Up yours!

It's Beer Can Appreciation Day, y'all! 
This needs to be celebrated accordingly - and, apart from the obvious way... 

(...which I, as a responsible adult, do most definitely not endorse, pinky swear...)

*cough*

...I thought this would make the perfect excuse to try that funky recipe that makes not only beer, but the humble can itself, the true star of the process. 
And yes, I'm talking about Beer Can Chicken - or, as the most baffling of YouTubers would say, "il pollo con la birra nel culo". Uh... please don't bother Google-translating that. 

Now even if you don't speak Italian (and, believe me, in this particular instance you're better off not understanding a word of it), the video should give you a fairly good idea of how it's done. 
In the end, though, I ended up picking this recipe - from How Sweet It Is once again, big surprise -  which is a lot easier, and doesn't require a syringe... nor veggies. Ewww, veggies. 

Aaand here it is... 

                                        

As you can see, I used a Radler-type thingie (for the tee-totalers out there: that would be a lemon-flavoured beer) that I would never ever drink, but actually works fine with the citrus slices in this recipe. 
Taste aside, it was one of those slim, high cans and as such it was a perfect choice for the job at hand.

The chicken ended up wonderful, with crispy, slightly spicy skin and incredibly tender and juicy meat (although, let's be honest, the skin is what you should be excited about if you're at all human). 

I know, many of you will be too grossed out by the idea of putting a beer can "up there", be it because of that horrific urban legend about the guy who died by drinking from a can that was contaminated by rat pee, or beacause you're worried about the can itself releasing chemicals in your food.  

Needless to say, I washed the can with the utmost care before the, ah, insertion. 

As for the possibility that the print on the can might be harmful... I'm no chemist, but I'm not that concerned tbh. So many people have done this and survived, and I'm not going to eat beer can chicken every day, either.

In the end, of course, it's going to be your call. But if you're willing to push out of your comfort zone a little, give this thing a try. It's awesome!

I'll be honest: even now I can't look at the pics in this post without thinking of such choice pearls of SF as Ed Bryant's Dancing Chickens, or  Snuff Movie by Nicoletta Vallorani.
(No I'm not linking these short stories. I read both years ago, and I'm still scarred. They are not for the queasy, and once read you definitely can't un-read them. You've been warned.)

So... yeah, I had my doubts too, but in all honesty the chicken turned out so perfect that this recipe's a keeper. 
I think children would love it as well, since I remember how dryness was my main issue with poultry as a kid, and the beer makes even the breast meat really tender. 

Oh, and one last word of advice: remember Murphy's Law is at work, always. Meaning: no matter what you do, the chicken will want to topple. 
Place your can in an old pan, and place the pan on a larger sheet pan - you definitely don't want your oven flooded with beer and bird grease! 

I can stop worrying now...

...as I've been told at last that the Spider-Man cake I've been fretting about over the last two days survived a whole night in the office's makeshift fridge, a bumpy hour-long car trip to Arona, and the heat of a summer day in the delightful Piedmontese lakeside town. 

My colleague was kind enough to send me this pic she snapped with her smartphone...

Unfortunately she didn't take any photo of the cut cake, so once again I can't show you how it looked inside. But she did say the kids loved it, and she herself found it pretty good. 

Gotta love it when a plan comes together!

Awesome tips from teh Interweb

The Internet is teeming with creativity and enthusiasm. To any blogger out there, this must be a given fact. 

I know it is to me, and delving into it and embracing its openness - usually in its nerdiest declinations, be it fanart or fanfiction or my very own playgrounds, crafting and baking - is my favourite way to restore my sometimes dwindling love for, and fascination with, people in general. 

Sure, there's bound to be the occasional riot, usually about a few persistent sore spots such as intellectual property etc. 

A famous, well-respected creative guru snapping at the online community for no discernible reason is sure to elicit lots of drama, and from time to time the issue of "Internet envy" is resurrected (and discussed ad nauseam) as one "pro" blogger or the other is knocked off the pedestal. 

