Diary of a prophet

No we’re not talking bugle tunes here

I will not be renewing my online domain this year so my blog has now moved to -

http://www.prophetsblog.wordpress.com/

Thank you for reading

Now in order to full appreciate this post I’m afraid you really need to be between 25-35 years of age. This is simply because 1985-1995 was the golden age of the 10p crisps. Sure you can still buy crisps of that price today. However your elders will tell you that the weak, pathetic bags of maize snacks you buy nowadays pale into insignificance next to the crisps of yore.

10p crisps when i was in school were a different ball-game altogether from the crap you get nowadays. Firstly there was the SIZE. The old 10p crisps came in much longer bags, bursting at the seams with your favorite snacks. Then of course there was the TASTE. 10p crisps nowadays are pale, lifeless and boring on your tongue, like going down on your gran. Back when i was a nipper they were dark with flavour. Each bag was like a little roast dinner. On more than one occasion i almost ate my own fingers thinking they were snacks, so darkened with flavour were they.

But which were the best ? Well, this will no doubt be a matter of debate, please be aware this is just my opinion.

In at  #10 -

Now in all honesty i don’t remember these too well, it may be the case that they didn’t actually exist ‘back then’. However these represent all cheese flavour ‘puff ball’ crisps. Rather boring

#9

Yes the classic space raiders. One of the only crisps that has stood the test of time. However i found them a little disappointing. They were never ‘flavoury’ enough for me, the triangle shapes were original but let down by their presentation. The ‘alien’ on the bag looks like a cross between the cover from an iron maiden album and David Bowie

#8

This is the only image i could find and it is not the correct one. Judging by the size of the bag its an American version (no wonder they are all morbidly obese). These particular snacks were the kind of ones you would buy when the tuck-shop was running out of stock. They were ok as far as flavour goes, although your fingers would smell of onion for hours afterwards.

 #7

Ah yes, we are all no doubt familiar with the classic salt ‘n’ vinegar crunchy sticks. The best part about these crisps was that they were always bursting with flavour, sometimes perhaps a little too much flavour ?

#6

Now these were quite an original crisp. Nobody had really done a bacon flavoured 10p crisp before now. A staple classic of mine for years.

#5

Of course we couldn’t forget captain crunch and the battle buggy. Always a challenge trying to fit the wheels on the chassis, i always got there in the end though. A good spicy flavour, still going today i believe

#4

Another one i believe to still be on sale these days. Quarterbacks were small humanoid shaped snacks, cheese flavoured. However there was something about the texture that made them seem very ‘dense’ ? A more filling snack ?

#3

Another original concept. Prawn cocktail flavoured 10p crisps. These were just lovely. I could eat them by the ton. Always really nice and ‘flavory’

#2

NO PICTURE AVAILALE

The reason is i cannot remember the name ! I always thought it was ’supakrunchies’ or something similar. They came in a salt and vinegar flavour that was simply to die for. The bags were massive too. A firm favourite

#1

The mighty tangy toms ! Delicious tomato flavoured crisps. Always drenched in flavour. There simply was no better crisp

Red mill i salute you !

I realise that i haven’t posted a training related post for a long time. Is it because it bores me ? No, not at all. It’s mainly because i found myself posting the same old crap time and time again, i got to the point where i was boring myself ! Posts would consist of ‘oh its all so frustrating’ or ‘Ive injured myself again’. Not exactly thrilling reading. So what has been going on then ? The last time i spoke of training it was after the Europeans and a (rather scathing) report after seni. The big news at the moment for me is that i have a grading in a fortnight, not just any grading either, the grading. Yes its dan-grade time. To me, there are three really important gradings; Your first one (to yellow belt), your dan-grade (to black/blue belt) and your masters grade (4th dan) provided you are still about for that long. 99% of people aren’t. Of course with gradings comes stress, especially for me. Its no secret that i am not a big fan of gradings. And of course, as we are talking dan-grade, it’s mega-stress, it’s starting to get me down. I’m not sleeping properly, i have ulcers (which i only get when i am stressed), I’m ill, although thankfully not too badly. I also have grey hair showing and I’m forgetting silly things. Needless to say it cant come soon enough. If i could do it right this very second then i wouldn’t hesitate, at least maybe i could then relax. Its like having a spring inside your brain that is becoming more compressed every day. You can never unwind, even when you are day off at home because it is always there. Yes I’m thoroughly sick of it all. I think once the grading is over I’ll be taking a week off training, to allow myself to properly unwind.

