Easter week.

Easter weekend I started a weeks holiday with lots of plans starting with a trip to Stratford upon Avon with JulieS to visit the Butterfly Farm which was great, especially to practise your camera skill, took loads of photos a small sample below (wish I took my SLR). The Butterfly Farm is quite warm being kept between 25 and 30deg C, and at 80% humidity since its full of tropical butterflies as well a few fish, reptiles and birds that don't like the taste of butterflies.





This photograph is stolen from Julie and shows me with a butterfly.


Photo of Julie taking a photo


Mr Iguana


After the butterfly farm we had quick wander around Stratford, which looks interesting, didn't visit any of the other attraction or Shakespeare properties although we did pop in Nash's house garden which was free and full of odd but interesting sculptures inspired by Shakespeare plays.



During the following week I mainly spent my time making steam punk guns, a sniper rifle and kind of grenade launcher which I converted into stun gun for the weekends larp event.



The sniper rifle was made from a old cap gun stock,plenty of screws, bit of brass tube, some smaller tube cut to act has spacer for a toy telescope sprayed with brass paint for the gun site. Added to this was decoration in the form the nozzle from old brass paraffin blow torch,some drawing pins, and a bit of wood stain/varnish.


The grenade launcher used the rest of the paraffin blow torch, a cardboard tea tube, a couple of pipe fittings, a sink strainer, another old cap gun stock, a few screws, a bit glue and some more brass spray paint.


After several days of searching for bits I now have lots more junk to make several more steam punk guns or gadgets.

Last weekend I crewed a larp event and got to play a new long term character, currently called the Hermit, he was a bit of grumpy and plenty of fun to play.



The crew (excluding me and AndyL)


The weather on Saturday was the warmest of the year and with lots of carrying kit up and down slopes quite hard work for a unfit chap like me. Sunday was much better, well cooler anyway.

ChrisA with his new steam tech gun and also the one I made.


Took plenty of photos most are the ascendancy website.



I did also go to see Kick Ass, yet another new movie based on a comic book. Enjoyed it, although found myself quite shocked by the language coming out the 13year old girls mouth, I suppose that was intended. Very funny dark humour, don't go and see if don't like comics books

Mess by the Oak Tree

This weekend despite not feeling well I went along to crew at LRP event at Shining Cliff Wood and found the much of the west end devastated by woodland maintenance. The signs says they a clearing the softwoods to allow a hardwood forest to re-establish itself, this may be great in the long term but they have stripped vast areas of trees totally and thinned the other area so much they are hard to describe as woodland anymore.

From a entry gate at Higgs Lane to the Shinning Cliff hostel car park run 2 paths, the upper path is still a nice place to walk, the lower path is not, stripped of trees, and then the path bulldozed through the debris leaving loose boulders its a place to avoid and will take many years to grow back into nice walk. The end which did have a nice leafy clearing with a oak tree in middle as been halved in sized, given a nice new footbridge, but the hillside behind has been fully cleared of all tree and was full of the noise of chains saws cutting down more, a large logging company seems to have established a base on the road up alongside the wood.

Once past the east end of the wood into the hostels area things are still untouched and protected by owners so will remain that way.

The bottom path, it looks like this from the area we park in all the way to the Hostel car park.


The old oak tree clearing which was full of atmosphere as been reduced to this.


The back drop has been cleared of trees.


The event itself went well, it was 3 or 4 degrees C which did not feel that cold and dry on Saturday, Sunday it did drizzle then rain at the end of the day, so my costumes got very damp and muddy. The players got into things even if the event was designed to keep them moving, fighting and thus warm, its not the time of year for long outdoor negotiations, although their seemed plenty of things to discuss.

AndyL who wrote the plot had now way of knowing what the players would do Sunday with many optional paths so we had to have many contingency plans and quick costume changes at the ready.

Two mountain bikers nearly came off as they rounded a bend and spotted 2 Gaisha in the wood trying to seduce a chaos mage.


