bakery. If anything I'm earning less now each week than I was when I started this blog, mainly owing to the lack of Sunday work. Despite having a New Years resolution to reduce the amount of debt I am in, I have if anything actually increased it, by restarting my bank loan back in June, meaning that I again have 5 years of monthly payments ahead of me, and my credit card remains maxed out.

All in all I think the past years bad experiences outweigh the good ones. I can but hope that the 06/07 blog year is going to be kinder to me than this past year has been. I will continue to document my existence (I don't consider it to be a life right now) here, both to amuse and entertain others and to help keep me this side of sane. Having a place to rant helps. Here's to the next twelve months.

An Unusual Sight

This was the view from my window a short while ago. I was writing the previous post at the time which is why I didn't post the photo sooner. As I was writing I heard the clop clop sound of hooves, and looked out the window to see a trio of horse-drawn waggons being led past. As that was a very rare sight, I snatched up my digicam and snapped them, before they vanished from view. I thought I'd share the image with you.

I actually like genuine gypsies, they are a rare remnant of an ancient lifestyle, which was nearly wiped out by the Nazi's programme of extermination against them. It is the modern day bands of roving scum (sorry can't think of a better word for them) that are the New Age Travellers that I despise. I've only ever seen a couple gypsey waggons before today so to see three at the same time, and going past my window no less, was a real treat.

Last Sunday

I'm late in publishing this. I don't have any excuse for that beyond laziness though, I've just not really felt like writing in the blog for a while now. Still I have friends who want to read this, so I'm putting this here for their sake as much as mine. This is what I wrote on the sunday just gone, whilst watching (and sometimes participating) in their weapons practice:

As I write this I am sat in a field at the back end of Vivary Park (the one with the soccer goal and the overgrown rifle ranges), whilst listening to a classic rock tune by Bon Jovi (Blaze of Glory). I am here with a bunch of my best friends (and my brother), to watch them practise fighting with rubber weapons.

They all play in LARP (Live Action RolePlay) games over weekends away now and then (Tony is soon to join them in this hobby), and they want to hone their skills. So I'm sat here in the middle of the field, next to an impressive collection of rubber swords, daggers and spears, as they battle around me, my words written to the thuds of these weapons hitting against each other and also the people involved. Right now Tony, Gareth, Dan and my brother Rhys are here, but apparently some more are due to turn up soon.

Every now and then some other members of the public walk into the field, staying well clear of our madcap group and glancing oddly at us as they walk around the fields perimeter. I wonder whether the four dancing about hitting each other in furious melee, or the one sat quietly writing in their midst is perceived as the most unusual?

A little later on: They are done with the fighting for the moment. I'm now laying down watching as Dan is stood facing the other three, teaching them a few basic Kung-Fu moves, a sequence of hand positions he refers to as a kata. I can't hear a word any of them are saying, as I'm too close to the stereo Dan brought with him. I do catch a snippet of their conversations now and then whenever the song changes over though, plus I get the added hilarity of seeing one or all of them burst into laughter suddenly, without hearing the cause, which is actually quite funny to see in its own right!

A cold wind is blowing, the sun up above only rarely showing itself from behind a cover of clouds, which seem to be growing increasingly grey. Certainly it is darker now than when we arrived, and I get the feeling that rain won't be long in coming. I just looked up then to see all of the other four looking at me and grinning. Seems I missed out on a shared joke there.

Later still: Well Kung-Fu training came to an abrupt halt when my brother picked up a spear and attacked Dan with it. So Rhys and Gareth are trying out dual weapon fighting now, each of them using a sword and dagger. Meanwhile Dan is training Tony in the use of Nunchuks (of the non-rubber variety). Part of me is tempted to pick up a weapon and join in. However, I know my mates well enough to know that I'd likely get attacked by all of them should I do so. Still no sign of the others who were supposed to have been joining us.

Even later again: Dan is now running the others through the spear/staff fighting routine which I watched him teaching Gareth in this same field back on Wednesday afternoon. Needless to say the couple hours practice then is showing, as Gareth seems to be doing quite well in this lesson. Dan's tuition mostly focusing on Rhys it seems.

Yup, even later again: Well the grey clouds have blown over, looks like I was wrong about rain being imminent. I've had a couple battles with Gareth, putting my old fencing lessons at school to good use. Dan is now trying to phone up those who haven't turned up. Time I was heading off I think as I want to get to the cinema to watch "Snakes On A Plane" a bit later on.

Well that is what I penned while sat in the field. As I was leaving, the other two who were due to join the group finally turned up (Emil and his girlfriend Charlie. Not sure if I've spelt either of their names right there!). They didn't stay long though, as I ran into them and Rhys as I was walking through town a little bit later on, on my way to the cinema. It's been a good day all in all and as I don't seem to get much work on Sundays of late (which I'm not happy about), I'll likely tag along for future sessions.