CAJUN CAT CAVORTINGS
MIW MERITAMEN, TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL MIEWINGS BY ONIONS HATSHEPSUT

My human Mom was abandoning us to the northeast wilds of home, and so I looked around at my fellow cats, decided they were all bigger than me and were going to take over the best sleeping nooks while she was gone, and so I took the brave step of hiding in her car.

She didn't discover me until I yakked up a hairball somewhere in Attalla, Alabama -- a fitting commentary on my perceptions of the town! Too late to turn around and take me home, we both made the best of my situation, and I sat on her headrest as we drove the rest of the way into New Orleans.

I had great fun running the valet parking people at the Maison Dupuy ragged -- they only thought they saw a puddy tat. I met up with dog owners such as Cornellia and Bryce, and cat owners such as Heraklia, and motorcycle owners such as Jullila. None of their respective pets had made the journey, alas! We could have had so much fun in the hotel! As it was, I did run around in the laundry room, rolling in the freshly-warmed sheets right out of the dryer, leaving my hairs and dander behind. So much fun!

At my journal, I've detailed my thoughts on Bourbon Street late at night; no need to repeat them here. I'm glad Mom didn't embarrass me too thoroughly on the streets -- unfortunately however, she remembers everything she did in New Orleans (a bad sign from my perspective, I want to have something on her).

While she was chatting away with Hapshetsut and Justina, I found an extra pile of crawfish, and ate my fill! Unfortunately, the shells all returned; I left them in a pile on Mom's pillow. I think she was so tired that night she didn't notice!

Of course, I got to visit the Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt exhibit at the Museum of Art. We all got searched on entry; they made me empty all my pockets (I was pretending to be marsupial), and then shook me up and down for good measure. For that, they emptied me of yet another hairball. In the museum, I spent my time worshipping the Bast models, and then I streaked up and down seeing everything, unlike my Mom and Hap and Jullila, who never got past Egypt.

We all ate a lot, and we even had an Avatar Ball, where I managed to hide from every camera angle that you could imagine. I met everyone, and loved them all, especially since they thought i was adorable.

I joined Zig in a mint julip (mine was actually a catnip julep), and I helped his dog finish off the pig from the pig roast at jojo's.

I became a roly poly kitten, and managed to sleep most of the way home (except during that long Tennessee rainstorm of no visibility, when I quaked and hid under the passenger seat, and Mom tried to do likewise. "You get back up there and DRIVE!" I'd demanded.

A great trip! The other cats were all so jealous, too! All's they got to eat for ten or so days was kitty kibble!

But I think I'm swearing off cars. Too fast!

MEMOIRES OF A NOLA ATTENDEE
A PERSONAL VIEW ON WHAT REALLY HAPPENED... Yngvildr Scylding Germania

Having arrived at the hotel what is the first thing the European me is going to do about her room? Open the windows and let some fresh air in! What a surprise - those pretty French windows could not be opened and I hate air conditioning. It could not be helped. It was a very good thing the hotel had such a lovely courtyard so one could just go out and sit there comfortably and smoke at whatever hour one felt compelled to honour one's addiction. Accordingly I did not sleep very well that first night and decided to go out for a walk at 3:30 am - that was interesting enough, strolling through a deserted French Quarter - no safety worries as I was accompanied by a likewise sleepless Celtic warrior. It was actually a very useful outing as I discovered there were two internet cafés within walking distance!

Thursday
I knew that some others had arrived on Wednesday, but not having a clear idea of how people looked, I was not able to make out anyone so on Thursday after a stroll through the French Quarter and the traditional breakfast of Café au Lait and Beignets at the Café du Monde it was just CathBran and me. After a while we were joined by Cresta who by that time had made it safely too, spending time hanging around at the pool in the courtyard of the Maison Dupuy (wow, there were real bananas growing on the trees!) happily relaxing, chatting and puffing away one fag after the other. Well, it became afternoon and out of the blue a group of nice-looking ladies appeared. One of them muttered "CathBran" - once, twice...and then exclaimed "You REALLY look like your avatar!" It was very obvious that these ladies must have something to do with AW - and right! Julilla, Cornellia, Onions, Hap and justina all at once! Oh, it was all hellos and hugs and delight! We eventually all went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop for drinks and comfortable conversation. It was so wonderful to finally being able to *talk* to all those people!!

