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more good stuff about Double Wars
Jun. 22nd, 2011 07:22 pmYes, I'm still rattling on about Double Wars. I was planning for it since last August, and frankly it's more pleasant than my everyday life. And I can't tell much about it to my coworkers.
Things I really liked about Double Wars:
Pavilions: The gospel of canvas is firmly established at this event, and I saw only 3? 4? dome homes the whole week. Of course thems without could stay indoors. Terafan would be very pleased.
Kids: I was very impressed both by the level of medieval dress of the kids, and the level of cooperative play. Many kids knew each other, and I think the Swedish kids played together, the German-speaking kids played with each other, Dutch, etc. but there were a few language crossings. The best fun was apparently running around madly with foam weapons and lightweight shields, which almost every kid seemed to have. The fun seemed to be in the running around, rather than the fighting engagements, though there were some of those too.
It was refreshing to see kids being largely left to entertain themselves, and managing remarkably well. There were a few classes laid on (bedtime stories, making a pouch) but largely they seemed to cope using their own resources. Arenwald and Signy's kids had a very cool toy castle of wood and some other plausible toys that were very popular, but swordplay (or running while armed) was the broad favourite.
That, and lounging in one of the buildings with handheld electronic games, but this was a subset of kids with said accoutrements.
I only witnessed one complete meltdown, which was rather entertaining from the outside (though probably not for the mother) - kid was having a tantrum while mum was walking away, and kid had to alternate screaming, running after her and breathing, not being able to manage all three at once. It's tough when your audience won't wait for the full culmination of your oeuvre.
Fencing: haven't finished the account of the fencing on the Drachenwald fighters archive yet, but I'm working on it. Just having new opponents, with a variety of kit, and styles, was refreshing, even when resulting in lots of bruises.
Visiting: I spent a lot of time at the Polderslot encampment, and also at Arenwald and Signy's table, eating nibbles and drinking watered wine, Arenwald's medieval beverage of choice. You can drink quite a lot of it before noticing, though it'll still catch up with you!
My clompen: last year Floris got me a pair of Dutch clompen, the traditional wooden shoes worn by peasants. And man, they are the bomb. Lined with my Finnish wool felt slippers, they were perfect for getting around site early in the day when the grass was wet, and for keeping me out of the mud. They are surprisingly warm and comfortable, warmer than you'd expect. I got my money's worth out of them at Double Wars.
Things I really liked about Double Wars:
Pavilions: The gospel of canvas is firmly established at this event, and I saw only 3? 4? dome homes the whole week. Of course thems without could stay indoors. Terafan would be very pleased.
Kids: I was very impressed both by the level of medieval dress of the kids, and the level of cooperative play. Many kids knew each other, and I think the Swedish kids played together, the German-speaking kids played with each other, Dutch, etc. but there were a few language crossings. The best fun was apparently running around madly with foam weapons and lightweight shields, which almost every kid seemed to have. The fun seemed to be in the running around, rather than the fighting engagements, though there were some of those too.
It was refreshing to see kids being largely left to entertain themselves, and managing remarkably well. There were a few classes laid on (bedtime stories, making a pouch) but largely they seemed to cope using their own resources. Arenwald and Signy's kids had a very cool toy castle of wood and some other plausible toys that were very popular, but swordplay (or running while armed) was the broad favourite.
That, and lounging in one of the buildings with handheld electronic games, but this was a subset of kids with said accoutrements.
I only witnessed one complete meltdown, which was rather entertaining from the outside (though probably not for the mother) - kid was having a tantrum while mum was walking away, and kid had to alternate screaming, running after her and breathing, not being able to manage all three at once. It's tough when your audience won't wait for the full culmination of your oeuvre.
Fencing: haven't finished the account of the fencing on the Drachenwald fighters archive yet, but I'm working on it. Just having new opponents, with a variety of kit, and styles, was refreshing, even when resulting in lots of bruises.
Visiting: I spent a lot of time at the Polderslot encampment, and also at Arenwald and Signy's table, eating nibbles and drinking watered wine, Arenwald's medieval beverage of choice. You can drink quite a lot of it before noticing, though it'll still catch up with you!
My clompen: last year Floris got me a pair of Dutch clompen, the traditional wooden shoes worn by peasants. And man, they are the bomb. Lined with my Finnish wool felt slippers, they were perfect for getting around site early in the day when the grass was wet, and for keeping me out of the mud. They are surprisingly warm and comfortable, warmer than you'd expect. I got my money's worth out of them at Double Wars.
