Scarborogh Faire

I went through the spice rack today and reorganised that cupboard. Naturally I was distracted by smelling all the spices I had taken out. Some of my favorites were Marjoram, Anise, Nutmeg, Basil, Rosemary, and Cloves. I really liked one that was an Italien blend, which contained several of the ones I’ve mentioned already along with Thyme, which I discovered we did not have so I didn’t get to smell it by itself, but I guess that I would like it. That got me thinking about other smells that I really like. Star Jasmine has got to be one of my very favorites. I also like leather, Pine (Christmas Tree), Vanilla, and many others that don’t really have names. I reallly like the clean smell of plain soap - forget all those scented ones! And the warm clean smell of laundry is so nice and fuzzy, almost like smelling a hug instead of feeling one.

Fighting Dragons

A thought has long troubled me concerning all the pictures of knights fighting dragons all clad in shining armour. It seems to me that really it would be like bringing the enemy’s weapons with you to battle. Of course their inconveinience vs. usefullness would depend on the actual nature of dragons: the size, strength, claws, and fire capabilities - heat, distance, bredth, frequency of use, and all that sort of thing. But given the average picture of dragons -being much larger than humans, making great use of the ability to breath formidable streams of fire, their large claws, and great strength, all aside from nearly impenitrable skin, it really seems that armour would not be of any use agianst them, and in fact, a hindrance. First of all it must be remembered that metal gets very hot quite easily -giving one no real protection from a dragon’s flames. For though the flames themselves might not touch the man, his armour certainly would get hot, and that heat would linger, keeping him inclosed in a kind of oven. The hot metal would burn the man even if the flames did not. Another concern, assuming he was quick enough to evade the dragon’s fires, is the dragon’s superior strength. A whak from tail or claw could likely dent plate armour, and certainly being squished up against a wall or floor of rock by a dragon would result in the crushing of the metal plates into a much more compressed shape, which if the man were able to escape from such a plight he would, nevertheless, be unable to get it back into normal shape and would be little better off breathing-wise at the least, not to mention the difficulty stiff armour would lend to worming oneself out of such tight places. Chain mail at least would not be prone to fatal dents. However, it is quite conceivable that a dragon would be able to tear chain mail almost as easily as cloth. Therefore mail would provide no better protection. For even though it would have superior ventilation for cooling down after a firey blast, it would still remain uncomfortably hot, and serve little purpose. And if a dragon’s claw should not actually tear the mail, if it were to catch it, or if it should catch on something else it would be impossible for the man to free himself quickly by ripping out of it, as one may do with cloth. Assuming one was also agile enough to evade the dragon’s claws and tail as well as it’s fire there would really be no purpose for armour at all. One would surely be even more swift and nimble without it. All in all, it seems a very foolish thing to go into battle with a dragon in any kind of ordinary armour. Perhaps a flame retardant jumpsuit, though certianly less fashionable, would be a more sensible choice of attire. One option which does come to mind, is that of dragonskin. It seems that dragon’s scales would probably be resistant to fire, if they were to live with eachother at all, and must certainly be flexible, as reptiles are generally quite flexible. Therefore armour of dragonskin might be the best option, if it were possible to cut and sew it.