#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
Sunday, November 09, 2025
Mince Pie Fest 2025: M&S Collection
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
Saturday, November 08, 2025
Mince Pie Fest 2025: Asda Exceptional
Well, well, well.
These have a lovely firm and sweet pastry, and a mild but tasty filling. There are lots of varied fruity, spicy, and boozy flavours in here, but the diverse mix of tastes is never overwhelming. Maybe I'd like to be a little overwhelmed, and maybe there could be more of that delicious filling, and maybe the pastry is a bit dry, but I'm nitpicking. These are very good pies indeed. 4 out of 5. (Palm oil)
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
These have a lovely firm and sweet pastry, and a mild but tasty filling. There are lots of varied fruity, spicy, and boozy flavours in here, but the diverse mix of tastes is never overwhelming. Maybe I'd like to be a little overwhelmed, and maybe there could be more of that delicious filling, and maybe the pastry is a bit dry, but I'm nitpicking. These are very good pies indeed. 4 out of 5. (Palm oil)
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
Friday, November 07, 2025
Cthulhu Hack: Boston 1973 (part two)
Continued from here.
The next day, the investigators went to visit the Sisters of Mercy, where the apparently revenant Pat Bibby had been buried. On the way they remembered that the priest O'Brian was going to visit the Sisters so turned around and headed for his church, with the intent to travel together. Upon arrival they were informed that father O'Brian had already left, so they turned around again and went back to the Sisters' house.
Upon arrival they found all the curtains drawn and the front door unlocked. Inside they found two corpses in the entrance hall, one a woman hanging by her neck and another, O'Brian, slumped on the ground. Frank tried to get the woman down, hoping that she was still alive, and a spider the size of his hand crawled down her leg and leaped at him! The big bruiser dodged the spider, pulled out his handgun, and blasted the thing into goo.
All of this was too much for Danny and he blacked out.
The others examined O'Brian, finding puncture wounds in his neck and blood around his mouth and on his fingers, as if he'd been digging around in his own mouth...
Al splashed some whisky down Danny's gullet, bringing him back from unconsciousness, and the investigators, um, investigated further. They entered a chapel with what appeared to be a human body cocooned in webs on the altar. Frank crept in while the others held back and prodded the body, expecting a horde of spider to emerge. Which is exactly what happened.
They shot at and stomped on the spiders, but more appeared from under chairs and behind curtains, so the group retreated, shutting the door behind them. Within seconds, tens of tiny spider feet could be heard tapping at the door.
Moving on, the investigators went out the back door into the garden and found some graves, including that of Pat Bibby; her grave had been dug up and the coffin was empty. They then went into the kitchen and found two more hanging corpses, and two more spiders! Al and Frank killed the arachnids, but the shock broke Muriel's mind and she became confused, forgetting anything from waking up that morning. Why was she here? Where was here? What was going on? While the others attended to Muriel, Al searched the kitchen for anything useful and found a small can of kerosene.
They found the Sisters' office and found evidence that someone had stood on the desk in muddy shoes, and that a rope tied to a ceiling beam had been cut. They also discovered that somehow the spiders had got out of the chapel! How did they open the door? Surely they couldn't be intelligent?
(Yes and don't call me Shirley, etc.)
The investigators shut the office door and barricaded it with the heavy desk, and then went next door into a visitor's room, where they found the exsanguinated corpse of a male toddler and an open door, through which spiders poured! The investigators backed into the office, with Frank blocking the door and Al splashing kerosene over the approaching arachnids then setting them aflame. But there were too many spiders and Al was bitten, the venom causing his limbs to stiffen.
Danny grabbed the confused Muriel and got her out of the house, with Frank following, but Al instead headed down into the cellar, where he was swarmed by even more spiders and bitten multiple times. Danny shoved his aunt into Frank's arms, told his old friend to look after her, then ran back into the house to rescue Al. In the chaos, Danny also was bitten a number of times, while Al's condition worsened; he was unable to fight off the spider attacks, shuddering with seizures as the venom ravaged his nervous system. Frank returned to the house to drag them both out. Muriel, alone and confused, wandered off into the fog.
Frank shoved Al and Danny into Al's car and drove off. Danny used his Scrounger ability to find a small vial in his jacket pocket; he remembered picking it up on one of his travels and was pretty sure it was spider antivenom.
Probably.
Ish.
