I'm hoping to get Chef Bob & his folk to come down to play. With some 1471 Burgundians, we can do Barnet.

Comes down to when exactly, and things are tighter than a drum economicaly for me until the horses come back from training late February. I hope to make it to MTT or MTA this season - probably whichever one falls later in the year.

Another problem is Keith Ducklin will be holding another workshop "this Spring", and those of us in training for demonstrations at the Museum are committed to it - His last workshop this past weekend was fantastic. Learned a couple of new dirty tricks... er... "moves of mastery of ones opponent" - yeah, thats the ticket! from Herr Talhoffer & Fiore.

I'll try guys - I had a blast with Jeff J. & MOW, and we will be doing so as soon as possible again.

Glad you had fun, Bob. MTA is usually a lot of fun. Tentage can always be found. A significant number of folks at MTA use local hotels. That's one thing about the time-line events, you aren't "on" for 24-hours and people seem to have less inhibitions about leaving after hours. I think this encourages people to participate, since some who might otherwise opt out due to unwillingness to "rough it", or who have small children, medical conditions, etc. are willing to come if they have prospects for a hot shower and warm hotel room.

I'm also looking forward to another sparring match with you, Bob. I too have been practicing. If there's not a conflict with your spring Ducklin session, and you're coming to MTA, I'd really like to be able to have people do the Ducklin routine we were working on in PA in full armor, as well as a poll-axe demo in armor. The more people trained to do the demos the better, so we can rotate.

About the Ducklin session, do you happen to know what it might cost to get him to pay us a visit? I'll post on the Mid-Atlantic Society for Historic Swordsmanship listserv to see if there's enough interest. I'd even consider a trip up your way to attend the Higgins session, see you & Jenn, and, of course see the museum.

No Nikki? Sigh...

If you can't arrange a session down that way for awhile, we have an extra bedroom if you would like to crash up here for the one in the Spring.

Jenn

I could probably round up a few folks who would love to attend in a "sleep at a hotel" fashion. It would be great to put faces with names. I get so little interaction with real re-enactors in my area it would be refreshing to hang out with all you guys. By the way, is the cheerleader convention still the same weekend?

Another popular group of visitors are the Japanese Schoolgirls: "Giggle, Giggle, Giggle"

If you're there, stop by and say hi, I'll be in Men of Warwick's camp, with a red dress and black hood. And hope they don't feed us chili again on Saturday, there were real long lines at the restaurants nearby with all those cheerleaders around last year.

quote:

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Originally posted by JeffJ:
Truly nasty Chili. And I'll be the guy in the next camp with the Red & Blue Hosen.

Did you find a ride, yet Nikki?

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Yah, I'm driving down with Reaya (from DC, i'm staying at my parents house in MD on Thursday night, and flying to/from Baltimore/Boston).

Weather - NO RAIN! Temp in the 60s, Partly Cloudy, some wind Sunday. Perfect for the wool-wearing medieval person.

Visitors - Good sized crowds, seemed more polite than previous years, most even asked for permission before touching anything, Good questions, especially from a painfully shy 10-year-old genius who really knew his history. Numerous cheerleaders.

Participants - very good showing for medieval period. Warwick and LaBelle had big camps, Wolfe's/Grey was mid-sized, Novae Milites were a bit short. IMHO, we all looked great. Authenticity is getting better every year in all groups.

Awards - Warwick did very well, something like 3 firsts & a second for combat demo. Wolfe's/Grey never enters competitions, being above such things .

Demo - Grey joined Warwick for the demo to fill out their ranks. Archery demo, a few training bits, & a couple of melee demos were highlighted by a visitor entering the area behind the butts (after shooting was done), a broken waster blade, a flying reenforce retrieved by squires, armored guys falling down, and a gauntlet applied forcefully to a cheek (note, visors work better in the lowered position). No known injuries, aside from bruises. Didn't see any other demos.

Food - the infamous Chili & Brunswick Stew were supplied by the museum. Fortunately, the 15th C. groups have excellent cooks.