Do You Schniff Schnoff?
Jan. 26th, 2026 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeIt's been a terrible week, largely because I've been laden with cold. It's probably the same one that Wolfie has, which also had a resurgence last week following a benign weekend last weekend. At least that meant we could go to Winter's Embrace, but the upshot is that I've had to cancel most things this week. I was due to go to an escape room with Al on Thursday and then meet up with my Dutch friend Dumdeedum, who was staying at Arakin's from Thursday through today. The plan had been to meet on Saturday for dinner, but I was still feeling acute dizziness. Instead, I thought a walk would help (and I needed to take the bins out anyway), but this turned out to be a mistake. I ended up tripping on a circle of white plastic strapping - of the kind you bind heavy boxes with - which someone had thoughtfully left on a dimmed path. I went arse over tit and swore, not noticing the child nearby. There was a very nice Indian gentleman who helped me up, but suffice to say I sprained my wrist. I was in complete agony for the rest of Saturday and I still feel the pain now, albeit in twinges. When I woke up on Sunday, I marvelled at the miracle of my own body as there was no pain for the first five seconds, before the throbbing return.
This threw everything out of whack basically, as I also had to take three days off work. I did manage to speak to my accountant and sort out a few tax issues ahead of submitting my 2025 return. The only other thing that happened was Burn's Night, which was yesterday. When looking for things to do at New Year, I noticed this happening, and thought it would be good to do instead. I had to confirm my attendance on the Saturday and we ended up going, despite my wrist and Wolfie's persistent cough. Had we not already paid the €39 in advance, we may have stayed at home. Anyway, we were on our own little table for two, which was good, and I'm glad we went. We were given a welcome drink of blended whisky from Copper Dog followed by a three-course meal of cullen skink. haggis and cranachan. They were all delicious, particularly the smoked haddock soup, although the haggis was a little moist for my tastes. It had been made locally though, so it was a good job from a German butcher. Between courses, we were entertained by Elgin-born but Berlin-residing drag queen Gieza Poke. She introduced herself table by table before proceedings and was delighted to discover we were furries who are heading to Glasgow the week after next for Scotiacon. Between the courses, there were poetry readings from a pamphlet of Burns poems on the table (which unfortunately I left behind) as well as a book containing Burns' entire works. I was too shy to stand up and give a reading, but there was a quiz at the end, where I answered a question and got a free whisky. Gieza also addressed the haggis in a proper manner, while her brother, who was visiting, read some Ivor Cutler poems. He has many hats. Most of the people there were Anglophone, but it was a good crew, plus I did enjoy chatting with Wolfie about a range of things (although I could have done without the hypnosis-themed conversation). With four IPAs drunk and various whiskies ordered, it has been a bit of a fuzzy day thus far, but it was definitely worth it.
This threw everything out of whack basically, as I also had to take three days off work. I did manage to speak to my accountant and sort out a few tax issues ahead of submitting my 2025 return. The only other thing that happened was Burn's Night, which was yesterday. When looking for things to do at New Year, I noticed this happening, and thought it would be good to do instead. I had to confirm my attendance on the Saturday and we ended up going, despite my wrist and Wolfie's persistent cough. Had we not already paid the €39 in advance, we may have stayed at home. Anyway, we were on our own little table for two, which was good, and I'm glad we went. We were given a welcome drink of blended whisky from Copper Dog followed by a three-course meal of cullen skink. haggis and cranachan. They were all delicious, particularly the smoked haddock soup, although the haggis was a little moist for my tastes. It had been made locally though, so it was a good job from a German butcher. Between courses, we were entertained by Elgin-born but Berlin-residing drag queen Gieza Poke. She introduced herself table by table before proceedings and was delighted to discover we were furries who are heading to Glasgow the week after next for Scotiacon. Between the courses, there were poetry readings from a pamphlet of Burns poems on the table (which unfortunately I left behind) as well as a book containing Burns' entire works. I was too shy to stand up and give a reading, but there was a quiz at the end, where I answered a question and got a free whisky. Gieza also addressed the haggis in a proper manner, while her brother, who was visiting, read some Ivor Cutler poems. He has many hats. Most of the people there were Anglophone, but it was a good crew, plus I did enjoy chatting with Wolfie about a range of things (although I could have done without the hypnosis-themed conversation). With four IPAs drunk and various whiskies ordered, it has been a bit of a fuzzy day thus far, but it was definitely worth it.