Danny burned a couple of investigation dice to leverage this cosmic coincidence to halt the venom killing Al, leaving him alive but on 2 CON! The three men drove off and soon passed Muriel wandering about. Stopping to pick up Danny's baffled aunt, the investigators drove away to lick their wounds.
The next day, the investigators went to visit the Sisters of Mercy, where the apparently revenant Pat Bibby had been buried. On the way they remembered that the priest O'Brian was going to visit the Sisters so turned around and headed for his church, with the intent to travel together. Upon arrival they were informed that father O'Brian had already left, so they turned around again and went back to the Sisters' house.
Upon arrival they found all the curtains drawn and the front door unlocked. Inside they found two corpses in the entrance hall, one a woman hanging by her neck and another, O'Brian, slumped on the ground. Frank tried to get the woman down, hoping that she was still alive, and a spider the size of his hand crawled down her leg and leaped at him! The big bruiser dodged the spider, pulled out his handgun, and blasted the thing into goo.
All of this was too much for Danny and he blacked out.
The others examined O'Brian, finding puncture wounds in his neck and blood around his mouth and on his fingers, as if he'd been digging around in his own mouth...
Al splashed some whisky down Danny's gullet, bringing him back from unconsciousness, and the investigators, um, investigated further. They entered a chapel with what appeared to be a human body cocooned in webs on the altar. Frank crept in while the others held back and prodded the body, expecting a horde of spider to emerge. Which is exactly what happened.
They shot at and stomped on the spiders, but more appeared from under chairs and behind curtains, so the group retreated, shutting the door behind them. Within seconds, tens of tiny spider feet could be heard tapping at the door.
Moving on, the investigators went out the back door into the garden and found some graves, including that of Pat Bibby; her grave had been dug up and the coffin was empty. They then went into the kitchen and found two more hanging corpses, and two more spiders! Al and Frank killed the arachnids, but the shock broke Muriel's mind and she became confused, forgetting anything from waking up that morning. Why was she here? Where was here? What was going on? While the others attended to Muriel, Al searched the kitchen for anything useful and found a small can of kerosene.
They found the Sisters' office and found evidence that someone had stood on the desk in muddy shoes, and that a rope tied to a ceiling beam had been cut. They also discovered that somehow the spiders had got out of the chapel! How did they open the door? Surely they couldn't be intelligent?
(Yes and don't call me Shirley, etc.)
The investigators shut the office door and barricaded it with the heavy desk, and then went next door into a visitor's room, where they found the exsanguinated corpse of a male toddler and an open door, through which spiders poured! The investigators backed into the office, with Frank blocking the door and Al splashing kerosene over the approaching arachnids then setting them aflame. But there were too many spiders and Al was bitten, the venom causing his limbs to stiffen.
Danny grabbed the confused Muriel and got her out of the house, with Frank following, but Al instead headed down into the cellar, where he was swarmed by even more spiders and bitten multiple times. Danny shoved his aunt into Frank's arms, told his old friend to look after her, then ran back into the house to rescue Al. In the chaos, Danny also was bitten a number of times, while Al's condition worsened; he was unable to fight off the spider attacks, shuddering with seizures as the venom ravaged his nervous system. Frank returned to the house to drag them both out. Muriel, alone and confused, wandered off into the fog.
Probably.
Ish.
Danny burned a couple of investigation dice to leverage this cosmic coincidence to halt the venom killing Al, leaving him alive but on 2 CON! The three men drove off and soon passed Muriel wandering about. Stopping to pick up Danny's baffled aunt, the investigators drove away to lick their wounds.
Mince Pie Fest 2025: Aldi Specially Selected
The pastry on these has a nice firm texture, but the flavour is a tiny bit sickly. The filling has a full, fruity, tangy taste, and there is plenty of it, but the texture is a bit... gritty? These should be very good pies, but minor flaws make them a bit off-putting. 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
Thursday, November 06, 2025
Mince Pie Fest 2025: Asda Joyous
"Joyous" is a bit strong. Steady on.
But these aren't too bad. A firm pastry with a pleasant crumble gives way to a tasty filling full of lovely spices. These pies are a bit on the small side -- 6cm diameter and quite shallow -- and there's a hint of saltiness in the pastry that I don't enjoy, but I am fussy about salt. Pretty good for a cheap(ish) pie. 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
(If you'd like to suuport this absurd but apparently popular exercise in increasing the size of my waistline then donations are gratefully accepted at Ko-fi.)
