I have not posted in a very long time, the truth be know is that i have little to talk about. It's ground hog day, each day more or less the same as the last. There has been a few ups and downs and i'll talk a bit about them but nothing much is happening with me. Honest. Why the defensive tone, a few friends and family have gotten on me for not posting in over a month so here is the update.
The ups seem to be attached to my free time spent adding to my SCA kit. I have two more linen shirts made, this brings it to five, the final goal is ten so i have one for each day at pennsic but for this trip its to a total of three and i have the fabric for the additional one more. At the same time i am using some silk brocade scarfs here to make a very rich jerkin.
I have ordered five late English cooking pots, it will cost a fortune but i can't resist they are the crowning bit of cooking kit. There not perfect period as they are cast iron not cast bronze. Not saying that the iron is not period they are the exception not the rule. The Bronze are gorges and were an option for a bit more money but they have big safety risks as they can give a really bad case of food poisoning if not used correctly. This did have its challenges as I had to fight a bit with Paypal as there automated defences was saspecious of a Canadian credit card paying for a english purchase well using a satellite connection from some unknown location. (unknow to it) So it kept blocking the payment and i had to keep calling Paypal to try to sort it out.
There has been a few downs, the one that most threw me off my game was losing my hat, yes that little poofy black hat is now no more, it got stolen or dropped while i was at a fencing practice. By chance my mother has found hidden away the original pattern and the wool fabric the original was made from.
The find is the result of at my mother has finally decided to move down south to her childhood home in south west Ontario. That does mean that i will have to say good buy to house my parents have lived in since I was eleven. Its going to be a bit of a challenge to sort threw some 25 years worth of clutter before it can be sold.
The summer heat is coming in so its now averaging 40+ C here in mid day. This place is still surreal as usual, one of the cleaners garden has produced a group of six-foot tall sunflowers that look totally out of place here add some nice colour to the otherwise tan landscape.
The king of surreal moments for me was when I was sitting on my tents porch on my day off working a shirt watching a few of my camp mates try to teach them selves cricket when i heard a chime version of “puff the magic dragon” go driving by on its way to one of the PX stores. Turns out the British brought over an ice-cream truck with chime music and all, the only thing that differs this one from any other normal motorized frozen dairy establishment is that the truck is painted in a desert camouflage pattern.
The only other news i have is my vacation is set to be in late August to early September and shorter due to the strange moving out contract we are getting. And yes that makes it official, no Pennsic for me this year.
So that is it for me, I am thinking of every one and hope to see every one in August.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Back in KAF
Alot has changed in the few weeks i was gone. The big one is my boss is gone. He had been here from the start of this mission and was planning to finish here had left. Resign out of the blue, turns out there was a bit of a scandal here and details are but rumours. Any one who reads my blog will know that there is no truth here just rumours. Its change the dynamics of the office a bit.
I was told when i left that soon after my return they have a new contract ready for me. Turns out that’s not true the military has not given the project a confirmed end date and with the election that may not happen any time soon. It means to me is I have no idea when I will see home again.
When I first got back there is only one other fencer and he is leaving in two weeks so the fencing looks to end with him. There seems to have been a reprieve from this fate, there is a bunch of new US units rotating in and so we picked up two SCA people one of which is a barron from Midrealm, and a small army of people just interested to try out the fencing. It means now i have to switch gears to teaching mode. I always feel a bit fake at this as i have very little experience and no authorizations in fencing, but its like all things here you do the best with what we have.
Any way I'm a little melancholy with not knowing what my summer is going to be like or were but not much can be done at this point other then put my focus on the work and get it done. I'll have lots to do as i have enough linen to make two more shirts and more on the way. My current pet project of using a slave computer back at my apartment seems to be working we will see how that turns out in the long run. I will keep myself busy.
I was told when i left that soon after my return they have a new contract ready for me. Turns out that’s not true the military has not given the project a confirmed end date and with the election that may not happen any time soon. It means to me is I have no idea when I will see home again.
