Werewolves are the only movie monster that I've ever found really terrifying, as I mentioned in this unfogged thread. The loss of self and merciless, unstoppable ferocity that underpin the werewolf mythology have always added up to a particularly terrifying sum in my mind — and exposure to a memorable X-Files episode at an impressionable age didn't help matters. Besides, they have none of the saving graces of the other classic monsters: they don't possess any of the vampire's sexy villainy; they only shamble when particularly full, making them harder to escape from than mummies or zombies; and unlike the relatively rare creature from the black lagoon, blob or giant Japanese reptile, werewolves are completely ubiquitous (COMPLETELY. Look out your window right now — you should see at least two.).

I mention all of this because the United Kingdom is clearly ground zero for lycanthropes. This point was underscored by Emily forcing me to begin watching Dog Soldiers the day before my departure. It's a movie which — based on the admittedly limited part I've seen so far — seems to be about werewolves viciously disemboweling English infantrymen in the woods of their homeland. That's my understanding, anyway; Emily assures me that it gets much scarier after the point at which we stopped, which, given the inconceivability of further werewolf-terror escalation, makes me think that maybe it'll turn out to be an existential meditation on the banality of existence or something.

Anyway, to lay your fears to rest: day two of this London trip has now drawn to a close, and I have yet to be eviscerated, bitten, or even attacked by a mysteriously large dog that quickly disappeared into the brush. Going into this trip I was sure that at some point Michael would turn to me and say he'd forgotten the adapter for the projector, and would I mind running back to the hotel to fetch it? It shouldn't take me long, it's just across that foggy moonlit moor.

But so far we've managed to remember all of our technical gear. And if I'm under any supernatural curses, the folks from Gre/enpe/ace have at least been nice enough to utter them quietly.