Happy Hobblings and the Bad Cream of Death

Remember, remember the 5th of November,
Clotted cream, low clouds and mud.
With caves, stars and mulled wine, bright gorges and bonfires,
And murder – ‘cause we’re slightly odd.

Keppet’s account of the proceedings of the Cheddar Hobbmeet 2007 is more than fantastic, and I would not wish to rival it. (Because I’d lose.) But, comprehensive as it was (I just copied it into Word for a quick refresher, and – 21 pages!), I thought I should just commemorate a great weekend myself with a few extra little moments and memories.

Biped relaxing on Weston super Mare’s platform. Or else propping herself up so that she didn't fall over with boredom if I mentioned trains.

Biped declaring that Keppet wasn’t on the train that had just arrived, three seconds before she disembarked.

A little round of introductions to Blue, from us: “I’m Keppet.” “Biped,” “skittledog.” Nod and smile. “Ah.”

Why did Wookey Hole feel the need to accompany the huge and magnificent Cathedral Chamber cave with the tune of the Concierto d’Aranjuez adagio? I mean, it worked, but it wouldn’t be the first thing I’d think of doing in a huge cave…

The dinosaur destroying the pirate ship in the Graveyard of Fibreglass Statues.

Dwarf Hobblings!

The bonfire so large and fiery that it was enough fire to last me for weeks. I can still see its glorious colours and the sparks flying off into the cold night…

Playing board games until 2am, as the time slipped away amidst murder attempts and Lambeth Bridge; only the best of friends do this kind of thing, right?

Cookery, with biped and I often ending up in hysterics at how badly we were doing. Seriously, Keppet, you didn’t want to know what that roast lamb looked like at one point…

Keppet and biped reassuring me that yes, it is okay to use more than one clove of garlic in a sauce for three people (biped eating a raw clove proved nothing but did scare me…). Me and biped reassuring Keppet that yes, putting a small amount of sugar in a tomato sauce is a normal and indeed necessary thing to do. Keppet and I reassuring biped that no, a few washing-up suds left on the dishes will not kill us. (I suddenly want a Hobbling version of Kill Doctor Lucky…)

Keppet trudging around Cheddar Gorge with her little tribble coat on. How she didn’t explode of overheating, I know not.

Biped doodling a monster on the condensation on the inside of my car back window. I meant to take a photo of it, but sadly it has since been erased by other travellers.

All discussions over road atlases and maps… “oh, that’s where we went…”

Cock-a-doodle-dooooo! It’s 4am, and I am a manly rooster crowing for no discernible reason!

Me bringing my dvd player but forgetting the remote. Which made it impossible to watch anything but the first episode of anything. Oops.

Sky so nearly talking about mooncups in public.

Ah, the sherbet. The remainder emptied itself all over the inside of my backpack and is impregnating my possessions to this day.

Biped’s face when Keppet and I decided that all three of us should now occupy the same sofa. Mwahaha. *prod*

Spinning round while star-gazing to create personalised special effects.

The cheeriness of a muddy English seaside on a grey November day…with friends. *squelches and spins*

And a final farewell each time that – as Keppet has already said – really wasn’t a farewell at all. It was a see you later. It almost didn’t even sting – much as I didn’t want the weekend to be over, there was none of that ‘and now I won’t see you again for ages’ feeling. It was get home, turn the internet on and *prod* with immediate effect. Excellent.

@yawn@