f4f3 | Out of Sorts

Not that I have any reason to be, but I'm a bit low just now. Partly it may be lack of sleep, and partly a cough that set in to my chest during the rainy season a couple of weeks ago and won't seem to shift, but I've been a little "bleugh" for the past couple of days.

Which is a pity, since it's been a week of jollity interspersed with cocooning.

On Monday I saw the Black Seeds in Edinburgh, and it was great, and I got home just before 1 a.m.

Tuesday we went off to Edinburgh to see Neil Gaiman reading from "The Graveyard Book" and doing a bit of Q&A, and he was marvelous, great value, and possibly the second best writer at talking I've seen (Alan Moore will always win hands down). We also got to spend time and pints with

gmh and

clanwilliam who were more than great value, and who I hope we can entice over to Glasgow soon, at The Canny Man, a pub I've heard a lot about over the years, and one I'll be going back to, I think. We got home just before 1 a.m.

Yesterday I went to the gym after work, and then we had wonderful dippy cheese thing and watched the Iron Man DVD. Despite my best "early to bed" intentions, it was after midnight when we'd watched the last of the deleted scenes, and remembered to fast forward the credits to the hidden scene. If anything I enjoyed the movie more on the small screen - it really is a pretty smart film, which cleaves close to the original conception of the character. My inner comic geek was pleased to see Happy Hogan was there, and the foreshadowing of The Mandarin ("The Ten Rings" indeed).

Tonight I'm heading back through to Edinburgh (yes, again!) to meet up with

scunner_darkly who's in town for a flying visit. I'm a little peeved that I couldn't take him up on his offer of an afternoon's golf, since I have a meeting to helm this afternoon. It's a lovely crisp day out there, and it would have been perfect for a stroll round Ladybank. Never mind, hopefully I can drag him around Dunaverty in November.

Tomorrow night is a costume party, on Saturday it's the Lantern Parade in Lochgilphead (I think - maybe that's next Saturday, must check) and I'll be spending all day in bed on Sunday, I hope.

The pre-Christmas de-tox is off to a so-so start. No cakes or chocolate or biscuits since Monday, but I did drink last night (the food deserved it) and I'm off to arrange tickets for a whisky tasting now. I've been to the gym twice this week (I think - was I there on Tuesday morning?) and set a new record for 400 calories last night (27 minutes 45 seconds).

On reflection, I think it is the cough that's getting me down - roll on a restful weekend...

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I'm wondering about a pre-Christmas trip north, partly to sort out some complicated family things. Might need to bring the Demon Princess along... Still pondering when.

I really enjoyed Iron Man, I have to say. RD Jr. is excellent.

Sounds like a wonderful idea :)

You party animal, you. I hope you're feeling more the thing soon. It's Halloween here today, and I'm struggling with whether to engage or ignore. It was never celebrated here in Aus until US culture started to creep in, and I tend to have a 'reject all blatant US commercialism' streak of substantial proportions.

But I've heard rumours that Scotland particularly holds to old ways of marking it, so I'd be curious to know what are genuine traditions for the date in the old world, and what are still celebrated, and why?

:)

Hmm, Halloween..

Yes, Scots have always celebrated it, and it was very much alive when I was a kid.

The main tradition was Guising, where you'd dress up and go door-to-door, doing a "turn" in return for goodies, which could be fruit, nuts or sweeties. Very rarely you might get sixpence or a penny. Performing a turn was essential - you didn't get anything just for showing up on the doorstep dressed as a mummy or whatever. You had to tell a joke, or sing a song, do a stupid dance - something (so I guess this is the main difference from Trick or Treating, which seems to be a type of demanding money with menaces).

Then there'd be a party in the house, once you got back with your swag. There were a lot of traditional games, but the ones I remember were "Dooking (ducking) for apples" where apples would be floated in a basin of water, and you either had to grab them in your mouth (hands clasped behind your back, biting the stalk regarded as cheating) or by kneeling on a chair and dropping a fork into them from your mouth. The other, which was a bit rarer, was to have a piece of bread covered in treacle suspended from the "pulley" (indoor drying rack suspended from the ceiling) and try to bite lumps out of it...

Thank you, honey. I settled for attempting weird cooking adventures with a kent pumpkin, a load of vegetables and red wine. It was a moderate failure, but fun was had by all, except possibly the pumpkin.

The gravy was a success. I do ace gravy. :D

Typical that the commercial modern version involves threatening for reward, instead of working for it. I think there's something in that for all of us.

Hope you have a great one.

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