Sam forgot her hair brush, I thought she would make a good Ronald McDonald.



I finished the weekend feeling much fitter than I started with the running around clearing up my listlessness, but the downside was the my cough got worse as the mucus settled on my chest and I think as set itself up for a long stay.

Mud and flies

I spent my weekend crewing a Ascendancy Larp event for Alex, a special one off event to celebrate his birthday and also see off two of his friends emigrating to America.

(Alex wearing his Raven Hat)

The event was at a Shining cliff, a regular site that despite a lovely weekend of weather was more muddy than it gets in the winter due a good month of rain preceding. The damp conditions had brought out the flies and the whole forest buzzed quite loudly with millions of them, at least the forest ants where not as active as usual.

(Me has one of Finalays elite guard)

Julie wrote the event more or less on her own the odd idea was thrown at her but I'd been concentrating on future events and battles, other ref RichS had been ill with zombie plague pig flu and Andy was tied up with future prospects for his store, so it all fell on her to organise so I was glad she at least made one day to see the players and be involved in her hard work.

(Photo below Julie has a villager)

Alex got a few birthday plot surprises, and the players really enjoyed themselves, it was a one off for them so not sure they will be back but I heard at least one say the event had made him want to take up larping again, so it was a great success.

(Julie has the Noodle lady in disguise)

On Saturday I manage to kneel on a sharp stone heavily which not only cut my knee open but made it swell overnight, even though I didn't discover the cut until I showered. Then I had nocturnal leg cramp which made my eyes water and left me limping for the first 30 minutes of my morning. To add to my woes I discovered by time I reached the event around 10am Sunday morning I had begun too fell ill with something, I felt weak, queasy, cold and clammy and started to get a pounding headache, I can only assume I must have looked a little pale or ill since Andy kept asking me if I was alright, however by the time of the last encounter I was feeling much better, and feel fine now apart tired and aching muscles.

Other than that I really enjoyed myself both days, Saturday was lots of fighting, I got to play a dwarf and other combatants, on Sunday I was given the role of player escort since Andy believed I knew the plot and possible I looked ill, well it seemed I did know the plot everything went smoothly and I got to play the evil bad (well at least in the players opinion) Dark Rider or Bringer of Light has he call himself until I got walloped away by a raven staff wielding witch.

(Me has the Dark Rider)

(Below RichS and below that Dave had Nightmare's, Dave has a very good eye for costume and make up.)

(Dave again has our visitor from the dreaming)

The photo above was full of people and blue bags in the background so I re-touched them away

Holiday in the North York Moors

We went on holiday last week, we being me, Julie and Dave, it was for all of us the first normal holiday for many years at least 12 in my case and possibly much longer for Julie and Dave, so it was a holiday well deserved.


Despite the weather and a few other things we made the best of the time we had, visiting Robin Hoods Bay, Whitby, Eden Camp, Pickering, The Moors Centre at Danby, Boggle Hole, Middleborough, The Hole of Horcum, Goathland as well as walking the moors.

I think I enjoyed Robin Hoods bay best, although Eden Camp was very interesting and great value for money.

At Boggle Hole Dave went fossil hunting and nearly got crushed to death when some of the overhanging rock 10 yards from him fell down with a bang, I ran the other way while Dave ran towards the fall looking for fresh fossils, which he found.


During our sunny walk (the only day we needed sun cream) from Robin Hoods Bay to Boggle hole we had to cross a small steam, Julie and Dave didn't want to get their boots wet, me I just marched through the shallow bit.


The valley we where in called Glaisdale was good 25minutes car drive up and down small steep and windy roads from the nearest main road across cattle grids which kept the sheep and lama's in. The area was full of wildlife from rabbits to deer, all of which especially the birds didn't seem to understand cars were dangerous, see the squashed snake photo.





