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timerippleO the songs that fill my head!
2 October 2004
I have discovered another, much more satisfactory, used bookstore. To be sure, if I was looking for academic books it might not be too useful, although there was quite a large Classics section consisting mostly of original works. It was marvelous – I nearly died of delight when I stepped in the door. The tiny place was brimming with (mostly hardcover) books with that perfect dusty-sweet used-book smell. Old hardbacks with gold lettering lined the walls, and in a corner on the floor nestled a few stacks of paperback sff. I knelt in front of the latter like a supplicant. My reward was a UK edition of Patricia McKillip’s Harpist in the Wind – containing multiple typos, but considering how many times I’ve read it that hardly mattered. Reading it again later that evening, I was struck by the realization that I’d forgotten how incredible that book is; how much I’ve loved it for nearly ten years. I felt sort of like Polly in what’s-it-called – Kate, you know what I’m talking about here. Rediscovering something I didn’t realize I’d missed. That book is particularly appropriate to St Andrews, with the hills to one side and the sea to the other, the ruins in between and the wind all around.
I made one other purchase there: “Poems of Tennyson”.
3 October 2004
I meant to go to the library to read up on Herodotus, but of course I misread the library’s opening hours and so ended up gleefully tramping about the castle ruins instead. It was a “most triumphant time”. (Forgive the Bill & Ted quote. It’s just that some previous occupant had scrawled “Iron Maiden” on the inside of my wardrobe. You can imagine what I said upon discovering it; it started with “E”, ended with “!” and was accompanied by air guitars.)
Ahem. Moving right along…
Then I joined the Shire of Caer Caledon, the local medieval society. Some acquaintances, having attended the society Feast last night, reported that there was a fiddler, and I instantly resolved to go to the informational meeting this afternoon. As a result, not only do I have a pretty green membership card, but I have the opportunity to learn about various fighting techniques (“Pointy swords! Yay! Ooh, shiny”), clothing construction (“We shall strive to reach new heights of cleavage engineering! Well, just new heights of cleavage, actually”), and brewing mead (apparently it explodes if unreferigerated after a certain time. “Excellent!”). I heard rumor of Tuesday-night sessions in a pub; I shall drag all potential-friend-material (understand I do not make friends lightly or quickly) along with me. My music-starved soul may yet recover.
I guess this means I should probably join Felding, hunh. Especially since I can sort of sew now. Hmm.
4 October 2004
7:00 am. Fire drill. Luckily I was already awake, and had the presence of mind to pull on my raincoat (about whose effectiveness I now have serious doubts). It has resolved into a gorgeous clear afternoon with just the right clouds hanging about somewhere.
During dinner: MORE Bill & Ted! I’m not sure how they came up, but they did. We must have a viewing! Also, there is mention of Good Omens. Whee!
5 October 2004
OMG SESSION! *bliss* Wow. So my two faithful companions and I found the right pub and ended up in the right place, and then there was MUSIC! There was also lots of smoke from who-knows-what being blown in my face and in my hair and saturating my clothes, but it was more endurable than I’d expected. There were, at various times throughout the evening, a banjo, guitar, bodhran, flute, recorder, and no fewer than six fiddles (mine included). It was fabulous. It was beyond fabulous. It was unspeakably wonderful. We sang ‘Star of the County Down’ twice at various points (Eep! Whee!). They even played some tunes I know, so I didn’t have to pretend and/or play chords the whole time: ‘Flowers of Edinburgh’, ‘Soldier’s Joy’, ‘Jenny Dang the Weaver’, ‘Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman’, ‘Swallowtail Jig’ (my suggestion, since they asked), ‘The Butterfly’, ‘Brenda Stubbert’s’, ‘Catharsis’, and a few of others I’ve heard a lot and could reasonably fudge my way through. The thing is, though, they played everything at about twice its intended dancing tempo. This was fun, but made it really hard to pick anything up (except this one comparatively slow round, which was cool because one person played the A part, then everybody chimed in on the B, and then the next person did the A, etc. all around the circle).
Of course, it also meant I got to play 'Tam Lin' at breakneck speed. Excellent!