In the evening the official part of the convention began with cocktails in the hotel bar and I was excited about meeting those AW friends I had missed so far, especially Maria (who was accompanied by her most charming husband) and Bryce. And of course Zig, the famed King of Babylon! It was a continuous series of more hellos and hugs and delight and, as everyone appeared to be hungry, at some point the whole crowd wandered off to Jackson Square for dinner. I learned something about restaurants in NOLA - they make you feel like you are sitting inside of a fridge (I never went without extra sweater), they charge absurd taxes and they have this odd habit of calling the main course Entrée! (I had always thought that was referring to starters which would make much more sense to me).

Friday
That day began with coffee and pastries followed by a) a lecture by Stephen Saylor and b) an introduction to the Egyptian exhibition the group was to visit the next day. I have to confess I was showing true barbarian spirit here, skipped these educational events and went outside for a long walk, exploring the French Quarter (many of the houses decorated for Halloween) and the waterfront. Therefore others have to step in to tell you more, but from what I heard from those who were there, it was really interesting! After the decorations had been set up in the ballroom (picture Heraklia in despair of doing some harm to the precious van she was forced to drive, CathBran hauling palm trees into the ballroom and Zig in a hardly king-like position, standing on a chair, fiddling around with duct tape after the heavy fabric had come down for the umpteenth time), everyone spent the afternoon with costume preparation. Justina was spotted in the hotel lobby fiendishly working on her costume. It has to be stated that herss was the most authentic in a way because it was entirely handsewn! I had some work left to do as well - for "safety reasons" I had decided to attach the chains of glass and amber beads to my dress by sewing them on as I did not entirely trust the brooches. It felt so special putting on the dress and the accessories, gradually turning into a 10th century Hedeby viking - and I drove my poor Celtic darling mad (who was of course ready long ago and waiting) by fiddling around with my hair, constantly braiding and rebraiding it - but in the end it was all done and we went downstairs.

Everyone was just "aaaaaaaahs" and "ooooooooooohs" with every new arrival that entered the ballroom. Each had to pose for photos and felt like a star for one night! The Romans were fantastic - the three demigodesses were quite a sight in their colourful outfits wearing wreaths of flowers (apparently laurels were sold out) on their heads (now don't ask me what was the stola and what the tunica and what the palla - I am no expert on Roman clothing), and Maria Marius was looking fabulous in her exquisite dress. Her gilded fingernails deserve a special mentioning! As to Babylon, jojo was very impressive, every inch the respectable Chief Justice you would expect. When my kids saw the pictures of him and King Zig later on they exclaimed "Oh look mummy...just like Santa Claus!!" (For some reasons it did not make a difference to them that their beards were black, not white..). It was cocktails first and I was sorry to find out that the Vodka Cranberry mixture (strooooooooooong!) recommended to me by jojo did not fit into my drinking horn because of the ice that goes into that drink, but it tasted wonderful nonetheless!

After a delicious three-course dinner each of us was supposed to come forward to the "catwalk", pay their honours to special guest Steven Saylor, display their costumes and give a few words of explanation about what they were wearing. I have to say that all did this in the most charming way especially jojo's lovely wife Ginger, who was competing in the "spouse category". I particularly remember Senex' short speech and demonstration about the hassles it was to put on a toga properly and also Onions' exquisite jewellery which she was lucky enough to find at some tomb deep inside the Pyramids of Ebay. Also we were very pleasantly entertained by all the historically correct Nike footwear that was displayed. And most surprised I was that the jury considered my humble efforts to come up with a Viking dress worthy enough to award me the first prize (a detailed reproduction of an Egyptian throne immediately usurped by my daughter once I came home - she was glad that she finally could seat her Barbie doll properly. CathBran came second, so we uncivilized people obviously at least know how to dress in style.