We all have our ego and there's no denying that.

Still, the blogosphere at large is made of generous, dedicated people who selflessly share their breakthroughs without any thought of getting something in return. 

As perusers, we easily recognize the effort that goes into developing a recipe from scratch, and admire the creativity of a whole new design or presentation. Such skills may even get the blogger some well-deserved recognition. 

There are times, though, when a blogger's credit lies in sharing tips, tricks and tutorials. Such contributions won't cause anyone to drop their jaw in wonderment, and most of the times we'd be hard-pressed to remember whom we got them from. Yet their tips we put to use again and again, until we come to recognize that "something I read somewhere on the Internet" made our life much easier.        

Those people are the real, unsung heroes of the online community, much as good teachers (mind you, the key word here is good) tend to be in the "real" world. 

Today I'm going to showcase a few instances were a trick I read online taught me a better or easier way to do something. 

I could list many more ofc, but this is enough for one post!

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Let's start with my favourite - a comprehensive article about how to bake the perfect potato! 

Baking potatoes, now, is one of those skills that are usually taken for granted, like roasting  a chicken or boiling eggs. Anyone knows how to do it, but oh so few know how to do it well - and the lucky few, they might not even be aware of how big a difference it makes, and how precious their knowledge would be to the rest of us. They'll probably tell you they "do it the usual way" like their Ma used to, and that will be that. 

Back to our potatoes - the article I linked might sound overkill, but it really takes all the guesswork out of baking them. Thanks to it, my baked potatoes have gone from "good enough" to "simply perfect every single time" - and given my utter love of potatoes, this is saying something! 

(I swear there are potatoes under all the melty cheese btw. As for the crocheted Rincewind mousie, that's just me being my usual geeky self...)

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Aaand... it's potatoes again! Seriously, I can't get enough of them!
My trip to England back in November did nothing to assuage my baked potatoes obsession, this much I can tell you!

Whereas the previous trick works well with huge potatoes that will turn all nice and fluffy in the oven, this one from Closet Cooking is perfect for very small ones, and makes them delightfully crispy. You only need to pick your poison!

All but one of the potatoes I used were the purple variety btw, but once boiled they turned a dull grey. They taste every bit as good as the regular ones, but next time I won't bother with the li'l pricey beasts - they're just not worth it!

Also, there is no bacon on my potatoes OMG. I must have been out of my mind. 
But, I sprinkled crunchy fried onion crisps on top. Can we still be friends? Pwetty pwease? 

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For our next awesome tip we move away from potatoes, and on to pizza! Or rather, French bread pizza - three words that most of my fellow Italians wouldn't be able to pronounce without sneering, provided of course that they knew what they mean.
I do, as a matter of fact, like it better than regular pizza, which tends to be much of a hit-or-miss thing with me - I'll either love it altogether, or utterly despise it. 

Here's where the catch is, I guess: I can get crazy demanding before I grant my seal of approval to a regular pizza, whereas all I ask of its French bread-based cousin is for the bread itself not to be all soggy and yukky. 
Easier said than done, though - one might be lead to believe that a nasty, damp crust is the price to be paid for taking a shortcut instead of making your own dough. 

Well, no more! Because Mel, a self-professed soggybreadphobe, found out a way to prevent such plague, and was good enough to share it with the world. 
I have made French bread pizza "her way" twice, and it turned out perfect both times! 

First time around I used homemade garlicky cauliflower sauce as a base, then topped it all with crumbled Stilton, some leftover Gouda, and of course bacon...

...while the second time I got a bit lazy (lazier, that is!) and used a storebought tomato/aubergine condiment, which I then rounded up nicely with aged Cheddar cheese and more aubergines in oil.

Needless to say, I liked the cheesier one better! 

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Easter is nearly upon us, so this is the perfect time to introduce this awesome guide to stealing candy!