2 October 2004
I have discovered another, much more satisfactory, used bookstore. To be sure, if I was looking for academic books it might not be too useful, although there was quite a large Classics section consisting mostly of original works. It was marvelous – I nearly died of delight when I stepped in the door. The tiny place was brimming with (mostly hardcover) books with that perfect dusty-sweet used-book smell. Old hardbacks with gold lettering lined the walls, and in a corner on the floor nestled a few stacks of paperback sff. I knelt in front of the latter like a supplicant. My reward was a UK edition of Patricia McKillip’s Harpist in the Wind – containing multiple typos, but considering how many times I’ve read it that hardly mattered. Reading it again later that evening, I was struck by the realization that I’d forgotten how incredible that book is; how much I’ve loved it for nearly ten years. I felt sort of like Polly in what’s-it-called – Kate, you know what I’m talking about here. Rediscovering something I didn’t realize I’d missed. That book is particularly appropriate to St Andrews, with the hills to one side and the sea to the other, the ruins in between and the wind all around.
I made one other purchase there: “Poems of Tennyson”.
3 October 2004
I meant to go to the library to read up on Herodotus, but of course I misread the library’s opening hours and so ended up gleefully tramping about the castle ruins instead. It was a “most triumphant time”. (Forgive the Bill & Ted quote. It’s just that some previous occupant had scrawled “Iron Maiden” on the inside of my wardrobe. You can imagine what I said upon discovering it; it started with “E”, ended with “!” and was accompanied by air guitars.)
Ahem. Moving right along…
Then I joined the Shire of Caer Caledon, the local medieval society. Some acquaintances, having attended the society Feast last night, reported that there was a fiddler, and I instantly resolved to go to the informational meeting this afternoon. As a result, not only do I have a pretty green membership card, but I have the opportunity to learn about various fighting techniques (“Pointy swords! Yay! Ooh, shiny”), clothing construction (“We shall strive to reach new heights of cleavage engineering! Well, just new heights of cleavage, actually”), and brewing mead (apparently it explodes if unreferigerated after a certain time. “Excellent!”). I heard rumor of Tuesday-night sessions in a pub; I shall drag all potential-friend-material (understand I do not make friends lightly or quickly) along with me. My music-starved soul may yet recover.
I guess this means I should probably join Felding, hunh. Especially since I can sort of sew now. Hmm.
4 October 2004
7:00 am. Fire drill. Luckily I was already awake, and had the presence of mind to pull on my raincoat (about whose effectiveness I now have serious doubts). It has resolved into a gorgeous clear afternoon with just the right clouds hanging about somewhere.
During dinner: MORE Bill & Ted! I’m not sure how they came up, but they did. We must have a viewing! Also, there is mention of Good Omens. Whee!
5 October 2004
OMG SESSION! *bliss* Wow. So my two faithful companions and I found the right pub and ended up in the right place, and then there was MUSIC! There was also lots of smoke from who-knows-what being blown in my face and in my hair and saturating my clothes, but it was more endurable than I’d expected. There were, at various times throughout the evening, a banjo, guitar, bodhran, flute, recorder, and no fewer than six fiddles (mine included). It was fabulous. It was beyond fabulous. It was unspeakably wonderful. We sang ‘Star of the County Down’ twice at various points (Eep! Whee!). They even played some tunes I know, so I didn’t have to pretend and/or play chords the whole time: ‘Flowers of Edinburgh’, ‘Soldier’s Joy’, ‘Jenny Dang the Weaver’, ‘Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman’, ‘Swallowtail Jig’ (my suggestion, since they asked), ‘The Butterfly’, ‘Brenda Stubbert’s’, ‘Catharsis’, and a few of others I’ve heard a lot and could reasonably fudge my way through. The thing is, though, they played everything at about twice its intended dancing tempo. This was fun, but made it really hard to pick anything up (except this one comparatively slow round, which was cool because one person played the A part, then everybody chimed in on the B, and then the next person did the A, etc. all around the circle).
Of course, it also meant I got to play 'Tam Lin' at breakneck speed. Excellent!