Of course like all gradings half of the battle is the psychological one. Like jumping into a cold swimming pool, its never as bad once you are in as you thought it was going to be. Once I’m on the mat i will try to be cool, calm and collected. Other students often remark that when i am sparring (anyone) i almost look bored. I look more like i am reading a copy of war & peace rather than fighting another person. The reason is two-fold; Firstly if you stay relaxed you will fight better, secondly i try to never show any emotion. It telegraphs techniques, among other things.

And in other news

Not much to report with the scout build. Done pretty much all i can to it now, just waiting on my two parts from the states (still !). I also need to source a blaster and proper gloves then I’m done. Very much looking forward to sticking it all on for the first time, maybe I’ll just go to tesco or something . . .

Also i haven’t really posted much about airsoft recently. Still as keen as mustard though. I recently picked up a pump action shotgun which i trialed at the weekend. Although lovely to use the range isn’t too amazing, considering i play at a very open outdoor site i just don’t think its going to cut it so its up for sale. If nobody wants it I’ll happily keep it although I’m not too sure when it’ll get used.

This weekend saw a record turn out for the new site, about 20-25 of us, lots of new faces. As one of the old sweats it was my job to take a squad for the day and look after them. I must say they all worked really well for a first game. Watched their spacing and did what they were told with no arguments. The site is massive with mixtures of open moorland and dense woods, perfect for combat patrols which is what i really love. It was nice to be able to give a bunch of chaps a quick order and have them do it with no fuss. Something must have gone right because our squad didn’t get taken out at all during the day. We all got hit at various times but not all of us at the same time. We always managed to get ourselves medic-ed back up. We had some good patrols resulting in wiping out a large portion of the enemy, a nice ambush setup and a good assault on a wooded hill. I’m hoping all the chaps come back again as i thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We are currently planning an overnighter for the end of July. Interested ? Let me know. There’ll no doubt be a night mission or two and plenty of drunken debauchery.

Yes it was a long weekend as expected

I picked Lara and Emma up from the train station at around 08:45. Apart from a stop at Exeter i stopped driving at 18:00. That’s almost nine hours straight kids. I might add that the last two hours were either in gridlocked M25 or racing through the centre of London trying to keep sight of the car in front. I really must get a sat-nav . . .

To our horror/surprise there was a comic-book/anime/manga convention on at the same time in the same building. The nerds easily outweighed the martial arts nuts but at least 20:1. There were some awesome manga costumes (EVERYBODY was in fancy dress). To my surprise there were also some storm-troopers, biker scouts, clone troops, Darth vader and a Jango fett. I only wish i knew in advance so i could have taken my (unfinished) biker-scout armour. The seni exhibition itself was nothing to write home about. I must admit that my overwhelming feeling from the weekend was one of disappointment. There were hardly any weapons stalls, no shaolin demo and stupid prices. Still, the weekend away with the guys was good as always, even if i did have three in ‘my’ room meaning no time alone which i do need. I get a little twitchy if I’m around people all the time. Even the hotel bar shut at 11. Not that i was in the mood for drinking. I drank four pints the entire weekend. Those that know me know how ludicrous that is. All of the demos were the same as the previous years with the exception of one or two. There was a great speech and some demonstrations by the rather nimble (80 year old) Jhoon Rhee who is credited as being the man who brought TKD to the states in the 60’s. He personally taught Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. At 80 years old he can still do 50 push-ups in 30 seconds and a double-board speed break (second time ; ) Not bad . . . Will i be attending the next seni ? Possibly . . . The drive back was just as bad as we got stuck on the M25 AGAIN by another accident. Its the last time i drive to London on a bank-holiday that’s for sure.

