Category: re-enactment

The Tudor Tailor – Missing Persons conference

The Tudor Tailor logo
Image copyright The Tudor Tailor

Well, this is something exciting that I’ve been meaning to blog about for ages – I’m going to the Tudor Tailor conference!

It’s not until next April, but I’m really looking forward to it, as it brings a number of my interests together into one place.

The conference is the occasion for the launch of their next book, The Typical Tudor, which examines not the court dress of previous books, but the clothes of the ordinary Tudor person. It also contains knitting patterns, which I’m very excited to see!

The focus of the conference is on the hunt for evidence, which is much more difficult when you’re talking about clothes that weren’t preserved for posterity in the way that court dress often was. The search for reliable sources around intangible history is really interesting to me, as it’s a difficulty that I’m facing in my research into early modern medicine. The Herbals exist, and we can trace who owned and used them… but what about the people who didn’t have access to the books? Those who couldn’t afford or couldn’t read them? I’m hoping that the conference will introduce me to different ways of looking for evidence, and how to distinguish what is most likely to be both reliable and broadly representative.

And of course, on a purely practical level, I can’t wait to get the book and start sewing! Despite having owned The Tudor Tailor for many years, I’ve never actually constructed a Tudor outfit. Everyday clothing is far more my style than court dress, so I’m really interested to see the patterns and decide what I’m going to make.

I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind for a couple of years to put together a period-correct outfit suitable for swordfighting in. We primarily study Manciolino and Marozzo, who both published treatises during the 1530s, so these patterns will be spot on.

Obviously I won’t be allowed to fight in Tudor clothing – not unless I build it in such a way that I can safely incorporate my modern protective sports kit. But I would definitely like to go through some of the exercises and flow drills, just to make the point that it would have been absolutely possible for a Tudor woman to be a fencer – if she’d had the opportunity.

Time to rest

19/06/2012

Today I am mostly feeling sorry for myself. Anyone who reads my personal Facebook page would be forgiven for thinking this is nothing unusual – my status is quite often me whingeing about some aspect or other of my health that’s gone a bit wrong. Today’s is quite a spectacular one though – I’ve managed to put my back out. OUCH. I did it yesterday – a particularly annoying finale to what had been a really good weekend!

On Saturday we popped into town with some friends for Reading Town Meal. An annual event, with lots of stalls about wildlife, sustainability and local food – and a free meal, cooked by catering students from the local college, from food donated by local allotment holders and home growers. We sat on a hill in the Forbury Gardens to eat our vegetable curry, beetroot and bean salad, and fruit crumble. Yum!

(Paul didn’t go for the vegetable curry – he bought a massive pork pie from one of the stalls. I have to say it looked good!)

In the afternoon I went to a BIG SING organised by the Witt Studio Chorus. We spent three hours rehearsing a medley of songs from The Sound of Music, and then gave a small performance for friends and family. I used to be a regular member of the chorus, but had to give it up earlier in the year, mainly because I could no longer stay out late on a Wednesday and then be awake and functional in time to go to work on a Thursday. I enjoyed it very much, but I was reminded just how strenuous singing can be – I was exhausted when I got home, and in bed by 9pm!

Twelve hours’ sleep later, on Sunday we made an impromptu trip to Hughendon Manor, where they were having a 1940s WW2 weekend. Again, we had a really good time, enjoying the re-enactment displays, and particularly the talks given by Stephen Wisdom. We’d seen him at one of the big multi-period re-enactment events a few years ago, and Paul couldn’t resist the opportunity to see his “Mr Punch vs Mr Hitler” puppet show again! The weather was so glorious that we sat on the lawn in full sunshine, wondering why on earth we’d come out with scarves and gloves.

When we got home, I wanted to pop round to the corner shop. Unfortunately, as I bent over to pick up my bag, something right across my lower back went PING and caused me to do rather a lot of squealing and hopping and yelling. Oops.

I went to the corner shop on crutches, and spent this morning on crutches too, hissing and ow-ing every time I tried to move. Thankfully a heat pad, a short walk, and some stretching later, and the pain has downgraded to quite severe sciatica, which I can cope with a lot more easily. (As someone with long-term hip problems, I get sciatica a lot.) Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be well enough to go to work – and I have been very glad that today was my day off!

So, to everyone who thought I was bonkers for doing so much on my previous day off, you’ll be pleased to know that I have actually spent this one resting. I’ve only done a few rows of knitting, I haven’t made anything, I haven’t packed anything for the house move – I’ve just rested. Shame it took a serious complaint from my spine to force me into it, but there you go.

Paul Smith – Kraken Hunter

Paul Smith - Kraken Hunter

This is Paul at Chepstow Castle, part of Waltz on the Wye 2012. Despite being May, the weather was absolutely freezing, so he hijacked my new Clapotis for most of the weekend.

Paul Smith - Kraken Hunter

But what was he hunting with his camera, high up in the remains of the castle?

Kraken at the Castle

Why, the Kraken, of course!

Paul Smith - Kraken Hunter

When he wasn’t off adventuring, he dressed smartly for an evening’s entertainment at the Drill Hall.

