Guns for show, Knives for a Pro..

I had a fantabulous weekend!!

I and Chris (the writer of the epic and soon to be legendary Phoenix Fire) went up to Manchester to stay with the very spangly and cuddly Freyja ([Unknown site tag] ) Needless to say it was a riot!

I drove up on Saturday with Chris who sat and listened patiently to me blather for 5 hours plus. She truly is a great woman! She also had my choice of music inflicted on her so strictly she ought to be awarded a sainthood. I managed to not get us too lost thankfully and it was very wonderful to see Freyja again!

Saturday night was devoted to eating the wonderful meal that Freyja had cooked for us and Wingfield/Highlander burbling. Mmmmm home made ice cream! Freyja is a fabulous cook, I listened with awe and amazement as she and Chris discussed food. I have all the cooking ability of a small pebble.

I do know about beer however and there was was much quaffage by me in that department! We watched the Horsemen/Revelations episodes of Highlander because...well because. Freyja and I MST'ed them to death and I suspect poor Chris is scarred for life. Particular highlights were Freyja's comments about Silas walking like they had run out of bog roll. This led to the idea being posited that the reason the Horsemen took Cassandra was to have someone to change the bog roll and the light bulbs in their lair.

This of course inevitably led to the 'How Many Horsemen Does It Take To Change a Lightbulb?' joke.

A: None apparently they prefer flaming torches!

*Ka-boom-ching* Yes we were all quite drunk since you ask...

Then we watched my new DVD of 'Uncovered' which Freyja had never seen. Heh! She was soon a small puddle of lust like the rest of us. Max is just too gorgeous for words. Definitely the best opening scene ever as well...::sighs::: I cannot tell you how good it was to see the film in crystal clear digital quality. It made Max's assets even easier to admire!

Then we watched most of a pirated copy of X2. More Peter squeeing while I rambled on about the X-men in a geeky fashion and explained the Dark Phoenix storyline to Freyja.

Then my brain shut down and I had to go to bed. This had nothing to do with the amount of beer I had drunk of course, more that I was very tired ::coughs::

On Sunday we all went to the Royal Armories in Leeds. I'll write more about that in a while, now I have to go get my hair cut!

Swords and knives and armour..oh my

Well am back from having hair cut and hair pulled out and plucked and otherwise tortured!

Not sure why most of last post is in bold and can't be arsed to go find out so you'll all just have to live with it.

Okay Saturday! Got up, ate breakfast, mooched about a bit in my t-shirt, and became surgically attached to Chris' notes for Phoenix Fire. I got to read loads of unposted chapters including the sex scene...

I am Em's smug sense of satisfaction ::grins::

Eventually Freyja and Chris got fed up watching me read, drool and drink cups of coffee and I got dressed. Then we drove to The Royal Armouries in Leeds. Its about an hours drive and the weather was lovely so we got to go 'ooooo' at the Pennines and generally admire the scenery.

The Armouries were simply fantastic. I'm desperate to go back actually! Four floors of weapons of all descriptions, I was in heaven.

They also do displays and we watched several of these. I think the highlight was the Elizabethan Sword Masters mainly because I learnt so much. They based alot of the show on excerpts from Romeo and Juliet. The two guys doing the display fought with sword and buckler as the stage directions of the play indicate. They also explained how the english style of fencing/fighting, was different from the italian style.

The english style involves both thrusts and slashes and is a much more energetic and rough style of fighting. The italian is only thrusts and much more controlled and elegant. They showed how it was indicated by the play's words and stage directions that Tybalt was fighting italian style and Romeo english. They admitted that the english style tends to win because its a lot more street wise and dirty! Yay! We *rock*

After that display we looked round the various floors. The oriental exhibit was particularly beautiful. They had some fantastic japanese armour and swords. In particular one katana had a blade decorated with what they called a 'cedar tree horizon' pattern. I was worked into the metal and did indeed look like a line of cedar trees from a distance..utterly gorgeous and breathtaking workmanship. I was almost shaking with displaced weapons lust..