But these aren't too bad. A firm pastry with a pleasant crumble gives way to a tasty filling full of lovely spices. These pies are a bit on the small side -- 6cm diameter and quite shallow -- and there's a hint of saltiness in the pastry that I don't enjoy, but I am fussy about salt. Pretty good for a cheap(ish) pie. 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)
#MincePieFest2025 #MincePieADay
(If you'd like to suuport this absurd but apparently popular exercise in increasing the size of my waistline then donations are gratefully accepted at Ko-fi.)
Monday, October 27, 2025
Cthulhu Hack: Boston 1973 (part one)
I thought I'd give Stuart a break from running games, celebrate the "spooky season", and also cross off one of my many unplayed games, and so I put together a Cthulhu Hack investigation for the group.
The adventure is set in Boston in 1973, a city simmering with cultural tensions, carved up between rival organised crime groups, and which is unusually cold and foggy, even for a Massachusetts October.
The characters are all associated with or employed by Angel Investigations, a private detective agency formed by Eva Angel to give back to the community. Angel Investigations is run at a loss, mostly because of a lot of pro bono work, and is propped up by Eva's personal fortune, a sizeable inheritance.
The investigators are:
26/10/1973:
Angel Investigations was hired by Tara Brooks to find her brother Wesley, a freelance journalist with a particular interest in stories of the occult and supernatural. She had not spoken to Wesley since the 19th.
The investigators clambered into Al's messy car and went to Wesley's apartment. There they found notes on stories on which he had been working, including a ghost sighting and household pets drained of blood by a "vampire"; these two events took place close to each other. They also found a number for the Falcon Hotel; they rang and the desk clerk -- Robert -- told them that Wesley had not been seen since the 21st and owed payment for the room. They were also holding some of Wesley's belongings until payment was made.
The group went to the hotel and paid the fee. They received a book bag full of notes and research materials, indicating an interest in dancing ghosts, mention of a "priest", and an intention to visit Mary Wilson, the person who reported the ghost sighting.
The investigators then visited Wilson, who told them that her neighbour Pat Bibby received a parcel on Saturday the 13th and was later seen dancing a "strange jig" in her living room. Police visited the house on Monday the 15th and found Bibby hanged. Bibby had a funeral service at Our Lady of Grace on Thursday the 18th, and on the evening of the 18th, Wilson saw Bibby return to her home, enter for about 20 minutes, then leave again, vanishing into the fog. Wilson also reported that Wesley had interviewed her and seemed most interested in the dancing aspect.
They pondered investigating Bibby's house as it was just across the road, but decided to return after dark. Instead they visited Our Lady of Grace and spoke to Father O'Brian, who seemed preoccupied. The priest was caught a bit off-guard by their disconnected, scattershot lines of questioning but he revealed that Bibby was a good Catholic, knew that suicide was a mortal sin, and seemed relatively happy, so her death came as a considerable shock. He confirmed that Bibby was not buried on church grounds -- because of the suicide -- but that a local charitable organisation, the Sisters of Mercy, had offered to have her buried on the grounds of their building.
O'Brian dismissed the stories of exsanguinated pets, considering them to be idle gossip, and didn't have much time for tales of Pat Bibby returning from the grave; he was unimpressed when Al pointed out that Jesus Christ had done the same.
Aunt Muriel prodded O'Brian until he revealed that he was concerned because his parishioners John and Lauren O'Connor's toddler Julian had gone missing the night before. The police were involved, of course, but it was still a concern. The priest was unwilling to involve the investigators as the O'Connors had enough to worry about already, but again Muriel prodded until he agreed to telephone the family and ask if they would be willing to speak to the people from Angel.
(While O'Brian disappeared to make the phone call, the investigators had a quick sniff around the church for anything suspicious and found nothing.)
The priest returned to say that the O'Connors had agreed to see the investigators and gave them the address. There, they ran into some openly hostile Boston PD officers and learned that a Detective Jordan was on the case. They searched the house, finding nothing unusual beyond a suggestion that the boy's window had been forced, and some cobweb strands on the outside of the window and in the garden below. The cobwebs seemed normal enough, just out of place. Al took a sample.
Promising to return with any news, the investigators then went back to Pat Bibby's house, which had been boarded up by the police. Al scouted around the back and found that the boards had been carefully removed from the back door. Entering they found signs of Bibby's suicide, and a mysterious box that had been posted to Bibby from Italy on the 3rd. Inside was a mass of webbing in which was a small spherical depression. They also found some tiny crystals, about the size of rice grains.