When I first got back there is only one other fencer and he is leaving in two weeks so the fencing looks to end with him. There seems to have been a reprieve from this fate, there is a bunch of new US units rotating in and so we picked up two SCA people one of which is a barron from Midrealm, and a small army of people just interested to try out the fencing. It means now i have to switch gears to teaching mode. I always feel a bit fake at this as i have very little experience and no authorizations in fencing, but its like all things here you do the best with what we have.
Any way I'm a little melancholy with not knowing what my summer is going to be like or were but not much can be done at this point other then put my focus on the work and get it done. I'll have lots to do as i have enough linen to make two more shirts and more on the way. My current pet project of using a slave computer back at my apartment seems to be working we will see how that turns out in the long run. I will keep myself busy.
London Log Day 2 (April 3rd)
Day Two was spent just at Hampton court. This time i had all day and so i started by walking the gardens. The Gardens are all now Georgian design with its own little maze... I got lucky and found my way threw it on my first try. The thought came to me if i ever get my own house with a lawn that i will have to make up a maze...
The Palace is a classic of early 16th century brick contraction with Gothic decorative elements. Turns out that they had a showing of paintings from Henry VIII period including the field of cloth of gold. As imagine I took a lot of photos. Its hard to take photo of these pictures as the paintings have four hundred year old layer of glossy varnish. It drove the automatic optics in my camera nuts trying to make sense of the lighting. I Got to take a close look at the camps kitchens and it looks that they had purpose built tents with a buffet style serving as there is little sign of chairs around the serving tables.
Again i spent most of the day in the kitchen picking the brains of the reactors a number of which are professional historians and archaeologist. I got to sit and chat and was informed the table in front of me was put in the early 17th century. It mad how close the history is.
Once the tourists had gone i was invited to the the back office and parts of the castle not normally open to the public. They showed how the castle had been expanded and that there was a window in there office that had bin closed off since Elizabeth the first time. It how makes a lovely Gothic style book shelf. Even offered to help out then next time I'm there if i can get the right garb.
The castle had been expanded threw the seventeenth and early Georgian periods but what makes it different is that very little was removed in the process. The courts stands on a very large peace of real estate so they just added another peace. I was shown that one of the long buildings that now houses the offices and gift stores is the oldest garrison barracks in England but nothing is mentioned in the number of pamphlets given out. Turns out there is a number of examples of this threw out the castle.
Oh before i forgot when i got there the main court yards were full of BBC props. They were using them for the background for some upcoming fantasy TV show. It was interesting to walk around the made up castle market and giggle at some the incorrect items but all so how they have mastered the ten foot rule. The Market looks great when you first step in but once you are walking among the fake stalls and well placed peaces of fake wood it becomes very plastic like a flock of pink plastic flamingos. The only thing that seems to save it is the 30 feet of real castle looming over you on all four sides.
Oh on a side notes on every castle movie and tv show they put two great long banners on each side of the main gate of the caste. They are hide the assortment of modern signs and modern hardware that enviable gets mounted on ether side of the gate for modern security. A place name plaque, the little this way to the washrooms or that way to the gift shops. All washed away with to long stretches of broad cloth and some paint.
A couple of the reactors played name that prop. Ohh that’s from the new Merlin show or from robin hood or harry potter. It scary how well they could spot the origin of the different objects. I gather from a few comments that they been approached a few times about helping out as with the popularity of HD the old 10 foot rule is not working as well.
Hampton court is stands as my favourite castle from the week and will stand for a while, its not the fanciest or biggest but you can tell its the most lived in. It feels more alive then any of the other castles.
The Palace is a classic of early 16th century brick contraction with Gothic decorative elements. Turns out that they had a showing of paintings from Henry VIII period including the field of cloth of gold. As imagine I took a lot of photos. Its hard to take photo of these pictures as the paintings have four hundred year old layer of glossy varnish. It drove the automatic optics in my camera nuts trying to make sense of the lighting. I Got to take a close look at the camps kitchens and it looks that they had purpose built tents with a buffet style serving as there is little sign of chairs around the serving tables.
Again i spent most of the day in the kitchen picking the brains of the reactors a number of which are professional historians and archaeologist. I got to sit and chat and was informed the table in front of me was put in the early 17th century. It mad how close the history is.
