Anyone who knows me, or has read this blog, knows I love to dance. I came to dancing quite late – I was 20 when I took my first lesson, in my first year at University.
I’d always loved watching stuff like dancing, ice skating or gymnastics on the telly, but never took lessons so when my housemate Vanessa offered me the chance to give dancing a try, I didn’t have to think twice.
At the time (1997), dancing – especially Ballroom dancing – was considered pretty uncool. People’s perception of the dance was mostly derived from Come Dancing – not the glamorous Strictly that we all know today – but its frumpier predecessor where you might see Beryl and Fred from Urmston plodding through their quickstep routine, him in tux and her in hand sewn sequin and ostrich feather dress.
The original Come Dancing c. 1990 – source: Daily Mail
The Ballroom Dancing Society (BDS) was subsidised by the Student’s Union so we members only had to pay £1.50 for a class. Our teacher, Mary, was already at retirement age with 2 dodgy hips and an 80-a-day smoking habit. We used to have a break mid-way through the class so she could nip out for a fag!
Over the years we danced socially, then moved on to competing (we were coached by top talent such as Kylie Jones McAlister, former world ballroom champion, and Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace off Strictly).
Sarah, Nat and Gemma are in this one, I’m holding the camera
I’m in the middle, holding the mascot
I’m in the yellow and green number
I’m at the top, not falling off a table
The way the Society worked was that we had to elect a committee every year from the student body. You weren’t allowed to hold a position for more than a year so we would just swap roles between president, treasurer, secretary etc! That first year, Vanessa was President, second year Danusia, 3rd year Natalie, 4th year me, then after I graduated, Gemma took charge, then Sarah, then Stuart.
L-R: Me, Vanessa, Danusia, Gemma, Natalie, Sarah, Stuart
We were all good friends but eventually time ticked on and we all lost touch. Every now and then we would drop each other a “hi” or like a facebook post, and we often talked about getting back together… but never did.
Stuart and me, 2003
Gemma and Natalie, 2000
Nat, me and Stuart, 2003
Me and Vanessa, 1997
Gemma and me, 2001
Chris, Janet, Ben, Phil, Vincent Gemma, Luke, Jimmy, Flavia 2003
So when I decided to make it one of my 40 things, I contacted the guys and asked them if they wanted to meet up. Initial responses were good – everyone said they were up for it so I went ahead and sorted a date. It was quite difficult to find a date that everyone could make!
The first date was tentatively agreed, but as it got closer we all kind of forgot and by the time I confirmed it, it was too late. Never mind – we quickly settled on another day in 6 weeks’ time. I booked a bar for drinks and karaoke and we were all set for a lovely night out!
We’d been checking in during the run-up to the reunion to try and pull the group together, however when the night came around, Facebook messenger looked something like this!
I’m here
On way.
Sorry, just moved to another county and can’t make it!
Sorry, Family is visiting unexpectedly and can’t come
Sorry, Stuck at work so not going to get there in time
Sorry, Can’t get a babysitter
No reply
So my “reunion” turned out to be just me and Natalie – my best mate who I see all the time. So not much of a reunion at all!
We didn’t fancy serenading each other so we went out for dinner at Cote instead and had a lovely time!
Where is everyone?
I’d say this one is definitely the closest to a fail I’ve managed so far – I’m counting it as a technical “win” as I did achieve the brief – to arrange a reunion – just nobody turned up.
I will be recontacting people individually to catch up as I still miss the guys, just a shame that a reunion didn’t work! Win some, lose some I guess!
A chance to show my friends how much I appreciate them
When I was writing my list of 40 things, I wanted to set myself some goals around becoming more generous with my time. I wouldn’t say I am particularly selfish – if anyone asked me for something I am always happy to oblige – but I do tend to be quite oblivious to the needs of others until they ask me for help.
A couple of years ago, I was stuck without a car for a while and at the time, all of my friends and colleagues rallied round to help me out. It was really difficult asking people for help but I was incredibly touched by the generosity of those around me. Nobody seemed to mind helping, although I definitely minded asking! In fact, often my friends had to suggest, offer or even insist on helping me before I would think to ask!
Words can’t describe how relieved I was when I finally got back on the road and didn’t have to burden others any more.
I had to ask for many, many lifts
I concluded that I would need to be more observant to spot opportunities to help my friends, and so I set myself the goal of doing 40 favours for friends. I started out quite well – after declaring my intentions some friends came forward and asked me for a few favours which I was happy to help with.
