Monday 6th February, 2012

Late again. I got a bit caught up with Wales’ victory on Sunday [BBC Sport article: External Link]. I was a bundle of nerves before hand and not much use to man nor beast afterwards. It was one of the most entertaining, nail-biting games I’ve seen (I type, as if I remember further back than five minutes ago) and was definitely the best of the weekend, despite two sin-binnings.

Further six nations round up: France beat Italy (but Italy look like they have the form to bloody some noses this season) and England beat Scotland (and it’s unlikely the Scots will ever hear the end of it).

In other news, we had a little bit of snow on Saturday afternoon and evening:

Finn in the snow

Extra points if you can also spot the ball

About 5 centimetres (2 inches in old money) with deeper drifts in places. Finn spent our Sunday walk checking out how well his camouflage works or rolling in it. To my disgust, I didn’t manage to get any photos of him with all four paws in the air and looking like a numpty. He was too quick at getting back on his feet when he saw the mobile phone come out. Has he finally worked out that photos are usually intended as blackmail material?

Sunday 4th December, 2012

Two Dragons

"Forward, Upward, Onward, Together" - whether we like it or not

Well, to the left is my latest drawing attempt. You may recognise the original photo. The quote underneath is from the Bahamian coat of arms. It seemed appropriate. I don’t think my control is getting that much better – but, then, I’m effectively only putting an hour or week or so. Whether I’ll make anything more of it? It depends on how long my interest keeps up.

In writing, the latest news is that my story Beaumains is now up in the last issue of Crossed Genres [External Link]. While I’m disappointed that the ezine side of things is closing, I hope CG get the success they deserve with the other projects the team are working on. I’m also very proud to be in their last issue – if only because it means they picked me (me!) and I’ve been in an issue each year they published.

A short rugby detour: Yes, I watched Wales v. Australia. A good match and Shane Williams retired from International level with flair. But I think it will be just as interesting to see how the number 10 shirt pans out as how Wales play post-Shane. I would be very disappointed for the longer-serving Stephen Jones to leave the scene due to not being selected rather than through choice, and without the same kind of send off.

So, it’s officially Advent and it’s okay to talk about Christmas within my hearing. Anything before December 1st (except for actually buying the presents as people on my twitter feed know) and I just get grumpy.

Of course, this also means that advent calendars have taken over the world again. You can find the annual, short fiction-y goodness through the TTA Press site [External Link]. I shall be up on Day 8 but every day’s will be good for a coffee break. Let me know of any others that are up and running this year and I’ll pass the details along next catch-up.

And, as I tend to post videos at this time of year, here’s another one. It’s not a Christmas-y one, though. It’s one I found of last year’s SWASH as SWASH 2012 has officially opened for registration. Get your tickets while they’re hot, folks! [External Link]

Sunday 23rd October, 2011

I have a confession. I didn’t get out of bed until the second half of the (Rugby Union) World Cup final. So my first act of the day was to turn on the tv, my second was to see the score and my third was realising I’d just shouted “Come on, you black bastards!” at my tv. I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or Finn. I’d expected to be able to cheer for France. Apparently not. However, it was a good game and France had a decent crack at it. If it’s any consolation, Finn cheered for France – France played in white, Finn can identify white shirts and knows white shirts should hold the ball. Players in any other colour, if he’s paying attention, are to be growled at. With respect to Wales’ battle for third place (which they lost), I watched the first ten minutes of kick-off, went to work late and kept the BBC blow-by-blow page open while I worked. I get the impression it wasn’t a great game. By the time I know the score, however, I’ve lost all desire to watch replays, highlights or even commentary. And that’s probably the last rugby commentary you’ll read from me until February.

(There are other things on the periphery of rugby that I’d quite like to mention, but I haven’t really refined what I want to say properly. Maybe some other time because, unfortunately, the attitudes I’d like to discuss are going nowhere.)

Finn in Rugby Shirt

So, what are the rules again?