So what else is going on ? Well I’m still working furtively on my biker-scout armour. I have finished the tank details, raised the boxes and even completed the stitching on the bund and cod (all by hand i might add). I also riveted the holster to the boot, i need to finish that tonight. Once that is done all i really need is to source the proper gloves and blaster. I also need to construct the thermal detonator and get my hands on an amp. Im very much looking forward to wiring in the audio equipment. The idea is to have a mic in the helmet running to an amp that will sit in one of the pouches on the bund. The other pouch will house an ‘emergency kit’ (white/black tape, superglue etc) and an MP3 player to play music and various sound effects. One sneaky trick i have heard is to wire in a magnetic switch into the ear of the helmet. You then stitch a magnet into the forefinger of one of the gloves. By simply putting finger to ear you can change sound effects. Pretty neat !

Latest picture

And a couple of seni pics

Just a quick post for an update on my biker scout costume build.

So where are we ? Well so far its looking like this -

As much as i hate to say it i think you’ll agree its pretty bloody good !

So whats left to do ? Well, from the top down -

• Helmet - Got to install mic/amp/speaker
• Chest plate - Need to sort out the fabric straps that cover the joins (to the back plate)
• Back plate - Need to finish the decals on the hump and install amp when i get it
• Bund - Still got the stitching up the front to do (some on the cod to do too)
• Drop-boxes - Need to be pulled up a bit
• Gloves - Need to get the proper ones
• Boots - Need to fit the holster
• Blaster - Need to get one

Apart from that I’m still waiting on my bicep section and thermal detonator from the states. Not long left to go now ! Its bloody good fun, not to mention satisfying putting these things together. Id love to work on some kind of costuming for a living . . .

Yes as previously mentioned i am THE king of lame titles

Firstly i managed to fit a sneaky hour of ink in yesterday on the ol’ tat. I don’t have any pictures yet but i can assure you it is 95% finished. I literally have three bars left to shade and then its all gravy baby. The plan is to extend it up a bit further onto the shoulder and around the back. But yes, the end is finally in sight. Going back to my previous entries it would appear i had it started last August. Wow ! It’s certainly been a long and painful road. I certainly wouldn’t recommend ‘big’ tattoo’s for people who are afraid of the sight of needles or have a low pain tolerance : )

Next is my biker-scout build !

Yes it’s all coming along very nicely. I’m currently installing the fan system in the helmet, that’s almost finished now. The hard armour sections for the upper body are finished except for a small bit of detail that needs to go on the tank. And of course I’m still missing a bicep section. This is on order as we speak. This means I’m now working on the cummerbund and the belt. This (rather poorly) edited image shows the upper body hard sections -

And this shows the cummerbund and belt sections -

Neither section is finished yet. The ‘bund still needs some stitching detail and the two big pouches made. And the belt sections are just lightly glued in place. They’ll be riveted on later, then i can add the two drop-leg boxes and we’ll be something like it. Yes there’s still plenty to do . . . It so much fun ! I just love making costumes !

My last update is the archery course. I realised i missed off part-5 but I’ll amalgamate part 5 and 6.  

So part 5 firstly. Well this week we were actually shooting at the same distance as the week before so very little changed. As it was to be our last lesson indoors the time was spent ‘perfecting’ our shooting technique. I must admit, again this week my shooting was spot on. I think during the entire session i only put 4 or so arrows out of the gold. It really felt like my technique had clicked and i almost couldn’t miss. How much different could outside be !? I was going to clean up ! Wasn’t i ?

Part 6 saw our final lesson. This one was spent down at the proper archery field where we would do all of our shooting once we became members (if we wanted to do so). To our surprise the targets had been moved forward so they were only 10 yards away. There were a few mumbles as i think people were expecting to be shooting from a much greater distance. Its a good job they weren’t. At 10 yards even outside it wasn’t too difficult to put most of the arrows in the middle of the target (although people were still missing the targets completely). After a few ends the guys in the lane next to us moved their target back to the 20 yard mark. Not to be outdone we did the same. Even at only 20 yards we were not going to be moving ours back any further, we were all over the shop. Its amazing how much difference it makes being outdoors with cold fingers and the wind whipping through your hair. I had some quite good shots and some truly awful ones too.