I lent out my parking permit to a colleague, lent my dining table and chairs to a friend for a dinner party, helped a friend create a costume for her daughter’s school play, and made a cake for her to auction off at her kid’s school fete.
Cake for Mandy’s Christmas fete auction
My friend Dave managed to call in a few favours – he was moving abroad and so I helped him pack, housed him for a few days, and helped out with a few other bits such as cleaning the house ready for his new tenants, and maintaining his garden.
Nat, Chris and I show off our guns after we helped Dave move
It was around then that the opportunities dried up. Apart from the odd lift here and there, I found it really hard to actually do anything for anyone!
We Brits are a proud bunch, and it is a strange phenomenon that people simply do not want to trouble others by asking for help. In fact, even when you have someone jumping up and down, begging to help, we go, “No no, it’s OK, I can manage”. I don’t know whether it is that British reserve, not wanting to put anyone out, or if it is because we are fiercely independent and don’t want to be beholden to another person.
In the end, I put out an appeal on Facebook. I asked my friends to help me – by letting me help them. A few people came back with some suggestions. One friend asked me to babysit so she and her husband could go out to celebrate their birthdays. Another friend asked me to help her boyfriend write his CV and job applications. One friend asked me to help with her gardening when she was unable to move following an operation.
Gardening at Pretty’s house
I was delighted to help with all of these things, but for each of them I had to chase the person – after the initial request and agreement, there was a general reluctance to follow through and actually take me up on the offer! I had to keep reminding them that I meant it!
The clincher was when I emphasised that by letting me help them, they were also helping me achieve my goal. It seemed that this was the key – reciprocity – the fact that people didn’t want to inconvenience me or put me at a disadvantage.
Doing the favours for friends was a really interesting exercise. I relished the opportunity to help my friends, and to demonstrate to them how highly I regarded them by just a few little actions.
It also gave me an opportunity to give something back – others have done so much for me, even if I couldn’t directly repay the people involved for their generosity I wanted to pay it forward and spread the love a little.
Finally it gave me a chance to observe a quirk of British nature – the reluctance to accept help, even when offered. I’ve seen it before when doing the random acts of kindness – people simply do not want to put others out.
The lesson from this one is simple. People are ready and willing to help – they actually want to – and by refusing to accept their offer you are not only making things more difficult for yourself, but you are also denying your friends the opportunity to do something that will make them feel happy and content, knowing that they have found a way to demonstrate how much they appreciate your friendship.
If someone wants to help, let them. You will be doing them a favour.
We are crack bank robbers now. Think Ocean’s 11 but in Guildford. And only 6 of us. And no Hollywood heartthrobs.
Originally invented in Japan, “Escape the room” style challenges were launched in Europe in 2011. Since then, they have increased in popularity and nowadays you can find them anywhere in the UK. They usually have a theme such as zombie attack, prison escape, bank heist, bomb to diffuse, or pirates. There is even now a Harry Potter themed room!
The premise is fairly simple: You are placed in a locked room and given a mission to complete. By solving clues you progress through the room and when solved, this provides you with a key to exit the room. You have a limited time to complete the mission (usually an hour).
Ever since these became popular a couple of years ago, I have been dying to have a go. It reminds me a bit of old TV shows like the Krypton Factor or Crystal Maze – the idea of solving clues and using brain rather than braun really appeals to me!
I looked into different escape rooms, there are so many nowadays – originally I was drawn to a Harry Potter themed one by Enigma Quests – but they were booked out until November so that would not have worked with my October deadline! Further research unearthed a local one called Containment – in Guildford (Merrist Wood).
I pulled together my team – Natalie, Chris, Sharon, Paul, Karen and myself. We all have different skills (logical, abstract, practical, pattern-spotters, wordy, numerical) so I thought it would be a great combo. Paul, Karen and Sharon had done an Escape Room before so knew the format which helped! We could have a team of 4-6 people, but the cost was the same (£120) regardless of team size – so by having more people it kept costs down!
Lynn’s Bankers are ready to go!
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Toby who gave us our briefing. We’d be locked in but he’d be monitoring us on camera so we would never be in danger. We could ask for 5 clues as we got stuck. If we got the general gist of a clue but made a silly mistake he could point us back to the clue rather than us missing it out.
All prepped, we got locked in our room and our hour’s countdown began! We all immediately started poking around to solve our clue, which involved breaking into a bank vault. I won’t give any of the clues away in case you try it yourself, but there was a lot riffling around and poking at stuff. We spotted some key locks and some combination locks, so we figured we’d have to find the codes and keys to progress. We spent ages trying to solve a clue that was not a clue; fortunately the experienced members of the team asked for help before we wasted all of our time on the first stage!
