#Have a mince pie Mark

[pointless-letters]

Really getting into that whole “Spirit of Christmas” thing there Mark, well done…

[earlycuntsets]

THE ROCK World's finest headed to the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on December 9 and 10 for a pre-Christmas mince pie and glass of eggnog in aid of the KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas festival. It wasn't all kicking back and enjoying the festive merriment though, as Foo Fighters - who headlined both nights-AFI, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Incubus, Papa Roach, Evanescence, Wolfmother and Saosin were all there to rock the Santa hats off the sold-out crowd.

Also on the bill were former Blink 182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker with their band +44, and their former bandmate Tom DeLonge, who was with his AVA posse. Unfortunately, the season of good will to all men didn't inspire a kiss and make up session between the former friends. In fact, the two bands, who were playing on different days, made sure that they didn't cross paths at all. Come on guys, where's your Christmas spirit?

photo captions:

Two's company: Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker stick together

"Shall I have another mince pie? Oh go on, then…" - Amy Lee

Smash 'n' grab: Billy Corgan (middle) joins MCR's Black Parade"

Photos: Lisa Johnson, Wirelmage/FilmMagic 12/09/2006 kroq almost acoustic christmas

2006 kerrang #1136

[1kroolkroc]

Jevil hcs that I have

Source: I am the source /j /ref

Jevil hates bland food; he thinks it's very boring and that it reeks of order with every bite!

The way he eats his pizza is that he folds it like a taco after it's been baked, then eats the whole thing

He won't listen to you if the incentive you give him is "It's morally correct," "It shows that you care," "It builds character," or anything similar! He will if it's "I'll let you drink some melted plastic," "It'll be so funny," "You'll piss off both Tasque Manager and Rouxls Kaard," or anything along those lines

His favorite pass-time is calling Spamton at 3 AM and posing hypotheticals for him (ex: "What would you do if you woke up one day, and your hands were turned into starburst taffy? You have to go to work, today's the big day, and you need that promotion, but you have starburst taffy hands, and you're unable to stop swearing every couple of words too! Oh, and you have penguin legs along with that! What would you do, Spamton?")

His powers go into maximum overdrive if he is corrected, commanded, or told what he can't do or say (Ex: Someone says "You can't just add a comma in between every word and punctuation mark," he'll respond with "Is, that, so, lightner, ?, Well, then, feast, your, eyes, and, ears, !")

He hates when his own clothes match, but King forced him to wear mittens with matching colors and shoes with matching colors! However, in return, he allowed Jevil to make the shoes a completely different color from the mittens

His favorite music genres are speedcore, fast ragtime, jazz, circus/carnival music (yes that's an actual genre), hardcore techno, polka, and classical music that's off-beat, off-tune, fast, and intense all at the same time

He can be dribbled like a basketball, flattened, eaten alive, crushed by a falling piano, shredded like cheese, minced, baked into a pie, cooked into soup, thrown into an acid pool, kicked like a ball, thrown at someone else, and stay unharmed without any lasting mental effects

His favorite person to mess with is Spamton! They met at his 21st birthday party, and Jevil was hired by a party planner, as entertainment for the party guests. However, Spamton is terrified of clowns and jesters, so it all went downhill from there.

Jevil has never been seen out of his jester attire, but if he were to start wearing other clothes, he'd wear completely mixed patterns with tons of bright neon colors; Neon hawaiian shirts, glow-in-the-dark socks with contrasting patterns and neon LED light-up sandals, and blacklight shirts with arcade carpet patterns

Staying still and being quiet are both absolute torture for him! With every second that's silent and still, he can feel that chaotic itch getting stronger, almost as though he was suppressing his entire being. With that in mind, he is horrified of libraries, offices, fine-dining establishments, and waiting rooms, and will never be caught dead near one of those

If he had a house, he'd have his speakers on playing his favorite songs, the tv playing, and his computer on all at the same time, so that he doesn't have to settle in complete silence

He drinks soda purely for the fizz and the way it feels when he drinks it; depending on how he's feeling, he usually either drinks it through a glow-in-the-dark swirly straw, or chugs the whole thing in one gulp

[melonthesprigatito]

Word Girl Villains Christmas Headcanons

Rhyme's favourite Christmas movies are Olive the Other Reindeer because there is a con man penguin in it and Elf because she thinks it's amusing that the secretary that appears in a few scenes sounds almost exactly like her, almost as though they're both voiced by the same person * cough* Amy Sedaris *cough*

All the villains prefer not to watch Home Alone because it doesn't even well for the burglars in that movie. They dread the day Word Girl watches it in case it gives her any ideas.

Tobey uses his giant robots to hang mistletoe in every place he can think of in the hopes he can catch Word Girl under one. Maybe THIS time he'll finally get a kiss. Hopefully. Tobey also tries to introduce the bad guys to mince pies, aka the Classic British Christmas Food™ but they're all either confused or disappointed that there's no actual meat in them. Tobey ends up being exasperated by the constant "So why's it called a MINCE pie if there's no mince in it???" questions.

