Event report: Caldrithing Practicum
Feb. 28th, 2011 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassThere aren't many people who will get me to do a 3-hour drive on unlit highways at night, but Heather Dale is one of them. So it was that Jeanne and I hit the road at about 7:45 on Saturday morning to drive to Caldrithing's practicum event. The drive was thankfully uneventful, with dry highways the whole way down, and we arrived with plenty of time for Jeanne to make her 10:30 class. I, meanwhile, changed and found Heather (excuse me, Mistress Marian of Heatherdale) and exchanged lots of hugs. I also found Louis, who I hadn't seen in quite some time, and gave him hugs as well.
Marian and I decided to catch Adi's class on Mongolian folklore, which was lots of fun. I think I may steal one of her stories to use in my own repertoire. (The main issue is a king who's so bored he vows to give his kingdom to the first man who can tell a lie so outrageous it causes a sitting man to stand and wakes a sleeping man. Hilarity ensues.)
Marian also gave me presents! A few too-big tunics that I plan to cut down (one silk, one an absolutely lovely silk-wool blend) and a beaded necklace whose main pendant is a celtic knotwork animal. Also, it's got two pewter polar bears. You can tell they're polar bears, because they're heraldically correct: "pizzled" blue. (Yup, blue penises. Awesome!)
After the class was lunch, and I sat with Marian, Terafan and his daughter Marissa (from the Washington D.C. area), and some other laurels. Yes, little did I know that I was at the much-anticipated "lunch with laurels" table! It was about as silly as you'd expect.
In the afternoon I took Louis' class on Arabic letters (very informative), followed by a two-hour nap. Well, an attempted two-hour nap. The only place to rest was on a plush chair, so I wound up lying on one arm until it fell asleep, then flipped around until the other arm fell asleep. (Hey, at least my arms were sleeping.)
At 4:00, I went to a class on bawdy ballads. There, I learned that the word "nothing" was an Elizabethan euphemism for female genitalia. (Men have "something," women have "nothing.") So Shakespeare's play Much Ado about Nothing... yeah. The things you learn. I bet if I'd known about "nothing," I'd have payed much more attention to the play in high school.
After that was Marian's class on using period sources as inspiration. I've definitely gotta pull out my Golden Legend again and keep reading. It's been *way* too long. Definitely a fun class, and Marian even performed some songs for us!
The potluck dinner was great. My chai-gingerbread bars came out all right, despite the lack of chai. (The event was at a Mormon church, meaning no tea or coffee were allowed on site, not even as ingredients.) I ate more than my fill and had some lovely conversation to boot.
Then it was youth theatre time. The kids put on a performance called "Marian the Musical," which was created by stringing together a bunch of Marian's songs into some semblance of a plot. So much fun! Marian and I sat right up in the front row on the floor and laughed our heads off!
Court happened. I, meanwhile, played with a 7-month-old baby. Way more fun than paying attention to court. *grin*
After court was the trading circle, in which I got rid of most of the stuff I wanted to give away, and netted myself a bunch of chip mineral beads, a penannular broach, and a marble mortar and pestle. I think I did quite well, actually.
Then there was a short (half-hour) bardic, in which I told the tale of Judah and Tamar (one of my favorites) and Marian sang the Trial of Lancelot. There were a number of very touching performances, including a praise song that was written by a 15-year-old teenager. I wish I'd had that kind of talent when I was fifteen.
Anyway, after more hugs, Jeanne and I left the site at about 10:40, and after a quick gas-and-coffee stop, we were on the 417 by 11:00. I listened to Marian's new CD on the way home, and enjoyed it very much. Collapsed into bed shortly after 1:00.
And that was my day. All told, lots of fun, though I really hope I don't have to do any more highway night driving for a while.
Marian and I decided to catch Adi's class on Mongolian folklore, which was lots of fun. I think I may steal one of her stories to use in my own repertoire. (The main issue is a king who's so bored he vows to give his kingdom to the first man who can tell a lie so outrageous it causes a sitting man to stand and wakes a sleeping man. Hilarity ensues.)
Marian also gave me presents! A few too-big tunics that I plan to cut down (one silk, one an absolutely lovely silk-wool blend) and a beaded necklace whose main pendant is a celtic knotwork animal. Also, it's got two pewter polar bears. You can tell they're polar bears, because they're heraldically correct: "pizzled" blue. (Yup, blue penises. Awesome!)
After the class was lunch, and I sat with Marian, Terafan and his daughter Marissa (from the Washington D.C. area), and some other laurels. Yes, little did I know that I was at the much-anticipated "lunch with laurels" table! It was about as silly as you'd expect.
In the afternoon I took Louis' class on Arabic letters (very informative), followed by a two-hour nap. Well, an attempted two-hour nap. The only place to rest was on a plush chair, so I wound up lying on one arm until it fell asleep, then flipped around until the other arm fell asleep. (Hey, at least my arms were sleeping.)
At 4:00, I went to a class on bawdy ballads. There, I learned that the word "nothing" was an Elizabethan euphemism for female genitalia. (Men have "something," women have "nothing.") So Shakespeare's play Much Ado about Nothing... yeah. The things you learn. I bet if I'd known about "nothing," I'd have payed much more attention to the play in high school.
After that was Marian's class on using period sources as inspiration. I've definitely gotta pull out my Golden Legend again and keep reading. It's been *way* too long. Definitely a fun class, and Marian even performed some songs for us!
The potluck dinner was great. My chai-gingerbread bars came out all right, despite the lack of chai. (The event was at a Mormon church, meaning no tea or coffee were allowed on site, not even as ingredients.) I ate more than my fill and had some lovely conversation to boot.
Then it was youth theatre time. The kids put on a performance called "Marian the Musical," which was created by stringing together a bunch of Marian's songs into some semblance of a plot. So much fun! Marian and I sat right up in the front row on the floor and laughed our heads off!
Court happened. I, meanwhile, played with a 7-month-old baby. Way more fun than paying attention to court. *grin*
After court was the trading circle, in which I got rid of most of the stuff I wanted to give away, and netted myself a bunch of chip mineral beads, a penannular broach, and a marble mortar and pestle. I think I did quite well, actually.
Then there was a short (half-hour) bardic, in which I told the tale of Judah and Tamar (one of my favorites) and Marian sang the Trial of Lancelot. There were a number of very touching performances, including a praise song that was written by a 15-year-old teenager. I wish I'd had that kind of talent when I was fifteen.
Anyway, after more hugs, Jeanne and I left the site at about 10:40, and after a quick gas-and-coffee stop, we were on the 417 by 11:00. I listened to Marian's new CD on the way home, and enjoyed it very much. Collapsed into bed shortly after 1:00.
And that was my day. All told, lots of fun, though I really hope I don't have to do any more highway night driving for a while.