We’re stuck on this clue
The funniest part was when we had two people manhandle a heavy bit of furniture, to which a key was attached, towards a tiny keyhole – for Toby to flash up a message advising us the key detached from its anchor! We felt very silly!
After a while, we got into the swing of it. 20 minutes had passed when we got through the first bit, and we really thought we’d never crack it. But we gathered momentum on the second section and soon we had cracked the vault! We found a safe, opened it to get the key to the door as well as some “treasure”… some gold coins (sadly chocolate… not real).
Cracked the vault!
We finished with over 5 minutes still on the clock, which we were super proud of!
Proof we did it!
All of the team contributed, although I think that I mostly faffed and got in the way of the others! I did spot a couple of things however so I wasn’t completely useless. The team worked best when we paired off and worked on a different section, allowing us to be more efficient. We used all 5 of our clues, strategically asking for help whenever we spent too long on one element, and it was this that gave us the time to complete the challenge.
I really enjoyed myself and I would definitely do it again. The Escape Room was really well organised, and I definitely want to try the other scenario that Containment in Guildford have. Also on the hit list is the Harry Potter one in London, but the waiting list is massive!
You can google local Escape Room style organisations and I would say it’s definitely worth a go, you’ll have fun and it’s great exercise for your brain and problem-solving ability!
My best mate Natalie and I have known each other for about 18 years. We met at University through the Ballroom Dancing Society and kept in touch after I graduated. We probably really became close friends around 12 or 13 years ago and have gone on many adventures together, seeing new places, learning new things, supporting each other when times are tough, celebrating each others’ successes, carrying the drunk one home, providing much needed sage advice and getting involved in as many silly or fun things as possible.
When writing the list of 40 things, which we did during an 8-hour drive to Southport last summer, it was a given that Nat would be coming along for the ride on a lot of the adventures. I wanted to see Lincoln Christmas Market (I’d not been for 20 years) and invited Natalie to see my home town. In return, we realised that I’d never seen Nat’s heartland either. Bournemouth’s supposed to be a beautiful place, especially in the summer (voted best beach in the UK in 2012 and has consistently featured in the top 10 every year) – yet I’ve never been there. So onto the list it went.
Agreeing a date was difficult, but we managed to find a clear weekend at the end of July when neither of us were rushing off to other stuff, and so tootled down to the coast. Or at least, we crawled slowly in torrential rain!
The day started off badly, I was aiming to be at Nat’s for 10:30 but pulling out of my street, ran over a screw so had a flat tyre. Luckily for me, a mechanic was walking past at that exact moment and changed my tyre for me, what a hero! A quick trip to the tyre fitters and I was off again with a new tyre.
Local hero rescuing me and my flat tyre
The downpour had abated by the time we arrived at Christchurch, the first stop on our journey. We looked around the quaint town, taking in the shops and restaurants and admiring the buildings. We stopped for lunch at a lovely pub called soho, after being told of over an hour’s wait at the first two we tried, apparently so popular you need to book! Nat commented that the town’s become a lot more trendy recently! It was practically hipster with little boutique coffee shops and shops packed with curios.
Funky building – and my Nephew’s name!
Hipsters and eccentrics
Tourists in the rain
Lunch
We visited the Priory, the source of the town’s name. Originally a Saxon town named Twynham, the Normans built the priory on the site of an old church. By the 12th century some stories of miracles surrounding the church had arisen which eventually led to the town becoming known as Christchurch. The Priory is enormous, almost as long as Westminster Cathedral, and has some stunning stained glass windows and statues. We were especially impressed with a beautiful epitaph written about a woman who died in 1815 – unusual in that it lauded her accomplishments rather than beauty or function as a wife/mother.
Christchurch Priory
It’s so long!
Beautiful windows
Tribute to a woman revered for more than her beauty
Bride’s waiting for the rain to abate before heading off
We had a bit of a wander around the castle ruins and then moseyed along the river to see the Ducking Stool. Engraved on the stool is a poem: “Of members ye tonge is worst or best – an yll tonge oft doeth breed unrest” – Apparently ducking was a common punishment for scolds (nagging wives)!
Didn’t have any rotten fruit to hand, luckily for Nat!
Inside the castle – enormous windows!
The ducking stool
After Christchurch we drove past Nat’s old school on our way to Bournemouth seafront. Blowy, but simply beautiful!