Kids everywhere should raise their praise to Jessie Oleson Moore, the CakeSpy's secret identity. 
Dessert scholar and artist extraordinaire (I should know - I own one of her paintings! HA!), she has also been an accomplished candy thief since childhood. Who would have guessed?
Then again, candy stealing is a form of art in itself... 

See? No indication of tampering whatsoever!

In conscience, though, I'm not sure it is right to teach kids how to steal candy. It is, understand... the ethics of it that I question. 

Because frankly, if a kiddo aged six or more needs online tutoring on the matter, he/she simply does not deserve candy. 
My generation sure needed no such prompting! Why, we were more than capable of coming up with three different plans in a single afternoon!

I'm sorry about this, but I really think there's much to be said for ancient Sparta's approach to pedagogy. (*)

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Finally, two tips that need no pic-posting on my part, because they're pretty much self-explanatory: 

- How to boil eggs perfectly, every time. I stated before it's more easily said than done, but The Kitchn comes to the rescue... time tables and everything!

- How to peel bananas like monkeys do. Not much to add, really. Ooooook! 

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DISCLAIMER: I am of course aware that plenty of similar tutorials are popping up on other blogs and on Pinterest. I have no way of knowing which one came first - nor the steam to try and ascertain it, frankly. 
So while I can in no way guarantee that the ones I linked are THE Ur-posts about each respective topic, this is where I picked the tips up from first, so it is to their authors that I'll be forever grateful for many delicious lunches to come!

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(*)  Now before the International Educators Commitee sends in the thugs, or some righteous mom flames me in the comments: it's called irony, peeps. Give it a try sometimes!

Gluten-Free Buckwheat/Almond Meal "Patronus" Cake

It's Gluten-Free Week over at the Kitchen Overlord's place, which was a tough theme for me - I'm neither celiac not gluten-intolerant, thus I've never been overly motivated to research this particular branch of cooking. 

Closest I ever got was half-heartedly baking a couple things for a colleague who is mildly sensitive to gluten (and doesn't even love sweets that much, I might add), but in those instances I merely bought the outrageously expensive specialty "flour" that comes with starch and metyl cellulose and stuff already mixed in. 

Buckwheat flour, though - it's a waning ingredient, yet it is rooted deep enough in the Italian tradition (in Piedmont especially) that even I have done a bit of experimenting with it in the past. I love it because of its distinctive, very rustic quality - absence of gluten notwithstanding!

This cake uses buckwheat as its main "grain", plus almond meal and chopped, toasted almonds for added body and texture. Although whipped egg whites are folded in the batter for a bit more volume, it doesn't rise much - but if you like your cakes dense, hearty and nutty, you'll enjoy it for sure. Even if you're no celiac, I promise!

Please head HERE for the full recipe!

(I gave my cake a stenciled stag/buck head in honour of Harry Potter's Patronus btw. Cheeky, or what?)

The Internet is for CORN!

First things first: if the title of this post sounds puzzling, you've been missing out on the most hilarious musical ever. I hate to be the one to tell you, but it's true. 

It's called Avenue Q, and you should if nothing else become familiar with this song... 

HA! Told you so!

...Wait, what are you saying? You only surf the Internet for recipes? 

Sheesh, sure thing. 

Look, I'm pointing you to a few favourite ones anyway. And what you do afterwards is entirely your business. Deal?

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Let's start with soup, although this baby is so ridiculously thick with cheese (and goobed up with bacon!) that you'll want to cross your fingers behind your back when calling it such. 

Now if you aspire to be regarded as a savvy surfer of the vast foodie ocean, you should have surmised already that a Cheesy Corn Chowder with Bacon + Gorgonzola can only be a creation of Jessica, the genius behind How Sweet It Is. 

I sang her praises already in a previous post, so instead of hearing me harp on about how awesome she is, how about you jump to her blog directly, and see for yourself? 

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Next comes a revamped version of the traditional Shepherd's Pie... only I had to look it up online to discover it is, basically, a meat pie with a crust of mashed potatoes. 

