So, m'lady and I went to an SCA event last weekend. I spent the whole week before sewing a dress for her. It was a sleepless week with many a night spent sewing into the wee hours. The morning of the event we were still sewing buttons down the front, but she looked so beautiful.
There was a tournament, and a grueling endurance-fest it was. First, for me, came two and a half hours of fighting nearly non-stop while she had tea with the baroness and the other consorts. They were being judged on grace, etiquette and courtesy. Next was the Arts and Sciences section -- She presented a prepared piece (a sonnet) and competed in a timed improvisational arts competition. That looked like fun: each consort was given a box of random stuff like clothespins and napkins and embroidery floss and told to make something in 45 minutes. M'lady made a very amusing puppet, I'm told, but I didn't get to see the final product because I was competing in the Performance division. My song was original, and not particularly authentic, but very rousing. I started with an audience of one and finished with twenty or so.
The whole thing wrapped up with a procession into court. This was basically a fashion pageant, and we were told to play it up with as much pomp and circumstance as possible. This was the main reason for the week I spent sewing her dress. When the time came I was completely burned out and exhausted, but once again she came to my rescue. Working almost completely at the last minute, she got drummers and belly dancers, topless men, children blowing bubbles and pretty girls twirling ribbons, a trumpeter, a herald to announce us and a Guy With a Big Sword to look menacing as our entourage. She also somehow managed to put us at the front of the line, giving us the longest and most impressive entrance.
In the end, I took second place in the fighting and first in the performance, she took first place in the A&S and the processional was apparently Good Enough. We won the tournament, the king gave her an award of arms, and we have spent the last several days recuperating.
God, I love this hobby.
There was a tournament, and a grueling endurance-fest it was. First, for me, came two and a half hours of fighting nearly non-stop while she had tea with the baroness and the other consorts. They were being judged on grace, etiquette and courtesy. Next was the Arts and Sciences section -- She presented a prepared piece (a sonnet) and competed in a timed improvisational arts competition. That looked like fun: each consort was given a box of random stuff like clothespins and napkins and embroidery floss and told to make something in 45 minutes. M'lady made a very amusing puppet, I'm told, but I didn't get to see the final product because I was competing in the Performance division. My song was original, and not particularly authentic, but very rousing. I started with an audience of one and finished with twenty or so.
The whole thing wrapped up with a procession into court. This was basically a fashion pageant, and we were told to play it up with as much pomp and circumstance as possible. This was the main reason for the week I spent sewing her dress. When the time came I was completely burned out and exhausted, but once again she came to my rescue. Working almost completely at the last minute, she got drummers and belly dancers, topless men, children blowing bubbles and pretty girls twirling ribbons, a trumpeter, a herald to announce us and a Guy With a Big Sword to look menacing as our entourage. She also somehow managed to put us at the front of the line, giving us the longest and most impressive entrance.
In the end, I took second place in the fighting and first in the performance, she took first place in the A&S and the processional was apparently Good Enough. We won the tournament, the king gave her an award of arms, and we have spent the last several days recuperating.
God, I love this hobby.
MAY 2007
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APRIL 2007
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MARCH 2007
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FEBRUARY 2007