At the end of the session that was it, all done. It was quite sad actually. If i want to continue archery i need to register with the national association (and pay 80-odd quid). Once that’s done i can continue to turn up and borrow club equipment until i get my own. There is only one snag and its a bit of a major one. The evening for archery is Wednesday night. This is also the night that i really need to be in training as its a red-belt/dan-grade class. As i have my dan grade coming up in a month or so i need all the practice i can get. But i also want to get back into archery as soon as possible so i dont ‘loose my eye’. Its a bit of a bugger really . . . 

 Yes over the last couple nights i have managed to get my lid pretty much finished.

I was very lucky really as the welding visor i ordered (which needs to be shaped and cut) arrived the day after ordering it ! Super quick service, i must leave them good feedback.  I nipped into B&Q on my way home to pick up a decent sanding block, some gloss white paint and a couple of decent size bolts. I also nipped into a model shop at lunchtime for a little paintbrush and some humbrol paints (satin black and a #5 grey).  Once i got home i jumped into my ‘work outfit’ (my old blue dobok) and went like a madman with the sanding block determined to get that nasty paint off. Once i was bored (about 5 minutes later) i gave it a wipe down and took it outside for a taste of the paint. The gloss white is awful sticky stuff that doesn’t go on well. Still i gave it a few coats and left it outside to go off. Once it was dry to the touch it was time for the next job; Fitting the lens. This comes in the form of a big welding visor that needs to be cut to shape. I made a template out of paper and gave it hell with the scissors. Next the lens needs to be shaped. This is done by taping it into the correct ‘curvature’ and then hovering it over one of the gas hobs. This bends it to the correct shape. Next its a case of attaching it to the inside of the mask with a hot glue gun. The lens is a shade 4, this is slightly lighter than is normally used but its still dark enough that you cannot see into the lid, even with a camera flash (see pics).

This just left the bolts, decals and snout. The bolts were big coach bolts that i had to cut to length with the dremel, easy really. Then you put the nuts on the inside and Robert’s your fathers brother. Next was the decals. There were five to place. These are simply stickers, again pretty easy stuff. Lastly was the snout. This needs to be undercoated black then filled grey, leaving the black edges. Then lastly you stick on the snout ‘greeble’ with the hot glue gun and et voila !

There are a couple of things left to do. I need to paint the bolt heads firstly. Then i need to install a fan system and I’ll also be putting in a mini amp/headset. This makes you sound like an imperial when you talk. You can also hook up a mini MP3 player to play stuff like the imperial march and ‘troop chatter’. For the fans i have picked up some super quiet 40mm/10mm PC fans from ebay for a couple quid. These will be wired into the helmet by the ear holes. They will draw cold air in from the outside and blow it over the lens to stop it from steaming up and keep you cool(er).

All-in-all considering it was a state when i got it im quite happy with the outcome. Tonight i move onto the velcro, elastic and poppers for joining up the armour sections

I have spent a good few hours so far on my biker scout armour build.

I decided to start at the top and work my way down (sort of) as the main part of the scout is his helmet, its also the focal point for any ‘costume’. Now as i mentioned before i am working with my ‘rubies’ helmet which is a challenge in itself. When i got it, it was in a bit of a sorry state. It was covered in fibreglass resin and lots of paint. Also there were sections of filler and bits falling off. I basically stripped the whole thing back using various grades of sandpaper and lots of use of the dremel. Unfortunately the dremel is quite fierce  meaning its all too easy to go straight through the resin, paint and start biting into the vinyl. So the finish on some parts isn’t exactly super-smooth. However with a bit more sanding and a few coats of gloss white it will look fine from a distance. I have also remounted the faceplate into the visor, drilled new bolt holes and cut open the ears (they were open in the ROFJ). Lastly i have cleaned out the inside and put in some foam padding so it fits like a glove. The scout helmet is a lot nicer to wear than the storm trooper. Firstly its much smaller, secondly the field of vision is a lot better. And thirdly due to the open ears you can hear better. The only negative compared to the stormie is that there is less room inside to install a fan system, still, I’m sure i can fit one in somewhere.  The helmet at present looks like this -

