Pentreffest 2007

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Was particularly lovely. I wasn't sure what to make of it, as previously the festival had been held in the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff Bay, a particularly appropriate location with a good floor for dancing on and very interesting surroundings (as seen in several Doctor Who location shots). This time it was in Rudry Village Hall, just outside Caerphilly, and well away from anything like the dozens of restaurants minutes away from the Norwegian Church. It started off well, though, with a very early morning start from Paddington and a half-empty train pulling through London with the morning sun giving everything a coat of reddish-gold paint. I just sat there watching the city fall away from me as I listened to some of the most cheerful music on the planet - Cab Calloway in full-on swing mode. Got to Cardiff remarkably quickly, then to Caerphilly on a slightly delayed train and then hung around in a cold car park for twenty minutes waiting for Michael and John to pick me up. By the sound of it, it was a mercy they turned up at all, as they'd had a nightmarish journey on Friday, having to detour round rough mountain roads and at one point having to jumpstart the car by both pushing on it, and then jumping in as it began to gather speed.

On to Pentreffest! Where a Breton dance class showing us various ways of dancing the kost'ar choad was in full swing - this is a great dance, full of little skips and hops, and a funky little pause which throws the beginner but the expert relishes.

A lovely time had by all

Just a quick post before I head off to Cardiff for Pentreffest in the morning - Michael has just texted me to say that the dancing was wonderful, so I'm looking forward to this even more now - because I feel, at the moment, pretty happy. Some of you may know about my personal problems over the last year or so, and the heartbreaks I've both felt and inflicted, but tonight, after the ceilidh I've been to, my heart was light. It's a little heavier now, but it's still buoyant, my feet are pleasantly tired, my legs feel nice and warm, I'm ahead of schedule on my OU work, the seminars I've been organising at the BAC have been successful so far, and, in truth, I feel like I'm on an upward trajectory. Long may that projection continue!

Kawaii! ^_^

I really think this goes beyond Western forms of cuteness, into something that the Japanese specialise in. Next time someone posts something utterly revolting on the Internets and I get to see it, I think I'll run away and wash my visual cortex out with this. And while you're there, have a look at some of the other Flash games, they're ingenious, childlike, and fun.

Nutting (and quincing)

It was a very autumnal weekend - though unfortunately I couldn't remember any appropriate folk songs while out nutting. We've had two walnut trees on the farm for as long as I can remember, never growing much taller, just wider. Which is actually a good thing when it comes to harvesting the nuts as they're easy to climb up into, find some promising-looking branches, and then jump up and down on them, listening to the thudding of the nuts as they fall down. I managed to get about four kilos of nuts in twenty minutes - the squirrels are obviously really lazy at Claywell.



This is them after being hulled and washed - see the wonderful pages at The California Backyard Orchard. Now, they dry - and wait for their fate at Christmas, or maybe to be added to brownies or fruitcake later in the year.

Also picked: quinces. Lots of quinces. First for Khoresht-e-Beh, an Iranian stew made with lamb and quinces (I made enough for twelve, and four ate it all), and then for freezing quinces - and stewing them so slowly had the benefit of filling the house with the smell for at least two hours. Going out to pick them was also a lovely experience, reaching into the tree to twist them gently off their branches, the bucket slowly filling up to the brim.



A very pleasant experience - and I hope to get some more to store away when I go back to Claywell next, assuming the squirrels have left the walnuts alone. I don't think anything eats quinces apart from humans!

Balls

Well, it looks like the Oxford Grand Viennese Valentines Ball will be happening again - perhaps with Jane, and possibly with her hooped skirt too - and, further ahead than that, the Jane Austen Festival's Regency Ball, with everyone in period costume, though my presence is less likely due to the cost and not living in Bristol any more. Did I mention I like dressing for the occasion? Especially when it involves white tie (though I've never tried Regency costume)? Proof can be seen in this video, which features me (in tails) and Jane (in purple silk) right at the beginning.