Post Number 11 – A narrative

Bedwyr rolled out of the bedroll on the hard stone flagged floor, with a little wince he stood up back aching. He’d taken to sleeping the vats recently, the brewery was a hive of activity and he couldn’t risk being anywhere else in case one of them started to overflow again. Experiments with Teutonian light ales had proved to be more difficult than anticipated, getting the bubbles in was easy, stopping them taking the ale away was complicated. They’d tried capping a vat to see if that would hold the ale in place to ferment, however that just blew off the lid and scared ginger so much that she refused to enter now without presence.

He looked over at the lid now firmly embedded above the doorframe, if only he could work out the pressure issues he knew he could create a the finest of pale ales. He walked over to the large diary to check what the days tasks were. Casks 7, 12, and 14 would need rotating, vat number 4 would need bottling ready in preparation for the Samhain festival, and there was a small sign in the corner, unknowable to anyone but Bedwyr, to remind him that one of the stills was near ready to keg up. He’d have to be careful in hiding this one, the last one was found by some of the younger members of the clan and involved a night of sitting up and a large amount of mopping.

As he began his work thoughts of recent news filled his mind. Jessie had told him that demons had taken the life of the host of the Queen Morrigan, a dangerous time indeed, and while he felt a sadness for the loss of the Queen, he could not help but feel glad that his family had returned home alive. Ahhh Jessie, she had been troubling him a lot of late. Finding religion to such a large extent that he hardly knew who she was anymore. I mean it’s always good that there should be more priests and priestesses, but why Jessie? She’s become distinctly less fun since she gained the black band, and since this last gathering of nations in the wolf lands she’d changed even more. It took a lot more work to find out why, laying to rest a MacBeth, it must be hellish.

He pondered for a while on how he was not the best brother, not being there to protect his little big sister, however Kianan was always around, and now she was free of that soft shite James T maybe she’ll have her mind more focussed on keeping out of danger. Never trust a man who thinks a hat like that looks good, I mean had he not noticed that it looked like a chicken? I guess if I’m to make sure she’s doing alright i’ll have to attend at some point, but who’d look after the brewery? None of the lads had his aptitude for brewing, however it’d only be a few days. Maybe it was time to start training up a replacement, after all he wouldn’t be around forever now.

Post Number 10 – Why I suck at one a day.

I’m afraid that I have to make a confession. I suck at writing one blog post a day, and I have worked out why. I’m somewhat boring. It’s a realisation that’s come to me of late, because a few times I have tried to write posts that were as witty as they were insightful however I realised that it just wasn’t coming.

The problem is I spend most of my time not upto very interesting things, I work in the local Co-Op stacking shelves, and on Thursdays I work in a pub kitchen washing up and chipping potatoes. This does not spring for great writing. I need inspiration to fire me up and give me something to be angry at, because when it comes to angry venting at an unjust cause i’m all about that.

The news of late has been rather weak with subject matter to get the piss and vinegar flowing. I read blogs and the like hoping for an inspiration but I find myself running dry, a situation that is rather boring.

So to counteract this I have made a new idea instead, I shall not write one a day, however I shall write one every time I feel justified and that I will not bore you all with trivia. However I feel there maybe be one coming over the horizon very soon indeed.

Post Number 9 – Home at last

So I have returned home after a weekend of LARP and I am almost ready to regain a more normal service pattern.

I have had an amazing weekend and will follow up tomorrow with a full breakdown of all that happened.

Post Number 8 – Event Keen

It’s that time again, blood quickens, hearts race, green paint is liberally applied.

It’s time for Bloodthunk to step out into Edreja again.

Unfortunately this means I won’t be able to post for the next few days, however you can expect a good follow up and break dow of the event when I get back.

With love to you all.

Blog Post 7 – The Characters We Create

Ahhhh LARP, my hobby and a major part of my life. Recently I’ve been trying to think of the characters that I have created, and what parts of them are truly parts of me, and what are fiction.

First off there was a variety of different characters I have flitted through, none of them truly deep however they were necessary for me to understand how to create and theme a realistic personality.

