Ancient Egypt - Love Songs, and Photos from the Event in Greystoke

My boat sails downstream
In time to the stroke of the oarsmen.

A bunch of reeds is on my shoulder,
And I am travelling to Memphis, "Life of the Two Lands".
And I shall say to the god Ptah, Lord of Truth:
"Give me my fair one tonight."
The god Ptah is her tuft of reeds,
The goddess Sekhmet is her posy of blossoms,
The goddess Earit is her budding lotus,
The god Nefertum is her blooming flower,
My love will be happy!
The dawn irradiates her beauty.

Memphis is a crop of pomegranates,
Placed before the god with the handsome countenance.

19th Dynasty [1]

Eva and Fuzzball

Exploring the pyramid

Nabila races through the gauntlet in the pyramid

Exploring

Temple and Sphinx by the Nile

Darien Mason

Eleanor Anderton

(Woman:)
Come, my brother, swim to me!
The water is deep in my love
Which carries me to you.

We are in the midst of the stream,
I clasp the flowers to my breast
Which is naked and drips with water.
But the moon makes them bloom like the lotus.

I give you my flowers
because they are beautiful,
And you are holding my hand
In the middle of the water.

Eva and Nabila showing off the well honed abs of belly dancers

Steam King of the Nile - Iason

Lumina and Ginger

A lovely guest (I did not catch her name) and Roberto

Is she dreaming of slipping into the cool waters of the Nile with a beloved?

The Explorer: Gnarli

Gnarli and Nix

(Man:)
The little sycamore
That she planted with her own hand
Opens its mouth to speak.
Its rustling is as sweet
As a draught of honey.
How beautiful its graceful branches
In their greenness.
On it hangs young fruit and fruit that is ripe,
Redder than the blood-red jasper.

The love of my loved one is on the other shore.
An arm of the river lies between us,
And crocodiles lurk on the sand-banks.
But I enter the water, I plunge into the flood;
My eager heart carries me swiftly over the waves;
I swim as surely as though I were walking on solid ground.
Love, it is love that gives me strength,
Averting the perils of the river.

18th Dynasty [1]

Footnotes:
[1] Source: Samivel, The Glory of Egypt, 1955

Making Improvements Thanks to My Fencing Instructors and a Little Exercise

I came in world last night fully intending to get the Loch more prepared for the St. Andrew's Day festivities. And I accomplished many of the tasks: the small Victorian Skating Rink is installed and fully operational, the ground has been covered with more snow and the snow fall continues, several more trees were planted, and the sky arena is made ready for the Tournament. There are still things on the list, of course, but it will all get done by Friday morning so that our guests will be able to fully enjoy the celebration.

Speaking of the Tournament, we now have eight (8) entrants, which is very exciting. I spoke with Sir Telemachus briefly last evening (more on that in a bit) and he will be creating the matches very soon. We have entrants from 5 of the Duchys thus far. If others contact us with fighters to send forward, then we may need to do a little adjustment on the schedule...or set time limits for each round. Clan bragging rights are at stake here - all in the name of good fun - so we want to make sure all Duchys who wish to be represented are able to send forward a champion. Sir Tele will take good care with this as he works on the schedule.

As I was watching the snow fall, I received a call on my private line letting me know that there were plenty of opportunities for some fencing practice Upstairs. I quickly headed over to find several members of our fencing team practicing. Miss Bryndal Ellison, Miss Hermoine Pennyfeather, Sir Amplebeak Tinlegs, and Colonel Hotspur O'Toole.

Miss Ellison was gracious enough to send me the team uniform upon my arrival, and after she finished her close match with Sir Amplebeak, she allowed me to practice with her.

Here I am (in the black boots) making an attack on Miss Ellison. Following the cards closely as I have been taught by my mentors and coaches, Exrex Somme and Hotspur O'Toole (seen here sitting on the sidelines providing pointers).

En Garde, Miss Ellison!

Coach Somme and Coach O'Toole!! This one's for you!

(I'm sure it won't stand for long....but at least I have it now for posterity's sake.)

Soon we heard from Lord Greystoke that Lady Middlesea was celebrating her Rez Day, so we changed into something less..erm...white...and headed to Greystoke for the celebration and much ice skating. Lord Primbroke provided the lovely music.

Here I am stretching those sore muscles as I skate about the pond with my fellow revelers.

Ah - relaxation.

Just as I was bidding farewell to everyone at the party, I had an IM from Sir Telemachus that he was in world, and that we needed to discuss the tournament. Once I got home to the Loch we discussed this (as mentioned above) as we skated around my own little rink. (Oh by the way, we have ice in Nellie's Cove which will likely see some skating as well.) As we flew up to the arena - skating on air I might add - Tele said off the cuff, "We should really try fighting with the Claymores while we skate."

It was too silly to pass up! I immediately pulled out my Claymore, skated around the sands of the arena (only in SL!) and we battled! I wish I had the wherewithall to take some snapshots, but I was laughing too hard. I highly recommend this diversion to all who would take it up.

What a great night in Caledon!