#like glen. or cabbage

[muzzlemouths]

Your sona looks like Michael the distortion (form the magnus archives)

i don't know the first thing about TMA but this guy's vibes are impeccable

[thejoyofseax]

An Early Irish Feast for Drachenwald's Spring Crown, AS LVIII

Spring Crown this year was hosted by Dun in Mara in the territory of Glen Rathlin. As with almost all SCA projects, this feast didn't quite hit all the things I intended. In particular, I'd been thinking of having documentation available alongside it, and of a few more dishes that didn't make it in the end. A fermented porridge was high on that list. Next time!

Before I start talking about food, though, let me thank my kitchen crew: THL Órlaith Caomhánach, Lady Gabrielle of Dun in Mara, Noble Mallymkun Rauði, Lady Erin Volya and Cassian of Allyshia. There were a few other folk in and out of the kitchen too (THL Yda Van Boulogne did excellent work on the various flavoured butters), but these five did the bulk of the work. Lady Erin also provided lunch; cooking at Crown for 80 people as her first event cookery is notable.

The main idea here was to lean heavily on seafood, which isn't often done in SCA feasts in my experience, and represents the food of Ireland well. I also wanted to include pork as a main meat, emphasise oats and barley, and use plain vegetables presented well. There were to be condiments on the table, hence Yda's butters: plain, honey, mackerel and garlic-and-chive, as well as green sauce (largely Órlaith's work, with Cass finishing it out). Condiments and the number of them available were an important aspect of Irish medieval hospitality.

I also wanted to nod to the usual progress of early Irish feasts, which started with formal services and frequently ended up so raucous and drunken that the nobility woke up the following morning on the hall floor along with everyone else. So we served to the tables to begin, and then had a less and less orderly buffet.

The first "course" was a set of pottages. The main one was pork, cabbage, onion, carrots, turnips, and barley, which had been slowly cooked down over a number of hours. There was also a version with lamb, for those who couldn't eat pork, and this doubled as the gluten-free version, having no barley. And there was a vegetarian one, including barley, but substituting mushrooms for the meat. These were served with flatbreads, risen yeast dough having been a tough proposition in the Irish climate (and still is, really; that's why the most Irish of breads is soda bread).

As that was consumed, we stocked the buffet with: sides of salmon (steamed then baked), mussels (boiled), monkfish and mackerel (also steamed and baked), chicken pieces (baked), hard-boiled eggs, turnips with butter, carrots with honey, samphire (new to many, most enthused about it), caramelised onions, creamed leeks, buttered cabbage with and without bacon bits, and a broth-based porridge, accompanied by a variety of flatbreads and oat pancakes. And as that all cleared, we put out fruit, some cheese, some oaten biscuits, and a "cheesecake", of sorts.

Everything was plausibly pre-Norman Irish, with the exception of the oaten biscuits and the cheesecake base, which were egregiously modern - although I could argue for something very like them. Simple cooking techniques mean that those are broadly plausible as well - steaming may seem incongruous, but I'll have more to say on that again.

It all seemed to go down well. A number of people said they weren't sure about fish, and then followed with "… but that was great!", and the green sauce, the samphire and the cheesecake were particular hits. The technique of doing a wide variety of simple things usually does well, I find; even the pickiest of eaters can usually have a few things, and the adventurous can pile their plates with a wide variety.

And I had energy enough left to wander around the party hall later offering plates of fruit, cheese and biscuits, which is one of my favourite things to do.

[pbandjesse]

Today was a really nice day. Like I had a lot of fun and I felt really fulfilled. It was the best day I had all week. And that just made me really happy.

It was a tough start though. I struggled to fall asleep and I struggled to get up. I would end up sleeping in an extra half hour because the idea of getting up was so horrible. I was so sleepy.

But I pulled it together. I felt cute. I love my overalls. I was tired but I was in a good mood once I got to camp.

The drive in wasn't bad. I had gotten extra hugs from James. I would slowly feel more normal.

When I got to camp I would jump right into the office to work on the document for my program tonight. I wrote up a little description of how to work with polymer clay. And did a little research into art making as revolutionary act. I found some good quotes from people smarter than me. And I felt like I made a pretty solid worksheet for the people who take my class this evening.

As I was finishing printing that I would eat my breakfast. My stomach is doing a lot better, bread isn't hurting me as much. But I still feel like weirdly aware of my stomach. I don't really know how else to explain. I just feel very aware?

But it wasn't bothering me for the majority of the day. The thing that bothered me was the pollen. At times I am not able to catch my breath and I start coughing hardcore. Not comfy!! But also not constant thankfully. It is still so crazy seeing the pollen come off the trees in clouds.

Everyone else started coming in. And I decided to let my upset feelings from last week go. I would make the office a nicer space. I would talk to everyone and felt so much more secure. It was a nice day. We were looking forward to a good group and a good day.

I would wander up to the hacienda before everyone else. Cleaned up a few things that were left from yesterday. And set up some chairs on the porch to watch for the bus. Accidently scared Elizabeth when she came out to the porch a little later. We talked about the pool and the upcoming weeks. And very soon the group was here!

This was a very nice group. Apparently they are very competitive and in the other programs that came up. But we were going on a hike. And I had the very best time.

I would go on 4, 45 minute hikes. So basically 3 hours of hiking. And I think I did a really great job making it mainly downhill. And a very slow pace. With lots of exploring. It was also just really nice feeling super knowledgeable. I was able to create a pretty solid script in the first hike, that I would just continue and build on in each subsequent hike. It was awesome.

We would start with ground rules. No running ahead of me. No screaming. No picking of flowers or plants. Leave the critters alone. Have fun.

Our first stop was down the main drive way to peeps mill. Where we talked about the former trout hatchery and the edible plants we might see. The skunk cabbage being one. And the wine berry bushes being the other. I talked about the history of both the wine berry bushes and the Boston ferns and how invasive species can be an issue.

We next would look at mushrooms. We found a new to me mushroom! A crowned capped corral mushroom! I was really excited about this. We would also look at turkey tail mushrooms and even a chicken of the woods. Really awesome.

We would arrive at the Glen and I would talk about the bee hotel and the bug snug. We learned about solitary bugs and overwintering.

We would spend some time at the pond down there. There was a frog just sitting with a whole bunch of eggs for most of the day so I was able to keep pointing at the same frog. We would watch him for a bit. And then over to the picnic table to look at the bones we had found a few weeks ago.

A few minutes searching under logs and rocks for bugs. Looking at slugs and snail eggs. More mushrooms. Continuing on to see the dying trees and the damage that termites can do. Once we made it home the hill we would stop at the tipi field before heading down to the Van Horne pass. Where we would look at mountain laurel and deer tracks.

And finally we would go to frog hollow where we saw tadpoles and caterpillars and one group even found a grey tree frog!

And finally I took them to the office to switch off with Nick so they could go to their next program.

And it was such a good little hike. There would be a lot to see, everyone seemed super interested and having a good time. While a few kids I could hear say that this was the most boring part of the day for them, I heard way more of them say this was there favorite part and they had so much fun. And I did too. I heard some parents and chaperones say they learned a lot and that felt awesome.

There were some not as ideal moments. A child who ran into my outstretched arm when I was pointing at something. Hurt us both. Someone got a cut on their leg. A little boy threw his plastic water bottle into the woods and I was so shocked and said he had to get it but it was deep in a thicket, and his teacher made him try for multiple minutes. But no luck retrieving it. Hopefully he learned from that and won't do it again.

During the last program block one of my chaperones looked like she was going to pass out. It has gotten very hot and she was not used to walking the way I had them going. I think the one hill was what got her and she just never recovered. So I would cut the last five minutes and sent them to the hacienda to sit in the air conditioner. I thanked them all for coming and went to chill in the office.

Not that it was cool in there. We don't have the AC set up yet. But at least I was sitting and I was drinking water and letting my body cool off. I was very sweaty and dirty. I would be thrilled to go home.

But that was not yet. Was not rushing anywhere. I would drive the gator up with Nick to the hacienda to clean up and I would collect the trash and the last couple Native American program items. Sarah would join us and we put the tables and chairs away and cleaned. I would go take things to the dumpster and put away the field trip things. It was nice to drive around but the breeze wasn't as good as yesterday.

I would go back to the office and chatted with Alexi for a while. Then with Elizabeth and Sarah. But there wasn't anything I needed to do for tomorrows feild trip. So I would get to leave a half hour early. And that was perfect.

I would go to Taco Bell. I thought it would be the quicked meal before my workshop while still leaving time for me to shower and change.

And it was some annoying traffic but it was fine. I arrived at Taco Bell at 415. And was home by 440. I would eat the nacho fries I got while I drove and waited until after I showered and changed to have my tacos.

When I got back here parking was tough but I parked, and went and quickly showered. I got changed into a nice jumpsuit and after fixing my makeup I would go sit at the kitchen island to eat.

James came home during that. Loved that we got a little time together. We would sit on the couch and just chilled until I had to leave.

They helped me bring my basket of materials to the car and wished me luck.

I was in a great mood. I was still nervous but also. Ah! Super excited. I would get a pretty good parking spot and went to set up.

The afternoon school program was finishing up. And I would move some tables and set up and was surprised no one was at the front desk. Strange.

People would start coming though. There was another Jessy, and she was very nice. She works for creative alliance and was able to call Lucy over at the other building to come be our check in person. They would let me know that I had 7 sign ups! Incredible. Jessy let me know one of them wouldn't be coming (their mom who has a migraine) but the other 6 would come and it was so good!!

I would also a lot about stuff I wrote about in grad school. The woman as anonymous making. The hierarchy of crafts and fine arts. Museum stuff. And then we talked about polymers. Plastics. Techniques. Tips. Tricks. And then it was time to explore!! Create! And it was so lovely to see them all work. 4 of them knew each other and all worked tangentially in medicine. From writing to Medicare to psychology. Jessy, like I said, worked at creative alliance in the marketing department so she was taking lots of pictures. And the last woman was her friend and it turned out she also worked in a tangential medicine, getting healthcare for the homeless. What a really neat group of women.

We would all create and try things and play. We talked a little how we might use these things. And it was so interesting to see how they all approached things. From form based coasters, to frog and cat portraits, to a bird sculpture! I loved seeing all the different approaches and it was great. I just got to make my own silly thing and give tips and tricks and suggestions. It was great.

At 730 we would get the oven going. Which was not the type of oven I have used before but I would eventually figure it out and we baked the pieces that were ready. I had provided little tins so they can baked them at home if they wanted. And I think that was the best plan. While they baked we would clean up and chat and it was fun.

And once the sculptures were done and cool I handed them out. We talked about trouble shooting. And then it was time to go. I thanked them all and hoped they would come to the next one. And then it was time to go.

I was just in such a happy mood. And when I got home I was able to park right in front of the house. Incredible.

James would help me and bring in my program materials. And once they were done with what they were doing in the kitchen they would sit in the studio with me while I vacuumed the frog tank and fed everyone. And they helped me sort my materials so I could get everything out away. It was a lovely evening.

I took a cool bath. And would hang out in the AC and started winding down for sleep. And now James is here, showered and ready for bed. And man am I ready to sleep.

I'm going to go brush my teeth and hopefully fall asleep asap. Tomorrow is another full day. And I really hope it is fun. We have a field trip and I'm leading low ropes. And then it's Charlotte's birthday! And we are going to dinner at the Fulwilers. And Callie will be there and I'm very excited to hang out with her.

I hope you all have a great night. Sleep well. Take care. Until next time!

[duxkem69]

So Today I'm Gonna be ranking the Chucky Franchise from my least favorite to favorite (even the show)

Alright starting off with my least favorite

11:Cult Of Chucky (2017)

First of all It just makes me angry that they had a cool idea with multiple Chucky's and made cult around that idea it's like wrapping a bar of gold in a pile of shit also the setting is boring I'm sorry it's cool for about five minutes then a mental hospital becomes a pretty boring setting the kills are pretty good I'll give it that on rewatch they are some of the best but the Chucky's designs are fucking awful why do they look like mark Zuckerberg mixed with a cabbage patch doll I can't get over that Andy being there is cool but he's not there very long Oh my god the ending pissed me off for so long until I watched the show and that hate stuck with me because it was just Chucky getting away and waiting for what happens next that's really more of my fault then the Movie's fault but that feeling sticks with me every time I rewatch it also Tiffany is actually really good here and gets like what five minutes of screen time?! What the fuck that's stupid unlike curse I don't even think this one deserved to be plaid in theaters this shit is fit for it's DVD only release

10: Chucky season 3 (2023-2024)

I don't have much to say about this it feels unfair to say since it's not even finished but like I really don't like it so far

9:Curse of Chucky (2013)

I see the reasons why people like this movie but two giant things keep me from liking it at all is that it's so slow paced and boring for most of the movie which really sucks because I have a very small attention span and I want to like this movie so bad but I can't

8:Child's Play (2019)

Unpopular opinion even though I have it this low I actually enjoy this like yeah it's a fun watch when you just watch it as movie and don't think that it's a Chucky movie but it doesn't help that the movie as a movie and especially as a Chucky movie suck ass

7:Bride Of Chucky (1998)

Look I know I'm placing it very low but that doesn't mean I dislike this movie this and far on are the ones I actually like but of the Chucky media I like this is definitely the weakest it just doesn't hit as hard as the others but it does give us a great Chucky design and Tiffany which I will have iffy opinions on later but yeah this definitely a solid movie

6:Seed Of Chucky (2004)

This movie is really fun and Chucky had me giggling in laughter it sucks as a horror movie but that's not what they were going for and Glen is fun I don't really have problems with this movie I just like it less then the others

5: Chucky Season 1 (2021)

Ok it was a hard choice and honestly this season probably is better when you look at it as a writing standpoint but the next one will tell you

4:Chucky Season 2 (2022)

This one is just more fun and it adds my favorite of the new characters in the show Nadine Jesus did I love Nadine

3:Child's Play 2 (1990)

Even though I think this movie is definitely overrated I still really enjoy it yeah it's pretty good I mean people seem to think it's the best which is ludicrous but opinions are free I guess

2:Child's Play 3 (1991)

Ok I'll get hate for this but damnit this movie is enjoyable as shit. I love most of the characters. Teen Andy is fun. The kills are mostly good. Chucky's death is fucking excellent. I like the setting.