In the cellar they noted that one wall was newer than the others, and had been put up in a hurry. Big Frank bashed this sloppy construction down in about an hour and in the cavity beyond the investigators found a beheaded and bound naked corpse of a man. Frank noted that the neck wound was clean, probably from a very sharp implement, and that the body had almost mummified, probably from the warm and dry conditions behind the wall. Al pondered how Frank knew so much about corpses...
Finding nothing else of interest, they decided to clean up and then call in the discovery of the body, anonymously. Then they decamped to a grotty late night diner to go over their findings and plan their next moves.
Continued here.
The adventure is set in Boston in 1973, a city simmering with cultural tensions, carved up between rival organised crime groups, and which is unusually cold and foggy, even for a Massachusetts October.
The characters are all associated with or employed by Angel Investigations, a private detective agency formed by Eva Angel to give back to the community. Angel Investigations is run at a loss, mostly because of a lot of pro bono work, and is propped up by Eva's personal fortune, a sizeable inheritance.
The investigators are:
- Danny Angel, Eva's brother, a world traveller, estranged from the Angel family, and recently returned home in search of direction.
- Frank Armstrong, Danny's old school friend and occasional agency muscle. There are some suggestions that he has a shady past, which in a city like Boston, could mean all sorts of horrible things.
- Al Chinard, Eva's on/off boyfriend, occasional heavy, and specialist in getting into places in which he's not supposed to be.
- Muriel Shepherd, Danny and Eva's aunt, a struggling actor who helps out the agency between acting jobs.
26/10/1973:
The investigators clambered into Al's messy car and went to Wesley's apartment. There they found notes on stories on which he had been working, including a ghost sighting and household pets drained of blood by a "vampire"; these two events took place close to each other. They also found a number for the Falcon Hotel; they rang and the desk clerk -- Robert -- told them that Wesley had not been seen since the 21st and owed payment for the room. They were also holding some of Wesley's belongings until payment was made.
The group went to the hotel and paid the fee. They received a book bag full of notes and research materials, indicating an interest in dancing ghosts, mention of a "priest", and an intention to visit Mary Wilson, the person who reported the ghost sighting.
The investigators then visited Wilson, who told them that her neighbour Pat Bibby received a parcel on Saturday the 13th and was later seen dancing a "strange jig" in her living room. Police visited the house on Monday the 15th and found Bibby hanged. Bibby had a funeral service at Our Lady of Grace on Thursday the 18th, and on the evening of the 18th, Wilson saw Bibby return to her home, enter for about 20 minutes, then leave again, vanishing into the fog. Wilson also reported that Wesley had interviewed her and seemed most interested in the dancing aspect.
They pondered investigating Bibby's house as it was just across the road, but decided to return after dark. Instead they visited Our Lady of Grace and spoke to Father O'Brian, who seemed preoccupied. The priest was caught a bit off-guard by their disconnected, scattershot lines of questioning but he revealed that Bibby was a good Catholic, knew that suicide was a mortal sin, and seemed relatively happy, so her death came as a considerable shock. He confirmed that Bibby was not buried on church grounds -- because of the suicide -- but that a local charitable organisation, the Sisters of Mercy, had offered to have her buried on the grounds of their building.
O'Brian dismissed the stories of exsanguinated pets, considering them to be idle gossip, and didn't have much time for tales of Pat Bibby returning from the grave; he was unimpressed when Al pointed out that Jesus Christ had done the same.
Aunt Muriel prodded O'Brian until he revealed that he was concerned because his parishioners John and Lauren O'Connor's toddler Julian had gone missing the night before. The police were involved, of course, but it was still a concern. The priest was unwilling to involve the investigators as the O'Connors had enough to worry about already, but again Muriel prodded until he agreed to telephone the family and ask if they would be willing to speak to the people from Angel.
(While O'Brian disappeared to make the phone call, the investigators had a quick sniff around the church for anything suspicious and found nothing.)
The priest returned to say that the O'Connors had agreed to see the investigators and gave them the address. There, they ran into some openly hostile Boston PD officers and learned that a Detective Jordan was on the case. They searched the house, finding nothing unusual beyond a suggestion that the boy's window had been forced, and some cobweb strands on the outside of the window and in the garden below. The cobwebs seemed normal enough, just out of place. Al took a sample.
