Three cheers for Taliesin's Muse and Red Pawn!!
Hip Pip: HOORAY!!
Hip Pip: HOORAY!!
Hip Pip: HOORAY!!
They generously opened their home to a bunch of drunken noders, and we did not let them down! We drank. We played. We broke things. We talked about noding. We talked about other things. We had a great time!
Those who made it: The wonderful and generous Taliesin's Muse and Red Pawn. They provided perfect provisions, awesome accommodation and fabulous food and an ultimatum that we all had to be out within 24 hours. Thanks also to TM's brother for providing entertainment. Although Odette, Orpheum and Blakjak did not cycle there, their presence was essential for it to be a Canberra meet. Congratulations to Callirrhoe, Inoshiro_K, Sneff and me for making the long trek from Sydney. Well, not so much me, because I was really late.
The following stories are true. The names have been included above to protect the not-so-innocent.
When I finally arrived, there was plenty of evidence of swimming. And drinking. This apparently brought much joy to the party.
Ok, so the drinking continued. And the chatting and catching up continued. We played a bit on the giant screen computer and tried to locate simonc on irc, to no avail. Conversation, alcohol and people were flowing.
We had chocolate fondue, with strawberries and marshmallows for dipping. There was sampling of South Australian port, black raspberry brandy, Butterscotch Schnapps and Chambord. The evening was cooling down. And then it happened.
We were all sitting there, being fairly well behaved noders and the rocking chair broke. Now, nobody is blaming anybody, of course. It was just sitting there all by itself and it broke. On its way down, it took an unsuspecting noder - the arms, the wood, the legs (table and noder legs), the splinters! What a mess!
Not five minutes after this, the screen door decided it had also had enough of behaving itself. Now, nobody is blaming anybody, of course. Not even the victim who got thrown to the floor as a result of the door's industrial action. Illegal industrial action, may I add. Sympathy strikes are no longer permissible in Australia.
Appropriate action was taken. The chair was banished from the nodermeet, and the strike-breaking, non-breaking chairs were utilised to their full potential.
The screen door was marked forever, well at least the duration of the evening. Despite a few fears that other furnishings or crockery might have taken further action, the rest of the night went without a hitch.
Well almost without a hitch. In the barely-wee-hours of the morning, when many of the noders had gone to their beds, but the hardcore group talked on waiting for the non-daylight savings sun to rise, the conversation turned to sharks. And the half body of an actress being flung over a boat. And the wild shark who spat out a tattooed arm after spending its first week at a marine park to spark a murder investigation. I prefer Jabberjaw during those hours.
Broken rocking chair: $200
Broken screen door: $100
A defiant Canberra nodermeet: priceless