The villains are low key worried that Tobey, Victoria and Eileen will end up on the naughty list because of their evil activities, so Leslie makes sure they have a few presents for them just in case.

Granny May knits ugly Christmas sweaters for everyone. Unless they want to spend Christmas tied up in a giant ball of yarn, they have to wear them. No exceptions. Ms Question is totally cool with this because she already wears a sweater that she stitched a question mark into as her villain outfit so she appreciates the thought and effort that went into making them.

Lady Redundant Woman is ABSOLUTELY one of those retail workers that hates Christmas because of the customers and the Christmas music playing on repeat at the copying store. Doesn't help that Dave loves the holidays and is EXTRA cheerful this time of year.

The Villains Society decide to enforce a ban on committing any real crimes for the duration of the holiday season, because they realised that they'd rather not spend Christmas or New Year's in a jail cell. So instead...

Dr Two Brains starts turning things into cheese... so he can donate it to food banks. Word Girl wonders how the heck he managed to give away cheese to other people without pissing off Squeaky, and he's like "Well, I ordered a new cheese ray from Evil Monthly Magazine and they sent me a ray for GOAT'S CHEESE ray, can you believe it?! And they wouldn't give me a refund! Might as well get my money's worth!"

Chuck breaks into the mall at night.... Because he wants to be first in line to visit the mall Santa, might as well get there early.

Ms Question hits several people with her confusion ray... but it turns out that them being stuck in a state where they're questioning what gifts they should get got other people actually helped them to make a decision once it wore off.

Mr Big hypnotises a crowd... to organise a bunny themed Christmas parade. When the people are unhypnotised, they're just more disappointed that they missed the parade because they weren't conscious during hypnosis.

Rhyme and Reason head to the park and Rhyme freezes the entire lake... and people have a blast skating on the new ice rink. The civilians are actually annoyed when Word Girl tries to apprehend her and she gets called a Scrooge.

Word Girl is flabbergasted because they're doing things that are technically illegal, but not necessarily EVIL. And people are a lot more forgiving of the "crimes" than they normally are this time of year so Word Girl just let's them off with a warning. Amazing Rope Guy somehow gets arrested anyway but they let him go because "Hey, it's Christmas"

The villains throw a huge Christmas party (funded by Mr Big), and they even invite Word Girl. They also include her in their Secret Santa. She gets a Pretty Princess figure from Leslie. Amazing Rope Guy gets a fucking Key to the City from Word Girl because it was last minute so she panicked and grabbed the first thing she could see in her hideout.

D.A Sally Botsford is surprised to find a Christmas card signed by all the villains in the mail.

To make a long story short about Rhyme and Reason's childhood for this next headcanon, Rhyme was abandoned by her parents in space, she crashed landed on Earth, grew up in an orphanage, was ostracized by her entire town because of her powers and was singled out/bullied by her orphanage caretaker.

At Christmas, Rhyme would always end up on the Naughty List. Not because she was bad, but because her caretaker would intercept the letter and send her a return letter saying that she was a bad girl and she would NEVER get on the nice list. Rhyme was always the only kid in the orphanage who didn't get any presents. But she never lost hope because she just knew that if she tried hard enough, she could be on the nice list next year, so she never stopped believing in Santa.

Meanwhile Reason's parents... Weren't very involved in his life. They gave him the bare minimum of attention so he basically was forced to mature early and learn to take care of himself. So Santa wasn't really a thing in their household because they couldn't be bothered.

Reason never believed in Santa but he never told any of the other kids in the town because he didn't want to ruin the magic for them. Every year Reason saw Rhyme be heartbroken on Christmas Day and it killed him inside because he wished he could just tell her that her orphanage caretaker was deliberately ruining Christmas but he didn't want to destroy her hopes and dreams by breaking the news to her and destroy her belief in Santa Claus.

So, on the last year before Rhyme was too old for Santa to visit, Reason took drastic measures. He spent months saving up his allowance to buy presents for Rhyme and on Christmas Eve, he broke into the orphanage and found Rhyme's stocking. He got rid of the coal and filled it with the presents he bought. On Christmas morning Rhyme came down the stairs to find her stocking filled with presents, and a new letter from "Santa" saying that she was always on the nice list, but her caretaker stole her presents and made it look like he gave her coal.

Rhyme later excitedly showed her presents to Reason and ranted about how she KNEW there was something fishy going on with the naughty list and she was so relieved that Santa finally managed to put a stop to the sabotage. It wasn't until well into their supervillain careers that Reason told her what REALLY happened that night.

[tedwardremus]

We're Going On A Hippogriff Hunt

In the south of England, nestled behind a quaint thatched roof cottage, lay a dense thicket of woods. Between the trees, two young boys, James Potter and Teddy Lupin, embarked on a grand adventure. The sun dappled through the leaves, casting playful patterns on the forest floor as the boys set out on a very special quest - to catch a hippogriff.