If you expected me to report an orgy, I have to disappoint you! This crowd was very well behaved and, once the ball was 'officially' over, folks went down to the streets in their costumes and mixed with the locals. This was really a unique experience, people were all dressed in the most extraordinary ways, often exploring a lot of skin. I am sure the ladies from Zig's harem would have blended in very well! Crossing Bourbon Street was a major undertaking, but it was fun! I bet that no one went to bed particularly early that night.

Saturday
Whilst everyone else went to the Egyptian exhibition, a couple of barbarians decided to behave like tourists, take the streetcar and go to Audubon park instead… Whereas the others had a fabulous time glancing at beautiful oriental works of art, I learned quite a bit about Southern trees. I have to confess that I do not remember much apart from the fact that trees that do not look like oaks at all are still oaks. The ride on the streetcar was actually very interesting, especially the part through the Garden District. There is one lovely house after the other!

After a couple of "offline days" it was high time to check mails and log on to AW, so the internet café was our next destination. My goodness did we have a laugh when we entered that place. It was completely crowded by AW folks and they were all gramming each other like mad. Needless to say that we joined the fun at once! I vaguely remember one other poor person crammed in a corner, eyeing the crowd highly irritated.

In the evening it was dinner at jojo's. Following Heraklia's excellent description (without it we would have been certainly lost) we found his house and were greeted by the Chief Justice and his fabulous wife with the utmost hospitality. As it was so mild, we could sit outside and there, jojo had set up an impressive battery of huge bottles at the disposal of his guests, so everyone was free to pour themselves very decent pre-dinner drinks. It was nice sitting with all those lovely people sipping Gin & Tonic on a warm summer night. Well, not that it was exactly summer any longer, but so it seemed to me. And almost everyone brought their posters and a considerable amount of time was spent signing them. What a grand souvenir! Then dinner was served. The menu and pictures of the roast pig (complete with apple in mouth) can be found on the NOLA thread and yes, it was delicious! Those who provided the crawfish etoufee and the bread pudding would not by any chance share their recipes (*batting eyelashes pleadingly*)?? It was a very nice evening and I enjoyed it tremendously (apart from the fact that the Romans were called to dinner first and occupied all the seats on jojo's huge table! Just kidding...I find eating outside a treat. Thanks jojo, Ginger and all who contributed, you really gave us a marvelous time!!

Afterwards, a little party gathered spontaneously in the room of justina and Hap. Now those ladies really are extraordinary. Apart from being adorable anyway, not only did they manage to obtain one of the very few balcony rooms, they also were able to offer us coffee and tea! They had taken the pains to obtain all the necessary equipment and shared their supplies with us liberally. Moreover, their room provided a nice view to the lodgings of the goddesses, and there was some frantic waving across the courtyard. We just had a blast, I remember breaking into tears from laughter several times in the course of the night.

Sunday
The dinner last evening being the final "official" event, many of the convention guests left that day, but a surprising number had decided to stay and have a holiday. Some went to a tour of the plantations, some simply strolled around the streets or did some shopping. Just a relaxed day. And then there was that story of Zig and the bra...I was an eyewitness but am not sure how much I should give away here. Too bad that the batteries in my camera conked out right before it happened! Yes, there was some undressing in public and I wonder if Heraklia is right with her suspicion that no AW members will be granted access to the bar of the Maison Dupuy ever again.

Monday
Not so very much to tell about Monday, the dreaded day of departure. I got up early, packed and then absentmindedly left my cell phone in the courtyard. Of course it was gone by the time I found out and I, feeling gloomy anyway, started to panic, but after a good deal of investigation and searching it finally reappeared. Well, at least it was some sort of distraction…. It turned out that justina, Cresta, CathBran and I all had to head to the airport around the same time, and so, after saying goodbye wistfully to Onions and Hap who were to leave later, we shared a taxi, checked-in individually and then met again, grabbed some coffee and went outside (nowhere else to smoke) where we stayed until one after another had to go to their gates and board. Tremendous hugs, a few tears and there we went, each in their own direction.

