July 5 {1974}
Elizabethan evening was excellent! - dark banquet room - rough wooden tables + chairs. Frank Turkot (BNL?) + wife as "lord" at head table. Dinner consisted of five courses with minstrel singing - soup drunk from bowls directly, salad, "boar's head" pate', ribs (lamb?) and vegatables, pudding - Singer on 12 string guitar was really good - audience joined in, pounded on tables to applaud. Mead and wine in 2-handed "loving" cups. Fretter started french drinking song - all french joined in - ~ 12 (?) choruses. Lots of ribald old english ballads with choruses sung by all. Fiorini sitting next to Fretter - not really getting it.
Clay pipes with tobacco and pinch of snuff handed out to all.
Servince "wenches" - low cut blouses with cleavage - one brunette and one blonde describing each dish and custom. Blonde denstated use of loving cup with Frank "lord" - kissed him afterwards (custom - knight offered cup to fair lady - if she fancied him, she took on handle; if not, she took both handles)
Dinner became very ralaxed and rambunctious. Japanese physicist got up (as penalty) and sang song (quite well)!
Cut out early after Didden's talk and walked over to Harrods. Area between IC and Brompton road very interesting - lots of narrow roads, winding in and out, with very "typical" houses all crowded together. Beautiful old "brownstones" wall-to wall.
Bought Wedgewood bud vase as present. Met Tricia W. and Joyce Huson there shopping.
Singer later joined another on lute and girl - she was dark haired, very pretty, large eyes, "irish looking", low voice unfortunately drowned out by two men.
Note: try to get a record of old english songs - circa 16th century (Henry VIII era)
eg. "No Sir", she said
Clay pipes with tobacco and pinch of snuff handed out to all.
Servince "wenches" - low cut blouses with cleavage - one brunette and one blonde describing each dish and custom. Blonde denstated use of loving cup with Frank "lord" - kissed him afterwards (custom - knight offered cup to fair lady - if she fancied him, she took on handle; if not, she took both handles)
Dinner became very ralaxed and rambunctious. Japanese physicist got up (as penalty) and sang song (quite well)!
Cut out early after Didden's talk and walked over to Harrods. Area between IC and Brompton road very interesting - lots of narrow roads, winding in and out, with very "typical" houses all crowded together. Beautiful old "brownstones" wall-to wall.
Bought Wedgewood bud vase as present. Met Tricia W. and Joyce Huson there shopping.
Singer later joined another on lute and girl - she was dark haired, very pretty, large eyes, "irish looking", low voice unfortunately drowned out by two men.
Note: try to get a record of old english songs - circa 16th century (Henry VIII era)
eg. "No Sir", she said