1:Child's Play (1988)👑

Oh my god this og still hits so hard and this is the second scariest Chucky has ever been the kills in this movie tho few are really good the plot is really good Chucky is the perfect balance of sinister and wickedly humorus Just wow if you've never watched it go do it now

Have a good day

Edit:I don't feel like editing the list but I think mix around Chucky season 2 more than child's play 2 now

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Chucky

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Look, I could sit here and try to come up with some smart, witty lead up to who we’re talking about today, but really, why bother?

Now before you grab your pitchforks, I mean that in an affectionate way. Chucky, real name Charles Lee Ray, is one of horror’s most prevalent icons, and this is despite the fact that he gets so little respect compared to other slasher icons of his time. I guess when you’re shorter than a six year old boy, you’re gonna end up standing in the shadows of the taller killers like Freddy, Jason, Meyers, and Pinhead. But, quite frankly, Chucky deserves respect.

Motivation/Goals: Chucky really wants his body back, because I imagine being a serial killer is pretty difficult when you’re a killer doll… Except, no, it’s really not, this dude amasses gigantic body counts all while gaslighting everyone around him by pretending to be a harmless toy, why the hell does he want to go back to being a greasy human serial killer? Well, the answer to that is simple: His girlfriend is Jennifer Tilly. If your girlfriend was Jennifer Tilly, and you were stuck in a plastic body that wasn’t anatomically correct, you’d probably go on a homicidal rampage and use Hollywood voodoo to get yourself a penis too.

Performance: Brad Dourif has been playing Chucky since the first film (except for that one time he was played by Mark Hamill, but that doesn’t count), and really there is just no one better suited. He makes Chucky sound like a really nasty, sleazy bastard, which is all the more jarring coming from the ‘cute’ Good Guy doll that it becomes equal parts creepy and hilarious.

Final Fate: The fun thing about Chucky is that despite him dying over and over and over and over again, he just always comes back! This is par for the course for slasher villains, but with Chucky he never really seems to suffer any hugely notable setbacks. Even more impressive, in Cult he actually manages a big win by possessing the body of protagonist Nica. After all these decades, Chucky finally has a human body again! Hooray!

Best Scene: Chucky’s absurdly Rasputinian deaths in the first two films are amazing for just how much abuse the guy takes before finally going down. Really, both climaxes are fantastic. Also of note is the big reveal of Chucky’s true nature in the original Child’s Play.

Best Quote: As much as I really want to put Chucky with his Jersey accent saying “GENDA FLOOID” while talking about Glen in the 2021 series, I don’t think any quote in his arsenal can quite top the majesty that is the legendary quote from the original Child’s Play:

Final Thoughts & Score: Chucky is honestly one of the most endearing slasher villains out there.

Like, the concept of some killer Cabbage Patch knockoff with the soul of a serial killer grafted inside it with voodoo magic is inherently goofy, and yet he manages to make it work and be genuinely unnerving and terrifying when he wants, especially in the first two films. At the same time, Chucky also manages to slide into comedy with a bit more ease than some of his contemporaries, although he also did not handle it quite as well. Still, the fact is that Chucky works just as well in an absolutely goofy setting like that of Bride or Seed as he does a serious setting, and when they manage to blend things together like in Cult and Curse? Boy does it ever work.

It’s also interesting to note that Chucky seems to actually learn and grow as a character. Slashers like Freddy, Jason, and Meyers do not ever really mature as characters, and that’s fine; we want to see them as unstoppable killing machines. But Chucky manages to sort of grow as a character across the films, and I think it helps make him more well-rounded. For instance, he spends a lot of Bride abusing Tiffany, t the point he kills her and traps her in a doll, and he really screws up their relationship in Seed. But by the time of Curse and Cult, it’s clear he’s stabilized their relationship and that he does genuinely love and value her. Then there’s his relationship with Glen; in Seed, Chucky was totally against their identity, but come the 2021 TV series and he seems genuinely accepting of his “GENDA FLOOID” kid. Like yes, he’s still a psychotic murder doll, but it’s pretty neat to see he’s not static and that he can change while still maintaining his edge.

Chucky is a fun antagonist who I feel never really gets the respect he truly deserves. Like, yes, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize him, but you really don’t hear him brought up with the same reverence as, say, Jason Voorhees or Ghostface or Pinhead. This is in spite of Chucky managing to do what very few villains can: Go from an utterly irredeemable hate sink to a laughably evil villain you can love to hate and still be entertaining all the way. For that, I think he deserves a 9/10.

Before we go, let’s briefly touch on Chucky’s partner in crime and love interest, Tiffany Valentine.

Portrayed by Jennifer Tilly, she is the exact spice this series needed after the first three films. It’s honestly to the point where it’s extremely weird to go back and watch earlier movies and see that she isn’t there. What makes her really fun is how she actually seems to have morals and boundaries, while Chucky does not. For instance, she completely and totally accepts Glen’s genderfluidity while Chucky is just violently homophobic. That’s not to say she’s a nice person, because she’s definitely as insane and murderous as Chucky himself, but she has a little bit going for her… but she loses a lot of sympathy in Curse and Cult where she indulges in some truly heinous acts.

Also, it’s really funny that she canonically is Jennifer Tilly now. It’s a long story, don’t ask. I don’t want to talk about Seed more than I have to. Tiffany manages to score a 9/10 as well, because really, do you expect me to award the slasher movie equivalent of Harley Quinn being played by Jennifer Tilly anything less?

[luvneedsnosyt]

My Favorite Albums of November 2020

Here’s my monthly list of albums released in October I was feeling, and some other discoveries made during the month.

Previous Month’s Lists: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

You can find my list of my favorite albums of 2020 halfway through the year here

Best

Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guild Genre: Indie Hip Hop

Proof: Boot Soup / Kodokushi

BENEE - Hey u x Genre: Synth-Pop

Proof: Sheesh (Feat. Grimes) / Supalonely (Feat. Gus Dapperton)

BOSCO - Car Therapy EP Genre: R&B / neo-Soul

Proof: Greenlight (Feat. Dana WIlliams) / Changes

Bree Runway - 2000AND4EVA [Mixtape] Genre: Hip Hop / R&B

Proof: ATM (Feat. Missy Elliott) / Damn Daniel (w/ Yung Baby Tate)

Far Out - Beyond The Horizon EP Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Focus (Feat. Heather Sommer) / Wherever We Are (Feat. Monika Santucci)

glaive - cypress grove EP Genre: Indie pop / Alternative

Proof: astrid / hey hi hyd

GRACEY - The Art Of Closure Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: Empty Love (w/ Ruel) / Like That (w/ Alexander 23)

Kacy Hill - Just Circling Back Here: Is It Selfish If I Talk About Me Again (Remixes) Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: Six (Umru Remix) / Porsche (Banoffee Remix)

Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otris Demonios)∞ Genre: R&B / Soul / Latin

Proof: fue mejor (w/ PARTYNEXTDOOR) / telepatía

Kylie Minogue - DISCO Genre: Pop / House / Dance

Proof: Magic / Till You Love Somebody

Lastlings - First Contact Genre: Electronic / Future Bass / Dance

Proof: Deja Vu / No Time

Little Mix - Confetti Genre: Pop

Proof: Sweet Melody / Nothing But My Feelings

Megan Thee Stallion - Good News Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: Circles / Savage Remix (Feat. Beyoncé)

Meg Myers - I’d Like 2 Go Home Now EP // Thank You For Taking Me 2 The Disco EP Genre: Rock / Alternative

Proof: True Liars / Sweet Liar // Any Way You Wanna Love / i hope you cry (w/ morgxn)

Reptaliens - Wrestling EP Genre: Synth Pop

Proof: Taking / Just A Creature

Russ - CHOMP EP Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: Inside Job (Feat. DJ Premier) / Momentum (Feat. Benny the Butcher & Black Thought)

SAINt JHN - While The World Was Burning [Mixtape] Genre: Hip Hop

Proof: Back On The Ledge / Roses (Imanbek Remix)

Sam Feldt - Home Sweet Home EP Genre: Electronic / Tropical House / Dance

Proof: Home Sweet Home (Feat. ALMA & Digital Farm Animals) / The Best Days (Feat. Tabitha)

Savannah Ré - Opia Genre: R&B / Soul

Proof: Love Me Back / Sacred

Various Artists - Ophelia Presents: Advent, Vol. 2 Genre: Electronic / Dance

Proof: Napa Cabbage - Stars (Feat. Alye) / KEPIK & Nick Ledesma - New Horizon (Feat. Luma)

Viji - Are You In My Head EP Genre: Indie Rock

Proof: Unfair / Ghost Song

xylø - Outsiders Club EP Genre: Synth Pop

Alone / Chlorine

Bonus

Some catch up and deluxe edition albums released

Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God (The Deluxe Edition) Genre: Hip Hop Released November 2020 Originally Released October 2020

Proof: Calm Down (Feat. Eminem) / Blow A Million Racks

Chromeo - Quarantine Casanova (The Seoul Remixes) Genre: Funk / Electronic / Dance Released October 2020

Proof: Clorox Wipe (Glen Check Remix) / Stay in Bed (And Do Nothing) [SUMIN Remix]

Jack Garratt - Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 5 Reworks) EP Genre: Pop / R&B / Electronic Released October 2020

Proof: Better (rework) / Circles (rework)

Kevin Ross - Audacity Vol. 2 EP Genre: R&B / Soul Released August 2020

Proof: Everybody Here Wants You (w/ Canjelae) / Salvation

Lecrae - Restoration: The Deluxe Album Genre: Christian Hip Hop Released November 2020 Originally Released August

Proof: Come Thru Jesus / Deep End (Remix) Feat Rapsody

PVRIS - Use Me (Deluxe) Genre: Indie Rock / Synth Pop / Alternative Released August 2020

Proof: Thank You (Feat RAYE) / Use Me (Mija Remix) Feat. 070 Shake

Others

Agent Sasco (Assassin) - Sasco vs Assassin EP, Birdy - Piano Sketches EP, DaBaby - My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G), Hausky - Slow EP, Foogiano - Gutta Baby,  French Montana - CB5, Future & Lil Uzi Vert - Pluto x Baby Pluto,   Jeezy - The Recession 2, Juicy J - THE HUSTLE CONTINUES, Mae Muller - no one else, not even you EP, Miley Cyrus - Plastic Heart, Mitch - Better For You, Nicolay - Lights In The Sky EP, Nicolay - Never Stand Still EP, Omah Lay - What Have We Done EP, Rich The Kid & YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Nobody Safe, Smashing Pumpkins - CYR, 2 Chainz - So Help Me God! (November)

[silverlake-rp]

Good day, residents of Silver Lake! In the March Newsletter below you will find outlined the events and happenings in our beautiful neighborhood this month.

What YOUR CHARACTER can do during these events:

You may include any of these happenings in your starters, incorporate them into your threads, text threads, social media posts, and so forth! The sky is the limit.

What’s ON. Here are just a few things that will be happening around town this month:

St. Patrick’s Day in Silver Lake

Here are some events that will be taking place around town, from the 14-20th of March to celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick!

Chuck DeLino’s Annual St. Paddy’s Day Block Party @ Oasis parking lot — Wednesday, 17th March

That’s right — it’s back! The ever popular Oasis block party organized by Chuck is here to rock your socks off, in an afternoon and evening that is equal parts pretty faces and green beer. Held in the parking lot behind Oasis Apartments, the fest promises more booze and less morals with each instalment thanks to multiple bars set up and more than 100 kegs of Bud Light and Guinness. Stay fed to fuel your drinking with corned beef sliders and Irish nachos—or from the various food trucks parked around the block. This year, a portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Trans Wellness Center. Don’t forget to wear green — or get pinched!

St. Patrick’s @ Silver Lake Farmers Market — 14-20th March

Stop by the Farmers Market for corned beef, cabbage and green beer at Magee’s Kitchen. Glen “the strolling bagpiper” will be playing Celtic tunes in the afternoon, while other bands will park themselves on the east patio during lunch and the west patio during dinner. Browse the various crafts and trinkets available for sale or trade, and enjoy it all at our festive, fresh air open market.

Without U2 @ Los Globos — 19th March

Without U2? Who is that? Why, only the best U2 tribute band in America! Jimmy "Bono" Holmes and Igor "The Edge" Ripari will blow you away with their likeness in both look and sound, as will the rest of the band. Whatever your favorite U2 song, it’s a beautiful day to come on down to Los Globos. With or without you, these crazy mofos will make sure you have a good night! 

other events around town

Old Stuff Day @ Funkytown Thrift — 2 March

Looking for some spring cleaning for your closet? Look no further. Bring all your unwanted, non-fitting clothes, toys, and other sundry items to Funkytown in exchange for generous instore credit. Drop off those pants that haven’t fit in years and upgrade to a shiny vintage jacket you didn’t know you needed. Look at all that new swagger in your walk, you’re already looking a million bucks. 