Once the tourists had gone i was invited to the the back office and parts of the castle not normally open to the public. They showed how the castle had been expanded and that there was a window in there office that had bin closed off since Elizabeth the first time. It how makes a lovely Gothic style book shelf. Even offered to help out then next time I'm there if i can get the right garb.
The castle had been expanded threw the seventeenth and early Georgian periods but what makes it different is that very little was removed in the process. The courts stands on a very large peace of real estate so they just added another peace. I was shown that one of the long buildings that now houses the offices and gift stores is the oldest garrison barracks in England but nothing is mentioned in the number of pamphlets given out. Turns out there is a number of examples of this threw out the castle.
Oh before i forgot when i got there the main court yards were full of BBC props. They were using them for the background for some upcoming fantasy TV show. It was interesting to walk around the made up castle market and giggle at some the incorrect items but all so how they have mastered the ten foot rule. The Market looks great when you first step in but once you are walking among the fake stalls and well placed peaces of fake wood it becomes very plastic like a flock of pink plastic flamingos. The only thing that seems to save it is the 30 feet of real castle looming over you on all four sides.
Oh on a side notes on every castle movie and tv show they put two great long banners on each side of the main gate of the caste. They are hide the assortment of modern signs and modern hardware that enviable gets mounted on ether side of the gate for modern security. A place name plaque, the little this way to the washrooms or that way to the gift shops. All washed away with to long stretches of broad cloth and some paint.
A couple of the reactors played name that prop. Ohh that’s from the new Merlin show or from robin hood or harry potter. It scary how well they could spot the origin of the different objects. I gather from a few comments that they been approached a few times about helping out as with the popularity of HD the old 10 foot rule is not working as well.
Hampton court is stands as my favourite castle from the week and will stand for a while, its not the fanciest or biggest but you can tell its the most lived in. It feels more alive then any of the other castles.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
London Day 1
OK I have been back in KAF for a week and not posted a thing... I have my exscuses that could make a very long post onto them selves as a few supprises were waiting for me when i got here, but then i miss talking about England... I am still mentally digesting my time there, as it was a blur of some of my most favourite things, Castles, Cathedrals, and Museums. My brain was left in a happy state of mush. Some part of me still has ideas of leaving in England other then I have little way to make a living.
Day One in England
Arrived at Heathrow about half past six in the morning, after fun with security cached the subway to Chelsea to see if there was any chance i could check in early, it was eight when i walked in. After my last hotel in London being tiny I was worried on what I would get. This hotel was under a bit of renovations so that was not a good sign. My room was not ready so it will have to wait till later.
Dropped my luggage and went walked to Westminster, One thing i have to say about my hotel it was well located. Once in Westminster after i had finished staring at the clock tower and heard Big Ben chime I found the river cruse and was enjoying the trip up the river ... I watch the assortment of architecture that have sprung up along the Thames, the centuries of architects attempts to get as many river facing flats out of a given peace of real estate. I eventually had to catch a bit of sleep as i was fighting off 5 hours of jet lag and quite a bit of motion sickness residue from the flight. The trip took most of the day and i made it to Hampton Court around three in the afternoon.
Hampton court was all i had hoped and more. I had made it a point to come down when they were doing a cooking demo. The reanactors spotted my hat right off. I was able to chat it up a bit and compare notes. They were impress i could quote a few of the cook books they were using. It was the end of the day and headed back to my hotel by train. I would be back tomorrow, I'll save people from a rant how I love English rail systems.
My Hotel room was much larger then the last and i had not to worry. The double bead still took up most of the main room but there was a small table and shelves. The kitchen was no more then 4 foot square bit it had a little fridge, sink and a double hot plate. It also had a little apartment size washer/dryer unit. It felt pleasant and this time in London I’m not getting the claustrophobic feeling I that plagued me last time I was here.
More London to follow
Day One in England
Arrived at Heathrow about half past six in the morning, after fun with security cached the subway to Chelsea to see if there was any chance i could check in early, it was eight when i walked in. After my last hotel in London being tiny I was worried on what I would get. This hotel was under a bit of renovations so that was not a good sign. My room was not ready so it will have to wait till later.
