Saturday 16 October 2010

Crypts and Bog-Bodies and Fiends (Oh My)

Today started well, with a wander down to the canal to admire the swans and the skeleton-on-the-wall, followed by pancakes for breakfast at the wonderful  cafe where we had lunch yesteday, in the company of Lorraine, Nathalie and Anabel
We then went to the Octocon opening ceremony, where Lorraine, and George RR Martin, and the other guests were introduced. I have to confess I have still not read any of GRRM's books, but I can report that he has a magnificant beard!

Then out to explore Dublin!

We started by visiting Christ Church, because, as Lorraine so rightly says, it has a wonderful crypt. The cathedral on top is pretty nice, too.

We spent more time in the crypt, though. There was tea.

It turns out that Tea in a Crypt is, indeed, an ideal way to spend a Dublin morning!

It turns out also that there is a food market on Saturday morning at Temple Bar, where one can buy all sorts of cheeses (If one didn't have to worry about packing or customs)  and breads, and delicious, freshly baked blueberry scones the size of your head. 

Not that I stole any of Lorraine's scone, obviously. I would never do that.

Then, as 2/3s of the party missed out on the Bog Bodies yesterday, we went to the museum. We saw no more grafitti warning of the dangers of toast, on the way but there was other street art...

At the museum we acquired Hellie, (slightly sleep deprived) and went to look at bog bodies. I can't begin to compete with Lorraine's flawless description and archeological expertise. So you should just go and re-read her blog here .

Those people got bogged alright. Also they all had red hair.

And as well as the bog people they have other stuff in the museum. Viking and Celtic jewellery (and, for some reason, buckets).  And then there was the whole zombie arm. They said it was a reliquary for some saint's arm, but you only have to look at it to see it's really the remains of some cyborg zombie. Be very careful in dublin. Who knows wht else there may be here.

As well as mummies and zombie arms and bog bodies, they have a tea shop in the museum. I like that in a museum.

Visiting culteral sites and artifacts such as crypts and bog-bodies is wearing . Some of us found a taxi and headed back to the Con, where Q scheduled a new panel, located in the hot tub and entitled "getting bogged with Fabulous Lorraine" It was a small but perfect panel. With bubbles and hot jets. More conventions should consider scheduling hot-tub based panels.

I think the next thing which happened was the chrity auction where various things, including some of Neil's honey, boks and games signed by GRRM and other authours were autioned off - over 900E was raised, which is pretty impressive.

Then dinner, and a party, with music from th Fabulous Lorraine (on violin) a guy whose name I didn't catch (on guitar) and various rmadom people providing choral singing and interpretive dance. Musically, I think it perhaps lacked that certain something (I'm nearly sure that it traditional to sing & play in the same key) but for sheer fun, it was right up there with the best.

As was the whole day, in fact.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love everything, especially the swimming skeleton!

Phiala said...

Sounds like wonderful fun. I wish I were there.

And just for the record, the buckets were really cool. So there.

I think the red hair is an artifact of spending so long in a bog.

Marjorie said...

I think you're right about the hair. The buckets were interesting, there just seemed to be a surprisingly large number of them (also lots of drop style spindles (?) like the one you were using . We thought of you!)

Phiala said...

Drop spindles indeed! If the whorls are stone or pottery they're well-preserved and easy to find. The shaft is usually long gone.

I have some stone ones that look like medieval ones, and a glass one that is a medieval one, and I spin with it (carefully).

Dragonsally said...

I met GRRM when he was here, and I can confirm that wondrous bear.

I'm with BB - the swimming skellie is wonderful...and what, not photos from tub-con?