Teddy, the elder boy at twelve, had an air of wisdom and experience about him that captivated the six-year-old James. Having recently completed his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry James was sure Teddy was one of the smartest boys he knew. As they ventured deeper into the woods, James trotted behind Teddy and bombarded him with questions about magical creatures, eager to absorb every bit of knowledge his older brother possessed.

"Teddy, what's the best way to approach a hippogriff without it attacking you?" James asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Teddy, not wanting to admit he hadn't taken Care of Magical Creatures yet, replied quickly, "You have to speak to them in Parseltongue. The hissing sounds calm them down."

Satisfied with the answer, James mimicked the sound of Parseltongue, emitting "hssses" and "sszzzes" out loud, as they continued their imaginary hunt. Teddy continued to weave fantastical tales of magical creatures and their peculiar habits.

"And hippogriffs love to eat mince pies. So at Christmas make sure you save your pie so we can set up a hippogriff trap."

"Really?!"

"Oh yes, and they make their houses on the top of trees. That's why we are hunting for them in the woods."

"But they are so big! Won't they break the trees if they sit on them?" James asked as he picked up a rather large stick and used it to punt himself across a babbling stream.

"Hippogriffs don't weigh much though. How else do you think they're able to fly? You got to be light as a feather to fly."

"But we can fly and we weigh more than feathers."

"Yes, but we have brooms to help us fly. Hippogriffs don't have brooms."

"Wow, you're right!"

Just as the boys stooped down to look at markings on the forest floor that Teddy swore to James were hippogriff prints, a familiar face appeared along the dirt path that cut through the woods that led from the apparition point back to the cottage. Harry Potter had just come home from a day's work at the Ministry

"Hello, boys! What are you doing out here?" James quickly abandoned his investigation of the animal prints and ran up to his father wrapping his arms around him in a hug.

"We're hunting hippogriffs, Dad! It's important!"

Harry chuckled, as knelt down "Really? Important is it? Is your hunt successful?"

"No, but Teddy says hippogriffs like swimming in deep waters. Our stream is too shallow. Maybe they went to the beach. Can we go to the beach tomorrow?"

"hmm, not tomorrow, I'll be working tomorrow. Maybe this weekend we can go to the beach but I don't think you'll find any hippogriffs there."

"I don't know Dad, Teddy was pretty sure we would. And he knows what he talking about. He told me he met one of Hagrid's hippogriffs at Hogwarts."

"Ah, yes Ted is quite the authority now, isn't he. Why don't we go inside and get ready for dinner?"

"Can Teddy and I continue our hunt after dinner?"

"Of course, You can hunt until it starts to get dark." And with that little James ran up ahead of his father and towards the house.

"Err," Said Teddy from beside Harry. "Do you think he'll figure out how I made up all that stuff about hippogriffs?"

Harry laughed at his godson's concern. "No, Ted, I think he is having fun. He's very lucky to have an older brother who will play with him."

"OK, but maybe next time we go to Diagon Alley we can get a book on magical creatures? That way I can tell James the truth."

"I'll get you any book you want, Ted." Harry clapped his godson's shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "Go on and make sure James washes his hands before dinner. I'm sure Ginny has something delicious cooking tonight."

As Harry followed Teddy up the tiny path, he paused for a moment, to soak in the innocent joy of two brothers playing carefree in the summer before he made his way inside his family home.

[goldnnavy]

I promised folks that I'd share photos of my birthday dinner since they were made with medieval recipes. Dinner was minced beef pie with spices, with potatoes and carrots (we have a 10lb bag of potatoes my mom wants to use up, hence the potatoes).

And this is the remains of my cake, a St. Mark's Cake, from 12th century Spain. My mom accidentally tripped over our elderly pooch (both are fine) and dropped the cake. It still tasted wonderful though!

All in all, an experience! And thank you all for the birthday wishes. They've all made me so happy throughout the day. Anywho, I'm off to go finish my 4th watch of Kingdom of Heaven...

[mrs-hudsons-cozy-corner]

Hello darlings!~

It's already November and Christmas season has begun! People are already starting to decorate and bake cookies!

So what better time then now to share a nice recipe for mince pies with you? 🥰

Ingredients for your pastry:

350 grams (2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface

225 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter (or an equal mix of butter and lard), cold and cubed

1 pinch salt

1 egg, beaten

Water, cold, as needed

The ingredients for your pie:

1 (776-gram/27-ounce) jar mincemeat (store-bought or homemade)

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Steps to Make make your Pastry:

Step 1: Gather the ingredients.

Step 2: Place 350 grams (2 3/4 cups) flour, 225 grams (1 cup) cold and cubed unsalted butter (or an equal mix of butter and lard), and 1 pinch salt into a large clean bowl.

