SEASON 4 TRAILER IS HERE!

It's here! It's here! Can't contain excitement! May have had a moment of incontinence as a result! ;)

#LikeAViking

"Stay strong! Be ready"

I don't know if Vikings were patient! Ragnar certainly has quite a long fuse when he is being tested. And I'm learning that it is indeed a virtue. As you've probably guessed, I'm still awaiting a call back...checks phone...no new messages...continues blogging...Still feeling optimistic though. Maybe foolishly so, but I keep telling myself that they said they were looking for 8,000 extras, they are shooting right up to December this year and Season 4 is twice the size of the three previous. That probably means it's going to be bigger, better and bloodier so they'll be needing plenty of people to wield axes, play dead and pet goats(there has to be some sort of running joke with the goats since they seem to get way more screen time than any other livestock, right!?! Anyone else notice that?) So I shall continue my preparation and pretend to be patient.
Speaking of Season 4, the cast will be attending San Diego Comic Con and revealing a Season Trailer. Season 4 doesn't hit screens until early 2016...ooh, they are good at this whole creating suspense and intrigue malarkey. Not the only one suffering from a spot of impatience now, am I loyal reader?!? (Just gonna take a moment and say hi! Thank you for checking in on my blog. Hope you're enjoying it and life finds you well today)

Maybe you've been living under a rock. Or maybe you've been raiding foreign lands recently on what some might call a holiday. So maybe you didn't hear about the Big Viking Festival being held in Grove Gardens, Fordstown, Co. Meath on 29th August. It's a pretty cool idea by some fans of the show FOR fans of the show(or even if you're not a fan of the show. In which case, really? Are you serious? Why not? Why are you reading this? Let's talk it out. We can binge watch all 3 seasons together. After that, I'll just get you to write a 20,000 word thesis on it and we'll see if we can get your TV viewing priorities sorted out. OK?) They will travel by foot and longboat, wheeled horse and steel winged bird to attend. It promises to be a fun filled day with live music, special effects makeup artists on hand to give you battle wounds, demonstrations, a Viking Village and not one but 2 Guinness World Record attempts. And if that doesn't sound fun enough, they also encourage everyone to dress like a Viking...I've already booked my camping tickets!

It's all in aid of a charity that is doing amazing work for children suffering from cancer and supporting their families as they fight against this horrible illness together. Aoibheann's Pink Tie is the beneficiary of all funds raised by the event. In May of this year charity founder and spokesperson, Jimmy Norman, was named the Pride of Ireland Fundraiser of the Year Award Winner for his Herculean efforts to provide any sort of financial and emotional support to families in need. Recently, Vikings leading man, Travis Fimmel, was announced as an ambassador for the charity. Mr. Norman has big plans for the foundation with ambitions to help families in need all over the globe. Tickets for the event are on sale now. Get them while you still can, I believe they are selling fast. In true Viking community spirit, everyone should support this worthy cause in whatever way they can.
In preparation for the Viking Festival, myself and a couple of friends ventured forth on a perilous expedition to Slane. If you were there, you know the amount of mud that was created by the torrential rain we had that day. I feel like I should get a medal or at least a tshirt that reads, I SURVIVED THE HILL AT SLANE 2015. Not many did. Many the inappropriately shoed man or lady couldn't quite keep their footing whilst making their way through a sea of revellers on the unforgiving gradient of the natural amphitheatre landscape of the grounds of the castle in the Boyne Valley region of Meath. Despite the pity that was felt by onlookers as they watched others meet their muddy fate, there were a distinct few victims who brought a heartfelt tear to the eye of the wisely shoed around them. For it was many the just bought, over priced, never graced the lips of its owner, 4-pint-plastic-carriers of beer that were unceremoniously laid to rest as puddles in the foot prints that marked the struggle of where their owners had fought qto keep upright in a bid to carry back liquid gold hydration to one's kin folk.

Despite that being a harsh lesson for some to learn, our biggest lesson came in the form of building our dwelling for the weekend. We had thought of everything. Cooler boxes of food, beverages, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, air mattresses, camping chairs, sunglasses, any amount of possible medical supplies you might need for a weekend in the elements. We also arrived with the flashest tent for three people I'd ever seen. For all intents(possible pun most definitely intended) and purposes it was a three room detached. There were rooms and windows. A front and a back door. Raining outside? Everyone could bring their camping chairs inside  and continue to enjoy a beverage in our lounge!

