Paul Isn’t A Murderer

Much thanks to Ruth and Paul for running an awesome murder mystery party last night, and to Rory for snapping some great photos. We played Death By Chocolate, in which American tycoon Billy Bonka had been murdered, but by whom?

[warning: contains spoilers for the Death By Chocolate murder mystery pack]

Most remarkably, it wasn’t Paul’s character this time, as has become traditional. Instead, it was Rory’s: Mike Bison – a loudmouthed American boxer who Rory really brought to life (and whom the rest of us – all “civilized” Europeans – mocked mercilessly). I might have guessed correctly – Claire did – if it weren’t for the fact that I disregarded some of Claire’s character’s – Dame Barbara Carthorse’s – observations because she presented it so drunkenly. That’ll teach me!

I played Dr. Sigmund Fraud, pre-eminent psychoanalyst, which was a fabulous role to be cast as, because it gave me license to blame everybody’s faults on the forgotten traumas of their youth. And also talk about phalluses (phalli?) a lot.

Much credit also due to JTA (Monsoir ‘Chocolate’ Bertrand, rival chocolatier to the deceased), whose already-awesome French accent only became more ludicrous and pronounced as he got more and more drunk, and to Elizabeth (Dr. Doris Johnson, explorer, adventurer, and expert in Aztec culture), who was brave enough to come along to one of these things for the first time, and survived.

Ruth and I have started talking about the potential for the next one to take place near the end of October. Hope everybody can make it!

Murder Mystery In Progress

I’m currently in the middle of a murder mystery night: The Brie, The Bullet, And The Black Cat, and I just wanted to point out how clever it is! My character is a secret agent from England in Casablanca before the British invasion of Africa. My alias – a French nightclub owner – has been blown, and my booklet gives me a SECOND alias which I’ve managed to pull off without question, and subsequent clues have (so far) been ambiguous as to which alibi I’m using! Very clever!

Murder Mystery Night 2

Last night, Ruth ran the second of her murder mystery nights, which was cool. It didn’t work as fluidly as the first – partially owing to, in my opinion, a less well-conceived pack, and partially because it turned out that Paul‘s character, who’s gender Ruth had changed to facilitate the number of people available, was intended to be not only a murdress and an adultress, but also a wife and a mother, which made the plot somewhat confusing as we tried to patch the holes with convenient “spot fiction”.

Nonetheless, Ruth and JTA put on a great night of food and fun; everybody’s costumes were great (I’ll try to ensure that some make it online soon), and the evening wore on and folks trickled away home (or staggered away, in Paul’s case) and those that remained drunk themselves philosophical and all was well with the world.

There’s nothing quite as funny as Paul in a drunken fight with a cigarette holder.

Paul vs Smoking

Paul vs Smoking×