Ho hum. What have I been doing with myself since last Thursday? Good question!

Well, Patrick went off to Moot One...news came on Sunday that his character got killed. Needless to say, he's not too happy just now. He'd been playing Taliesin for almost two years, had won a high rank, and was in line to become the faction Sealord...until he ran into the Wild Hunt on Saturday night and died saving one of the Unicorns faction from them. A satisfyingly Noble and Heroic death, to be sure, but one would rather, after all, not have one's character die! Now he has all the hassle of thinking up a new character and trying to make sure it's suitably different from Taliesin. (Some of his ideas are very interesting!)

News of Taliesin's death was almost the only topic of conversation at training on Sunday. A few people seemed to be hiding smirks - well, they'd hardly express whatever satisfaction they might be feeling either directly to me, or where I might see. But it was evident that some there were far from unhappy. Well, you get this kind of thing in any group; people see other people as power-mongering/too big for their boots/in need of a come-uppance/whatever. Most people, though, seemed genuinely sorry, which was nice to see.

I didn't do much at training, I have to admit. I was tired anyway, wearing new boots, and Patrick was away which meant there was the whole "no-nice-sword-available" thing going too. I sat about, chatted with people, and did very little.

Ah yes. New boots. I finally bought those fourteen-hole Docs I've been craving. On Saturday afternoon, before going on to Drew and Nina's annual summer solstice barbeque (at which I wore the Docs, and creaked a lot!). Now I'm in the throes of breaking them in - I'd forgotten what a bitch Docs are to break in! I haven't worn them for about ten years (having been in the Civil Defence, which gives you free army boots. But my last pair of army boots sprang a leak). I'm wearing three pairs of socks inside them (normally I wear two; the third pair is one I swiped from Patrick; knee-high, to save my calves from blisters from the tops of the boots), and things were going well until today. I think I laced the damn' things too tight; tender-but-not-bad spots suddenly became bloody-sore-about-to-be-blisters spots. Luckily, I keep a spare pair of shoes at work, so I was able to take the Docs off and wear light shoes all day. When I put the boots back on (laced less tightly, and with sticking plaster over the worst spots), I was able to get home without undue pain! Oddly, besides the expected blister-y bits, these Docs are also giving me bruises on the tops of my feet. Weirdness. But it'll all be worth it once they're broken in - Docs are, after this initial period, exceptionally comfortable boots. Not to mention waterproof and long-lasting.

Random weirdness...on the way home from work today, on the approach to the Clare Hall ex-roundabout, the bus suddenly and inexplicably filled with a strong smell of cabbage.

Silly sign of the day...the one near Woodie's that warns of "Slow Road Works Ahead". I know the excavation in question has been underway for a very long time, but still...

Been reading the City Council's bye-laws about parks. I'm still wondering what on earth a "non-mechanical vehicle" is. You're not allowed to wheel one in a park except on an authorised route, anyway.

I discovered the existence of a Georgette Heyer mailing list the other day, so I joined it. Am still lurking till I see if I like it. The introductory e-mail was full of rules and regulations (most of which are pretty basic netiquette!), which was off-putting. But we'll see.

While I was shopping on Saturday I also picked up a copy of "Perdido Street Station", which I've been wanting to read for a while. Partly because I agree with Mr. Mieville's opinion of "Lord of the Rings" (which leads me to hope that he might write a book that I'd like!) and partly because I've read intriguing reviews/reports of the book. Anyway, Chapters was selling the hardback off at EUR4.99, so one can hardly go wrong! Started reading it today...it's rather a slow starter. I'm maybe 100 pages in and I'm still not sure if I like it/want to finish it (it is a very large book, though!). It's interesting, but not terribly "grabby". Seemingly Mr. Mieville wil be at Octocon this year, so maybe I'll go along and get him to sign it anyway.

This seems to be a very scrappy entry. Ah well.