The Year of the Constellation Coven Awards

 Good evening, and welcome to the 2018 Coven Awards!
  Yes, here we are again for our traditional, very selective look back at the year that was.
 This year - the Year of the Constellation - has not been as varied as some previous years-

Mainly because Witchface is a lazy baggage-

And the Host is dreadfully dull!

 Oh, just stop this now.
  Yes, why must we devolve into bickering every year?

What a stupid question.

Because we're good at it!

Heh heh heh!

  Oh, I give up...
 Well, I'm ignoring the shitting SubCs and launching this thing now!

January : The dawn of a new year broke over the cliff tops as we didn't manage to start afresh; the year's first foray into Star Trek was some finally finished unfinished business; capturing constellations began with a bit of "Drama!" and was rather exposing; a big, overgrown groyne featured in a return to the beach; the first trip over the Cusp coincided with LẌ's birthday; Beaky's return had us all of a flutter, and his larger cousin led us to a crusty old groyne with knobs on; finally, after some star-mapping experiments, I got my tripod out!

Wishing you a Wonderful Winterval

 Not quite a White Christmas, but a heavyish frost yesterday morning gave the illusion in certain sheltered areas up near Cromer Lighthouse.
 Yes, I managed to find a couple of hours to myself yesterday (i.e. I escaped from the kids) and got up to the lighthouse in the early morning here in Cromer, then down onto the beach in Overstrand in the afternoon.

Run! Run! As fast as you can!

 I am moving again.

 As plummeting down the cliff in one's own home is practically unheard of in witchy circles*, I am moving out of Château DeVice and into a more life-prolonging gingerbread house.  It's only a few hundred yards from my current cliff-top abode and - importantly - those few hundred yards are inland.  My new home is nearer the woods (and the allotment), and not likely to find itself scattered across the beach after collapsing over the cliff for at least a couple of centuries (possibly only one, if sea levels continue to rise dramatically). 

 Gingerbread houses are hard to come by these days as most of the originals have been devoured by thoughtless, greedy children over the centuries, or dissolved in the rain when their occupant met Death for the last time and the preservative spell wore off.  Those that are left tend to be inhabited by mad old crones, or have been turned into sites of occult historical interest by the Gingerbread Board.  Speaking of which, the 'Board occasionally permits a new gingerbread house to be built as long as circumstances, conditions, and quotas allow.  Quite what those circumstances, conditions and quotas are is anyone's guess as the 'Board are quite inscrutable and experts in obfuscation and dead-end paper trails.  As I can attest to after I applied for a new home...**

 I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea?  I suspect the SubCs had something to do with it and, typically, they buggered off and left me to it when I found myself before the Gingerbread Board to demonstrate my suitability to own and maintain a new gingerbread home.  I'm not going to go into all the rigmarole and hoop-jumping I had to go through (and am still going through), as it was - and still is - very stressful and mind-boggling.

Gorgeous Moon Spume

 Before I get around to writing up my trials before the Gingerbread Board, here are some photos from last weekend's foray onto the beach. Back when the skies were clear...

 The first lot, with the pink sky and Moon, are from Saturday, while the second lot with the blue sky and seagulls are from Sunday.

A distant Cromer Pier

Overstrand beach huts with the Moon over Sidestrand

It's A Faaaake! Not The Art Of Star Trek - Anomalous T-Shirt

 Yes, the promised threatened foreshadowed post concerning an anomalous T-shirt is Star Trek-related!  Sorry, not sorry.
 The anomalous T-shirt came about as a result of October's Art Challenge, as set by the winner of September's challenge: 

Last month many of us proved that we are well versed in the world of starship design. This month I'd like to focus on another staple of the Star Trek universe: the infamous space anomaly.

Subspace, space-time, temporal, spatial, gaseous, gravimetric, chroniton, quantum, polaron, thoron or anti-time — it's completely up to you. Make it abstract or concrete, a swirling blur of color or a blinding ray of light, drifting through the endless void of space or floating on the surface of some alien world. You can show it on its own or facing a starship. 

I'm looking forward to what you can come up with!

 One of the first thoughts to pop into my head was the Horrendous Space Kablooie I came up with years ago (inspired by Calvin & Hobbes).  I wondered if I could update it, or amend it in some way for the challenge, but gave up after only a few attempts in FotoSketcher.

Flashbacks

 This isn't going to be a wobbly soap opera-style flashback post (like certain others), just a series of fleeting glimpses into some goings on, and items of limited interest over the past couple of months, so we can get up-to-date before ploughing ahead with with current affairs.
 First up - despite the gruesome rabbit head photo on the right there (more on that in a mo) - are a couple of Triffid-based items that we had almost forgotten about.  It was only the talk of the Garden Photos Event over at The Very Mistress's that reminded me.