National Frozen Food Day @ Bliss — 6 March

Who loves froyo? Silver Lake loves froyo. With a buy 1, get 1 free deal like this one, who could even resist? (Yes, even the jumbo cups). On top of that, come in and try the new base yogurt flavor we have introduced — in a tart tomato flavor. It’s splitting Silver Lake residents right down in two, some hating and some loving it, and you just won’t know until you’ve tried it!

5K Run @ 24/7 Fitness —23 March

Come dust off your Nikes and join us in this run sponsored by 24/7 Fitness —  on the 23rd of March. Benefitting a variety of charities, this run for all ages is guaranteed to be a fun day for family and friends. We will kick off outside of 24/7 fitness and loop around Silver Lake. Free frozen yogurt from Bliss for the first 100 to finish the race!

Quentin Tarantino All-Nighter Marathon @ Cinema Paradiso— 27 March

Get ready to have so much fun, Jan! There is no better way to spend your Saturday than at Cinema Paradiso’s Tarantino All-Nighter Marathon. We will kick off this 15-hour marathon at 8 p.m. with Reservoir Dogs, followed up by True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and finally, both Kill Bills. Bathroom/smoke breaks in between each movie and coffee will be provided for those finding themselves about to nod off. Coming dressed as Vic Vega, Mia Wallace, Jackie Brown, or any of the characters is highly encouraged — we will award prizes to the best dressed! All those who stay to the very end, until 11 a.m. on Sunday will be included in a group ‘survivors’ photo, and  the Golden Griddle down the street will be happy to take you all in for a yummy waffle breakfast (at 30% off!). Patrons are advised against pulling off a Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, though. 

oasis apartments bulletin

The washing machines are back in their rightful place in the laundromat — woo hoo! Chuck thanks you all for your patience, and hopes you have a merry time washing your clothes with the brand spanking new washers and dryers (the vending machine is still the old, shitty one though, sorry). On top of this, a new pizza joint is looking to open up in Silver Lake (uh oh, Sal’s on the Strip has competition?) and to trial all the many varieties and flavors of pizza they have, every Saturday & Sunday of this month there will be free pizza and beers in the main courtyard for those willing to try out and give feedback to this startup pizza company. First come, first serve!

redcliff street bulletin

Uh oh! What’s that you say, a mainline pipe has burst and needs replacing? And there’s road construction going on, all up and down the entirety of Redcliff Street? Well, that’s some shocking news. Looks like residents’ cars are going to stay firmly parked in their garages for the first two weeks of this month, as construction work goes on (possibly stretching into the third week as well, who knows). Here’s hoping you’ve got a scooter, skateboard, or alternative mode of travel, Redcliff residents!

cinema paradiso screenings

Friday 5 March: The Majestic (2001)  Saturday 6 March: About Schmidt  Sunday 7 March: 10 Things I Hate About You

Friday 12 March: Friday (1995) Saturday 13 March: Bad Times at the El Royale + The Paperboy (double bill) Sunday 14 March: Get Out + Candyman (1992) (double bill)

Friday 19 March: Minari Saturday 20 March: The General (1926) + The Cameraman (1928) - (double bill) Sunday 21 March: Colette

Friday 26 March: Almost Famous (beer & pizza night)  Saturday 27 March: Reservoir Dogs (1992), True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2  (Tarantino All-Nighter Marathon) Sunday 28 March: Empire Records + Dazed and Confused (double bill) 

happy birthday to...

1st March: Rafe Cruz (38)

13th March: Miles Sullivan (28)

14th March: Aaron Connors (26)

30th March: Nicolas Benoit (32)

[heartwoodventures]

The Sickness

The long, spindly black arm of the voidsent came surging up toward the knoll Aislinn had found for herself. Always take the high ground if you can. But now she was left exposed, no nearby trees within the Shroud’s forested glen behind which she could take cover. Short of breath, heart already in her throat from terror, she stumbled back, tripped, fell to the soft, mossy ground. As the black mass came rushing towards her, she could have done any number of things, she could have done what G’lewra ultimately did. Instead, she froze, twisting away as she braced for the impact. At the last moment the creature’s arm crashed against an aetherial barrier G’lewra had hastily scribed into place around the hyur. The shield was no match for the voidsent’s force and while it shattered, it had left Aislinn in one piece. Realizing she’d been given a reprieve, she scrambled for her gun and hurriedly pulled herself to her feet. 

Why did it have to be damned void magic? When Heartwood Ventures took up this latest contract all that was known was that some sort of sickness was infecting the Shroud, deep into Sylphlands. The posting asked for medics and a few of the more martially inclined just in case. Aislinn was no medic, but she could fire a gun, weave aether if need be. However, it quickly became clear to all of them they were dealing with something far more sinister than a simple illness. 

Their contact, a white-haired miqo’te scholar by the name of G’lewra, had met the crew in the Shroud and led them through the forest, explaining the plight as they went. 

"I've scouted the area, my dears, the plants have plenty of water and there are no signs of scorch marks on the ground that would show signs of a fire I do however have a terrible feeling tis something none wish to usually mess with." A fairy fluttered over to rest upon the Seeker's head as her summoner continued to speak. "I believe we're dealing with a voidsent."

As the group traveled through the Sylph lands they noticed the devastation G’lewra had spoken of. A trail of dead grasses clearly marked the way, even some morbols had perished and looked like shriveled, rotten pumpkins scattered across the forest floor. Even those not sensitive to aether could feel the pressure in the air the deeper into the glen they went. The miqo’te brought them to a halt, turning to them with a look of concern.

Nazyl glanced at the shriveled morbols and grimaced, the dead flora and chill of the dread corruption near palpable, "Sheesh, ta so easileh bring down this maneh morbols...it has ta be at least be fourth rung...."

"Please be careful as we get closer as I'm sure this beast has fed on enough aether to give us trouble." G’lewra said, the Seeker's fairy moving to hide within her long snowy hair.

"Nymeia's Blood." Aislinn swore softly as she too took in the corpses strewn along the way, the oppressive air causing her ears to pop. There was surely a large concentration of aether somewhere close by. She shuddered, as if something had shot through her body. A sudden dread.

Y'ahn shifted the strap of her medical bag to rest more comfortably on her shoulder. "Lovely... If it's Voidsent we're dealing with I'd best double check I'd brought enough supplies to tend to whatever wounds this party is about to receive..." She huffed as she sat down in the grass, taking inventory of the contents of her bag.

As Y’ahn made her check, G’lewra continued on, "The beast has made its home deep within the Sylph lands, not even the poor darlings feel safe within their own homeland and have moved as far away from the thing as possible. When I went further in I could sense it had become rather large, ‘tis best we do what we can to eliminate it and quickly before it causes more damage to the land."

“Aye, if those cabbage fairies are afraid of the demon, then it must be something nasty. We ought to give it a good beating and show it who’s boss,” Aiswyda proposed. “Unless there’s some caveat on how to approach the thing.”

Y'ahn closed the flap of her bag, latching it back in place, seemingly satisfied with what she had on hand. "To Aiswyda's point, we do have a plan of some sort to handle the beast, don't we?" She asked as she stood back up.

"I could help with that, once we identify the demon." Nazyl offered. 

Not just a voidsent. A -large- voidsent. Aislinn put her fingers to the bridge of her nose, pressing for a brief moment. "Aye, depends on what sort we're looking at here." she said, her voice sounding small even to her. 

While her partners discussed the best plan of attack, Aislinn stood quietly staring into the dark wood, unable to focus on their words. She had run up against void magic only once before. And once had been enough. The mages had called themselves thaumaturges but she suspected that was more for their own protection than anything. Black magic was outlawed in Ul’dah, after all. Well, so was drug running but that hadn’t stopped the cartels either. Plenty was outlawed in Ul’dah that still carried on right in the shadow of the Sultana’s proud palace. She’d been young and naive. A fresh refugee and just desperate enough. Lured by the promise of payment in return for taking part in the mages’ study. As were many of the urchins the mages managed to find. In the end, she had been lucky. She had managed to escape. Others had not. The experience had been enough to convince her there was some knowledge that should be left well enough alone. 

Off to her right, Koh nodded, his words bringing her back to the present. "The wood was weakened enough in the Calamity, best to save it from more damage, for its sake and the sake of those living in it best we handle this sooner than later." He'd lived in the outskirts of the wood, he knew how rough it could be. He didn't want those living there to have it any worse.

G'lewra started to move forward to lead the group further in, her ears perked to listen for any movement. "Please be on your guard, my dears."

The group moved with careful steps through the dark glen. The forest here was oddly quiet. No birdsong, no rustling of forest creatures through the undergrowth. It was almost as if all life within had been holding its collective breath. And then, all at once, the silence shattered. There came a sudden, rumbling roar from a deep ditch ahead. Black limbs reached up from the depths, grabbing onto the ledge as a gigantic voidsent heaved itself up and onto the ground, towering over them. Its dark, bloated body littered in masks that opened and closed rapidly as if searching for its next meal. 

"By the twelve it's huge!" G’lewra cried out.  

The masks as one almost seemed to scream with delight as it focused on the group in front of them.

"Aw, hells it's a Persona..." Nazyl gritted. The knight drew his weapons, mythrite blade and shield glimmering in the dim light, "Watch fer its magic, they can be fastah than they look, n' will freeze ye in place with but a gesture."

Nazyl may have been inured to the hazards of his job as a void hunter but for the rest of them the shock of the creature’s sudden and grotesque appearance reverberated through the group, crashing over them. Aiswyda let out an audible gasp, Aislinn fell back a step with half a mind to outrun her terror and Koh struggled to remain centered, taking several shakey, deep breaths as he stared up at the abomination before them. 

While the others struggled, the lalafell was more than happy to be the first in, kicking off the hill and sliding down, shield raised to slam himself into the base of the creature, rearing back his sword to swing down hard onto the nearest mask, dragging Oathbrand across the earth in a turn, and cut upwards into it again, spraying dirt into it in the process, "All those faces n' yer still an ugleh bastard." He was already vying for the thing's attention.

So began the fight that brought the story to the present, with Aislinn scrambling back to her feet after narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath the voidsent’s grip. Now, the creature lashed out at Nazyl, hitting him squarely in the chest. The mail thankfully absorbed much of it, but gods did it smart. Coughing out a curse, he stepped back in and thrusted his blade forward into the black flesh, twisting and cutting upward to pry off another mask. 

The voidsent’s gelatinous body wrapped around the blade and started crawling slowly towards the lalafell, devouring the sword.

"Sonofa..." Nazyl grunted as he struggled to pull his sword free. 

The creature was far from finished. Its oozing form slipped up his arm, further and further until it had simply swallowed the lalafell whole as the rest of them could do little more than look on in horror. There was a suspended moment in which it seemed all of them wavered, frozen in shock and disbelief. Those that remained were fairly new to the Company. They hadn’t yet lost a comrade on a job. They hadn’t come back with any less than they had started out with. Comfortable and sure in their successes. Koh was the first to shake himself into action, calling up aether as he spun around, his steps light as he dodged the creature. With the miqo’te distracting it, Aislinn hurried to reload her weapon, letting out a string of curses, everything under the sun and then some, as her shaking hands struggled to fit the rounds into the chamber. Each of the creature’s unholy bellows and screams causing her to flinch in reply. 

The fight was a punishing reminder that tested each of them sorely as they tried to keep up the momentum, to work together, to press their advantage. With each mask that they destroyed, the voidsent grew smaller until at last, with one final punch from Aiswyda the last mask cracked and fell away. As the powerful Roegadyn blasted the last mask off the voidsent, the beast withered on the ground as it started to shrink until it was nothing but a small little slime, squishing around until it finally burst into nothing.

Finally, quiet. The weight on Aiswyda’s heart had lifted, but something heavier had taken its place. The voidsent had just...dispersed, and the lalafell was nowhere to be seen. Aislinn dropped her firearm to her side, heart still hammering, knees weak. After a moment to collect herself, she slipped her gun back into place. Sucking in lungfuls of air, she slid down the hill to the others, relieved that it was over but still not quite back to rights. 

"Nazyl." she said blankly. "What about Nazyl." 

Aiswyda knelt down and felt the ground, searching for some sign of Nazyl. A hair, his sword - anything. But he was gone, and Aiswyda felt very, very small.

Y'ahn Tsunhe frantically looked about for the missing lalafell. "I... I don't see him anywhere!"

G'lewra’s snowy ears flicked in response to the mercenaries’ obvious discomfort as she drew closer. "Fret not, my dears, I'll find him in no time and bring word back as soon as I do." she said gently as she offered the group a warm smile to ease them all. "I'm still able to sense his aether so he's still around, I just have to locate him where this voidsent has sent him off to, never fear as I'm quite skilled in aether knowledge so I'll be able to find him in no time." 

Koh looked up from where he sunken down to the ground, head lowered to his knees as he collected his breath and fought back tears. "Wait, he's...not dead?" 

Aiswyda jumped a little, still in fight or flight mode, tunnel vision and all. But she took some comfort in the Seeker’s words “Ah..Aye. There isn’t much I can do now anyway. No use lingering in this dark place,” she responded, though her words sounded a bit hollow.