In the unrelated-to-rugby news, I got some more parts for one of my Knight Shop [External Link] wasters – as you may have noticed. So far, so good.

I also made a few attempts at using a Wacom Bamboo Touch [External Link] that has come into my possession. I actually bought it for my dad’s Christmas present last year, as he likes to work on his photos. I thought he might find it easier than a mouse. However, he’s decided he doesn’t want it and has given it back. I’m trying to work out if I’ll actually use it for anything. It also opens up a world of opportunity for Christmas present buying. Although I admit to buying films and albums that I would like to see or hear as well, I’ve never considered just out-right buying something I want and waiting for it to come back! You can see my third attempt with it to the left. I’ve basically just traced an existing photo of Finn and coloured it in.

In terms of writing, I’m polishing off a couple of short story drafts. I had intended them both to be posted on the site but one of them has turned into a full-length piece of short fiction rather than a flash. I’m considering what to do with it while avoiding working on 25 Ways to Kill A Werewolf or The Three Guineveres. I’m still waiting for feedback on the first and further work on the latter is on hold until I’ve got that redrafting out the way. Oh, and until I’ve finished redecorating the spare bedroom. I found myself stripping wallpaper on Friday night as something of a distraction technique. With that, the sorting out of the garden for winter and wondering whether to do some serious blogging, I think I’m pretty much distracted.

Sunday 15th October, 2011

Well, it looks like today’s a rant blog-type post about rugby, cultural identity and unfairness. Anyone who has followed the World Cup – particularly the Wales games – can probably guess where this is going. But for those of you who don’t:

Just the Facts, Ma’am

This will get more link heavy later but the short short version is:

  1. About twenty minutes into the France – Wales semi-final of the 2011 World Cup, the Welsh captain, Sam Warburton, was sent off with a red card (i.e. banned) for a dangerous tackle. You can see a film of the tackle here: [External Link]. In order to keep it as neutral as possible, I’ve managed to find the replay from the actual half-time breakdown – although please be aware that the pundits actually come down very much in Warburton’s favour.
  2. Wales went on to lose the match with a final score of 9-8. This breaks down into three penalties for France and one try (unconverted) and a penalty for Wales.

Establishing the base-line

This is my blog and I’m going to show you this through my eyes. Although by now I’ve had well over 24 hours to have a look at the situation and reconsider my initial urge to challenge the referee to a duel. That said, I need to explain where I’m coming from and why this is a matter of cultural identity for the fans as much as it is about the actual game rules. So…

I’m a mongrel. Admittedly all British and not much darker than a saucer of milk, but I am a mongrel and fairly proud of it (there’s a tattoo to prove it that I’m going to mention again later). Anyone who’s been involved in the genealogy stuff or read any of it will know about my amusement and pride in being from “all over”. I was also born outside of the UK (and even the British Isles). I’ve never really belonged to any one place. I’m honorary “Yorkshire” because that’s where I now live and grew up on the edge of it – which is the closest you’ll ever hear me get to saying I’m English, because I’m not. I’m British. (If anyone ever asks me in Welsh where I come from, I fully intend to practice the sentence “Dw i’n dod o’r Hen Ogledd”, no matter how pretentious it sounds.)

My English friends and relatives – and it’s not consistent throughout the family which nation people say they belong to, we’re mongrels, after all – have questioned the use of “British” in the past. To them, it’s either the same or a nonsense as I speak with a Northern English accent and live here.

“Them and Us” and why everyone hates the English

The thing about the Home Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus a few other islands who have some semi-independence: Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark) taken together is that we like to bicker. There’s nothing that gets us going quite like having an argument with the fellas from the next valley, which leaves us open to easy distraction: “Hey, look! Your neighbour’s stealing your sheep! Ignore this invading army I have with me!” It’s a principle called “Divide and Conquer” and it’s worked very well on us since the Romans dragged us kicking and screaming into recorded history. It probably worked pretty well on us beforehand but, as any historian will tell you, we don’t have any sources that prove it.