Step 3: Rub the butter quickly into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough sand.

Step 4: Stir 1 beaten egg into the mixture using a cold knife.

Step 5: Add the cold water, a teaspoon at a time, and stir until the mixture binds but is not sticky.

Step 6: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

And now that you are done with your pastery it's time to assemble your Pies! :)

Step 1: Gather the ingredients.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C / Gas Mark 6. Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the tart you want. (We used a standard 12-cup tin.)

Step 3: Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out 2/3 of the pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin; don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the very top.

Step 4: Fill the pastry-lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.

Step 5: Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or, to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.

Step 6: Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.

Step 7: Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes (15 minutes if making canapé-sized ones), or until golden brown.

Step 8: Let cool and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar.

Step 9: Once that is done it's rime to serve and enjoy!~

Well, I do hope that this lovely recipe is easy enough to follow for my readers, and I do hope all of you have a lovely (Pre)Christmas time with your friends and family, baking cookies and decorating, and maybe sharing a few drinks together.

To all who try out this recipe, have fun while doing so and enjoy your delicious outcome! :)

I'm pretty sure @consult-sherlockholmes and @consult-johnhwatson are very thrilled to lend me a helping hand in the kitchen, don't you, boys?

[helmstone]

Six new shows I enjoyed in 2023

Six new shows I enjoyed in 2023

It’s that time of the year when bloggers cross post to pre-scheduled lists marking 2023 or looking forward to 2024. Today I looked at six new shows of 2023 on CultBox. You can see my choices from the graphic. Behind the scenes it’s a team effort, and I have to admit to not actually finishing one of these six, but the other five I definitely watched through. Bonus mince pie if you can tell me…

[maupuia]

More Than A Feeling - a tramp along the Travers-Sabine circuit

The lead up

"I'm thinking of hiking the Traverse-Sabine next holidays if anyone's keen. Sometime late September to early October." messaged Mark, and having recently done an overnight trip in the Tararuas and therefore totally in shape, I was in. It wasn't an area I'd tramped in before, so I was keen to see if it lived up to the hype. We'd be joined by Steve, an old friend of Mark's.

Having not bought any gear for a while, I immediately went out and bought a dehydrator and started going down the rabbit-hole of DIY dehydrating. For the trip I dehydrated both full meals - bolognese and vegetarian chilli - and various fruits, vegetables, pasta and mince which I combined into meals. Yes, you dehydrate cooked pasta - it means that you just need to rehydrate again, no need to cook it on the trip.

The weather in the week prior to the trip wasn't great and we debated the gear we'd need, essentially ice axes and micro-spikes. Thank you Dom for the ice axe - it was needed, albeit briefly.

However, things looked to be on the improve for the week of the trip and on Sunday I arrived at the airport ready to take the very small Sounds Air plane with the very young pilot across to Nelson. Just about to walk into the terminal, I turned back to the car just as Deb was jumping out of the driver's seat.

Deb: "You walked away with the car keys!" Me: "I left my raincoat at home!"

It's a good thing we live close by.

All trips should start with being met at the airport in a gold Mercedes.

The drive from Nelson to St Arnaud of course included a stop for a pie along the way. Steve has a bach there so we dropped our gear, went for a little walk to the lake and then to the Alpine Lodge for a couple of pre-trip beers. The forecast was wet and cold for Monday, but clearing after that.

Day 1 - to Lakehead hut

Packs were packed. And compared. Steve had the heaviest pack and the most food. Mark had the oldest pack - his Father's wooden H-framed canvas pack. No hip-belts to relieve the loads on these. I had the lightest, most colourful and most expensive pack. A big breakfast at the Alpine Lodge and we were ready to leave the top Mt Robert carpark just after 9am. The skies were dark and lowering. The first rumble of thunder happened about 20 minutes in. It started raining soon after that.

The plan was to lunch at Coldwater hut and then head onto John Tait hut for the night. Coldwater hut was cold. It had been raining since we left. Mark was wet. Mark was cold. Mark also had a cold. The thought of another 5 hours to John Tait hut was not appealing. Coldwater hut, with the stone floor and no firewood and the wind whipping off the lake was not appealing. Mark was coughing and spluttering. Caught between a stone floor and a cold wet trek, Steve had the frankly brilliant idea of sidestepping 50 minutes across the river to Lakehead hut - much nicer, firewood, dry. It meant a change of plans, and Mark put up some token resistance, but a couple hours later, we were warm, dry and looking at the weather coming down the Travers valley.

So, did I mention I have a very expensive, very lightweight pack? It leaks. Three hours walking in the rain and the back panel was soaked and there was a puddle of water in the bottom of the pack. I was not entirely happy. Photos were taken and emails have subsequently been sent.