NOLA II was over. But somehow it continued when everybody started to share their pictures and memories - and the spirit remains. I am so glad I went!! It was well worth the long trip, I met wonderful people there and I think an event like this does tremendous things towards community spirit. Now, if I get grams from those who were there I can hear their voices in my mind and I see them before my inner eye.

Farewell NOLA II, now we are looking forward to EC1!!

AN ENGLISH ROSE IN STORYVILLE
EXTRACT FROM A ROMAN NOVELLA
Justina Cassius Rome

WEDNESDAY 29TH OCTOBER
I was up again at the disgusting hour of 0630. I must be the roommate from Hell! I don't sleep much, I talk non-stop and I smoke like a chimney! Hap had to put up with a lot!

I showered and dressed, put the percolator on and went downstairs in an attempt to phone back home. I realised that the smell of fresh coffee wakes up Hap! We decided what to do with our day. We had dinner in the evening with Jojo and Ginger, so we did some sightseeing. We also had to get some last minute purchases for our "costumes". I still had to sew mine! I had bought all my sewing kit (causing a security incident at the airport) and material. My loaned sewing machine packed in on the Sunday! The plan was to find a sewing machine in NOLA I could use. I only needed to do 2 side seams.

The rest of the day was spent walking about and admiring the fine architecture of New Orleans and making mental notes on what to come back and visit later.

Ginger joined us at the restaurant. Jojo had booked a table by the dance floor, so we had a good view. Although Hap and I had never danced Zydeco before, we were tapping our feet and dying to have a go. After dancing with Queen Bellibuttoni, our host graciously danced with us both. Later a gentleman asked me to dance and Hap was gracefully propelled around the dance floor by another. The food was fantastic and the dancing was great fun. A bit like a two-step.

After being dropped back at the hotel, Hap and I decided that the night was still young, and that Bourbon St needed to be investigated so that we could report back to the readers of ACTA! What can be said about Bourbon St? I would liken it to a hedonistic playground, where ordinary folks turn into alter egos of themselves and shed all their inhibitions! We were intrigued at large crowd shouting up at the balconies and saw beads being thrown to the crowd. I was somewhat scandalised to see that young ladies were lifting their tops and flashing for a few beads!

We made our way back to the MD and checked at the desk if anyone else had checked in. We discovered that Yng and Maria Marius had checked in so we left message for them at the desk, as it had gone 2300.

We got a call in our room from Maria Marius, and she came to our room with her husband Greg for tea. We sat up late talking and drinking tea with the balcony door open as it was a warm night. I sat on the bed, cross-legged, hand sewing my costume!

THURSDAY 30TH OCTOBER
Up, yet again very early! Thank God for the Balcony in our room. At least I could go out there and sit quietly and not disturb Hap [Editor's note: Hap gets obsteperous when woken too early].

We had arranged to meet Maria and Greg in the Lobby at 0930 to go to Café Monde for café au lait and beignets. We had a nice breakfast and split up afterwards, planning to meet up again at the Cocktail Reception.

We decided that we needed to go to Macy's for some make-up and then we would go to the Aubudon Zoo afterwards. We wanted to take the Charles Avenue Streetcar too.

After a certain Egyptian spent an alarming amount of money on some scrummy make-up, we made our way back to the Maison Dupay for a pit stop and to gather ourselves before going to the Zoo. It was an extremely hot day, with very high humidity.

As I waited for Hap to come downstairs, I sat in the Lobby and watched 2 ladies checking in. I wandered outside and saw another lady, arriving and unloading her car. I walked back in and noticed that one of the ladies at the desk had a T-shirt with "S.P.Q.R." on the front. It had to be a fellow AncientWorlds member! I squealed in excitement and could not talk, apart from emitting squealing noises and pointing to the T-shirt. "Who are you? Who are you?" I was asked amidst a huge hug! It was Julilla Sempronius and Cornellia Cornelius checking in. Lots of hugs and introductions were made and then Onions Hatshepsut was pointed out to me (the Lady unloading her car). As she made her way to the elevators, Hap came out and walked up to me. "There's Onions, by the lift, with a box, quick". Hap rushed over to Onions and greeted her.

