Pennsic, Week 2
Aug. 22nd, 2005 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luciabWow, it's good to be home. I've had a good night's sleep, too, which helps a lot. Today, maybe a long tub-soak to get out the last of the embedded grime.
First, the Best and Worst. The Worst was the neighbors on our block, who treated Her Excellency like shit, not to put too fine a point on it. They were rude and insulting during written negotiations about land allocation, and didn't improve on site. She had to go to arbitration to get a reasonable solution, and gave away some of our land to a smaller group to help them cope with the awkward shape of their final spot. When the main jerk saw Her having a long talk with the Land Agent, he suddenly got a clue and decided he needed to make nice.... and got one of those big chocolate chip "cookies" like you get at the mall, and had 'em write on it, "Welcome to N15 Windmasters Hill." Riiiiiight. Then they were stupid enough to have a generator in the middle of their camp. A generator. And instead of digging a sump, they drained their shower into the ditch beside the road. Can you say DUH? I knew you could. These transgressions did not go unremarked, shall we say.
The Best was a truly perfect Pennsic Moment (tm). Nikulai and I had gone to the merchant area for an Italian Ice, and Wolgemut was playing in front of Master John the Artificer's, so we stopped to watch. I'd never seen them before, and they are most entertaining. There's a period bagpipe, another horn of some sort, and two drums. They move around enough to give the audience something to watch, too. The first song we heard turned out to be.... Stairway to Heaven. Heh. I didn't recognize it till they sang in unison, And she's buy-uy-ing a stairway to heaven, but did think it sounded modern somehow. I was proud of at least figuring that out! Oops, back to the story. So there we were, watching this period band of buskers in front of the ancient-looking wooden shop, and everyone in the crowd was wearing at least a reasonable attempt at medieval clothing. No bunny fur or chain-mail bikinis, no belly babies in sight. Then along came the Mid Realm Royals with an entourage of a few dozen people, carrying banners. It was just too cool. Very nice pagentry. I smiled the rest of the day. I also had some really fine views of Serengeti all covered with tents glowing in the torchlight at other times.
The weather was as near perfect as I've ever seen it. Only a couple of days in the 90's, only a few rain showers, no storms at all. I got some sunburn the first day but it wasn't bad.
On Sunday I sponsored Declan in the Laurel’s Tourney. Part of the deal was that the sponsoring Laurel donated a prize and specified what it was for. I wanted my illumination to go to the Most Chivalrous fighter, but the woman running the event told me that had already been taken and I’d have to think of something else. I wound up giving it for the best armor. When it came time to give out the Laurel’s prizes, they did it by acclaimation, and the fighters all chose Declan as Most Chivalrous. I thought that was great. Then they announced that there was another Most Chivalrous award (guess somebody slipped up!) and they gave it to the King of Northshield. HE then announced that he thought it should go to “that left handed guy I fought…” who was, of course, Declan. I was so proud. We may know that historically Knights weren’t all that chivalrous, but in the Society, chivalray is highly prized. As a lover-not-a-fighter, I may prize it more than most, I dunno.
Monday and Tuesday were slow and relaxing. I think I took a couple of classes, read HP and the Half-Blood Prince and generally lazed about. Wednesday morning I had that oh-shit-the-week’s-half-over moment of panic. Aaaaiiiieeee! Stuff to do! People to see! Stuff to buy!
Midnight Madness is always one of my favorite things... sort of a perennial Best. The torchlight, the good natured crowds, the store owners calling out specials—it’s just magical.
Thursday felt like… well, we’re getting very near the end, maybe I’ll just leave tomorrow. After the Baroness’s Tea this afternoon. I actually did start sorting and doing a bit of packing up. Friday…. Well, okay, I’ll leave Saturday. Then we heard that it was supposed to storm on Saturday and be pretty on Sunday. What with one thing and another I wound up staying till Sunday.
