On Saturday we were honoured to be invited to Maria and Alex‘s wedding which was to be held on a steam train on the Severn Valley Railway with guests requested to dress in the style of Steampunk, a mutant child of cyberpunk and goth where one is invited to imagine adventurers of the Victorian age equipped with the tools of science fiction, albeit powered by steam. In other words, it’s all the fun of goth and cyberpunk without the crushing earnestness of the teens who rule those subcultures.

Dressing up wasn’t mandatory but it might as well have been. Everyone looked fantastic with suits and goggles and corsets a-plenty. (Emma was the official photographer.) Not being one who understands the higher levels of sartorial style I decided not to try and compete on that level. Instead I made myself a stupid hat.

Fiona and myself posing at the station.

It’s a fairly simple affair that got a little out of hand. Inspired by this beauty found grazing the Google image search I purchased a working man’s hard hat, a few metres of conduit, a new drill (I’ve been plagued by the uselessness of my battery powered drill for too long so this was the perfect excuse to buy one that plugs into the mains and actually bloody works) and a can of gold paint. To this I added a bunch of the LED lights I have lying around from my Thingamagoop days and a the body of a corrugated bottle. And a load of gaffer tape. Naturally.

It took about four hours in all, allowing for drying time.

Did I mention it lights up?

Pic by Emma

Here are some more photos, for posterity.

Pic by Fiona

Michael’s thinking is augmented – pic by Emma

Nick found the thinking augmentation process a little uncomfortable – pic by Daz

Fiona was slightly worried that she wasn’t going to be steampunk enough standing next to my absurd helmet. A ridiculous worry as it turned out, but as I was on a roll I knocked together a pair of opera glasses for her from a couple of old lenses I’d never found a use for. She added a panty hanger and voila.

All this has taught me one very important lesson. I have been sublimating my need to make stupid shit out of random junk for far too long. This must be rectified.

[My photos, Fiona's photos (we shared a camera - there is crossover)]