Say what?

A male commentator on Woman's Hour has just come out with a statement to the effect that the pressure on men nowadays to get fit and looks nicer -- use moisturiser etc -- is imposed by women.
Nothing to do with marketing and the saturation of the market for imposing beauty standards on women, oh no. Nothing to do with big business looking for new outlets and new sources of profit, oh no.
Just Teh Women.
I am gobsmacked. And furious. And upset.

A question for the hive mind

How many vikings are too many? Or, more accurately, how many viking attacks can you stand within one book? I need at least two, for plot reasons, but I don't want to be boring.

The daily metrics

Words written today: 762 -- still gearing back up to that 1000 minimum.
First line of the day: 'She wagged her tail at him anyway, bouncing around his feet in anticipation of whatever treat his presence promised.'

Owain is asking questions, the bond-villagers are being sullen and Gif is looking for a new playmate.
I now have a post-it over my desk reading 'Don't forget the body.' Because, you know, it mustn't get forgotten. It's not going to bury itself and Hyfaidd (the king) is looking forward to yelling at some-one about it.

Good things about this book: comedy dog; Owain; vikings to come; lots of fights.
Bad things: I am convinced that all the characters are cold and damp all the time. Early mediaeval Wales wasn't comfortable. Also, it had no plumbing. I have to keep reminding myself that the characters will be used to these things and won't worry about them. Indeed, they are probably quite comfortable at least some of the time and feel perfectly clean enough ditto. (though Owain isn't keen on pig-manure covered dog, for which I do not blame him.

Stray mediaeval thing: spell-checkers will tell you 'viking' needs to be capitalised. Many people do capitalise it -- it's almost standard practice. However, technically, it's not a proper noun -- it's a descriptive one, like plumber or carpenter. So it doesn't really need that capital. Of course, this may also be a reflection on my academic training and in particular on the nature of my PhD supervisor (chilperic can doubtless imagine why). If I sell The Drowning Kings, I expect to have a minor battle with the copy-editor which I will loose.

Stray question: why do I have such trouble with lose/loose and chose/choose?

Skirt of the day: black flouncey.

And now I get to go and clean the bathroom. I like cleaning bathrooms, so it's almost my treat for getting on with the Bl**dy Celtic Book.