Fire In The Kitchen...

[lupestripe]

MANCHESTER MINIMEET - 13th AND 14th SEPTEMBER 2008

I haven't felt this relaxed about the Fandom and my place in it for over a year. I have always known that I don't quite fit in but the fantastic weekend that has just passed has made me realise that that doesn't particularly matter. I have had four amazing consecutive weekends doing furry things now and the fact that I am making people laugh means a lot to me. Some of the other kind comments that people have said about me spontaneously have also been touching.

I never usually go to the Manchester Minimeets for reasons of work and distance but I had promised to stay with blueberrybadger  this weekend and as crashtiger  was coming over from the US to join in the furry fun, I thought it would be too much of an opportunity to miss.

Blueberry is a fantastic host and his curries were exceptionally hot. But they weren't as hot as his wall and ceiling, which he inexplicably manage to burn (I think the technical term is flambee) as he was preparing the feast. This caused the fire alarm to go off and the entire student building to be evacuated for half an hour. stuart_otterson (great guy, intensely funny over the weekend, even if he didn't like my Moss Side references) particularly revelled in the badger's misfortune, running around outside and telling everyone who would listen that it was blueberrybadger 's fault, before pointing at him and giggling.

The curry was excellent though - shrimp, mushroom and another one I can't remember - and a thoroughly enjoyable evening was spent at the impromptu furmeet that went on at his house. We even introduced a girl called Aften to the proceedings and she thoroughly dug the furry philosophy - staying until 5am before buggering off to play Guitar Hero with crashtiger  and Zion Fox.

Before this, I met up with my good friend baloki and we had headed to Canal Street where I downed four double vodka and cokes in the space of an hour (I don't know why I did this, I hadn't intended to). This made me a little drunk and so I decided to buy two sets of rabbit ears and speak Spanish to the rotund Mexican lady who was selling me them. At the time, I thought I was getting a bargain as I haggled down from £3 to £2 but in hindsight I probably wasn't. I proceeded to wear them for the remainder of the evening.

A lot of the furs were coming back from the Trafford Centre and it was great briefly chatting to them. Of the furs I spoke to, calihusky  and exiledwolf  were there although sadly they didn't take any notice of my advice the following day - still electing to buy the poppadoms in Sainsburys when they should have gone for the nachos. frost_t_wolf  was there because I wore his smelly cap and balto_mike  was around too, who was kindly looking out for me. I also ate a lot of jinxxy 's divine American Peanut Butter candy - drinking does give you the munchies... We all chatted, I drank and probably made a pillock of myself and I made people laugh. A great time was had by all.

I was elated once I found out that blueberrybadger's flat is near Moss Side and I tried to go for a 2am wander into No Man's Land. Sadly kennofox , kiffylee  and stuart_otterson  advised against it so I just had to look out at the window longingly at it. I genuinely want to see what it's like, more out of curiosity than anything. It's not bravado, it's just my natural inquisitiveness. Maybe one day I will do it (plus kennofox and Richard Nixon agrees...).

For a meal that was meant to be prepared at 7pm, we sat down to have it sometime after midnight. By this time, we had already visited blueberrybadger's local (The Whitworth) and met his flatmate, whose family happens to own one of the biggest curry chains in Middlesbrough. Seeing him upon my arrival at blueberrybadger's bedecked in a Boro scarf was a surreal experience - probably about as surreal as it was for him to see eight furries embracing the furry fun in his front room as he was cooking his breakfast at 4am.

It was great meeting crashtiger  - there is hard to find a more placid and generous person in the Fandom. He shared a lot of stories about his US experiences and of course plenty of hugs over concotions especially crafted for us using the kennofox  method of throwing as much random shit into a glass as possible and then drinking it because it's alcohol, isn't it? It was particularly touching to find out that I was one of the furs who crashtiger  really wanted to meet and I am already looking forward to our next meeting, whether it will be in the UK or in the US next year.

On Sunday, a few of us had more drinkage, particularly cocktails which I am particularly in favour of. The Key West Coolers at AXM are divine and I noticed that each one was getting more and more potent - perhaps that was a sign. We also went to a Chinese restaurant where I had some Sun-Lick beer, which to be honest tasted like Lun-Sick it was that bad. I also ate loads of chips and had a long chat with Zion Fox for the first time, who it was great getting to know.

Apart from that, I bought a 5 foot by 3 foot rainbow flag which is currently adorning the wall above my bed. It was a rather expensive purchase but it is a fantastic one nonetheless as every time I look at it, I think about how far I have come over the last few years. I was going to buy a bigger one (6 foot by 4 foot) but kennofox persuaded me not to. I'm glad he did as it wouldn't have fitted on my wall :-)

On the way back home, I dropped in to see wolfie_uk  and even though we only saw each other for an hour, it was still great being in his company. The feelings that I have for him are so intense at the moment that every time I think of him I just melt inside. I know I am immesurably lucky to be his boyfriend and pet because the intensity of these feelings are unlike anything I have ever felt before. I just love him so much and every day I feel grateful to be going out with him.
So a weekend of fantastic memories and great experiences, and one that shows to me just how lucky I am. Thanks to all who made this weekend so great and hopefully, I will see you again really soon.