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jpgsawyerWell hello from a very sunny Montreal. It really warm here which is nice but not so nice is that I forgot the power supply to my laptop so I am reduced to sitting in an internet cafe to figure out where I need to go etc. Oh well I am sure it will all work out.
It also means this is the first chance I get to post about last weekend. I went up to a place called Heckmondwick near Wakefield in Yorkshire for what we are calling the battle of the Ponderosa petting zoo.
This was a 15thC re-enactment which I was invited to by the Cavalry of St George which is the cavalry arm of the War or the Roses Federation. Technically it was a re-enactment of the battle of Wakefield but it was held in the unlikely venue of the Ponderosa Centre which is apparently a petting zoo so that is what we called it. The show included two battles with the second one including cavalry, a skill at arms show and a joust.
I was originally going to act as a Lesley's squire for the joust but for various reasons she wasn't about to joust but I did get to take part. I helped on the ground in one of the battles, acted as ground crew for the Joust and most interestingly for me took part in the skill at arms show as a rider.
I was very nervous about this because I hadn't done a show like this before and didn't want to make a complete fool of myself. I was given a wonderful, if aging horse, called Beth who was brilliant and you will never believe this I was declared the winner on the Saturday and on the Sunday although there was no winner declared I think I had the highest score and I certainly did a number of most of the targets and put on a good show. I even sliced the melon target perfectly in two. I also was able to get the vicarious thrill of be announced to the waiting crowd as Sir Thomas Flamanc rather than the title Lord I was offered. They thought it very odd that I wanted a demotion but I thought it fun.
A photographer also came along and took a very good picture of me killing a cabbage which I purchased and if you come to the house you might get to see framed. I suspect it will turn up on the web eventually too and I may post a link to it.
Anyway I think I will now wander down to the convention venue and register before taking a walk down to the old port of Montreal.
It also means this is the first chance I get to post about last weekend. I went up to a place called Heckmondwick near Wakefield in Yorkshire for what we are calling the battle of the Ponderosa petting zoo.
This was a 15thC re-enactment which I was invited to by the Cavalry of St George which is the cavalry arm of the War or the Roses Federation. Technically it was a re-enactment of the battle of Wakefield but it was held in the unlikely venue of the Ponderosa Centre which is apparently a petting zoo so that is what we called it. The show included two battles with the second one including cavalry, a skill at arms show and a joust.
I was originally going to act as a Lesley's squire for the joust but for various reasons she wasn't about to joust but I did get to take part. I helped on the ground in one of the battles, acted as ground crew for the Joust and most interestingly for me took part in the skill at arms show as a rider.
I was very nervous about this because I hadn't done a show like this before and didn't want to make a complete fool of myself. I was given a wonderful, if aging horse, called Beth who was brilliant and you will never believe this I was declared the winner on the Saturday and on the Sunday although there was no winner declared I think I had the highest score and I certainly did a number of most of the targets and put on a good show. I even sliced the melon target perfectly in two. I also was able to get the vicarious thrill of be announced to the waiting crowd as Sir Thomas Flamanc rather than the title Lord I was offered. They thought it very odd that I wanted a demotion but I thought it fun.
A photographer also came along and took a very good picture of me killing a cabbage which I purchased and if you come to the house you might get to see framed. I suspect it will turn up on the web eventually too and I may post a link to it.
Anyway I think I will now wander down to the convention venue and register before taking a walk down to the old port of Montreal.