It sounds yummy, and to me it would be exotic enough even in its plain version, but this Southwest Shepherd we're dealing with here has chorizo in it, and spices, and sweet potatoes all over the place. And corn, of course!

Now this dish, it's more delicious than pretty - and it was delicious despite the fact that I threw into it the black chorizo I bought by mistake back in December, while completely smashed because of all the sample chupitos I had chugged. 

I think it makes the ideal lunchbox fodder: you can plop a frozen square into your box, and give it a quick zap in the microwave to warm it up when you're ready to eat - and hey presto, you have a satisfying, filling, and shockingly balanced meal! (Pumpkin bread buns are a wonderful complement btw...)

Kita Roberts a.k.a. Girl Carnivore is actually better known as Pass the Sushi, but like the dedicated carnivore that she is - and boy, do I love her for this reason alone, in this age of vegan nonsense! - she felt the need to run a separate blog for all things meat, plus the occasional fish. Me likey!

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Last but not least, this Scalloped Corn Bread - which is not even close to bread, honestly; much more like, a frittata with stuff thrown in.
Soooo confusing... but so good! 

This crazy mash-up of canned cream-style corn, crushed saltines and eggs makes for a perfect, quick-and-dirty side dish that you can whip together easily with ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry at all times. 
(Me, I'll admit I used pretzels instead of the saltines, since I was all out of them - still awesome!)

I stumbled upon a promising pic of it on Pinterest, and immediately set out to trace the recipe all the way back to Created by Diane. 
I am a newcomer to that particular blog, so I still don't know much about its hostess - except that, duh, she's called Diane! - but if her Scalloped Corn Bread is any indication of the average quality of the stuff she puts out, I think I can safely assume I'll be a regular in no time!

Diane's family apparently has a tradition of eating her "bread" during the holidays, but I found it to be a perfectly viable option for everyday occasions. 
It freezes wonderfully (which kind of surprised me, as egg-based things so often turn gummy in the freezer), and if you pre-cut it into smallish squares, brownie-like, it's a very handy way to round out your luncheon at work. 
A couple squares of it were enough to turn my Adobo-marinated steak into a single course I wouldn't be ashamed to serve to a guest - except I gobbled it all down myself in this instance, it was that good! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes, yes, I know.

It is an empty, sad, commercial, possibly chauvinistic "holiday" that the florists lobby made up to force hapless guys into buying bunches of long-stemmed red roses at the exchange rate of gold. 

Still, we are supposed to get chocolates as well, which is one thing I can't find fault with. 

So... may your admirers provide you with yummy treats today!

One way or another... 

Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!

Get out, Devil! Come in, Happiness! 

- Traditional Setsubun formula

Granted, the traditional Japanese wish may sound a tad dodgy, coming - as it is - from one who picked a mischievous li'l fire demon (*) as her online persona (and who isn't even Asian, for heaven's sake!)

But, well, I kind of like the whole Setsubun symbology. And since I haven't posted anything on New Year's Day, I will blatantly exploit this holiday (as well as the beginning of the Lunar Year of the Horse three days ago) to catch up on the kind of stuff that normal people post on January 2nd. And no, I don't mean "detox" or "skinny" recipes. Ewwww, the very idea!

(*)  Have you seen the new pic in my profile btw? It's by one of my favourite DeviantArt members, and I love it more than I can explain. Isn't it the sweetest thing ever?

Image belongs to YamPuff @ http://yampuff.deviantart.com

 Now the reason why I commissioned a (literally!) sparkling new avatar, is that I am now seriously considering baking for a living. Not as my primary job maybe (not yet, at last), but hey... why not? 

 

I won't go into my working situation here, because it would be a long ramble which wouldn't probably even make sense to those of you who live in a less ludicrous country than Italy, but I have reasons to fear that the company I work for will undergo some serious pruning two years from now. Mind you - I say "fear" because this job is still my main source of income at the moment, but I almost hope for the worst to happen, since I'm too chicken to willingly quit a position I despise, and that is slowly seeping every ounce of energy, joy, and creativity out of me. 

