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Yesterday, I had a morning! I actually woke up before midday on a Saturday, at 0830 no less, so I could get to the tool shop and still be in Fishersgate for 11AM. Of course, I missed my connection at Brighton station (my train was late, and the connecting train pulled out of the platform just as our doors opened), thus balancing out my good fortune until that point.
Still, eventually I got there, to flannelcat's house, to help with the building of a [CENSORED] to be used by the [CENSORED] in an upcoming live roleplay game. It took flannelcat, Will and me a couple of hours to thrash out the exact design we were going for (it's got to hold a person, amongst other things, so it needs to be built right), but we finally had a set of plans and a bill of materials sorted out: over 70ft of 2x2 timber, 40+ coach-bolts and other assorted hardware. So, we set out to the builders' merchant, to get said supplies. Unhelpfully, they were closed.
Irritating, really. Turns out they were only open till midday on Saturdays, and we got there around two. Still, we got the design sorted out, which means flannelcat can shop around for decent prices in the week, and we did get sausage and bacon sandwiches for lunch (oh yeah...). So I didn't haul a rucksack full of tools to Fishersgate by train for no reason, even if we didn't use them.
Still, Will is an interesting person, and that's the first time I've met him as himself, rather than a character. He has an irritatingly forgettable face, in that I can't describe him, but recognise him whenever I see him (sometimes as somebody else). He's a Maker of Things, builds props for a living, and some of his work is just beautiful. The pump-action blunderbus/crossbow/spring-gun (ultra-low power, of course: it's a larp prop, firing foam projectiles a maximum of about twenty feet) is a case in point - full size with a carved wooden stock, etched brass sideplates, custom-turned components, the works. I'm looking forward to working on a few particularly tricky bits of costume work with him in the near future.
So, we failed at the whole construction thing, but it was a good day out. Next up, we have to do it again, but with the appropriate resources to hand so we can actually build the darned thing!