Saturday 3 August 2013

Hello Again!

Last weekend I went to the Berkeley Skirmish held in the grounds just below Berkeley Castle here in Gloucestershire.   It's a lovely setting and the occasion celebrates the Battle of Flodden.   Many people,  my daughter and son-in-law among then, take part camping and living medieval style for the weekend, cooking on an open fire, using wooden plates, bowls and spoons, and generally trying to be as authentic as possible.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of these two gentlemen in their colourful costumes.

There were dozens of stalls manned by craftsmen selling their work.  I loved this handsome wooden bench outside one of the woodworker's stall, and felt sorry for the chap in the suit of armour as the day was very hot.

This young lady is my daughter - she was on the battlefield later in the day as a water wench taking water to the 'injured'.
There were plenty of attractions to keep us entertained before the battle itself, one of which was a display by these beautiful birds of prey.   Poor barn owl wanted to sleep the afternoon away - isn't it beautiful?

It was very hot and very windy and I don't think they were at all keen to provide us with entertainment.

I loved this part of the programme.   A couple of dozen youngsters were lined up and armed with rubber 'swords'. 
Their opponents were similarly armed.

 
When the command was given they were very eager to go into battle .... 
........ and showed no mercy!

We saw knights on horseback jousting.

And this was the King's camp.

As the afternoon wore on, various costumed warriors and characters began to assemble.

Then onto the battlefield they came.

There were some very loud bangs and lots of smoke from the cannon.
 I imagine it must have been unbearably hot under all that padding and armour.
The archers getting ready to do their bit - my son-in-law is in there somewhere.

A few dead bodies for a little drama.........

and then off they all trooped for a nice cold beer!

It was a wonderful day but my photos have not really done it justice.   I don't know where the time has gone since then but I have been very busy trying to catch up on all I want to do and make up for the lost days when it was too hot to do anything at all.

I must try not to leave it another fortnight before posting again.

13 comments:

Julie said...

You've captured the atmosphere of the excitement of the skirmish perfectly and doesn't your daughter look lovely in her costume? Do you get roped in to make the costumes? We get re-enactments of jousting tournaments locally at Belvoir Castle but so far we've never been. We did see a Viking re-enactment at Holy Island several years ago and no punches were pulled in the attacks!

Kat Mortensen said...

How great that you got to be there for part of it! Your J, looks a picture in her garb. Very authentic indeed.

I love the owls—especially the sleepy barn owl. Your pictures are great!

The Weaver of Grass said...

This brought back memories Heather. In my 'other' life I used to dress in medieval costume with my music group and we used to play old instruments and dance at places like Warwick Castle. These sorts of events this year have all been blessed with super weather, luckily. Glad you enjoyed it.

Charlton Stitcher said...

What a lovely day you must have had ... and with your family too. I must watch out for future events like this, especially when I have grandchildren visiting.

Carol Q said...

that looks fab Heather. we went to the Joust one year and that was great fun to watch too.

Anonymous said...

We have a similar thing at my local museum each year, on a smaller scale mind you. I do so admire the people who take part to bring the past to life for us. I shouldn't like to do it at all.

Dominic Rivron said...

Gadzooks! Looks like a fine weekend. I assume the "dead" bodies were simply pretending...

The Bug said...

What a lovely day! I like the owls - and J looks fabulous in her costume :)

Robin Mac said...

What a wonderful experience that must have been - you have captured the essence of it beautifully. I think the heat would have been preferable to heavy rain! Cheers

Robin Mac said...

What a wonderful experience that must have been - you have captured the essence of it beautifully. I think the heat would have been preferable to heavy rain! Cheers

Gina said...

What a fun experience!

sharon young said...

Looks like a lovely fun day out and your daughter's costume looks very authentic.

Linda Vincent said...

What an exciting day! And what authentic-looking costumes!