Most of my morning on Thursday was taken up with attending Her Majesty, including one of my favorite activities, fixing her hair! I have always loved braiding and styling hair, and it's a fun girly way to get to know Her Majesty better. In fact, one of my first real conversations with her happened when I braided her hair for her when another person didn't have time to do it, at Uprising 2014. Thursday was also the Princess's tea, co-hosted by Her Highness Esther and the Princess Royal (the queen's daughter). The ladies in waiting helped prepare and arrange food, decorate the kingdom pavilion, and generally keep everything running smoothly. As with many events, the special parts of this day were simply the parts spent hanging out and catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and enjoying a break from the modern world. Thank goodness nobody snapped a picture of me at the incredibly crazy Thorsday night party hosted by the Barony of Loch Salaan. It was Hawaiian themed, and the garb was truly... memorable.
Friday was the Arts and Sciences display, and I had fun sharing my fiber arts with everyone. I didn't have anything particular that I wanted to showcase, so I showed a pair of socks I knitted, some hand spun fiber samples, different tools I use, some of them handmade, and a tape weaving project I'm working on. I wanted to make my display more about the process I enjoy rather than the finished objects. Here's a photo of me discussing my display.
Photo: Illora of the West Lea
Photo: Bethanne Todd
Saturday is the big day at Uprising, and I had the brand new experience of attending Their Majesties on the melee field. Having never fought myself or looked after a fighter at all before, it was something very different and interesting. I was glad I brought my lucet and a bit of cord I'd been working on. It's really just a toy to keep me from being bored, but that cord has come in handy many times. This time, I had just enough made that when Her Majesty needed something to tie up a loose pauldron I was able to do the trick in time to get her out into battle with her crossbow. It was fun to watch the fighting more closely, and I had the good fortune to be there when Their Majesties put a very deserving fighter on vigil to be knighted that evening. Congratulations, Sir Killian. Here's a great photo of us all laughing, taken by my husband. I have no idea what the King just said, but it was clearly pretty good. Thanks to Sir Fernando for the shade of his shield. It's rare to get an outdoor photo in June where I'm not squinting.
Photo: Arlen Donald
It was really tough to go back to reality on Sunday, and even tougher to go back to work on Monday, but the dream has always been an ephemeral thing for those of us who love the SCA.