It’s behind well known rivalries such as the various North-South divides, and Lancashire v. Yorkshire. I would be willing to put money on the resentments being based on history most of us don’t even get taught, being far enough back to be considered irrelevant. However, what pisses everybody off the most is the “London is the centre of the world” approach of the media. It’s bad enough that politics and the legislators seem to think this without the news coverage agreeing with them.

ASIDE: Seriously, dudes, multiple parliaments? British parliament, not English parliament? What part of your anatomy did you engage, because it sure as Hell wasn’t your brains. Why didn’t you just say that English MPs can only vote on English or UK matters, Scottish on Scottish and UK and Welsh on Welsh and UK? I accept that Northern Ireland is a special case (very special) and that people like to have their own, local buildings (who wouldn’t) but current set-up? Weirdos…

To illustrate my point about the media and even the most impartial of British media, the BBC, fall foul of this one.

As a general rule, “National Media” – for which read stuff based in London that is supposed to cover the whole UK but tends to talk almost exclusively about England – tends to cover only… well, England. You would not believe the column inches that go into examining the minutiae of English teams and management and film-stars. Or maybe you would if you follow gossip columns. It’s rare, though, for them to go on about other Home Nation teams, management, etc to the same degree.

Basically, anyone who is winning or succeeding, whether at sport or business, is English or British (depending on their Home Nation). It has been known for a few people to confuse them on occasion, being claimed when there is no particular right to them. (i.e. Barry McGuigan, from the Republic of Ireland but sometimes competed for Northern Ireland and took on British Citizenship, thanks to Simon McGrory for that fact!). Film stars are British or English roses, studs or talents. Business men are wealthy British or English people, or talented English or British entrepreneurs. Even if they never return to these fair shores again.

Then, of course, the inevitable failure – because no one wins all the time. So the star becomes the “dour Scot”, the “poor Welshman”, or the “unfortunate Irishman”. Not even the English escape this downgrading as those from the regions can become the “poor Yorkshireman”, the “unlucky West Countryman” and so on. They sometimes even remember that it’s the England and Wales Cricket Board (and team). This is assuming anything important enough for the Londoners to pay attention to is happening. After all, it took three or four days for the BBC to swing behind the Wales rugby team, even with Chris Evans banging on about it every morning.

There’s nothing like sport, of course, for bringing out this behaviour. In the case in point, almost as soon as the whistle blew for full-time, the BBC web-site was declaring “Wales crash out of the World Cup”. Excuse me? a loss by only one point does not equate to “crashing out”. Of course, the BBC website can be considered a living document. Headlines and content changes somewhat over time. Within a couple of hours, the content including talk about “gallant Welshmen” (they fought hard for 60 minutes with one less player on the pitch). The latest version [External Link] has swung back to a more middle ground, impartial view. Or it was at the time of blogging.

Sam Warburton’s value with the BBC has likewise done a bit of changing [External Link]. Initially there was quiet surprise that he had been red carded, then quiet support and now quiet condemnation as he’s been officially declared in breach of game rules (more on that later).

Finally, people are also starting to figure out that there were other opportunities in the game that were missed. There were a few kicks that could have made the one or two point difference. Most of us – the people I talk to about rugby scores – have agreed this already but now the media, or at least the BBC, have mentioned it. But, following the “official breach” bit, we just wonder if it’s to distract us: [External Link]. It’s easy to believe in conspiracy theories when you don’t want to believe in unprofessional or stupid behaviour.

I try not to fall into the whole trap of resenting three-quarters of my grandparents’ contribution to my heritage. This is why I have a tattoo of the Welsh Dragon and the English Dragon / Wyrm (the Old English term) on my back. While the Welsh mythology has them fighting until one becomes the victor, to me it’s a reminder that I have both inside of me – that I should be as proud of the English roots as the Welsh – but it’s bloody difficult come any type of sporting event.