Well after that, all plans of the Zoo went out of the window. We congregated outside and then Yng turned up and then Cathbran. We had a little convention going right there in the Lobby! It was quickly decided that we needed refreshments, so we decamped to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (No Hap, it is NOT a Museum).

I sampled the delights of a Strawberry Daiquiri (even managed to wear some of it). We sat and chatted about AW related matters and were looking forward to the evening, when the Convention officially started.

After splitting up, we all somehow managed to find ourselves in internet cafes at the same time. It was quite funny, gramming each other, all sitting in New Orleans! [Editor's note: it was hilarious! We were all gramming Zig and using my persona to do so - I hesitate to discuss the content but be assured that, needless to say, Zig gave as good as he got!].

Eventually, 1930 arrived and Hap and myself made our way downstairs for cocktails. We met all our fellow Convention attendees and do you know what? They were all so much nicer in real life!

Yet another late night, after having had a nice meal - Cornellia and Hap would not share any of their Bread Pudding and chocolate sauce. They sat in front of me and ohhed and ahhed at how nice it was and not a morsel was offered to taste!

Somehow a few folks ended back at our room for tea and coffee!

FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER
Now I had a dilemma. My costume was still not ready. At 0430am, I was in the hotel lobby, in my lilac gingham pyjamas, hand sewing the seams on my costume (chiton). Thank you Maria Marius for offering to help me sew the seams up!

I finally finished the two side seams by 0630, went up to my room and sat on the balcony, waiting for a certain Egyptian to wake up. I suddenly noticed Cornelia waving at me from her room from the other side of the courtyard. I dashed over to the "Divine Headquarters", taking over my costume for some further advice. After cooing at some of the lovely bits of costume and clutching the secret of a well made chiton, I retuned to our room to shower and go to the hospital, as I had a rather nasty bite on my leg.

I missed the talk from the expert on the Museum exhibit, but kind Cornellia came and picked me up at the Emergency Room in time so that I could get back and hear Steven Saylor. I had not flown all the way from UK not to hear Steven talk! It was marvellous, well worth risking septicaemia for!

After that it was all go, go, go. Some of the others went for lunch but Justina was a tad overwrought from too little sleep, so I went back to finish the pesky costume, the bane of my life!

The decorations for the Avatar Ball were marvellous, the food was gorgeous and the company sublime! We all got up and did our "cat walk", explaining our costumes. I did finally finish mine and I loved wearing it. Actually, I am sitting here, typing, dressed in a chiton and stola!

Steven Saylor was our guest of honour. Yng got 1st prize for her costume which she had researched from Viking texts. CathBran took out 2nd prize in his authetic Celtic garb.

After striking down the decorations, we all went out and hit Bourbon Street. I shall draw a discreet veil over the events of that Halloween night in the French Quarter. All I can say is that I was seen sneaking in at 0800 in the morning by Ginger and Jojo, still dressed in my costume but sober! My fellow partners in crime had made it back unseen. All in all, it was a fantastic evening, one that I will always remember.

**BTW Hap, it is NOT funny to pretend to be asleep and then frighten the life out of me when I creep back in!** [Editor's note: yes, it is Justina *g*]

A VOICE FROM THE TRENCHES
Hapshetsut Nebet Egypt

HALLOWEEN IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Heraklia Aelius Rome

THE IRON MAN CONTEST
jojo Nebuchadnezzar Babylon

QUOTES FROM THE COALFACE
Phaedra Duilius Rome

CAJUN CAT CAVORTINGS
Miw Meritamen & Onions Hatshepsut Egypt

MEMOIRES OF A NOLA ATTENDEE
Yngvildr Scylding Germania

AN ENGLISH ROSE IN STORYVILLE
Justina Cassius Rome