 

So... for the time being, I am proceeding at baby steps. I am now a member of Con.Pa.It, the Italian bakers' federation. I am gathering information about the legal requirements for opening my own business. And above all, I'm slowly working up my courage.  

 

This very blog, unassuming as it is, has been a huge factor in my attempt to build up my confidence. At the same time, though, there have been times when the mere thought of having to dig out my camera, stop every few minutes to snap WIP pics, clean the mess on my table for the "hero shot", and edit the photos afterwards - it has been enough to dissuade me from trying some new idea right away. 

There might be a problem there because, you see, if I ever take the plunge and turn my hobby into a proper job, I'll have to deal with the "boring" stuff - administration, balances and what have you - on a daily basis. Which, knowing myself, might very well kill all the passion I put into baking. 

 

So, what am I going to do? Wait and see, as they say. 

In two years' time I will be turning 40, and that sounds as good a time as any to change my life for good... 

Hogswatch 2013 report - part 4

(Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3)


Writing from London right now, and once again picking up from where I left off yesterday - which means, the SAUSAGE SUPPER!
Of the three pubs in Wincanton, we had been assigned to The Dolphin, a charming blue-and-white building...

I'm dreadfully sorry I took no pics of the sausages themselves (which is so unlike me, now that I think about it)... but, to be totally frank with you guys, I was too busy eating them. What can I say? They were delightful, and well worth the wait! 
I got a flagon of a really nice dry cider too, while poor sweetie touched no booze at all, since the legal blood alcohol level for driving in the UK is an uncompromising 0% - plus, he's getting pretty paranoid about driving "the British way" tbh!

Right afterwards we hopped back to The Bear for a couple hours of naughty fun! 
It was nothing too ribald, really; just plenty of adult jokes. The main hostess of the show was bubbly and bodacious and all around awesome - I have such a huge girl crush on her!

This morning we relished our last breakfast at The Half Moon Inn, and by now we were pretty much aware of our fellow vacationers' identity. Some of them we had seen cosplaying even!

And, as always happens when I must leave a vacation place I've loved, I felt a little heartbreak right there. I snapped some more pics to remember it by, and the guy at the bar was nice enough to present me with a bag of pork scratchings (LOL!)

The other chips I bought myself btw. Expect a T&T post soon(ish)!

The last day of the convention run pretty smoothly, with everyone in town by now accustomed to guards and wizards and barbarians running to and fro, or the sight of DEATH's scythe propped casually against a wall.

Some of the guys we had met yesterday brought us on a tour of the nerdiest block in Wincanton, where even the street names mirror those of Ankh-Morpork...

...then there was more acting at the Memorial Hall, plus the Charity Auction that was a real delight to watch, if nothing else because the auctioneer was the only Brit I had no trouble at all understanding. He was also nice and funny, and really turned what might have resulted in the most boring event in the program - the one you wish you could skip but don't dare to, because Ewwww, come on, it's for charity! - into a veritable highlight. 

After that we headed back to The Bear - for the last time, alas! - where I got the most delightful pumpkin soup with a hint of curry, but still no pie. Sigh!

It would have been time for us to drive back to London if we were to return the rental car on time, but the next scheduled event was going to be a cake competition, and... well, you understand. 
 Plus, uncontrolled voices floating around were hinting at the chance of another visit by The Man Himself... and I knew how much meeting him meant to hun. To me as well, of course, but he'd been so crushed at our missed opportunity yesterday (although he'd sooner lose his tongue than admit such a thing), and anyway I had been vieing for a way to throw him in Mr Pratchett's general vicinity. 

So, in short, I kept rambling about teh cakes and how we owed so much money to the rental already that we could as well pay for an extra day. And, sure enough, we stayed.
And, weeeell... 