His aether could still be sensed. That was something. The tightness in Aislinn's chest eased a bit as she gave Aiswyda a concerned glance. The Roegadyn sounded how she herself felt. Hollow. Empty. 

"We'll find him. We will." she said quietly to Aiswyda, trying to reassure both her friend and herself at the same time. She nodded to G'lewra. "Please...send word as soon as you find something." she said, trying to lend her words life she didn’t feel.

There was nothing left to do now but make their way back to Heartwood and give their report. A wordless exchange of somber glances said that not one of them was looking forward to that task. 

(To be continued!)

[silverlake-archive]

Good day, residents of Silver Lake! In the March Newsletter below you will find outlined the events and happenings in our beautiful neighborhood this month. 

[ OOC: These are the background events you can incorporate in your threads and starters this month!  ]

St. Patrick’s Day in Silver Lake

Here are some events that will be taking place around town, from the 13-20th of March to celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick!

Chuck DeLino’s Annual St. Paddy’s Day Block Party

Stock your St. Patrick’s Day festivities with an afternoon equal parts pretty faces and green beer, held in the lot behind Oasis Apartments. The fest promises more booze and less morals with each installment thanks to eight full bars and more than 100 kegs of Bud Light and Guinness. Stay fed with the bar’s own delicious drinking fuel—corned beef sliders and Irish nachos—or from food trucks and a pizza, sandwich and salad station. This year, a portion of the proceeds from will benefit the Animal Rescue Mission.

St. Patrick’s At The Silver Lake Farmers Market

Stop by the Farmers Market for corned beef, cabbage and green beer at Magee’s Kitchen. Glen “the strolling bagpiper” will be playing Celtic tunes in the afternoon, while other bands will park themselves on the east patio during lunch and the west patio during dinner.

Flogging Molly at Los Globos

You heard us right! The one and only Celtic punk stalwarts Flogging Molly will be hitting Los Globos on the 17th! Before the show, Globos will have pours of Guinness, grub and games set up outside (for free; no concert tickets are required for the block party).

Misc.

The Ides of March (March 15) — Lotus

On this day in history, Julius Caesar was stabbed. The first 100 customers to come in for lunch get 30% off their check and a free vegan Caesar salad with every main course. Watch your back — someone might beat you to it!

Spring Equinox, March 19-23 — Rose Quartz

Come celebrate with us the arrival of the spring equinox with special discounts off crystals, almanacs and spellbooks, and special couples’ compatibility readings!

Weed Appreciation Day, March 28 — Peachtree Dispensary

Although this holiday refers to other types of weeds, the folks at Peachtree are taking the word literally. Come and sample any edible or bud you like in-store, with a 10% off your total purchase!

Cinema Paradiso Screenings

Friday 6 March: Casablanca Saturday 7 March: Dumbo (2019) & Water for Elephants (double bill) Sunday 8 March: Porco Rosso & Spirited Away (double bill) Friday 13 March: Solaris Saturday 14 March: Dirty Dancing & Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (double bill) Sunday 15 March: Grease Sing-A-Long Friday 20 March: Rosemary’s Baby Saturday 21 March: Breathless (À bout de souffle) & A Woman Is a Woman (double bill) Sunday 22 March: Sing-A-Long-A Rocky Horror Picture Show Friday 27 March: Kill Bill: Volume 1 & Kill Bill: Volume 2 (double bill) Saturday 28 March: Dazed and Confused & Empire Records (double bill)  Sunday 29 March: The Shape of Water

Oasis Apartments Bulletin

Oasis residents! There are planned water works scheduled and underway. Please be aware and plan ahead, for every Friday of this month of March, there will be no working water supply in the entire building. We thank you for your patience. 

Silverwood Terrace Bulletin

World renowned yogi Jeff Choudhury will be holding free workshops and sessions to bring the art of yoga and transcendental meditation to the Terrace. There will be free sessions of yoga on the lawn, and free full-body massages offered by certified healers, to restore the flow of energy throughout the body. Organic hors d'oeuvres and locally sourced kombucha will also be on offer. Come unwind the hectic workweek with us. For residents of Silverwood Terrace only! 

Weather Forecast

Temperatures are expected to reach nearly 20 degrees above normal by midweek before a storm brings cooler temps and a chance of rain.

[scotiaeire]

IT RAINS IN IRELAND...

WHICH IS LIKE SAYING, “THE SUN RISES EVERY DAY”, REALLY. NO, I’M NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT IT. I’M FROM THE FAR NORTH OF SCOTLAND. WE GET WORSE THAN RAIN UP THERE!

THE WEALTH OF RAIN IS WHAT MAKES IRELAND SO GREEN. EVEN OVERWINTER WHEN THE TREES ARE MOSTLY BARE (CONIFERS ASIDE OF COURSE) AND THE FIELD IS MOSTLY MUD...THERE’S STILL GRASS AND THE HILLS ARE STILL GREEN.

I AM, THOUGH, WAITING ON A FEW DRY DAYS. COTTAGE LIFE IN REALITY UNLESS YOU’RE RICH ENOUGH TO SELF BUILD OR BUY ONE IN A PERFECT CONDITION ALREADY, MEANS THERE ARE OUTDOOR JOBS TO BE DONE, ON TOP OF THE JOBS YOU ALREADY DID DURING SUMMER. SO A FEW DRY DAYS WOULD BE LOVELY, THANKS WEATHER-GODS OF IRELAND. JUST ASKIN’....

ALSO, THERE ARE WILDNERNESS PARTS TO OUR WEE ACRE OF LAND. A STAND OF TREES, ONE CUT DOWN AFORE WE MOVED HERE AND PILED UP. NORMALLY I’D LEAVE IT TO ROT DOWN BUT...THERE’S A HUGE CHUNK OF TRUNK UNDER THE BRANCHES I FULLY INTEND TO USE BY INCORPORATING INTO A LITTLE THREE SIDED WOVEN WILLOW HUT. MY “WOMAN-CAVE” IF YE LIKE. A PLACE OF PEACE WHERE I CAN SIT AND LOOK OUT TOWARDS THE NORTH, WHICH IS WHERE THE ENTRANCE’LL FACE. OUT OVER THE FORESTRY AND ROLLING HILLS AND GLENS AND KNOWING THAT, ACROSS THE WATER IN THAT DIRECTION IS SCOTLAND, AND BEYOND THAT, ICELAND. THAT MAKES ME HAPPY, KNOWING I CAN FACE WHERE THEY ARE.

IT WON’T BE A HUGE THING. IT’S NOT ONE OF THOSE PREFAB HUTS YOU CAN BUY THAT YOU CAN THEN DECORATE WITH TABLES AND TEA CUPS. (IF I WANTED THAT I HAVE OUTBUILDINGS, OR BETTER STILL, MY OWN KITCHEN!) AND IT IS, AYE, AN ENTIRELY HEATHEN THING. BUILT WITH MY AIN HANDS.

BUT THAT TREE TRUNK WILL BE PUT AT THE ENTRANCE SO THAT TO GET INTO THE HUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO GO AROUND IT. PROBABLY MAKES NO SENSE, BUT I KNOW WHAT I MEAN AND INTEND. :)

INSIDE THERE’LL BE A WEE FIREPIT WITH THE MEANS TO DRUM UP A KETTLE. WHICH IS SCOTS FOR BOIL UP WATER FOR COFFEE, HERBAL BREWS, WHATEVER. THE “HOBO” VERSION OF THE POSH TABLE AND TEACUPS.

MOST OF ALL, IT’LL BE A PLACE OUT OF THE RAIN BUT *IN* THE LITTLE WILD PATCH OF MY FIELD. AMONG THE TREES. IT’LL ALSO FACE OUR “GHOST TREE” WHICH IS SO CALLED BECAUSE IT’S COVERED IN REINDEER MOSS. IT’S AN ANCIENT GOAT WILLOW. AT TWILIGHT, THAT MOSS GLEAMS, ALMOST GLOWS. SO WE CALLED IT THE GHOST TREE. IT DOESNAE SEEM TO MIND. AND BEYOND THE BOTTOM HEDGEROW OF OVERGROWN TREES (AND THEY’LL BE LEFT TO GROW LARGER) IS THE STREAM, NEXT TO THE SINGLE TRACK ROAD THAT’S BARELY USED EXCEPT BY THE ODD TRACTOR.

THERE’S A DISTANT VIEW TO THE MOUNTAINS, WITH FOREST ON EITHER SIDE CLOSE BY.

THIS IS NOT A “PARADISE”. TO THE FRONT OF THE COTTAGE THE ROAD IS A BUSY ONE. I’VE COME FROM LIVING IN ALWAYS ISOLATED PLACES, SOME OF WHICH YOU’D TO WALK TO, TO REACH, BUT NO TRAFFIC, TO A COTTAGE WHICH IS BETWEEN TWO WORLDS..TO THE BACK IS ROLLING FORESTED COUNTRYSIDE AND DISTANT MOUNTAINS, THE FRONT IS A ROAD WHICH CONNECTS TWO DISTANT TOWNS, WHICH MEANS SHOP DELIVERY AND WORKER TRAFFIC. I’M TRYING REALLY  HARD TO GET USED TO IT. BECAUSE I ALWAYS KNOW HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO JUST HAVE A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS.

IT’S NOT A “PARADISE” BUT IT *IS* HOME, AND I JUST NEED A WEE BIT MAIR TIME TO SETTLE IN. IT HASN’T BEEN A YEAR YET. SOME MORNINGS I STILL WAKE UP AND EXPECT TO WALK OUTDOORS WHERE, THIS TIME OF YEAR IN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND, THE SKIES ARE STILL BLACK AND FULL OF STARS, TO SAY HELLO TO THE GREAT BEAR AND NORTH STAR, TO HEAR THE THUMP OF DEER HOOVES AS THEY HEAR ME GATHERING LOGS FOR THE FIRE AND THEY RUN OUT OF OUR GARDEN (HAVING EATEN THE LAST OF OUR CABBAGES AND BROCCOLI AND BLACKCURRANT BUSHES) AND JUMP THE FENCE INTO THE CROFTLAND AND RUN UP THE HILL OPPOSITE THE HOUSE ON THE WAY TO HIGHER GROUND.

THEN I HEAR TRUCKS GO BY ON THEIR WAY TO DELIVER TO THE SHOPS AND I REMEMBER WHERE (AND WHY) I AM.

SO, AYE, STILL HAVE TO SETTLE IN. THAT’S WHY I DO THE THINGS I DO...THE REPAIRS I AM ABLE TO, TO THE COTTAGE. THE REDECORATING. RECLAIMING A FIELD THAT’S NEVER BEEN CULTIVATED SO THAT  IT’S HALF FOOD PRODUCTIVE, AND THE EDGES OF IT STILL WILD WITH A VARIETY OF TREES, BUSHES, THICKETS AND WILD FLOWERS.

AND THAT’S WHY, TOO, MY WEE HEATHEN SELF WILL BUILD THE WILLOW HUT, FACING NORTH TO A VIEW I CAN’T FULLY SEE ANY LONGER (EXCEPT BY USING CAMERAS TO VIEW THROUGH, OR BINOCULARS) BUT WHICH WILL BE A PLACE OF MY OWN TO SIT, EVEN IN THE HEAVY IRISH RAIN, SO I CAN TRULY GET TO KNOW THIS LAND THAT HOPEFULLY WELCOMES US.

[thecooksjournal]

For the Love of Food

So where does my love of food come from? I firmly believe that my passion for all things food related and my willingness to try almost anything stems from my childhood and my family upbringing. My much loved Nan and Grandad must take most of the credit as from a very early age I was introduced to a wide variety of home-grown and home-cooked foods. My Grandad was an avid gardener growing a whole manner of fruit and vegetables in his garden. He showed me the delights of growing runner beans, cabbage and cauliflower along with a whole range of soft fruit ranging from English plums to gooseberries. My Nan like my Grandad was old school so everything in the kitchen was made from scratch using what was grown in the garden. I can still remember watching her cook and learning how to make pastry and cakes from basic ingredients.

Some of my fondest memories as a child are of the big family meals we had at their house at 218, London Road Waterlooville (sadly now demolished). At various times during the school holidays my cousins, uncles and aunties would all come to stay. This would be a big event for me as we would have fantastic traditional roast dinners with all the trimmings and yes if you didn’t eat your vegetables you most definitely wouldn’t get any dessert! To be honest I wasn’t a fussy eater even as a kid. As I recall it was only Brussels sprouts and Stilton cheese that I could have quite happily avoided throughout those formative years. The only real problem I had at these family meals was whether I could finish my meal and get to that last roast potato before my cousin Glen, who despite being younger than me could always match me for appetite.  My much missed Mum carried on the tradition set by her parents and although home-cooking has changed a lot over the years she has always instilled the same values in me to experiment and try everything at least once.

My Mum worked as a waitress in a local café called The Black Cat Café. I can remember going to work with her on one occasion and being allowed to watch what went on in the kitchen. My clearest memory here is one of the veg prep guys giving me a raw carrot to try. I had always eaten carrots from my Grandad’s garden but cannot recall eating them raw so this was a new experience. Even now I can still taste that distinct flavour which was somewhat of an epiphany moment for me. Like eating your first oyster or you first taste of true caviar this was a profound moment for me.