On Saturday I started packing the car very carefully, determined to maximize visibility. Halfway through, it became obvious that it was going to rain soon, and the packing became more frenzied and less organized. I also knew I didn’t want to do all the packing and then have to drive 9 hours, and I didn’t want to spend the money for a motel room. I packed everything except the bed and bedding and my driving clothes, and Saturday night the Baronial common tent became a dorm for those of us who were leaving Sunday morning. Saturday night turned into a bardic around the campfire, and was one of the most enjoyable evenings of the War. Sir Justus (! :>) was there with Elishabet, Dunstan and Tangwystle had stayed, and about a dozen others, many of whom I didn’t know. Her Excellency Maddalena sang, and has a lovely voice. The Serengeti looked about half empty from a distance but up close looked more like ¾ empty. As many people had on modern clothes as medieval, so it was definitely not magical but it was very relaxed and enjoyable. Lots of firewood to be burned and extra beer to be drunk. VERY relaxed and enjoyable. Another perennial Best is going to sleep at night with the sound of drums, or people outside the tent talking, and Saturday night was very like that. My head was hurting and I wound up going to bed pretty early, but I had that lovely feeling of being all safe and protected and knowing the grown ups are there (well, not so much with the “grown up” part, maybe.) They were having a happy time, though.
Sunday I finished packing (barely getting everything in the car) and left about 9:15... and I swear the drive was the longest 9 hours I’ve ever spent. My feet were already sore from walking all week, but I ached everywhere by the time I got home. That would be, except for the bits that were numb.
The cats were happy to see me. Miranda is the most openly expressive and kept waking me up at random times all night to pet her. Molly is doing her usual stay-nearby-just-in-case routine, and Carmen is happy when I pick her up but otherwise not to be seen.
And the house is a wreck. Sigh. I thought I left it in better condition, but I can tell by looking this is my mess and not anyone else’s. It’s odd, though… I got a note from my downstairs neighbor saying she’s been awakened by what sounds like heavy furniture being moved at 5 AM lately. Huh? I’ll have to talk with her this afternoon and see what else she can tell me. That is just weird.
Well, that’s my week in review. Now to see what everyone else says about Pennsic.
First, the Best and Worst. The Worst was the neighbors on our block, who treated Her Excellency like shit, not to put too fine a point on it. They were rude and insulting during written negotiations about land allocation, and didn't improve on site. She had to go to arbitration to get a reasonable solution, and gave away some of our land to a smaller group to help them cope with the awkward shape of their final spot. When the main jerk saw Her having a long talk with the Land Agent, he suddenly got a clue and decided he needed to make nice.... and got one of those big chocolate chip "cookies" like you get at the mall, and had 'em write on it, "Welcome to N15 Windmasters Hill." Riiiiiight. Then they were stupid enough to have a generator in the middle of their camp. A generator. And instead of digging a sump, they drained their shower into the ditch beside the road. Can you say DUH? I knew you could. These transgressions did not go unremarked, shall we say.
The Best was a truly perfect Pennsic Moment (tm). Nikulai and I had gone to the merchant area for an Italian Ice, and Wolgemut was playing in front of Master John the Artificer's, so we stopped to watch. I'd never seen them before, and they are most entertaining. There's a period bagpipe, another horn of some sort, and two drums. They move around enough to give the audience something to watch, too. The first song we heard turned out to be.... Stairway to Heaven. Heh. I didn't recognize it till they sang in unison, And she's buy-uy-ing a stairway to heaven, but did think it sounded modern somehow. I was proud of at least figuring that out! Oops, back to the story. So there we were, watching this period band of buskers in front of the ancient-looking wooden shop, and everyone in the crowd was wearing at least a reasonable attempt at medieval clothing. No bunny fur or chain-mail bikinis, no belly babies in sight. Then along came the Mid Realm Royals with an entourage of a few dozen people, carrying banners. It was just too cool. Very nice pagentry. I smiled the rest of the day. I also had some really fine views of Serengeti all covered with tents glowing in the torchlight at other times.