Day 2 - to Upper Travers hut

The day dawned clear, calm and cold, with a dusting of fresh snow on the hills. It was to be the first of four days in a row of glorious weather. The walk up the Travers valley is just stunning. Easy walking, little bubbling side streams, mountains coming into view. As Mark and I kept mentioning, the Tararuas it is not!

We had a late lunch at John Tait hut before the final push to Upper Travers. Arriving there, a little before dusk, in the cool calm, with a ring of mountains around us was magic. I'll admit to being pretty tired by that stage, but also to wanting to be nowhere else.

On 1 October, the day before we started our tramp, DOC switched rules over for hut passes. No longer were annual hut passes valid, but you needed to buy a $25 serviced hut pass for each of the Nelson Lakes huts. Having possibly misread the DOC website, I'd purchased an annual hut pass a couple of days before we left. ( Yes, this was also an act of faith in my body holding out! ) Mark had done the same. Steve, bless him, informed us on the Friday before leaving of the new rules. I decided to just go with what I had, whereas Mark went into the Nelson DOC office to try and refund his annual pass and buy hut tickets. He left with both the pass and new hut tickets. DOC 1 - Mark 0. He was not happy to find no firewood at Upper Travers hut and in a "rage against the machine" moment, did not use his hut pass that night.

Day 3 - to West Sabine hut

There were four keas waking us up in the morning!

We had intended to have been at West Sabine hut by now, and to have had a short day to Blue Lake hut. As we were behind schedule, the plan was to get to Blue Lake hut today.

The walk up to Travers Saddle was why you do these trips.

It's so long since I've been in the South Island mountains like this, it was all I could do not to just sit down and take in the scenery for an hour. The final approach up towards Travers Saddle steepened, with snow. We were following the footsteps of someone who'd gone through the previous day, but later in the day and their footprints had sunk deeper into the softer snow. We decided to don micro-spikes, break out the ice-axes, and cut some steps up the final steep pitch. Well, Mark and I did. Steve, wearing boots and not trail shoes, let us do the hard work and just clomped on up behind us.

No wind on Travers saddle. Views all around. Fresh snow. What more could you ask for?

Less snow on the other side, but glorious long views down the East Sabine river.

It's a long descent down to the East Sabine river. I went down slowly and carefully, tending to my knees and found Mark at the bottom, lying back on the soft grass in a sunny spot, having a cup of tea. He'd been there a while. Steve arrived a while later and I was very appreciative of the rest it allowed me. Mark was still coughing and suffering from his cold and at times meant we could almost keep up with him. I made the mistake of trying to sympathise and saying it must be tough going to do all of this with the cold. Mark responded, "To be honest Mike, I'm not going fast enough to notice it." Ouch!

I arrived at West Sabine hut sometime around 2pm. My first words to Mark were, "I'm not going any fucking further today!". And that was Blue Lake hut crossed off the itinerary. There were two hunters in the hut already and this is a story worth telling.

It was a father and son. The son was 59 and the father 83. They had set off the day before around midday from Sabine hut for the - DOC timed - 5 hour trip to West Sabine. They had a boat which they've left at the Sabine hut jetty. The son said he usually took around the DOC time for a trip, so didn't think anything of leaving his Dad behind after about 6 hours so as to get to the (presumed nearby) hut and get the fire going and dinner on etc. When his Dad hadn't arrived by a little after 8pm, he went back along the track till he found him, took his pack and then both arrived at West Sabine around 11pm. So 11 hours for the 5 hour walk. They were having a rest day when we arrived. Understandably.

The first thing we noticed was an explosion of dehydrated food packets spread out on the bunk. The son said he was trying to get to grips with dehy food and what was needed. They had 8 main meals and various desserts and such between them. The two of them. For a 3 night trip. That was the dehy food. They also had fresh steaks, and bacon, and eggs, and meat patties. The latter of which they gave to us, so we had a pre-dinner snack. They had a goddamn bag of potatoes! They had two cookers and various pots and pans. The son carried a rifle. Just in case they saw something. Somehow we got around to asking the son how heavy his pack was. Reader, it was 35kg! On seeing our look of astonishment, he was quick to point out that one reason it was so heavy was that they were carrying 10 litres of bottled water between them. 10 litres! For a supposed 5 hour trip! Beside a river! With lots of lovely side streams along the way! They weren't sure it was safe to drink the water along the way.

We had a great time and conversations hanging out with them that night! Everything aside, I'll be very happy to be still tramping at 83.

Day 4 - to Sabine hut

The plan was to make it to Speargrass hut and so leave us with a very easy walk out on the final day, and time for wine, women and song at the Alpine Lodge.

Plans, amirite? I'd hoped, every morning on waking up and getting underway, that my legs would have gotten stronger and found their true tramping rhythm. Spoiler: they did not.

Mark, sometime on the final day, "I'll be honest Mike, you were both getting slower each day." He values honesty, does Mark!

