Crown tourney was Oooop North last weekend, about half an hour out of Manchester, at a scout camp site, where Paul and
aryanhwy won Crown.
It's a good site for the event, accepting the fact that it has no medieval anything, though the scout great hall is quite handsome with a nice fireplace.
But it's Oooop North, and it's early April. And sure enough, the wind blew, the rain blustered, and it was bloody freezing standing around.
And...Robert didn't make it. He came down w/ a cold a day before we were to leave, and was not in a fit state to travel. He certainly didn't want to sit wrapped in a cloak, watching the other kids play, having loving friends ask him why he wasn't fighting.
So he stayed home, and I went to the event on my own. I felt like I was missing something all weekend and of course I was, my sweetie. (And my circlet, because he usually packs them.)
With our withdrawing, and one other couple withdrawing with the fighter's faulty knee, the list was small at 5 couples, and even a round robin took just an hour. The outcome was what I expected: HG Sir Thorvaldr, fighting for HE Countess Tofa, and HE Pan Vitus, fighting for HE Visc Isabel, in a best of 5 which went to the full five bouts.
At the fifth, Vitus yielded the field and gave Thorvaldr the victory.
At court, the countess previously known as Tofa approached their Majesties in Japanese clothing, and was crowned princess Tomoe (To-mo-AY, I think). I believe she is the first Japanese princess in Drachenwald.
On other fronts:
Much fencing -
nusbacher and others were keen to fence, and we had 2 guests from An Tir who were fencers, one of whom proved to be a don. So we fenced as much as time allowed, with
hobbitomm,
goncalves, Master Alexandre and me concentrating on authorisations.
The good outcomes were
- Alexandre and I are now fully authorised cut and thrust marshals
- we both now hold great weapon C&T authorisations
Also, my gauntlets work a treat: I used them for both single sword and two-hand sword C&T. The bell cuff helped take the edge off blows that would have otherwise hit my forearm pretty sharply, but I still take it that I need splints or hardened leather bazubands or similar.
hobbitomm insisted that with my gauntlets outshining the rest of my kit I should fence naked. I said wherever he led, others will follow. Oddly, he didn't take me up on the idea.
On the fencing kit front:
I had successfully 3R'ed my first fencing gown: that is, cut it up the sides, added large gores up to the armpit gusset, and sewn them up again, then enlarged the sleeves the same way.
If I'd planned it better I'd have cut open the gown from cuff to hem at the side seam and simply made a very long (pieced) gore that ran from cuff up arm through armpit and down the side. But I didn't plan that far ahead.
As it is, I've inadvertently ended up with something that looks very like the lesser known Greenland gowns that have wide-top gores that run right to the sleeve (rather than pointy ones that end at the waist or hip). So in all it's a good result.
Armed with the C&T marshalling card, I can now go to Double Wars and pester the senior fencers for field time so my experience can better match my warrant card.
On planning for DW front:
Their highnesses of Nordmark William and Isabetta attended Crown and were their usual lovely selves.
Isabetta is gatekeeper, and William is head of combat for this year's wars, positions they took on well before 'accidentally' winning the principality tourney in March.
I enquired about combat classes at Double wars- there's no shortage of arts classes but I've not seen any fighting or fencing teaching planned. So I'm going to pester for instruction. I can't go to Nordmark 10 days and not get something out of it.
Sir William said plainly, 'if someone came to me and said, I want to learn, can you take an hour to teach me, I'd be a fool to turn them down'. William is conventionally last man off the field, and I've never known him to knowingly refuse to help someone.
On the spreading bread on the waters:
I was really happy to see Lady Tamara, the founder of the Bulgarian shire St John of Rila. The shire she's built there is growing and thriving, and she looks very happy with it, though equally happy to no longer be seneshal.
I'd sent her a handout on heralding tournaments for one of the newer members, and she says it was just, just what he'd needed.
He'd read it through and written the tournament instructions out in a small book to refer to for tournaments and had put it to use at their recent spring event.
It's very charming to have stuff you do well received, even in small doses.
Unfortunately in the wind and busy day I dried out, and came down with a ferocious tension headache from dehydration, to the point of nausea. By the time I realised what had happened, my head was engulfed and my shoulders were rigid.
I packed up my kit at 8pm and left the feast hall and lay down, but basically didn't get up again except to change out of my gown. It took over night plus a lot of vitamin I to clear.
Sunday morning started well with
nz_bookwyrm's coffee service: he brought his portable stove to make Turkish coffee a la Mangy Mongol.
We then had some time to fence: Asbiorn and I did a dagger authorisation for a new fencer, and he and I warmed up while Catlin trained someone new, and I did sword and dagger passes with Lucrezia, which was great fun. She's a very methodical student and wants to talk through moves, just the way I do, which I appreciate.
I was among the last to leave site with the event staff, and it felt like a long trip home to my sweetie who was getting far more attentive Haggis-care than he really wanted through the day.
By the time I got home she was in a mood for Out and Personal Time, thank you, no cuddles required.