The only problem was that this was borrowed and therefore came with no instructions...not even a picture to help us along the way to decipher what it should even look like. We took it out of its bag and pretty much unfolded it for 20 minutes as onlookers rolled their eyes at our cluelessness. Apparently, it's standard practice to have a run through of how to set up your tent before you arrive onsite. But where's the fun in that? That's not very Viking! True Vikings would wing it. However winging it didn't quite work out for us. So eventually, with the aid of four other individuals we got it up(the tent...mind out of the gutter!). That's despite a tantrum or two, a tirade of expletives, a nap and one of the group suffering an existential crisis 5 minutes into construction....that may or may not have been me freaking out over an entire line of tent poles that were pretty important to the actual functionality of our tent. And they may or may not have been found perfectly present and still in the bag we took everything out of. But at least now we are fully capable of setting up camp #LikeAViking

Title Quote: Season 1 Episode 5 Raid
Lagertha to Björn

"Sometimes it is better not to know fate..."

You lucky, lucky people on the far side of the pond that separates Ireland from the USA! You all get to find out what happens in the Season 3 finale of Vikings. Most of us are wondering what will become of Ragnar Lodbrok tonight given that we know the great sagas and the multitude of endings that could befall the brilliant but flawed, reluctant king. But what will Michael Hirst decide is his fate? Season 4 or no more? I can already tell you that there is no willpower strong enough to keep me from reading all the glorious

spoilers on how the siege on Paris goes down and who we lose in the process.

In other news, has anyone else caught the clip of the cast talking about the battle scenes and how they prepare(or don't) for them? Just going to take a moment of appreciation for Moe Dunford(Aethelwulf) and his eloquent, honest, most Irish response given to a question ever. I won't ruin it for you! View for yourself and have a little giggle. I can only presume his response on Twitter, which included the hashtag #havinthecraic, was most definitely a pun intended.

Viking progress has been slow this week having taken a little breather from some of the intense Historical European Martial Arts(or for future references, HEMA) lessons. However, YouTube is a brilliant but dangerous source of endless amounts of sword tricking inspiration...I have a few bruises to prove it. If I get anyway good at some of the tricks I'll post a video...you might be waiting a while...some look pretty easy but I've been a little too close for comfort on more than one occasion to losing some fingers, an eyeball or my nose!

However, I have been making #LikeAViking and getting out into nature a bit more. This week's exploration took us to St. Mullins. A beautiful little part of Co. Carlow that not too many people are aware off. Perfect for a little R&R with the option of some hiking or kayaking on the river. It's one of my favourite places to visit. A little meander around the ruins of the church and stroll down to the little cafe by the river to take in the scenery. Next visit will definitely see us hopping in a kayak and taking in the scenery from the river.
#LikeAViking

Title quote: Season 1 Episode 9 All Change
Lagertha to Siggy
Fitting that a quote from the Season 1 finale should be the title on the blog for the Season 3 finale...the show has come such a long way already!

"All things begin and end as stories..."

Fresh from a productive day of applying to be an extra on Season 4 of Vikings and haven written the blog to let you all know about the event, I was feeling a little braver than usual. Maybe it was the excitement of the day that was in it, maybe it was the buzz I was rocking from a serious dose of Vitamin D from the unusually good weather. Did I mention we had sunshine AND clear blue skies yesterday...in Ireland...in April??? I have the freshly embellished freckles to prove it if you don't believe me and tell tale tan lines on both sides of my face where my specs were positioned(tan lines...in April...in Ireland...have you ever heard the likes of it in your life!?!).

Whatever the reason for my increased sense of adventure, I went right ahead and tweeted some of the lovely cast of the show in a bid to maybe get them to retweet the link to my little blog. Not thinking too much more of it I got a nice little surprise when I opened my Twitter app only to see an influx of favourites and retweets. On closer inspection of my notifications I saw a message from one of the cast. Amy Bailey, Princess Kwenthrith herself, had not only shared the link to my blog but, being the absolute lady that she is, had taken the time to wish me luck with my little endeavour and hoped to maybe see me on set if I was deemed suitable to be a fuzzy blur in the background for the upcoming season! Judging by the number of views on my blog today, I owe her a serious "thank you" both for increased interest in the blog and the lovely sentiment of her message.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say "hello and welcome" to any of my newbie readers. Hope you enjoy my ramblings and misadventures :)

Sticking with social media, has anyone taken any notice of the trailers that have been released for each episode? The teaser ones with the brilliant sense of humour running through them? Hats off to the team behind these genius little clips. Came across the newest one for Season 3 Episode 8 today and may have audibly chuckled at the tagline, 'there will be no cake'. Maybe it's one of those things where you need a bit of context to appreciate the humour. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is that very clip. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

#LikeAViking

Title Quote: Vikings Season 1 Episode 2 Wrath Of The Northmen
Ragnar to his assembled crew

"I accept my fate..."

