The Miscellaneous Goings On Of Tom - The Post Birthday Reflections

Climbing Hills & Blackadder Marathons

Firstly, I want to wish the legend that is Ozzy Osbourne a massive 72nd birthday! Anyway, I had a simple yet excellent 24th birthday yesterday. It wasn't my customary trip to Sheffield for drinking and viking metal but it was enjoyable as I got to spend some quality time with my dad. Exploring Bratton Camp Hill Fort and finding the Battle of Eðandun monument (see Instagram post below), to then come back and share a pot of afternoon tea whilst watching Blackadder Goes Fourth. I also delighted in having a few beers in my Mjölnir horn mug, overall an awesome day perfect for me. I have had an unintentional break for the blog over the past week or so, as I have been feeling run down in anticipation of returning to work as well as my sinuses deciding to make my face ache beyond belief. I do have a few reviews lined up, alongside one that I am currently working on for Noizze. It's such a strange transitional week as I bring my mental state out of Lockdown and go back to my routine pre-Lockdown, whilst becoming gradually more festive. There is defiantly a correlation between not feeling festive and working over the Christmas festivities, if it's only the one day you get off without booking it, working either side of it feels criminal to me, but that is a debate for another time I feel. The positives are that I can bust out my TV/Film inspired Christmas jumpers, arrange my newly arrived Yule Goats on my windowsill and listen to traditional carols as the cold, winter nights close in around me. I am a sucker for cosiness and jumpers if you can't tell already (not very metal I know), and the more wintery it gets the happier it makes me. There is such great mysticism at this time of year for me, it feels like the boundaries between the living and the ancient spirits are at it's thinnest and you can celebrate with the ones you hold dear and absent friends. In other news I am now part of an exciting new history blog called Wandering Through The Ages, which you can read more about below! It's been a strange week for sure, but once I get into the swing of things again I'm sure all will be well! 

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What I'm Listening To At This Very Moment

On honour of my missing weekend in Sheffield I am indulging some Amon Amarth, not to mention I got some Amon Amarth slippers for my birthday. I was particularly gutted about missing out on this years Hard Rock Hell Vikings as this year Saor were due to perform and I have been wanting to see them live for such a long time, alas I shall have to wait longer! I hope that 2021 does prove to be the year of gigs as I can't go much longer without live music. 

What I've Been Jamming To This Week

A variety of things really, but mainly traditional Christmas carols whilst trying to avoid the likes of Mariah  Carey and Wham. Outside of trying to get festive, I enjoyed some amazing UKBM in a playlist compiled by a Fjordhammer favourite, The Infernal Sea, featuring all the usual names and some new ones it's a pretty comprehensive playlist to explore these dark, satanic isles. 

Wandering Through The Ages History Blog

As many of you know I am a massive history nerd, and this is now the place to visit if you want to see what I'm currently reading or researching in my spare time outside of music. It is essentially the replacement of Fjordhammer History and my cousin's blog On This Day In History. We decided to join forces in an effort to indulge our passion for history and share with the world what we find interesting. Through this we'll be learning off of each other as Andrea specialises in Late Medieval and Tudor history and I specialise in Early and Mid Middle Ages history, so we plan to weave the two worlds together through a variety of posts. If you want to check it out, follow the link here.

Witchwood Wizard & The Psychic Yeti: End Of Year Stats

Considering we've only been a band for 7 months, this is phenomenal reading! Thank you all who have supported us this year! You can view our full thank you post here, as Facebook embedding is being a bit of a pain!

Keep On Keeping On

As you can see I'm definitely trying to keep the momentum I've built up over the last few months. I have loved writing so much for you guys and I am so thankful for all your support over the last year. I believe we have grown together and I hope to do even more in 2021, here's to fateful optimism!