Heading into Bournemouth itself, we visited “Cropp Corner” (a bit of road/street planning that Nat drew when on work experience, that got actually built in real life!) then down to the pier. We relived our Vegas moments with a few goes in the amusement arcades and I had a go on a helter skelter (never done one before!) Yep, stupid idea. So I’m terrified of heights and I climb up this rickety thing and brick it all the way down. Horrible.
Cropp Corner!
Palm trees – it really is trying to be California
Yay! 2p machines – our favourite!
Helter skelter
Finally we went out for a curry at the Taj Mahal Westbourne. Wow, just amazing food, and dishes we’d never heard of! Alongside the usual Korma and Bhuna were dishes such as Sally, Kalayani and Asari – all super tasty… honestly I have never enjoyed a curry as much. 100% recommended!
Finally we turned in for the night, being kindly hosted by Nat’s brother and courtesy of her parents’ room.
The next day dawned fairly dry and we headed into Poole. After checking out all the fancy boats and we hopped on the ferry to Brownsea Island. Site of the first Scout camp and now a National Trust preserve, we joined a guided tour in the hope of learning much more about the island and the amazing work of Robert Baden-Powell. Our National Trust guide was about 100 years old and knew lots about the island (weirdly not much about plants!) It was a bit slow going but very informative!
How I imagine every boat should look
These things aren’t cheap
Sloooow walk… see the couple behind us deciding if they can do a runner
I see the sea!
See the age of this tree carved on it
YOu wouldn’t get me up there!
It started raining just as we set off to head home around 4-ish. Final little detour to see Sandy Balls *snigger* and then home. Highlights from the journey home were steam powered tractors and a drive-thru Costa. You have never seen me so happy as when I got that coffee!
Sandy balls! Chortle!
Drive-thru coffee – brilliant idea
Steam powered tractor
I had a brilliant time in Bournemouth and whilst the weather wasn’t exactly beach-worthy, it was still absolutely beautiful and well worth the visit. In some ways I was glad it wasn’t too hot or the beach would have been swarming and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much!
It’s also really interesting to see the roots of someone important to me, it helps put into context all those myriad life experiences that they had which shaped them and made them who they are today.
When I was 19 I saved up all my money to go backpacking around Europe. I wanted to experience new cultures and explore the world. I did my 6 week tour, then returned home to get stuck straight into University, then a job, always intending to travel again soon.
20 years later and I hadn’t really gone much further. Most of my mates had been to the USA, particularly Vegas, and I really wanted to go. With no hen do’s or other big celebrations pending, I decided to make it happen for myself.
Natalie and I went on a 2 week trip which included Vegas, LA and San Fransisco. There are so many cool pictures of our experiences you will need to look on Facebook, but below is a snapshot of our itinerary:
Mon 6/3/17: Flew to Vegas and arrived at the Palazzo, our hotel. Although our flight was 10 hours we arrived at 1pm due to the time difference. Fighting to stay awake we wandered around the immediate vicinity; looking at the Venetian, Treasure Island, and the Wynn. I especially loved the fake streets and canal at the Venetian.
Day 1: Flight, Palazzo and Venetian
Tue 7/3/17: Up at 5am to go to the Grand Canyon – luckily we were still on UK time! We stopped by the Hoover Dam on the way to the West Ridge of the Canyon – and went on the Skywalk, which is this glass walkway that juts over the Canyon. As someone who is terrified of heights, I felt pretty brave up there, until I looked down and had a little meltdown! As part of our tickets we also got a free “CSI” experience at the MGM so we went to do that – big mistake as we were so tired. We had been recommended a buffet at Caesar’s Palace but it was closed – ended up with Fish & Chips of all things at Gordon Ramsay’s chippy. At least we got to see the famous musical fountains at the Belaggio though.
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Wed 8/3/17: We took a bus tour up the strip, taking in the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign, then we popped into loads of hotels for a nosey – MGM, New York New York, Aria, Belaggio, Caesar’s Palace. We had the best buffet at Belaggio – we were so excited to see vegetables! We then went to see a Cirque du Soleil show – Ka – which was absolutely amazing. We finished the night by gambling at MGM’s slot machines and taking the monorail home.