I still have to -

• Sand a little more
• Paint
• Put mesh in the ears
• Paint the inside black
• Install the snout piece and decals
• Cut and install eye-piece (welding lens)

So yes there’s still a fair bit to do to get the lid up to scratch. Still I’m hoping to get that all finished up by next week.

Ive also starting on doing the armour. Hang on James, isn’t the armour already ‘done’ ? Well yes, the armour is cast but it still needs work to turn it from a box of fibreglass bits into wearable armour. The first thing that needs doing is the ’slots cut’. In all the armour sections there are a pair of slots that need to be carefully cut out. These will have elastic straps passed through that velcro to the inside of the armour piece. This is so the armour sits snugly against the body. You also have to join the chest and back plates in the same way. You also need to put a popper into the velcro to give it extra durability. So i cut all these slots last night. Cutting fibreglass is a very messy process !

Ive got all the materials required to do the strapping so I’m hoping to get this done over the next week or so.

Once the lid is finished and all the strapping done i have three main sections to work on

1 - The belt. This requires obtaining some 2″ white webbing and riveting the ammo boxes onto.

2 - The cummerbund. This needs to be totally hand made ! Its a section of fabric that covers your entire middle section. It also needs to have a pair of pouches made and mounted onto it.

3 - The boots. This requires getting a pair of desert boots and some white vinyl. The vinyl needs to be stretched, glued and cut. It also requires a holster mounted onto the right boot for the blaster.

In short i have a lot of work to do ! All good fun though, the outcome will be worth it. Lots of pictures to follow . . .

Yes this is going to turn into the mother of all series. I think it might even put my ‘koi’ tattoo topic to shame. Its even going to get its own category.

Readers, friends and acquaintances will no doubt be familiar with my enthusiam for ‘costuming’. Dont ask me why but i have always loved fancy dress with a passion. My intention is always to be the best looking dude in the room (something i cant pull off without the aid of a costume). More specifically, at present, we are looking at star-wars costuming. Now most people will be aware what i managed to get my weasly mits on a storm-trooper outfit, something i have been wanting for a long time. However upon getting it home and getting it on it would appear being a storm-trooper isnt all its cracked up to be.

Firstly there is the bucket (helmet). Although its comfortable enough to wear the field of vision is really lousy. You cannot see anything below waist-height that is closer than 6′ away. If you try to look down the helmet pushes againt the chest plate meaning your head just moves inside the helmet and you are none the wiser. Secondly there is the cod-piece. Unfortunately its a bit of a bugger having a plastic strap going under your knackers. Although its comfortable enough to wear standing up its a pain in the ass (literally) to sit down in, it digs into your thighs and other areas. In short, the whole costume looks amazing and it fine to stand around it. However walking about and/or sitting down is really tough. For me comfort has to the the number one priority.

With all this in mind i have started on my biker scout armour. Now with the stormie i was lucky that the who kit was complete. All the straps, velcro and poppers were already positioned and assembled meaning all i had to do was to put it on. No such luck with the scout. This one is fresh off the press (well, actually its cast in fibreglass not ABS) which means i have a LOT of work to do before i can even think about wearing it. Secondly its not a complete kit meaning i have to source and build a lot of it myself. Like everybody knows i do like a good project so im looking forward to getting cracking on it.