Dropped my luggage and went walked to Westminster, One thing i have to say about my hotel it was well located. Once in Westminster after i had finished staring at the clock tower and heard Big Ben chime I found the river cruse and was enjoying the trip up the river ... I watch the assortment of architecture that have sprung up along the Thames, the centuries of architects attempts to get as many river facing flats out of a given peace of real estate. I eventually had to catch a bit of sleep as i was fighting off 5 hours of jet lag and quite a bit of motion sickness residue from the flight. The trip took most of the day and i made it to Hampton Court around three in the afternoon.
Hampton court was all i had hoped and more. I had made it a point to come down when they were doing a cooking demo. The reanactors spotted my hat right off. I was able to chat it up a bit and compare notes. They were impress i could quote a few of the cook books they were using. It was the end of the day and headed back to my hotel by train. I would be back tomorrow, I'll save people from a rant how I love English rail systems.
My Hotel room was much larger then the last and i had not to worry. The double bead still took up most of the main room but there was a small table and shelves. The kitchen was no more then 4 foot square bit it had a little fridge, sink and a double hot plate. It also had a little apartment size washer/dryer unit. It felt pleasant and this time in London I’m not getting the claustrophobic feeling I that plagued me last time I was here.
More London to follow
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Dubai part 2
Lets start by asking you to forgive me as this post is a bit incoherent, i have been in the terminal almost 8 hours and my mind is starting to go from the boredom. To give it scope of boring, back in KAF were there is officially nothing to do in your spare time I may post a entry every few weeks, its been less then three hours and i'm posting again....
I think there is a school of design when it comes to air port terminals. I think they are all about movement. The seats are uncountable so you can't really sit for too long before you have to stand up and move just to get blood flow back. When you do sit it give you a chance to people watch as they take there turn on the journey to no ware specific. I have a conspiracy theory that they want to tire people out for the flights so they will sleep instead of bugging the flight crew.
Right now i am camped out next to recharge centre to get some juice back into the little net-book. Its a bit of a people way station for the technically dependent. As we are not far from the McDonald’s you see the odd person stop and have to decide what is more important to feed them selves or there electronics.
This decision has to be made often by the electronic junky. It could be why the truly nerdy only seem to come in two sizes, boney or spherical. All dependent on which side is more often found to be heaver in ones mental scale of importance.
The poor guy next to me is trying his best not to be notice as he hogs most of the plugs in the recharge booth, as he charges a laptop, cell phone, mp3 player, and camera. I'm waiting for any moment for him to pull out a GPS or a portable DVD player.
Dubia is the Vegas of the middle east and the air port very much reflects that. The people going by are a equal mix from the four corners of the world. In any given moment i may see a tall blond in high heel boots and a skin tight tank top walking next to a women in a fully clad black berkas.
Some of the people travailing with me have gone to the emirates lounge. You pay $60 US for 4 hours and you get access to leather couches you can actually sleep on, shower facilities and as much cheep booze as you can hold. I have avoided this temptation in the hope i may get some sleep on the 8 hour flight to London.
I think there is a school of design when it comes to air port terminals. I think they are all about movement. The seats are uncountable so you can't really sit for too long before you have to stand up and move just to get blood flow back. When you do sit it give you a chance to people watch as they take there turn on the journey to no ware specific. I have a conspiracy theory that they want to tire people out for the flights so they will sleep instead of bugging the flight crew.
Right now i am camped out next to recharge centre to get some juice back into the little net-book. Its a bit of a people way station for the technically dependent. As we are not far from the McDonald’s you see the odd person stop and have to decide what is more important to feed them selves or there electronics.
This decision has to be made often by the electronic junky. It could be why the truly nerdy only seem to come in two sizes, boney or spherical. All dependent on which side is more often found to be heaver in ones mental scale of importance.
The poor guy next to me is trying his best not to be notice as he hogs most of the plugs in the recharge booth, as he charges a laptop, cell phone, mp3 player, and camera. I'm waiting for any moment for him to pull out a GPS or a portable DVD player.
Dubia is the Vegas of the middle east and the air port very much reflects that. The people going by are a equal mix from the four corners of the world. In any given moment i may see a tall blond in high heel boots and a skin tight tank top walking next to a women in a fully clad black berkas.