This is the set of cottages we stayed in, very nice, even if lacking a decent sharp knife and oven that would cook anything in less than 2 hours.


We also visited Whitby or Goth land vampire land, didn't enter the Abbey, although I'm sure English Heritage probably made the ruin worth its 6quid price tag.

While out on the moor we saw lots of cotton grass, which is apparently good for stuffing pillows and making dressing for wounds out of.

Picture of eroded grave stone in Whitby.

Shining Cliff

Over the weekend during my walk I passed through Shining Cliff a place we use to Larp in and what once contained a useful youth hostel to sleep in and provide toilet facilities.


The hostel has now been taken over by a youth trust, who work in conjunction with the Grith Pioneers who own part of Shining cliff. The hostel and woodland have seen extensive refurbishment, a lot of dead wood has been cleared, with extensive stocks of logs lying about, the main path to hostel appears to be being used by vehicles and is now vehicle width all the way to the point we left the track, the awkward car park has all so received attention, all looks good but they want the area for themselves and consider walkers a pain that have to be allowed through so long as they don't stray and Larper a serious hazard to the undergrowth since they will no doubt stray from the paths and ruin the forna.

Following the link to the former hostels web site I get the impression for now at least there will be no way of renting it, the poster on the path says they are protecting the rare species of trees, ferns and mosses, for scientific interest, I don't know perhaps they are I want to protect such things also, but I feel they just want the area for themselves, whatever the reason I don't see us larping in that part of the woods anytime soon and will follow thier rules about visiting, the rest of the woods still remain fair game for all, that includes trail bikers tearing up the paths.

The Poster.


The path to the hostel


The Lake at the bottom of another path

The hill down to the lake

Walking day

Today I went for a walk around Derbyshire after my one hour practise walk last weekend.

I went with my friends Andy, Linda and Freda from their houses in Nether Heage across Cromford canal towards Crich across to slopes to Whatstandwell then back across the Derwent valley towards Alderwasley before making our way through Shining Cliffs and back to their home all told a 6 hour walk with a 1/2 hour stop for refreshment at the Derwent Arms.
I would guess around 10 miles up and down steep and in some cases muddy slipper hills, it wasn't to cold at 1st walking despite the -1 temperature, but once you got into the fields the wind just sucked the heat of you, especially went you stopped took your thermal gloves off to take photos.
The weather was dry-ish although about 4 hours into the walk it started to snow, small flakes blowing horizontally in the wind, but the last hour as we got near the Hurt Arms it started snow bigger flakes, and started to white over the ground.
I finished the end of the walk as it was getting dark by getting a lift up the very steep hill to Nether Heage from Katy in her mini and was glad of it.

Photo below me and Linda about a hour into the walk just above the A610, wearing my woolly hat made by Julie, Linda was sporting a silly hat I bought her few Christmas's ago and come to think of it Andy was wearing a another hat I bought Linda, perhaps I failed and they where useful gifts after all.


I followed them down this steep drop trying to take a picture, nearly a bad mistake since I wasn't watching my footing.


Linda and Freeda, Freda has a bad knee and was told to take steady after injuring herself at badminton, this was not taking it easy in my book.

Mallards in the Canal

This duck was hiding

While walking I spotted this colourful garden full of pot animals

This is near Alderwasley about 3 hours into the trip, notice the tree stump in the background I thought it looked like a guarding knight.

One of Andy & Linda's dogs escaping from hollow tree, in fact part of the one the previous picture.

A brief bit of sun shining over Crich Stand.

We were just reaching the outskirts of Shining Cliff here around 3pm

The step across the overflow of Shining cliffs big pond.

About half past four as walk down past the old Wire Work factory, my camera needed its flash and this made the snow flakes look bigger.

Wire Works.

A blurry picture I think my hands where too cold.

I took quite a few more photos, a couple of interesting ones which I will save for my photo of the week.

Looking outside now with the road white over and promise of heavy snow tomorrow, I think I might take my camera to work.