Winding Down The Weekend

[anarchist_nomad]

I've but one weekend in Oxford between the recent trip to Europe and the upcoming week to Asia. That weekend is rapidly drawing to a close now. It has been mellow, but fun!

On Friday evening, things got started when I came home from work to spend a spiffy night with my beloved cheshcat, the exquisite miss_amaranth, the lovely fire_kitten, and the devious ayaron at Chiron Beta Prime. We ordered pizza and played games; I taught Puerto Rico to fire_kitten and ayaron and managed to squeek out a slim win during a close game.

On Saturday morning, we made our way just outside of town to pay our annual visit to the bluebell meadow at the Harcourt Arboretum. Thanks to the hottest April on record, the bluebells were a bit past their prime, but they still made for a pretty stroll.

Here is my darling miss_amaranth and I in a lovely Beltane photo at the arboretum:


And here is a peacock, just because:


On Saturday evening, our Beltane ritual took place, marking the halfway point in the wheel of the year. In 2008-2009, cheshcat and I worked ritual with more-or-less the same group at every sabbat. It worked really well and coalesced into an experience that was greater than the sum of its individual rituals -- most of which were pretty spectacular by themselves! I missed doing that last year, so we have returned to the practice for the 2010-2011 turn of the Wheel of the Year. Once again, it is proving to be rather powerful WORK.

Finally, we wound down Saturday with a very interesting kink discussion. Details of which are not suitable to be repeated in this forum.

Sunday morning -- today -- I had an excellent lie-in with my dearest miss_amaranth. The early afternoon was dedicated to practicalities, like setting up logistics for my upcoming trip to Japan (work) and Korea (play). In the evening, I rang bells at St. Giles for a quarter peal attempt -- the method was Grandsire Triples and I rang the treble. Ringing was followed up by a stint at the Barton Pool with miss_amaranth, where I did my usual mile of crawl. We then headed to the cinema, where we met cheshcat and ayaron for the 21:00 showing of Thor. Visually stunning, I expected better of a collaboration between JMS and Kenneth Branagh. Still, there were amusing moments.

All of which brings us to the present moment. When I finish this write-up, I will phone the sweet livetbd for a spell... then make my way off to bed! Less than one week remaining in Oxford before I jet off again, and much to do in that time!

So, as you can see, gentle readers, it has been a quiet weekend but a good one, nonetheless. I hope, dear friends, that you have also had a pleasant time... and that you have a lovely night!

Comments

[dragonmamma.livejournal.com]

Yes, in spite of very heavy rain showers and getting soaking wet in the morning, the afternoon sun dried us all out and gave us a chance to consider all the gun testing at the eskmeal ranges over the last hundred or so years. (I would have liked to have gone round their nature reserve too, but the tide was against us and the wonderful home-made tea was calling. The time with the rather special friend was also mutually pleasing ^giggles^, but he is not the one I may be bringing in the future. That one I am entertaining this week and as another friend would say "en va voire!"