Twenty minutes into the day and Mark catches me and says, "How about, instead of going to Speargrass, we head up the Mt Cedric track from Sabine hut, and get to Angelus for the night. Then head out along Robert Ridge." I told him I'd take the suggestion under advisement. [ Editor's note: At Sabine hut, there's a sign that says, basically, "the Mt Cedric track is very steep, takes about 6 hours, oh, and there's no water sources along the way." ]

Forty minutes into the day and I told Mark he could fuck off with his Mt Cedric track idea and do it by himself if he wanted. Steve and I would not be partaking.

It's actually a lovely track down the Sabine river.

Steve and I arrived after about 5 hours. Mark was drinking a cup of tea. Having told him Mt Cedric was not happening, we looked at how far it was to Speargrass hut. Another 5 hours. "Fuck you, Mark. We're not doing that either!" We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine, sandflies and stunning lake views at Sabine hut.

Day 5 - out to Mt Robert carpark

We a final 9 hour day beckoning, we were out the door at 7am on a lovely cool calm morning.

There's a steady climb from Lake Rotoroa, then a long sidle around to Speargrass hut. I was… getting slower. Steve asked me a couple of times where I was hurting. "Everywhere!" But, as always on this trip, the bush and trail were just lovely.

For 4 1/2 days of the tramp I'd had an earworm. I've been listening a lot to a wonderful album by this country singer - don't worry, she's quite obscure, you won't have heard of her - and snippets of the songs from the album had been in my head. Constantly. Every step. When I tried to sleep at night. On waking up. It's a sign of a great album but also, gimme me a break!

I was walking along on the final day, tired, sore, head full of these incessant songs, and then suddenly… like the sun breaking through the clouds; like manna from heaven; like the hallelujah fucking chorus… the song "More Than A Feeling" by Boston, came into my head and swept everything else away. This song is a classic 70's banger and officially the best song in the world.

Speargrass hut in 5 hours for a lunch stop. Then the final 3 hour walk out. Halfway along this, Mark finally snapped as Steve called for a rest stop. "I'll see you down the track", said Mark, striding off. Spoiler: we didn't. We'd been passed earlier by a young French guy who left Speargrass hut a little after us. I think someone's pride was hurt. The French guy never stood a chance. Apparently he told Mark, who was waiting at the carpark, "You walk very fast! I couldn't keep up."

It was a wonderful trip! I think right on the edge of what I can do at the moment, but my knees seem to be ok, and 3 days later I'm almost walking normally. Great company. Beautiful track. Would do again!

A fuller selection of trip photos is available here.

[bookmarkquinn]

Jelly on the Belly

Poem by Mark Quinn Thank you Dreamer AI Art. If you have fat on your bellythat wobbles like jellywhen you’re watching something funny on the telly,don’t let it be trouble,for it could be double!Jelly on the belly is a lifeline for someso stop worrying and have some fun,still continue to exercise and run,get off your arse and don’t be a bum.For when it’s festive season,have a mince pie or…

[survey--s]

415.

What Happened In the Past Year  How many relationships were you in? Just the one. What did you do for Valentine's day? I think we got takeaway or something, but otherwise we didn’t do anything special. Did you recieve your driver's license? No, I’ve had my license for four and a half years. Did you graduate high school? No.

Did you graduate college? Nope, that was well over a decade ago now.