Day 3: Vegas sightseeing
Thu 9/3/17: We visited Circus Circus and saw some acts – a clown and an acrobatics act. Nat was particularly happy to see the balancing/strength act, she’s wanted to see that “T” move in the picture for ages! We then got the tour bus again and looked at all the wedding chapels, then visited the Mob Museum. We spent the evening in Fremont Street which is really freaky! We had dinner at a lovely restaurant called Therapy, checked out a rooftop club, then went to get our pics taken with $1,000,000. We finished the night by having cocktails at the top of Stratosphere, overlooking all of Vegas with the occasional person plummeting past the windows (on a wire, you’ll be pleased to hear)! On the way home we popped in to Flamingo’s to see Nat’s favourite birds, before sloping off to bed.
Day 4: Downtown Vegas
Fri 10/3/17: We picked up our faithful chariot, Chad the Chrysler. We fell in love with him immediately. We drove to Victorville via the Mojave National Preserve. We saw a Joshua Tree preserve, sand dunes, and a place called “hole in the wall” (where there were literally holes in the rock wall…) but we didn’t have much time to explore. We did a little detour via Route 66 but the road so so terrible we had to come off it. We watched the sunset over the desert – beautiful.
Day 5: Meet Chad
Sat 11/3/17: Drove to LA and tried to go to the Griffiths Observatory – but it was so busy we didn’t get up to the top to see the Hollywood sign. We drove via Rodeo Drive & Santa Monica Blvd to our accommodation, then on to Venice Beach. It was busy despite a bit of fog – what an eclectic mix of people! My favourites were the bongo-playing rollerblader, and the guy with a Scooby-Doo scooter. We found our way into the funky area and had Black Cod and cocktails for dinner. We finished off by finding the stars and hand prints on Hollywood Blvd. Our hands touched the same bit of concrete that the celebs touched! Finally we found a place where the Hollywood sign can be viewed, but as it was dark we saw nothing.
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Sun 12/3/17: Went back to finally see the HOLLYWOOD sign. We then went on to Universal Studios, where we did an epic tour of the studios, met loads of characters, did a Walking Dead experience (v scary) and I won a unicorn for Nat in the Despicable Me bit! We met loads of Simpsons, had lunch at Krusty Burger, and then the best bit – Harry Potter! The rides were amazing and Hogsmeade & Hogwarts were fantastic. We even took part in the Triwizard opening ceremony! Did a night-time drive to the next stop; Santa Barbara.
Day 7: Hollywood sign and Universal Studios, plus introducing Candy Floss the Unicorn!
Mon 13/3/17: Found a great little café in Santa Barbara for breakfast (The Daily Bread), then went to see the Old Mission Church where Franciscan monks had first established themselves – real history! Then on to the Court House for some amazing views and mosaics, before starting our journey along the Coast Road (Highway 1). Arrived at Ragged Point Inn to discover that Highway 1 was closed as it was hit by a weatherbomb in Jan/Feb and the Big Sur bridge was down. We were really disappointed but the location was beautiful and we spent the evening watching the sunset and stargazing.
Day 8: Santa Barbara
Tue 14/3/17: Woke up early to watch the sunrise, then off to find elephant seals. It was really foggy but we were able to get quite close, pretty amazing to see. Went to Hearst Castle, which was totally amazing – took the Grand Rooms tour. Click here for more information – this thing was epic! The chap built a castle in the middle of California and filled it with antiques and works of art from all over Europe. It famously became the hangout of loads of film stars of the 20’s and 30’s. When we had seen all we could, we headed for Carmel – tried to watch the sunset but it was so foggy we couldn’t see more than 50 metres so we headed back to the hotel for dinner and jacuzzi.
Day 9: Seals and Hearst Castle
Wed 15/3/17: Went to a tiny town called Moss Landing to see the sea otters. It was a quaint village with wooden houses and everything. It even had a little “Otter Crossing” – cute! We then drove into San Francisco, and looked at the bridge but it was hidden by the fog. We went out for dinner in Valencia, before going to Mission City Swing for some genuine West Coast Swing dancing. The teacher there was amazing and I felt that I learned a lot from just one class – fantastic!
Day 10: Moss Landing and entering San Francisco
Thu 16/3/17: Got the tram into town, we intended to do a bus tour but it took ages to arrive so we stuck with trams and went to Fisherman’s Wharf. We saw where Alcatraz and the famous bridge would have been if not shrouded in fog, then on to Pier 39 (My age! Yay!) to see the Sea Lions. Finally it was time to say goodbye to Chad and get on the plane home.
Day 11 – San Fran Bay, a foggy Alcatraz, sea lions, and the tram
All in all, it was a fantastic trip and whilst expensive, definitely the trip of a lifetime. I am so thankful for Natalie who planned it all and kept me to task, not to mention put up with me for 2 whole weeks!