OhmygoshIcan'teven. 
I am SO glad I was a little manipulative - fine, fine, let's make it a lot - because we now share a happy memory that I daresay will stay with us for a very long time. Just look at the two of us, the huge grins on our faces! 

This would be, I suppose, the point where you're expecting me to tell you about when and how it was that I read my first Discworld novel, and what meeting my favourite author felt like. Only I won't, mainly because it's complicated. 
My first literary brush with Terry Pratchett is a bit of a vexata quaestio. And, technically, he's not my favourite author; that would be Neil Gaiman - whom I met twice and in both instances approached with respect and trepidation, as the one that in my eyes incarnates perfection in writing. 
Gaiman is, and will always be, my favourite writer - but Pratchett, he's one of my favourite people in the world. I stood speechless with sheer admiration in Gaiman's presence, whereas in Pratchett's I was tempted to give him a big hug, and maybe cry a little on his shoulder. Neil is the master I look up to; Terry is the wise old uncle I wish I had. One made me a better critic, as well as an even more passionate reader; the other played a huge part in making me... me, for better or for worse. 
I'm not sure I can explain it any better than this, nor that I'd want to anyway. 

It was getting truly late though, so we reluctantly gave up on the closing events, greeted our new friends, and went to recover the blasted rental car. Turns up we'd been fined for leaving it parked for longer than we were supposed to... but honestly, we were way past minding at that point!

We are now staying in the tiniest hotel room ever - seriously, there's no room to swing a cat in, as the locals are fond of saying - and we're feeling rather peckish. 
So we're planning to look for an Indian restaurant or something, then go stick our noses around King's Cross station - it's where Platform 9 3/4 is supposed to be, folks! - and have a nice sleep, to recharge our energies for the long trip back tomorrow...


 

Hogswatch 2013 report - part 3

(Part 1 - Part 2)

It's beginning to look a lot like Hogswatch for sure!

But, before delving into this day's recap, I need to tell you what we did yesterday evening, after we came back from Stonehenge.
Which was, basically, heading back to The Bear Inn... where I ate another fish & chips (which was good, but not as delightful as the one I got from The Bridge IMHO) and sampled a nice pint of red ale while waiting for the reading to start. 

Eating at a pub in the evening is a different beast altogether btw, nothing at all like our restaurants in Italy. For one, you can stay for as long as you wish, even if you're done eating - I saw a lady who was happily knitting a scarf, and no one bothered her at all about that. 
Also, people you don't know in the slightest will think nothing of sitting down at your table and chatting away... which was real fun on the occasion, as all the people in there were obviously Pratchett fans, but - well, it takes some getting used to. 

The "Cautionary Tales" turned out to be a fun reading of a choice of short stories from A Blink of the Screen - good think I was already familiar with the collection too, because my grasp of spoken English is - how to put it? - somewhat disheartening for one who's been studying the language for most of her life. Ouch!

We left before it ended though, because we were so darn tired both of us... 

...which brings us back to the current day!

Our B&B in Horsington has filled up nicely for the weekend, so much so that we've been moved to a larger room for breakfast this morning - could it mean that all the (apparently normal) people around us were fellow geeks? We surely were wondering... 

Once in Wincanton, we had another go at The Cat Cafe - hun had a grudge against their fudge cake, I guess, since he was determined to demolish another chunk of it - then got ready to rock!

Unsurprisingly, the Discworld Emporium was super crowded, and the first brave cosplayers were in full regalia already... 

...but, we were done with our purchases (my budget's dwindling!) so we went to see the Makers Market instead. I've taken no pictures of it but, in a nutshell, it was an area where the artistically inclined were selling their Discworld-inspired creations. 

I bought tons of stuff from a two-people-company called Cowleys Fine Food, specializing in historically correct food i.e. meat and fish jerky, fruit leathers, and anything dried or smoked. 
They had "rats on a stick" for sale, both plain and ketchup-flavoured (LOL)... but also a whole line of horse jerkys under the hilarious name My Brittle Pony, dried llama strips - you can bet I got those, too! - and more yummy things such as absinthe-spiked marzipan. Squee!