Now after a while I created one called Slaine MacTrew, my first character that I believe was fully developed. I could go on at great length with tales and history however it is more the character idea that interested me. You see Slaine was a stoic fighter, bodyguard and son. He was devoted to protecting his mother, which I hope is a trait that I possess, the ability to protect those I care for. However Slaine was not to live forever, he was struck down by his own overconfidence in his abilities, for although his charge was safe, he didn’t watch out for himself. This unfortunately is something I am also prone too.

Christopher Cartwright was in a very similar line of work to Slaine, however his motives and character were very different. A truly violent sociopathic criminal, loyal to the brothel mistress he worked for, the man was a tower of strength. Now the mindset he followed was a rather difficult one to get into however once it was in place it was easy to intimidate other people, something I found scarily too easy.

Finally we have the current character, Bloodthunk. Now Bloodthunk was in part created by many other people before I got to play him. He is a totally zealous religious nutjob, I mean like the Taliban combined with mid-western America. He has many traits that I really don’t possess to my knowledge, for example his total lack of compassion, I mean he has none, zero, zip. Also he has a faith that I can just not match, a zeal that borders on the psychotic.

The real question is where have these characters come from? Where do we all find these roles we play?

Blog Post 5 – Work

This blog post is a question, a question that is as important to life as it is to the world in general.

Should I seek a career, or be happy with a job that allows me to indulge my hobbies?

So option one focuses upon the idea that I will in fact live to work, Ideas for this would quite probably focus upon books or gaming, and therefore would work to the detriment of the freedom of hobbies. However a higher level of job satisfaction should lead to a generally happier Martin from day to day.

Option two is the idea of taking a job that allows a larger amount of free time, providing me time to roleplay, LARP and generally see my friends, allowing me to be happier with my social life to the detriment of work.

So then, which’ll it be? Answers in comments or tweets please, thanks.

Blog Post 4 – A formal apology

Oh woe is me, for I have already let you all down.

Thats right a weekend away from internet access, which is a horrible horrible curse.

I have failed in completing my blogging duties, and for this I am truly sorry

As a result I shall write a blog post after this one to solve this situation and make everyone feel as if I have made penance.

Post Number 3 – Late Night Blog

Hello there are all you crazy cats, welcome to late night blog. I’m your host Martin Ireland and i’ll be leading you through a more adult blog than usually put forth. No, not like Newsnight, or even Newsnight Review, more like Jazz Club. So then here is a list of the top ten bands i’ve been listening to this week.

10 – Killswitch Engage. I wish your body was not so warm to me…….Just so you know.

9 – Weezer. Really got a soft spot for Weezer, there geek rock is perfect to relax to.

8 – Slipknot. After having a particularly stressful lunchtime shift these guys really picked me back up

7 – Limp Bizkit. Today was a day for Break Stuff, Stuff was not broken because of this.

6 – Flobots. I can’t help it, I really can’t. I mean the video and song Handlebars is just too amazing.

5 – Reel Big Fish. You can never go wrong with these guys, I mean seriously they just make you want to dance.

4 – Placebo. I love having a smart phone, the video for Pure Morning is just ideal. Need I say more than those painted toenails.

3 – System of a Down.  They’re another amazing band whose later albums were a lot better than people give them credit for.

2 – Korn. Oildale is another amazing song, they really have continued to go on from strength to strength.

1 – Hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby. All hail the hypnobaby.

So there’s a list of those bands you should be listening to at the moment. Unfortunately I’ve had a really bust day so expect a better post tomorrow.

Post Number 2 – Reasons to be cheerful

Today is a happy day, I have decided this therefore it must be true. So I shall compile a list of things that make me happy.

I had crumpets for lunch, which is a totally awesome, especially with three berry jam

I had a really good chat with Andrew, always a privilege never a chore. We chatted about his upcoming wedding, his honeymoon to Thailand, and most importantly rituals for the rest of the season.

I shall be in charge of the rituals at the upcoming moot. The fools! The Damnable fools! Have they learned nothing since I performed a blood sacrifice for the dragon of evil? The Power. The Power! THE POWER! MWUAHAHAHA!

I have a wonderful girlfriend. I really do, I mean she is just the best thing that ever happened to me.

The weather is rather nice today. The sun is shining through just enough cloud so as not to be an annoyance, which is cool.

I have discovered the cathartic effect of blogging. Having the ability to throw a rant out into the ether without having to worry about boring people is exceptionally amazing.