Another early food memory is also somewhat unusual. My Nan and Grandad lived in a big house next to a petrol station. The station had one of the first vending machines I can remember on the forecourt next to where the air and water could be found. This particular vending machine dispensed milk shake. My particular favourite was a raspberry milk shake which became a firm favourite with me so much so that if ever I had any money this would be my first purchase. The petrol station is still there but the machine has long gone but the taste of this milk shake still lingers in my senses. Every so often if I taste very fresh raspberries I get transported back in time to this very happy period in my life.

Food always seems to give me happy memories so it is probably no surprise that I followed my nose 9and stomach) into the industry. I began my adventure by training  as a Chef at Highbury College in Cosham. At the time I started there I was a fresh faced sixteen year old. The catering facility at Highbury was only a year old and at the time regarded as one of the best places to learn the trade in the UK. I studied there for three years from 1981 to 1984 and was as proud as anything to emerge with my Diploma in Professional Cookery. If my family gave me my love of food then the lecturers and college definitely fed my addiction. It was one of the happiest times of my life and I am forever grateful to all my lecturers and fellow students who taught me so much that stood me in good stead for later life. I would heartily recommend to anyone thinking of studying catering to go ahead and do it. Even if you never cook professionally after you leave, the skills you learn there will be with you for life.

I can still remember my first day at college as one of the new influx of PCD (Professional Cookery Diploma) students. We were all resplendent in a blizzard of spotless white jackets and blue checked trousers, wearing our new uniforms with pride for the very first time. Our aprons were trailing down to the floor and our starched hats were pointing proudly to the ceiling, we really must have been quite a sight. Over the years our aprons shortened until eventually they were folded into nothing more than miniskirts that just about covered our crutches; while the starched Mohawk-like hats were replaced by neat uniform disposable paper ones. We had finally come of age and were ready to launch our talents onto an unsuspecting world. Looking back it was hard work and frightening at times but honestly worth every second and an experience I would do all over again if I had the chance. It was the days before politically correctness had reared its head so it was a harsh environment for a young teenager.

Saying that the harshness was nothing to what I found when working in a professional kitchen. For a short while I was able to work as a Commis in The Café Royal, Claridge's, Langans Brasserie and Simpson's in the Strand. Working as a Chef in London was fresh, exciting and frightening. Working as a Commis you were on of the lowest ranked employees only one up from the pot wash. You were treated with disdain and generally verbally and sometimes physically abused. Nowadays this sounds horrific but it was pretty standard at the time in the industry. London tended to amplify this somewhat but wherever you worked in the UK it was pretty much the same. This harsh treatment either broke you or made you stronger. The restaurant trade has always been pretty transient so to survive you had to be strong. As a Commis you had to prove yourself before you were let anywhere near a stove. Although I was a qualified chef I spent 6 months peeling and turning potatoes, turning mushrooms and preparing the mise en place ready for service. I can remember many occasions when my julienne of carrot or my bruinoise of vegetables was unceremoniously thrown in the bin because it was not perfect. Through sheer persistence I managed to survive and once I gained the trust of the brigade I was able to watch and learn from the more senior Chefs. As time went on I was allowed to do more and more in the kitchen until I was welcomed as one of the team. I still have very fond memories of the loud punk music played prior to service and the sense of belonging I felt as part of the team. Outside of work we played hard and in London this could be very hard but I had a lot of fun and learnt a great deal.

My experience in London was for a relatively short time but it is an experience that has left its mark on me both personally and professionally. To this day I have a strange affinity with London and simply love the old school restaurants there. My career took me back down to the South Coast and away to sea working front of house for a change before ending up as a Food Buyer procuring high end products for the cruise industry. I have never forgotten my roots and although my time in the front line was brief I still regard it as one of the best experiences of my life. I am indebted to my college lecturers who got me the placements and hopefully I have paid my dues to the industry.

At home I still cook every day and still get that same sense of enjoyment I felt at 16. I genuinely love food and will try just about anything if I feel it is something that I might enjoy. I am frequently asked what is the best meal I have ever eaten. I have been lucky enough after nearly 40 years in the industry to have eaten in a lot of top restaurants and to have had the opportunity to try a myriad of dishes across the world. I have tried many unusual dishes and as a Food Buyer had the opportunity to taste many new and innovative ingredients before they reach the trade.

It therefore can come of something of a surprise when I reveal my favourite meal is not only very simple but from a most unusual food outlet. The location was Hong Kong International Airport around 2005 in restaurant which if my memory serves me correct was situated upstairs on Level 8 of the main concourse above the various check in desks. The restaurant itself is very simple, quite large but very unassuming. It was early morning and I was catching a flight back to the UK. I was not particularly hungry so I was just looking for something light before my flight was ready to board.

I opted to go for a simple Prawn Foo Yung. The picture above is exactly what was presented to me. You cannot see it on the picture as the colours are pretty subdued but the scrambled egg was almost orange in colour. To this day it is the freshest egg I have ever eaten. For such a simple dish the flavours were exceptional and taught me that to have a great dish sometimes simplicity is really the best. As long as you use good quality ingredients less really is more. Sometimes the most complex recipes containing multiple ingredients are no better than a single ingredient prepared well.

Life can quite easily be compared to food Choose your friends and your ingredients carefully and you will find that good friends and good ingredients can give you much happiness. As a Chef I can give you no better advice than love your life and love your food.

[tsgbaltimoreandannapolismaryland]

3 Historic East Coast Wedding Venues to Consider for Your Big Day

BY SARAH DAWSON February 20, 2020

The Duke Mansion. Photography by Lauren Roseneau Photography.

Many factors come into play when choosing a wedding day, from location to size to style to sentimentality. And while some couples gravitate toward sleek, modern venues, others may be more drawn to a locale with a bit of history. For those who are considering making their wedding location their “something old,” we’ve rounded up three historic wedding venues on the East Coast that will serve as the ideal backdrop for the special occasion.

THE DUKE MANSION // CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

The Duke Mansion. Photography by Kristin Byrum Photography.

The background: The Duke Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is operated as a nonprofit with all proceeds being used to preserve and protect this community treasure. Built in 1915, North Carolina entrepreneur James B. “Buck” Duke purchased the home in 1919, later founding Duke Energy and Duke University. Upon his death in 1926, the home passed from family member to family member and eventually landed in the hands of some of the Charlotte community’s most prominent philanthropic families. The Mansion currently operates as a four diamond inn, meeting, and event space.

Fun historical facts: The Cannons, a wealthy textile family, lived in the house in the 1950s. Their daughter, a true southern belle, fell in love with a Yankee Catholic, and the strong Baptist family just couldn’t stand for the partnership, so they sent her away on a cruise hoping she’d fall in love with someone else. Indeed, she did fall in love with John Hershey, and when she later married him at her family home, she invited that ex-boyfriend to attend. To this day, her ex, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, is one of the most famous guests to have attended a wedding there.

What makes it an ideal wedding locale: The Duke Mansion is a sought-after venue not only for its history, but for the lovely indoor/outdoor aspect of the property. With four and a half acres of stunning gardens, and 27 garden rooms, it’s truly an urban oasis. When couples rent the property for the wedding, they gain possession of all 20 guest rooms on Friday and Saturday nights, and it truly feels as if you are hosting the wedding at your personal home. An on-site executive chef and culinary team that includes a horticulturist customize the hyper-local southern menu for guests, with an organic garden full of heirloom tomatoes, beans, kale, and cabbages adding to the offerings.

GLEN GORDON MANOR // HUNTLY, VIRGINIA

Glen Gordon Manor. Photography by Jumping Rocks.

The background: Glen Gordon Manor traces its hospitality roots back to the 1860s when it was a Wells Fargo stagecoach stop. The main house brims with nostalgic spaces, including a fire-lit entrance hall, baronial oak hunt room, stone wine cellar, and a charming country kitchen. Located just one hour from Washington, D.C., and major airports, the Manor feels a world away in its gorgeous hunt country setting.

Fun historical facts: Fans of The Crown will appreciate that the Manor has housed British Royalty. King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, infamously known for their scandalous romance, once visited when the historic estate served as a hunting retreat for the royal family. Their stay allowed their romance to blossom, and they became the namesake for the Manor’s luxurious suites. Earlier in its history, during the Civil War, Union troops marched right in front of the Manor, and guests can tour many historic Civil War sights in the area during their stay.

What makes it an ideal wedding locale: With breathtaking views of the Shenandoah mountains and surrounding valleys, this intimate yet spacious manor home is the perfect spot for a hunt country wedding. Prior to the big event, the wedding party can enjoy the on-site spa, and wedding couples have the run of the entire property for their wedding, with the ability to host guests for an intimate gathering fireside in the Hunt Room or outdoors for a larger, tented reception. The meal is sure to be memorable as well, as award-winning chef/owner Dayn Smith customizes the reception menu to the bride and groom’s specifications.

FOXFIRE // MONKTON, MARYLAND

Foxfire. Photograph courtesy of Foxfire.

The background: A luxurious private estate, Foxfire is situated in a historic area of Monkton, Maryland, known as My Lady’s Manor, which was established more than 300 years ago when Lord Baltimore gave the land to his wife as a gift. Foxfire itself was built in 1932, and has since been regarded as a renowned horse racing and breeding farm. With its close proximity to Washington D.C., and New York City, it’s also served as a retreat for tastemakers and high society over the years.

Fun historical facts: The original 1930 Vulcan stove was built to last—it still has pride of place in the kitchen, and works like a dream. In addition, the estate is home to a long line of renowned racehorses that were bred and raised on the grounds. 

What makes it an ideal wedding locale: Foxfire limits large events to four times a year, so if you’re seeking an exclusive venue, it fits the bill. Every detail on the grounds, as well as indoors, had been thoughtfully designed to enhance the guest’s experience and surround them in a luxurious yet approachable setting. The property impresses from get-go—ancient maples line the quarter-mile driveway, along which visitors will pass a duck pond, a quarry, barns, paddocks, and pastures with grazing horses as they make their way to the main house. During the winter, the quarries on the property can freeze and have long provided opportunities for outdoor ice skating. The pristine countryside and crisp exterior of the Manor House offers the perfect backdrop to endless design palettes, whether you wish to highlight the historic estate or focus your event concept on a different source of inspiration. Couples can also opt to rent the property for the entire weekend and host up to 21 guests onsite (events can accommodate up to 300 people), along with a full range of events beyond their wedding, including a welcome reception, rehearsal dinner, or a Sunday brunch.

[rlwwriteblr]

The Best Bacon

This is my submission for the first round of the 2021 NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Enjoy!

The Best Bacon

by RL Wilson

Fairy Tale/Impenetrable/a coward

It is a common misconception that farm animals are unaware of their destinies. In fact, they are more aware of their fates than most humans are of theirs. Most farm animals are okay with knowing and sometimes even proud of their purpose. A dairy cow will give milk until its dying day. A sheep, its wool. Horse and oxen provide labor and transport. And what about a pig?

“Mama,” the little piglet squeaked, “How do I become the best bacon?”

Mama snorted from her wallow as the piglet’s siblings suckled greedily at her teats, “You eat, silly piggy.”

And so, the piglet dove in to join his brothers and sisters. The piglet ate and ate until he was near to bursting with milk but could not catch up to his brothers and sisters. One by one they outgrew him. And one by one the farmer came and led them away until the little piglet was the only one left.

“Mama,” said the little pig, “When will the farmer come for me? I want to be good bacon!”

Mama snorted, “Soon, silly piggy.”

But that day did not come, and little pig grew sad. He would never become big enough to be good bacon for the farmer and his family.

One day, when the farmer arrived, he did not come alone. He led a fiery, brown pony with his daughter astride. The pony tossed his head and the girl broke into peals of laughter as the little pig looked on in curiosity.

“You have to groom and feed him every day, my daughter,” the farmer said. “Clean his pen too!”

The girl jumped off the pony and hugged her father, “Thank you, Papa!”

And she came every day, just as her father asked, and the pig found a welcome distraction from his melancholy. She groomed the pony until his coat glistened and the pony would prance proudly as she rode him the field. She mucked the stall and added fresh straw every day. The pony grew rounder and prouder with the feed she gave him. The farmer came everyday too, but not to take the little pig to the butcher’s block. He fed Mama and the little pig with a frown.

“Mama pig, what am I to do with your runt?” He asked Mama one day with a shake of his head. “He is too small to make a proper meal!”  

 The girl, finished with her chores, came over and climbed the fence to look in on the pig, who sat in the muck staring forlornly at his hooves.

“Papa, he looks so sad! Does he have to become sausage? He could be a friend for my pony! He probably wouldn’t be very good sausage.”

The little pig’s ears drooped even more. He was sad to hear the words of the farmer and his daughter. He had a dream of being the fattest pig and the best bacon, but it seemed he was not even good enough for that. He wouldn’t even make good sausage!  

The farmer frowned, “Pigs are not pets, my daughter.”

“Please, Papa!” She begged, hugging her father around the neck.    

The farmer grinned, unable to resist, “Okay, my sweet, but you will be responsible for him and the pony.”

“Yes, Papa!”

And so, the little pig finally said goodbye to his mama and went to live with the pony on the other side of the barnyard. His excitement at possibly being more than bad sausage was interrupted by the cruelty of the pony. The pony chased and nipped at the little pig in good fun, laughing as the pig tried to escape on its short, stumpy legs. The pig ran and ran until was wishing to become sausage again.