Back to The Bear we went, for lunch - alas, no chance of a pie for today... - and Discworld-inspired games. 
Turns out those evil masterminds from the Emporium had set up a table in there too, so even while I managed to stay away from the shop itself, I still ended up buying more stuff. But hey, I'm not complaining - I was able to purchase a Vetinari miniature, so all is peachy indeed!

The other highlight of the event was Mr Peter Dennis, the guy who illustrated, among other things, the Ankh-Morpork guide and its even geekier counterpart, the iPad app (gotta LOVE IT btw!)

The picture alone won't suffice to describe it - this guy was just sitting there, at his impromptu art station amid all the craziness, blissfully inking a super-intricated, oh-so-detailed drawing while chatting away with fans OMG!

I could have watched him for hours! As it were, though, we had to run to the Memorial Hall for the main events, including the cosplay parade, some sort of variety show, a lecture about The Folklore of Hogswatch - and a chance to meet Terry Pratchett himself!

By that point the convention was in full swing, with lots of cosplayers...

...and, uh - chances to make new friends?

Well, anyway. The costumes were great fun. You'll have to take my word for that, unfortunately - I gave up trying to photograph the parade because of the time it took for my crappy camera to put things into focus.

What followed was a super-concentrated recounting of every Discworld book up to now, and God help me, it was so spoiler-dense I just turned off the language-processing part of my brain there and then, and tried my best to just sit still and make bubbles until it was over.

The variety show was fun, too! The Seamstresses' choir especially made me giggle a lot, because I have the mind of a twelve years old and rejoice in double entendres. 
(I kind of hoped to upload it here for you all to enjoy, but buggy Blogger won't let me. Drat!)

But, what of Sir Pratchett? 

He was there indeed, and was so nice as to invite fans to have a little personal chat with him. Only there were so many of us that there was no way he could talk to everyone, so all we saw of him was a retreating top hat... 

Still, it felt strangely touching to even catch a glimpse of him, and the audience as a whole plainly shared the feeling. 

I've been to quite a few conventions in the past, mostly SF-centered (oh what the heck, I'm talking trekkies, 'nkay?) but the athmosphere here was completely different. 

TV fans approach their idols with an aggressive, almost proprietorial attitude, as in: "You're someone because of the likes of me, so shut up and humour us!" Here, on the other hand, the crowd practically radiated gratitude, concern and, well, love. 
At the risk of sounding mushy, I have to say I couldn't imagine another fandom being this considerate. I am SO proud of my fellow nerds!

The following conference, by a prof. Jacob Loefgren - whose writings I will make sure to keep an eye upon - was short but utterly fascinating, dealing with a topic which is close to my heart: fandom as the most fertile grounds for the establishing of "folklore", as humans in general love to share traditions, and  geeks in particular are the quintessential mythopoeic beasts. 

Now what else is in store for us? 
...Why, the SAUSAGE SUPPER of course! And later on, some naughty fun with the Pink Pussycat Cabaret!
I can't wait! I mean, sausage and innuendo aplenty... What else could this girl wish for?

Hogswatch 2013 report - part 2

(Part 1)

Yay we did it! We actually visited Ankh-Morpork! 

Since, you know... the Discworld Emporium technically does count as diplomatic grounds and everything...

...but before that, we tried out The Cat Cafe. 
I got a nice, if a bit watery, Italian-style cappuccino (still better by far than anything I've had in Germany, Spain, or France btw), while sweetie scarfed down a giant slice of chocolate fudge cake! 

For once though, cake wasn't at the top of my mind!

Fellow nerds will understand me when I say that finally setting foot in this legendary place I had daydreamed about so much, nearly brought a tear to my eye. 