Then we got to see a small jousting tournament...YAY! All three of us were sorely tempted to break into 'We Will Rock You' a la 'A Knights Tale' but we resisted the urge. The horses were outstanding and so well trained and we got to see various types of events including a proper joust. I love this sort of thing and could it watch for hours...

I also adore horses so Freyja and Chris had to put up with me muttering on about how much I'd love to have a go at this and also how lovely one of the horses was in particular. He bore a striking resemblance to my own Demon Horse only he was about 5 and an Irish Draught. I wanted him so badly ::sighs:::

Anyways, after the joust we did more weapons gazing...they had a particularly fine display of armour and I was most taken with some of the 15th century broadswords. More to add to the want list! We finished with watching a wonderful display of japanese Kobujitsu or Kobudo fighting. The katas with the katanas were particularly awesome and it was fascinating to learn more about the how and why of the various fighting styles and weapons.

Just before we left we popped into the menagerie to see the horses again and also all the hawks they had. The birds were all incredibly alert and just lovely! I was particularly taken with the little Merlins as we have one of those that hunts round my parents house. Peregrine falcons do look completely insane however...they have the demeanor of a small and focused psychopath. It seemed very familiar.... and it wasn't till we were leaving that Chris made the comment that it was just like Kronos! ::grins::

So if I ever have a hawk I'm going to name it Kronos because the resemblance is uncanny!

Then we went home and ate more and sadly both Chris and I had to leave and drive home. Chris then had to listen to me burble all the way home. I just hope she isn't scarred emotionally for life.

I adore Phoenix Fire..its a classic of its kind and head and shoulders above most of the HL fic that has gone before and I shall probably get hate mail for that comment ::grins like a loon:::

So there we go. The first outing for the Outer Limits list and no one died, no scandal and only marginal drunkenness. I think I deserve an award!

*THANK YOU* Freyja for being a wondeful and gracious host and letting me drink all your beer. Apologies if I broke your toilet but I did warn you not to let me touch anything remotely technical ::grins:: You are a peach of a lady and I can't wait to see you again.

..Oh and finish Borderlands damn you! I need more Freyja fic!

*THANK YOU* Chris for accompanying me and letting me read all your notes and talk Methos and Peter and Highlander and Peter and ...you get the drift....for eons without once telling me to shut up. You are a star!

So *rubs hands together* next Outer Limits gathering is in honour of the release of X2 on DVD. Be there or be a small spherical blue object!

Lock up your daughters....

...and your nubile young men!

I'm a coming to the US of A.

Tomorrow I fly out to New Orleans. To say I can't wait would be an understatement. I shall be back in Blighty on 16th October. I am taking my laptop but I don't expect to be using it a vast amount. There shall probably be no updates unless I am horribly drunk and someone lets me near a PC (be afraid).

I'm staying in The Holiday Inn, 330 Loyola Avenue in New Orleans. Come say Hi if you get the chance and are in the area. The Lodger, Darth Rich, Nom and Emilie will be with me. Emilie is someone I started being penpals with when I was 13. She *rocks*! Laura (The Assassin of Evil), Kittie (The SongMistress) and 1st Lt Andrea of the Em-pire will be joining me for the weekend and I hope the entire week will be a testament to debauchery, stupidity and much fun.

See you on the flip side and don't do anything I wouldn't do! *wink*


OOoh and I just had to add I seem to have successfully pimped Sharpe to the delectable beeej and the incomparable sexbomb socutewhensheisdrunk [Bad username or unknown identity: lastrega!] Now all I need to do is get them both into Lexx as well! *rubs hands together and cackles like a mad woman*

Today some fans, tomorrow fandom, soon the World!

And now verily The Evil Dr Em must now go pack and prepare for her journey!

Let the orgy commence....