abendgules | Edited to add a new post: catchup post, or at least posting plan

I've posted less of late from the office. Since I've asked, repeatedly, to have more responsibility, it behooves me to actually, um, be responsible. And boy, I've been responsible this week. Whew.

When I get home, I sometimes check my e-mail, but I find it so easy to fall into the abyss that is the Intawebs, I try to stay off the laptop at home.

However, I've had a very full month or so of fine mostly-medieval-like activities that deserve note.

Revel at Tretower House, in South Wales, and shooting (below)
July 1st celebration in Trafalgar Square
Battle of Brothers, and shooting NEW!
Sotheby's visit
Big Dance at RADA

Tretower
The clever Dom Duarte goncalves has continued to build good relations with CADW, and arranged for a free booking at Tretower House in south Wales, not far from Raglan and Hay-on-Wye (the book village, known for its literary festival in the spring). It's in a beautiful small valley, and you can see why a nobleman would want his tower in the centre of the valley - uninterrupted views of all the hills around him. The air is a mix of garden and sheep pasture smells.

The sheep are very skittish, especially considering they have strangers trudging through the corner of their field to reach the tower almost daily. On the other side of the house is a small pasture and a tiny stable for two small ponies and a couple of donkeys.

We've visited Tretower before, but not since CADW refurbished its main hall with wool hangings, a beautiful painted canvas covering the hall wall behind the high table, sturdy trestle tables and benches, and some fine cupboards.

The hall has been subdivided with additional walls, shortening it slightly, to create some new kitchen staging areas, specifically a space for butts, and for the pantler. The house used to have two additional wings, possibly the original bakehouse and brewery, but they were knocked down in the early 20th century. Their outline is still preserved in the garden, where the paths mark their shape distinct from the grassed areas.

The kitchen and prep areas have also been furnished with more tables and benches, new chests, and lots of table settings, jugs, platters and kitchen implements.

The SCA and other groups have actually used the kitchen in the past - some selected trusted cooks have been allowed to use the hearth to cook meals, and one of the finest meals I've enjoyed was prepared here by Master Paul, Thomas Flamanc and my lord Robert. However, at the moment, the chimney is home to some protected species of bats, and all fires in the chimney are banned til they move on.

At this weekend, this didn't slow down Thomas Flamanc and Lady Edith, who set up Thomas' raised cooking box and spit, and set to making a range of fine foods for lunch and dinner. Lunch included lentils with onions, and elderflower fritters, among other delicacies.

Dinner was a fabulous rich goat stew and a compound salad by jpgsawyer , cold roasted leg of lamb by Sir Vitus, and two different forms of gooseberries - one a 15th c version, almost a gooseberry custard with eggs and cream, and a 16th c version with butter and breadcrumbs, by jpgsawyer and edith_hedingham, and Paul and Anne respectively. Both were cooked, and both were amazing each in their own ways.

One of the reasons for me going was to enable archery to take place - Mynydd Gwyn have purchased a couple of straw butts, and we set one up for practice in the corner of the garden. After the public left, we moved it to the shaded part of the field, and measured out the distances for a royal round for Duarte, Heinrich and me to shoot. I surprised myself by shooting 60 on a royal round - best score I've shot in years, and certainly my best ever on a RR with a longbow.

Heinrich's form improved a lot over the weekend (though he's rather excitable and stops paying attention to his form halfway through an end), and he was still at it on Sunday, so it must still be fun. I find it a bit hard to judge if he's enjoying himself - he's a funny sort of kid.

Milady Anne and I puttered on our respective instruments over the weekend - she has proper renaissance recorders and takes lessons, while I'm tootling a tin whistle. Yes, it's post-period, but dang, it's easy, and louder than a recorder, even if it's a bit brassy. I'm hoping to play for dancers at Raglan fair this year.

The treat of the weekend was sleeping in the hall - setting up our rope bed and sleeping in the large upper hall in one wing. It was cool and comfortable enough for a summer sleeping bag, and was a joy to wake up in.

Robert, Vitus and Duarte are full of plans for event bids for this site - summer Coronet, or possibly a summer coronation. The catch with the coronet is that two weeks later is Raglan fair, and most people are only willing to trek all the way to Wales once a year.

We didn't want to leave, any of us. We ate a mountain of splendid leftovers (after a fine breakfast as well!) before rather slowly packing our bags into the assorted vehicles.

Photos are by Robert, hosted on the Armour Archive.