Did you move out on your own? No. Did you get arrested? Nope. Did you get a speeding ticket? No. I think I got a parking ticket at the beginning of the year, though. What was the best thing you got for Christmas? Christmas isn’t for another week. Did you fall in love? No. Did you become an aunt or an uncle? No. Did you have a baby? Nope. Did you get engaged? No. Did you get married? Nope, I’m already married. Did someone close to you die? No. How many funerals did you go to? None. How many weddings? Zero. Did you turn 18? No, I turned 34. Did you have a car accident? Nope. Were you old enough to vote this year? I’ve been old enough to vote for 14 years now. How many jobs did you have throughout the year? Just the one. Did you get a new pet? No. Did you get cheated on? No. Did you cheat on someone? Nope. Did you start at a new school? No. Did you make any new friends? Yeah, not very close ones though. Did you get a new car? Nope. Did you drastically change your hairstyle? No, I’ve pretty much done nothing at all to my hair this year lol. Did you go out of the country? No. My passport expired during COVID and I haven’t bothered to get it renewed. Did you keep your last New Year's resolution? I stopped making those a long time ago. What was the best movie you saw in theaters? I haven’t been to the cinema at all this year, lol. What was the best book you read? Alice by Christina Henry.   What was your greatest accomplishment? Building up my business to the point where I’m having to turn clients away. What was the best cd released this year? Wellerman by Nathan Evans.   Did you get a new tattoo? Nope. A new piercing? No. Are you still dating the same person you dated at the start of the year? I am indeed. Still happily married. The Lasts of the Past How old were you on your last birthday? I turned 34. Who was your last kiss? Michael. Who was the last person to tell you "I love you"? My mum when I rang her this morning. Who was the last person you spoke to in person? Michael. Who was your last missed call? A withheld number - they never left a message or rang back lol. Who was your last phone call to? My mum. What was the last movie you watched? Mary Poppins. The last song you heard? I can’t remember, I think it was Nathan Evans’ album. The last book you read? Girl in Red by Christina Henry. The last place you went? The stables for my beach ride yesterday. The last time you cut your hair? Uh, about three months ago. The color of the last shirt your wore? I’m currently wearing a green long-sleeved tee and a grey jumper. The last person you hugged? Michael. Unless you count an animal, then it was Toby lol. The last thing you bought? Groceries. The last time you went to the doctor? Three years ago. The last time you went swimming? When we went to Lanzarote, so maybe 4-5 years ago? I’ve been in hot tubs a few time since then, though. The last game you played? Merge Restaurant on my phone. The last person's house you went to? Susie and Mark’s. The last un-related guy you hung out with? Mark, unless you count talking to Andrew for a few minutes on Friday. The last un-related girl you hung out with? Cath, Claire, Nicola, Louise and Andrea when I went riding yesterday. We had mulled wine and a mince pie to warm up after our ride. The last family member you hung out with? My mom. The last movie you saw in theaters? Cats, but that was three years ago now lol. The last time you went to Walmart? We don’t have Walmart over here. The last time you went to Burger King? A few years ago - I really don’t like Burger King. The last time you went on vacation? A few years ago. We didn’t go away during COVID. The last restaurant you went to? The Pennington. The last thing you ate? Mashed potatoes and sweetcorn. The last thing you drank? Ribena. What the Future Year Has In Store What are you most looking forward to in the New Year? Building my business, improving my riding and hopefully doing a half-day/private ride at some point over the summer. Are you getting married this year? I’m already married. Are you expecting a child? No thank you. Will you be getting a new job? No. Will you be starting a new school? Nope. Will you be moving to a new place? No, we haven’t got any plans to move anytime soon. Will you get your driver's license this year? I already drive.

Are you going on a vacation this year? I hope we go away at some point, but we haven’t booked anything yet. What movie are you most looking forward to coming out this year? I haven’t really been paying attention, to be honest. What book? I hope the sequel to Neverwhere eventually gets released. What music album? I really don’t pay attention to this stuff. Do you expect to find love this year? I’ve already found it. Did you make a New Year's resolution? No.   Will you be going to a wedding this year? Not so far as I know. Will you get a new car? I have no plans to. My car has been a great buy and it’s flown through it’s past two MOT’s. Will you buy a house this year? No. Do you expect to be with the same person at the end of the year? Yes. Are you starting the year off single? No. What do you most want to happen this year? I want to do a half-day ride. My long-term goal is a full-day ride but my legs and back couldn’t take that at the moment, lol. What are you most excited about this year? Riding. My dad sent me £1500 to spend on riding/lessons this year which I NEVER expected so I’m using it to my advantage, lol.

[rocklandhistoryblog]

FLASHBACK FRIDAY – NEWS FROM YESTERYEAR

#FBF

November 16, 1947 – 75 YEARS AGO
Excerpt from The Village Views

THANKSGIVING DAY AT LETCHWORTH VILLAGE
[Image: The Village Views, December 1947, cover page]        

Thanksgiving Day, here at the Village means to the boys and girls a day of plenty. The best dinner of the year and a full day of field sports more than justified their hopes. Mrs. Scales and her kitchen staff surpassed themselves, and Johnnie Burns put on his usual high-class field events. A vote of thanks goes to the kitchen workers who labored to heap the tables with everything from soup to nuts, beautiful roasted turkeys with all the trimmings, with seconds for all, big portions of mince and apple pie, plus oranges, apples, nuts, etc.


       About two and a half tons of turkey had to be prepared, a ton and a quarter of sweet potatoes, about a ton and a half of white potatoes, hundreds of pies, thousands of pounds of vegetables, plus fruit and nuts to be arranged in attractive dishes. Truly a man sized job!


       The kitchen staff can have the satisfaction that this year’s dinner was voted the best ever, in spite of the high standards of other years. The boys and girls really enjoyed themselves.


       In the morning, Mr. Burns, our Physical Training Instructor, staged a football game between the Reds and the Blues. Both teams were composed of the more rugged patients. The Reds won this well-contested game, Green being the outstanding player for the Reds, with Smith a close second. The score was Reds 24, Blues 18.


