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aryanhwyRaglan Ffair starts Friday, and my FB f-list is full of a flurry of last minute efforts, side-projects, distractions, packing travel plans, etc.
We're not going until Wednesday. This is mostly because 10 days at the Beaufort Arms would cost an arm AND a leg, and while we do want to collect camping supplies now that we live in the same country as the event, not this year. Maybe next. Or the year after. Or the year after that. (Personally, I think it would be nice to camp for the first 5 days, and then repair to the Beaufort for the rest of the event, because hot showers are nice, and their breakfast has become a part of the Uckelpeople Raglan Institution.)
I've basically done no preparation. When Mom and Leah visited in April, I picked up some curtains and a bed spread from charity shops, which over the course of May I started bowdlerizing for garb. I had grand plans to convert all of it, but those who know me and sewing... Even so, I need to seam a sleeve, hem two, and line a neckline, and then Joel will have a new undertunic, and in the next evening or two I'll finish the embroidery on what will be a 16th C coif for me. I'll bring along all the pinned and partially sewn pieces for a new doublet for Joel to the event and see what I can complete. My gown to match the one I made for Gwen last year is still not finished, and Joel's to match both of ours is not either, but eh.
I am just not fussed.
I know that whatever we've got we'll be more than fine with, because we had exactly the same last year and it was just fine. Further, I know that there is no way that any prep or planning for this year will compare to the stress of last year. Last year, we took the train from Heidelberg to Groningen where I spend 1.5 days at a conference before we took the Hoek van Holland -> Harwich ferry over; then, after 5 days at Raglan that ended with Gwen getting VERY sick, we spent a week up in Durham trying -- and failing -- to find a place to rent. Monday night of that week, Ayme who was house-sitting for us took Slinky to the emergency vet and a few hours later she'd been put to sleep.
So, yeah. I can put zero effort into this year's Raglan, and know that it basically cannot fail to be better than last year. (It's not that last year's event was bad: It was great. But it was bookcased by a lot of encumbrances which made the entire thing more tiring than relaxing).
And, hey, 1/3 of us will have new garb, possibly 2/3. That is far better than I average for ordinary events!
We're not going until Wednesday. This is mostly because 10 days at the Beaufort Arms would cost an arm AND a leg, and while we do want to collect camping supplies now that we live in the same country as the event, not this year. Maybe next. Or the year after. Or the year after that. (Personally, I think it would be nice to camp for the first 5 days, and then repair to the Beaufort for the rest of the event, because hot showers are nice, and their breakfast has become a part of the Uckelpeople Raglan Institution.)
I've basically done no preparation. When Mom and Leah visited in April, I picked up some curtains and a bed spread from charity shops, which over the course of May I started bowdlerizing for garb. I had grand plans to convert all of it, but those who know me and sewing... Even so, I need to seam a sleeve, hem two, and line a neckline, and then Joel will have a new undertunic, and in the next evening or two I'll finish the embroidery on what will be a 16th C coif for me. I'll bring along all the pinned and partially sewn pieces for a new doublet for Joel to the event and see what I can complete. My gown to match the one I made for Gwen last year is still not finished, and Joel's to match both of ours is not either, but eh.
I am just not fussed.
I know that whatever we've got we'll be more than fine with, because we had exactly the same last year and it was just fine. Further, I know that there is no way that any prep or planning for this year will compare to the stress of last year. Last year, we took the train from Heidelberg to Groningen where I spend 1.5 days at a conference before we took the Hoek van Holland -> Harwich ferry over; then, after 5 days at Raglan that ended with Gwen getting VERY sick, we spent a week up in Durham trying -- and failing -- to find a place to rent. Monday night of that week, Ayme who was house-sitting for us took Slinky to the emergency vet and a few hours later she'd been put to sleep.
So, yeah. I can put zero effort into this year's Raglan, and know that it basically cannot fail to be better than last year. (It's not that last year's event was bad: It was great. But it was bookcased by a lot of encumbrances which made the entire thing more tiring than relaxing).
And, hey, 1/3 of us will have new garb, possibly 2/3. That is far better than I average for ordinary events!
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Date: 2015-07-31 01:42 pm (UTC)Camping in humidity sets off my allergies big time; I tried camping here at folk festivals when I first arrived. I'd leave the festivals ill, just like I did when I camped as a kid in Pennsylvania. I camp much better in drier climates: Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico -- places like that. :) (The few times I attended Pennsic, I shared an air conditioned room at one of the motels down the road with a friend.) The Beaufort Arms is pricey, albeit handy if you're not driving. We'll have a car, so we're staying further afield at the Ibis Budget right off the M4 just past the Raglan exit. It's not that bad a drive, and for £27 a night, I can't complain. We're only arriving next Friday. At this point, I'm glad we're just attending the final weekend as, after all of the marking stress, I want some time out at home first. Friday's Parliament, though, so I need to be there.
My big planning thus far has been to obtain the paperwork to add the new seneschal as a bank account signatory. I'd hoped to make new garb, but time/life etc. got in the way. We'll live. :) (Must remember to pack the ID chequebook also!)
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Date: 2015-07-31 02:27 pm (UTC)