Each place could have done with a few days to do them justice, but I am happy that I can truly tick this one off the list.
For photos from Vegas and Grand Canyon, click here.
I’m really proud of my hometown. It dates back to 1st Century BC and has examples of Roman architecture, a medieval castle and cathedral, buildings harking back to every major architectural era, and a very Steep Hill.
The Castle was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1068Steep Hill with Tudor buildings galore
Since moving to Surrey I have often waxed lyrical about my beloved heartland and seized the opportunity to show off the reason for my pride, whilst also visiting the world-renowned Christmas Market.
Nat and I headed up to Lincoln on the Saturday evening and arrived about 9pm. We had a quick look that evening but the real experience started on the Sunday. We set out at midday and it took us almost 5 hours to work our way through all 200 stalls, including food and drink, and of course we had to stop to say hello to Santa!
Obviously we have been very good girls!
There were plenty of great stalls selling all sorts of high quality crafted items, all by locals, and amazing food and drink. We were entertained by a military marching band, buskers, Irish dancers, Morris dancers and violinists.
I also took the opportunity to show Natalie some of the beautiful buildings that form part of our history in a brief whistlestop tour, including the famous Newport Arch and my personal favourite, the Cathedral.
The Cathedral, dates back to 1092Newport Arch, dates back to some time in 300 AD
All in all, a great day and I think it’s going to become a regular tradition! Note to self: Next year, bring more cash!
So I finally managed to complete one of my 40 things!
It was to play a kind of fantasy adventure board game with my friends. I refer to it as D&D because the most famous version of this type of game is Dungeons and Dragons – the one we played was a little different but the basic premise was much the same. The difference is that my friend Phil came up with this one, and it was a kind of final hurrah before our friend Dave leaves us for a new life in Toronto.
I came to Role-Playing games (shush you, this is clean…) in my 30’s. On the telly and in films it is depicted as socially inept nerdy teenagers pretending to be elves and wizards, immersing themselves in this fantasy world rather then going outside, having a life and meeting girls.
Typical nerds on a D&D bender with crisps, energy drink and complicated dice
You might be imagining something like this video,
Or maybe something like this clip from the Big Bang Theory
It’s actually quite fun, OK so there are some quite nerdy moments but in general we don’t take it that seriously. We tell and experience a fun story, solve puzzles, make up silly stuff and enjoy the company of our friends. But with dice and stuff.
In the original game, rules are complicated and there is much reference to rule books, rolling of many-sided dice and in-depth calculations before a character can take an action. It can be slow moving and you can see how only the detail-focused dedicated types have the patience to see it through.
Phil has developed a version which is more accessible and focuses on the fun part of playing – that of telling a story that changes as you interact with it, trying to solve clues and do silly things, yes still rolling a dice to see if you are successful or not, but much less min/maxing of stats and more “I want to do this thing, how do I make it happen”.
The story is set in a world where humans live alongside elves, halflings, goblins etc. (bear with me here!) Magic exists, electricity doesn’t. Think kind of medieval. We chose our characters in a very non-scientific way, by imagining any character and their key attributes, then setting up a very basic set of statistics to work with. To be fair there were so few stats to set it didn’t take long and we were able to just crack on with the game.
Picking our characters
Our team consisted of:
Ermintrude (Natalie) – a trained medic with matronly demeanour, not known to suffer fools gladly
Dave The Elf (Chris) – a thief, who uses charm and stealth to get what he wants
Jöhn (Will) – a mage with powers to summon and control animals
Ragnar Rimeson (Dave) – a warrior like Northman, dressed somewhat like Cohen the Barbarian with a questionable loincloth
Brian (me) – an angry dwarf with a size complex and no sense of humour.
Phil set up a scenario that had our imaginary characters trekking into the unknown and stumbling across many baddies that needed dispatching. Super organised as he was, he even drew a map as we went so that we could visualise what was going on 🙂
Something important is happening in this mysterious cave
I started typing up the actual story and it occurred to me that it was one step too far into nerddom and so I managed to check myself 🙂
The evening was brilliant and a lovely send-off for Dave who leaves for Canada shortly. The game itself was great fun and a lovely way to spend an afternoon with friends. Lucky and unlucky dice rolls led to some interesting times, narrowly escaping a total massacre of our characters one minute and then later annihilating the final boss which was supposed to be a big challenge in just a few moves.
If you’ve never played one of these, why not give it a go? And if you have dabbled, or play loads, here are some of my favourite silly things to check out:
The Gamers – full film on Youtube, or buy the DVD 🙂
40 things... 