The weather was as near perfect as I've ever seen it. Only a couple of days in the 90's, only a few rain showers, no storms at all. I got some sunburn the first day but it wasn't bad.
On Sunday I sponsored Declan in the Laurel’s Tourney. Part of the deal was that the sponsoring Laurel donated a prize and specified what it was for. I wanted my illumination to go to the Most Chivalrous fighter, but the woman running the event told me that had already been taken and I’d have to think of something else. I wound up giving it for the best armor. When it came time to give out the Laurel’s prizes, they did it by acclaimation, and the fighters all chose Declan as Most Chivalrous. I thought that was great. Then they announced that there was another Most Chivalrous award (guess somebody slipped up!) and they gave it to the King of Northshield. HE then announced that he thought it should go to “that left handed guy I fought…” who was, of course, Declan. I was so proud. We may know that historically Knights weren’t all that chivalrous, but in the Society, chivalray is highly prized. As a lover-not-a-fighter, I may prize it more than most, I dunno.
Monday and Tuesday were slow and relaxing. I think I took a couple of classes, read HP and the Half-Blood Prince and generally lazed about. Wednesday morning I had that oh-shit-the-week’s-half-over moment of panic. Aaaaiiiieeee! Stuff to do! People to see! Stuff to buy!
Midnight Madness is always one of my favorite things... sort of a perennial Best. The torchlight, the good natured crowds, the store owners calling out specials—it’s just magical.
Thursday felt like… well, we’re getting very near the end, maybe I’ll just leave tomorrow. After the Baroness’s Tea this afternoon. I actually did start sorting and doing a bit of packing up. Friday…. Well, okay, I’ll leave Saturday. Then we heard that it was supposed to storm on Saturday and be pretty on Sunday. What with one thing and another I wound up staying till Sunday.
On Saturday I started packing the car very carefully, determined to maximize visibility. Halfway through, it became obvious that it was going to rain soon, and the packing became more frenzied and less organized. I also knew I didn’t want to do all the packing and then have to drive 9 hours, and I didn’t want to spend the money for a motel room. I packed everything except the bed and bedding and my driving clothes, and Saturday night the Baronial common tent became a dorm for those of us who were leaving Sunday morning. Saturday night turned into a bardic around the campfire, and was one of the most enjoyable evenings of the War. Sir Justus (! :>) was there with Elishabet, Dunstan and Tangwystle had stayed, and about a dozen others, many of whom I didn’t know. Her Excellency Maddalena sang, and has a lovely voice. The Serengeti looked about half empty from a distance but up close looked more like ¾ empty. As many people had on modern clothes as medieval, so it was definitely not magical but it was very relaxed and enjoyable. Lots of firewood to be burned and extra beer to be drunk. VERY relaxed and enjoyable. Another perennial Best is going to sleep at night with the sound of drums, or people outside the tent talking, and Saturday night was very like that. My head was hurting and I wound up going to bed pretty early, but I had that lovely feeling of being all safe and protected and knowing the grown ups are there (well, not so much with the “grown up” part, maybe.) They were having a happy time, though.
Sunday I finished packing (barely getting everything in the car) and left about 9:15... and I swear the drive was the longest 9 hours I’ve ever spent. My feet were already sore from walking all week, but I ached everywhere by the time I got home. That would be, except for the bits that were numb.
The cats were happy to see me. Miranda is the most openly expressive and kept waking me up at random times all night to pet her. Molly is doing her usual stay-nearby-just-in-case routine, and Carmen is happy when I pick her up but otherwise not to be seen.
And the house is a wreck. Sigh. I thought I left it in better condition, but I can tell by looking this is my mess and not anyone else’s. It’s odd, though… I got a note from my downstairs neighbor saying she’s been awakened by what sounds like heavy furniture being moved at 5 AM lately. Huh? I’ll have to talk with her this afternoon and see what else she can tell me. That is just weird.
Well, that’s my week in review. Now to see what everyone else says about Pennsic.