Promising to return with any news, the investigators then went back to Pat Bibby's house, which had been boarded up by the police. Al scouted around the back and found that the boards had been carefully removed from the back door. Entering they found signs of Bibby's suicide, and a mysterious box that had been posted to Bibby from Italy on the 3rd. Inside was a mass of webbing in which was a small spherical depression. They also found some tiny crystals, about the size of rice grains.
In the cellar they noted that one wall was newer than the others, and had been put up in a hurry. Big Frank bashed this sloppy construction down in about an hour and in the cavity beyond the investigators found a beheaded and bound naked corpse of a man. Frank noted that the neck wound was clean, probably from a very sharp implement, and that the body had almost mummified, probably from the warm and dry conditions behind the wall. Al pondered how Frank knew so much about corpses...
Finding nothing else of interest, they decided to clean up and then call in the discovery of the body, anonymously. Then they decamped to a grotty late night diner to go over their findings and plan their next moves.
Continued here.
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Star Wars '78
(Yikes! I wrote this back in August, but held it back as I had plans for some follow-up posts. Those plans have changed for... reasons that I'll go into in a few weeks.)
In the sort of weird coincidence that makes humans believe in something that surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together, Star Wars gaming popped into my head from two different directions over the past couple of weeks. First, Stuart started running a short Star Wars D6 game; I haven't played it since around 1995 and it's been great fun getting back into it. A couple of days later, Jez Gordon asked, on the medias social:
This coincidence has got me thinking about an idea I've had for a while, which is the sort of Star Wars game I would run, and that game is Star Wars '78.
The three basic principles are this:
Let's see what happens...
Live long and prosper!
In the sort of weird coincidence that makes humans believe in something that surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together, Star Wars gaming popped into my head from two different directions over the past couple of weeks. First, Stuart started running a short Star Wars D6 game; I haven't played it since around 1995 and it's been great fun getting back into it. A couple of days later, Jez Gordon asked, on the medias social:
"If you were gonna play in a Star Wars D6 campaign what would be your favorite era and why?"To which I replied:
"Rebellion(ish), after SW but before ESB, in that fertile space where there was no more Star Wars, and anything goes.
(Basically, Marvel Star Wars.)"
The three basic principles are this:
- Only Star Wars itself -- the first film, and maybe its adaptations -- is canon.
- Anything that came after can be used for inspiration, but isn't to be considered a "fact".
- Anything I invent/borrow/steal cannot contradict Star Wars, but I can happily negate anything else.
Let's see what happens...
Live long and prosper!
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Cadet Zenith
Cadet Marvel, a teen sidekick for Captain Marvel, from 2023:
Zenith, 2000AD's pop star superhero, from 1987:
Hm.
Zenith, 2000AD's pop star superhero, from 1987:
Hm.
Thursday, September 25, 2025
His Head Doesn't Glimmer
I started watching Andor yesterday.
Gosh that first episode is terrible at setting up the premise, isn't it? If you were coming to this without having seen Rogue One it must be baffling; coming to it as a casual Star Wars fan, or as someone following the hype, it must be incomprehensible. But I will stick with it, as I am told by everyone that it is very good indeed.
In truth, it will be a bit of a struggle, not least because I can't take the villain Syril Karn seriously. He's basically Arnold Rimmer.
With the protagonist -- opening scene aside -- being portrayed as a cheeky chancer, the whole thing has a UK sitcom feel, which isn't helped by 90% of the cast having appeared in UK sitcoms. We'll see how far I can get.
Gosh that first episode is terrible at setting up the premise, isn't it? If you were coming to this without having seen Rogue One it must be baffling; coming to it as a casual Star Wars fan, or as someone following the hype, it must be incomprehensible. But I will stick with it, as I am told by everyone that it is very good indeed.
In truth, it will be a bit of a struggle, not least because I can't take the villain Syril Karn seriously. He's basically Arnold Rimmer.
With the protagonist -- opening scene aside -- being portrayed as a cheeky chancer, the whole thing has a UK sitcom feel, which isn't helped by 90% of the cast having appeared in UK sitcoms. We'll see how far I can get.
Monday, September 15, 2025
10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
Bear with me, my computer died last week, hence the lack of significant updates.
(Not that I'm promising significant updates when my new thinking machine arrives, but you get what I mean.)
I'll be back in a few days. I hope.
(Not that I'm promising significant updates when my new thinking machine arrives, but you get what I mean.)
I'll be back in a few days. I hope.
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