I have some great friends. Don’t expect any ego-wanking here however. I won’t stand for it.

So now i’ve done a load of nice things I guess I can let myself go with a bit of a rant again, after all whats the point of this if not to let all that piss and vinegar flow.

Scottish Independence - The menace of the north. I have been living in Scotland for well over a year now and I have indeed made friends with people and found most to be a nice friendly people. However there is a bone of contention, certainly amongst older Scottish people, and that is the old enemy. Indeed I am a member of a country of foul oppressors, a race of people so base that we are to be regarded as a lower class of people. Never before have I felt so lost and alienated in a place than I have living in Scotland, for when the Scottish decide to turn (often after a drink or two) they turn nasty.

Unfortunately for us part of the reason is that there are politicians up here who place the very spin of an ancient time on modern Britain and skim over certain other factors. An example of this is famous Scottish wars of Independence, where the Scottish fought against the, erm, oh yeah, the Scottish (mostly). Now I know this is ancient history and to be honest i’m not really too bothered by it. However what does bother me is that in a time when all the world is starting to join together, to become more inclusive and connected, there is Scotland trying to break away. Honestly if I was running the show i’d almost be tempted to give Scotland back, put up a big wall, and see how they get on.

However i’m not in charge and really, Scotland, with it’s population smaller than that of London, is still needed by Britain. So allow me to be the first to put this forward in the hope that people who read it take it to heart so we can all move on.

Scotland, as an Englishman I thank you for the hospitality you have shown me. I apologise for any perceived injustice that you see as continuing to happen, however please note that the whole of Britain is getting screwed, not just you. Scotland, we need you, we need to maintain a unified Britain if we are to continue punching above our weight.

Martin’s Final Thought – People of the Imperium rejoice, for a Guardsman is your protector.

Post Number 1 – Bloodthunks

Hello to everyone, I have decided to try this blogging thing. Inspired by Ella and Jodi I am going to try and post things I have been thinking about every day. So here are a few to start us off :-

1. I have a hatred of the French government. Now this is not the standard English Xenophobia normally associated with hatred of the French, it comes from a hatred from the French secular policy being taken to extreme limits. I am an atheist, and I believe that religion should have no part within government, after all if you don’t pay the taxes, you don’t get to speak. However a few years ago the French government made it illegal for people to wear obvious signs of religious affiliation in schools, including the Muslim Veil, Jewish Kippah, Sikh Turbans and Large Crosses. Now if this ruling only applied to teachers then I could almost understand the reason, almost. However this ruling also applies to the children in the school. I remember watching a documentary about it set in a French school  when the law came in and it made my blood boil. I believe that anybody has the right to religious freedom, and not only that the right to self expression. I understand that now the French Government may pass a law banning the Burqa and Niqab completely from public places, which clearly violates the right to religious freedom and the right to self expression.

2. A switching of allegiance. For a long time I have been a staunch supporter of pirates over ninjas, however in the grave times I have mentioned above I am having to join the ninja side. Only by dressing as a ninja in public more often can we bring down the farce of the burqa ban and prove that it’s banning in France is purely about the fear of religious expression  rather than some made up security risk. I understand that Philip Hollobone, MP for Kettering wont meet with constituents who wear a burqa or a niqab, so I wonder would he meet with a Ninja? What if many people, wanting to see there MP were in fact ninjas? Now ninja attire is a form of dress only worn by ninja, therefore surely excluding people wearing it is in fact excluding ninjas from being part of his community. After all he’s certainly prepared to exclude against Muslim women, a group that according to some are already an oppressed group. Because in Britain when we see an oppressed group we turn our back on them too in the hope that if we stick our fingers in our ears it’ll all go away.

3. I am sick of Kerry Katona. Seriously why is she given any amount of press coverage? Surely there are better, more important things to speak about than her, so as not to be a hypocrite, I’ll move on.

4. I love District 13. What an amazing film, I mean seriously amazing. The action sequences are mindblowing, the storyline is strong and characterful, and thankfully they didn’t try to take away from it with bad dubbing.

Martins final thought – Just remember, have faith in the Holy Emperor of Mankind or feel his divine bolt of righteous fury within you.