Sports are industries, too

So, you have that need for “Them and Us” and you have the media exploiting it and you have… yet another industry set up to make money out of tribalism. Sports have people baying for blood in a way that governments haven’t managed to perfect, to date. I get a bit smug about supporting a sport that tends to have the violence on pitch so the fans don’t have to bother, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen at all.

Anyway, like any industry police, the International Rugby Board (IRB) and their refs are supposed to be impartial and enforce the rules. But what did I learn from this weekend?

  1. Impartiality doesn’t matter – or more precisely the appearance thereof. Alain Rolland, the referee for the France – Wales game, is probably a great fella and was totally impartial on the outcome. However, his employees / the IRB should never created a situation where it could have been questioned. To explain for those who don’t know, Mr Rolland is a half-French Irishman and Wales beat Ireland last week. Like I said, I don’t actually think Mr Rolland was particularly partial to the French. His penalties aside from the red card did not favour any side over another. The red card only favoured the French because it left the Welsh a man down, not because it was flourished with intent. But he shouldn’t have been there because that’s the first thing any Welsh fan or player or member of team management would counter with in any situation. This is not something that should arise. Ever.
  2. Consistency doesn’t matter If the Environment Agency tried something like this on in my industry (waste), there would be an uproar and rightly so. The IRB rules favour the red card for dangerous tackles. The rules have been in discussion since the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005, when Brian O’Driscoll was injured by a spear tackle, and were put into force sometime after, I think 2008. However, they haven’t been fully enforced, with tackles that would qualify being yellow carded (sin-binned for ten minutes) throughout most of that period and definitely the 2011 World Cup. Watch that linked video again at the top and now you’ll understand what the pundits are talking about. This rule should have been enforced this strongly from the beginning of the tournament or this infringement should have been dealt with in the same manner as past infringements in this same tournament – with some public announcement afterwards that this would change.
  3. Credibility doesn’t matter To give them their due, the IRB did announce they were going to crack down on the infringements – but just before the semis. This is unfair because it’s not consistent (see above). In doing this, the IRB have behaved unprofessionally themselves (note that this is not really the referee that’s at fault as he behaved according to the rules and to some degree not the player, who did not plan this tackle to go this way) in responding to their employee’s earlier laxness. There will be no (public) enquiry into these other referees’ behaviour, or Mr Rolland’s, and there will be no publicly acknowledged punishment. There will be no rematches or adjustment of outcome because having a player sent off for the whole game changes the whole situation. This has all come about because the IRB want to be seen as credible but all they’ve done is confuse everyone involved – and turn two people into scapegoats, one for them and one for the Welsh supporters.

Sunday 9th October, 2011

It’s been an interesting week. Not quite as interesting as the ancient curse but we’re getting there, if only because the technician who works on my sites has handed in his notice and I’m currently staring down a doubled workload. To counter balance this, I’ve had to fit fourteen unspent holidays into the last quarter of 2011, so I’ll be working four day weeks for the next couple of months or so. I still have two days left over that I haven’t worked out what to do with.

Of course, my weekend started fantastically well because Wales made it through to the semi-finals of the rugby (union) World Cup. Not only that but the game against Ireland was actually worth getting up at six o’clock in the morning for. They will be playing France at the much more reasonable time (for me) of nine am. We’ll ignore the fact that this means the slightly less reasonable time of nine pm for the actual players…

Right, so back to website round-ups. As mentioned last week, I’ve got around to sorting out the swords and wasters I haven’t yet put on site, so that’s:

I’m considering putting a post together with the basic fencing kit (i.e. clothes) that I use, so that you have an idea of what we consider the minimum for the SSSSheffield [External Link]. However, the thought also makes me feel guilty as there’s more kit I need to buy, such as if I ever want to free-play with longsword wasters (aside from the wasters).

I also mentioned some ideas I was working on, didn’t I? Well, I’ve done the first draft of one and I’m looking at another two. I expected them all to be flash ideas and thus suitable for the site but the first one’s gone on a bit longer than expected (by about 2500 words). And, yes, I’m still basically killing time with some small projects while I wait for notes on 25 Ways. I have another long project wanting to be worked on and The Three Guineveres demanding to be let out, but I can’t afford to take them on if those notes are going to turn up soon. Bah!