The little pig’s only respite was when the little girl came to care for him and the pony. The pony would leave him be and the little girl would bring him baskets filled with leftovers from the farmhouse and the bakery in town. The farmer had only given slop to the little pig and his mouth watered at the sight of fresh vegetables and stale baked goods the girl brought. Potatoes and cabbage and carrots! Stale loaves of sourdough and rye! Sometimes she even brought pie! Sweet pies, savory pies. They became his favorite treat. She would give him a good scratch under his bristly chin and then feed him the delectable goodies.

To both the surprise of the pig and the farmer, the little pig grew to not be so little. With all the food, care, and even all the running he did to avoid the pony’s harassment, he grew fatter and more muscular than any of his siblings had been. However, he found himself not wanting to become bacon anymore. He loved the little girl and how he loved pies! The farmer’s longing glances began to fill the pig with a sense of dread instead of pride.

One day, the little girl came out with a basket containing an apple pie, still steaming from the oven. The pig immediately began to drool at the sight. The girl smiled, but it was a sad smile. She carefully laid the pie in front of the pig and he dove snout first through the warm crust. As he ate, she leaned against him and scratched his favorite spot behind his ears.

“Papa says you are ready to be good bacon,” She sniffed, and the and the pig understood her sadness. However, this was his destiny! To become the best bacon!

“I love you little pig!” She said before breaking into tears and running towards the pony.

Crying, the girl rode the pony out the gate and onto the forest trail. The pig wondered if you could be both sad and happy at the same time. He was sad to leave the girl, but he was happy to final serve his purpose as a pig!

The pig was lying happily in a wallow, bathing in the warmth of the sun to enjoy his final day, when the pony came racing out of the woods.

“Pig! Pig!” The pony wailed. “There is a monster in the wood!”

The pig rose, blinking in his warm stupor to see the pony was disturbingly riderless.

“Pig! The girl fell! I spooked and she fell! Oh, the monster has her! She’s doomed!”

“You left her behind?!” The pig cried, sticking its snout through the fence as the pony shook in his hooves. The pony only lowered his head in shame.

The pig had always believed he was destined to be bacon. He had been proud to become good bacon and to provide to farmer’s family. If he faced a monster, it could kill him and then how would he become good bacon? Besides, what could a little pig like him do? He wasn’t a strong pony or even a boar, but the little girl was in trouble. His little girl! He could stay and wait for the farmer to help her or… He stamped a hoof as he made up his mind.

He backed up to the far corner of the pen and ran as fast as he could toward the fence. The board’s shook with the impact of the pig’s head but did not budge. He did it again. And again. And again.

His snout was filled with splinters, but he didn’t stop. Blood welled from a cut across it as he stepped back one last time. With a squeal, he reared up and leapt forward. He slammed into the boards, the two lowest snapping in a flurry of splinters. The pig tumbled through. Dazed, he shook his head and sniffed at the air. Catching the girl’s scent, he took off running in the wood.

The sound of the boards snapping in twain snapped the pony out of his fright and he followed the pig into the forest. The pig traced the girl’s scent to a glen in the middle of the wood. The pony whinnied in fright as he slid to a stop.

“Oh, there it is! The monster!” He cried.

The pig stared in disbelief. The “monster” was the shadow of a gnarled albeit ugly dead tree on the face of a large rock. The pig ignored the pony’s cries and snuffled at the earth in search of the girl’s scent. He followed the smell around the tree. The little girl sat up against the trunk, hugging her skinned knees to her chest as tears ran down her cheeks. When she saw the pig, she cried out with relief and flung her arms around his thick, pink neck.

“Oh pig!” She cried, “I was so frightened! My leg is hurt, and I thought no one would ever find me, but you came for me!”

The pig told the pony to fetch the farmer and the pony eagerly galloped back out of the wood and away from the “monster”. The girl hopped over to the pig on one leg. She clambered on his back and he carried her carefully out of the wood. The farmer was waiting for them with the pony’s reins in his hands and his face pale with fright for his daughter. He scooped the girl from the pig’s back and into his arms. She sobbed into his broad shoulder as he carried her home.

The farmer came back later to find the pig sitting among the broken fence rails. He called the pig and the pig walked through the hole to stand in front of the farmer. He looked up at the farmer and the farmer looked back with a puzzled smile. The farmer knelt in front of the pig and laid a warm hand on the pig’s head.

“You would have been mighty fine bacon, little pig” the farmer laughed.

The pig never saw the butcher’s block. He lived out his days loved by both the farmer and his daughter. The girl grew older, but she still cared for him every single day, often sneaking him fresh pie from her mother’s kitchen and inviting him on her rides with the pony. The pig died of old age in a meadow of wildflowers under the warmth of the spring sun with the farmer, his daughter, and the old brown pony at his side. Not once in the rest of his lifetime did he think about becoming bacon ever again.

Many believe farm animals are unaware of their fate as food. In fact, they are more aware of their destiny than most humans and find comfort, even pride, in the knowing. They give into the fact that their destiny is unyielding and unchangeable. However, there are some that take matters into their own hooves and force their fate to change.

The End.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave critique. This is the first piece of writing I have made public personally and not really reflective of my usual style, but it was fun to write all the same! 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

[libidomechanica]

Untitled (“I sleep with the Folly so true”)

I sleep with the Folly  so true, thy griefe more dear. And 

opd those beames infusing hellish  paine, of hopes in the 

immortal pitch, that makes a  Devils self seem Angel to 

our town, the young  Chevalier. I love you ever 

dearer; robert Burns: “there he was  sitting in their thankful 

Hymnes: ’‘tis sin, “‘id catch youthful  Lords to roll,’ teach Infants 

Cheeks inflame, lie without all  Eternity. 

And the L &N, hoping from  Belinda still regards,” and 

Bettys praisd for Labours of  her Hand is never 

any Day that held her hands,  adore a sultan? Year after 

your Gowne, or Haire: before!  Like love vehicle 

itself, relaxed, its perfect  ore limbs, its life 

I feel the Nurse and allows  scope to get our 

winds’ kiss that were he  comfort so the Fan, supply 

each Pause of cologne. Gladder to  costive Lap-Dog gave Disease. 

O, that raind upon her auburn  hair         Her throat           will strew 

See how sudden blow: the ground seems  to drink her Lip. So 

he had stoppd the Crown of Spades  appears, the Skies. Roard for 

Labours not her own. To  draw you there and for 

this head, but she that have grown  to deem, as a 

mountain, an down yon scroggie glen, we daur  na gang a milking a 

stranger is departed.  For he was 

then that for your own The  lily! at Keswick, and 

will never saw you, Mag. And  tirld at his Towardness, and 

air! Than they repent, and brought,  I would craze; Zuhrah who at last 

Cabbage, from limits  here? my arms, it sets 

my poor fish beset, with which  it contains, and thus 

with other, humbler  wit, theyare but much as feel 

safe then—i never w anted a piece of my Life!

[londontheatre]

Steffan Rhodri and Nathaniel Parker in THIS HOUSE at Chichester Festival Theatre. Photo by Johan Persson

Rehearsals began today (Monday 22nd January 2018) for the first UK tour of This House, which opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse on 23 February (national press night 28 February). The cast – who play a colourful host of MPs and Whips – is Ian Barritt (Batley & Morley/Woolwich West/Belfast North/Western Isles & Ensemble), William Chubb (Humphrey Atkins), Giles Cooper (Fred Silvester), Stephen Critchlow (Bromsgrove/Abingdon/Liverpool Edge Hill/Paisley/Fermanagh & Ensemble), James Gaddas (Walter Harrison), Natalie Grady (Ann Taylor), Ian Houghton (Armagh, Ambulance Man, Ensemble), David Hounslow (Joe Harper), Marcus Hutton (Ensemble), Harry Kershaw (Paddington South/Chelmsford/South Ayrshire/Henley/Marioneth /Coventry North West/Rushcliffe/Perry Barr & Ensemble), Louise Ludgate (Rochester & Chatham/Welwyn & Hatfield/Coventry South West/Ilford North/Lady Batley & Ensemble), Geoffrey Lumb (Clockmaker/Peebles/Redditch/Stirlingshire West/Clerk & Ensemble), Nicholas Lumley (Oxshott/Belfast West/St Helens & Ensemble), Martin Marquez (Bob Mellish), Matthew Pidgeon (Jack Weatherill), Miles Richardson (Speaker Act I/Mansfield/Sergeant at Arms Act II/West Lothian & Ensemble), Tony Turner (Michael Cocks), Orlando Wells (Walsall North/Plymouth Sutton/Serjeant at Arms Act I/Speaker Act II/Caernarfon/Clerk & Ensemble) and Charlotte Worthing (Ensemble). Ian Houghton, David Hounslow, Matthew Pidgeon, Tony Turner and Orlando Wells return to This House having previously appeared in the West End production.

James Graham’s critically acclaimed and prescient political drama takes on a new importance in the current political climate. Are we in the midst of a political revolution? Can the country stay united? Roll back to 1974… The corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and back biting as Britain’s political parties’ battle to change the future of the nation, whatever it takes.

In an era of chaos, both hilarious and shocking, when votes are won or lost by one, there are fist fights in the parliamentary bars, high-stakes tricks and games are played, and sick MPs are carried through the lobby to register their crucial votes as the government hangs by a thread. This House strips politics down to the practical realities of those behind the scenes; the whips who roll up their sleeves and on occasion bend the rules to shepherd and coerce a diverse chorus of MPs within the Mother of all Parliaments.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin with Jonathan O’Boyle, the production is designed by Rae Smith with lighting design by Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill on tour, music by Stephen Warbeck, choreography by Scott Ambler and sound by Ian Dickinson.

This House is produced on tour by Jonathan Church Productions and Headlong.

Cast Ian Barritt – Batley & Morley/Woolwich West/Belfast North/Western Isles & Ensemble Theatre includes: The Life of Galileo, The Alchemist (National Theatre), The Shawshank Redemption (UK Tour), Rebecca (UK Tour) Handbagged, Remarkable Invisible (The Theatre by the Lake, Keswick), The Lower Depths (Arcola), Hamlet, All’s Well That Ends Well, The Tempest, Troilus and Cressida (Tobacco Factory), Other Desert Cities (English Theatre of Frankfurt), Othello (Sheffield Crucible), Uncle Vanya (Bristol Old Vic/Galway Festival), Kes, Separate Tables (Manchester Royal Exchange), Richard II, Corionlanus (Almeida/New York/Tokyo), Gates of Gold (Manchester Library), One Night In November (Coventry Belgrade).Television includes: Wolf Hall, The Musketeers, Attila The Hun, Doctor Who, Upstairs Downstairs, Doctors, Foyle’s War, Life On Mars, Only Fools and Horse.

William Chubb – Humphrey Atkins Theatre includes: Racing Demon (Theatre Royal Bath), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, King Lear (Old Vic), In The Depths of Dead Love (The Print Room), Lawrence After Arabia (Hampstead Theatre), Waste, Great Britain, Othello, Scenes from an Execution (National Theatre), Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Vortex, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Love’s Labours Lost (Rose Theatre, Kingston), Yes Prime Minister (Chichester Festival Theatre/West End), The History Boys (National Theatre), The Sea (Theatre Royal Haymarket). Television includes: Close to the Enemy, My Baby, Breathless, Edge of Heaven, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Law and Order, Silk, The Bill. Films include: 6 Days, Adrift in Soho, Tees, Veer, Affair of the Necklace, Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, Milk, The Woodlanders.

Giles Cooper – Fred Silvester Theatre includes: The Duchess of Malfi, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Henry V (Shakespeare’s Globe), People, After the Dance (National Theatre), As Is (Arion Productions), Great Expectations (ETT), The Talented Mr Ripley (Northampton Royal), Trilby (Finborough), Dreams of Violence (Soho/Out of Joint), Think Global, F**k Local (Royal Court/Out of Joint), A Touch of the Sun (Salisbury Playhouse), Rafts and Dreams (Royal Court), The Witches (West End), Full Circle (Triumph Ent.), The Witches (Birmingham Rep), Twelfth Night (Bolton Octagon), Across Oka, Rafts and Dreams (Manchester Royal Exchange). Television Includes: Hollyoaks, Consenting Adults. Film includes: The Lady in the Van, Pride, Apollo and the Continents, The Nun.

Stephen Critchlow – Bromsgrove/Abingdon/Liverpool Edge Hill/Paisley/Fermanagh & Ensemble Theatre includes: Filthy Business, Loyalty (Hampstead Theatre), The Men From The Ministry Reloaded (The White Bear), The 39 Steps (The Criterion Theatre), Pygmalion (The Albery Theatre), Hamlet (West End), Cyrano De Bergerac (National Theatre), A Christmas Carol, The Relapse, When We Are Married (Birmingham Rep), Soap, Time of My Life, Twelfth Night, (Theatre Royal Northampton), The Game of Love and Chance (Salisbury Playhouse), Round The Horne Revisited (UK Tour). Television includes: Downton Abbey, Guerrilla, Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Prince And The Pauper, Cider With Rosie, Heartbeat, Red Dwarf 11, Miranda, Coronation Street, Casualty, Holby City, Doctors, Skins, Hattie, Fantabuloza, The Armando Iannucci show, The Railway Murder, The Thieving Headmistress, Trial And Retribution, Blue Murder, Daziel and Pascoe, The Vice, Without Motive, Heartbeat, Walking on the Moon, Baggy Trousers, A Likeness in Stone, A Line in the Sand, The Vice, Back Up, The Bill, Monarch of the Glen. Film includes: A Way Through The Woods, Fogbound, The Calcium Kid, Churchill The Hollywood Years.

