06:10 pm
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Meren Ennostien The Renaissance Festival
And you thought I'd forgotten my Quenya, didn't you?
Actually, that's probably wretched Elvish grammar. Anyway.
First I will say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite roommie ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) supermer! It is today that she turns twenty-two, and the lucky girl gets to do so in Texas.
I had so much fun this weekend! The roommie and I went to Texas to visit her friends from study abroad in Ireland and attend the Texas Renaissance Festival. I cannot begin to express how much fun we had. I shall regale you with some of the highlights.
All of us went in costume, and any costumed event is that much more fun. The first things Mer and I did on arriving was to take a picture with a very large, very dark and scary Nubian executioner, whose name I later learned was Sholo. He stood silent and menacing while we timidly approached and asked if we might take a picture with him. Without a word, he planted his sword (about the width of my arm) in the ground, took each of us by the torso, and riveted us to each side of him. Mer also got a picture with a guy we dubbed "the cuddly man." He wore black armor lined all over with silver spikes. She says he hugged as hard as our executioner.
As I would not be there for Mer's birthday proper, I had to do something at the Festival. I had spotted a large, ugly man wearing long braids, makeup, and a black corset who walked around carrying a sign declaring him a "strumpet for hire." The prices listed next to each service he might perform had been cut in half. I hired him to sing "Happy Birthday," Marilyn-Monroe-esque, for Merrily. We actually managed to take a video of most of it with Mer's digital camera. Sadly, we are laughing so loudly that we nearly drown out his breathy voice. He kissed Mer and left a large lip print on her cheek.
One of the last shows we attended was a Scottish song-and-dance group called "Tartanic." They performed in an open round, so we, sore of foot, decided to spread out my cloak and sit on the ground near the front. The leader informed us that we would have a great view, and we soon realized exactly what he meant. Yes, his kilted costume was as authentic as most Scots are reputed to be. It was the most obvious during his rendition of the Highland Fling. We got lots of attention from him. At the beginning, he stripped off his jacket and threw it at us, smiling lasciviously. At one point, he danced past Mer and flashed her (as if she hadn't seen enough during his Highland fling). He "invited" me forward to dance with him for a bit. At the end, when Mer went to return his jacket, he said he would swap it for "a kiss and a really sweaty hug." She declined, but he offered her his cheek. When she went to kiss him, he turned and kissed her right back. He then decided to use his sharpy, nominally to autograph CDs, to write "Tartanic, XOX" on one of us and "Highland Ho" on, of course, myself. The only pieces of exposed skin in our costumes was the neckline. As we left, an English guard near the gate spied our "brands" and told us never to grant such liberties to Scots.
Sadly, I can't record everything of note. I tried mead for the first time and loved it. It makes me happy that I like mead. I feel a stronger connection to the warriors of Anglo-Saxon poetry. We saw several shows, my favorite of which was a new show called "Bold and Stupid Men." We saw a man play a medieval instrument called a carolan (sp?) with a piano-like keyboard that operated very small to very large bells. I think it weighed several tons. Of course, I saw Ded Bob. The joust was the only disappointment. There is no more black knight to love or white knight to hate. The knights were one English, one Spanish, one German, and one French.
Of course, time has escaped me. Fare you well!
Tags: renaissance faire, renaissance festival
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