FF:WA I HAVE RETURNED...not that anyone noticed my departure...

Just to let y'all know that after a month's absence in various parts of Europe, I am back to cause more trouble than ever before.

That is all.

 

yay! Kneel before him you worthless scum!
(I only consider you scum compared to Sainty!...... yeah- you see how you scum!)

 

Yay! How was the trip? What happened to my post-card? You better have bought presents to make up for your absence.

 

Actually it's probably cheaper to buy water in Australia than in any part of Europe.

The trip was awesome; all parts of Italy; a day in London (and seeing 'The Producers' at a West End theatre; two days in France (and Michelle and I getting our portraits done by an artist in Montmatre); and then three sweeeet days in Scotland!

I did look around for sporrens, F_A, but honestly, they'd be just as expensive to buy here with the exchange rates at around $3.00 for one English pound. Also, I couldn't locate good spots to buy broadswords in the limited time I had; the Royal Mile is just too touristy to find anything balanced, let alone cheap. However, I did get a couple of nice shots of castles, and I picked up a DVD specifically on the lifestyle, dress, and weaponry of the Highlanders, made by the Scots themselves. I also learned (more or less) how to fold my own greatkilt with a five-metre by 2.5 metre stretch of cloth. The guy who taught me was a member of a mountain rescue team, struck me as both tough and half-cracked (given he actually prefers his kilt for these missions), and also displayed at least five ways to kill a person with a Lochaber axe depending on how you're feeling. A guy by the name of Ryan Campbell on our tour actually volunteered as his 'target dummy' ... after which our demonstrator revealed he was a MacDonald.

There was no blood...thank God.

 

I thought you were just supposed to lie the kilt on the ground and roll into it.
Glad you enjoyed yourself, we'll have to catch up some time. (Soup's back on night shift, and a different roster to last time, so we can't get to CotS )

 

Sounds like the trip was a blast dude.

I had a co-worker (A Macdonald) who refused to speak to me when he found out I was a Campbell, but before he found out we got along wonderfully.

 

Mmmph. There're still signs above the bar in Glencoe: "No hawkers or Campbells."

And a story is told of an American tourist who had no idea about the whole Campbell thing who rocked into Glencoe one night after deciding he needed to stop driving that day. On announcing his name the innkeeper announced they had no rooms available, to which the tourist replied "But I'm tired and I need a place to sleep," to which the innkeeper is said to have replied "That's what ya said in 1690, ya sneaky Campbell b**tard!"

 

yay saint's back!!

gonna have to meet up real soon so you can share further adventure stories, good sir

 

Oh indeed! Wait'll you hear about how the Italians drive...and how I learned to drive in Italy.

 

ooh lucky. I didn't dare do that myself. Though the bus driver my family and I had was a lunatic anyway

 

Campbell? I don't get it.......

 

It's a little piece of history, Nat I'll allow Saintheart to explain it further

 

*clears throat*

The year is 1690. Scotland is at a crossroads of its history. The king, James VI, has demanded that all the heads of the highland clans swear their loyalty to him by a particular date. Many clan chiefs are reluctant if not hostile to the idea, mostly because James is a Protestant king and they're staunchly Catholic. But eventually nearly all the Scots swear loyalty...mostly on the basis that their homes will be burned to the ground if they don't.

The leader of the clan MacDonald decides to slight the English king by swearing loyalty on the last day of the deadline. Unfortunately, he's misinformed as to where he has to swear allegiance and misses the deadline by four days.

Now, the MacDonalds were feuding with the Campbell clan at the time. Don't even bother asking me why; I don't know. But the English king basically obtains the assistance of the Campbells to go and mete out some punishment for the upstart and rebel clan MacDonald. The English demand that every man below the age of 70 in the clan MacDonald must die.

That's not what annoys highlanders about Campbells, though. To understand that, you have to realise there was an unwritten rule--stronger than law--at the time in the highlands that if a stranger came to your door in foul weather asking for a room for the night, you had to give him shelter. This was pure survival at its heart. The Highland Rule of Hospitality was respected up and down the mountains.

When the Campbells and their English supporters turned up to Glencoe, which was where the MacDonalds lived, a fierce snowstorm blew in, and they asked for shelter from the MacDonalds. Though the Campbells were the MacDonalds' enemies, they were admitted entrance and given shelter. They stayed with the MacDonalds for two weeks against the storm, in the MacDonalds' beds, eating their food, and so on. Eventually, a further order from the king arrived, demanding to know whether the MacDonalds had been dispatched.

So at 5:00 a.m. one morning, the Campbells and English got up, grabbed their weapons, and started shooting and skewering the MacDonalds, their hosts, in their beds. The first to die was the clan chief who'd slighted the English king. The Campbells also lit beacons at the top and bottom of the valley, so when the MacDonalds emerged hearing the shooting start, they ran towards the bonfires and were gunned down. Those who did escape the shooting tried to flee up the slopes of Glencoe. In the middle of a storm. In subzero temperatures. 40 died of gunfire and stab wounds. 80 died in the hills afterward.

After that the Highland rule of hospitality was forever broken, and the story's been told from generation to generation. The Campbells were hated in the highlands after that...and hence the "No Campbells" sign above the door.

 

Ahhhh. Thanks. Gladly, none of this pertains to me.

 

I knew there was bad blood but I did not know any details. Might have to read into it, sounds interesting.

 

Don't worry. The McDonalds got revenge by spreading crap food all over the world!

 

Not if Mr. Subway can help it

 

Turn up to COTS Sunday last You did NOT! Jetlag, Jedi at Jetlag laugh they should!
Dedication this show a lack of!
Tell Anybody who the list regularly reading is not you did NOT!
I hope Enjoy your self you did!
Important More, much More, Michelle, Hope she did!
(you're just a tall strong handsome semi scot who looks good in kilt, but she is a Lady)(I dare you to disagree cause if you do, I will teeellll her)

Boomshanka and Later
R

 

is anyone else scared now?

 

Well I, for one, am worried.

And it wasn't just the jetlag that made me miss COTS on Sunday. I had a trial to prepare for which then collapsed on the Monday. I was...sort of impressed.

That's the first time someone's called me a half-Scot...I'm honoured.

Oh, I also managed to get some closeups of the quillions and handles of the claymores they still have in Edinburgh Castle. Funky. The tour even took us to Culloden, where I learned exactly how stupid Bonnie Prince Charlie was. "Hm. Our main advantage is running downhill from a treeline over open ground at a column of men who haven't got into fixed positions yet. Nah, that'll never work. Instead, let's charge at fixed cannons over 300 metres of open ground covered in heather, brush, and all kinds of bad stuff to run through!"