WICOE

WICOE (Women In Charge Of Everything)

Is proud to announce the opening of its

EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN!

OPEN TO MEN ONLY

ALL ARE WELCOME

Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants

The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:

DAY ONE

HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS

Step by step guide with slide presentation

TOILET ROLLS- DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS?

Roundtable discussion

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR

Practising with hamper (Pictures and graphics)

DISHES & SILVERWARE; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES?

Debate among a panel of experts.

REMOTE CONTROL

Losing the remote control - Help line and support groups

LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS

Starting with looking in the right place

Instead of turning the house upside down while screaming - Open forum

DAY TWO

EMPTY MILK CARTONS; DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN?

Group discussion and role play

HEALTH WATCH; BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH

PowerPoint presentation

REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST

Real life testimonial from the one man who did

IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS?

Driving simulation

LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER

Online class and role playing

HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION

Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques

REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES

& CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE

Bring your calendar or PDA to class

GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME

Individual counsellors available

Send this on to all your girlfriends who may need a laugh and to guys who you think can handle the truth!

cq :-)

11 September 2001

For those lost and those left behind

Remembering....

With the final event over for the season, I spend a lot of time cruising the photos from the group, reliving the weekend......

Welcome to my Caerphilly August 2010 memory album (courtesy of Elisabeth and Sarah)

The main event of the weekend was the knighting of Richard Burley (aka John), seen here on his vigil in the castle tower the night before the ceremony (all nice and authentic!)

You can't be a re-enactor and not appreciate a nice fire, or the residual smell of woodsmoke :-)

There is the traditional drinks around the fire, with warm clothing and good friends......

...or fighting over stuffed toys......[chuckle]

This is me on the coin die (where we hammer coins) with my new young apprentice K (age 5, first event), waiting for the public to come back from the siege engine display (below)

The camp is so romantic when it's empty....I love seeing this kind of picture, so evocative.....

I had a bit of extra money this month, so have invested in a new wheeled holdall for next season - purple zebra stripe....so cool!!

It's gonna be a long winter........

cq

Swiss Army Wife...

I was likened to a Swiss Army Knife this weekend by one of the Company of Chivalry. All I'm missing, apparently, is a tool to take stones out of horses hooves (chuckle)....

Lord de Beauchamp (aka my friend Nick), above, called impatiently for his seamstress on Saturday.....

Um - that would be me, the only person brave (or stupid!) enough to repair his old, much worn and beaten up gambeson (padded jacket)!! That thing reeks - but is necessary to protect the fighter. Needless to say, I am constantly nagging him to buy a new one. Each time I see him, it seems he needs some emergency sewing done!

I have also be known to help him armour up (not too hard these days, I know his armour quite well), resuscitate him on a boiling hot day after a battle when he collapsed, keep his jewelry safe while he fights, and then this weekend I found myself entertaining his little boy with 'talking dogs', providing him with boiling water for his snack pots, and other little bits and pieces when called on for help.

Because I am always there, Lord de Beauchamp has christened me his 'Swiss Army Wife' for the Middle Ages.

....and people say re-enactors are nuts....[wink]

cq

4th Anniversary

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to medieval times I go......for my fourth anniversary in this peculiar hobby...

I checked back on my blog to make sure I had my years right and here is the posting I made on my first foray in re-enactment.......so naive, so innocent......

Click the link for a waltz down memory lane......
http://craziequeen.blogspot.com/2006/08/mistress-cq-returns.html

till I return.....

cq

Bleedin' Re-Enactors!

We went to Pembroke Castle this weekend. We like Pembroke, it's a nice castle and and has a huge open space to work with.

Dream campsite.....?

I wasn't planning to go as Ugly Monster set up home in my head a couple of months ago and has been whispering my inadequacies to me since. But my best friend was going and it was to be My Boy's first time at Pembroke, so I girded my loins and packed the car and off I went.

me and my boy

me and my best mate (and tent landlord)

Wonder of wonders - the sun shone all weekend (bar a couple of big clouds), the rain stayed off, the public were very receptive and friendly, the market did great business and the fighting was very popular. We got lots of fantastic feedback from the people and had a great weekend. There is nothing so remarkable as a small modern boy looking in awe at a medieval Knight, with the Knight's sword in his little hands, while mum and dad snap away with their cameras. Or the lights going on in brains as we explain how people lived in the middle ages. Or the small boy laughing uproariously as the Sergeant at Arms 'took out his frustrations' on a suspected thief......got to love pantomine violence :-)
And the children and adults alike watching the fight with jaws dropped as swords clashed on shields and men fell......and then the traditional applause, raising them from the dead.

A chivalrous handshake between Knights

Funniest visitor was a chap who I was talking to about medieval coins, and he insisted on asking questions about the Royal Mint in the modern day - until I pointed out that my area of expertise medieval money, not the 21C stuff!

Rosaries, luvverly rosaries - get yer rosaries here!

A special mention to a lovely couple who came to see us especially. They saw us a couple of weeks ago at Kidwelly and were so impressed they came to Pembroke as well, this time with their grandson who is mad about history. When we got talking I mentioned the season was coming to an end and our next event was the last hurrah at Caerphilly with the siege engines, and the husband said 'oh, I came from round there!'.....so they are now planning to visit us for a third time in two months - we actually have fans! :-)

I am an experienced First Aider and an instructor at work, but I am still learning how to treat re-enactment injuries. Combine some horrible injuries with stubborn young men and a very comprehensive first aid kit. This time I dealt with a long gash in the scalp, a laceration of the nose, a swollen cut on the shin, a banged nose and a banged elbow. I got used to washing my friends' blood off my hands this weekend.

