Saw just *the* most amazing chanty singer last night at a house concert - Tom Lewis. He's an Irish ex-British navyman living in Canada that looks like the quintessential bandy-legged Brit sailor. Stick a striped shirt on the man and he could have climbed the riggin' right then and there. And ageless - he's pushing 60 by what he said last night, but I wouldn't have pegged him over 45 or so. And that *voice*!! Heaven help me, I thought he was going to bring the room down, it was that powerful. Rich, ringing - intense is the only way to sum it up. A genuinely nice man, too, he was trying to get to know all the people who showed up for the concert. Great stories, great songs. A legitimate folksinger hero. I usually do handwork during these things - fingers just can't keep still - and found that I couldn't even begin to work as he commanded the room. I think he got a pleasant surprise, too, as it turned out a lot of people there either knew his stuff or picked up on it fast; he had a room full of backup singers that he seemed to appreciate. *sigh* I hate work-night concerts (hour-n-a-half home sucks) but this was SO worth it.

At least my brain seems to have recovered from this past weekend. Two solid days trying to cram an entire fighting system into my head left a serious concrete block in my head come Monday. Spanish rapier is fascinating, but it's so different from the other styles I know that having to block out old knowledge while taking in all the new drove me nuts. It didn't help that I walked in there all thinking it was no big deal, that I could handle it fine. Nor did it help that I had to miss the basic introductory material since they covered that Friday, when I couldn't be there. By Sunday evening I'm afraid I wasn't good for much, very frustrated as all the stuff I'd learned tried to come out at once and made it nearly impossible for me to fence with any skill at all. I like the style more than I thought, though, and I think it'll be worth pursuing just for fun. I still consider myself English as a swordsman, but the Spanish is different enough that it will be good to know, and stylistic enough to throw hissy fits into people who aren't used to facing it ;) BWAH HAH HAH HA HAAAAAA!!