Beautiful Liriope in the Extensive Gardens of Castlette DeVice at the end of September

Return to the End-of-the-Line

 I am nearly ready to come back after my (nearly) two weeks off the blogs.  And even after only a brief peruse I discovered no end of "goings on", not least the fact that Ms Scarlet has only gone and won those pesky Freakin' Green Elf Shorts back!
 Anyway, back to me.  I thought I'd have time to return yesterday, so I popped down to the beach and took these photos from the End-of-the-Line (to get back into the spirit of things), but various things thwarted my return which is why I'm only popping them up now.

Looking West...

… North (sorry for the gulls, Eros - the bloody things were everywhere!)...

… and East

Dawn of Stone Circles

 What with one thing and another lately, I haven't posted any beach photos for a couple of weeks.  This means they're building up and approaching critical mass.  Luckily, the weather is on the turn, meaning no more hot (or at least warm), sunny days, so I won't be going down on the beach with Camera as often as I did.
 So, to catch up somewhat, here are a few days worth of photos, starting with dawn from the 21st (one of which made it into Dinahmow's calendar in the previous post):

A Few Shags with Big, Wet Groynes

 What to get?  What to get??
 Never mind "what to get", how long have we got to get whatever we might be getting?
 How long?  I don't know?  How long does it take for something to be mailed to Australia?  Because however long is left, we'll have to take off the postal service time.
 Well, when's it got to be in Australia for?
 The twenty-third.
 Of November?  So we've got about a month, then.
 No! October!  The twenty-third of October!
 Hang on...  What's the date today?
 I don't know? Let me look at the calendar...

 Shit!  It's today!
 Of course it is...
 Happy birthday, Dinahmow!
 Yes, many happy returns!  We hope you're having a fab day.

"Tear My Head Out From The Sound"

 Last Saturday was National Album Day which was brought to my attention by Jon (of course).  Now, almost a week on, and following Jon's Top Ten, I bring you my own top ten albums.  
 This was a difficult and somewhat harrowing choice to make, whittling down square plastic cases containing delightful discs of divine ditties.  I flicked through my shelves of Air and Alcazar, The Divine Comedy and Dannii Minogue, Girls Aloud and Goldfrapp, Kylie and Kula Shaker, Robyn and Röyksopp, Shakespears Sister and Steps - following Jon's rules: No "Various Artists" compilations, no "Greatest Hits", no soundtracks, reminding myself that I was choosing my favourite albums, not necessarily my favourite artists. 
 Eventually, I settled on my final selection. But before I get to them, here are the "almosts": Moon Safari by Air, Meccano Mind by Syntax, Sun Structures by Temples, Buzz by Steps, I Say I Say I Say by Erasure, All Possible Futures by Miami Horror, Wanderlust by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Seventh Tree by Goldfrapp. 
 Now, counting down from ten to one (the order of which is subject to change depending on my whim), here are my top ten albums: 

Light Years

#10 : Kylie's Light Years (2000)
 Light Years made Jon's list too, as did the video for the absolutely fabulous "Your Disco Needs You", so I've chosen a different version:

Freakin' Green Elf Shorts Road Kill Appeal

 Fashion disasters come and go, but none are quite as catastrophic as being caught wearing the Freakin' Green Elf Shorts in public. Sadly, poor AlpoJones - latest winner of the vile velour - realised this too late, and tried to end it all by flinging herself under a passing car.

 Unfortunately, three other fashion victims had got there before her, bringing the car to a halt before any damage could be done.  In a fate worse than death, AlpoJones has been caught alive in the 'Shorts (and, quite possibly, a pair of the Very Mistress's stripy tights). 
 We appeal to your humanity (or inhumanity - whichever works), and ask that you leave a witty, pithy, or just plain bonkers caption in an attempt to lure the vile velour Freakin' Green Elf Shorts away from AlpoJones' shapely thighs and onto your own undulating undercarriages (we know some of you are desperately craving a(nother) polyester binge).

 Please give your captions generously for this worthy cause.  Caption contributions can be made here (at AlpoJones' tumblr post), or here (at Rimpy Rimpington's blog post for those without tumblr know-how - like me).  The appeal will close just before midnight at Hallowe'en.

 As before, this FGES Public Service Announcement has been brought to you in association with Rimpy Rimpington Inc, with generous assistance from Infomaniac Enterprises.


EDIT 18 October: The updated Freakin' Green Elf Shorts Travel Map!
 

Crazylegs Cranes (and other unusual suspects at Pensthorpe)

 Last weekend, Inexcuseable and her husband dragged Count Podgekinson and I off to Pensthorpe Natural Park near Fakenham.  We saw some birds and crap...

Moorhen

Hawaiian geese (and Inexcuseable)