The Vision Fulfilled

Or at least, my vision fulfilled. My hope had been for an excellent party to celebrate my brother's 50th. His friend/companion had wanted to turn the inside of the garage into a tardis as detailed in earlier posts. To go along with that he wanted us to run what could best be described as an old fashioned LARP linear, with 6 encounters including a massive fight with guests dressed as cybermen in the park, lasers and smoke machines blazing. This might have worked if we had a team of committed role-players, but roping guests with possibly no interest, in their party gear in February weather to be crew without having asked them in advance struck me as disaster. I argued him down to three encounters that could take place in and around the house, with very few 'actors,' if necessary.

Not that I needed to. His plans for the tardis were complex and he mis-timed it completely. He had two other guys working on it for two days and I had been helping as best I could, but I'm not very good at cutting and measuring things. Also, I was having problems sympathising with him, as he had devised the plan something like 5/6 months ago...I said nothing except when he suggested I have a cup of tea. 'There's no time for tea,' I told him. Faced with a level of catastrophe even tea couldn't fix, he did not try to tell me it would be OK,and we just got on with it. His vision included insulation, wiring and linoleum, all of which made the space practical and useful, none of which made it tardis-like. The console was complex and in pieces. I suggested that we get that made, he ignored me politely, and then looked gutted when the whole thing wasn't ready as the guests turned up. Larians took my brother to the pub and I sent other guests there too, while I set the party table with savouries and sweets, stocked the drinks fridge, and the best lady and her beau arrived bringing more snackage. Old and very dear friends of my bro began to appear, redirected to the pub, where my brother began to suspect something was up. By the time the tardis had flashing lights behind roundels, he was on his way back with a small crowd, and the house was full of waiting people.

The rest was fantastic. Total party success, encounters could not happen as it was tipping down, so nobody had to do anything other than eat, drink and dance, and my bro was overwhelmed by the tardis as it was, a miracle in its own right. The genius looked a bit gutted, but he had done well in all except his timing. He collapsed in bed early. The party just carried on and on, full of daleks, weeping angels, sonic screwdrivers, etc, and my brother was deliriously happy.

Thank god that's over.