Jun 2007 a

Fri 01 June 2007
Forgot to mention Steve was on holiday yesterday and also today - working hard on reign projects (such as belt making, blackening leather shoes, some hand sewing, etc etc).
Jen left work (on holidays now for the next week!) and got picked up near Dan & Elizabeth's home, with the car already having been packed for a weekend away. We all head off to Winchester and set up camp.
We slept overnight inside a room off to the right of this lovely feast hall!
You can see the choir loft up the top - which worked brilliantly well at amplifying our voices (on the Saturday night after dinner). Lots of cool madrigally-goodness ensued!


Sat 02 June 2007
Winchester Pilgrimage held at St Cross Hospital. Essentially a pilgrim's 'hostel' during the late middle ages, and currently houses elderly gentlemen who are either poor financially or poor in spirit. Their residents apparently include two men whose "nerves are shot" from 40 years of teaching schoolboys.
Here are a few site shots...




And even more photos can be found here: http://moonwolf.fotopic.net/c1301159.html
In the morning everyone hand sewed pilgrim's bags for our pilgrimage along the water meadows to Winchester Cathedral. There we saw many great things including the famous Winchester Bible. After dinner we held court in the K&Q's name and created Siobhan and Lutr court Baron and Baroness.

Sun 03 June 2007
Leisurely morning at St Cross, pack up site and drive home, do laundry. Continue more frantic sewing.

Mon 04 June 2007
Jen has this week to get all the coronation outfit stuff finished (with some help from Steve in the evenings) - will we do it all in time? Steve's red gown and under things are finished. Just his soles to be sewn onto new hose (thanks to Elizabeth for taking on this job!) and his real ermine stole to be altered. We have (via ebay) two antique ermine stoles from the 1920's (they're a bit yellow and fragile) but we're okay with the fact we haven't actually paid for the dear little critters to be killed - that happened a long time ago.
Jen's underdress is done - just need to put together the sideless surcote top in ermine, and the "sari-red" skirt.

Tue 05 June 2007
Started pulling apart the lining of the two stoles. We were awaiting a third stole, but it never arrived. Jen has had to carefully piece together a sideless surcote top, taking some length off Steve's stole.

Wed 06 June 2007
Playing with fur continues.

Thu 07 June 2007
Bad news - got a phone call this morning telling us the landlord will be selling our rented home. We have until mid-august to find a new place to live. :-(

After work, Steve drives half way to Cambridge and has dinner with Deb and Clancy, to pick up from them the 7 garters they've project managed/made for Jen to give away to her 'guardsmen'.

Jen now understands that "sleep is for the organised" and finishes sewing on the last ermine tail at 2:30am.

Fri 08 June 2007
Packing plus a little more sewing, then flying out to Germany.... at the airport we meet up with Kitan and Alice (Elizabeth was also with us). Court on site includes sending to vigil (pelican) the event's head steward, Eleanora, who will also be taking on Kingdom Seneschal the next day!
Finish the last of the hand sewing at 1am, whilst chatting with Max and Margerite - the outgoing K&Q.

Sat 09 June 2007
Corontation! Glad we decided ages ago to sit through the K&Q's final court. They had loads of business which we were glad not to miss. At the end of their business there was an intermission for us to go and throw on our new glad rags, and get our Procession in order.

Above: from the front we had Elizabeth throwing pressed rose petals, Robin the page, us, Mary and Marina as cushion bearers for removal of our P&P coronets, and four banner bearers (didn't manage to organise banner poles) who were Kitan and Alice, Kevin and Daffyd.

Above: King Alaric crowns Nerissa his Queen.
Below: the Baroness of Aarnimetsa swears fealty.


Sun 10 June 2007
Early start - breakfast, then pack and empty the rooms by 10am! Jen runs around giving out the lovely roses that she cannot take with her on the flight home.

Its a stinking-hot day in Germany! Considering there was no 'left luggage' option at the airport, and the extra luggage we had now as K&Q (most of which will go back via car thanks to Vitus and Daffyd), we decided to take it easy and hang out in the relative cool of the airport, and minding everyone's luggage for them so they could go touristing. (and we'd seen some of Lubeck last time) As it was, John and Marina came back to the airport early, having found it to be just too hot, to be out & about.
We finally got home late in the evening and unpacked.

Mon 11 June 2007
Laundry, and back at work. Tidying the house for tomorrow morning's house inspection. Wondering what to do - get a mortgage? Rent again? Must make some kind of decision soon.... oh well, back to cleaning and tidying.

Tue 12 June 2007
House Inspection. After work, look at our finances. Also looked into flight options for upcoming SCA events, in getting to Edinburgh, and also Visby, Sweden. Couldn't seem to find cheap options for either! Oh well, no tickets bought just yet.
Also did some bedtime reading, through various poll commentary - to decide a future Baron & Baroness for the Finnish group.

Wed 13 June 2007
Blog night. A whole month worth of looking back over our mad rush before Coronation. I'm glad to say we somehow made it! This Friday night coming, will probably be a visit to Vitus' place to pick up the two large boxes of K&Q stuff. Then we can sort through it all too.