Paul Smith - Kraken Hunter

Both waistcoats are from the Harlots and Angels Sweeney Todd pattern. The brown one is moleskin, the grey is pinstriped denim. They’re a little bit big, but they pull in nicely with a little corset-style lace-up belt at the back.

I had a bit of trouble with the pattern (the amount of interfacing needed wasn’t clear, and the construction method seemed unnecessarily complicated), but once I’d decided to ignore the instructions and just sew, they were easy enough to put together. Because my sewing machine refuses to make buttonholes and I didn’t have time to do them by hand, each waistcoat is fastened with poppers and the buttons are sewn on top.

Thankfully I took a sewing kit with me, because I made the grey waistcoat in such a hurry that I’d sewn half the poppers in the wrong place! That was easily fixed, and the sewing kit came in handy a few times over the course of the weekend.

Paul’s usually extremely averse to dressing up, but he was so comfortable in these waistcoats that he’s thinking of wearing the grey one to business meetings instead of a suit jacket. I call that a sewing success!

Vaguely Victorian: Part Two

Victorian-ish outfit

Here you go – for those who were wondering, this is what the vaguely Victorian outfit looked like at the end of a long day, in a lovely Victorian staircase hall.

Contrary to a few people’s concerns, I did not boil to death with so many layers of clothes on. The skirt was quite heavy, but the bustle was so comfortable I kept forgetting I was wearing it and trying to squeeze through spaces that were impossible to negotiate with such an enormous bottom!

At the end of the day I also learned that it is possible to run for the bus in a corset and bustle – although I wouldn’t recommend it! In fact it’s not the ideal outfit for bus travel generally. You can’t get upstairs, for a start, and I was a bit worried that the driver would ask me to buy two tickets for taking up so much room!

I must admit that, without the complicated underpinnings, I’d actually quite happily wear this outfit (or something very similar) to work on any old not-particularly-Victorian day.

Traditional English Summer.

Victorians in the rain

Last weekend we paid a visit to Broadlands, where there was a multi-period historical re-enactment weekend going on. As you can see, the weather was absolutely ideal for a British summer’s day out.

As it turned out the Victorian Redcoats didn’t have to shelter for very long, but it was certainly very wet while it lasted!

Professor Leonidas C. Grymm and his Mermaid

This is Professor Leonidas C. Grymm, and his Mermaid. He represented part of Grymm Tooms Travelling Museum, which I very much enjoyed. The gentleman above represents a Victorian explorer and collector, and he told us about various famous collections and artifacts. His colleague, Doctor Lazarus Tooms, demonstrates a history of the advancements made in medicine, including surgery and anatomy.

I only took a few photos – partly because of the rain, and partly because I accidentally became increasingly laden with shopping as the afternoon wore on. I picked up two large felt hat blanks for steaming into shape (one black, one bright pink), and was very restrained at the fabric stall. I came away with just five metres of a lovely woven wool fabric in cream and brown, with a little blue spot running through the diamond pattern. That will be perfect for a pair of trousers and a jacket, and I rather wish I’d bought some more!

Paintball with a musket.

Replacing the flint

Last weekend we went to Reigate Fort with my sister and brother-in-law. We had a lovely walk through Gatton Park, and ate a picnic in the drizzle whilst watching a slightly disappointing historical re-enactment. I don’t think we could have had a more typically English summer day out if we’d tried!

(Well, we could have gone to the seaside and eaten sandwiches in the car whilst sheltering from the pouring rain, I suppose.)

There were three periods of military history being demonstrated – Napoleonic, Victorian and First World War. The slightly disappointing part of the demonstration was because the WW1 machine guns kept getting jammed and refusing to fire. There were lots of small boys who absolutely loved the Napoleonic cannons, which were much more reliable!

There was also a section (ostensibly for children) where you could have a go at firing a cannon, mortar or musket. The picture above shows a new flint being fitted to one of the muskets, which I took while Paul was in the queue, waiting for his turn.

Paul firing a musket

Here’s Paul, firing a bright orange paintball towards a small plywood Napoleonic soldier.

Paul firing a musket

He’d been told to aim just below the webbing – and his shot was right on target!

The sun came out as we were walking back through the park, so we were able to enjoy some fabulous views all the way across Surrey. We didn’t see any of the highland cattle that wander around Gatton Park (although there was plenty of evidence that they’d been there!), but we sat on a bench at the top of the hill and ate muffins in the sunshine.

Lovely.

Living History

Civil War

A couple of weekends ago we went to see the Fairfax Battalion putting on a Civil War re-enactment at Mapledurham. As always, I took a bunch of photos.

We spent a long time chatting to the barber-surgeon, and I was surprised to find out about some of the more delicate operations that could be done at that time. (Paul took some photos of the surgical instruments.)

Civil War

When we got home, Paul immediately looked up how much it would cost to buy a match rifle. As you do. Aside from the pesky matter of needing a firearms license, I’m not totally convinced that the lure of a big gun outweighs the requirement to wear the silly trousers that go with it. We’ll see.

We’re planning to go to a few more re-enactment events over the summer. There’s a military history event at Reigate Hill and Gatton Park, a multi-period event at Broadlands, and a 1940s weekend at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Hopefully Paul won’t come home from that one with a desperate urge to drive a tank!