James Gaddas – Walter Harrison Theatre includes: The Girls (Phoenix Theatre), Billy Elliot (Palace Theatre), Mamma Mia (Novello), Spamalot (UK Tour), Art (Wyndhams Theatre), Peter Pan (Curve, Leicester), The Messiah (West Yorkshire Playhouse), You Never Know Who’s Out There (Drill Hall), A Passionate Woman (Comedy), Jackie, A Chorus of Disapproval (Lyric Hammersmith), Three Guys Naked From The Waist Down, (Donmar Warehouse). Television Includes: Bad Girls, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Waterloo Road, Against The Law, Casualty, Holby City, The Camomile Lawn, Medics, Class Act, Troubles, The Bill, Backup, Dogtown, Vincent, Jonathan Creek, Grafters, Heartbeat, Between The Lines, Secrets, El Cid. Film Includes: Starter For Ten, The Human Bomb, Girl’s Night, The Black Candle, Dead Man’s Folly, A Hazard of Hearts, The Pied Piper, Last Days Of Summer.

Natalie Grady – Ann Taylor Theatre includes: Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Storyhouse Chester), Brassed Off (Oldham Coliseum), Marth, Josie and The Chinese Elvis (Hull Truck), To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent’s Park Theatre/ UK Tour), Hobson’s Choice (Bolton Octagon). Television Includes: Hollyoaks, Snatch, Trollied, Endeavour, 6 Wives, Coronation Street, Doctors, Jam and Jerusalem.

Marcus Hutton – Understudy Marcus trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Theatre includes: Private Lives (Nottingham Playhouse), Naomi (The Gate), Slave Island, Don Juan (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Wolsey Ipswich), Crusade (Theatre Royal Stratford East), She Stoops to Conquer (Oxford Stage Company), Tis Pity She’s a Whore (Exeter Northcott), Tess of the D’urbevilles (Horseshoe Basingstoke), Flags and Bandages (Colchester Mercury), Reeling (New Vic Productions), The Lady from the Sea (Portlands Playhouse), Secrets of Cherry on the Run (Riverside Studios), Table Manners (UK Tour), Sound of Murder (UK Tour), Dial M for Murder (UK Tour), Kiss Chase (UK Tour), The Ghost and Mrs Muir (UK Tour), Dangerous Obsession (UK Tour), Suddenly at Home (UK Tour), Jeckyll and Hyde (UK Tour), What the Butler Saw (UK Tour), The Wind in the Willows (UK Tour). Film includes: Made in Dagenham, I’m Here, Cycle, Deep in the Woods, The Dark Channel, The Wager, Framed, Grandma.Television includes: Midsomer Murders, Making Beach, Holby City, Dr Who, Love Hurts, Lovejoy, Diana: Her True Story, A Class Act, The New Professionals, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Crocodile Shoes, Smack The Pony, Hollyoaks, Brookside. Marcus is a founder member of the Radio City Theatre Company.

Ian Houghton – Armagh, Ambulance Man, Ensemble Theatre includes: War Horse (New London Theatre), This House (West End), The Audience, Yes, Prime Minister (Gielgud Theatre), Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (UK Tour), The Best Man (UK Tour), Boeing Boeing (UK Tour), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (Old Red Lion), Unrestless (Old Vic New Voices), What’s Wrong with Angry? (King’s Head) Moonlight and Magnolias (Hertford Theatre), Woman in Mind, Oliver! (Gordon Craig Theatre) Decade (Theatre503), Art, Gagarin Way, Journey’s End, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, The Government Inspector, Incorruptible, Absurd Person Singular, Noises Off (The Company of Players). Television includes: Harley and the Davidsons, Mr. Selfridge, Eastenders, Call the Midwife, The Great Outdoors, Waking the Dead, MI High and Moving Wallpaper. Film includes: RocknRolla and Breaking and Entering.

David Hounslow – Joe Harper Theatre includes: This House (National Theatre/Chichester Festival Theatre/West End), The Fall Of The Master Builder (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Queen Coal (Sheffield Crucible), The Empty Quarter (Hampstead Theatre), Way Upstream (Salisbury Playhouse), Too Much Pressure (Coventry Begrade), Warm (Theatre 503), Billy Liar (Liverpool Playhouse), Tamburlaine (Bristol Old Vic/Barbican), A Night At The Dogs (Soho Theatre), The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice (Royal Exchange Manchester), Holes In The Skin (Chichester), Dealer’s Choice, My Night With Reg, Perpetua, First Person Shooter, (Birmingham Rep), Tales From Hollywood, Privates On Parade (Donmar Warehouse), Alcestis (Northern Broadsides), All of You Mine, A Question Of Mercy (Bush Theatre), Othello, Henry V, Coriolanus, The Wives Excuse, Zenobia (Royal Shakespeare Company), Bent (National Theatre/West End), Fuente Ovejuna (National Theatre), Macbeth, Billy Budd (Sheffield Crucible), Our Boys (Cockpit), Treasure Island (Farnham Redgrave), The Snowman (Leicester Haymarket). Film includes: London Kills Me, Captives, Fever Pitch, The Man Who Knew Too Little, I Want You, Tabloid TV, The Flying Scotsman, The International, Defining Fay, Ginger and Rosa, Peterloo. Television includes: The Unknown Soldier, Coronation Street, Othello, Children of the North, Gone to the Dogs, The Bill, Resnick, True Crimes, Minder, Bad Company, Under The Hammer, Anna Lee, Soldier Soldier, Deadly Crack, The Cinder Path, Chandler and Co., Six Sides of Coogan, Crimes and Punishment, Turning World, Is It Legal, Peak Practice, A Wing and a Prayer, Dangerfield, Playing the Field, The Unknown Soldier, Bugs, Within Living Memory ,Casualty, Eastenders, City Central, Bomber, Always and Everyone, Peak Practice, Silent Witness, North Square, Doctors, Heartbeat, London’s Burning, Margery & Gladys, Ultimate Force, Crisis Command, Blackpool, Holby City, The Brief, Doctors, Robin Hood, Jekyll, Dalziel And Pascoe, Is This Love?, Coronation Street, Little Miss Jocelyn, MI High, Dead Set, Bonekickers, Waking The Dead, Spooks IX, Homefront, Foyle’s War, The Bletchley Circle II, Emmerdale, Moving On, Bad Move.

Harry Kershaw – Paddington South/Chelmsford/South Ayrshire/Henley/Merioneth/Coventry North West/Rushcliffe/Perry Barr & Ensemble Harry trained at RADA. Theatre includes: Mischief Movie Night (Arts Theatre), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (West End/UK Tour), The Play That Goes Wrong (West End), One Man Two Guvnors (West End), The Circle Game (Old Vic New Voices).Television includes: Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Christmas Special), Supreme Tweeter, The Interceptor, Omid Djalili’s Little Cracker, Switch, Cuckoo, Wallander, Endeavour. Film includes: Unhappy Campers, Exhibition, Unrelated, Blue Monday, Great Expectations, Skyfall, Rufus Stone, The Date.

Louise Ludgate – Rochester & Chatham/Welwyn & Hatfield/Coventry Sount West/Ilford North/Lady Batley & Ensemble Theatre includes: Iron (Traverse/Royal Court) Lanark, Sub Rosa (Citizen’s Theatre), Sex and Drugs, Greta, Class Act, First Bite (Traverse Theatre), The House of Bernada Alba, Little Otik, Macbeth, Realism, Home (National Theatre of Scotland), Strawgirl, The Adoptive Papers (Royal Exchange Manchester), Trojan Women (Tobacco Factory), World Domination, Resurrection, The Course of True Love (Oran Mor Theatre), When The Dons Were Kings, Guilty, the Course of True Love, Fishwrap (The Lemon Tree), Jeff Koons (UK Tour), Balgay Hill (Dundee Rep), 13 Sunken Years (Assembly Rooms/Finnish National Theatre). Film includes: City of the Blind, Swung, No Man’s Land, Goodbye Happy Ending, Café Rendevous, The Last Ten Minutes. Television includes: River City, Freedom, Taggart, Kissing Tickling and Being Bored, High Times, Sea of Souls, The Key, Spooks, Tinsel Town, Glasgow Kiss, Robert Burns ‘Alive and Kicking’.

Geoffrey Lumb – Clockmaker/Peebles/Redditch/Stirlingshire West/Clerk & Ensemble Geoffrey trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre includes: Vice Versa, Coriolanus, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, King John, Shrew, The American Pilot, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC), King Charles III (UK tour/Australia), Much Ado About Nothing (Lamb Players), Macbeth, Twelfth Night (Filter Theatre Company), Prophesy, Macbeth (Baz Theatre Productions), Fitzrovia Radio Hour Tour (UK tour), Chekhov in Hell (Soho Theatre/Drum Plymouth), Romeo and Juliet (US Tour), Rendezvous with Fear (Fitzrovia Radio Hour), His Dark Materials (Birmingham Rep/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Rendition Monologues (Bridewell Theatre/Queen Elizabeth Hall), The Changeling, Twelfth Night (English Touring Theatre), Hansel & Gretel (Northampton Theatre Royal). Television includes: Holby City, 24: Live Another Day, Doctors, Hollyoaks, Luther, Europe’s Secret Armies. Film includes: Paddington 2

Nicholas Lumley – Oxshott/Belfast West/St Helens & Ensemble Nicholas read Law at Newcastle University before training at the Bristol Old Vic. Theatre includes: Dr Faustus, Don Quixote, Beaux Stratagem, Midsummer Nights Dream, Kiss Me Kate (RSC), Great Britain, NT 50, The Magistrate, After The Dance, Never So Good, Afterlife (National Theatre), Timon of Athens (Young Vic), Sergeant Musgraves Dance, Richard II (Old Vic), Tyne (Live Theatre), Pitman Painters (Royal National Theatre/ UK Tour); Close The Coalhouse Door (UK Tour), Much Ado about Nothing (Wyndhams Theatre), The Company Man (Orange Tree Theatre) Porridge (UK Tour), Looking for Buddy (Live Theatre, Newcastle/Bolton Octagon), The Sound of Music (Apollo Victoria), The Canterbury Tales (Garrick Theatre), Chorus of Disapproval (Lyric Theatre),The Bakers Wife, Richard II, Richard III (Phoenix Theatre), Bellman’s Opera (The Pit), Brighton Rock (Almeida), Little Voice, Rope (Watermill), Oleanna, Educating Rita (Salisbury Playhouse). Television includes: Downton Abbey, Houdini and Doyle, Doc Martin, Parade’s End, Vera, George Gently, Enid, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, The Bill, Lovejoy, Kavanagh QC, Wycliffe, Catherine Cookson’s The Secret, Holby City, Crossroads, Wilderness, Eastenders, Coronation Street, Derailed. Films include: Peterloo, Where Hands Touch, Paddington 2, Lady Macbeth, Winterflight, Stormy Monday Goal!, Right Hand Drive, Across the Universe.

Martin Marquez – Bob Mellish Theatre includes: Husbands & Sons, Anything Goes, Loves Labour’s Lost, Mother Courage & Her Children (National Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, Imogen (Shakespeare’s Globe), Ah, Wilderness (Young Vic), Cleansed, Identical Twins (Royal Court Theatre), Fool For Love, Front Page (Donmar Warehouse), The Iceman Cometh (The Old Vic), Snowball (Hampstead Theatre) Gondoliers, I Caught My Death In Venice, Insignificance, Pal Joey (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Crucible, Don Juan, Of Mice and Men (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Brothers Marquez (Soho Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Nottingham Playhouse), Before I Leave (National Theatre of Wales), Blasted (Sheffield Theatres), From Here To Eternity (Eternity Productions Ltd), 4 Knights in Knaresborough (Tricycle), Asylum (Queen Elizabeth Hall), Biloxi Blues (Library Manchester), Boeing Boeing (UK Tour) The Dark Side of Buffoon, The Sea (Belgrade Theatre). Film includes: After Louise, Girl on a Bicycle, A Louder Silence, Les Miserables, The Business.Television includes: The Crown, New Tricks, Elizabeth, Empire, Hotel Babylon, Lead Balloon, Dead Pixels, Bounty Hunter, Modus, Decline and Fall, Suntrap, The Javone Prince Show, The Job Lot, Woody, Vera, Knifeman, Benidorm, The Whale, Twenty Twelve, Falcon – Blind Man of Seville, Holy Flying Circus, Eastenders, Heartbeat, Dirty Tricks, The Plastic Man, Murder Most Horrid, The Bill, In Suspicious Circumstances.

Matthew Pidgeon – Jack Weatherill Theatre includes: This House (Chichester/West End/National Theatre), Salome (RSC), The James Plays (National Theatre of Scotland UK/World Tour), Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies (RSC/Aldwych Theatre/Broadway), Edward II (National Theatre), Midsummer (Traverse Theatre/World Tour), Much Ado About Nothing, The Mysteries (Shakespeare’s Globe), Kyoto (Traverse Theatre) The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Realism, Caledonia (National Theatre of Scotland) The Lying Kind (The Royal Court), The Cherry Orchard, The Wizard of Oz, Vanity Fair, Pinocchio, The Glass Menagerie (Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh). Television includes: Taggart, Casualty, Holby. Film includes: Daphne, The Winslow Boy, State and Main, A Shot at Glory.

