Well, that was damned weird.
Hacking my way through the epic fic, I was obliged to go hunting around on Google for a required detail relating to a minor plot point - I needed a battle the British Army were involved in, occurring sometime in the 1880s, and after scrapping Khartoum owing to the regrettable lack of survivors from said British Army, settled fairly randomly upon Tel-el-Kebir in 1882.
Now, a while ago, I signed up for the Gem of the Day - a daily poem - from McGonagall Online. For those who may not be aware, William McGonagall was, to quote, a "poet and tragedian of Dundee, widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. A self-educated hand loom weaver, he discovered his discordant muse in 1877 and embarked upon a 25 year career as a working poet, delighting and appalling audiences across Scotland and beyond." Incidentally, he was also the inspiration for the charactera of the Nac Mac Feegles' Gonnagles in Terry Pratchett's Tiffany books: battle poets who repel the enemy through the sheer awfulness of their verse.)
So. Not ten minutes after deciding on said battle and typing the name into the WIP, my email alert pings. I glance at the message, and it's the Gem of the Day popping into my Inbox.
And what should it be but McGonagall's execrable immortalisation of The Battle of Tel-el-Kebir.*
Bloody hell.
I am determined to take it as a good omen for the fic. The all-too-plausible alternative, given that there is no start to McG's talents in the area of literature, is that it is a Very Bad Omen Indeed. Eep.
At least it meant I could use the terrific SHOCKED mood icon…
*Sample fragment:
Arabi's army was about seventy thousand in all,
And, virtually speaking, it wasn't very small;
But if they had been as numerous again,
The Irish and Highland brigades would have beaten them, it is plain.
Actually, in fact that's cheered me right up. My writing is Booker-Prize-worthy compared to this. Mind you, so's the instructions on flatpack furniture...
Now, a while ago, I signed up for the Gem of the Day - a daily poem - from McGonagall Online. For those who may not be aware, William McGonagall was, to quote, a "poet and tragedian of Dundee, widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. A self-educated hand loom weaver, he discovered his discordant muse in 1877 and embarked upon a 25 year career as a working poet, delighting and appalling audiences across Scotland and beyond." Incidentally, he was also the inspiration for the charactera of the Nac Mac Feegles' Gonnagles in Terry Pratchett's Tiffany books: battle poets who repel the enemy through the sheer awfulness of their verse.)
So. Not ten minutes after deciding on said battle and typing the name into the WIP, my email alert pings. I glance at the message, and it's the Gem of the Day popping into my Inbox.
And what should it be but McGonagall's execrable immortalisation of The Battle of Tel-el-Kebir.*
Bloody hell.
I am determined to take it as a good omen for the fic. The all-too-plausible alternative, given that there is no start to McG's talents in the area of literature, is that it is a Very Bad Omen Indeed. Eep.
At least it meant I could use the terrific SHOCKED mood icon…
*Sample fragment:
Arabi's army was about seventy thousand in all,
And, virtually speaking, it wasn't very small;
But if they had been as numerous again,
The Irish and Highland brigades would have beaten them, it is plain.
Actually, in fact that's cheered me right up. My writing is Booker-Prize-worthy compared to this. Mind you, so's the instructions on flatpack furniture...