I was not sure I'd be allowed to take photographs inside, so I didn't (law-abiding gal that I am)... but I did secure a copy or three of the program, to keep as a souvenir. I had to recover them from under a gorgeous but sleepy black cat, too... 

And, boy, I bought so much stuff! Still not nearly as much as hun, though. Hah!

I got myself two kitchen aprons (that I will never use for fear of ruining them), a Discworld Almanak (so maybe I'll finally figure out how time is computed on the Disc), the official 2014 calendar illustrated by Marc Simonetti, and a couple trinkets to send to Allyn - a knitting buddy of mine on Ravelry, as well as a rabid Pratchett fan...

...and, heaven help me, miniatures! Can't resist miniatures GAH! Even if it's been, what, ten years or so since last time I've painted one, and my eyesight's gone so bad in the meantime that I doubt I'll ever dare touch them with a paintbrush.

Still, I got Nanny Ogg, Rincewind, the Luggage, the Librarian and Casanunda (LOL)... and it took me a great deal of willpower not to grab every available character. I was mighty affronted at the lack of a Patrician mini... sigh!

Back to food now - we thought we could as well have a look at The Bear Inn, since most of the events in the program (including the public reading tonight) will be held in its premises. 
The pub dates back to 1720 and specializes - why, of course! - in traditional English cuisine... so hun got himself some juicy meat, whereas I relished the most delightful baked potato ever, loaded with sour cream and melty Stilton cheese and bacon. So good I could have squealed!

Then, since there was going to be pretty much nothing to do in Wincanton till late in the evening, except maybe going back to the Emporium and shedding more money - which the two of us may or may not have done, incidentally - we went to see the Stonehenge circle, which is about half an hour from there. 

Soooo... here it is! 

Notwithstanding its fame and World Heritage status, the site can only be reached by means of some half-hidden dirt road. A slippery mesh path, laid on the ground and leading to the circle, and a rope surrounding it were all the "security measures" we met. 

Such a cavalier attitude towards a national treasure almost shocked me - yet on the other hand, it might simply mean that British people are much more respectful than we are... because, let's face it, Italians would have covered the standing stones with graffiti in a week's time. Ugh. 

All around us, grazing peacefully, were plenty of sheep...

...and the skeletal trees nearby were teeming with crows. 

Seriously, there were so many, it kind of puts the average British writer's obsession with them in the right perspective!

Hun decided he wanted to capture the flight of a raven with the stone circle as a backdrop, and was driven half crazy by the dastardly birds taking flight in the precise moment when he lowered his camera. 

Still, in the end he got his perfect shot!

Now I wish I could truthfully say the ancient magic that permeates the place sent a shiver down my spine yadda yadda yadda, but in all honesty, I was unsurprisingly underwhelmed.

I say "unsurprisingly" because I've never been one for monuments - I will admire them, sure, but to me any crowded street, buzzing with actual living people, is infinitely more precious and fascinating than the most grandiose building. 

And the stones, well... they aren't even particularly beautiful per se. If I can care about them at all, it is only as a tribute to the ingenuity of our Neolithic ancestors who somehow managed to drag them into place.

Once done with our bunch of prehistoric rocks, we sat briefly at the self service area just outside of the archaeological site. I bought a sausage pie for later, and sipped on a nice, cinnamon-spiked hot apple juice, while admiring the jewel-like starlings hopping about the place...

Some guy sitting nearby was eating cake, and it was vaguely disconcerting to see more and more birds flocking to his table, unashamedly aiming for a go at the crumbs. 

I, for one, couldn't help thinking of that movie... 

...so in the end, we left the hapless man to be ravaged by sharp little beaks charmed by his new feathered friends, and went to explore our little corner of Somerset, with its red-brick buildings that look like they're out of an episode of Murder! She wrote...

...the occasional semi-detached house, so reminiscent of old English textbooks...

...and even a few thatched roofs. D'aww! 

Time to drive back to Wincanton now - we definitely feel ready for some Cautionary Tales!