The bits i have are -

• Helmet (three pieces)
• Torso (front & back)
• Arms (shoulder, bicep, forearms)
• Belt (4 boxes)
• Drop-leg boxes
• Knee plates
• Holser (attaches to boot)
• Undersuit (black coveralls, already had)

This may sound quite comprehensive but i still need

• Helmet visor & decals (visor is cut from welding visor)
• Cummerbund & pouches (to be handmade)
• Gloves (two pairs, one thin pair for indoors and a proper leather pair)
• Boots (to be handmade)
• Blaster (probably a resin kit)
• Lots of bits (such a detail part, decals, poppers, straps, velcro, glue etc)

So there’s a fair old amount of work to do. I have a few bits on the way already but i also still need to source certain fiddly parts. I expect im going to start at the top and work down. So for the first part of the project i need to sort the bucket out. The helmet i have is known as a ‘rubies bucket’. This is a common helmet that is made from think vinal. Thew problem with vinal is that its not too sturdy. It has a tendancy to warp when it gets hot. This means i have to do some re-enforcing with strips of steel to make sure it keeps its shape. The bucket itself is a bit beatup and needs stripping down, some parts fixing and building back up again. This is going to be a project in itself. Once thats finished i’ll look to joining the armour sections and starting work on the cummberbund . . . Like i said, lots to do. Still the finished article should be pretty sweet. I’ll take lots of pictures along the way and use this as a journal. This is what the finished thing should (and hopefully will) look like

Yep, these weeks seem to be getting shorter !

On Friday i once again made my way over the the hall in Truro for the next installment of my archery course. This week the information brief at the start was quite short. We were given a basic insight as to what sort of equipment we should be looking at buying if/when we decide to get our own kit. I must say there was loads of stuff i hadn’t even heard of let along thought of. Things such as bow stands, fletching repair kits, arrow straighteners . . . Food for thought indeed. I’m still undecided as to what i wish to do once the course finishes. I do really enjoy it but do i have the time/space/funds for another hobby ? I’m not sure.

Once our brief was over we cracked on with the shooting. We again moved another five metres back so we are now shooting at 20 metres. For most people this meant they had to adjust their sights once again. For me, my first three ’sighting’ arrows went into the gold i so left them the hell alone ! Saying that my next three were all over the shop so who knows. I was only with my regular group for 10 minutes or so when i told it might be an idea for me to go with a different coach. Odd i thought, not sure if they were trying to get rid of me ? I hope not, I’m ever so polite when I’m there. Either way it was a blessing in disguise. On my last arrow with my ‘usual’ coach i hit a five (blue circle) which i never do. I consistently hit nines and sevens normally. So i packed up my arrows and bow and headed over to my new coach, a short stocky man with a big beard, he also shoots longbow which is something I’m interested in. Within seconds he noticed a few things that i was doing that i wasn’t even aware of (he is a level 2 coach as opposed to the level 1 i had before). Firstly is my posture. It would appear that on the last tenth of the draw i lean backwards ever so slightly. I thought he was talking rubbish so he held an arrow-shaft an inch behind my head as i drew up the bow. Sure enough i felt it touch my head, he didn’t move it either. The other thing i do in the very last part of the draw is move my head to the string not the other way around. Lastly because i ‘am a beefy chap’ (not my words !) i tend to use my arm muscles to draw the bow. You want to aim to draw the bow using the muscles in your back by rotating your shoulder-blade. You can get away with an ‘arm-pull’ using an 18lb bow but when you get your own bow you will probably be at least doubling the poundage and after a few arrows your arm will be shagged.

So with my new points to work on i proceeded to send the arrows downrange. All of a sudden my accuracy went right up. I was now putting every arrow (and i do mean every arrow) into the gold. My score card at the end of the session read straight 9’s. It was actually quite embarrassing in a modest-try-not-to-look-too-pleased kind of way. I left the session feeling very pleased and felt like i had really learned something. That’s not a slight on my first coach who was still very good, its just the other chap noticed different things.

One other thing i have noticed and that is the drive home from archery. I feel incredibly relaxed and i drive probably better than i do at any other time. I don’t know what it is, its hard to explain. The car almost feels smoother although i know its me and not the car. The practice of archery really ’smooths you out’ its very difficult to explain but very noticeable nonetheless. The feeling of satisfaction you get from banging arrow after arrow in the gold is incredible. Im going to really miss this course once it finishes . . .