Sunday 2nd October, 2011

Well, welcome to the new site design. You may notice it’s a WordPress [External Link] site using the Graphene [External Link], with a small amount of tweaking to get things displayed how I want, where I want. More information and the usual rough guide to how the site works on The Site page.

Because of the WordPress “preferred” structure – it’s designed for dynamic content, or blogging to thee and me – I’m more likely to be blogging myself intermittently. Except I’ll try not to. As you know, I’m not a big fan of expressing my opinions that much, I just think it should be taken as read that I’m liberal. What I will end up putting on here is more of the world-building and background ideas for existing worlds and ideas I’m working on. I have a couple of things to write up about on the Alex Jones’ world that would have made it onto the page as used in the older site, if I hadn’t changed, and these might make it up on the new version some time this week.

Whether or not the Site Diary type entires will continue… Well, I hope so. I like having a round-up of changes, even if some of them are very small. It’s been quite interesting reading back through the old entries – I’ve even rescued the stuff from the 2007-2009 Yahoo! Geocities design – as I’ve been putting them on to this incarnation. In fact, I learnt five things:

  1. It’s been a while since a short story acceptance – must try harder!
  2. It’s been a while since I put up a new story on site – I have a couple of ideas so that might change in the next few months.
  3. The Boy and His Dog makes me cry – I remember having a few difficulties writing it in the first place because the dog is actually, specifically, the pup I had before Finn. Unfortunately, Sid couldn’t be reconstructed following his own traffic accident. Reading the story through now, well, what can I say? I’m a cry-baby.
  4. Reading my posts from Wales’ 2008 Triple Crown and Grand Slam (Six Nations) wins makes me smile – even though I didn’t post much about the actual rugby, it made me smile remembering what was going on off-computer-screen. Almost as much as today’s victory (BBC News, Rugby World Cup 2011: Fiji 0-66 Wales [External Link]. Yes, it was well worth getting up for!
  5. I owe you some photos of my Armour Class [External Link] Pappenheimer – and a few other bits and pieces in my weapons bag. I’ve reinstated more of the swords section and I hope to add some more photos / sword data. I’m also thinking of doing a post on basic kit and then additional kit as and when I buy it – if only because it gives you an idea of what SSSSheffield [External Link] uses.

Sunday 20th March, 2011

Not much to say, this week.

The writing work is only tinkering, really, with nothing major going on. Although I’ve made a bit of progress with The Three Guineveres, I haven’t picked it up again properly. I’ll keep working on it until another idea comes along or I can no longer find the will to continue. If I ever get it finished, it’s going to be a very wordy beast.

For those who care: Super Saturday (the last day of the Six Nations) was… bum numbing. It started with two hours of watching Scotland prove a point to Italy, a half hour break and then Ireland made the same point a little more emphatically to England, then a bit longer break and Wales failed to make any point at all to France. So England won the competition but have not won the Grand Slam (a clean sweep) or the Triple Crown (beaten all the other Home Nations), Wales, who were almost in a position to win after Ireland thumbed their noses at England, came fourth on the table. It’s like that when there are only six teams involved.

It’s the birthday weekend, next week, so I may or may not post on time. Don’t bother with search parties if I don’t surface for another fortnight!

Sunday 13th March, 2011

Another short writing update, for a change.

Having got into the habit of working on writing just about every evening, I found myself putting together the first draft of a new short story, currently under the working title of A Granted Wish. I’ve put it under the Stand Alone list but will bore you with more interesting background information on it (if I remember) once it’s been alpha read by Foxie [External Link].

No news on 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf (for those who don’t know a novel set in the Alex Jones’ world) except that first impressions are favourable. Several of the readers have told me that they are enjoying / have enjoyed it but the critiquing has yet to start. This means there is definitely no chance of getting anything together for the Angry Robot Books’ [External Link] open submissions (March 31st deadline) but I’d rather get things right than send it off half-baked.