       In the afternoon a soccer game between the Reds and the Blues to give the Blues the chance to avenge the morning defeat. But here again the Reds were the strongest aggregation. Captain Brathwaite of the Reds led his men to an easy victory. Final score, Reds 6, Blues 0. The weatherman was very kind, and the day was a perfect day for field sports. We all felt that we had a lot to be thankful for this year. —-Mark Reiner, Cottage A

_____

Flashback Friday appears every Friday. To receive the full flashback report (formerly seen in the Rockland Review), read this week’s “News From Yesteryear” click here: https://www.rocklandhistory.org/page.cfm?page=998

To receive it in your email inbox, enter your email address at the bottom of the website's landing page, or call the HSRC office to register your email at 845-634-9629.

www.RocklandHistory.org

_____

#RocklandCountyNY #RocklandCounty #RocklandHistory #LocalHistory #NYSHistory #HudsonRiverValley #HudsonValley #LowerHudsonValley #HSRC #HistoricalSocietyofRocklandCounty #HistoricalSociety #HistoryMuseum #HistoryMatters #HistoryHappens #KnowYourHistory #HistoryLesson #SharingLocalHistory #LetchworthVillage

[storywriter12]

What they are like at Christmas

(John) I think he will be romantic I think he will be that guy who will have a piano and sing songs to Jill

(Mark) he will act like his annoyed at everything but when it's Christmas eve he will be like a kid again and Christmas morning he will be excited to see what santa has bought him

(Peter strahm) I think he will be like hoffman but he wouldn't see the point of it when his in work but when his at home you can guess that his whole house will be decorated with Christmas stuff

(Lawrence) he will love Christmas I think he will love to go out on walks with you holding your hand I also think he will dress up as santa when his working and give kids  presents.

(Adam) Adam his a. Big kid all though the month of December he will go all out he will love to spend time with you and on Christmas eve he will leave out milk and mince pie's for santa

(Jill) she will love to bake at Christmas and I think she will sing in the kitchen

(Lindsey) she will love to dress up and sing Christmas songs because she will love it and to annoy  Peter she wil Decorate the office

(Kerry) even though she wouldn't go home for the holidays she loves to help  around the office I think she will do baking to but she will only go home for Christmas day to spend it with Eric

(Eric) I think he will try and love the season but he will love to drink alot and go out with his mates on Christmas day he will spend it with Kerry

[ethereumhq]

The Monthly Mooncast 

The moon is a powerful influencer on any species. For the vampire, a full moon can be the closest they'll ever get to the sun. Sirens and pirates, both governed by the tides, also answer to the moon. Some worship her, others are controlled by her, still others remain ambivalent. June 14 marks the full moon in Sagittarius over Obsidian City. 

The Strawberry Supermoon will hang low and bright in the sky, casting a pinkish glow over the city from nightfall to early morning. Each species, and indeed sometimes units as small as packs or families, have different superstitions and rituals around the various full moons. 

A common Strawberry Moon tradition in Carynthia was once to bake your neighbor a pie in hopes they'd spare your house when turned rabid by the moon, but with the introduction of Ethereum traditions have shifted. Strawberry tarts, like tiny mince pies, are sold on street corners instead.

[howlinchickhowl]

i hope that you participate in your own question fridays, my beloved howl 😉🖤

do you like wearing costumes? what’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?

what’s your favorite holiday and why?

if the howl of 2011 hid a time capsule that was intended to be opened in 2021, what are 3 things that you would have put in there?

Rhys! You fluffy bowl of Angel Delight you didn’t even play question friday and you send me questions? My questions are not good enough for you?? You do not wish to be perceived by me??? These are great questions btw and I am honoured to answer them, but also I hope you will submit yourself to interrogation next week 🙃 . I do enjoy a good costume opportunity. I don’t get them very often but when I do I try and go the furthest I can. I dressed up as Rogue from x-men (based on the 90s cartoons) for a birthday party and that was probably my most successful costume. Bright green skinny jeans and leotard, yellow gloves and boots, a streak in my hair and a brown bomber jacket I sewed an xavier academy patch onto. I was pretty darn proud of that!

. I am assuming that by holiday you mean the festive kind of holiday and not vacation, which is what holiday kind of means in the uk. So assuming my assumption is correct: Christmas. I love pre-christmas winter, the lights and the goodwill and the collective sense of being Halfway Out Of The Dark. I love searching for gifts for people I love and coming up with theming ideas for my wrapping scheme, I love baking christmas foods and smelling christmas smells and living unapologetically off of mulled wine and mince pies. I love that it is two days of the year where it is frowned upon to be doing anything. I love christmas music and christmas movies and christmas outfits and just. Christmas. Yeah. It’s a banger.

.In 2011 I was struggling a lot. I don’t have an awful load of specific memories from that time. I would probably (if we weren’t concerned about rotting) have put in a pie from this traditional pie shop in my hometown that is incredible and that I visited almost on a weekly basis for a while. My bound copy of my dissertation because I struggled with uni and was really proud of myself for finishing my project and getting a way better mark than I had expected. A picture of me and my dad at his birthday dinner when we were both very happy and a little bit fatter than we would have liked. 

These were REALLY good questions, number three especially I’m crying a little bit thinking about it. You coming for my gig bro?!