Tales of Raglan, part 1
(It's taking too long to write up the whole thing in one post, so I'm breaking it up to post bits and pieces.)
The furnishings, pavilion bits and clothes are finally put away for another year.
From unpromising beginnings, this proved to be a lovely Raglan Fair.
We travelled with Sir Vitus and his baggage train, along with his squire Edricus, and our friend Wulfgar, who was visiting from Lochac. The trip flew by in the catching up with Edricus - we hadn't seen him in several months.
We arrived mid-afternoon Thurs in serious high-wind conditions - just minutes after jpgsawyer's pavilion centre pole had snapped and dropped on Lady M.'s head, demonstrating that really, we were Having Weather(TM).
As we were supposed to set up right next to this spot (on the bowling green, on a very exposed corner of the castle site) were weren't too certain about our own chances of getting set up safely. And when it was up, the wind was lifting the whole pavilion from the bottom like a breeze scooping up under an umbrella, threatening to lift it right off the green like Dorothy's house in Kansas.
Thankfully, Daffyd was willing to negotiate over locations, and we ended up in a more sheltered location next to the castle, beside a pair of arches that supported a bridge onto the bowling green. It was still very windy - it was the first time we'd ever used wind guy ropes - but we didn't feel nearly as likely to blow right off the grounds. Master Paul and milady Anne set up next to us, and jpgsawyer and Lady M. started setting up the camp kitchen under the arch.
The arch proved a lifesaver - keeping our kitchen area dry and relatively sheltered, providing Thomas with a base to work from for his cooking demo and class, and from whic to serve the fabulous food we ate all weekend. We were isolated from most of the other campers, but with the smell of woodsmoke and roasting piggy rising from the kitchen, everyone knew where we were!
Thursday evening HRM Judith arrived safely and was welcomed in the Polonius camp to visit and pass the time with good food and company. I left her in the care of these fine gents, and headed to bed.
Friday was a bit soggy: but of all days to rain, this was the best, as only general classes and fun activities were scheduled, things that were a bit more flexible than Viceroy tourney and courts. I spent some time scribing, and some time doing archery marshalling - Merlin was once more running a window shoot, which is great fun.
On Friday evening, Her Majesty presided at court (heralded skilfully by nusbacher), and was pleased to hear Sir Vitus and Edricus establish a contract, drafted by Robert, penned by yours truly. And nz_bookwyrm got his long-overdue AoA. Hurrah for Thamesreach!
Saturday was WIIIIIIIND-Y, really windy, but dry for the Viceroy tournament, and the fighting was great to watch. Wulfgar, visiting from Lochac, confirmed that many fighters had improved their skills noticeably since his last visit a couple of years ago, which is always good to hear.
Robert had one of his best tourneys, fighting with confidence and control - noone caught him completely flat-footed, and I think he fought the bouts the way he planned and expected to. He won at least as many as he lost.
The final was between Sir Alaric and Master Sigmundr, with the unsurprising outcome of Alaric and Nerissa winning. However, it was by no means handed to Alaric, and the best 2 of 3 with 9 other fighters ensured he earned it - this tourney held more bouts than the Crown tournament he won a couple of years ago, which frankly is as it should be, IMO. I want to be confident that the winner of the tourney has won with both skill and stamina, rather than just luck.
One especial pleasure of the tourney was having three women heralds calling the bouts: Lady Katherine Gordon from F'heath, nusbacher (who also boasted us in - it's fun to have a stately walk in with someone reading our honours), and kirieldp took turns.
More to come! especially if Edricus posts his photos...