And, assuming my evening writing habits continue, expect to see me making comments about The Three Guineveres over the next few months. I’ve finally picked up producing the first draft of this stand alone novel again. I’m not sure how far or fast it will progress but the general story arc is basically already set out as it borrows heavily from different sections of Arthuriana. Only with steam engines and Hadrian’s Wall and multiverses and… Yeah, okay, it’s a bit over the top.

For those who care: the weekend rugby has been a complete run of “they were so close”. Italy pulled off an amazing win over France (Wow!), Wales got lucky and just beat Ireland (Yay!), England beat Scotland but it was a close run thing (Noooooooooooo!).

Sunday 27th February, 2011

What was I doing again?

It’s one of those times when work seems to be a bit manic. Basically my work has several annual reporting periods – to the Environment Agency [External Link] no less – and February is the time get the Pollution Inventory stuff together and put into their online forms. No further comment on the reporting process / the EA / work. Well, for today, anyway.

As I type this, I’m also waiting for some buns to finish baking. Not a euphemism. I’ve been working on what I now call my “bitter orange” recipe, i.e. buns for growed ups, for the last few weeks but have a niece-friendly version in the oven to take round for the family dinner. The adult version involves dark chocolate chips, orange rind and grated root ginger, none of which she likes. Still, she’s only four / almost five, so she’s got plenty of time to develop some taste!

And the bit you’ve all been waiting for, I’m sure. 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf (see the Alex Jones’ page) is almost complete, at least in first draft form. I have the last werewolf to slay and am also gradually working through the notes from my alpha reader, Foxie [External Link]. Which means I shall soon need beta readers – and preferably quick readers, at that, in order to have something I can submit to the Angry Robot Books’ [External Link] open submissions (March 31st deadline). If you have time and are interested, send me a DM or a message (from whatever online platform you choose).

My 6 Nations Rugby weekend summary:

  1. Yay for the Welsh!
  2. Dammit, I wanted the French to win!
  3. Come on the Irish (in a few minutes)!
  4. /

Sunday 13th February, 2011

A repeat heads-up for SWASH 2011 [External Link] and a little about writing.

Exactly as I said last week: I shall be at SWASH 2011 [External Link] at Leeds Royal Armouries on the weekend February 19th & 20th. More precisely, I shall be stooging (being an instructor’s sidekick and whipping boy) for the “Small Sword dis-arms” session on the Saturday, the instructor being Simon McGrory from the Sheffield SSS [External Link]. Entrance to the sessions and talks at SWASH is charged but members of the public will actually be able to observe the training sessions. If you’re at all interested in taking up fencing, sport or historical, or any other western martial art for that matter, it’s well worth a look.

It shouldn’t affect the website update next weekend.

In 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf news (world info on the Alex Jones’ page), I am down to the last five werewolves to kill. So I continue with the “Almost there! Woot!”. I might even get the first draft finished for the end of February. And the way I’ve been writing it means a lot of the niggles that usually get worked on in the second draft have already been sorted. But there are still plenty of spelling mistakes and plot-holes to fill, I’m sure, so I’m not promising I can get everything done for the end of March and the end of the Angry Robot Books’ [External Link] open submissions. On the other hand, they only ask for the first 5 chapters and standard synopsis-type materials, so I should be able to get that up to final draft standard. Once the story arc is nailed down, it’s just tweaking. (You do realise this is all bravado, right?)

Okay, I’m off to go cheer for Ireland against France to complete my rugby weekend. The summary so far for this weekend: Bad luck Italy, stonkingly well done England (and I managed not to boo and hiss, and everything!); Bad luck Scotland, yay the boys in red!

And, yes, I didn’t mention it last weekend because I was still sulking about the Wales-England opener. Yes, sulking. Now stop reminding me about it or I’ll sulk some more.