Alex's Historical Fiction

Sunburn, rain, hail ...

A Bank Holiday in Britain and it's another show. Yes. Hmmmmm. At least we were able to set up in relatively good weather and had one temperate day. Even then, it rained that second evening. But on the Monday afternoon, it got a bit beyond the pale. Rain is one thing - but hail ... And it happened when we were out in the arena. Not surprisingly, my spear work was actually quite good: You were rather aggressive observed Batman, who was on the receiving end :-) Not sure where I found the energy for it, but the hail falling on our shoulders perhaps acted as a goad. At one point, I was sheltering the commentator under my shield and looking at the 5mm ice peas which had lodged on her head. How on earth some of us got a touch of sunburn as well, I don't rightly know.

Whilst simultaneously wondering why we do it, I have to confess it was a good weekend. We were all knackered by the end, as there were six arena shows per day. Not only do we perform, but there is a lot of setting up and retrieval of missiles afterward. On the Monday, the going got difficult due to the rain and hail as well, so one trudges carefully through the mud. But we had five cavalry horses with us, which the crowd loved. I also enjoyed them, as I was supplying the weaponry for the riders so had to dodge in between them. The ponies all had their own traits, and my favourite was a chestnut ex polo pony who was blind in one eye and was rather a sweet character.

It was not Batman's day either. He got hit by an arrow in the last cavalry show. Fortunately, we only use dummy arrows (ahem). However, they still have a rubber tip and Batman was 'deadlegged' by an arrow which hit the back of his leg. If you've ever hit your funny bone in your elbow, it's a bit like that, only it really numbs the leg and you can't actually walk for a while. Cue the wonderful St John's Ambulance guys. They applied an ice-pack which has cut down the bruising. If only it also cut down the number of times Batman keeps reminding me he's been hit by an arrow :-) But he missed the last line-up of the show, and didn't get kissed on the mouth by the group leader, so I'm calling it quits. Yes, honestly. All us butch soldiers - the ones who could walk, that is - were lined up prior to marching into the arena and the group leader kissed every single of one of us ... The hail was more palatable ;-)

It was the last show of the season, thank goodness. There are a couple of other localish shows for another group that we could attend, but since we packed up the kit in continuing thunder and peevish rain, I suspect we'll give it a miss. It'll take a while before everything's dry and damp kit is spread out all over the house (just like after the previous event a couple of weeks back). It's supposed to be sunny today, so I shall throw lots of stuff outside to dry. Here's hoping Diane hasn't put her washing out as well.

posted by Alex Bordessa @ Wednesday, August 30, 2006