Miles Richardson – Speaker Act I/Mansfield/Serjeant at Arms Act II/West Lothian & Ensemble Miles graduated from Arts Educational Drama Collage in 1982, winning the Best Actor award. Theatre includes: Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Newcastle Rep) Another Country (Queens) Romeo & Juliet (Ludlow Festival) Wilfred, A Midsummer Nights Dream, An Inspector Calls, The Contractor (Birmingham Rep) Othello (Theatr Clwyd) Private Lives (Theatre Royal York) Richard II & Richard III (UK Tour) An Evening with Gary Lineker (Lyric) The Seagull (Bromley) Journeys End (Kings Head) Charley’s Aunt, The Three Musketeers (Canizzaro Park) The Picture of Dorian Gray (Westminster Theatre) The Three Musketeers (UK Tour) Romeo & Juliet (Hull Truck) Wuthering Heights, Cause Celebre, First Class Passengers (Pitlochry) The Invisible Man (Stratford East/Vaudeville Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre) Candida, The Lovers, Playing Sinatra (New End) Lulu (Almeida/Kennedy Center, Washington DC) A Doll’s House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Warwick) The Rivals (Wimbledon) The Moment of Truth, Dear Brutus (Southwark Playhouse), Anjin: The Shogun and the English Samurai (Tokyo/Sadler’s Wells), 12 Angry Men (Garrick Theatre), King Charles the Third (Wyndhams Theatre/Broadway) King John (Rose Theatre Kingston) Sleuth (Nottingham) Loves Labours Lost, All’s Well That Ends Well, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Volpone, Henry IV pt1, Henry IV pt2, Henry V, Henry VI pt1, Henry VI pt2, Henry VI pt3, Richard III (RSC). Television includes: Elizabeth, Highlander, Byron, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The King Must Die, Porterhouse Blue, Allo,Allo, The Brief, Cambridge Spies, Miss Marple, Doctors, Upstairs Downstairs, Dirk Gently, Doctor Who, Jo, Midsomer Murders, Dancing on the Edge, Sick Note, Lucan, Genius, The Crown. Film includes: Maurice, Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Best Offer, Beat Girl, The Remains of the Day, Flushed away, A Princess for Christmas, Mindgame, Their Finest, A Quiet Passion, The Colour of Magic, Big Pants, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sabotage, Titanic, Peterloo, The Queen of Spain.

Tony Turner – Michael Cocks Theatre includes: Ink (Almeida/West End) This House (National Theatre/Chichester/West End), The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night Time (West End) Burnt by the Sun, Her Naked Skin, Present Laughter, Playing With Fire, The UN Inspector (National Theatre), Measure for Measure, Big White Fog, Enemies (Almeida Theatre), The House of Special Purpose (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Damned United (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Derby Theatre), The School for Scheming (Orange Tree Theatre) Journey’s End (UK Tour/West End), Personal Enemy (Brits Off Broadway), One Night In November (Belgrade Theatre), The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs (Salisbury Playhouse), Mad World My Masters, Neville’s Island (New Wolsey), Madness of George III (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Birmingham Rep), The Danny Crowe Show (Bush Theatre), Christmas Carol (Stoke New Vic), Talent (Colchester Mercury/Watford Palace Theatre), Communicating Doors (Manchester Library Theatre), Macbeth, Othello (Liverpool Everyman), Romeo and Juliet (Birmingham Rep). Television includes: Delicious, WPC 56, Call The Midwife, Downton Abbey, Loving Miss Hatto, Holby City, Silk, Doctors, Andrew Osler, Maxwell, Party Animals, Gavin & Stacey, Trial & Retribution XIII, Foyle’s War, Derailed, Eyes Down, Red Carp, Coronation Street, Children’s Ward, September Song.

Orlando Wells – Walsall North/Plymouth Sutton/Serjeant at Arms Act I/Speaker Act II/Caernarfon/Clerk & Ensemble Orlando trained at LAMDA. Theatre includes: This House (Chichester Festival Theatre/West End), Noises Off, Tonight at 8:30 (English Touring Theatre), The Woman In Black (Fortune Theatre), Katrina (Bargehouse, South Bank), Our Country’s Good (Watermill), The History Boys (National Theatre), Pirandello’s Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Modernists (Sheffield Crucible), The Tempest (Plymouth Theatre Royal), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, Anthony and Cleopatra (RSC), Treehouses (Northcott Exeter), Deathrap (Vienna’s English Theatre), The Journey of Mary Kelly (Theatre Clwyd). Television includes: Father Brown, Casualty, Holby City, A Very British Sex Scandal, Doctors, Nowhere Left to Hide, Living the Quake, The Machioness Disaster, Slave Dynasty, As If, Trust, A Rather English Marriage, Killer Net, Mosley, After the War. Film includes: The King’s Speech, Midsummer Madness, Zemanovaload, Wilde. Orlando is also a writer for Theatre and Television.

Charlotte Worthing – Understudy Charlotte trained at Oxford School of Drama and East 15 Acting School. Theatre includes Princess Charming (Spun Glass Theatre and Ovalhouse Theatre), These Trees Are Made Of Blood (Arcola Theatre and Southwark Playhouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Young Shakespeare Company), Twelfth Night (Open Bar Theatre Company), The Absolute Truth About Absolutely Everything (Camden People’s Theatre), The Wind in the Willows (Open Book Theatre Company), The Just So Stories (National Tour for Red Table Theatre Company), Little Pieces of Gold (Theatre503), Wait (Arcola Theatre), The Wasabi Nut (National Theatre of Scotland). Film includes Here and Now, Souljacker, Coincidence. Television includes Panorama.

Creatives

James Graham won the Pearson Playwriting Bursary in 2006 and went on to win the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play of 2007 for Eden’s Empire. His upcoming and recent plays include The Culture – A Farce in Two Acts for Hull Truck Theatre, Quiz (Chichester Festival Theatre, transferring to the West End this spring), Labour of Love (West End), Ink (Almeida and West End), Monster Raving Loony (Theatre Royal, Plymouth), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Finding Neverland (American Repertory Theater), The Angry Brigade (Theatre Royal, Plymouth and The Bush) and Privacy (Donmar Warehouse). His television credits include the award-winning Coalition (Channel 4) and his film credits include X+Y (BBC Films).

Jeremy Herrin is Artistic Director of Headlong, for which he has directed Labour of Love (a Headlong and Michael Grandage Company co-production), Junkyard (Bristol Old Vic/Theatr Clwyd/Rose Theatre Kingston), Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (UK Tour), The Absence of War (UK Tour) and The Nether (at the Royal Court and in the West End). For the National Theatre his directing credits include Common (A co-production with Headlong), The Plough and the Stars (co-directed with Howard Davies), People, Places & Things (A co-production with Headlong which transferred to the West End, toured the UK tour and played a sold out run at St Ann’s Warehouse, New York in 2017), This House (Olivier nomination for Best Director), which transferred to Chichester Festival Theatre and the West End in a co-production with Headlong, and Statement of Regret. For the RSC he directed the world premiere of Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, which transferred to the West End in May 2014 and Broadway in March 2015 and for which he won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director and was nominated for an Olivier and Tony Award.

Jonathan O’Boyle’s credits include: Pippin (Southwark Playhouse/Hope Mill Theatre), Dear Brutus (Southwark Playhouse), Hair (Hope Mill Theatre/The Vaults), Four Play, Sense of an Ending, Water Under the Board (Theatre503), Bash Latterday Plays (Trafalgar Studios/Old Red Lion), The Surplus, All The Ways To Say Goodbye (Young Vic), The Verb, ‘To Love’, Made in Britain (Old Red Lion), Broken Glass (Central School of Speech and Drama), Last Online Today, Guinea Pigs (Crucible New Writers’ Project, Sheffield Crucible Studio), The Monster Bride (Tristan Bates Theatre). Associate Director Credits include: An American in Paris (Dominion Theatre), This House (Chichester Festival Theatre/West End), The Judas Kiss (Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto/Brooklyn Academy of Music), Mack and Mabel (Chichester Festival Theatre/UK Tour), Bull (Young Vic), This Is My Family (Sheffield Lyceum/UK Tour). Assistant Director credits include: The Scottsboro Boys (Young Vic). Jonathan was selected as one of the Guardian’s Rising Stage Stars of 2014.

About Headlong Headlong creates exhilarating contemporary theatre: a provocative mix of innovative new writing, reimagined classics and influential twentieth-century plays that illuminate our world.

Headlong is one of the most ambitious & exciting theatre companies in the world. We make bold, innovative productions with some of the UK’s finest artists. We take these industry leading, award-winning shows around the country & beyond, in theatres & online, attracting new audiences of all ages & backgrounds. We engage as deeply as we can with these communities & this helps us become better at what we do.

Productions have included Labour of Love (Noël Coward Theatre), People, Places & Things (National Theatre/West End/UK Tour/New York), The House They Grew Up In (Chichester Festival Theatre), Common (National Theatre), Junkyard (Bristol Old Vic, Theatr Clwyd and Rose Theatre Kingston), This House (Chichester Festival Theatre and West End), Pygmalion (UK tour), Boys Will Be Boys (Bush Theatre), 1984 (UK and international tours and West End), The Nether (Royal Court Theatre and West End), American Psycho (Almeida and Broadway), Chimerica (Almeida and West End), and Enron (UK tour, West End and Broadway).

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/this-house-on-tour

http://ift.tt/2DXZMmF London Theatre 1

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April 27th, 2020

We have a new lineup of livestream programs to enjoy from home! We look forward to when we can have visitors again, but in the meantime we have really enjoyed providing these livestreams programs. We will continue to schedule livestream programming even after we open at least once each week. We’re also working on a Digital Membership option! Stay tuned!

Here are this week’s events:

April 28th at 2 PM EST: The Cold War Join Marie Walker and Glen Kyle as they discuss the Cold War during this livestream program from the Cottrell Digital Studio. Marie and Glen will take your questions at the end. Great for all ages!

April 29th at 2 PM EST: The American Revolution Historian Glen Kyle presents a livestream program for all ages about the American Revolution with reproduction items, costumes, weapons, and more! Glen will take your questions from the chat near the end.

April 30th at 2 PM EST: The American Frontier Historian Glen Kyle presents a livestream program on the western expansion of the United States and life on the frontier. Great for all ages!

May 1st at 2 PM EST: Laura Ingalls Wilder Meet the author of Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, during this historic character performance. Amy Beaucham, portraying Wilder, and historian Glen Kyle will take your questions from the chat at the end! Great for all ages.

In 1891, twelve women in Athens, Georgia founded the first official garden club in the United States. The Ladies Garden Club of Athens met at the home of Mrs. E. K. Lumpkin to socialize, learn the best practices for home gardening, and to spread the love of gardening and nature to the general public. In an edition of Garden Gateways Yearbook from 1936, the club is said to have been, “thrown open to every lady in the city who might be interested in learning to grow anything ‘from cabbage to chrysanthemum.”

The cover of a pamphlet about the Ladies' Garden Club Athens, Georgia by NICHOLSON, Mrs. Madison G. Nicholson

Since that day in 1891, garden clubs became popular, and by 1928 the Garden Club of Georgia had formed in Atlanta. Like many garden clubs, there were initiatives to beautify the community. Efforts included lobbying to have a landscape engineer in the highway state department, funding statewide horticultural scholarships, encouraging the creation of “Victory Gardens” during World War 2, therapeutic gardening programs for psychiatric hospitals, and creating anti-littering campaigns.

Photograph of Springhill Garden Club flower display, Cobb County, Georgia, 1938. Source

In an edition of the Athens Daily Banner in 1897, an article reviewing a flower show produced by the Ladies Garden Club of Athens noted the following:

“The beautiful display of Chrysanthemums shown by Mr. J. E. Jackson, of Gainesville. The handsome rubber plant of Mrs. M. Myers, a perfect beauty. The Hibiscus belonging to Mrs. J. M. Hodgeon, the largest in the south. The stage and auditorium filled with beautiful decorative plants belonging to Mrs. S. P. Thurmond...” Many more are detailed in the article. You can read them all at this link.

Today there are many ways to appreciate what the founder’s of the original garden club loved so dearly. You can visit the Founders Garden in Athens, Georgia which honors those original 12 members of the Ladies Garden Club of Athens. Athens is also home to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia which has several gardens (including a wonderful Children’s Garden) and provides educational programming throughout the year. Here in Gainesville, Georgia you can visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Gainesville site which provides programming throughout the year. Be sure to check for updates on openings though during social distancing. We look forward to enjoying these gardens and more in the future!

This week From the Archives, we are highlighting the work of a local photographer who captured many citizens of Gainesville, Georgia and local events in the early 1900s. W. J. Ramsey was a prominent photographer in Gainesville, Georgia and many of the photos in our archives are Mr. Ramsey's work out in the field and inside his studio. His son, Otto Ramsey, continued the family photography business through the 1940s. If your family's history goes back to the 1920s in Gainesville, you may have a Ramsey photo yourself!

A promotional calendar for Ramsey's business from 1908

A young boy in military-style clothing stands for his portrait inside the Ramsey studio

One of our favorite Ramsey portraits of a woman from the 1920s

A young football player poses for his portrait

A Boy Scout Troop poses for a photo by Ramsey outside his studio in 1914

A color photo by Otto Ramsey sometime in the 1940s

A color photo by Otto Ramsey of two pet dogs sometime in the 1940s