Some of the people travailing with me have gone to the emirates lounge. You pay $60 US for 4 hours and you get access to leather couches you can actually sleep on, shower facilities and as much cheep booze as you can hold. I have avoided this temptation in the hope i may get some sleep on the 8 hour flight to London.
Dubai
Ya! Dubai terminal three has free wi-fi internet. Status Report, first of four flights is down.
Dubai for reasons I'm not totally clear has most of there international flights leaving in the wee hours of the morn. For example my flight leaves at three am. Now as my last flight got in at six pm i have a few hours to sit ... and .... umm .... post a blog entry.
I need to avoid the huge duty free here, you can get cigarettes, whisky, wine, and chocolate here for way too cheep. Fortunate for me i don't take part in much of the above other then the chocolate but a few other travel mates are not the same, one seems to be drooling over the $100 21 year-old Glenfiddich. What my bane here is the two books stores here, thank goodness they don't have history or science sections, its mostly light reading.
Any way the battery on my little netbook is starting to run dry so I'll post the next chance i get ....
Dubai for reasons I'm not totally clear has most of there international flights leaving in the wee hours of the morn. For example my flight leaves at three am. Now as my last flight got in at six pm i have a few hours to sit ... and .... umm .... post a blog entry.
I need to avoid the huge duty free here, you can get cigarettes, whisky, wine, and chocolate here for way too cheep. Fortunate for me i don't take part in much of the above other then the chocolate but a few other travel mates are not the same, one seems to be drooling over the $100 21 year-old Glenfiddich. What my bane here is the two books stores here, thank goodness they don't have history or science sections, its mostly light reading.
Any way the battery on my little netbook is starting to run dry so I'll post the next chance i get ....
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Packing light
To Bring, or Not to Bring, that is the dilemma. Whether its calmer in the mind to wonder the lost and damage of outrageous transfers, or to take ones luggage a lack of volume. And by compressing stuff then. To fly to move, no rest; and by a move to go we must.
The problem is Dubai. As we now are not free to enter the city with out much paper changing hands some of which being monies it now limited to air port transfers. To make this transfer of one person is quite easy, the question, the dilemma, the mystery, is if your check luggage will do the same. As we go from the charter terminal to the main emirates terminal. This is done with a third party escort service. When I say escort service I don't mean pretty girls of a willing nature who laugh at all your jokes, I mean a bunch of shift workers who are a thousand miles from home who could care less if your flight leaves in ten hours or ten mines and who may at some point move your check luggage but you won't know till you get to your destination.
So i am here after my last shift before vacation packing and unpacking my backpack trying to see what i can get in and still have it small enough to be considered carry on. Things i have sacrificed at this point is a half finished pewter mold of St. George slaying a dragon, a few trinkets i was going to give away, and my sewing kit.
Curious on what the weather will be like at the other end, here its just above 20 C with the sun out. We've not had rain in a week so every thing has dried up but not so much to fill the air with dust. It really doesn’t get much nicer here, and i am leaving. Hmm.. I think this vacation could have been timed better.
What ever the weather it will be nice to be home with a place of my own. See you all soon.
The problem is Dubai. As we now are not free to enter the city with out much paper changing hands some of which being monies it now limited to air port transfers. To make this transfer of one person is quite easy, the question, the dilemma, the mystery, is if your check luggage will do the same. As we go from the charter terminal to the main emirates terminal. This is done with a third party escort service. When I say escort service I don't mean pretty girls of a willing nature who laugh at all your jokes, I mean a bunch of shift workers who are a thousand miles from home who could care less if your flight leaves in ten hours or ten mines and who may at some point move your check luggage but you won't know till you get to your destination.
So i am here after my last shift before vacation packing and unpacking my backpack trying to see what i can get in and still have it small enough to be considered carry on. Things i have sacrificed at this point is a half finished pewter mold of St. George slaying a dragon, a few trinkets i was going to give away, and my sewing kit.
Curious on what the weather will be like at the other end, here its just above 20 C with the sun out. We've not had rain in a week so every thing has dried up but not so much to fill the air with dust. It really doesn’t get much nicer here, and i am leaving. Hmm.. I think this vacation could have been timed better.
What ever the weather it will be nice to be home with a place of my own. See you all soon.
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