Twas a fine, soft morning for a roadtrip to Wicklow. For today was the day that my fate would be decided as to whether I'm Viking Extra material or not. Despite the early start, my fellow roadtripees were in good spirits as we hit the road and banter was at an all time high after some much needed caffeine! Not very Viking, I know. But we couldn't get our hands on a supply of meade at that hour and, these days being in charge of a mode of transportation whilst partaking in the consumption of alcoholic beverages is somewhat frowned apon! Like most Viking journeys there were some casualties along the way. So I'd like to take a moment to honour those we lost in transit. Namely a pigeon that didn't quite get out of the way in time and made all occupants of the vehicle scream in a very unwarrior-like fashion. And proving that the 6am start was just a little too much for some of us, Tara's usual indepth knowledge of the wildlife of Ireland was subpar as she mistook a cat for a badger. I would like to take another moment to pay respects to the cat(that was not our doing before you think we went on some sort of Viking inspired killing spree bloodbath on the way to the open casting call!!!).

Inspite of our early rise, we found ourselves at the end of a queue that had started from the night before. As one of the lovely staff members of the Grand Hotel informed us that some of the attendees for today had begun queuing after their dinner the previous night. Lucky to be blessed with a sunny day with clear blue skies, our wait was short lived in the sunshine as things kicked off on time. Spirits were high amongst the gathered masses and banter was top notch. I can say this happily, as it was Tara's singing and not mine that got a bit of a slagging. All in good fun though. One dude even went that little bit further to provide entertainment for those enjoying the spectacular views of the Grand Hotel's carpark...Tara was particularly impressed by a well trimmed bush(careful now...actual shrubbery) on the periphery of the grounds. He brought along his wooden flute(mind out of the gutter peoples, I am talking about the actual musical instrument...tut tut). Maybe it was the time of the morning, maybe it was self consciousness after some of the comments passed after Tara's outburst of singing, but not a single person was moved enough to dance. But I'd still like to thank you for the music...whoever you are!

Our teamwork and coordination as extras was tested early on when the car park started to empty and the many different queues were scattered with the movement of exiting cars...when you've been queuing for a couple of hours, things get tetchy when opportunistic folks try to use the confusion to their advantage and try to merge into a queue that would cut a few hours off their wait. Being laidback and, pretty much just happy to be there, we let some of the other people deal with sorting out of the queues.

Once inside, it all went pretty quickly. It was so well organised that no time was being wasted from the second you got into the holding room. Filled out the form(cheeky plug for the blog included but forgot to mention my epic bitchy resting face) and got my mug shot taken(Props to the Extras Coordinator for the sarcastic praise for our queuing ability...he's already a legend in our opinion).

So for now it is a waiting game. Hopefully I have enough skills to impress the powers-that-be to be granted the opportunity to be a fuzzy, out of focus, blur in the background of a scene or two.

#LikeAViking

Title Qoute: Season 1 Episode 5 Raid

Ragnar to Earl Haraldson

"I want to raid and fight. It is what I was born to do..."

So by now you've probably heard the great news, that Season 4 of Vikings is a go! And even more exciting news, that the has put out a call for 8,000 extras. Open casting days are but a few sleeps away. I, myself, will be attending on April 7th in Wicklow(hence, the title above...feeling all enthusiastic yet bricking at the same time). Shooting is commencing at the end of April. And if that didn't get you all excited, what with Season 3 not even finished airing yet, Clive Standen tweets out to stay tuned to "find out who will make it that far!" He certainly does have a knack for generating a sense of foreboding...who will make it? Who will not? Oh the anxious wait to see how it all pans out! Maybe there's a plot twist ahead. Everybody makes it...because it's set in Valhalla and they all rise again each night and feast together...and the show never ends...Or not! Just a theory.

production company

The whole point of this blog is about my little journey to becoming an extra on Vikings and now it is not even two weeks until my fate is decided. Have to admit, I got struck with a little pang of nerves when I read the press release on the Extras Facebook page. A nervous excitement really...all for the sake of being a fuzzy blur in the background. All the learning archery and swordfighting, and brushing up on rowing and horse riding. But I can't wait to go suss it out and hopefully make the cut. Sure what else would you be doing!?! Hopefully, it'll all be worth it.

In farming news, "Sheep Ragnar" has been deemed to have done the business with "Sheep Lagertha" and "Sheep Aslaug", and so, has been sent back to the farm. We now shall await the arrival of a few little lambie lambs just in time for spring.

In other kind-of-related-to-Vikings-kind-of-not-but-you'll-see-where-I'm-going-with-this news, George Blagden is on Irish shores once more! Whilst still playing a priest, he is shooting a movie called Blight. Sure to mess with your mind and provide you with a few sleepless nights, it is the tale of a girl's tortured soul by some sinister enemy and one priest's attempts to save her. Definitely worth checking out. They have quite an active twitter account, with regular #Ask sessions with various people involved. And George himself has tweeted responses. He quite humurously responded to my question about the fear of being typecast as a priest! Ah bless(no pun intended).

For now, #LikeAViking

Title Quote: Vikings Season 1 Episode 5: Raid
Rollo to Earl Haraldson