Crestfallen

We couldn't have asked for better weather than we had yesterday. Sunny, not humid, not too hot, a pleasant breeze. Mother Nature put on her best and everyone was admiring her :)

The Crestfallen tourney went quite well -- a bit more humorous than in previous years, but I think the merriment was good for people. There were some good crests along with the sillyness, and the crest made by Lord Erik von Hemeor was honored most justly as best crest, made in a traditional shaped leather form. Best crest death went to Lord Robert MacMinn, whose crest broke apart in different directions, decapitating the gryphon he'd made. Winner of the tournament was Sir Tommaltach macFhiachach, whose crest successfully survived all attempts. Best heraldic display went to Lord Erik as well, with his matched crest, torse and complementary surcoat and newly painted shield.

The baronial heavy weapons champion tourney went very well. The entrants were earnest and gave their best, not only in the round robin tournament and the Roman melee, but there were many fine introductions when they presented themselves before fitzw and I and the populace, and even finer responses to the questions posed to them.

The final results were very close, but our chosen champion for this year is Lord Gryffyn Dunham. He was fortunately able to the beginning of court so that we could do the official handoff, and then took his leave, as his dear lady is due in just a few days. We have no doubt he will fulfill the duties of his new position well. And we shall be thinking of his lady this week, most especially on Wednesday.

We also chose to retain having a banner bearer, a position the barony has had off and on over the years. Lord Sigurdr is our new banner bearer, and we have no doubt of his ability to do honor to this post.

There was a small but lovely arts display, where people could see the further progress on bobbin lace by harpnfiddle, as well as a couple of her finished projects from classes at Pennsic (embroidery and needlepoint). Lord Magnus displayed his finished silk tabletwoven belt and a new project on his loom... snartemo I believe, but I'm not an expert. ladyjade01/Lady Brangwyne of Wentworth displayed a linen dress she's working on, which is coming along nicely. And Lady Emma MacMinn exhibited an illuminated capital, which included her first effort at flat gilding. It came out pretty well, with only one very small and barely noticeable mistake -- mostly noticeable because she pointed it out! Her white work is quite excellent and the ivy leaves are delicate and vibrant. Oh, and not in the display, the scrolls were lovely too. Brangwyne took up the challenge of Gothic capitals successfully, and she has acquired the very important skill of consistency in size and spacing of the letters with a script that is new to her. Every style has its own challenges, so it's always good to see when someone succeeds at a challenge.

As baroness I always try to buy something from our merchants, to thank them for coming to our home. I may not be able to purchase much, but I feel that they contribute to our events and especially these days it can be a hard thing for them to even make expenses, nevermind an actual living. This weekend only one of the three merchants who contacted L made it to the event, but happily it was Gloriana of Glorious Dragon; I never have trouble finding something I like at her tables :)

Excellent food both at the potluck dayboard and the cooking guild's feast, yum :)

Excellent company as well; although I missed ellid, countessinn and sorcieredeneige, hopefully they are all faring better today. islenskr came though, after kindly checking in on countessinn and picking up a scroll for baronial court, and it was so good to see her again, and to catch up a little with her.

Throughout the day I was fortunate enough to see people making connections at our little event, learning new things from each other, from spinning, to music, to dance, to fighting tips. I think that was one of the best parts of the events, for me :)