Siege Of Glengary Equestrian

September is galloping along. Mark's Birthday just passed, and mine dances closer, hand in hand with the Siege of Glengary. I always joke that Siege is really my Birthday event! This year marks a milestone: the return of equestrian to Siege of Glengary.

When Siege was still held at the Lazy A campground, I taught some riders the games and ran equestrian events, breaking ground for our shire. Siege then moved to a postage-stamp site. Horses were out of the question.

I had a dream of Siege moving to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, of bringing back equestrian events with all their flash and thunder. This year, that dream becomes reality.

We welcome you to join us! There are many ways to be involved with equestrian at Siege of Glengary.

Hope to see you there!

Between Battles: Wordless Wednesday

Medieval Reenacting, Modern Reporting

The Washington Post lies in ambush on the table when I finally dredge up dinner. I idly thumb through, looking for something that goes well with spaghetti. I'm amazed--and excited-- to find a huge article on current interest in the Middle Ages. Last weekend the reporter braved an SCA event in our neighboring kingdom of Atlantia. Today he brings news from the past back to his modern readers.

Yesterday, I ran amok with close friends and benevolent foes at my own shire's annual Siege of Glengary. Knights and ladies, lady knights, merchants, musicians, children and rogues enjoyed battles to take castles and bridges (and a colorful tavern brawl), displays of intricate arts from cordials to hand carts, a period feast cooked by a Food Network celebrity, and a night of middle eastern drumming and dancing.

I devour both the pasta and the Post. The article is well written, and I enjoy the photos. I am biased--I immediately notice the lack of horses, the very source of and inspiration for the word "chivalry". I dig up a photo of my fiery warhorse Sioux and I, taken by Scott Gordon, a wonderful friend and photographer both, at a previous Siege of Glengary. The site that year was larger, so I was able to bring equestrian games into the revelry. "Putting the cheval back in chivalry," I muse.

The Post reporter interviews a spectrum of participants, and touches on the appeal. He defines the reasons people DO it, but there's another point at stake: why people ARE it. I've heard it said that people are human BEINGS not human DOINGS. That is something that gets lost in this era, when people are defined by the jobs they perform or the roles they play. Participation in groups such as the SCA is not escapism, but an expression of a truth at times more honest than modern life allows.

The article mentions SCA groups in the greater DC area. I'm sorry that my own shire of Sylvan Glen is not mentioned. Close enough to DC to be home to increasing hordes of commuters, yet still out on the wild, wonderful frontier. Come to think about it, I prefer it that way.

I yawn, stretch, look at the clock. I put a handful of pictures from centuries ago (it seems like just yesterday) up on Laughing Gypsy Photography. The rest of the pictures will join them soon enough, as well as an event report. For now, I'll dreams of histories to come.

Catching Up?

Several weeks with little computer access. Several thousand photos to weed through, beef up and post. Several lifetimes worth of interesting people, adventures and stories to share.

And several Everest-scaled projects looming ahead, demanding consideration and completion in the immediate future.

I'll backpost stories and pictures as I can. In the name of chronological coherency, I'm posting as things actually occurred. Look for new posts around 7-15 July and 1-12 Aug. I promise completion by New Years!

In the meantime, some of the Pennsic Pictures are up on the SmugMug site at www.thelaughinggypsy.com. Enjoy!

A Pennsic Thank You

August ends up very differently than planned. Friends convince me that a few days of Pennsic is worth the trip, so Sueva and I head up well ahead of her family. She and I have diametrically opposed personalities that somehow mesh seamlessly in the face of adventure.

My "Thank You" song to Sueva hatches as we ride the spine-rattling wagon down the battlefield hill....

SUEVA
To the tune of "Lola"

I met her at a meeting out in Shepherdstown
Where everybody, they were talking and just hanging around
Except for Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva
She seemed really friendly and we started to talk
She introduced me to Clovis, who’s her personal stick jock
Oh my Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva

Now I'm not the world's most physical wench
But she's got me luggin' ice and now I'm diggin' a trench
For my Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva
Now I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she dress European but she play Mongolian
THat's my Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva

Well we drank orange seltzer and danced at noon
Under a rockin’ middle eastern tune
She’d go along with all my scheming but she told me bold,
“You’ll never catch me goin’ skyclad at the classic swimming hole!”
Well I might be the world’s most curious girl
So we crammed 2 weeks of war into a 3-day swirl
A swirl with Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva
Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva

We chased down the bus
We ate our falafel
She started feeling awful
We rode on the wagon
And I looked at her and she guzzled down her flagon

When the time came to move on I just wanted to stay
And run amuck all over Pennsic til the very last day
Amuck with Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva
Join bardic circles round the campfires blazing in the night
Chasing photos in the sunshine cause "it's all about the light!"
Camping with Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva

I'd Left home just a few days before
And I'd never ever been to Pennsic before
Sueva smiled and let me drag her around
And stuff pamphlets in her bag from all the merchants in town

Now I'm flying down the highway cause I just can't sit still
But a piece of my heart is left up there on Horde Hill
And so is Sueva Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva
Sua-Sua-Sua-Sua-Sueva.....