You know when you say something you never thought you'd hear yourself saying? I had just collected a prop from the kitchen box for the crime and punishment show and was in my tent checking my kit. I found myself saying 'Bowls over there, rosaries in my box, knife in my belt...' and then 'severed hand on my bed....' [chuckle]

cq

Q&A Session

His practice has no room for new patients! Now, he's a medical wizard! I love this Doctor....

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speed up heart not make live longer; that like say you can extend life of car by driving faster. Want live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does cow eat? Hay and corn. What are these? Vegetables. So, steak nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And pork chop can give 100% recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take water out of fruity bit; get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: If you have body and you have fat, ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exerciseprogram?

A: Cannot think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only do sit-ups if want bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: You crazy? HELLO. Cocoa beans! Vegetable!!! Cocoa beans best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming good for figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is shape.

cq

Kidwelly Photos

Peekaboo - the camp seen from the castle walls..

'I'm always in the kitchen at parties'.......Obviously the place for the boys to hang out.....

We were gobsmacked when we arrived to find awful modern art dotted around this amazing medieval castle....this particular piece sat right in the middle of our camp.....

No words.......just medieval....... :-)

Medieval market stalls on 'campaign' - from left, spinner and dyer, rosary stall and moneyer.....(psst - that's me on the right!)

And, of course, not forgetting the soldiers - 'ye shall not pass!' Never argue with a man with a bill :-)

The view from the front door of my tent.......glorious......

cq

Photos courtesy of our Kimmie

Castle Life

This weekend was spent at Kidwelly Castle - a new location for me.

I didn't take photos but there was a reporter taking photos and names so you never know, I could be famous shortly! (only a local cub reporter, but she was oh so keen to capture as much as possible!). Also a lot of the company took photos, so there should be some nice ones around when they upload them!

My over-riding memories of the weekend are......well, rain ( of course!), a leaking tent, wind (the weather kind!), spending quality time with a good friend I haven't seen for a while, talking about coins and rosaries to interested people, lugging heavy kit, sunshine, woodsmoke, sore knees, being back in the court scene (I was 'robbed' by aforementioned good friend!), singing around the fire, clanking armour, a severed hand, hugs, bruises (caught a couple of doozies while unpacking and packing heavy kit), wet dresses, smelly soldiers, more hugs, laughter, hammering coins, missing my boy, playing with fake blood (cool!), newbies.
But the very best bit - sitting under the stars singing, talking and laughing with my best pal......

cq

Battle Lines

While the fair (posted yesterday) is fabulous, the main reason for Tewkesbury Medieval Festival is the re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

A rare sight is a lone knight - but I loved this guy complete with bill (long pole weapon) striding purposely through all the 21C folks.

Normally, the men come by household......

Some women come on campaign and support their men.......

They come with drums......

And bright coloured knights.....

And still they come.....

The knights clanking in their armour, dented and dull, but still working....and that's just the men!

More men with their supporters, young squires, women.......

Some look rather more pretty...........

Some look more war weary - it's been a long campaign.

Women bearing jugs of refreshing water - necessary in this day and age to protect our men. In the period the jugs would have been filled with watered down wine or small beer (half brewed beer, reduced alcoholic content)....

And still they come.......

And the drums play on - whether the group in the background or the drums of the household....nothing like the sound of rhythmic drumming to make the blood rise....

Waiting to move on - notice the padding, the protection for the poor man. A suit of armour is expensive and soldiers are only paid a couple of pence a day (dpending on their skill) - so they beg, borrow or steal clothing from their defeated foe - hence the hotchpotch of kit....

The camp is empty with all the men at war and the women following them.........

A hand for the band! We love this drummer lady with her harness of drums.....

Here's our ladies of the camp, armed with water and big smiles ready to support the household in their battle. (from the left; Liz, Kate, Rachel and Stephy) - and yes, they really are as hot as they look....it was broiling hot!

I was so busy waving and cheering at my boys I didn't take their photos - but suffice it to say, they marched into battle with grim smiles on their faces and weapons at the ready - except our beloved Sergeant at Arms who waved cheerfully at me! :-)

cq

At the Fair...

Today I went to Tewkesbury Medieval Festival - an interesting mix of a re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 complete with authentic medieval market........and some tie-dye, crystal, pagan earth style stalls.....

This is the medieval version of your corner shop - run by 'Grumpy Old Charcoal Burner' and his wife. Whatever you want; tent pegs, dice, forage bags, small wooden stuff, big wooden stuff - this guy has it all :-)

We don't have IKEA, but here is the furniture stall - chairs on the left, stallholder sitting on the bed and chests on the right.

Medieval supermarket - cups and buckets on the left, baskets in the middle, some nice fleeces to keep you warm on campaign?Need new arms? The armourer carries swords, daggers and sheaths along with armour and padding.

The bowmen sell bows, arrows, quivers and protective equipment.

So, everything is sold to maintain the army on campaign.
More on the campaign later.

What did I buy?

A new linen forage bag, a lucet (in between finger knitting and french knitting), and some wood bobbins (hate using/hiding modern bobbins when the public are around!).such cute little bobbins!

cq

Before, After and Arabella

Charlie Cat has a toy he loves - in fact he loves it so much he disembowelled it...repeatedly!

Before

After

So today I saw a replacement and bought it while I could! Charlie is so picky with his toys, but he is very attached to Lil Lello Mousey...

Oh and Arabella is doing very well!

I want her to put on some green before exposing her to my garden....she has got big enough for her own pot now and she is growing some lovely new leaves :-)

Still no clue what she is going to grow into - but isn't the secret of life in the unexpected?

cq